What’s more, something Liu Fengying never saw coming, was that the damn girl had actually learned the truth of her birth! ’She knows she isn’t the Mo family’s biological daughter! I can’t for the life of me remember: when on earth did I let it slip to Mo Guoqiang and let that little wench overhear?’

’This is bad,’ Liu Fengying thought. ’Since that damn girl heard she was switched at birth, she’ll definitely try to find out where it happened. Wancheng isn’t far—just a few hours by bus. There are only two big hospitals in the city, the First and Second People’s Hospitals. What if she really runs off and asks? What am I going to do?’

’It’s all the fault of those two undying old hags! They couldn’t have their own son or see their own grandson their whole lives, so after Xiao Man sweet-talked them like a little suck-up, the old fools started spoiling her rotten. In just a few days, Mo Xiaoman has developed such an arrogant temper. She dares to give people attitude and speak loudly. She’s acting as bold as those little brats with mothers and fathers to dote on them!’

’Back when I had her under my thumb, she didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly, let alone look anyone in the eye. But now she dares to shout my name in front of the whole village, brazenly declaring she’s not Mo Guoqiang and Liu Fengying’s biological daughter!’

Liu Fengying was so angry at the damn girl she nearly fainted. She couldn’t stand seeing Mo Xiaoman looking so brazen and self-confident. Before, when they hadn’t yet found Xuanxuan, she couldn’t be bothered to manage the wild child, as long as she did her chores. It was only after learning what kind of powerful backing Xuanxuan had that Liu Fengying started viciously suppressing the girl, determined not to let her get ahead or outshine anyone. But a single moment of carelessness had led to this mistake. ’She scurried over to the old man and woman’s side, escaped my grasp, and changed this much!’

’So much regret! Why isn’t there any medicine for regret in this world?’

’A child with a mother’s love is a treasure. A beloved child grows bold!’

’I heard that damned old man is planning to send Mo Xiaoman to school. That wench only seems dull because she’s been suppressed. In reality, she’s smart and a good student. If she gets an education, she’ll only stir up more trouble!’

’I absolutely cannot let Mo Xiaoman have a chance to show her face in front of those parents and threaten Xuanxuan’s position. I can’t leave anything to chance. No matter what, I have to block that path for good!’

Liu Fengying thought so hard her head ached. Finally, she settled on a plan and immediately rushed to put it into action.

At that moment, Mo Xiaoman was still unaware that Liu Fengying was resorting to the same trick she had used in her previous life: taking a few photographs to the city to show the biological parents. It was just that the eleven-year-old girl in the pictures wasn’t Mo Xiaoman.

If Mo Xiaoman had seen this girl, she would have had to admire Liu Fengying and her family’s network. They were surprisingly resourceful, finding a stand-in who was nearly an eighty percent match.

The difference was that this girl—who from a distance resembled Mo Xiaoman in height, build, and even the right side of her face—had a full face that was even more repulsive than the Mo Xiaoman from the previous life. When she was little, several large boils had grown on her face. Her parents, busy with farm work, didn’t treat them or take her to a hospital in time. The little girl didn’t know any better and scratched at them. As a result, the boils festered, ulcerated, and became infected. After the wounds healed, they left behind large scars, along with aftereffects like pulled muscles that left her with a crooked eye and a twisted mouth. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

It was Liu Fengying’s younger sister, Liu Ermei, who had helped find this stand-in. The girl was from the village Liu Ermei had married into. Because the girl’s family was poor and had many children, Liu Ermei only had to give them a pound of candy and two pounds of noodles. In exchange, the family let them take the girl away for a few days. They could take as many photos as they wanted; it wouldn’t be a problem. They even said it would be fine if the people from the city wanted to see the child in person.

All they had to do was teach the girl a few lines, which wouldn’t be difficult at all.

And so, the matter proceeded smoothly along the same trajectory as in her previous life, without the slightest deviation.

Tang Qingyun was away on a business trip, so Wu Xiaowen was the first to see the photos. The girl in the pictures nauseated her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t heartbroken; she covered her face and wept bitterly, blaming Liu Fengying for being so irresponsible as to let the child end up like this.

Liu Fengying also cried pitifully. Voice choked with emotion and tears streaming down her face, she recounted how difficult things had been back then. She had her children too close together, the first three all just a year apart. Her in-laws only cared about her husband’s younger brother’s family and never helped with theirs. From the time they were small, the children never received any care from their grandparents. It was just the young couple, raising the kids while working, one carried on her back and another in her arms. They struggled and struggled until their eldest daughter was five or six, thinking they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. But then the girl unfortunately developed those things on her body. The conditions in the countryside were poor, and the family was just too destitute. It was all so, so difficult!

"Because of this, my husband and I felt we had wronged our eldest daughter, so we did our best to make it up to her. The whole family cherishes and dotes on her. For holidays and festivals, she’s always the first to eat meat and wear new clothes. Whenever we want to buy something for the house, we have to ask her opinion first to see if she’s willing or if she likes it! Our eldest is actually very family-oriented and loves to work. It’s just that she has a bit of a bad temper. When she disciplines her younger siblings, she can be a little heavy-handed. Her brothers and sisters have been hit on the head with sticks and beaten with brooms by her more than a few times. But that’s a good thing, in a way. The younger ones all obey her and listen to whatever their big sister says. If their big sister says go east, they would never dare go west..."

As Wu Xiaowen listened to Liu Fengying’s words, her brow furrowed slightly.

Her precious daughter, Xuanxuan, had been fainting and getting hospitalized constantly out of fear she’d be taken away from her mother because of her parentage. Wu Xiaowen was already worried sick. She had no intention of swapping the children back in the first place, and now, seeing that the girl raised in the countryside had turned out like that—with a cruel and sadistic personality—she liked the idea even less. ’Xuanxuan has been well-behaved, sensible, clever, and adorable since she was little. My son was raised with every comfort in Beijing. I can’t imagine what terrible fate would befall them if they fell into that girl’s hands!’

’Besides, my daughter is exceptionally brilliant with an extremely high IQ, and my son is hailed as a child genius. They are the apple of their grandparents’ eye in Beijing and the successors of the Tang family’s next generation. If they were frightened by that ugly, violent girl, or worse, beaten and brain-damaged, no one could bear the consequences!’

Wu Xiaowen quickly sorted out her thoughts, suppressing the pang of sorrow she felt for her biological daughter. She talked with Liu Fengying for a while longer, and they finally reached an agreement: the mistake made back then was irreversible, and no one had done it on purpose. Fortunately, both sets of parents genuinely loved the children they had raised. If they insisted on switching back, not only would the children suffer, but the parents would be heartbroken as well. Furthermore, they would have to face the confused questions of relatives, throwing both families into chaos and potentially causing other unforeseen problems. Given all this, it was better to let the mistake stand and allow the children to continue living and studying in the environments they were familiar with. After all, both sets of parents trusted each other, and this way, the two children wouldn’t have to bear any pressure or confusion.

Since they weren’t switching back, they would have a tacit understanding. They would simply treat the child in front of them as their own flesh and blood, loving them with all their hearts, and not disturb the life of the other one.

Life in the countryside was indeed harder, while conditions in the city were relatively better. Wu Xiaowen took the initiative and gave Liu Fengying a lump sum of one thousand yuan. From then on, she would send money for the child’s living expenses and school fees to the countryside in several installments each year. She would also send clothes and other things during holidays, doing her best to subsidize them.

Liu Fengying was more than satisfied with this arrangement.

’Never mind anything else for now,’ she thought. ’As long as I can secure Xuanxuan’s good life in the city and her bright future, that’s all that matters!’