Chapter 003 This is the Cost_1

Muniang saw Mrs. Lin fall, her face suddenly darkened, and with a swift motion, she sidestepped to avoid the old lady's attack. The old lady, after all, was not as agile as Muniang. Losing her balance, she plummeted to the ground. Muniang hurried to help Mrs. Lin up, "Mother, are you alright? Why is your face so pale?"

Mrs. Lin's breathing became increasingly disordered. Muniang grew anxious and ordered Erliang to quickly carry Mrs. Lin into the house. Having fallen to the ground, the old lady began to cry out as if the sky were falling, "This is rebellion, rebellion! Even this old woman is not spared from disrespect. You shameless creature, I will beat you to death!"

But Muniang, as if she hadn't heard a word, just stared coldly at Mrs. Ji, who felt somewhat cowed by Muniang's fierce gaze despite trying to appear undaunted. Mrs. Ji did not believe a young girl could do anything to her. She lifted her head and declared loudly, "Why are you staring at me? Your mother fell on her own. If she's frail and still insists on wandering about, falling is her own fault! Besides, someone like your mother, even if she were to die from the fall, would not be missed..."

Before she could finish, there was a "slap" sound as Muniang slapped Mrs. Ji across the face, her voice cold, "That slap is the price for you pushing my mother."

Mrs. Ji's eyes bulged, and her voice became twice as shrill, "You little wench dare to hit me? I'll beat you dead!" With that, she raised her hand to slap Muniang.

Muniang deftly caught Mrs. Ji's raised arm, and with a backhand, slapped her across the face again, "This slap is the consequence for your attempting to retaliate."

Mrs. Ji's eyes were red with rage, and she lunged at Muniang, only to be effortlessly subdued by a restraining move, followed by another slap, "This slap is the price for your insults toward me and my mother."

Muniang struck especially hard each time, and Mrs. Ji's face quickly swelled up. She had no strength to fight back against Muniang and became frightened, not daring to be reckless any longer. She covered her face and scrambled out of the courtyard.

The old lady, who had been making a commotion, saw Mrs. Ji abandon her and run away. Feeling utterly infuriated, she was about to get up when a cold look from Muniang made her shudder and hurry off awkwardly, her ample behind retreating sullenly from the scene.

Only then did Muniang rush back into the house to check on Mrs. Lin, only to find her pale as death, lying on the bed, weeping uncontrollably. Yu Ze stood there dumbfounded, unsure what to do. Muniang sighed and sat by the bedside to comfort Mrs. Lin, "Mother, I haven't been bullied, rest assured, see? I'm fine. You just focus on your recovery, and let me handle this situation. Don't overthink it, or your health will truly not improve."

Mrs. Lin sobbed and shook her head, "It's just our misfortune as mother and daughter to suffer such calamities. Being driven out by the Qiao family was bad enough, but now you're saddled with this stigma. How are we to live in the future?"

Muniang's expression darkened, "I have never felt pitiful. If you always face these things with such pessimism, I'm afraid not even the Great Luo Immortal could change your destiny."

Caught off guard by her daughter's sudden change of attitude, Mrs. Lin was momentarily at a loss for words. Muniang took a handkerchief and wiped Mrs. Lin's tears, saying, "Mother, everything will get better. I've said that I will take care of everything. What you need to do is to trust me, trust in our future. Properly recover. Lamenting and resenting others won't solve any problems."

A look of shame flashed in Mrs. Lin's eyes, "Muniang, it is I who have been too pessimistic, and I worry for you..."

Muniang smiled, "No matter, Mother. I don't care about so-called reputation. We're not gold; not everyone will love us. What others say doesn't stop us. We just need to live our lives well. As for him..."

Muniang looked at Er Liang beside her and pursed her lips, "I might as well consider it a bargain to have found a husband."

Mrs. Lin looked up at Er Liang and sighed, "Originally, I wanted to find a good family for you, but now things have come to this point, and you can only marry him. It's just that this child has problems with his mind; he can't even recognize his own family members. It's going to be hard on you."

Muniang smiled, "Whether I will suffer or not, we'll know in the future. Mother, just focus on getting better and stop worrying so much."

Mrs. Lin weakly nodded her head, no longer wanting to say anything more that might affect her daughter's mood. Since her daughter had so much hope for life, she did not want to discourage her.

Muniang felt deeply moved. It was rare for ancient people to possess such open-mindedness and disregard for reputation, yet Mrs. Lin did not scold her even once for it, but instead was concerned that it might affect her. A mother giving her daughter so much trust was worth being reborn for.

Muniang made sure Mrs. Lin was well-covered with blankets, then took Er Liang out with her to the kitchen to cook. Er Liang approached and asked, "Wife, did Mother agree to let me be your husband? I'm not stupid; I will definitely make sure you have a good life in the future."

Muniang laughed softly, having seen too many insincere men in her previous life, and now suddenly faced with such earnest simplicity, she felt a warmth in her heart, "Right, you're not stupid. I'm waiting for those good days you'll give me. Go on, split the firewood in the yard. The kitchen is too small for the both of us."

Upon hearing Muniang's words, Er Liang's heart burst with joy, and he smiled, "Alright! I'll chop lots and lots of firewood!" With that, he ran out.

Muniang watched his buoyant silhouette and felt an inexplicable lump in her throat. Was it really a good idea to be paired with such a simple-minded man?

Muniang scooped a ladle of water from the water tank into the pot and covered it with a lid. She added plenty of dry firewood to the stove and then returned to her room. She took a small bronze key and opened the old cupboard inside. She carefully took out a basket of eggs, only ten in all. She remembered that these eggs had been saved by Mrs. Lin, who had been reluctant to eat them and had planned to exchange them for silver in town to prepare for her dowry. Now, with the situation being what it was, there was no need for that anymore.

Muniang took an egg from the basket and returned the remaining eggs just as they were, locking them up. This basket of eggs was now the most valuable thing in the house, and she couldn't afford to be careless.

Back in the small kitchen, the water in the pot had just started to boil. She cracked the egg, whisked it quickly with a bamboo chopstick, added half a spoonful of salt, and poured the beaten egg into the boiling water from the air in a circular motion. The tender yellow egg flower swiftly bloomed in the pot. Muniang swallowed her saliva, grabbed a handful of clean wild vegetables, threw them into the pot, added a bit more salt, and stirred with the spatula. The rich aroma rushed to her nose and mouth.

These days, it had always been wild vegetables and coarse wheat flatbread for meals; delicacies like eggs were mere fantasies. Muniang ladled out the soup, put a coarse wheat flatbread in a small bowl, and brought it to Mrs. Lin's room.

Mrs. Lin frowned at the sight of the tender yellow egg flower in the bowl, her eyebrows twisting like dough twists, "Why did you cook the eggs? I just got flustered and short of breath. It will pass—no need to eat this precious thing."