Even among the Xia Family themselves, if anyone wanted to bully Xia Chuyi, they had to do it behind others' backs—after all, she was the orphan of a martyr with a protective uncle.
If they openly oppressed her, wouldn't they be spit to death by the villagers?
Moreover, her uncle would not let them off either.
Many times, it was because the main branch of the Xia family acted covertly, coupled with Mother Xia's muddling through, that Uncle Xia remained unaware of some truths.
Or rather, even if he knew, the secretive nature of their actions meant that Uncle Xia could not directly confront them.
Thus, once she grew a bit older and could afford to lose face to make a fuss with the main branch, her life immediately improved quite a bit.
As for Xia Lan—she was blind to human nature and failed to recognize people's hearts.
Luckily, in this life, having learned from past experiences, she was determined not to make the same mistakes again.
