When Li Chen’s gaze swept over them, every woman he looked at shuddered. It felt as though their hearts had been violently shaken.
In that instant, each of them felt as if they had fallen into an icy abyss. Their bodies stiffened, and for a moment, none of them could even move.
By the time they came back to their senses, Li Chen had already walked far away.
The women looked at one another, fear and shock written across their faces. For a long while, no one dared speak.
“That useless pretty boy. He can’t even take his own wife, yet he dares to put on airs in front of us,” Ma Lian finally said after drawing a deep breath. The frozen feeling in her body gradually eased, and she forced herself to curse at his retreating back.
“It’s nothing special. Heaven just happened to favor that little thug with some luck. My Old Zhou learned hunting before. Even if he’s lame now, he’s still better than that brat. If Heaven grants prey, it won’t only favor him. Tomorrow, I’ll have Old Zhou go into the mountains too,” Wang Caifeng added, jealousy burning in her eyes as she stared at the pine grouse in Liu Jincui’s hands.
Her words immediately lit up the eyes of the other women.
“Exactly… Which household doesn’t have a man? No matter young or old, who isn’t better than him? If that little thug can hunt, so can we. Tomorrow we’ll all go!”
The women began shouting excitedly, thoroughly stimulated by Li Chen’s pine grouse.
Their evening gossip session ended instantly. One by one, they hurried home to persuade the men in their families to try hunting.
Li Chen knew nothing of this. Besides, he had no interest in wasting time on a group of gossiping women.
Still, when he had casually glared at them just now and their breaths had instantly stalled as if frozen, it left him with a strange sensation.
It seemed that after being reborn, even his mental strength had undergone some mysterious enhancement. His gaze now carried a tangible piercing force.
It felt almost mystical.
Shaking his head, he let out a slow breath and continued forward.
Passing along the narrow path and circling around the mountain ridge, he finally saw his home in the distance.
Though the house was broken and the courtyard shabby, the sight of it still made him exhale softly.
A single lamp burned inside, faint but warm.
In these chaotic times, home was the only remaining light in the darkness.
Especially after a day filled with tension and danger, a weary heart needed that gentle glow.
At the doorway, someone was squatting. It was his little maid-wife.
She sat there with her chin resting in her hands, eyes closed, her head nodding slightly as if about to fall asleep.
Yet she remained waiting, waiting for a man who might return at any unknown hour.
Standing before her, Li Chen could clearly see the faint furrow between her brows—anxiety and worry lingering there.
In troubled times, waiting always carried an added layer of fear.
As if sensing something, Yu Qingwan slowly opened her eyes.
When she realized it was Li Chen, she jumped up in delight. “My lord, you’re back?”
Li Chen did not speak. He simply reached out his hand gently.
Yu Qingwan trembled. She thought he was about to strike her for dozing off.
She did not dare dodge and hurriedly said, “My lord, I’m sorry. I was too hungry and tired, so I dozed off for a moment.”
Instead of hitting her, Li Chen lightly brushed her left cheek and plucked away a tiny feather.
“Let’s go inside.”
He blew the feather from his fingertip and stepped into the house.
Walking to the lamp, he paused.
“Someone died at the gate today. This servant was frightened, so I lit the lamp…” Yu Qingwan said in a trembling voice.
In this era where everything was expensive except human life, oil was a luxury. People barely dared use it for cooking, much less for lighting lamps.
If she had not been terrified, she would never have dared waste lamp oil.
She feared Li Chen would fly into a rage for wasting cooking oil and beat her again.
Instead, Li Chen shook his head. “It’s fine. If you want to light it, then light it.”
He even took a small stick and adjusted the wick.
The room instantly grew brighter.
Gathering her courage, Yu Qingwan stepped forward carefully, holding the roasted iron-beaked bird he had shot earlier.
Although he had told her to roast and eat it, she had not dared eat any after cooking it. She had waited for him to return.
“My lord, please eat,” she said softly, offering it with trembling hands.
Li Chen stared at the bird for a moment, then tossed the rabbits from his shoulder onto the ground.
Only then did Yu Qingwan clearly see the day’s harvest.
Li Chen removed the sack from his back and emptied its contents onto the floor—two pine grouse, more than a dozen large unknown birds, and five mountain rats.
“Oh my… so many… so many…”
Yu Qingwan squatted down, excitedly sorting through them. When she looked up, tears nearly filled her eyes from joy.
“Stew one,” Li Chen said, pointing to one of the pine grouse.
“Stew it now?” Yu Qingwan’s eyes widened, filled with delight and expectation.
Truthfully, she had barely eaten since morning. She was starving.
“Stew it,” Li Chen confirmed.
Yu Qingwan jumped up happily, about to fetch water for cooking, when she suddenly remembered something.
She hurried back and held up the roasted bird again. “My lord hunted all day. You must be very hungry. Have a bite first to fill your stomach.”
Li Chen did not hesitate. He took it, tore it in half, stuffed one half into his mouth, and handed the other half to her. “You eat too.”
“Thank you, my lord!”
Yu Qingwan quickly accepted it. Holding the pine grouse in one hand, she rushed outside and eagerly bit into the roasted bird, swallowing it in just a few mouthfuls.
Meanwhile, Li Chen tied the two rabbits and hung them down into the well to keep them fresh.
Rabbit meat was tasty but lacked nourishment. He did not plan to eat them. Tomorrow, he would sell the two rabbits in the city to exchange for grain.
Grain lasted longer and provided proper carbohydrates.
He needed to build up his body, fatten up his maid-wife, and when the time came, verify his recovery and consummate the marriage properly. Only then could he be at ease.
The mountain rats and birds would be cleaned by Yu Qingwan and could serve as side dishes for several days.
Time passed quickly.
The meal was ready—a simple stewed chicken.
To make the stew, Yu Qingwan gritted her teeth and added a few extra grains of coarse salt.
Li Chen noticed everything. Looking at the large, impure grains of salt, he frowned slightly.
He had already tasted that coarse salt in the morning’s wild vegetable porridge. It was bitter and harsh—barely edible. Over time, it might even harm the body.
It suddenly occurred to him that refined salt likely did not exist yet in this era. Even if it did, it would not be widely available.
Fine salt was reserved for the imperial court and nobles. Only high officials and powerful families could taste it.
When the lid was lifted from the pot, the fragrance of meat filled the room.
Yu Qingwan nearly cried from excitement.
“My lord, please eat!”
She filled Li Chen’s bowl generously, giving him two drumsticks, two wings, and several large chunks of meat.
For herself, she took only a small bowl with half a portion of broth and a few scraps of meat, then squatted by the doorway, sipping quietly in small mouthfuls.
Women did not sit at the table to eat. That was the rule.
Li Chen did not pick up his chopsticks. He lowered his eyes to his bowl.
“Come sit at the table.”
He beckoned to Yu Qingwan.
“Ah? My lord, that would not be proper…”
Yu Qingwan shook her head vigorously like a rattle drum.
“Come here.”
His tone carried command.
She dared not disobey. Holding her bowl carefully, she sat at the edge of the stool, barely occupying any space.
“In this house, from now on, whether man or woman, we eat at the same table. When we have children, it will be the same.”
Li Chen’s voice softened.
“When we have children, it will be the same…”
Yu Qingwan’s heart trembled.
Was he… going to consummate the marriage?
Her heart raced wildly. Her hands trembled. Her face flushed red as sunset…