"Don't you look down on me either, I'm so wronged," she said.
"What are you wronged about? Didn't you help her fetch water before?"
Fine, it was his fault, the fault of meddling. From now on, he would stay far away from other women, except for those old women.
"Go wash your hands properly and make me pumpkin cakes."
Making pumpkin cakes was fine, but the terms had to be clear.
"You just said I was incomparable to anyone, and I'm unhappy."
"You're not making them? Then we won't eat."
"I didn't say I wouldn't make them. You have to show some appreciation, say something nice?"
"Say something nice?" Xue Niang raised an eyebrow, lifted his chin, and just as Xiao Shan was filled with excitement, her rosy lips said mercilessly, "Dark-skinned, ugly, bossy, barbaric, vulgar, jealous, disobedient, snores when sleeping, neglects marital duties, and attracts attention from others."
What kind of nonsense was this?
Xiao Shan fell silent.
"Someone like you, who else would want you? If you were a penniless beggar, who would even look at you? Don't be blinded by some cheap flings and actually think you're a hot commodity!"
This personality was truly twisted.
"Yes, yes, Your Highness is right to discipline me. It's my good fortune from eight lifetimes to be favored by Your Highness. Please show me more pity."
He burrowed his fluffy head under Xue Niang's hand, like a big dog seeking favor. Xue Niang had no more temper.
"You know that's good. I wouldn't have been so petty, but you've done this more than once or twice. First Xu Da Niu, and now a married woman. Tell me, should I scold you?"
Xiao Shan: "......I should be scolded......"
Damn it, where did these low-class women come from? They were utterly disgraceful. If his old buddies found out, they would laugh him to death.
"Alright, go make the pumpkin cakes. I'm hungry."
Xue Niang waved her hand magnanimously. Xiao Shan, leaning by Xue Niang's side and enjoying her faint fragrance, got up resignedly and went to the kitchen to cook.
Xue Niang took out the shoes she had been working on earlier and continued sewing.
By the time Xiao Shan finished cooking, Xue Niang's shoes were also completed.
"A Shan, come in and try them on."
When Xiao Shan saw the shoes, his eyes deepened.
The day he returned to Dong Lin, Yuan Bu Fei had informed him of Xue Niang's disappearance. But to find clues, he still went home once. At that time, he saw these unfinished shoes. The soles were very thick, and he didn't know how much effort those small hands had put into threading the needle. It made him feel bad for a long time.
Xiao Shan grabbed Xue Niang's hand, and indeed, it was red and calloused.
"You can just buy shoes to wear. Why go to so much trouble? Your hands are ruined like this, doesn't it hurt?"
"Don't you like them?" Xue Niang looked up at him, her beautiful eyes glistening and pitiable.
"How could I not like them? You went to so much trouble and ruined your hands making these shoes. How could I bear to wear them? Although we are now people of the wilderness and have to do everything ourselves, you shouldn't do such strenuous things. Your man has enough money to support you, so there's no need to be so frugal."
It wasn't about being frugal, she just wanted to make a pair of shoes for him with her own hands. But since he felt sorry for her, she wouldn't say more.
Xiao Shan chuckled, flicked her pert nose, and squatted down to put on the shoes.
Indeed, the shoes she made were more comfortable than the ones bought. The soles were thick and soft.
"Good Xue Niang, you are truly a virtuous wife." Xiao Shan stomped his feet and swept Xue Niang up, spinning her around.
"Hmm? They've grown."
Xue Niang's heart felt sweet. Nestled on his shoulder, she instinctively replied, "What has grown?"
"The peaches have grown."
Xiao Shan pushed her away, his large hand extending, gesturing at her chest.
A blush crept up Xue Niang's cheeks. She playfully hit him, "What are you talking about in broad daylight!"
"Can't talk about it in broad daylight? Only at night? We're not poor, pedantic scholars, are we, to be so particular about rules?"
Angered, Xue Niang turned and went to the kitchen, ignoring him.
Barbaric, vulgar, disrespectful of propriety, she hadn't misjudged him at all.
Xiao Shan actually made mushroom soup again. Mushrooms were rare at this time of year. She wondered where he found them and if he had traveled far.
Xue Niang took a sip, squinting. It was so fresh! Even tastier than the ones she used to pick!
Xue Niang drank several mouthfuls. As the soup was almost gone, she suddenly noticed a black speck floating in it.
"Xiao Shan! Look at this inside! You actually made me drink ant soup?"
"Ah? That can't be right. I washed it several times!"
Xiao Shan took the bowl and examined it closely. "You're mistaken, it's just a piece of fried fat."
After saying that, he drank the rest of the soup in one gulp.
Xue Niang: "......"
Was he destroying evidence?
"Xiao Shan, your mouth is dirty. Don't kiss me anymore."
It felt like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet...
"Then can't I kiss you when the radish goes into the hole? Aren't you afraid of being heard if you cry out?"
Xue Niang was stunned for a moment before she understood the meaning.
"Xiao Shan!"
This was the first time she had heard such vulgar words. Her shock and anger mixed, and for a moment, she thought he had been replaced with a rogue's heart. She picked up the fire poker and started hitting him.
"How dare you talk to me like that! I'll make you stop spouting nonsense, you stinking hooligan!"
He's actually getting hit! Xiao Shan yelped and ran out of the kitchen.
He just remembered the crude jokes his brothers in the army used to tell, and his mouth slipped.
Xiao Shan ran ahead, Xue Niang chased him with the stick, and Xiao Hu weaved between them, causing chaos. It was truly a scene of pandemonium in the courtyard.
When Yu Tou pushed the door open, this was the scene he witnessed.
Different courtyards, a familiar sight.
After Xiao Shan took several blows, Xue Niang finally let him go, standing there with an angry, pretty face, hands on her hips.
"You reflect on yourself today. No dinner for you!"
After speaking, Xue Niang looked at Yu Tou.
"Ah! Sister Xue, I hunted a pheasant for you to eat!" Yu Tou quickly dropped the pheasant in his hand and stood there with his hands down.
In his right hand, he was holding the crossbow that Xiao Shan had made that day.
"You hunted it yourself?"
"Yes, Sister Xue. Brother Xiao taught me archery. This is the first chicken I've hunted. You can eat it to recuperate."
Xue Niang looked at Xiao Shan in surprise. He was grinning, rubbing his arm where he had been hit, as if he had been severely beaten.
Just pretend!
Who was it that said they wouldn't even flinch if a knife struck their body? How could her strength hurt him?
Don't expect her to soften. Not letting him eat was final!
"Clean the chicken and stew it for me tonight. Yu Tou, come in and eat!"
Xue Niang called Yu Tou. Xiao Shan watched coldly as Yu Tou walked past him.
"Brother Xiao, I'll plead for you."
Yu Tou, that little brat, even said that to provoke him.
"Sister Xue, please let Brother Xiao come in. He looks so pitiful."
"Have you heard of the story of the farmer and the wolf? No matter how pitiful a wolf appears, it's still a wolf and will bite you in the end."
Xiao Shan's teeth ground together as Yu Tou and Xue Niang's conversation reached his ears clearly.
What kind of ridiculous analogy was this? How had he become a wolf?
And what was pitiful about him? Did he need that brat's pity?
Xiao Shan pulled at the wild chicken feathers with his bare hands. A gust of wind blew, scattering them all over the courtyard.