Chapter 114 Xiao Xuance's Secret

Today, Xiao Xuance is still in charge of cooking at the Xiao family's house.

With only one large pot, it would take too much time to prepare dishes with different flavors like those in restaurants.

Even a one-pot stew can taste delicious if you have good cooking skills.

As soon as he added the seasonings, the aroma wafted out, and several nearby households, smelling the fragrance, began to salivate, thinking it was coming from their own pots. They couldn't wait to eat and urged the person cooking to hurry up.

Xie Wanyun also knows a little about cooking, and she has learned a lot these days. She has almost mastered it and volunteered to take over Xiao Xuance's work so that he could rest for a while.

A pigeon circled overhead near them. Xiao Xuance looked up, glanced at it, and walked into the mountains. The pigeon flew in his direction as well.

Yang and Song Mingyan took their three children to the nearby mountains to collect firewood, while Xiao Xuanwu watched the fire.

Everyone else is working.

Aside from Yun Zhaoxue and Xiao Xiuning, one was pregnant and the other was sick, and neither of them were particularly capable of doing manual labor.

Xiao Xiuning was pampered by no one in the second wife's household, and she would go hungry if she didn't do anything herself. She had no choice but to do things herself. But when she returned to her own family, she was pampered by everyone and didn't have to do anything.

His relaxed and carefree demeanor while sitting under the tree contrasted sharply with Xiao Mingshu's busy schedule.

Xiao Mingshu also caught a cold, and coughed as she kneaded the dough, "cough cough cough..."

Zhang said with disdain, "You're coughing your saliva into the noodles. How are we supposed to eat this later? Can you please shut your mouth and knead the dough? We finally recovered from our colds, and we've finished all the medicine. What if you give us another cold?"

Yesterday, Xiao Mingshu went to the city and bought a few packets of medicine for colds. There wasn't much medicine, and the second wife's family snatched half of it. The third wife's family drank the rest.

Xiao Mingshu received no medicine, but she did all the work. She worked despite her illness, and her condition worsened, which is why she couldn't help but cough incessantly.

When Zhang scolded her, Xiao Mingshu bit her lower lip and dared not cough. Her chest vibrated, and it was clear that she was holding back her tears.

Bored, Xiao Xiuning was drawn by the insults from Madam Zhang and looked over there, complaining, "Xiao Mingshu is so stupid. She doesn't even know how to rest when she's sick. She still insists on doing everything, showing off how capable she is. She might as well work herself to death."

Because the two were close in age and both were daughters of the Xiao family, Madam Yang arranged for them to study and learn to read, write, play the zither, play chess, and study painting at the same time.

Xiao Mingshu learns everything faster and better than her, and her husband and mother both praise her for her intelligence.

She just doesn't like studying. If she were serious, she would be ten or a hundred times better than Xiao Mingshu.

Yun Zhaoxue, who was resting against another tree, retorted, "If you had family like hers, you'd work even harder than her."

The whole family bullied this little girl, enslaving her from childhood to adulthood. It was already quite good that Xiao Mingshu was able to say a few words in rebuttal yesterday.

Xiao Xiuning felt wronged and yelled at her, "I said she wasn't talking about you. If you don't like me, just say so. You say you welcome me back, but you don't really welcome me at all."

Yun Zhaoxue said frankly, "I didn't say I welcomed you back, I just didn't stop you. Why wouldn't I welcome you? Sometimes I think about my own reasons."

"You hate me, so everything you do is wrong?" Xiao Xiuning's voice choked with sobs, filled with grievance. Tears streamed down her face, making it seem as if Yun Zhaoxue had done something to her.

"She wasn't eager to do it; she was forced to. You're the typical example. When you hate someone, even their breathing is wrong."

Even when she was struggling herself, Xiao Mingshu still sent things to the eldest son's family. She knew how to repay kindness and was a good girl. She couldn't stand Xiao Xiuning's contemptuous attitude.

Yang had just returned with a bundle of firewood when she heard the two arguing. She put down the firewood and walked towards them.

When Xiao Xiuning saw her, she cried even harder.

Madam Yang wiped away her tears. "Ning'er, don't cry. You were wrong about this. Shu'er's life is hard. You shouldn't have mocked her. You should have compassion. Go and gather firewood with your mother!"

Xiao Xiuning, "..."

She was bullied to tears, was it still her fault?

Yun Zhaoxue was bored, so she pretended to go to the woods to relieve herself. When no one was paying attention, she slipped into her spatial dimension to do her business, drank a couple of sips of spiritual spring water, washed her face, and then lay down on the AI ​​massage chair to enjoy a massage and leg pounding, while also eating some fruit.

Xiao Xuance walked into the woods. A pigeon swooped down and landed on his shoulder. He took the thin bamboo tube tied to the pigeon's leg, took out the letter, unfolded it, and read the contents. His expression turned solemn, and he clenched the letter tightly in his hand until his knuckles turned white.

Behind a rock not far from him, Yun Zhaoxue emerged from the space and happened to bump into him there.

Xiao Xuance, a martial arts practitioner with keen senses, noticed someone behind him. His brows furrowed, and he turned around, demanding sharply, "Who's there?"

When Yun Zhaoxue saw that he had discovered her, she didn't hide but walked out confidently and said, "It's me!"

Xiao Xuance hid the letter in his sleeve. "Why are you here?"

"I came out to relieve myself and just happened to see you coming. What's wrong? You look terrible."

Xiao Xuance shook his head, "It's nothing."

"Did the message come from Qin Yurong?"

She couldn't wait to find out. It was so much better to have a cell phone in her past life, so she could watch live streams. Now she had to rely on others to relay messages.

"No, if nothing unexpected happens, Zhuiying will come to report today, and I will tell you tomorrow."

Yun Zhaoxue approached and saw the man's furrowed brows. She said, "Why are you looking so gloomy? Is there anything worse than exile?"

Xiao Xuance suddenly asked her, "If you want to divorce your husband, can you wait two years?"

Yun Zhaoxue stared intently at him, his reaction just now suggesting he was afraid she would find out something. "Why two years later? If you do anything to betray me, I'll divorce you right now!"

Xiao Xuance gripped her arm tightly, pulled her over and pressed her against the tree trunk. They were so close, their eyes met.

Yun Zhaoxue looked up, "What do you want to do?"

Are you engaging in forced love?

She, a dignified mercenary assassin, was forced into love; people would laugh at her if they told anyone.

She's the one who forces others.

The moment she looked up, Xiao Xuance tilted his head back slightly, as if afraid of being kissed by her.

His long, deep phoenix eyes were fixed on her, and his voice was low: "I will not do anything to betray you, so promise me that you will not divorce me after these two years!"

He must never be allowed to marry another person or have his son call someone else "father" during his lifetime.

Yun Zhaoxue looked puzzled: "Why is it allowed after two years?"

Although she didn't love him, she could make do for the sake of the child. In her previous life, she was alone and occasionally felt lonely.

She was born with a man and a husband, and she couldn't take care of the child alone. She wouldn't do something so stupid as to run away pregnant and have a baby on her own, exhausting herself raising the child.

Xiao Xuance said in a muffled voice, "I can't tell you right now."

If she knew, she would probably lose the child and leave him again.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll see for myself. This matter concerns me, and I have the right to know.” Yun Zhaoxue reached into his sleeve, but before she could even slip her hand inside, her wrist was grabbed.

Yun Zhaoxue tried to pull her hand away, but he held it tightly. "Ouch~ Let go, you're hurting me."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuance quickly released her. Seeing the red marks on her hands, a barely perceptible pang of heartache appeared in his eyes, and he was about to rub them for her.

Yun Zhaoxue raised an eyebrow, a sly smile flashing in her eyes. With her other hand, she quickly reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small bamboo tube. The moment she got it, she turned him around, pushed him against a tree, and took a few steps back to prevent him from snatching the letter back. She shook the bamboo tube and took out the letter.

Empty?

Looking up, I was surprised to see a man leaning against a tree trunk chewing something with his jaw slightly moving.

Yun Zhaoxue, "..."

What secret was it that she ate the letter to keep it from him?

"Fine, don't tell me then. Let's go back to eat. I don't really care to know anyway." She snorted and walked ahead alone.