Chapter 22 Yuanyuan is quite capable!
The woman looked Meng Yuanxiao up and down, clicking her tongue and exclaiming, "How can someone be so beautiful? Like a fairy, look how tender her face is!"
"Hey, she's a lady from the capital, do you think she's like us women who toil in the fields?"
"Speaking of which, the widow from the Wang family was quite young back then, with fair skin. Although she couldn't compare to Madam Cui, she was still much better than us!"
The woman standing nearby spat, "Why bring her up for no reason? It's bad luck, don't offend Mrs. Cui's ears."
Meng Yuanxiao blinked, unable to understand the reason behind it for a moment.
The young woman next to her moved closer to her and took out a handful of roasted gourd seeds from her pocket, handing them to her. "I roasted these myself, have a taste."
Meng Yuanxiao glanced at her, hesitated, and then took it.
The woman was very outgoing and was eating gourd seeds herself. She said, "My surname is Li. I'm a few years older than you. You can just call me Sister-in-law Li."
After saying that, he raised his hand and pointed to the back of the house, "My house is right behind here, just a few alleys away. I'll show you the way tomorrow. Whenever you feel bored, come visit me, and I'll steam some buns for you."
Meng Yuanxiao blinked and whispered, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Li."
This was the first time she had spoken in public. Li was taken aback, then laughed loudly, "Incredible! She's beautiful and has a lovely voice. That 'Sister-in-law Li' is so sweet it makes half my ear go numb!"
The crowd burst into laughter again.
The women gathered together, chatting about all sorts of trivial matters. Meng Yuanxiao was a little awkward at first, but she loved listening to this gossip.
She ate gourd seeds, and although she didn't understand much, she listened with great interest.
These women were all lively and talkative. Seeing that she enjoyed listening, they talked enthusiastically, and if they were afraid she wouldn't understand, they would explain a few words to her.
Meng Yuanxiao listened attentively, and would even ask a few questions when she was curious, and gradually she was no longer embarrassed.
Just as things were getting lively here, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the courtyard. First came a wail, followed by a woman's cursing and swearing.
"You son of a bitch! I was only gone for two days and you couldn't control your lust and went to cheat on me with that shameless widow. You filthy thing, I'll chop up your two ounces of flesh and feed it to the dogs sooner or later!"
Meng Yuanxiao had never heard such lewd words before. She subconsciously looked outside, and just as she was about to be shocked, the woman who was still speaking stopped talking. "What I'm hearing is that the eldest son of the village head, Sun, and his wife are fighting again?"
"Isn't that right?" The second daughter-in-law of the village head Sun hurriedly ran to find her mother-in-law, and the other women's eyes lit up, and they all got up as well.
Li pulled Meng Yuanxiao along, "Come on, let's go take a look!"
Sun, the village chief, lived at the west end of the village. In front of his house was an open space with an old elm tree planted in it, and next to it was the village's well for drinking water.
Meng Yuanxiao followed Li Shi out and saw a tall, strong woman grabbing a young man's ear and cursing.
Li, munching on gourd seeds, whispered to Meng Yuanxiao, "See that? That's Sun Dalang and his wife, Lin. Tsk, is Sun Dalang cheating on her again?"
The woman standing nearby said, "Coming from over the elm tree, what else could it be but an affair?"
"That widow from the Wang family is really audacious! A high-ranking official from the capital has come, and she still doesn't know how to behave herself!"
"Indeed! Lord Cui is so handsome. That widow hasn't seen him yet. If she had..."
Li pushed the woman who had spoken up, "Pah, what nonsense are you talking about? Madam Cui is still here!"
Meng Yuanxiao: "..."
Lin was still cursing and scratching Sun Dalang's face.
Sun Dalang, clutching his scratched face, was so angry he jumped up and down, yelling, "You crazy woman, you just wait!"
But he was clearly a coward, only daring to jump up and down. Someone chimed in, "Sun Dalang, don't just talk the talk, walk the walk! You're a man, you can't let your wife ride all over you!"
Sun Dalang lost face completely, and provoked by these words, he raised his hand and slapped Lin Shi across the face.
Lin was stunned by the slap, then sat down on the ground and started wailing and crying.
"I can't live like this anymore! You heartless bastard, Sun Dalang, how dare you bully me like this over a used woman! I'm not going to live like this anymore!"
After saying that, he got up from the ground and rushed over to beat Sun Dalang.
Just as things were in chaos, the village chief and his wife rushed over from the yard and pulled Sun Dalang and his wife apart.
Even the nobles in the capital valued their reputation, and Meng Yuanxiao had never seen anything like it before. She was dumbfounded and still managed to ask, "Sister-in-law Li, that widow who was having an affair with Sun Dalang..."
Before she could finish speaking, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and pulled her away.
It was Cui Xintang who pulled her. Upon seeing him, Meng Yuanxiao's eyes immediately lit up, "Brother Tang!"
She was still eager to see more, and after saying that, she tried to break free from him and squeeze back into the crowd to watch the excitement.
Cui Xintang asked helplessly, "Is it really that good-looking?"
Meng Yuanxiao ignored him, so Cui Xintang had no choice but to pull him back and drag him all the way back to the courtyard.
When the village chief and his wife showed up, the commotion outside quickly subsided.
Meng Yuanxiao thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, while she was having dinner with Cui Xintang that evening, Lin's family suddenly attacked.
The noise outside started again, and chaos erupted at the Sun village chief's house.
Meng Yuanxiao couldn't sit still, but he didn't want to go and watch the excitement in a big way, so he urged Cui Xintang, "Brother Tang, I think the Lin family is quite powerful. I'm afraid Chief Sun will suffer a loss. Why don't you go and take a look?"
Cui Xintang knew exactly what she was thinking. He calmly placed the remaining fried egg from the plate into her bowl, then glanced at her and said with amusement, "What's so interesting?"
During the day, while he was discussing matters with Village Chief Sun, he was actually keeping an eye on Meng Yuanxiao.
He sat in the main room and glanced through the open window at her sitting among the women, her face flushed and somewhat awkward, looking both pitiful and amusing.
At that moment, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, afraid that she would be bullied. He thought he should ask her all the questions he needed to ask and go back to be with her as soon as possible.
But after exchanging a few words with Village Chief Sun, when he turned and looked out the window again, he saw her bright almond-shaped eyes sparkling as she excitedly talked to the other women.
He was still peeling gourd seeds in his hand, casually tossing them into his mouth to eat, showing no restraint whatsoever, as if he had already blended in with the fun.
The woman beside her said something, and she exclaimed "Wow!" in surprise, her almond-shaped eyes widening in astonishment.
He couldn't help but laugh then. Yes, Yuanyuan was someone who could even control the Qin family. She was very capable. He was really worrying too much.
Cui Xintang had known about Meng Yuanxiao's unconventional personality for a long time and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. He just suddenly wanted to temper her personality.
So he deliberately added another spoonful of porridge to her bowl, picked up a few pieces of vegetables, and said slowly, "Eat your food, don't waste any."
Meng Yuanxiao pouted, patiently ate most of the rice in her bowl, and pushed the rest in front of Cui Xintang, saying, "Brother Tang, I'm full."
It's not good to waste food at someone else's house, so Cui Xintang didn't mind. She slowly finished the rice in her own bowl first, and then ate what Meng Yuanxiao had left.
Looking up, Cui Xintang saw Meng Yuanxiao's clear eyes shining under the oil lamp, gazing at him earnestly. He chuckled and said, "Go ahead."
Meng Yuanxiao's eyes lit up, and he immediately got up and ran to the courtyard. He quietly pushed the gate open a little and looked out through the crack.
Village Chief Sun had already invited the Lin family into the main room, but they could not be seen, only a noisy commotion could be heard.
Meng Yuanxiao listened for a while, then lost interest, closed the door, and came back.
When he got back, he couldn't help but tell Cui Xintang about what he had seen and heard in the afternoon.
Cui Xintang wasn't interested in these mundane family matters, but she seemed thoughtful when she heard her mention Old Wang's widow.
After Meng Yuanxiao finished speaking rapidly, he said indignantly, "That Sun Dalang really deserved it!"
"..." Cui Xintang, "How is it that he deserved it?"
"Who told him he couldn't be controlled..."
Meng Yuanxiao almost blurted out the words Lin Shi had said, but thankfully he stopped himself in time and instead said, "Anyway, he has wronged his wife, so even if Lin Shi beats him to death, he deserves it!"
Cui Xintang found it amusing, “But there are many men who take concubines and frequent prostitutes. At least Sun Dalang only married Lin Shi. He only cheated once, so it can’t be considered an unforgivable crime.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Yuanxiao couldn't help but furrow her brows. "Brother Tang, what do you mean by that?"
Cui Xintang had only said it casually, and seeing that he had angered the person, he quickly stopped.
Meng Yuanxiao said, "Brother Tang, if you ever dare to wrong me in the future, I won't mind learning from the Lin family."
“…I was only talking about Sun Dalang.” Cui Xintang, thinking about something else, then asked, “What else did those women say to you today? Tell me.”
Meng Yuanxiao thought it over carefully and then told him what she had missed earlier.
After she finished speaking, she noticed him staring at her with a teasing smile on his face.
She also had her pride, so she immediately coughed lightly and said, "It's not that I love gossip, Brother Tang, I'm doing this all for you."
"Oh?" Cui Xintang chuckled. "What, is it for me?"
Meng Yuanxiao had a vague idea of why he didn't stay at the Yunping County government office but instead went to the villages below.
Her bright, dark eyes darted around. "I'm familiar with all the women in the village. I can get information from them for you. Don't underestimate them just because they're gossipy; they live in the village and actually know quite a lot!"
Cui Xintang smiled and did not refuse, "Is that so? Then I'll have to trouble Yuanyuan."
After saying this, he prepared to take off his clothes and wash up. As he took off his outer garment, a handkerchief suddenly fell from his sleeve and landed right at Meng Yuanxiao's feet.
Meng Yuanxiao casually picked up the handkerchief and glanced at it. "Oh, Brother Tang, did you change your handkerchief?"
Cui Xintang disliked anything fancy and always used plain white handkerchiefs without any embellishment. But this handkerchief was brand new, with a few begonia flowers embroidered on one corner.
Cui Xintang paused, took the handkerchief from her hand, and glanced at it.
With just one glance, his eyes darkened, and he casually tossed the handkerchief aside, saying, "Perhaps the servants made a mistake while cleaning up."
A note from the author:
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Thank you all for your support. The next chapter will be available for purchase on Wednesday, November 19th, at midnight. Please continue to support me in the future.
Another novel in this column, *The Seizure of the Beauty*, is currently in draft form. It's a story of forceful acquisition and fierce competition, a veritable battlefield. I'll update the story once I've accumulated enough chapters; feel free to add it to your collection. I also have a pre-order novel, *The Humiliation of the Cold and Aloof Prince*, which you're also welcome to add to your collection! *The Seizure of the Beauty* synopsis:
[A naive beauty and a scheming prince, a battle of wits and strength, a fierce and chaotic struggle.]
Zhou Yuan was an adopted daughter of the Cao family, and she lived with her fiancé Cao Changqing.
Cao Changqing was exceptionally talented and famous at a young age, and he treated her with the utmost gentleness.
Zhou Yuan was overjoyed to accompany her fiancé to the capital to take the imperial examination, eagerly awaiting his triumphant marriage after he passed with flying colors. However, everything changed after they arrived in the capital.
The day she caught her fiancé having an affair, Shen Qingyan held her in his arms. He wiped the tears from her lips and whispered in her ear, "The most useless thing in the world is crying. He's found another woman, and you can fall in love with someone else too. Isn't that wonderful?"
***
Shen Qingyan hated one person intensely and had been searching for her for a long time.
When he was at his lowest point, she betrayed him and trampled him underfoot.
When they met again, she had completely forgotten him and abandoned him once more.
This selfish person, one day, came to him for the sake of her beloved. Shen Qingyan scoffed and decided to use this opportunity to keep her by his side.
He proceeded cautiously, but to his surprise, she repeatedly said, "Your Highness's great kindness will surely be repaid by Brother Changqing in the future. My marriage to Brother Changqing was arranged by our parents and the matchmaker..."
Look, he was clearly helping her, but she's trying to absolve herself of all responsibility.
Shen Qingyan sneered, his anger rising even higher. "What, Yuan'er wants to marry him, but wants me to be the one who can't see the light of day?"
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