The fragrance of osmanthus is so strong that she can still smell it even though the tree is far from her window.

Yan Xia remembered a popular dessert soup from modern times.

So she instructed Xiao Ji to pick some osmanthus flowers, which she would then prepare as afternoon tea when she had nothing else to do at noon.

"Okay, Auntie, how much do you want? A bowl or half a basin?" Xiao Ji gently combed Yan Xia's hair and asked.

"We don't need that much, just a small half bowl will do. The osmanthus flowers are just for garnishing; let the rest stay on the tree to release their fragrance," Yan Xia replied.

"Okay, I understand." As Xiao Ji finished speaking, she had also finished combing her hair.

She chose a relatively simple jade hairpin and put it in Yan Xia's hair.

Paired with a plain-colored light gauze coat, it looks very comfortable and gives a sense of tranquility.

"Alright, I'm going to have breakfast."

Yan Xia stood up from the stool and went to the courtyard to eat breakfast. There was only a bowl of porridge and three small dishes on the round table: spicy and sour cucumber cubes, green bean sauce with eggs, and cold purslane salad.

The porridge is lukewarm, not too hot, and cooked until it's soft and mushy, so you don't even need to chew it. Just take a sip of porridge and then pick up a side dish with your chopsticks and eat it, and you'll feel completely refreshed.

"Good, I'm very satisfied with today's breakfast." Yan Xia praised Xiao Su, who was standing by serving her.

“My lady, this breakfast was specially ordered by Sister Xiaoji. She said that you drank wine yesterday and should not eat meat, so she asked us to prepare something light.” Xiaosu did not take credit for it.

"Hmm, not bad, I've finished eating, you can take it now." Yan Xia nodded with a smile, seemingly pleased with Xiao Ji or Xiao Su's honesty.

After having breakfast, she went to the third courtyard to see her granddaughter.

At this moment, in Aozui Village, far outside Jiangnan County, Wang Shufang came out of a house, looking radiant.

Just as he closed the door, he bumped into Niu Fukang, who was carrying a hoe and preparing to go out.

This man is Niu Huahua's biological father, and he was also the one Deng Qiuzhi arranged for to look after Wang Shufang.

"Fang'er, what's wrong with you, what's wrong with you..." Niu Fukang was so shocked that he couldn't speak when he saw Wang Shufang, who should have been sleeping in her own room, come out of her younger brother's room.

"Ha, you even care who I sleep with? Do you really consider yourself my brother? I'm not going to the fields today. If there's any work to be done, ask Fuchun for it. From now on, he'll do all my work."

Wang Shufang has undergone a complete transformation.

She's gotten darker and thinner, and her once fair and delicate hands are now calloused.

Before leaving, Deng Qiuzhi said that she must be made to work.

So Niu Fukang would take Wang Shufang to the fields every day, and if she didn't go, he wouldn't feed her.

After two days of hunger, Wang Shufang had no choice but to give in.

The work in the fields was tiring and tedious, and the heat was intense. After working for more than a month, she finally broke down. She tried to escape, but failed every time. This prompted Niu Fukang to have his youngest daughter, Niu Xiaomei, sleep with her in order to keep an eye on her.

Wang Shufang, who felt she could never leave Aozui Village, completely gave up. She couldn't resist Niu Fuchun's deliberate flattery and gave in to him.

Last night, Niu Fuchun gave Niu Xiaomei a piece of candy and took Wang Shufang back to his room.

His wife, Lan, was sent to sleep in the woodshed.

Lan was weak-willed and had only given birth to four daughters in all the years she had been married into the family. Niu Fuchun would beat and scold her at the drop of a hat, but she could only endure it. After all, all her family members had died, and if she were divorced, she would have no way to survive.

"Brother, I'll do Shufang's work, but I'm too tired last night. Let me rest for a day. Honey, you go and help me in the fields. I'll take a nap."

Niu Fuchun hadn't even put his pants on properly when he casually opened the door and poked his head out to speak to Niu Fukang and Lan Shi.

"Okay, I'll go right away." Lan's back was a little hunched, and she liked to keep her head down, so she looked like an old woman.

Niu Fuchun didn't even want to look at her.

"What kind of mess is this? What if Master Deng suddenly comes? How am I supposed to explain this to him? And how can you do this to your sister-in-law?"

Niu Fukang was so angry that his eyes turned red.

“Brother, what’s the use of getting angry now that we’ve already slept together? It’s been over a month already. If Master Deng were coming, he would have come long ago. He’s probably already forgotten about Shufang. It just so happens that Lan is useless and can’t have a son. What’s wrong with me having Shufang give birth to one for me? Don’t you want me to have an heir? As long as she doesn’t leave Aozui Village, that’s fine. Don’t let Shufang do any more work from now on. It breaks my heart. By the way, Shufang will be living with me from now on. Pack her things and bring them to my house. Shufang, don’t leave. Come in and let’s take another nap.”

Niu Fuchun's smile was extremely lewd.

He grabbed Wang Shufang's wrist and pulled her inside.

"Bang--"

The wooden door slammed shut, and the sounds of men and women laughing and joking came from inside. Niu Fukang's temples throbbed with urgency.

But he only has one younger brother, what can he do?

“Sister-in-law, hey, don’t get out of bed. Your health is already compromised because of childbirth. Stay home, and I’ll have your sister-in-law keep you company for a while.”

After saying that, Niu Fukang didn't dare to look her in the eye and fled in panic.

The Niu family has no elders left, and the eldest brother is like a father to him. The fact that his younger brother is such a beast is ultimately because he failed to discipline him properly.

Niu Fukang's face turned bright red, whether from anger or embarrassment was hard to tell.

“Fengping, don’t go to the fields. Talk to your sister-in-law. You two go to the foot of the mountain to dig some wild vegetables. Stay away from there and come back around noon. Let Xiaomei cook the meal. Shunan and I can handle the work in the fields.”

Although he forced Wang Shufang to work in the fields every day, there was hardly any work to be done. It was just a matter of watering and weeding. When Wang Shufang slacked off, he simply pretended not to see it.

But he never expected that Wang Shufang, because she didn't want to work in the fields, would get involved with his own younger brother.

"Sigh." Niu Fukang sighed.

He was completely dejected.

"What's wrong, sir? What happened?" Xia Fengping asked, puzzled.

"I can't say it, you should ask your sister-in-law. Remember, don't let her stay at home, make her go to the foot of the mountain to dig for wild vegetables."

Niu Fukang waved his hand, picked up his hoe, and left with his eldest son.

Xia Fengping was an impatient person. Seeing that Niu Fukang was unwilling to talk, she quickly took a bamboo basket and a shovel to go find Lan Shi.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law—"

She had only taken two steps when she started shouting.

"What's wrong, sister-in-law?" Madam Lan came out of the kitchen and looked at her.

The two houses are next to each other, very close together.

Since they hadn't separated their households, they farmed the land together, in addition to eating.

"Come on, let's go dig for wild vegetables. I have something to ask you." Xia Fengping pulled Lan Shi away. As her sister-in-law, she had known Lan Shi's temperament for many years. Lan Shi never refused anyone, was slow-paced, and didn't like to talk.

Driven by curiosity, she walked quickly until the house was out of sight before letting go of Lan's hand and asking her a question.