Chapter 8: Trouble First Thing in the Morning!

"Get lost! You know you've done plenty of wrong, yet you still have the nerve to cry?"

Madame Jiang stepped forward, shoved Madame Liu aside, and spat. This woman had spent years bullying her family, relying on her status as the eldest daughter-in-law and the blatant favoritism of Mother Zhang.

Mother Zhang stumbled back, her face twisted in shock. "You—you disrespectful wretch! How dare you speak to your sister-in-law like that!"

Madame Jiang cast a look of utter disdain at her. "Sister-in-law? Elder? Wake up! My elders are all in the underworld. Who do you think you’re playing the elder for here?"

Bai Ruyu, holding the little girl’s hand, walked over to her parents with a gentle smile. "Father, Mother, why waste breath on irrelevant people? True nobility lies in self-awareness, wouldn't you agree, Old Mother Zhang?"

Mother Zhang met her smiling gaze, her body stiffening. Her complexion cycled between pale and sickly green before she glared at Madame Liu. "Shut up, you fool!"

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to maintain a facade of composure. "We will definitely move out before nightfall, and everything will be returned. I hope—I hope you can keep your promise."

Bai Ruyu nodded with a faint smile. "Naturally, as long as you all remain obedient and sensible."

People, once they have a weakness, become so utterly helpless.

Time slipped away. The morning sun spilled onto the people sprawled across their beds. Hearing the "thump-thump" of knocking at the door, Bai Ruyu frowned, squinting through her messy, bird's-nest hair as she jerked upright.

"Who is it?! It's early in the morning! Knock, knock, knock—can't a person get any sleep?!"

By the time the Old Man Bai family had moved out last night, it was already pitch black. The house had been left in such a state of chaos that they had to reorganize everything just to have a place to sleep, and it wasn't until the middle of the night that they finally drifted off.

Bai Ruyu lifted her arm, struggling to open her eyes to look at the lady’s watch on her wrist, which she had traded 1,000 ocean dollars for from the system last night.

The time read five-thirty? She wasn't sure; she rubbed her eyes and looked again. Still five-thirty.

Bai Ruyu climbed out of bed, threw on her clothes and shoes in a disheveled mess, and stormed out. "Who is it? I’m going to see exactly who this is!"

Five-thirty? That was even earlier than when she worked like a beast of burden.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The closer she got to the courtyard gate, the clearer the knocking became, accompanied by a man’s angry shouting.

"Bai Xiuming, you ungrateful wretch! It wasn't easy for Father and Mother to raise you, even if you weren't their own flesh and blood. Does all that affection over the years mean nothing? Father and Mother were just a bit harsh on you—what is the harm in that? Aren't you afraid of being branded ungrateful and having people point fingers at your spine?"

Bai Ruyu’s eyes flashed as she asked in her mind, "System, can I start the livestream now?"

Since she was already up anyway!

If she could start it now, she could rest more peacefully later instead of being dragged out of a sound sleep to go live.

[Yes, there is no set time for broadcasting. Please do as you wish, Host.]

"Then let's start." Bai Ruyu began scanning the area for something useful as she replied internally.

[Livestream started. Good luck, Host!]

The familiar large screen appeared before her eyes, and viewers began to trickle in. It was clear these were not the same people as yesterday; the timing didn't match.

[GreenBeanStirFry: What kind of livestream is this? I didn't click anything, how did I get in?]

[LongingForRuralLife: It must be a filming broadcast or a historical reenactment.]

[CheckMyID: The set looks pretty realistic! What is the streamer looking for?]

Under the curious gaze of the netizens, Bai Ruyu snatched up a wooden stick from the side and weighed it; it felt decent.

"Yu-er, what are you doing?"

Her mother’s puzzled voice came from behind. Bai Ruyu turned to see her parents, already fully dressed, looking at her with astonishment.

"Nothing much! I just intend to teach some people a lesson so they stop coming here to be a nuisance." Bai Ruyu tightened her grip on the wooden stick, squinting her eyes into a sincere smile.

[CheckMyID: Why do I feel like the streamer's smile is a bit dangerous?]

[LongingForRuralLife: If nothing goes wrong, someone is about to have a bad day.]

"Bai Xiuming, come out! You know you have no face to show, so you’re too afraid to come out?"

The verbal abuse outside continued. Bai Xiuming’s face darkened, and he took a few quick steps, ready to head out.

"Father, let me handle this."

Bai Ruyu blocked him. It was already a miracle that her father was finally standing up for himself. Like the Old Man Bai and the others said, they had indeed raised him. Regardless of their motives, it was technically true, and if she wasn't careful, ignorant onlookers would hang her father on a pillar of moral judgment.

Bai Xiuming looked at his disheveled daughter, a flash of embarrassment crossing his face. "Yu-er... I’ll go myself. You go back and get properly dressed."

*Ugh...*

Bai Ruyu felt a bit awkward. The original owner didn't know how to dress herself, and she was even worse. The attire here was similar to the Tang or Song dynasties of ancient China, though it was hard to tell which. She had only seen these clothes in history books and on television; trying to put them on herself was truly impossible.

"I’ll take Yu-er back to the room to help her dress, you... be careful."

Madame Jiang saw the embarrassment on her daughter's face and guessed the truth. She took Bai Ruyu’s hand, gave her husband a warning look, and prepared to take her daughter back inside.

"Mother, it’s fine, I’m not exposing anything. Let’s just deal with the person outside first!"

Bai Ruyu hurriedly pulled her hand away, gripped the wooden stick, and ran to open the door.

Are you kidding? The livestream was still running! She had no interest in changing clothes in front of an audience. When she got up, she had just thrown her clothes on—it was a bit of a mess, but she wasn't actually exposing anything, right?

"Knock, knock, knock! What are you knocking for? It’s early in the morning—are you looking for a beating?"

Bai Xiuan saw the door suddenly swing open and a disheveled figure holding a long stick, wearing an absurd mess of clothing, charge out. His hand froze in mid-air, stunned.

Hearing the sharp rebuke, he finally regained his senses, his face darkening in displeasure. "Still as foolish and insane as ever! I can't believe Mother and Father were actually intimidated by you!"

He thought of how his mother kept telling him not to bother Bai Xiuming’s family, claiming the "foolish girl" was neither stupid nor crazy anymore. She even spouted nonsense about coming back from the dead, meeting her grandfather and grandmother in the underworld—it was all utter rubbish!

"Do you know what usually happens to people who don't know how to be obedient?"

Bai Ruyu didn't hesitate; the wooden stick landed squarely on Bai Xiuan, shocking him so much his pupils dilated as he scrambled backward.

"You—you madwoman! Bai Xiuming, look at this little beast! She actually dares to raise a hand against me! Be careful, or I’ll go to the magistrate’s office and have you all thrown in jail!"

As Bai Xiuan dodged and shouted into the courtyard, he tripped and fell to the ground. "Ah! Ah! You little beast, you—ah!" He curled up on the ground in pain, clutching his head, still screaming.

[GreenBeanStirFry: Wow! That was satisfying! I love this female lead's personality! What kind of plot is this?]

[HeavenKingCoversTheEarth: Damn! The streamer went offline without a word yesterday, and today she starts so early and gets straight into the action?]

[CheckMyID: What do you mean, upstairs?]

[HeavenKingCoversTheEarth: I only watched for two hours yesterday; it was all about the family splitting up. It seems to be a family drama.]

[LongingForRuralLife: Splitting the family? In ancient times, children didn't split from the parents while they were alive unless something major happened. By the way, did they actually split?]

Bai Ruyu: ...

What a bunch of people who love watching drama!