My Princess Holds Superpowers

Furthermore, before Ye Qingzhi was born, Ye Qinghua was the only girl in the third generation of the Ye Family. Originally, receiving slightly unequal treatment didn't bother her much, since, after all, she was a girl and naturally couldn't compare to the boys in the family.

However, Mrs. He, who was already a grandmother, gave birth to another little girl; her treatment utterly surpassed everyone else in the Ye Family, stepping them underfoot. This contrast made it even more apparent that Ye Qinghua was undervalued, so naturally, she was quite upset.

Fortunately, at that time, Ye Erya's status was even lower. Compared to that, her standing wasn't too bad.

But later, another addition, Ye Qingzhi, arrived in the second branch of the family, with an aunt who favored boys over girls, Ye Qingzhi's position in the Ye Family was just a bit better than Ye Erya's.

As the number of girls in the family kept increasing, a hierarchy among them emerged. Although she wasn't the best off, she also wasn't the worst, which made her gradually less resentful.

Still, when speaking about it, she couldn't help but complain occasionally.

Mrs. Zhang hurried to check the doorway after hearing Ye Qinghua's words, and seeing no one outside, she felt relieved. Then she reached out and tapped Ye Qinghua, scolding, "You girl, how dare you say everything out loud? What if your grandmother hears this, you'll definitely stir up trouble."

Because of breastfeeding, Mrs. He was already wary of Ye Jiu treating Mrs. Zhang, her sister-in-law, as a mother figure, so she didn't allow Mrs. Zhang to get close to Ye Jiu. If Mrs. He had heard what Ye Qinghua said, their entire main branch of the family would suffer.

"What I said is the truth." Ye Qinghua stubbornly retorted.

Mrs. Zhang sighed, "Your aunt, she seems shrewder than anyone else, but on some things, she just can't see through it all. Don't believe me? Just wait and see. Wenxuan and Qingzhi ate your aunt's eggs, your grandmother hasn't made a scene about it yet, but wait till your uncle returns from town, then your aunt will definitely be in for a scolding."

...

While a few members in the main branch were whispering among themselves, Mrs. He had finished patrolling the family's chickens and pigs and had also lectured Mrs. Li and her daughter, before finally returning to her room.

Ye Jiu lay on the bed, staring with wide eyes, pondering life. Upon seeing Mrs. He returning, Ye Jiu blinked and asked, "Mom, why doesn't our family separate?"

Mrs. He frowned, "My dear child, did Mrs. Zhao say something to you? Don't take her words seriously; Mrs. Zhao is the worst kind of person. She surely wants to split the family to have a better life on her own. Since she couldn't get her way with me and your dad, she is trying to manipulate you."

"My sister-in-law didn't tell me about splitting the family." Although she also didn't like Mrs. Zhao, Mrs. Zhao hadn't taken any advantage of her, so she wasn't going to slander Mrs. Zhao, "I just think having so many people living together inevitably leads to constant quarrelling. With all the quarrelling, family affection is lost, isn't it better for each to have their own peace after splitting up?"

Mrs. He sighed, "Splitting the family isn't so simple; your fourth brother isn't married yet, you haven't gotten married, the family's financial situation isn't that great. With everything under my control, they can scheme all they want but can't do much. But once we split, everyone would go their separate ways, living their good lives, what would happen to your fourth brother's marriage? How would we manage, with the very old and very young among us?"

Ye Jiu understood, it all came down to money troubles!

In winter, with no work available, even two meals a day were hard to sustain.

Everyone would finish their chores and then huddle on the heated brick bed, not moving; otherwise, moving around would only make them burn energy even faster.