Madam Xu was already crying too hard to speak.
"Oh, it wasn't really that bad. At least Hong Yan still raised Song Ying. She didn't dump out Song Ying's food and make her fight with dogs for scraps. She didn't tear off her clothes and leave her naked in winter. That's already not too bad."
"Although she made her wear old clothes and eat leftovers, Song Ying still survived until now, finally waiting for her real family to find her. That's already not bad at all."
The more Shi Li spoke, the more tears flowed from Old Mrs. Xu and Madam Xu.
Hearing that her niece had suffered so much for all these years, Younger Aunt Xu suddenly felt as if she had taken a magical elixir, feeling full of strength and ready to beat up ten more Hong Yans!
Hong Yan felt she had a point, "You Xu family are really a bunch of ungrateful wretches. I raised your child to this age, even if I don't deserve credit, I at least went through hardships."
She shouldn't have said that. It only made Younger Aunt Xu angrier. "If it wasn't for your meddling, this child would have grown up with her real family. You switched her with our daughter, who was just like you, born to cause us trouble. Do you know how many problems you've caused our family!"
Hong Yan was still the child's birth mother after all. Hearing Younger Aunt Xu insult her daughter, she struggled even harder.
Old Mrs. Xu and Madam Xu were both crying their eyes out, not offering any solution to the situation.
Xu Xing and Old Mr. Xu should have spoken up, but they were secretly observing Younger Aunt Xu beating up Hong Yan and didn't want to stop it.
Uncle-in-law Xu was guarding his wife, ready to lend a hand if she seemed to be losing. He was quite busy too.
Besides, he was the Xu family's son-in-law, not a real son. It was fine for him to act as muscle, but he certainly couldn't speak up about matters concerning the Xu family's children.
The Xu family members were all busy, and no one thought to address the issue at hand.
Shi Li's Eldest Aunt sighed inwardly. This family couldn't function without her. She spoke up softly, "How does your family want to handle this matter?"
"Although we have no blood relation to Song Ying, this child is endearing. After spending so much time together, our love for her is no less than yours. It's best if both families sit down together and come up with a solution for this situation."
As for the nominal mother Hong Yan, no one asked for her opinion. She was a child trafficker, and no one cared what she thought.
Eldest Aunt gestured for Shi Li and Song Ying to sit beside her.
Madam Xu spoke in a hoarse voice, "Song Ying is our biological daughter. We will definitely take her home with us."
Xu Xing supported his wife, "Thank you for taking care of her these past six months. We will certainly repay your kindness in the future."
Eldest Aunt smiled slightly, "Gratitude is secondary. The main issue is whether you can take good care of this child. You know that even adults might not be able to accept such a major life change, let alone Song Ying who is still an underage girl."
What did she mean by that?
Madam Xu became anxious, wondering if someone was trying to take her child away.
"We are the child's biological parents. Of course we can take good care of her."
Eldest Aunt gently patted the back of Song Ying's hand, as if trying to ease her tension. She looked across at the others, "You are her biological parents, but did you take good care of her? When she was just born and couldn't protect herself, you allowed her to be stolen by traffickers, letting her live an inhuman life in their hands. Are you really qualified parents?"
Madam Xu wanted to argue, but Xu Xing pressed her hand first, signaling her to let him speak. "I know you care about the child too. We were negligent as parents before. Since there's a problem, running away isn't the solution. We should solve it together. Fortunately it's not too late. We will certainly get along well with the child and absolutely won't mistreat her. We'll use double the love to make up for our previous mistakes."
Shi Li tilted his head to look at the couple before him. "Uncle Xu, Aunt Xu, do you want to take Song Ying home?"
Madam Xu blurted out without hesitation, "Of course."
Why else would they have come all this way if not to bring their daughter home?
"Then what about your original daughter?"
Hearing Shi Li mention her daughter, Hong Yan's eyes filled with venom. Why did he have to bring her up at this moment?
Hong Yan struggled violently. Younger Aunt Xu pressed down hard on the person beneath her. "Stay still."
Younger Aunt Xu snorted, "Of course they'll each go back to their own families and find their own mothers. She's not our family's child, why should we keep raising her?"
Madam Xu spoke hesitantly, "We've raised Xinxin for so many years after all. We have feelings for her. Our family's situation allows us to raise two girls..."
Her words revealed her stance.
But Younger Aunt Xu ignored her sister-in-law's thoughts and continued, "We should get back all the money spent on that girl, with interest. We can't let this vicious mother-daughter pair benefit."
Shi Li lowered his eyes and smiled, "Keeping that girl might not cost much money, but have you considered that it could plant the seeds of future trouble?"
"Madam Xu may have good intentions in keeping her, but she might not necessarily be grateful. She might even resent you for interfering, thinking that if you had kept quiet about this, she could have continued being a princess. By the way, I haven't asked about that girl's personality. Is she the kind of kindhearted girl who knows how to repay kindness?"
Of course she wasn't. They say you can tell a child's character by age three. Xu Xinxin was selfish, cold, and ungrateful.
Calling her an ingrate wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Madam Xu didn't know before who Xinxin's personality resembled, but now knowing she was Hong Yan's biological daughter, she felt it made sense.
The mother and daughter were actually quite similar.
As for Shi Li's mention of Xinxin bullying Song Ying, that wasn't impossible either.
Xinxin had bullied classmates at school before. Song Ying was so gentle and obedient, who knew if Xinxin might bully her in corners where family members couldn't see.
