Chapter 989: Imperial Examination Essay: The Evil Mother-in-law (12)
Ever since Han Ji went to the county to take the exam, Zhang Luoyi suddenly became diligent. She actually got up early in the morning and started doing embroidery work diligently. Perhaps it was because she had spent too much of her dowry money and she felt a sense of urgency. However, this had nothing to do with Wu Shichu.
Wu Shichu is very leisurely now. She has entered retirement state early. Apart from chatting with villagers, she occasionally goes up the mountain to cut some firewood and relax.
That day, she took the sickle from home and went up the mountain again.
After reaching the mountain, she picked up some dry firewood and happened to encounter a pheasant. She quickly swung her knife at it, and the pheasant fell to the ground.
Seeing that it was still early, Wu Shichu simply lit a fire, took out the seasonings from the companion space, and started roasting the chicken.
Before long, the rich aroma of barbecue wafted out. Wu Shichu sprinkled cumin powder on the chicken while turning it.
When it was finally cooked, she took out a bottle of wine and started drinking it with the roast chicken. It was so delicious, taking a bite of meat and sip of wine.
Gao Li originally wanted to go to the mountains to hunt a tiger or a fox, thinking that he would have the fur to use in the winter, but his luck was not very good. After searching in the mountains for a long time, he only caught a few rabbits and pheasants, and did not see any larger prey.
As he walked, he suddenly smelled a strong and overbearing fragrance, which immediately awakened the glutton in his stomach.
At first he thought he had smelled it wrong. After all, who would barbecue here in the deep mountains and forests?
But after a while, the fragrance not only did not disappear, but became stronger. He could no longer deceive himself, so he looked in the direction where the fragrance came from.
When he finally found the source of the meaty aroma, he could not believe his eyes. There was only a woman leisurely eating meat and drinking!
Could it be that this woman was transformed from a mountain spirit or a wild monster? Gao Li originally did not believe in these supernatural things, but the scene before him shattered his shaky worldview.
"Are you a human or a monster?!" Gao Li clenched the bow and arrow in his hand, suppressed his inner uneasiness, pretended to be fierce and cold, and stared at Wu Shichu with his eyes.
However, when he saw Wu Shichu's appearance clearly, he was so shocked that the bow and arrow in his hand fell. Wasn't this the woman he had seen in the village?
Wu Shichu was enjoying eating meat and drinking wine, but she didn't expect a tall and strong man to suddenly appear and shout at her "Are you a human or a monster?". She was so scared that she almost dropped the roast chicken in her hand on the ground.
When she looked at the man angrily, she found that he was Gao Li, who was said to have just come back from the battlefield. Her anger grew even stronger. She said, with her keen perception, the only person who could hide it from her was a highly professional retired soldier.
"Are you blind? Of course I am a human!" Wu Shichu glared at him and said.
Gao Li recognized her as a villager and realized that he had made a mistake. His dark face turned red with embarrassment. He picked up the bow and arrow on the ground and said, "I'm sorry, I misunderstood. I didn't expect that there would be such a powerful woman like you in our village."
Hearing his words, Wu Shichu paused, and then she remembered that in the eyes of the villagers, she should be a weak person who needed to rest well, but how could she be a weak person now? How could a weak person catch a pheasant in the mountains, roast it and eat it, and even drink wine while eating the roasted chicken?
Wu Shichu's eyes went dark, and she realized that her image was in danger. Fortunately, Gao Li had just returned from outside and was not familiar with her, so she could still save it...
So she immediately blocked the bottle of wine beside her, covered her chest with one hand, and said "weakly": "How amazing is that? I was just lucky. I happened to come across a pheasant whose feet were tangled in weeds and couldn't run away. So I picked it up, and I happened to be hungry, so I roasted it and ate it."
Wu Shichu really hoped that he could forget the fierce look and questioning he had just given him, but Gao Li was not forgetful. Faced with the huge contrast between Wu Shichu's performance before and after, he was stunned for a moment, and then began to look at Wu Shichu with sharp eyes.
He could still smell the rich fragrance and alcohol in the air. What ordinary woman could easily pick up a pheasant in the mountains and happen to bring barbecue spices and wine?
Gao Li has been fighting on the battlefield for more than ten years. If he was so easily deceived, he would have died without leaving any bones. How could he have the chance to return home?
However, he also knew that knowing too much about some things would not be good for him, so he pretended to be fooled by Wu Shichu, nodded and said: "So that's how it is, then my sister-in-law is too lucky."
"By the way, did you come up the mountain to hunt? It seems like you have gained a lot." Wu Shichu asked when he saw a string of rabbits and pheasants hanging behind him.
Gao Li nodded. "I originally wanted to hunt a tiger or fox to make fur for winter use, but I didn't expect to find one. Sister-in-law, do you know where there are prey with good fur?"
Of course Wu Shichu couldn't say that she knew. She shook her head and said, "I don't know about that. I only dare to pick up dry firewood in places where there is no danger. If there are tigers or wolves, I won't have time to escape, so how can I dare to stay here?"
After hearing what she said, Gao Li was silent for a while. This place was actually deep in the mountains. If the woman in front of him was really afraid of danger, she would not have gone so deep. But she said shamelessly that this place was not dangerous. She was really brave and skilled.
However, Gao Li did not expose her, but just said: "In this case, I will try my luck somewhere else, and sister-in-law should go back early. The mountain is not safe, and you, a woman, should go down the mountain early."
"Okay, I'll leave soon, you go about your business." Wu Shichu quickly waved his hand and sent Gao Li away.
When the tall figure finally disappeared, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, hoping that Gao Li would be less curious.
Actually, she was too careless. She thought that no one in the village would dare to go so deep into the mountains. However, she overlooked Gao Li who had just returned to the village, and accidentally exposed her true identity.
Fortunately, Gao Li doesn't look like a gossipy person and probably won't tell anyone about her abnormality. Even if she did, no one would believe it. After all, her image of being weak and unable to work has been deeply rooted in people's minds.
Feeling guilty, Wu Shichu finished the remaining roast chicken in just a few moves, and quickly threw the empty wine bottle back into the companion space. Fortunately, she took out the spices and wine very early, so Gao Li should not have seen it.
After cleaning up the "crime scene", Wu Shichu picked up a handful of dry firewood and hurriedly carried it down the mountain. When he approached the village, he deliberately slowed down his pace and walked home "breathlessly" dragging the firewood.
(End of this chapter)
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