The bandit was caught off guard and stumbled back a few steps after being pushed by Yu Huishui. The men around him didn’t bother to help, watching as he fell to the ground with a thud.
“Li Cheng, you’re really something, getting knocked over by a girl?”
“Look at you, so weak. Get up, don’t embarrass yourself!”
Laughter erupted all around. The bandit named Li Cheng couldn’t keep his face, quickly standing up with a fierce look, ready to strike.
“Damn it, who are you!?”
Li Cheng didn’t recognize Yu Huishui. Although everyone had attended the wedding feast of the big boss, the new bride had entered the bridal chamber with her head covered and had been living a secluded life since, with little chance for these loafers to see her.
At first glance, Li Cheng found the face unfamiliar, but upon closer inspection, he noticed a certain charm.
Yu Huishui’s dress was one of the finest from the cloth shop, with a new style and good material. It was a deliberately chosen bright color, with a pink and white top featuring a fur collar that encircled Yu Huishui’s slender neck, highlighting his increasingly fair face.
Zang Liujiang had taken good care of him, and Yu Huishui had gained a bit of weight, making his face slightly rounder and more feminine.
“… Why haven’t I seen you in the stronghold before?”
Li Cheng’s hand, which was about to strike, changed course and rested on the door frame beside Yu Huishui’s face. “We have such a pretty girl in our stronghold, where did you get these nice clothes? Did some lover give them to you? Really beautiful.”
This was outright lewd talk.
“Why aren’t you speaking, shy? Come with me tomorrow, and I’ll buy you something nice too.”
The girls inside the room couldn’t stand it anymore, one of them mustered the courage to complain softly, and Cuicui was so angry she was grinding her teeth, ready to cause a scene.
“What’s wrong, Cuicui?” Seeing Yu Huishui remain silent, Li Cheng thought he was scared and turned to look at Cuicui standing behind.
“Don’t be jealous, I’ll take you too…”
“Step back.”
Yu Huishui, who had Li Cheng’s face close to his, lifted his eyelids and turned back to instruct Cuicui.
Then, Yu Huishui raised his hand and slammed the door shut, the thick door panel clamping down heavily on Li Cheng’s hand resting on the door frame with a loud clang!
“Ouch!”
A cry of pain came from outside, followed by screams from inside. Yu Huishui grabbed a fire poker from beside the stove, and as the furious Li Cheng opened the door, he was met with a blow to the head!
Li Cheng crouched down, clutching his head in pain. Yu Huishui didn’t wait for him to retaliate, kicking down the foul-mouthed bandit.
There was a big difference between bandits, and compared to Zang Liujiang, this bandit was as thin as a bean sprout, not worth a second glance.
“I didn’t even say anything, why are you hitting me!” Li Cheng, who had never encountered such a fierce girl, had the audacity to complain.
“Hitting you?” Yu Huishui squinted his eyes, holding the fire poker upright at the door. “Not only will I hit you, but I’ll also scold you!”
Wang Jia Meimei inside the room widened her eyes, not expecting the previously shy and polite young lady to suddenly start hitting people with a stick.
“Bringing men to barge into a girl’s room, you’re shameless!”
“Smooth-talking and offending girls, you’re immoral!”
“Turning the tables and falsely accusing others, you’re a shameless pig!”
Yu Huishui’s transformation was astonishing, not only to the bandit in front of him but also to the girls behind him, who didn’t dare to make a sound.
“You… who do you think you are! There’s no one as audacious as you in the stronghold!” The bandits beside Li Cheng came to their senses, reaching out to pull the fallen Li Cheng.
After all, they were bandits, how could they be afraid of a girl?
“Who do I think I am?” Yu Huishui shot a fierce glance, “Go ask Zang Liujiang who I am!”
“Shrew!” “Madwoman!” The bandits inexplicably feared this fierce and fair-skinned girl in front of them, quickly getting up and running away in embarrassment.
“Bah! You’re the mad ones!” The girls inside the room took advantage of the victory, chasing after them with a few curses, their faces more joyful than during the New Year.
Someone inside threw out a few pieces of clothing, loudly telling them to take them away and mend their own torn clothes in the future.
The bandits didn’t dare to come back to pick them up, leaving the clothes lying on the ground. Yu Huishui was about to kick them aside when he noticed something strange about the clothes, stopping to squat down and take a closer look.
The clothes were ordinary gray cotton jackets, with some damage at the cuffs and shoulders, but there was a layer of shiny stuff in the folds, most noticeable around the collar and shoulders.
“What is this…” Yu Huishui reached out to pinch some of the shiny particles, holding them up to his eyes for a closer look.
Before he could figure it out, Cuicui had already gathered up the clothes and stuffed them into Wang’s woodpile.
“A few torn clothes, let Wang Meimei burn them when she has time!” Cuicui thought Yu Huishui was reluctant to part with the clothes, pulling him up. “We have plenty of new clothes, even the ones we’re wearing are dirty.”
Yu Huishui then noticed the large patch of gray on his pink and white dress, and his hands were black, likely from the fire poker earlier.
“I need to wash my hands before continuing to sew.” Yu Huishui felt a bit embarrassed, scratching his face and leaving a black mark.
“Sew what!” Cuicui’s eyes were bright, just like the girls peeking out from inside the room. “You go rest! You don’t need to sew anymore!”
“You’re amazing, Sister Huishui!”
“That was so satisfying! Those guys always cause trouble!”
“We won’t sew for them anymore! Haha! I wouldn’t sew for even a tael of silver per piece!”
“I’d sew for a tael!”
“You money-grubber!”
The girls were as noisy as before, their faces full of smiles and excitement, much more friendly than when they first met.
Looking at them, Yu Huishui thought of Xiao Tan, who grew up with him. That little girl had been by his side since childhood, inevitably looked down upon by some servants, and whenever she was bullied, he would seek justice like this.
“Go back quickly.” Cuicui’s eyes curved into crescents as she looked up at the sky, whispering into Yu Huishui’s ear:
“The big boss is coming back from patrolling the mountain, go wash up and greet him.”
Yu Huishui felt a bit awkward, but remembering the rumors in the stronghold, it seemed to have caused quite a misunderstanding.
“Is Zang Liujiang really frowning every day?”
“Of course.” Cuicui had just finished speaking when a girl who had been eavesdropping squeezed in beside her. “How can a newlywed couple sleep in separate rooms? Sister Huishui, if you have any grievances, tell us, and we’ll stand up for you.”
“There’s really nothing wrong, I just spent a few more days reading, and neglected him a bit…”
Yu Huishui recalled the scene of Zang Liujiang bringing meals into the study these past few days. He really had been heartless, not even saying a few extra words to him.
Today, he even borrowed his authority, so he had to go and make it up to him.
“Then I’ll be off.”
Yu Huishui didn’t hesitate, raising his blackened hands to signal to the room before turning to run towards Zang Liujiang’s bedroom. Before he even reached the room, he saw the owner had already returned.
Zang Liujiang seemed particularly busy today, bringing back a large group of people. A team of them rode into the stronghold on horseback, and there was a figure peeking around in front of Zang Liujiang’s room.
Upon closer inspection, it was Yu Huishui, with blackened hands and a dirty appearance.
Zang Liujiang’s heart skipped a beat, quickly dismounting to meet Yu Huishui, nervously checking his palms.
“What happened here, why are you so dirty? Did you get into a fight?”
Yu Huishui grabbed his wrist, raising an eyebrow and glancing at the bandits behind him, lowering his voice:
“Never mind that, have you heard the rumors in the stronghold?”
“Rumors?” Zang Liujiang was taken aback.
There were indeed many rumors, with so many people in the stronghold, all sorts of strange rumors circulated.
Some said the old sow in the stronghold gave birth to two puppies, others said Granny Wang’s big belly wasn’t from getting fat but from being pregnant, and some claimed ghostly figures roamed the stronghold at night, terrifying everyone…
“Which one are you talking about, wife?”
Zang Liujiang pulled out a handkerchief, poured water, and began wiping Yu Huishui’s hands, focusing on the blackened palms. But before he knew it, Yu Huishui suddenly raised his hands, cupping Zang Liujiang’s face and giving him a big kiss!
“Oh my!” A bandit who often accompanied Zang Liujiang let out a mournful cry.
What was this in broad daylight! How could they let a single man live!
“Wife, wife?!” Zang Liujiang’s legs went weak, the nineteen-year-old boss was so stunned by the kiss that his soul seemed to fly away.
The boss’s sweet and floating soul soared into the sky, disappearing into the high clouds.
The plant ash on Yu Huishui’s hands had just been moistened by water, leaving a dry and wet handprint on both sides of Zang Liujiang’s face. Even so, it was clear that his face was flushed all the way to his neck.
“How was that?”
Yu Huishui seemed unaware of the situation, leaning on Zang Liujiang’s arm, sneaking a glance at the bandits behind him, thinking that with so many people, this kiss should dispel half of the rumors in the stronghold.
His mind wasn’t on Zang Liujiang, and he was still sneaking glances, half his body leaning into Zang Liujiang’s embrace. Zang Liujiang, trembling, gently wrapped his arms around Yu Huishui’s waist.
Suddenly, Yu Huishui felt a tightness at his lower back, his feet lifted off the ground as Zang Liujiang hoisted him onto his shoulder.
“Zang Liujiang?!”
Yu Huishui hadn’t figured out why Zang Liujiang suddenly acted this way when the bandits behind them erupted in cheers and jeers, pulling on their reins, causing the horses to neigh loudly.
It was like fireworks suddenly bursting in the sky, celebrating the union of lovers.
Zang Liujiang raised his arm to wipe his face, turning back to instruct, “Brothers, you’ve worked hard today! Let’s go back and slaughter pigs and sheep for a good meal!”
“Is it really for our hard work? Or is it to celebrate the second wedding night?”
Laughter erupted from the crowd, but Zang Liujiang didn’t care, carrying Yu Huishui into the room in a few steps.
The bed was still cold, untouched by fire, but the person in front of him was burning hot. Yu Huishui was nestled in his arms, slowly realizing the meaning behind his earlier actions. A blush quickly spread across his fair face as Zang Liujiang’s face drew closer.
“I…” Zang Liujiang’s brows and eyes seemed to tremble with nervousness. He was so handsome, with bright eyes under thick black eyebrows, filled with the image of Yu Huishui.
“Can I kiss you?”
“No…” Yu Huishui instinctively refused, but meeting his gaze, he couldn’t speak further, his words twisting and turning, squeezing out a few words like a cat’s meow: “I don’t know…”
“You already kissed me…” Zang Liujiang didn’t retreat, leaning closer, his arm beside Yu Huishui’s head tensed tightly, afraid of making any move that might scare him away.
“Then, kiss me again?”