6 – Silly girl, he’s heartbroken for you
Knowing that Qin Feng was going up the mountain the next day, Taohua had originally planned to get up early to make him breakfast.
But before dawn, Qin Feng had already left.
When he got up, Taohua was still half-asleep, but seeing her husband rise, she instinctively tried to sit up and get dressed.
However, before she could even reach for her clothes, Qin Feng gently pressed her back down.
“It’s still dark out. Sleep a little longer. After I leave, make sure to bolt the door. I should be back before nightfall.”
Taohua had wanted to insist on getting up—after all, she couldn’t let her man go out to work on an empty stomach.
But she had risen too abruptly just now, and her monthly flow surged, leaking out in an instant.
Feeling that the bedsheet might already be stained, she didn’t dare struggle anymore and obediently stayed under the covers.
Still, she didn’t go back to sleep. Instead, she kept her ears pricked, listening for any movement outside.
She heard Qin Feng go to the kitchen, where he seemed to busy himself for a while.
Only when the sounds from the kitchen completely faded did she finally get up from bed, clutching her stomach.
By the time she changed her clothes and the bedsheet, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
By then, Taohua was feeling a bit hungry.
When she went to the kitchen and lifted the lid of the pot to prepare something to eat, she found that sweet potatoes had already been cooked inside.
Though the part stuck to the bottom of the pot was burnt, the sweet potato was large enough to last Taohua two meals.
Thinking of this, Taohua’s heart felt both sour and sweet.
Sweet, because this man wouldn’t let her get up early to work—not only did he not expect her to serve him, he even made breakfast for her instead.
Sour, because he was so good to her, yet he refused to touch her, refused to become a real husband and wife with her.
Carrying these mixed feelings, Taohua ate half of the sweet potato.
After finishing, she packed the soiled bedsheet into a basket and planned to take it to the river to wash.
Though there was water at home, the basin wasn’t big enough. It was fine for washing a couple of light garments, but washing a bedsheet was a bit difficult.
However, she went late, and by the time she reached the river, all the good spots were already taken.
As she walked toward the downstream section, Sun Xiao Lan’s voice suddenly rang out:
“Taohua, over here! I still have some space. You can squeeze in with me.”
The water downstream was shallower, and Taohua wouldn’t have gone there unless she had no other choice.
Hearing Sun Xiao Lan call her, she immediately picked up her basket and headed over.
While Taohua was washing the bedsheet, Sun Xiao Lan noticed a bloodstain on it.
The girl wasn’t shy at all and asked with a smile, “So? Did it feel good last night?”
Hearing this, Taohua’s expression immediately darkened, and she even stopped scrubbing the bedsheet.
Sun Xiao Lan sensed something was off and lowered her voice to ask, “What’s wrong? Was he too big and made you uncomfortable?”
“No…” Taohua bit her lip and muttered gloomily, “He… he doesn’t want to touch me at all.”
“Ah?” Sun Xiao Lan’s mouth fell open in surprise. “You’re so pretty and delicate—how could he not want to touch you? Is he… incapable? Wait, that doesn’t make sense. If he didn’t touch you, then how did this bedsheet get stained?”
Taohua choked up a bit: “It’s my monthly flow, there’s too much of it, and I accidentally stained the bedsheet. It’s embarrassing to say, but I didn’t even know my monthly flow had come until he saw it and told me. Then in the evening, when I saw he wasn’t touching me, I reached out to touch him myself, but he pushed my hand away and said we’d talk about it later.”
The more Taohua spoke, the more wronged she felt. With reddened eyes, she asked Sun Xiao Lan, “Do you think he’s disgusted by me?”
“Hahaha!” Sun Xiao Lan burst into laughter. “Are you stupid, Taohua?”
Taohua was confused. “What did I do? Didn’t you say sometimes I should take the initiative too?”
“Hahaha,” Sun Xiao Lan was beside herself with laughter. “Silly girl. It’s my fault for not explaining clearly yesterday. You can’t do it every day—when your monthly flow comes, you can’t do it at all, understand? Think about it yourself, how could you possibly manage in that state?!”
Taohua thought it over carefully, and her face instantly flushed bright red.
“It seems… I misunderstood him. He was just worried about me.”
“Of course he was! Silly girl! Good thing you ran into me today, otherwise you’d be sulking alone for no reason. No wonder you looked so upset earlier. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, you should be happy, right?”
“Mhm!” Taohua nodded, a smile immediately spreading across her face. “Let me tell you, this morning he even left food for me. I plan to…”
But before Taohua could finish, someone interjected sarcastically:
“Well, well, well, talking about men so early in the morning? Who has such thick skin? Oh, it’s Taohua. No wonder, then.”
Taohua frowned and looked up to see Granny Wang walking over with a basin of laundry.
It was this Granny Wang who had spread rumors in the village after Qin Feng rescued Taohua by the river that day, claiming she had been engaging in illicit affairs by the river and ruining her reputation.
Taohua hated Granny Wang to the core. Stiffening her neck, she retorted, “What does it have to do with you if I discuss my own husband with my friend? We were speaking so quietly—you were the one eavesdropping, and now you have the nerve to say I have thick skin? Where do you get the gall?!”
“Oh, look at this girl! Come, everyone, take a look!” Granny Wang set her basin down on the ground, planted her hands on her hips, and shouted loudly. “Look at little Taohua—she’s really changed since getting married, even her tongue has sharpened.
Tsk, tsk, not even ashamed, discussing men with her little friend so early in the morning. As if she’s afraid everyone doesn’t know what she was up to last night.”
After Granny Wang said this, a few others joined in the mockery: “Exactly! Who hasn’t done it? What’s there to show off about?”
“That’s right, this Taohua is something else!” Granny Wang continued to belittle Taohua. “Just the day before yesterday, the young master from the grain and oil shop in town said he wanted to take her as a concubine. The day before that, she was sneaking around by the river with a man. And yesterday, she was sharing a pillow with someone again.
If you ask me, she’s nothing but a rotten peach blossom. Her body probably isn’t pure anymore. It’s only that outsider Qin Feng who’s willing to marry her. But what can he do? That Qin fellow is too old—he can’t find a better girl!”
Granny Wang’s words were too harsh. Taohua’s face flushed with anger. In the past, she would never have dared to argue loudly with anyone.
But she was someone who had died once already, and she was now married to Qin Feng as his wife, the mistress of the Qin household. She had the courage now!
She put down the bedsheet in her hands and stood up, glaring fiercely at Granny Wang as she said:
“Bullshit! Do you think I don’t know what you’re hiding? Isn’t it just because I caught your daughter trying to elope with that peddler back then?
I couldn’t care less about your family’s mess and had no interest in spreading it around! It was that peddler who bragged about taking advantage of your daughter, ruining her reputation. Instead of going after him, you’ve been fixated on me all this time.
You seize every chance to slander my virtue. Which eye of yours saw that I was no longer pure? Could it be that you were the one who married me in the wedding ceremony? You’re just trying to get back at me on purpose—do you think I don’t know?”
This was the first time Taohua had ever argued with someone in public. Though her voice trembled slightly, her presence was no less formidable than that of the old hag.
And the matter she brought up had once caused a stir throughout the entire village.
Back then, who didn’t know that Granny Wang’s daughter had been involved with a peddler?
Her daughter was originally betrothed, but after the scandal broke, the other family came to break off the engagement overnight. Later, unable to find a good match, her daughter ended up marrying an old, lame man with children from the neighboring valley.
Now, with Taohua’s revelation, everyone was stunned.
“So that’s how it is! No wonder Granny Wang held such a grudge against Taohua!”
“Exactly, at her age, still picking on a young girl like this!”
For a moment, everyone began to criticize Granny Wang.
Unable to save face, Granny Wang tried to turn the tables: “Don’t be fooled by this little hussy! Everything I said is true. She’s just lashing out now that she’s been exposed!”
Taohua laughed scornfully: “Then which part of what you said is true? The part where you slandered my purity? If that’s the case, then I’ll prove it to everyone today!”
As she spoke, Taohua picked up the bedsheet she had brought.
She displayed the bloodstain for everyone to see, declaring clearly: “If I were no longer pure, then what do you call this proof of virginity?”