"Cuifang, take Liuxu to see your Aunt Zhi," the priestess said to Miao Cuifang, who was fetching water.
"Aunt Jianzhi?"
"Yes, your Aunt Zhi just came back with her husband late last night. They said they went out to settle some old scores."
"Okay, go ahead."
Miao Cuifang braided Liu Xu's hair and tidied her Miao clothes before happily taking her sweetheart to visit the elders.
"Aunt Zhi was the previous Holy Maiden, the mother of Cui Lan (the current Holy Maiden). She watched me grow up, much like how Mother Cen treated Long'er. Besides my mother-in-law, she was the most important person to me."
"So I'll go empty-handed?"
Liu Xu nudged her sweetheart beside her. This guy has a screw loose. Didn't he tell her beforehand?
"This tea is worthless, you don't need to take it. And don't take the cloth either, we're in the forest every day, we always get our good stuff damaged by the wind."
Liu Xu was picking up the gifts in front, while Master Miao was undermining her from behind, telling Miao Cuifang that it was fine to go empty-handed, as they didn't have so many rules here.
"Then what do you suggest?!" Liu Xu was a little angry, glaring at him fiercely.
"If you really insist on taking... me to get two of the piglets Long'er bought yesterday? These things make us look very prestigious in my family."
"ah?……"
Liu Xu stared blankly at Miao Cuifang. The man took her hand, greeted Huo Xiaolong, and picked out two piglets from the pigpen to carry over.
Two little pigs were wagging their tails and trying to break free on the road. Huo Xiaolong, who had come over to join in the fun, smacked them on the nose and knocked them unconscious.
"Wow, Cuifang's wife has brought piglets to our door!"
"Brother Cuifang is so lucky."
"Of course, Brother Cuifang is the one who's doing the best out there."
“She should be the one who listens to her mother-in-law the most,” the saintess said from the side.
"What's wrong?"
"He's obedient, that's why. He's been learning Chinese characters since he was little, then went straight to the martial arts alliance leader, and then immediately started working at a brothel. You guys don't know, the brothel..."
A group of young men listened as the saintess recounted the delightful stories of the brothel.
The man gently knocked on the bamboo door and called out from the doorway.
"Aunt Zhi, I've brought my wife to visit you."
"Come in." A bright and sweet voice came from inside. Pushing open the door, one saw a woman about the same age as Cen's mother hanging clothes to dry, and a man rubbing clothes in a basin next to her.
"Uncle," Miao Cuifang greeted.
"This must be the wife that Cuifang brought back from outside. Come in and sit down."
"Hello, Aunt Zhi, hello, Uncle." Liu Xu greeted them politely, her face beaming with a smile.
"She's really different from the girls in our village, wow, quiet, beautiful, you just want to hug her."
The woman's words were so explicit that the young lady blushed. The man served them tea and sat down next to the woman.
By the way, let's talk about the two piglets that were brought over. Miao Xinzhi is very happy that the children she has watched grow up have found the right person.
“Then I’ll go and put a pen on the piglets,” the man said, standing up.
This is a very joyous occasion in the Miao village; if a family has a pig, the family will take it very seriously.
Only Liu Xu and Miao Xinzhi remained inside. The young woman was somewhat shy, so the woman naturally struck up a conversation with her.
"I heard you went to the martial arts tournament too?"
"Yes, I went."
"While you're young, you should travel more. Back in the day, I was about the same age as Cuifang when I went out to gain experience."
Liu Xu nodded in response, and then the woman continued...
"Do you know Bai En? He's the one who got beaten so badly by the daughter of the martial arts alliance leader that he couldn't get out of bed?"
"Yes, I know."
"Back in the day, I met him the first time I went out. That guy was incredibly handsome, dashing, and generous, and then I..."
The woman raised her eyebrows in a suggestive gesture.
Liu Xu nervously ate her melon while glancing outside the door, worried that her uncle might come back and the two of them would argue.
“Don’t be so nervous, he knows everything. Later I found out that this guy wasn’t a good person, so I dumped him and went back to the Miao village.”
“Then… Uncle…” Liu Xu didn’t know what she wanted to say. She wanted to ask her uncle if he minded, but the result was already in front of her, and it was clear that he did not mind.
Besides, in Miao areas, it's customary for men to marry into the family...
"It was during the martial arts tournament a while ago, and I was supposed to lead the team there. But this brat picked me up at the foot of the mountain in a carriage, which really angered my husband. It took me ages to calm him down!"
"Then last month I went to settle accounts with him, but when I got to Shuanghua Palace, he and his son were lying in bed. I was so happy."
Huo Xiaolong's eyes seemed to gleam with a sharp light as she said in a cocky tone.
"And then, Auntie?"
"Then I put a little curse on him and he came back."
"Oh my, Auntie, what kind of curse did you put on him? Does it hurt?" the little dumpling continued to ask.
“It hurts, of course it hurts. It’s enough to make him suffer for half a year. Let’s just let this matter go this time. If he comes to tease me again, my man and I will go back.”
The moment Liu Xu was pulled out the door by Huo Xiaolong and Miao Cuifang, the young lady seemed to be still in a daze. She was finally able to ask...
"Why doesn't Aunt Zhi mind herself?"
It seems that this failed relationship wasn't so terrible for her.
This is an experience that can be shared, and it can also be a topic of casual conversation after a meal.
Master Miao said matter-of-factly.
“She doesn’t say it all the time. She doesn’t say it when my uncle is standing next to her.”
"Besides, isn't that how it is all the time?"
In Miao Cuifang's memory, it seems that all the women in the village are like this, and there is nothing to be ashamed of.
"Isn't that normal, sis? You just loved the wrong person."
“Then you loved the wrong person…” For the first time, Liu Xu faced the teachings she had received as a child. It seemed that, according to her grandmother’s teachings, if she were the heroine of this story, she would have already hanged herself.
"So what if you loved the wrong person? It's normal," Huo Xiaolong said, swaying the young woman's hand.
"Can't you just love the wrong person?"
"Besides! Sister! Look at those Miao people, they're so innocent. If it were me, someone who hasn't seen much of the world, and I met a guy who's so generous with money and also incredibly handsome with his sword, I'd fall for him too," the little dumpling continued.
Miao Cuifang, standing beside him, nodded in agreement. He had fallen for Liu Xu because she always took care of him and was very considerate of him.
Yes, can't you just love the wrong person?
Can't we give women more opportunities?
Often, it's about letting go of our own shortcomings, rather than placing our hopes for self-respect on others.
Be bold in loving, be bold in trying and failing.
As long as you gain experience through trial and error, your love will not have been in vain.
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