Dealing with Mrs. Thompson

Mrs. Thompson stood with her hands on her hips, laughing triumphantly: "Ha! Who's to blame? Only yourselves for being so foolish! Did you really think you could earn five taels of silver? Let me tell you, if a woman wants to make easy money, it's simple—just go to the city’s Yixiang Courtyard, lie down on a bed, spread your legs and..."

Smack!

Lily Evans landed a hard slap on Mrs. Thompson's face, then kicked her in the stomach, glaring fiercely: "Shut up! Spouting filth in front of the children—why doesn’t Heaven cut out your tongue? Was last time’s lesson for framing my husband not enough? Looks like you need another to remember your place!"

Lily grabbed a sickle from the woodpile. Seeing Lily truly enraged and wielding a blade, Mrs. Thompson panicked and screamed, "Help! Murder! Lily Evans is going to kill me! Somebody save me!"

Charlie Thompson dashed out of the house, saw Lily with the sickle, yelped, and darted along the wall, shouting, "I didn’t offend you! Chop her, not me!"

Mrs. Thompson slapped her thigh angrily: "Charlie, you little rascal, go get help!"

Lily ignored Mrs. Thompson and charged into her house, smashing everything in sight—even hacking the bedding until cotton spilled out.

Mrs. Thompson watched from the side, too frightened to intervene.

After the rampage, Lily stormed out and threw the sickle down beside Mrs. Thompson, snarling, "I smashed up your house to pay off my sister’s wages! Mrs. Thompson, if you ever scheme against my family again, I’ll burn your house to the ground!"

With that, Lily grumpily dragged Hannah Lee and Jill Evans out of Mrs. Thompson’s house, heading straight for the riverbank.

Jill Evans squatted by the roadside, tears streaming down her face. "How could she lie to me? She promised everything would be fine, but it was all fake. Boo hoo... Hannah, the money's gone, and your parents will hit you again. I'm so useless."

Hannah Lee cried along with her. "Auntie Tang was smiling so brightly when she made us work, but her smile was fake and her heart was rotten. Jill, how can people be so cruel?"

Lily Evans sighed, dipped a handkerchief in water, and gently wiped the kids’ hands and faces. "Jill, Hannah, there are all kinds of people in this world—some good, some bad. Some smile at you and promise nice things, but their hearts aren’t with you. Like Auntie Tang, she lied for her own benefit. But there are good people too, like Dr. Wu, who took care of Jill and gave her treats during the flood; or my mother, who let Hannah stay and help out."

Lily tried her best to help the two children understand that there are people like Mrs. Tang in the world, but also good people, so their hearts wouldn’t be so heavy.

After much coaxing, Lily finally calmed the kids down. She took Hannah home first, then walked Jill back to her house.

As soon as Jill got home and saw Mrs. Charlotte Evans, she burst into tears and told her everything. Jack Evans heard and exploded with anger, his little chest puffing up as he clenched his fists, vowing to go teach Mrs. Tang a lesson.

Mrs. Charlotte Evans managed to calm Jack down, telling him that Lily had already given Mrs. Tang a good lesson.

Jack hugged his little sister tightly, feeling guilty. "It’s my fault I didn’t protect you. I let the bad guys bully you."

Jill managed a smile through her tears and hugged her brother. "It’s not your fault, Jack. I was too trusting. I won’t be fooled so easily next time."

Children’s emotions come and go quickly. Soon, Jill and Jack were off playing together again.

Once the kids were gone, Lily finally sighed to Mrs. Charlotte Evans, "Aunt Charlotte, after I took Hannah home, I heard her stepmother beating her in the yard... That poor child—she really has it tough."

Mrs. Charlotte Evans sighed too. She knew how close Jill and Hannah were, and how rare it was for her daughter to have a true friend. But Hannah’s father and stepmother were no good, and as much as she wanted to help, there was only so much she could do.