Chapter 16, Caught in the Act
Jiang Ru never expected that this matter would involve her.
She moved her lips, trying to defend herself, but Aunt Zhang raised an eyebrow and said, "Don't try to argue!"
Wasn't Aunt Zhang the kindest to her? Why was she being so mean to her?
To be honest, Jiang Ru hadn't been scolded like this in a long time. Her lips twitched, and when she saw Zhang Xingjun behind Aunt Zhang frantically giving her meaningful glances, she wisely shut her mouth and said nothing.
She lowered her head and watched as Aunt Zhang carried Zhang Xingjun home by the ear. At the fork in the road, she silently moved her feet, wanting to go home, but Aunt Zhang glared at her, so she had no choice but to turn around and follow Aunt Zhang home.
As soon as he got home, Aunt Zhang pointed to the corner of the wall and told Zhang Xingjun to stand there as punishment. Zhang Xingjun stood in the corner with ease, a ceramic pot on his head.
Jiang Ru stood in the courtyard, silently watching Zhang Xingjun being punished. She absolutely could not go with him; that would be too embarrassing.
Fortunately, Aunt Zhang didn't ask her to come along; she just told her to sit in the courtyard and wait for Pei Wu.
At this time, the family has already started cooking. Aunt Zhang's cooking is more delicious and varied than theirs, unlike them, who only know how to cook porridge every time.
The golden batter was stirred and spread in the pan to make a round pancake. Then, two handfuls of sesame seeds were sprinkled on top, and the aroma was irresistible.
Jiang Ru couldn't help but swallow as she smelled the aroma. Zhang Xingjun, who was in the corner, also twitched his ears, eager to try it out. Aunt Zhang immediately scolded him, "If you move again, you won't get any dinner tonight."
Zhang Xingjun immediately stood up straight.
Jiang Ru quickly sat up straight, feeling extremely uncomfortable. She wondered why Pei Wu hadn't come to pick her up yet; it was too agonizing.
Once the pancake was ready, Aunt Zhang placed it on a plate and put the plate in front of Jiang Ru: "Eat up."
Jiang Ru's cravings were aroused, and she wanted to eat some, but she was too embarrassed to say so, and repeatedly declined, saying, "I'm not hungry."
"Don't be modest, eat up. You're as skinny as a monkey." Aunt Zhang ignored what she said and gestured with her chin, "Eat up."
The flatbread was indeed very fragrant, and Jiang Ru no longer stood on ceremony, picking up her chopsticks to start eating.
Zhang Xingjun protested, "Mother, she also made a mistake, why should she get to eat?"
Aunt Zhang didn't care about him: "Can't you give me a break every day? You dare say you didn't trick her into going there?"
Actually, that's not true. Jiang Ru lowered her head guiltily, and Zhang Xingjun, unable to resist, shut up in resentment.
Jiang Ru had just eaten half of her pancake when there was a gentle knock on the courtyard gate. Jiang Ru looked up and saw a flock of birds flying across the distant horizon in the afterglow of the setting sun. The sunlight cast a long shadow of Pei Wu, who was dressed in white and stood tall and elegant. His gaze fell on Jiang Ru and stopped.
Jiang Ru froze as she ate the pancake, then awkwardly looked back at Pei Wu.
Aunt Zhang quickly finished making a pancake and waved enthusiastically to Pei Wu: "Come on in."
Pei Wu walked into the courtyard, and Jiang Ru noticed that his gaze was constantly on her, so she could only sit up stiffly.
Pei Wu stood in the courtyard talking to Aunt Zhang. He first thanked Aunt Zhang, and Aunt Zhang returned the greeting with a few pleasantries. Finally, she changed the subject: "You should keep a closer eye on your cousin. Climbing trees is so dangerous. If she falls and breaks her leg, what will she do then?"
After the two finished talking about Jiang Ru, Aunt Zhang said she would make two more pancakes for them and went back to the stove.
Pei Wu responded, lowered his gaze, and told Jiang Ru, "I'm leaving."
Jiang Ru was still holding half a pancake in her hand. She had been too embarrassed to eat it earlier, so she stood up with the pancake in her hand and asked Pei Wu, "Do you want some?"
Pei Wu didn't speak. His gaze fell on Jiang Ru's hand, and he said gently, "You eat it."
Aunt Zhang had already made the pancakes. She handed the plate to Pei Wu with a smile, saying, "Go back now."
The pancakes on the plate were still steaming hot. Pei Wu carried the pancakes, thanked Aunt Zhang, and took Jiang Ru home.
Pei Wu carried the plate in front, with Jiang Ru following behind. After she finished eating the remaining half of the pancake, they arrived home.
Pei Wu placed the plate on the table. Dinner was still cooking in the pot, so Pei Wu went over and added some firewood.
He remained silent for a while. Jiang Ru noticed that he seemed angry and asked hesitantly, "What's wrong?"
Pei Wu only left him with his back turned, without saying a word.
Okay, he's really throwing a tantrum.
Jiang Ru had no choice but to call him "Pei Wu".
Pei Wu finally turned his head slightly to indicate that he was listening, but still ignored Jiang Ru.
Jiang Ru was silent for a moment: "Why are you like this too? I was just climbing a tree, what's the big deal?"
Pei Wu finally turned around completely, his face cold: "There's no shortage of food at home, why do you need to do these things?"
Jiang Ru was taken aback.
Now that the topic had been brought up, Pei Wu simply said, "I thought you were going out to play with him, which is why I acquiesced to your going. If I had known you were going to climb a tree, I would never have let you go."
Pei Wu knew Zhang Xingjun was a troublemaker, but he didn't expect Jiang Ru to join in the commotion.
This was the first time Jiang Ru had seen Pei Wu so angry. She didn't react for a moment and subconsciously retorted, "When we're starving, we'll eat anything, even tree leaves, let alone bird eggs."
After saying this, Pei Wu's expression subtly changed. He remained silent for a long time, not mentioning Jiang Ru again, but simply said, "It's very dangerous. Unless absolutely necessary, don't go."
Jiang Ru noticed that his attitude had softened and quickly nodded.
This little incident didn't affect them. Dinner was ready, and they ate it with the pancakes that Aunt Zhang had given them, which was just right.
Jiang Ru was holding a bowl, and Pei Wu hadn't noticed that her hands had been hidden until she raised them. Only then did Pei Wu realize that something was wrong with her.
Her hands were very white, so the injury was particularly noticeable; several red spots covered the back of her hand, and the skin was broken.
In the rush, Pei Wu only noticed Jiang Ru's face. There were no injuries on her face, just some dust on it, and her hair was just a little messy, so he assumed she was fine.
Unexpectedly, they were all hidden in their hands, and even their sleeves were torn.
Pei Wu felt a vein throb on his forehead. He took a deep breath: "Your hand..."
Jiang Ru paused in her eating, glancing at her hands nonchalantly: "Oh, you have no idea how fierce that bird is. I hadn't even stolen an egg yet, and it was already pecking at me menacingly, even trying to peck my face. Luckily, I dodged it."
Pei Wu's heart ached with anger at her. He thought Jiang Ru wasn't injured, which was why he didn't pursue the matter. He never expected that even her hidden hand was injured like this.
Looking at Jiang Ru's completely unconcerned attitude, it's clear she's oblivious to the danger and just fooling around.
Pei Wu put down his bowl and took a deep breath: "You got injured yourself, don't you feel any pain?"
Jiang Ru knew immediately that Pei Wu was angry again. She said softly, "I'm all grown up now, I know what I'm doing."
Pei Wu stared at her wound and sneered, "Is this what you call 'knowing your limits'?"
Jiang Ru had barely eaten a few bites of food when she had to deal with an enraged Pei Wu. She was completely overwhelmed. After all, she had lived for so long, and in her eyes, this was just a small matter. She had done it many times before, so of course she didn't think it was a big deal. But Pei Wu acted as if he were facing a formidable enemy and really wanted to teach her a lesson.
Aunt Zhang's words were fine, but Pei Wu was so much younger than her, and she treated him like a child. Jiang Ru just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.
She cried out "Ouch!" and put the bowl down on the table, holding out her red hand: "It hurts so much! I didn't feel it until you said it, but now that you say it, it really hurts."
Her acting was exaggerated; she even deliberately blew on the wound a few times and stared at Pei Wu with her eyes raised in a pretentious manner. Her eyes were big, and when she looked at someone like that, it only aroused endless pity.
Seeing that Pei Wu remained unmoved, Jiang Ru blinked and deliberately squeezed out two tears: "Why does it hurt so much?"
Her eyes were misty, making it impossible for anyone to be too harsh on her.
Despite her clumsy acting, she still managed to fool Pei Wu. He sighed, glanced at the back of Jiang Ru's hand, and asked, "Are there any other wounds?"
Jiang Ru shook her head.
Pei Wu stood up, fetched a basin of water, and called Jiang Ru over. He watched as Jiang Ru washed her hands. The wound on the back of her hand was not serious, but it was too red, making it look like she was badly injured. In reality, it was just a very small wound.
Pei Wu remained silent for a long time. Jiang Ru couldn't figure out what he was thinking, so she hissed softly and looked up pitifully, "I'm not washing anymore."
She was afraid that if Pei Wu looked at her again, she would give herself away.
Anyone with eyes could see she was faking it, but Pei Wu didn't. He immediately went to find medicine for Jiang Ru, but Jiang Ru could only quickly stop him: "Actually, it's not that serious, you don't need to apply medicine."
Pei Wu simply said, "If you keep doing this, perhaps we should keep some medicine at home."
Jiang Ru knew immediately that there was something hidden in his words, and said helplessly, "I really don't know how, please sit down."
Thus, after Jiang Ru's repeated assurances, Pei Wu finally sat down.
The wound wasn't serious. In no time, the back of my hand that had been pecked red was mostly healed, and the only place where the skin was broken had already stopped bleeding and would probably heal soon.
Jiang Ru, wearing tattered sleeves, dared not continue to wander around in front of Pei Wu, and went back to her room early to change her clothes.
Pei Wu probably noticed that her clothes were torn a long time ago, but he just didn't want to tell her.
She didn't want to add fuel to the fire right now. She would wait until Pei Wu calmed down in a couple of days before asking him if there was any needle and thread at home so she could sew up the sleeves.
She was lost in thought and preoccupied with avoiding Pei Wu, so she had no idea that Pei Wu had left.
In Muxi Village, there is an old doctor who is often the villager's go-to doctor for medicine when he has a headache or fever.
Pei Wu wondered if Jiang Ru would become even more unruly if he bought her medicine, but then he thought, what would happen if Jiang Ru got injured in the future if he didn't buy her medicine?
Pei Wu can get away with minor injuries himself, but he can't expect Jiang Ru to suffer the same haphazard treatment as him.
He could only be more careful with Jiang Ru to prevent her from getting hurt again.
On his round trip, Pei Wu bought some wound medicine and carried the small ointment home.
He was annoyed with Jiang Ru, but he had no choice but to care about her. Pei Wu stood in the courtyard, pondered for a moment, and then went up and knocked on Jiang Ru's door.
He placed the wound medicine on the ground, but he didn't want to hand it to Jiang Ru personally, as that wouldn't be enough to express his anger.
Not long after, Jiang Ru opened the door. Pei Wu stood inside listening. Hearing that she had probably taken the wound medicine, he carefully opened the door to confirm whether Jiang Ru had indeed taken the medicine.
However, as soon as he opened the door, a smiling face peeked out from the side. The smile was bright, and the tone was rising. He said slyly, "I caught you, didn't I? Sneaking around to bring me medicine. What are you pretending to be, Fairy Sister?"
She rushed forward too quickly, her face almost brushing against Pei Wu's clothes. Pei Wu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly took a step back.
A note from the author:
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Pre-order now! Check it out if you're interested: "Transmigrating and Marrying into the Qian Family"
Yao Zhi transmigrated to the first day she married into the Marquis's mansion.
The old Marquis was a meritorious official who followed the current emperor, and the Marquis's wife was a first-rank imperial consort.
He was granted a fiefdom with ten thousand households, making him as wealthy as a nation.
She married the only legitimate son of the old Marquis and his wife.
The key point is: her cheap husband is stationed on the border.
She doesn't have a husband, but she still has endless money to spend.
Isn't this the life I've always dreamed of?
Yao Zhi went out to listen to folk songs and look at handsome men.
I wrote a letter to my husband when I got home: My dear husband, I'm also waiting for you to come home today.
Yao Zhi went to the poetry gathering to see the handsome men.
I wrote a letter to my husband when I got home: My dear husband, I still miss you today.
Yao Zhi went on a picnic and continued to secretly admire handsome men.
She wrote a letter to her husband when she got home: My dear husband, I long for your return; I am like that waiting stone waiting for my husband.
Yao Zhi took Lady Hou out with her to look at handsome men.
I wrote a letter to my husband when I got home: My dear husband, I went out with my mother today. I really wish you could come home so that our family could be reunited.
A year later, with 365 letters in his hand, Xiao Heng replied to Yao Zhi with tender eyes: I will be back soon, and I miss you too.
Yao Zhi, upon receiving the letter: ?
Didn't they say he wouldn't be back for eight or ten years?
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