"Third brother, stand up. I don't need you to plead for me."
The handsome man turned to Nian Jiaojiao and said, "If you're angry, take it out on me."
Nian Jiaojiao swallowed.
You're so tall, what can I do to you?
Then, to Nian Jiaojiao's surprise, the other party knelt down.
However, the man did not lower his head, but stared directly into Nian Jiaojiao's eyes.
"Wife, if you must punish us, punish all three of us brothers together."
A slender figure appeared at the doorway. Nian Jiaojiao looked over.
She saw a head of soft black hair falling to his chest, skin as delicate as white jade, and a refined, handsome face. The only pity was that his eyes lacked focus.
Nian Jiaojiao had no mood to appreciate handsome men anymore. They all treated her like a great villain.
She was not the original owner and did not intend to bear the original owner's karma.
Helping the original owner atone for her sins was, in her mind, four words:
"Dream on."
Given the original owner's wickedness, she wouldn't be able to repay it. It was better to disown everything.
Having made up her mind, Nian Jiaojiao took a deep breath and said to the three of them:
"When did I say I would punish you?"
After speaking, she looked at Xingyun again:
"Fourth, tell me, how did I bully you just now?"
Xingyun quickly shook his head:
"No, no. Big brother, second brother, Wife only asked me a question just now. I was timid myself, which caused your misunderstanding."
Xuan Yi, the eldest brother, showed a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
Nian Jiaojiao continued to ask:
"So, who gave me medicine when I was sick?"
"It was Yuchuan." The speaker was Xuan Yi, the eldest brother among the three brothers, and Nian Jiaojiao's second husband.
"Yuchuan?"
Nian Jiaojiao couldn't recall who that was, no one in her mind corresponded to the name.
Xuan Yi looked at her strangely:
"Your first husband."
Although Xuan Yi found it a bit strange, he didn't think much of it.
After all, it wasn't the first day this woman had disregarded her husbands, so forgetting a name was not impossible.
So it was him.
Nian Jiaojiao's mind conjured the name the original owner had for this first husband: silly blockhead.
Nian Jiaojiao: "..."
She continued to ask Xuan Yi:
"Where is he?"
"Didn't you send him back to his maternal family? Such a pretense," said Nan Qing, the third husband standing at the door.
"Sent him back?"
Nian Jiaojiao touched her chin and began to recall.
She remembered!
This girl was such a troublemaker!
It turned out that the husband she married to repay a kindness was not saved by the original owner, but by another woman from the same village!
The original owner had falsely claimed the credit and had comfortably enjoyed the other party's years of hard labor.
Just a few days ago, Yuchuan accidentally discovered the truth and sought verification from the original owner.
Unexpectedly, the original owner became enraged, mocking him for being a simp for so many years, only to end up with nothing.
What was even more tragic was that he had simped for the wrong person. In the end, she arrogantly called him an idiot, a fool.
Recalling this, Nian Jiaojiao wanted to applaud. What a bizarre, rare specimen!
Yuchuan cried and questioned the original owner, asking why she treated him like this.
The original owner found his crying annoying and kicked him out that very day.
She even declared that he was absolutely not allowed to return without her permission.
The original owner was so scummed out, yet when that husband named Yuchuan learned that the original owner was bedridden, he didn't hesitate. He went out to find a doctor, bought medicine, brewed it, and personally served the original owner.
A good person!
An exceptionally good person!
Being around someone like him was not stressful, and it was much better than having three husbands at home who were hostile towards her.
Thinking this, Nian Jiaojiao said to Xuan Yi:
"If you want me to forgive you, you can bring Yuchuan back and tell him I'm not kicking him out anymore. It's not good for him to stay at his maternal family's house forever."
This time, all three husbands were astonished. Had they heard correctly? This cruel woman had used the word "invite."
Nian Jiaojiao ignored their astonishment and waved her hand, signaling them to leave.
"You can go out now, I need to rest."
After speaking, she added another sentence to Xuan Yi:
"Remember to invite him back soon."
The three walked out numbly and closed the door.
After moving far away from Nian Jiaojiao's room, the three whispered amongst themselves.
"Big brother, she doesn't want us to bring Yuchuan back and torment him, does she?" Xingyun said weakly.
"It shouldn't be. Judging by her tone, it was very peaceful, completely different from her usual prelude to an outburst." Nan Qing, the third husband with unclear eyes, had abnormal hearing.
"I'll go and call him," said Xuan Yi, the eldest husband, concisely.
"Yes, we are lucky this time."
"We thought we would at least lose a leg, but I didn't expect that woman not to explode."
"We need to be careful later. Perhaps next time we catch an opportunity, we'll settle this score too." Nan Qing speculated darkly about Nian Jiaojiao's psychology.
"Mhm, mhm!" Xingyun quickly nodded in agreement.
Xuan Yi, the eldest husband, looked at his two younger brothers who had physical ailments, sighed softly, and turned to walk towards Yuchuan's home.
...
After an unknown amount of time.
Nian Jiaojiao, lying on the bed, opened her eyes, got out of bed, and stretched her body.
After eating and sleeping, her body felt much more relaxed. Her illness should have mostly recovered.
After a brief stretch, she walked out of the room for the first time.
The sun was already hanging on the western horizon, about to enter dusk.
This house was not very large, with only two rooms.
The room she occupied was considered the master bedroom. The second bedroom was opposite the master bedroom, separated by a living room.
Rather than a living room, it was more like a dining room, as the living room only contained a small round table and four chairs.
Next to the second bedroom was the kitchen. As Nian Jiaojiao approached the kitchen, she heard activity inside. Upon entering, she indeed found the fourth husband busy.
"Uh, fourth."
Nian Jiaojiao greeted him.
Hearing the sound, Xingyun's hand holding the wooden spatula loosened in fright, and the spatula fell back into the pot.
"You don't need to be so afraid of me, do you? Don't worry, I won't trouble you."
Living under the same roof and having to continue interacting, Nian Jiaojiao didn't want to make things awkward.
Therefore, even though she knew he was afraid of her, she didn't turn around and leave immediately. Instead, she spoke proactively, hoping to ease the relationship.
"W-Wife, I, I why would I be afraid of you? I, I'm not afraid..." Xingyun stammered.
Nian Jiaojiao: "..."
She thought: I'll believe you when you can speak clearly.
She didn't dwell on this issue and changed the subject:
"What are you doing now? It's going to burn, aren't you going to continue stir-frying?"
Nian Jiaojiao moved a little closer and stretched out her neck.
She found him stir-frying some unidentifiable green vegetables, a patch of verdant green. It looked like plain boiled vegetables, making one's appetite wane.
"Making, making dinner, for, for Wife to eat."
Xingyun quickly grabbed the spatula and continued to stir-fry. While moving, his answer was not hesitant, as if he was afraid that answering late would anger Nian Jiaojiao.
"Oh, did you make anything else besides this?" Nian Jiaojiao persistently asked.
"Rice porridge."
"Uh... besides rice porridge?" Nian Jiaojiao's lips twitched.
"No more..."
Xingyun cautiously glanced at Nian Jiaojiao. Finding that she wasn't angry, he continued:
"This time, Big brother didn't catch any pheasants in the forest, only two rabbits."
Only when pheasants were caught would the original owner keep one for meat, and the rest would be sent to town for sale.
Of course, none of this concerned the men at home.
The only one who ate was the original owner, and all the money earned from selling the game also went to the original owner.
More exploitative than Zhou Bapi.