The thick-eyebrowed, burly man shook off her hand and said calmly, “I will explain it to Mother myself; you don’t need to worry about it.”
Pausing for a moment, he added, “Yuexia, didn’t you just change to a larger bed? Let her squeeze in with you temporarily.”
Liu Yuexia pouted, her face written with reluctance.
In front of so many people, she couldn’t well throw a tantrum. She glared fiercely at Ye Qisheng, turned around, and ran out.
Ye Qisheng received the eye-roll, touched her nose, and kept her mouth shut without a word.
She didn’t want to suffer people’s moods either, but she had no choice. A person at the end of their rope had no room to be picky.
The villagers gradually dispersed. Soon, only the three of them were left, and the originally cramped thatched hut suddenly felt much more spacious.
“Can you walk on your own?” Perhaps having confirmed that Ye Qisheng was not a suspicious character, the thick-eyebrowed, burly man’s attitude softened a bit compared to before. His face wasn’t as tense, showing a bit more gentleness.
Ye Qisheng nodded, lifted the quilt, and stepped barefoot out of bed.
As she moved, the side slit of her dress revealed her long, lustrous white legs. Even in this dimly lit room, her skin was so pale it seemed to reflect the light.
The burly man saw this, and a trace of an awkward blush flashed across his face. He hurriedly turned his back and looked away.
Ye Qisheng noticed this and awkwardly tugged at her dress, attempting to cover her legs.
This level of exposure was nothing in the 22nd century, but in conservative ancient times, it was an offense against public decency.
No wonder the men, women, and children in the room had looked at her so strangely just now. Compared to their tightly wrapped outfits that seemed to wish they could cover even their faces, her attire was simply shocking. Being dragged out and drowned in a pig basket for it wouldn’t even be considered unjust.
While Ye Qisheng was silently feeling uneasy, a grayish-blue robe suddenly appeared in her field of vision. She looked up and saw the burly man’s slightly embarrassed face.
“Doctor Xu doesn’t have any women’s clothing here. Given the short notice, it’s not easy for me to borrow some for you, so make do with mine for now.”
Ye Qisheng nodded gratefully, took the clothes, and quickly put them on.
The man was tall, visually over 180 centimeters, but she wasn’t short either at 173 centimeters. Although this outer robe couldn’t cover her legs completely, it draped down to her calves, fully concealing the view exposed by the dress slit. As long as she didn’t make any large movements, there would be no problem.
It was still pouring rain outside. Ye Qisheng borrowed a piece of cloth from Doctor Xu, wrapped up her removed clothes and jewelry, and tied a knot. She then borrowed and put on a coir raincoat, a bamboo hat, and wooden clogs before stepping out the door with the burly man.
Although Ye Qisheng was fully armed against the rain, the man still held the umbrella over her head. To avoid physical contact, he kept his distance as much as possible, which inevitably resulted in more than half of his own body getting drenched by the fierce rain.
Ye Qisheng noticed this and couldn’t help but feel a bit more favorably towards this cold-faced but warm-hearted man. She pushed the umbrella toward his side and said softly, “Just cover yourself; don’t worry about me.”
But the man firmly shifted it back and said meticulously, “Doctor Xu said your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, so you can’t catch a cold.”
A surge of warmth welled up in Ye Qisheng’s heart, her eyes growing hot, and she suddenly felt a strong urge to cry.
She was the illegitimate daughter of a top-tier billionaire in the capital circle. Although her biological father didn’t allow her name in the family registry, he had never mistreated her materially.
Driving top-tier limited-edition sports cars, living in luxury mansions, guarded by bodyguards, and swiping a black card with no limit—she was raised into a useless rich second-generation heir who could do nothing but shop.
Wealth and a prominent family background gathered countless eyes upon her. In the past eighteen years of her life, who knows how many people flattered and fawned over her with sweet words, but those were all hypocritical gestures with ulterior motives; not a single one treated her with genuine sincerity.
The uncalculating “kindness” from the man before her, at this very moment, seemed exceptionally precious and rare.
Ye Qisheng was the type of person who believed, “If you treat me well by one point, I will repay you with a hundred.” Out of all those people in the room just now, only this man was willing to take her in.
Having nothing to repay him with at this moment, she could only solemnly vow, “Thank you for taking me in! If there’s a chance in the future, I will definitely repay you!”
The man glanced at her, his voice faint. “There’s no need for repayment. You’d better find a way home as soon as possible.”
Ye Qisheng’s expression froze, and she fell silent.
Of course, she wanted to go home too, but… could she go back?
Even if she traced her steps back to modern society, what awaited her was the deadly deep sea. Wouldn’t she just die all the same?
Ye Qisheng recalled the second before losing consciousness after sinking into the sea: seawater pouring into her eyes, nose, ears, and throat from all directions; the hellish pitch-blackness before her eyes; the boundless terror recklessly eroding every bone and limb in her body…
She gave a violent shudder and shook her head vigorously, forcing herself to forget that terrifying memory.
Regardless of anything, since she was here, she should make the best of it.
She should settle down here first. As for finding a way home, she could only slowly figure it out later.
Ye Qisheng gathered her spirits and took the initiative to strike up a conversation with the man.
Through their casual chat, she learned that the country she was currently in was called the Li Kingdom. In this alternate era similar to ancient Chinese civilization, it was considered a major power.
In recent years, due to the new emperor ascending the throne, the political situation in the imperial court was unstable. Various factions schemed against each other, and conflicts grew increasingly fierce. Some small nomadic countries took the opportunity to invade the borders, turning nearby villages into their granaries and blood banks.
The location of Liuye Village was not far from the border, but because its position was hidden and the surrounding mountains and forests were teeming with venomous snakes and fierce beasts, it had not yet been trampled by those barbarians.
However, this didn’t mean they could let their guard down. No one could guarantee that those barbarians wouldn’t suddenly invade one day. The reason this man was so wary and guarded against Ye Qisheng earlier was out of concern that she might be a spy from another country, sent to scout the terrain and routes.
After getting a clear picture of the general environment, Ye Qisheng began to learn more about this man. She found out his full name was Liu Shiting, and he was the village head of Liuye Village. The girl who had just argued with him was his third sister, Liu Yuexia. Back home, there was also a recently married second brother, Liu Chengzhi. Since the family hadn’t split up, he currently lived in the Liu household with his wife, Zhou Fenling. In addition, there was an elderly mother, Madam Fan, also known as Aunt Fan.
Listening to him introduce his family members one by one, Ye Qisheng noticed he hadn’t mentioned his father by the end. She asked curiously, “Right, what about your dad… your father?”
“He passed away,” Liu Shiting said lightly, his expression still indifferent. “He suffered from a sudden illness two years ago. Doctor Xu happened to be traveling far away at the time, and he didn’t make it.”
Hearing this, Ye Qisheng blanked for a moment and immediately felt guilty. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up a sad memory.”
Seeing that the girl knew to apologize right away and seemed to understand manners and etiquette, Liu Shiting gave her a quiet, assessing glance and replied, “It’s fine.”
The Liu family’s house and Doctor Xu’s house were not far apart; a normal walk would take ten minutes. However, it was pouring rain right now, and the roads were flooded and muddy, making it much harder to walk than usual. Ye Qisheng slipped and almost fell several times, but fortunately, the man was quick-witted and caught her, preventing a tragedy.
Before they knew it, the two walked up to a bamboo fence gate. Liu Shiting stopped, told Ye Qisheng they had arrived, pushed the door open, and took the lead walking in.
Just as Ye Qisheng was about to follow him in, her eyelid suddenly twitched, and she suddenly felt as if she was locked onto by a gaze.
She subconsciously turned her head and saw a tall, slender, and upright figure standing under a large tree not far away.
It was too dark, and the curtain of rain further reduced visibility. She couldn’t see the person’s face clearly, but her intuition told her that this person was staring right at her.
Realizing they had been spotted, the person seemed startled, hurriedly hiding behind the tree. After a moment, they stealthily poked half their head out to look at her again.
Ye Qisheng felt a bit baffled. Thinking it was just someone from the village, she didn’t pay it much mind, turned her head, and entered the courtyard.
Under Liu Shiting’s guidance, Ye Qisheng took off the coir raincoat and bamboo hat and went straight to Liu Yuexia’s west wing room.
The door was slightly ajar. Ye Qisheng knocked, and after waiting a moment without a response, she pushed the door open and walked in.
Inside the room, a kerosene lamp stood silently on the table, emitting a dim yellow glow. Liu Yuexia, wearing a freshly changed light green cloth shirt, sat on a stone stool. Holding a wooden comb with several broken teeth, she slowly and methodically combed her wet hair.
Catching sight of Ye Qisheng in her peripheral vision, Liu Yuexia let out a cold snort from her nose, her face filled with disgust. “You actually came. How thick-skinned can you get!!”
Ye Qisheng paid no mind to her attitude and asked politely, “I would like to bathe; may I ask where the washroom is?”
“Washroom?” Liu Yuexia laughed exaggeratedly as if she had just heard a joke. “Do you think my house is some wealthy estate? We don’t have a washroom. There’s just that wooden bucket over there; wash up or don’t, suit yourself.”
Ye Qisheng looked in the direction she indicated, and indeed, standing solitary in the dim corner of the wall was a round wooden bucket that came up to half a person’s height.
She had seen on TV before that due to limited conditions, ancient people only bathed once every three to five days, and usually, a handful of bath beans and a bathing tub settled it.
For Ye Qisheng, who was used to soaking in large bathtubs, this wooden bucket that visually barely reached fifty centimeters was somewhat intolerable. But she couldn’t afford to be picky right now and had to forcefully make do.
The bucket still held the water Liu Yuexia had just used for her bath. Ye Qisheng looked around but couldn’t find a tool to empty the water, so she asked, “How do I pour out the water? Also, where is the hot water?”
Liu Yuexia slammed her wooden comb down onto the table, eyeing her sideways with a fake smile. “You came back late, so there is no hot water. Right now, there’s only my bathwater. If you’re disgusted by it, you don’t have to bathe!”
Ye Qisheng was choked momentarily by her words.
After thinking it over, she decided not to lower herself to the other’s level and asked good-temperedly, “Then could you lend me some clothes? Everything I’m wearing is soaked.”
She had just been drenched by the pouring rain, and her wet clothes clung damply to her body. A chill shot up from the soles of her feet, making her tremble all over from the cold. If she didn’t change into dry clothes soon, she would definitely catch a cold.
Liu Yuexia showed impatience, originally wanting to snap at her for having so many questions. But upon second thought, a malicious smile crept onto the corners of her mouth. She got up, opened a wooden wardrobe, picked out a set of clothes from inside, and tossed it onto the ground.
“Here, don’t say I’m stingy. These are my absolute favorite clothes.”
Ye Qisheng pursed her lips, walked over, picked it up to look, and her expression froze slightly.
To her, who loved fashion and had always been at the forefront of trends, these clothes were undoubtedly torture to her eyes. It was one thing for it to be a dingy grey, tacky, and old, but it was also covered in patches upon patches. She could even faintly smell a time-honored musty odor. If paired with a dog-beating stick, it would be absolutely perfect for blending into a beggar gang and begging on the streets.
Catching the distress on her face as expected, Liu Yuexia curled her lips up in success and laughed eccentrically, “Disgusted? If you’re disgusted, then don’t wear it. Don’t force yourself!”