Mother didn't do anything wrong.

"It'll sting a little," Xu Yinchen said as he gently cleaned Qin Lian's wound, his voice low and calm. He sprinkled the red antiseptic powder over it carefully.

Once he was done, he closed the first aid box, set it aside, and turned to Xu Shen.

"Take your brothers upstairs and study. I need to talk to—"

He paused mid-sentence. The words your mother hovered on his tongue, but he changed it and simply said, "Go upstairs."

Xu Shen frowned, clearly unwilling to leave. But seeing Xu Yinchen's serious expression, he swallowed his protest.

Without saying anything, he took Xu Wei and Xu Hao upstairs. Before leaving, he made sure to return the first aid box to its place.

As he walked off, he gave Qin Lian a shy glance, then reluctantly followed his brothers.

Qin Lian watched them go, her expression calm, but her eyes sharp. She could tell that something had happened. 

Otherwise, Xu Yinchen wouldn't come home like this and send the children away without a reason.

After a brief silence, she asked, her voice steady, "What is it? Did something happen?"

Xu Yinchen didn't respond right away. The words of Huang Zedong and Wen Zian echoed in his mind, one after another.

But the girl in front of him… she didn't match those rumors.

Her calmness, her quiet demeanor, the feeling she gave off, it was completely different.

Who should he believe?

He hesitated for a moment, but Qin Lian didn't rush him. She just sat there, waiting quietly.

Finally, he asked, "While I wasn't home… Did something happen?"

He had noticed it the moment he came in. Xu Wei's shirt was wrinkled, his neck had faint red marks, his wrist looked bruised, and there was the smell of medicinal oil.

Even Xu Hao's eyes looked swollen, like he had cried. Something had happened while he was away.

Qin Lian raised her brows. She didn't need to ask to know what this was about. So that woman had already gone crying to him?

She didn't bother hiding it. Her voice carried a hint of sarcasm as she spoke. "Why? Did that woman go running to you, saying I slapped her? That I tortured her?"

Xu Yinchen didn't react to her tone. He just nodded. "Yes. That's why I came. I wanted to hear your side of the story."

Qin Lian was a little surprised.

So… he didn't blindly believe Huang Zedong's words? He came to ask her?

That was… unexpected.

"Yes," she said bluntly. "I did slap her."

Xu Yinchen's brows furrowed slightly. Her directness caught him off guard.

But she didn't stop there.

"If I say I had a reason… if I say I wasn't wrong… will you believe me?" she asked.

Her voice wasn't pleading or defensive. It was calm, like she was testing him.

In the novel, this man was described as cold and indifferent but disciplined and clear-headed.

Since she was going to live in this family as his wife, she needed to know, was he really as sensible as the book said? Or was that just an exaggerated character introduction?

Even if she had no choice but to marry him, she wouldn't live the rest of her life being cautious around a weak and indecisive man.

She had already wasted three years in her previous life, chasing a man who was cheating on her, making a fool of her. Not this time.

Xu Yinchen looked into her eyes. Her question was sudden, but her gaze… it made the storm in his heart strangely quiet. "I'll believe you," he said softly.

At that moment, all the voices in his head faded.

He didn't know what the truth was, but he knew that this girl wasn't the one from those rumors.

She couldn't be.

That single sentence, that one moment of trust, made Qin Lian's chest tighten. She had only meant to test him.

But his answer… the trust in it, it caught her off guard. She had only just arrived in this house yesterday. Logically speaking, if he had doubted her, she wouldn't have said anything. 

That would've been the most reasonable reaction. But instead of suspicion, he chose to believe her.

And that… surprised her.

She looked at him, her heart unexpectedly warm. For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

She was speechless.

...

Seeing the surprised expression on her face, Xu Yinchen sighed and finally spoke, explaining the situation.

"A while ago, Huang Zedong came to my farm crying and making a scene, saying that you…" He paused, unsure if he should go on. He was worried Qin Lian might be hurt by what he was about to say.

Still, he continued honestly, "She claimed you were beating the children, and slapped her, when she tried to intervene and even drove her out without paying her wages."

He looked at her carefully, waiting for her reaction.

Qin Lian looked at him, slightly amused. That woman knows how to twist a story.

Judging by his expression, there was probably more that had been said, but he only mentioned the important parts of it. 

Before she could speak, a voice rang out from the stairs, panicked and desperate. "She didn't do anything! Don't blame her!"

Xu Shen came rushing down, clearly flustered and breathless.

Both Xu Yinchen and Qin Lian turned toward him in surprise.

Before either of them could react, Xu Shen ran straight to Xu Yinchen and looked up at him, his red-rimmed eyes brimming with tears.

"That woman is lying! She always lies!"

"Mother… she… she didn't hurt us," he said, stealing a quick glance at Qin Lian as he called her mother.

He wasn't sure if he was allowed to call her that, but the word had slipped out naturally.

After all, she had called herself their mother earlier… so they were allowed to call her Mother, right?

His cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, and he quickly lowered his gaze before continuing.

"She was only protecting us from that vicious woman. She slapped her because she tried to hit me!"

"That woman isn't as nice as she pretends to be in front of you. She doesn't cook, she doesn't clean… and she beats us when we don't listen to her. She even steals from the house!"

"Even today, she pulled Xu Wei's collar and snatched his meat bun, then threw him to the ground. She cursed at us… cursed our mother…" His voice trembled. "And when I tried to stop her, she came at me to slap me."

"She… only protected us. Please don't send her away!"

He didn't call Qin Lian Mother again. He was too embarrassed to say it twice.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he blurted everything out.

"If someone needs to be punished, then punish me. I was the one who pushed her. Just… Please don't send her away."

After their parents passed, he hadn't cried like this. He knew he had to be strong, for his younger brothers.

He was the eldest. He had to protect them. But this time… he couldn't hold it in.

Because for the first time in so long, someone had stood up for them. Someone had protected them and even claimed to be their mother.

She didn't look at them with disgust. She didn't call them burdens.

Instead, she cooked for them, cared for them, and treated them like human beings… not like unwanted leeches weighing Xu Yinchen down. 

That woman had said stepmothers were supposed to be scary. That they would beat him and his brothers and torture them.

But this one… she wasn't like that at all. She not only cooked for them but also treated them kindly.

If all stepmothers were like her…Maybe having a stepmother wasn't such a bad thing after all.

And for the first time in a long while, Xu Shen felt like maybe… just maybe… they could also live a normal life.