Chapter 25 Peeping

Next, Xiao Yu stopped going to pull the stones and instead squatted down next to them to study them. He found a piece of charcoal and started drawing on it. Then he called over someone from the villagers who were helping.

"You can start chiseling from this spot and make a mortar, right?" Xiao Yu asked, pointing to the marked area.

The villager looked at her blankly.

Xiao Yu: "..."

Shouldn't every household have a mortar and pestle?

Is it not here?

That shouldn't be the case.

Suddenly, he realized that the stone mortar was mainly used for pounding medicine in the past. Since this dynasty didn't even have rice, it probably hadn't been used for production yet, so it was understandable that he didn't know about it.

"Start chiseling along the circle I've drawn, but don't chisel through it; keep it curved..."

The villager nodded as if he understood, though he didn't know what the point of chiseling this was. He could get paid, so he figured he might as well do whatever he was told.

As soon as Xiao Yu finished explaining, Chen Ziyi came over and grabbed her, looking disapproving: "Ayu, what are you doing? Are you still thinking about messy things? Chen Ergou has been arrested, you should settle down and live a good life."

Hearing the conversation, the other villagers also looked over curiously. Some villagers who had come to join the fun had already gathered around. After hearing Chen Ziyi's words, they shook their heads and whispered among themselves.

"......"

Xiao Yu frowned. Although she knew he was doing it for her own good, she found it hard to accept his kindness by making such indiscriminate accusations from a moral high ground.

My opinion of Chen Ziyi has begun to change.

The original owner's introduction didn't explicitly explain this, only mentioning that the original owner suddenly distanced himself from Chen Ziyi and instead started hanging out with Chen Ergou, a village scoundrel.

In the end, the original owner was kicked out of the house by his own mother, which led to him truly becoming a spendthrift.

Why did the original owner suddenly distance herself from Chen Ziyi?

Previously, she had been convinced that the original owner was a spendthrift and hadn't looked into it in detail. On the other hand, Chen Ziyi initially seemed like a nice person, always thinking of her. But after spending more time with him, she felt that he was always unintentionally using himself to highlight his own sensibility and generosity.

This is quite subtle.

"It's just chiseling a rock, what's the big deal? You guys have nothing better to do than block someone's doorway. Haven't you ever seen someone building a house before?" Chen Yu stepped out from the crowd, silencing the whispering group.

Xiao Yu is still family, and just because she says it's okay doesn't mean others can say the same thing.

Chen Yu glared at Xiao Yu with annoyance, then frowned and glanced at Chen Ziyi.

None of them are easy to deal with.

"This is called a mortar and pestle. It's usually used for pounding medicine, so it's not useless." Song Luoning followed behind Chen Yu and walked to Xiao Yu's side under the surprised gazes of everyone, giving Xiao Yu a gentle smile.

"Isn't this the pretty girl who came in the carriage the other day?" Someone recognized Song Luoning.

Why is she standing with Xiao Yu?

Song Luoning rarely goes out, and besides, only those close to her know about their marriage, so it's understandable that others don't.

Song Luo Ning looked up at Xiao Yu, her eyes shimmering as if water droplets were surging within them. Her voice was soft and melodious, yet every word was firm and resounding: "It's all Luo Ning's fault for being sickly since childhood. I knew that my husband was doing this to pound medicine for me, but I never expected that it would cause my husband to be misunderstood. It's all Luo Ning's fault."

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, as if they were about to burst through the water, making her look incredibly pitiful.

Xiao Yu's heart tightened, feeling a pang of heartache. He paid no heed to the whispers around him and helped Song Luoning towards the courtyard, leaving everyone looking at each other in bewilderment.

What did that girl call Xiao Yu just now?

Husband?

What incredible luck did this spendthrift have to marry such a beautiful woman?

"If you ask me, this girl is blind."

"Who says otherwise? What a pity..."

"So Xiao Yu built this house to get married?"

This is huge news!

That's enough to feed them for several days.

Chen looked at the people around her with a huff. After all, she was the sister of the person involved. Was it appropriate to say such things in front of her?

Chen Ziyi walked up to Chen Yu, feeling somewhat uneasy because of what had just happened. He carefully observed Chen Yu's expression and asked, "Xiao Yu, what brings you here?"

For some reason, Chen Yu wasn't as happy as she had been when she saw him before. She gave a faint "hmm" and looked down at her toes without saying anything.

"Xiaoyu, it was really a misunderstanding just now. I was just afraid she would do the same thing as before, and we will soon be family. I was also afraid that you and your aunt would be hurt again." Chen Ziyi said sincerely.

Chen Yu looked up at the honest-looking man in front of her, feeling annoyed: "Alright, I understand. You guys go ahead with your work. I'm going back now."

After saying that, he pushed through the crowd and left without giving Chen Ziyi a chance to speak.

Back in the house, Xiao Yu helped Song Luoning sit down on a stool. His joy was written all over his face. He grinned and his tail was practically wagging in the air. "Wife, don't take their words to heart. Here, have some water."

He poured a glass of water and placed it in front of Song Luoning, rubbing his hands together; his peach blossom eyes were still burning hot.

Song Luoning pursed her lips, not understanding why she was the one who had been wronged, yet she was the one comforting herself.

Moreover, I didn't take it to heart; they were just some ignorant people.

Besides, why should I take this lecherous affair to heart?

I helped her purely because we lived together and I didn't want her to ruin my reputation.

It has nothing to do with whether I care about her or not.

Song Luoning turned her face away, looking somewhat unnatural. She picked up her cup and took a small sip as if to cover up her discomfort.

I really want to ignore the person in front of me.

Unfortunately, the person in front of her was oblivious and kept moving closer. Xiao Yu sat next to Song Luoning, and even through the thick clothes, Song Luoning could feel the scorching heat and subconsciously felt a sense of danger.

The person in front of her looked harmless, which made her subconsciously feel that she was overthinking things.

This person has the desire but not the courage.

At most, they were just a little too close, but it was still within her tolerance range, Song Luoning thought to herself.

"Are you feeling better today, my wife?" Xiao Yu poured herself a glass of water, thinking about how she had worked all day and was covered in sweat. She moved her chair to put some distance between herself and Song Luoning.

Song Luoning pursed her lips, finally feeling a sense of relief.

"I feel much better. Dr. Jiang's medicine is really effective." At this point, Song Luoning's emotions, which had just calmed down, fluctuated again, and she couldn't stand Xiao Yu no matter what.

Xiao Yu nodded. How could medicine produced by the system be bad?

It seems I'll have to work twice as hard to get the young lady out of her illness.

The only downside to the system is that you can't see the tasks, so you can't complete them accurately. It would be great if it could be upgraded.

Forget it, there's no use thinking about it so much. Seeing that it was still light out, Xiao Yu quickly stood up and prepared to go to the river to fetch water. She planned to take a bath to relax that night.

"Wife, I'm going to fetch some water first. I'll take a bath tonight. I'm all sweaty and smell awful," Xiao Yu said.

Suddenly I realized that the young lady hadn't mentioned taking a bath for two days, so why not just take one at a time? That would be more convenient.

Xiao Yu first filled the kitchen water tank with a bucket, then filled the bathtub halfway with cold water, leaving the rest for hot water.

After finally finishing all that, it was already dark, and the villagers who were working outside had all gone home. The two had dinner, and then Xiao Yu started boiling water.

"Wife, you go first, I'll take a bath later." Xiao Yu added the last bucket of hot water into the bathtub and tested the temperature by splashing his hand on the water a couple of times.

The water temperature is just right.

Xiao Yu carried the bucket, closed the door, and found a place to sit in the courtyard. There was only a pine oil lamp in the house, and the dim yellow light reflected on the window paper, flickering back and forth.

After sitting in the courtyard for a while, Xiao Yu went to the kitchen to boil another bucket of water and knocked on the door: "Wife, has the water gotten cold? Would you like some more hot water?"

The clear female voice sounded like a thunderclap in the quiet night. Song Luoning's body tensed instantly, and she quickly said, "No...no need, the water is still warm."

Fearing that she might rebel again and come in, Song Luoning didn't have time to continue. She got up, put on her clothes, and opened the door.

"I'm all washed, my husband, you can wash now." Her porcelain-like skin was misty with moisture, and her dark hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Water droplets dripped from the ends of her hair onto her moon-white nightgown, wetting the area.

Xiao Yu's breath hitched. The young lady's nightgown was soaked and clung tightly to her waist, her slender waist so delicate that it could be encircled with one hand. Xiao Yu's face flushed and her heart raced instantly.

Is the young lady trying to seduce her?

Although I have my own bottom line, the scenery before me...

It doesn't seem like it's impossible.

Xiao Yu held her breath, torn between reason and desire, and said in a hoarse voice, "Why don't you dry your hair first? You'll easily catch a cold."

"Hmm?" Song Luoning frowned and followed her gaze. A wave of heat hit her forehead, and she froze on the spot. When Song Luoning came to her senses, she felt embarrassed and angry. This bastard lecher wished she could gouge her eyes out.

Suppressing her shame, she turned and went back into the house, picking up her coat from the bed and putting it on.

"Wife, let me help you wipe it," Xiao Yu said, putting down the bucket of water as she followed him into the house.

Song Luoning's black hair was so thick and dense, how long would it take for a person to wipe it?

Song Luoning paused, turned her back to her, and suppressed her anger.

You scoundrel!

"No need to trouble you, husband. I can manage on my own. You should take a bath soon."

Song Luoning sat on the bed, reached out and pulled down the bed curtains, blocking their view of each other.

Xiao Yu: "..."

She took a shower and waited in the yard by herself, why did it have to be me...?

It was as if he could see her concerns.

"Don't worry, my lord, I won't peek," Song Luo Ning said.

Although separated by the bed curtains, which created a hazy, indistinct atmosphere, Xiao Yu stared at the bed curtains for a long time.

He thought to himself: We really can't let the young lady go out to wait. She is delicate and frail, how can she go to the courtyard?

Forget it, let's just wash it like this. We're all women. I just saw the young lady too, so it's fine if she wants to see it too. Let's call it even.

After figuring it out, Xiao Yu added some hot water to the bathtub, quickly took off her clothes, and crawled into the tub, leaving only her head sticking out.

She secretly glanced at the bed and could vaguely see that the young lady was still drying her hair and probably wasn't looking in her direction.

Xiao Yu felt relieved and focused her attention on taking a bath.

After a long day, it feels so good to take a nice hot bath!

The bathtub smelled like a young lady's perfume.

Song Luoning paused upon hearing the sound of water, and through the bed curtains saw Xiao Yu enter the bathtub without even changing the bathwater. Her expression changed.

That bastard!

How could she... share such an intimate thing as bathing water...?

Song Luo Ning gritted her teeth and gently lifted the bed curtains with her fingertips, watching Xiao Yu take deep breaths and lean his head against the bathtub with a look of enjoyment on his face.

Song Luoning felt a tightness in her chest.

I really want to expose this lecher's true colors right away, but what will happen then?

It's like the two of them have completely broken off relations.

What should I do about my father's instructions?