[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-transmigrated-as-a-stepmother-time-to-bring-the-":3,"chapter-transmigrated-as-a-stepmother-time-to-bring-the--transmigrated-as-a-stepmother-time-to-bring-the--chapter-428":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Transmigrated as a Stepmother: Time to Bring the Family to Prosper!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1194535,1538,"Chapter 428: Red Mandarin Duck","transmigrated-as-a-stepmother-time-to-bring-the--chapter-428",428,"\u003Cp>Inside the simple thatched hut, under the dim oil lamp, two women gnawed on meat buns, one spoke, the other listened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the beauty in Yin Le’s life stopped at seventeen, the year she was abducted by bandits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was lucky to be saved by a benefactor and escape the bandit nest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she was also unfortunate; the relatives who doted on her for the first seventeen years turned their backs on her, one by one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sudden return of a woman who had disappeared for days inevitably prompted gossip among the neighbors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no matter how outsiders speculated, they would never know about her abduction by the bandits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because her benefactor truly kept her word, the government knew nothing about the woman who escaped from the bandit nest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only ones who knew were the Yin Family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day their daughter went missing, they tried to remain calm and return home, no one in the neighborhood knew the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Yin Le staggered to her doorstep, neighbors asked if she had visited relatives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Yin Le was filled with gratitude, feeling that once she stepped through the door, everything would be fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her parents and siblings would weave countless reasons for her, and soon the matter would pass, allowing her to resume a normal life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, upon entering the house, the first thing her mother and sister-in-law did was examine her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one cared how she came back; her father and brother endlessly questioned her about what she experienced in the bandit nest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That period was more terrifying to Yin Le than being with the bandit leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She locked herself in her room, but the questions outside never ceased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, when a broker came, she overheard her parents vaguely hinting to the broker that their daughter was no longer a virgin, hoping the broker would help cover it up, and she knew she no longer had a home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The broker found a wealthy businessman in his fifties, bedridden, awaiting a new concubine to bring him joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her parents were grateful, even feeling their daughter wasn’t worthy of the man, fearing rejection, they prepared a lavish dowry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Le was in great distress, not wanting to be a concubine, let alone marry an old man near death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She fought desperately to end the nightmare and return to her warm, normal life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to become a ’shame’ that couldn’t be spoken of with pride!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Le packed a few clothes and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With renewed hope, she wished to find a job, support herself, and never return home again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But on the first day, due to inexperience, she was deceived by a broker claiming to be an agent and sold to a brothel in the county.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her pretty face endured burns from a red-hot firewood stick she used herself to avoid serving clients.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The burn was severe; Mrs. Pan of the brothel, in fury, gave her a few extra lashes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Le didn’t find her more terrifying than the bandit leader and in madness, fiercely fought back, leaving deep scratch marks on Mrs. Pan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she was bought with money, Mrs. Pan didn’t kill her but threw her into the lead actress’s room as a foot washing maid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Heaven loves to mock people. Every time I think I can’t go on, it suddenly shows mercy and sends a good person to my side.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Le laughed at herself, continuing to recount her brief career as a foot washing maid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The untreated burns on her face worsened, and her body was infected, developing a high fever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was drowsy all day, believing she would die that night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after sleeping for a day, she opened her eyes to see the tall red lanterns hanging at the brothel gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day, upon waking again, she discovered someone had removed the rotting flesh from her face, washed it with good wine, and applied a cooling ointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Miss Shaoyao, the top performer she served, who Mrs. Pan described as having a strange temper and being abnormal, but wasn’t actually like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was just a façade she wore to protect herself; privately, Miss Shaoyao was a very good person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maids who served her were never beaten or punished without reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Occasionally, when there were leftover dishes from customers, she would secretly reward the maids who served her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under Shaoyao’s secret care, the burn on Yin Le’s face healed, although the ugly scar never disappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Le didn’t regret it; she was content with having protected her body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once, Miss Shaoyao jokingly said, \"If I had half your ruthlessness, Yue Niang, things might have been different.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Le bitterly smiled, \"Miss, I was just lucky to meet you. Without you, Yue Niang would already lie in a mass grave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, she was ruthless; Shaoyao wasn’t wrong about that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fire set to the brothel’s kitchen allowed Yin Le to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Initially, she wanted to escape with Shaoyao, but Shaoyao, unused to heavy labor, lacked the strength to climb over the tall wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shao Yao was carefree, instantly offering herself as a stepping stone to help her over the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s good to have one escape,\" Shaoyao laughed. \"With me staying behind to cover for you, you can run farther.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go quickly, hide first, leave the city at dawn, run as far as you can, and never come back!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait, take this!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From inside the high wall, she tossed out a Red Mandarin Duck Bellyband, which Yin Le caught; it was the one she had complimented as beautiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shaoyao’s most cherished item, treasured at the bottom of her chest, she didn’t forget to bring it when planning to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at this moment, she sacrificed it to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hold on, I’ll find a way to come back and rescue you!\" Yin Le secured the bellyband, running while shouting back at the tall courtyard wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The noise of the fire-fighting drowned her voice, and to this day, Yin Le doesn’t know if Shaoyao ever heard her words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most likely, she didn’t hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, she would still be alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Yao, having filled her stomach, put down her cup and frowned, \"Shaoyao died?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yin Le nodded painfully, \"After escaping, I secretly returned once, stealing ten taels of Silver from my father, then came to this remote village. After settling down, I asked someone to inquire and learned that soon after I left, Shaoyao died.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She accidentally conceived a guest’s child, the abortive medicine almost took her life, and she bled incessantly. Mrs. Pan, unwilling to spend money, got a barefoot doctor, who said she wouldn’t live long, so Mrs. Pan placed her in a coffin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I heard Shaoyao shouting inside: Mother, I’m still alive, I haven’t died! Mother, please treat me; once healed, I can still earn more Silver for you....\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, there was no more sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The oil lamp on the table flickered, an ember burst, momentarily darkening the room before it slowly lit up again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the orange-yellow light, Yin Le was already sobbing, tears streaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Yao got up and approached her, raising her sleeve, \"Wipe your face first, then show me that bellyband.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Song Zhang specifically mentioned the importance of Yue Niang, which meant she had something that made Beauty Pan uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Yin Le’s account, Qin Yao thought that the Red Mandarin Duck Bellyband was the most suspicious.\u003C\u002Fp>",1231,"2026-06-03T13:46:23.349Z",1,"novelbin.me","162ee57231d14d77d656be153d12436f9a17b23da0c6a8b23ba17f40116299a6","transmigrated-as-a-stepmother-time-to-bring-the--chapter-357","transmigrated-as-a-stepmother-time-to-bring-the--chapter-427",588,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftransmigrated-as-a-stepmother-time-to-bring-the--cover.jpg"]