8: Did you really sell me? (Part 2)_1

She could jump into the Yellow River and still not cleanse herself because, having taken over Dong Dabao's body, she had inherited this karmic link. All the past karmic hindrances had now fallen upon her.

Moreover... time-travel was such an extraordinary occurrence; even if she did speak the truth, who would believe such a world-shocking, conventional-defying matter? And if they did believe it, the outcome wouldn't be good. They might even burn her alive, treating her as a Mountain Demon.

Her lips trembled as if she wanted to say more, but in the end, she had to swallow this injustice silently.

......

Yixuan admitted he was very angry, but even so, what could he do?

It had been a year since that person arrived, and peace had never returned to their home. Moreover, the things she did on a day-to-day basis were enough to attest to her poor character.

He touched his heavy right leg, which always ached on rainy days. Initially, when the bone was broken and they had no money for treatment, it ended up crippled like this.

Yixuan shut himself in the room when suddenly, a small head popped in, and then, tiptoeing, entered carrying a small tray.

"Yixuan, would you like something to eat?"

On the tray was a steaming bowl of cornmeal noodles, golden and inviting.

Given the limited ingredients, this was all she could manage. During the process, because there were too many sand grains in the cornmeal, she specially made a small sieve, and after repeatedly sieving several times until her arms were sore, she finally managed to filter out all the sand.

Yixuan hesitated, "There's no need for this."

He glanced at the noodles on the tray. The broth was clear, dotted with bits of green onions, and within the corn's fragrance, there was also a hint of the enticing aroma of scallion oil. He swallowed.

This person, who usually was lazy and gluttonous, he had never known that she was actually skilled at cooking. And those noodles looked good; even though they were made from the most common cornmeal, they looked like something from a large restaurant that would cost ten copper coins a bowl. Moreover, the aroma of the food was quite tempting.

"I was wrong." Without making excuses for herself, she sincerely apologized and even performed a bit of self-pity.

"Look, I even got blisters from scooping out the noodles earlier. Yixuan, don't be angry anymore, anger is bad for your health. Or else, why not just give me a beating? Okay?"

Yixuan nearly burst out laughing in exasperation.

"In Dayuan, men uphold the 'Three Obediences and Four Virtues,' and of these obediences, it is to follow the mother at home, the wife upon marriage, and the daughter if the wife dies. Since you have entered the Liang family, being the fiancée to me and my five brothers, and destined to become the wife of one among us, how could Yixuan allow himself to remain angered?"

Yixuan pushed open the room door, making a 'please' gesture, still graceful and composed.

Dong Huiying paused, biting her lip, then placed the tray on the edge of the kang, "Well, I'll be going then. The noodles are on the kang, why not eat them while they're hot?"

She glanced around the room once more. This small room was very clean but also quite cramped, its small clay bed could barely fit two or three people. There was a cabinet by the bed with a stack of rolled-up bedding on top. She couldn't help but think of the large bed back in her own room, which was eight or nine meters wide, much more spacious than this...

......

After Yue Ning went up the mountain, he felt restless.

It was mainly because that "little jester" at home was acting strange. He would have preferred if she were bossy like before. What he was afraid of was that she might be harboring some devious plans.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Coupled with today's good luck, he had caught a foolish deer not long after entering the mountain, so he carried the deer meat down the mountain. Hmm, this deer was quite heavy; it should fetch a good price.

When he arrived home, the evening sky was filled with sunset hues. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he saw that 'little jester' with a mournful, darkened face.