The fish and tofu stewed together was very fragrant.
However, the atmosphere at the dinner table was a bit strange, with no one speaking.
"Cough, cough, cough... cough, cough, cough..."
Snow Niang mistook a large piece of fish for tofu, and consequently, a fishbone got stuck in her throat, leaving her gasping and in agony.
"This is just great. The moment I don't watch you, you get into trouble."
Xiao Shan, anxious, stepped forward to pat her back. Then, realizing patting might not help, he quickly broke off a piece of flatbread and shoved it into her mouth. "Chew it quickly and swallow."
Snow Niang, too choked to speak, instinctively knew she shouldn't eat the flatbread and spat it out.
"You! Making a fuss at a time like this!" Xiao Shan yelled in frustration.
Snow Niang pushed him away and ran outside, all the way to the large willow tree. She forcefully used her hands to pry at her throat until she vomited everything she had just eaten with a "wah," and the soft bone lodged in her throat was dislodged.
Xiao Shan supported her weak body, repeatedly asking, "Is it out?"
Snow Niang nodded weakly. Through her tear-blurred vision, she saw a figure standing on the road leading out of the village, staring at them in a daze.
It was the pale scholar.
In a daze, another figure emerged in her mind: a face like white jade, a golden crown, a smile as gentle as a spring breeze.
Her head throbbed. She clenched her fist and let out a muffled groan.
Xiao Shan shot Liu Donghuai a cold glance, then turned and scooped Snow Niang into his arms. Startled, Snow Niang cried out and hit Xiao Shan's back a few times, but was eventually carried into the courtyard.
The meal they had started was now wasted. Xiao Shan tore the fish meat into small pieces and put it in a bowl. Snow Niang managed to eat a little more, but remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
His earnest efforts ignored, Xiao Shan heavily put down his chopsticks.
"I'm going up the mountain to chop firewood. Remember to wash the pot."
"Got it."
Like punching cotton, Xiao Shan left with a suppressed breath, not even bothering to bring a rope.
He had barely been gone for a moment when Liu Donghuai arrived outside the courtyard.
"Miss, Miss—"
Snow Niang heard the voice and came out, finding the person outside somewhat strange.
"Is there something you need?"
Liu Donghuai still had his satchel on his back, indicating he was about to return to the county town. Upon seeing Snow Niang's face, he couldn't help but avert his gaze.
"Miss, if you wish to leave, now is the time. I can give you a ride."
The scholar was quite handsome, but nowhere near the man in her mind. Snow Niang shook her head. "I'm not leaving."
"Miss! I saw him bullying you just now. If you continue to stay here, you'll be bullied to death by him sooner or later."
Snow Niang's expression turned cold, her gaze as clear and chilling as the moon. "He did not bully me."
"Miss! Are you afraid of him?"
"Please leave this place!"
Liu Donghuai was convinced she was frightened by Xiao Shan. Seeing that Snow Niang was unappreciative, he became somewhat angry at her lack of ambition.
"If you don't leave now, you'll regret it later."
"You, a scholar, instead of diligently studying your classics, you like to meddle in other people's affairs? Have you eaten too much?"
Liu Donghuai was momentarily speechless. He never expected the seemingly delicate young woman to utter such words. She was so different from the victim he had imagined.
"Consider me meddling!"
With a look of embarrassment, he tightened his grip on his satchel and hurried away from the thatched courtyard.
Just as Snow Niang turned to go back inside, another voice emerged from behind her.
"I heard everything!"
Turning around, she saw the dark-skinned girl again. Her face looked haggard, as if she had aged two years overnight.
She tilted her head back, her eyes filled with disdain.
"When Xiao Shan isn't home, men come looking for you. You're quite capable. He only bought you a few days ago, and you've already hooked up with the best man in the village. If he finds out, you'll have a terrible time!"
Snow Niang understood the girl's identity with a single thought.
"You want to marry Xiao Shan?"
"I—"
Xu Da Niu hadn't expected Snow Niang to be so direct. She didn't see fear in Snow Niang's eyes, but was caught off guard by her words. Her thick lips trembled. After a moment of embarrassment, she blurted out defiantly, "So what if I do! You were just bought by him, you don't even have a proper status. To put it bluntly, you're not even a concubine. And with your face, your body, you'd be an ugly monster if you had children. Would you dare to give birth?"
As she spoke, her hands trembled with nervousness. She suspected Snow Niang might be pregnant, making her words particularly venomous, and her heart pounded with fear.
Snow Niang's expression remained unchanged. She asked again, "You want to have his children?"
"You, you truly have no shame! I am a girl from a respectable family. Do you think I'm like you bought women who have been with countless men!"
Xu Da Niu, in her anger, blurted out what she had overheard her father cursing.
"If you want to marry him, want to have his children, just tell him when he gets back. What's the use of telling me? It's true, I was just bought by him, I can't make decisions for him!"
Snow Niang said coldly, then ignored her and turned back to the kitchen to continue washing dishes.
However, she accidentally broke two more bowls in quick succession.
She had only had three to begin with, and now with two broken, only one remained.
When Xiao Shan returned, carrying wood, he couldn't find Snow Niang. She wasn't in the bedroom, nor in the kitchen. Only shattered bowl fragments lay quietly in a corner.
"Snow Niang? Snow Niang?"
He searched the small courtyard thoroughly but found no trace of her. Xiao Shan frantically searched the vicinity, but to no avail.
Everything was still here; she couldn't have left.
Where could she have gone? httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
She didn't know anyone here and had never left the house. Where would she go?
"Snow Niang—"
Xiao Shan guessed she might be feeling bored and had gone to wander around the village.
Xu Da Niu returned with a large basket of pig feed and happened to see Xiao Shan walking into the alley, calling out her name.
"Brother Xiao! Are you looking for your woman?"
Xiao Shan suddenly turned, his gaze like a drawn sword.
"You've seen her?"
"I, I saw Scholar Liu talking to her around noon. I haven't seen her since."
Xu Da Niu felt guilty and lowered her head after speaking.
Scholar Liu, that pretty boy!
So, after he left, that pretty boy went to his house again?
What a scholar! Have they learned nothing of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame?
"You'd better be telling the truth!"
Xiao Shan said coldly to Xu Da Niu, then turned and headed towards Liu Demao's house.
Meanwhile, after breaking the bowls, Snow Niang's anger reached its peak. She gathered the fragments and cut her hand. For a moment, she felt utterly useless.
Feeling restless, she decided to go out for some fresh air and wandered aimlessly into the mountains.
The air in the mountains was good and cool. She gradually calmed down.
Just as she was about to head back, she saw a plume of smoke rising not far away. She followed it and saw a boy, about twelve or thirteen years old, starting a fire to roast something.
The boy discovered her. His eyes widened in surprise at her face, but then he showed no fear and paid her no mind, continuing with his task.
"What are you roasting?"
Snow Niang couldn't help but ask. It smelled delicious. She had vomited everything she ate at noon and hadn't eaten much since. Now, smelling the fragrant item, her stomach rumbled with hunger.
"You wouldn't dare to eat it, woman."
The boy hadn't expected her to speak to him. After a pause, he spoke in a grown-up tone, with a roguish air, his hands still busy.
"It smells so good. How do you know I wouldn't dare to eat it? I'm very brave."