“Just wait and see how I deal with you tonight… Yibao, you little rascal…”
Xiamier’s voice was so low it was almost a whisper, but Yiyi, with her sharp ears, still caught it.
Immediately, she poked her head out from Bai Ye’s arms and deliberately raised her voice, shouting, “Grandmother! Xiamier is scolding me!”
“I did not! Mother, I really didn’t!”
Xiamier was nearly in tears, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to disappear into right then and there.
“I was scolding myself! Scolding myself for being too talkative!”
Yaoyao finished the last bite of her osmanthus cake, licked the sugar from her fingers, tilted her head at Yiyi, and asked softly, “Big Sister, did Mother really scold you?”
Yiyi secretly shot Yaoyao a glare, muttering in her heart, “Little traitor,” but on the outside, she cried even harder, burrowing into Bai Ye’s embrace, rubbing at her eyes though there were no tears at all.
“Grandmother, look! Even Yaoyao has been bribed by her! I clearly heard her—she called me a little rascal!”
As she spoke, she purposely buried her little face into Bai Ye’s collar, her shoulders shaking as if she’d suffered a tremendous grievance.
Bai Ye immediately held Yiyi even tighter, her gaze icy as she looked at Xiamier, nearly crushing the jade ruyi in her hand.
“Xiao Xiazi, you still dare to talk back? It seems if I don’t teach you a lesson today, you’ll forget who’s really in charge of this family!”
Terrified, Xiamier dropped to her knees with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly.
“Mother, I’m being falsely accused! I truly didn’t scold Yibao! Please look into this clearly!”
“You can’t just spoil Yibao like this just because she’s your granddaughter, can you? I really haven’t mistreated the two of them—what kind of mother would mistreat her own daughters?”
Bai Ye hugged Yiyi close, slamming the jade ruyi onto the table with a sharp crack, the teacups trembling from the force.
The pressure in her gaze was nearly palpable.
“Xiao Xiazi, what do you mean by that? Are you saying it’s wrong for me to dote on my granddaughters?”
She traced Yiyi’s reddened eyelids with her fingertip, her tone even deeper.
“My precious girl is crying like this. If that’s not being mistreated, then what is? What kind of mother lets her child suffer so?”
Yiyi seized the opportunity to shrink further into Bai Ye’s arms, her voice choked with tears as she added fuel to the fire.
“Grandmother, she said I was lying… sob sob… I really heard her call me names, and she even said she’d ‘deal with me’ later.”
As she spoke, she slyly glanced up and made a triumphant face at Xiamier, even as her tears fell harder.
Kneeling on the floor, Xiamier’s back still ached, and Bai Ye’s imposing presence made it hard to breathe.
Desperate, tears welled up in her own eyes.
“Mother, I didn’t! I’ve never said I’d deal with Yibao! I don’t even love them enough—how could I bear to mistreat them?”
She turned hopefully to Yaoyao.
“Yaoyao, tell Grandmother, isn’t Mother always good to you and Yibao? Doesn’t she always buy you delicious treats and take you to play?”
Yaoyao bit her finger, hesitated for a long while, glanced at Yiyi’s tearful face, then at their angry grandmother.
Her little face scrunched up, her voice as soft as cotton candy.
“I… I… Mother is very good to us, she spoils Yaoyao and Big Sister a lot.”
She paused, then sneaked a peek at Yiyi, who shot her a threatening look.
At once, Yaoyao lowered her head.
“See, Mother, I really haven’t mistreated them at all!”
Xiamier hurried to press her advantage.
Bai Ye snorted coldly, loosening her grip on the jade ruyi, but her voice still carried a warning.
“I’ll believe you for now, but while you can escape death, you can’t escape punishment! If you claim to love your granddaughters, then prove it with your actions!”
This afternoon, you’ll accompany Yiyi and Yaoyao the entire time.
Whatever they ask you to do, you do it.
Not a word of complaint!
Xiamier had long wanted to give Yiyi a good spanking, but could only force a pitiful smile on her face, lowering her head and clenching her fists in secret.
“I understand…”
Yibao, you little rascal, just wait until tonight—see if I don’t spank you until you cry! Once I get through this afternoon, I’ll deal with both you and Yaoyao, you little troublemakers!
“Enough, get up, Xiao Xiazi—” Bai Ye’s tone suddenly softened as she patted her granddaughters’ heads.
“By the way, my precious girls, Xiao Xiazi said you give the best back massages. Now, come massage Grandmother’s back.”
No… we can’t…
Hearing Yiyi’s timid refusal, Bai Ye raised an eyebrow, her tone indulgent yet firm.
“No way.”
Yiyi pouted, sneaking a look at Xiamier, who was standing to the side with a forced smile and daggers in her eyes.
After a bit of scheming in her head, she still pulled Yaoyao along to Bai Ye’s side.
“All right~”
Yaoyao nodded along, her tiny fists softly landing on Bai Ye’s shoulders, as gentle as a tickle.
Yiyi, meanwhile, made sure to pick just the right angle—every now and then, she’d ‘accidentally’ thump Bai Ye’s arm with her little fist, pretending to be clumsy.
“Grandmother, am I not doing it well?”
Bai Ye held back a smile and put on a stern face.
“My precious girl is doing great, just needs to use a little more strength!” She shot Xiamier a glare.
“You come over here and watch! Learn from my precious granddaughters how to be caring—take notes for next time!”
Feeling utterly aggrieved, Xiamier had no choice but to obediently squeeze over and watch the two little ones give their perfunctory ‘massage’ to Bai Ye, barely able to hide the fire in her eyes.
Especially when she saw Yiyi make silly faces at her while massaging, Xiamier was so angry her fingers clenched tight, roaring inwardly…
Just you wait, little Yibao.
Tonight, I’ll definitely make sure you regret it!
“Grandmother, I’m tired!”
Yiyi had barely massaged for a moment before clutching her arm and flopping into Bai Ye’s arms to act spoiled.
“Yaoyao’s tired too. How about letting Xiamier massage you? She’s strong—her massages must feel much better!”
Bai Ye’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands.
“What a good idea! Xiao Xiazi, come give me a back massage! Use the right amount of force, no slacking off, or I’ll have to deal with you again!”
Xiamier was inwardly averse a thousand times over, but could only grit her teeth and step behind Bai Ye, stretching out her hands to begin the massage.
She tried to do it lightly at first, only to be sharply rebuked by Bai Ye, “Harder! Did you not eat today?”
There was no helping it.
Xiamier had to increase her strength, soon massaging so hard her arms were sore, all while enduring Bai Ye’s constant instructions.
“A little to the left! To the right! Lower!”
Off to the side, Yiyi added fuel to the fire.
“Xiamier, you’re too gentle! Grandmother isn’t even smiling from comfort!”
Xiamier clenched her teeth, cursing the two little troublemakers in her heart eight hundred times, but she didn’t dare slack off, massaging even more diligently.
Bai Ye squinted her eyes in satisfaction, but didn’t forget to throw in a reminder from time to time.
“In the future, learn how to treat people well. Stop making my granddaughters feel aggrieved!”
“Yes, yes,” Xiamier responded, but was already plotting in her heart.
Just let me get through this afternoon.
Tonight, I’ll find a chance to deal with these two little rascals!
I’ll show them who’s boss in this family!
After a full half an hour of massaging, Bai Ye finally waved her hand in satisfaction.
“All right, that’s enough! Now, take my precious granddaughters to Yuhua Yuan and play. Whatever they want to do, you do it with them—not a word of complaint!”
Xiamier rubbed her sore arms, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying.
“Understood, Mother…” She turned to look at Yiyi and Yaoyao, a flash of ‘killing intent’ in her eyes.