Chapter 11

Why do I suddenly feel like I've been caught cheating?

Cui Youyi opened her mouth to explain something, but was afraid that she might be trying to hide something.

She had no choice but to blink her clear eyes and try to distance herself from Wang Jun.

This is unbearable if you don't see it, you will be shocked once you see it——

Wang Jun put on a face that looked as if he wouldn't let anyone get close to him: "Miss Qiao, please respect yourself."

"What on earth were you doing just now?" Qiao Weiwei stood in front of the door with red eyes and tears in her eyes, looking like a wife catching her husband cheating on her.

"Girl, we are..."

Before Cui Youyi finished her explanation, Wang Jun interrupted her as if he had lost his patience.

"That's enough."

"Miss Qiao, if you have any grievances to present, you can go to the government office to file a complaint. If you have nothing to do, please come over there."

Wang Jun pointed directly at the door, as if he was going to see the guest off.

"Wang Jun, you really think you're such a hot commodity! My Qiao family is a well-known family in Ningguta, and I'm the apple of my father's eye. How dare you humiliate me like this!"

Qiao Weiwei's tears started to fall, and she suddenly burst into tears.

Shocking! A wealthy lady encounters a puppet county magistrate. Why is she so heartbroken?

Cui Youyi, who had broken into the melon field, wished she could turn into a badger in the field and eat all the melons in one breath.

This girl was truly brave! She was completely different from the ancient women she had assumed followed the so-called female virtues and precepts. How could she bear to see her so sad and cry?

So Cui Youyi quickly winked at Wang Jun: "Hurry up and comfort her!"

Don't drag me into this love triangle! Just let me be a quiet bastard!

Wang Jun couldn't tell who gave him more headaches, Cui Youyi or Qiao Weiwei.

Ever since he led his men to rescue Qiao Weiwei, who had returned from visiting her relatives, from the hands of bandits last year, he had been living a life where he met her by chance for three days and was entertained by the Qiao family for five days. He was also warned by Qiao Weiwei's three brothers from time to time.

Since it concerned the girl's reputation, he couldn't bring himself to speak openly about it. In desperation, he hid at home for a month, hoping that the Qiao family would understand his attitude. However, he never expected that the Qiao family would even go further and try to snatch him away by force...

He wanted to collect evidence of the Qiao family's crimes once and for all, but ended up returning empty-handed.

It is really frustrating for a county magistrate to be forced into such a situation!

"Miss Qiao, I am..." Wang Jun didn't care about the girl's face. He really couldn't stand being chased and hiding from others.

"That's enough." Qiao Weiwei wiped her tears and stubbornly interrupted Wang Jun, "You really thought I came here to see you! You really know how to flatter yourself."

She is the eldest daughter of the Qiao family, and she can have any man she wants!

If he hadn't saved her life and was not so handsome, she wouldn't have thought that it would be easy for a woman to pursue a man and give him a chance.

Thinking about how Wang Jun had been avoiding her like the plague during this period, Qiao Weiwei's face turned pale and she felt extremely embarrassed.

Did he really think she was a shameless and persistent person? She hadn't come to see Wang Jun for over a month!

Wang Jun: …???

Cui Youyi: Wow! Where this melon is going!!!

Qiao Weiwei looked at Wang Jun with a look of "Do you think I believe it?" and pointed at Cui Youyi with a cold sneer: "Oh, I'm here to see her!"

"Me?" Cui Youyi never expected such a turn of events?

Alas, her damn charming charm means she is destined not to be a badger eating melons in the dark.

Wang Jun thought Qiao Weiwei was here to cause trouble, so he quickly took the confused Cui Youyi and protected her behind him.

"Miss Qiao, I have offended you, why should I offend others?"

Wang Jun frowned, already burning with anger.

"You..." Being regarded as a vicious person by the person she once had a crush on, Qiao Weiwei felt ashamed, annoyed and angry, with a feeling of grievance that she couldn't express in words.

The Qiao family has always been law-abiding and has always treated Wang Jun with courtesy.

Who knew someone, intent on currying favor with the Qiao family, would have the audacity to rob the county magistrate. If my grandfather hadn't returned home in time to stop it, the Qiao family would have become a laughing stock in Ningguta.

But no matter how many reasons she explained, no one believed her. Several of her sisters-in-law had conflicts with her brother because of this, and she felt very wronged.

Cui Youyi quietly pulled Wang Jun's clothes from behind.

This girl is still very sensitive about her reputation. If something happens, wouldn't it only add to the injustice and damage her merits?

Since they were coming for her, there was no reason for her to hide behind others and wait for others to stand up for her.

"Miss Qiao, I wonder what you want from me?" Cui Youyi walked out from behind Wang Jun and considerately took out her handkerchief and gave it to Qiao Weiwei.

Qiao Weiwei stared blankly at the handkerchief Cui Youyi handed her, not knowing what she was thinking. After a while, she took the handkerchief and asked in an ambiguous tone, "Are you the female ice sculptor that's been making the rounds in Ningguta lately?"

Cui Youyi was stunned: "Uh, if the person you are talking about is called Cui Youyi, then it should be me."

Qiao Weiwei looked Cui Youyi up and down and even circled around her. This series of actions made Cui Youyi a little confused.

Wang Jun recalled an incident from the past.

The Qiao family had an aunt who had great talent for ice sculpture when she was young and had the opportunity to show her talent. However, for unknown reasons, she later vowed never to touch ice sculpture again and hurriedly married and moved to another place. They had no contact for decades. This year, one of her grandsons submitted a registration form, saying that he wanted to participate in the ice sculpture conference.

Could it be that Qiao Weiwei came here today because of this matter?

"You look no different, so why can you learn ice sculpture?" Qiao Weiwei suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.

Cui Youyi was puzzled: "Why can't I learn ice sculpture?"

"Since ancient times, there has been no reason for women to learn ice sculpture."

"Who made this rule?" Cui Youyi asked back.

"Everyone says so. How can a woman fight back?" Qiao Weiwei's voice suddenly became louder and sharper.

Wang Jun realized that he had really misunderstood Qiao Weiwei this time. After making an apology, he tactfully left the space to Cui Youyi and Qiao Weiwei.

When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped.

This is his home, why does he want to go out?

It was during this meal that he clearly heard—

"I can't answer your question. My study of ice sculpture was a matter of chance. My innate conditions are much better than those of the women in Ningguta."

"If I put myself in his shoes, I don't know if I have the courage to fight for everything. But now, I will definitely not give up ice sculptures."

"The idea that skills are passed down to men but not women is nothing more than a deep-rooted prejudice. Any skill, regardless of gender, should be given the opportunity to learn if they truly desire it."

"If women can seize opportunities and study diligently in difficult environments, this process is already a form of struggle. If I am lucky enough to inspire more women to love ice sculpture, even if they don't aim to become ice sculptors, it will be considered a small achievement."

“And that’s what I wanted to do.”

Wang Jun looked back in surprise.

The slightly simple courtyard faded quietly, leaving only a hint of brightness.

*

"So you want me to carve an ice sculpture for your great aunt who's coming back for a visit?"

After listening to Qiao Weiwei's sobbing explanation, Cui Youyi finally understood why she came to see her.

"Yes. If your ice sculpture can help my aunt put her worries to rest, I'll give you two hundred taels of silver."

Cui Youyi quickly grasped the key question: "What if her emotional knot is not resolved?"

"We'll buy it at the normal market price for ice sculptures." Qiao Weiwei paused, thought for a moment, and then asked with a hint of resentment, "How could you retreat without a fight?"

Cui Youyi just chuckled.

"Miss Qiao, since you came to me, I will tactfully not ask why you didn't go find another ice sculptor in Ningguta."

"But this so-called knot in my heart is ultimately caused by something deep down that I can't let go of. The Qiao family attaches so much importance to this matter, perhaps it involves your family's secrets."

Cui Youyi took a sip of tea and continued, "As the saying goes, the unknown causes lead to unpredictable consequences. I doubt you'll reveal your family's secrets to me. I've painstakingly carved an object, but I don't know if it will bring joy or bring disaster. If I don't ask for clarity in advance, won't I be at a loss?"

Qiao Weiwei was speechless, opening and closing her mouth for a long while before she spoke: "Miss Cui, our Qiao family is not that kind of people."

Cui Youyi didn't say anything, but her expression was enough to show her attitude.

Criminals never admit their guilt, so how credible are verbal promises? Cui Youyi only believes in words written on paper and in real money.

"Let's sign this contract to prove it. As long as you deliver a finished piece, our Qiao family will buy it for twenty taels of silver." Seeing Cui Youyi remained silent, Qiao Weiwei immediately added, "Zhao Boqian of the Zhao family won the ice sculpture competition for the first time, and each piece is only fifty taels of silver. This price is already very fair."

Cui Youyi smiled brightly and said, "Pay a deposit of ten taels first. You can choose the theme. The work will be ready in two days."

It’s great that when you are poor, money comes to you.

Qiao Weiwei said with a guilty conscience: "It's no problem to pay the deposit first, but you may have to come up with the theme yourself..."

Cui Youyi: ??? Is that what a human being would say? Your family wanted to break the ice and reconcile with someone, but you don’t even know what they like?

Qiao Weiwei touched her nose uncomfortably and said, "My aunt has been away from home for decades and has never had any contact with us."

She also knew that this young lady wanted to become an ice sculptor but was stopped by the elders of the clan, and then she left home in anger. Then there was a rule in the family that women were not allowed to engage in ice carving.

Although she had little interest in becoming an ice sculptor, she was indignant about this rule when she was young.

"Why don't you go back and ask your elders at home?" Cui Youyi still wanted to earn the two hundred taels.

and--

If the aunt of the Qiao family was a difficult person and transferred her resentment towards the Qiao family to her own ice sculpture and smashed it in anger, then how unfair it would be for her ice sculpture!

Qiao Weiwei was in a dilemma. She had come to see Cui Youyi without telling her family. There was a lot of ambiguity in the family about how to treat this aunt. Her grandfather resented her cruelty while also wanting to fulfill their father's last wish. His attitude was unclear, and the younger generation had no rules.

She had already caused a lot of unhappiness in her family, so this time she wanted to help her grandfather solve this problem, both as an apology and to show her filial piety.

Cui Youyi sighed deeply: "Alright, alright, let's do this. Arrange someone to pick up the ice sculpture at noon the day after tomorrow!"

[Congratulations to the host for successfully finding the target mission and unlocking this issue's theme: Untitled. Please carve a piece that can resolve Aunt Qiao's heart knot, for the system to recognize it as a success! Please pay attention to the delivery time for your work!]

[Ding, congratulations to the host for unlocking an additional mission—help Aunt Qiao resolve her emotional issues and rekindle her passion for ice sculptures. Mission Reward: Survive for three days.]

Cui Youyi was completely shocked.

Wow, the target person is not the county magistrate!

Fortunately, she and Wang Jun had no affair, otherwise, let alone unlocking the mission theme today, she would probably be hunted down by the mission target.

Wang Jun, who was completely unaware of this, was blamed for it out of thin air.

"System, what is the knot in Aunt Qiao's heart?" Cui Youyi asked politely, looking forward to the answer.

If the system doesn't speak, she will definitely choose to play badly again!

[System query...]

[Insufficient system permissions, unable to query...]

Cui Youyi smiled: "What did you say?"

"The sun is shining brightly today, perfect for going home to sleep, right?"

Cui Youyi smiled even more brightly.

[Ding, the system has requested permission. The following is an explanation of the Qiao family's grandmother's emotional knot.]