After finishing the chicken leg, Qingyin was not surprised to find that Duan Heng's clothes clearly showed signs of having been washed. It was unexpected that the germaphobic prince had only now taken the time to wash his clothes.

Seeing Duan Heng, who had just recovered enough to go hunting, Qingyin asked curiously, "Are you all better now? Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I'll leave tomorrow."

Duan Heng frowned, his deep, magnetic voice slightly hoarse, trying to seduce her but failing to arouse the little village girl in the mountains.

Duan Heng looked helplessly at the girl whose eyes were filled with unreadable thoughts, and said, "If you don't plan to leave for the time being, you can wait until I get to town to pick you up."

"I don't want to! What if you break your promise? I'm going to stay with you." Qingyin said suspiciously.

The man's deep-set brows furrowed slightly. Although he didn't know what image he had among the village girls, he felt it wouldn't be a good one.

Duan Heng gave Qingyin a deep look. "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. I won't go back on my promise to you."

The girl muttered in what she thought was a low voice, "Who knows? In the middle of nowhere, who knows what a grown man like you promised someone? If you go back on your word, you can just say whatever you want!"

Duan Heng: "..."

It's true that women and petty people are the hardest to deal with; you simply can't reason with this stubborn village girl.

"Then you can come with me."

"That's better!"

Qingyin blinked, looked at the man who had fallen silent after she spoke, and asked, "Are you angry?"

"I don't."

The girl pouted: "You're such a stingy person. If you're angry, just say so. Why pretend to be a silent brooder?"

...

Duan Heng looked at the girl who had brought him a lot of criticism because of his silence and sighed inwardly.

"What do you want to eat tonight? I'll go hunting and pack it up for you."

"Pheasant!!!" The girl was so tempted by the food that she covered her mouth with her tongue.

Having successfully found peace through the food, Duan Heng closed his eyes.

In the afternoon, while recovering from his injury, the attentive Duan Heng not only hunted another pheasant, but also roasted it, wrapped it in grass leaves, and secretly gave it to the girl who went out.

When Qingyin returned home, Lin's father and He's mother, who had been thinking that she was about to get married, didn't pay much attention to her laziness these past two days. They were still busy with farm work in the fields, leaving only Lin Tianbao lying at home lazily flipping through storybooks.

Qingyin estimated the time, her eyes flashed, and she shouted loudly, "Tianbao, is Second Sister cooking now?"

Lin Tianbao was so startled by Qingyin's sudden voice that he dropped his book. He hurriedly grabbed the book and swapped it for his own storybook. Only when he realized it was his second sister's voice did he relax and say impatiently, "Just do it! Why are you making such a fuss! You worthless thing."

Lin Tianbao's voice was too far away for Qingyin to hear, otherwise she would have given her "good little brother" another good lesson by making him fall flat on his face.

The cramped kitchen contained only a mud stove built by a farmer, a black iron pot, and a few old, worn-out bowls.

A cabinet next to them was locked with a huge lock. Qingyin knew that it contained the precious food that Mother He had hidden, such as cured meat and pastries.

Qingyin thought for a moment, realizing that since she was about to leave, she still needed to seek some justice for the original owner of this body.

Thinking this, Qingyin, with a wolf-like smile, walked up to Lin Tianbao in the main room. "Tianbao, do you want to eat meat?"

Lin Tianbao rolled his eyes as he watched Qingyin approach again. "Nonsense, who doesn't want to eat meat!"

Qingyin suppressed her urge to beat the brat and coaxed, "Tianbao knows that his sister is getting married, right?"

"Of course, but what does that have to do with eating meat!" Lin Tianbao said matter-of-factly.

Qingyin's eyes darkened; as expected, Lin Tianbao knew these things.

She smiled slightly, "Of course it's related. When I get married, I'll have my mother use my dowry to buy meat and new clothes for Tianbao every day, and the family won't be so poor anymore... Tianbao might even be able to marry a beautiful wife."

Hearing Qingyin's words, Lin Tianbao's narrowed eyes lit up. Although he hadn't yet experienced the fun that lay ahead, eating meat was something he could do right in front of him. His eyes widened: "Then hurry up and cook some meat from home for me!"

Qingyin brushed a stray hair from her brow; sure enough, the fool had taken the bait.

Qingyin feigned pitifulness and said, "But Tianbao, you know what kind of person your mother is. All the meat in the house is locked up by your mother, so I don't dare to do it either. Your mother loves Tianbao the most, so...?"

Without hesitation, Lin Tianbao said, "What's there to be afraid of? I'll just ask my mother for the key."

...

A moment later, Qingyin watched Lin Tianbao's anxious figure run away and a smile appeared on her lips.

In the field, He's mother couldn't resist Lin Tianbao's request, and Lin's father had always favored his son, who was born late in life. Before long, Lin Tianbao got the key.

Several villagers in the distance watched the scene, pointing and whispering, "Tsk tsk, Lin Tianbao from Old Man Lin's family has really spoiled him. His daughter is so thin, and his son is so fat. I wonder how much good food he's been eating."

What a pity that the girl was born into the Lin family...

At dusk, Qingyin took Lin Tianbao's key and unceremoniously took out all the cured meat to stir-fry, and cooked the rice until it was thick and sticky.

As the chef's first-hand cook, Qingyin ate a relatively good meal for the first time in this world.

He patted his slightly bulging belly with satisfaction.

When He's mother and Lin's father returned, Qingyin drank the water in her bowl and smiled tenderly at Lin Tianbao, who was eating meat like a pig on the table.

Sure enough, Lin Tianbao, who had been raised to be selfish and self-centered, had no intention of being filial to his parents and was willing to wait for his father and mother to come back for dinner together.

After a hard day's work in the fields, Mr. Lin and Mrs. He, who were looking forward to meat and vegetables, were drooling as they looked at the leftovers on the table and the large bowl of pure meat in their son's bowl.

Qingyin looked innocently at Lin's father and He's mother, who had arrived late. "Dad, Mom, I'm sorry. Tianbao was too hungry, so I served the dishes first. I didn't expect Tianbao to be so hungry that he almost finished eating. How about I add some water to the leftover rice porridge? But, Mom and Dad, you wouldn't want to take the meat from Tianbao's bowl, would you?"

As Qingyin spoke, she glanced worriedly at Tianbao, who was happily munching on meat while holding a bowl.

Upon hearing this, Lin Tianbao cautiously glanced at his parents while holding the bowl, then turned away.

Lin's father/He's mother: "..."

Lin's parents, who usually used this phrase to shut up their good-for-nothing sons, choked up.

The two gave a stiff smile: "Of course not."

Lin's father and He's mother, who had no reason to berate their soon-to-be-married daughter and were further humiliated by their beloved son's possessive behavior, turned pale, then red.

The two people, who were holding their breath and whose anger was rising, felt uncomfortable, along with their usually doting son.

The two of them ate a pitiful dinner. The only dish left was a lot of wilted wild vegetables that Lin Tianbao had put in, which were old and hard. The only staple food was a porridge that was almost as thin as water, along with a few pieces of fried, dried-out oil residue.

They both swallowed it with extreme reluctance.