Unfortunately, what’s done cannot be undone. Moreover, judging by how much the boss seemed to like his current wife, he became utterly worthless in front of her.
While they were gossiping downstairs, Xie Mingzhu and Su Yurou upstairs weren’t idle either.
Hearing Su Yurou repeatedly calling her mother-in-law, Xie Mingzhu couldn’t resist teasing her, “It seems you’re quite satisfied with your current home, calling ‘mother-in-law’ so smoothly.”
Su Yurou didn’t pretend either. Back in the capital, she had always imagined her future husband would be a brilliant young talent of exceptional learning, and her future mother-in-law would inevitably be a distinguished matron from a noble family, prominent in the capital.
But now, thinking back, everything felt like a dream.
A candid smile spread across her face. “Times have changed, and besides, my mother-in-law treats me very well.” She couldn’t help but share all the foolish things she had done since arriving at this new home with Xie Mingzhu.
Xie Mingzhu could understand—a young lady from a wealthy family, where would she have learned such rough tasks?
Yet she was also curious about what Su Yurou’s husband was like. While slicing fruit, she asked, “Then how does your husband treat you?”
Unexpectedly, Su Yurou blushed. “Just so-so. But you probably know too, the common folks here, compared to the schemes and intrigues of the capital, make one feel much more at ease.”
Besides, she was already a fallen woman. That man didn’t disdain her and truly treated her as a new bride, so she was already quite content.
Thus, her expectations weren’t that high anymore.
Moreover, compared to those who had died on the road, they were lucky just to be alive.
After saying this, she nudged Xie Mingzhu with her elbow. “What about you?” As she asked, her eyes held a trace of worry, and she lowered her voice to whisper, “Is he well?” He was one of the village’s top idlers, not caring about the next meal once he had eaten the current one.
Su Yurou thought of the little ones trailing behind Xie Mingzhu and was truly afraid this idler was too lazy, starving those children to death.
When Xie Mingzhu heard her question, Yue Zhixian’s handsome and dashing face suddenly appeared before her eyes.
Noticing Su Yurou still watching her with concern, she collected her thoughts. “A bit small.”
Hearing this, Su Yurou immediately misunderstood, her expression tinged with sympathy as she sighed softly. “Ah.”
Xie Mingzhu didn’t know why she sighed but was curious about not seeing Lu Wanwan. Weren’t they all at Silver Moon Beach? So she asked about her, “Where’s Wanwan?”
It would have been better not to mention it. At the question, a flicker of fear crossed Su Yurou’s face, and she hurriedly asked, “When you passed through Fishtail Gorge, weren’t you frightened?”
Xie Mingzhu shook her head, originally planning to tell her that she had made a simple gas mask, which surprisingly came in handy.
But before she could bring it up, Su Yurou clutched her chest with a look of lingering fear. “I thought I had read extensively before, scouring through ancient texts and unofficial records, but I never imagined there could truly be such a gigantic snake in this world. No, it shouldn’t be called a snake—perhaps it’s a jiao.”
Then, with an excited tone, she began telling Xie Mingzhu about the enormous serpent they saw when passing through Fishtail Gorge.
Upon hearing this, although Xie Mingzhu had mostly kept her eyes closed while passing through Fishtail Gorge, she had glanced a couple of times earlier. Given the environment and the marshes, it was likely an anaconda.
But thank heavens, Su Yurou and the others were lucky—the anaconda was just passing by and didn’t attack anyone.
Even so, Lu Wanwan was still somewhat frightened. Combined with having taken that so-called Poisonous Miasma Pill—which was actually betel nut—her body wasn’t adjusting well, and she was still lying down.
There were certainly no doctors in the village, only Ji Popo, who knew how to prepare some herbal decoctions for people to drink.
Whether it worked or not, everything depended on fate.
Upon hearing this, Xie Mingzhu grew extremely worried. “How is she today?” In these times, even a minor cold could accidentally claim a life, let alone in a place as medically backward as Silver Moon Beach.
Su Yurou’s home was next to Lu Wanwan’s. “I glanced over when I passed her house this morning. She’s much better today—perhaps after resting a couple more days, she’ll be lively and energetic again. You really don’t need to worry too much. She doesn’t even know you’ve arrived yet! If I tell her later, she’ll probably be so happy she recovers immediately.”
Hearing this, Xie Mingzhu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At noon, several strong, young women came over, placed the prepared lunch into baskets, and carried them directly to Xie Mingzhu’s new house.
Everyone simply ate under the nearby banyan tree, enjoying the shade while they had their meal.
Su Yurou wanted to go along and see what Xie Mingzhu’s ‘somewhat small’ idler looked like, but she couldn’t do many tasks, which made her mother-in-law feel embarrassed about her taking a spot without contributing.
So she was left behind to clean the kitchen.
Wiping tables and sweeping the floor weren’t particularly difficult tasks.
Xie Mingzhu, feeling a bit uneasy, stayed behind to help.
She only asked Yan Ge’er to take his curious younger sisters along to see and reminded them, “Be quick and helpful—pour water and serve dishes for everyone.”
Yan Ge’er and his siblings happily agreed.
Although their time in exile had been tough, they actually preferred their current life.
In the past, they never worried about food or clothing, but Xie Mingzhu had been as dull as an old tree, either staying in the main room or the accounts office. Not only did Yan Ge’er and the other non-biological children rarely see her, but even Xie Mingzhu’s own two daughters seldom did.
Consider that Marquis Zhenyuan was stationed at the border year-round and rarely seen, and although Xie Mingzhu was in the residence, it felt as if she were miles away.
But what child doesn’t yearn for their elders’ affection? Who doesn’t want to be close to them?
So even though life was hard now, Yan Ge’er felt that there was joy within the hardship—their mother now fulfilled all their previous fantasies of what a mother should be.
Thus, they were all happy and cheerful, without any of the despair or weeping that might follow a house raid.
Their mother now comforted them, hugged them, and needed them.
Su Yurou stood by the window, watching Xiao Yunyan and his siblings bounce away, disappearing down the path lined with papaya, coconut, and banana trees with the meal delivery team. “Children are so carefree—no worries, happy wherever they go.”
Xie Mingzhu was already wiping the table. “What worries do you have? Didn’t you just say you were quite satisfied with the current situation?”
“Satisfied, yes, but I can’t do anything. My mother-in-law probably looks down on me a bit for it.” As she spoke, she pursed her lips, signaling Xie Mingzhu to look down through the window.
Xie Mingzhu went over and saw that Su Yurou’s mother-in-law, A Xiang, along with Sha Pozi, were still sitting under the longan tree in the yard, shucking oysters.
“Do you think she’s afraid I’ll slack off and is keeping an eye on me here on purpose?” Su Yurou whispered.
Xie Mingzhu handed her the handkerchief. “Then why ask when you already know the answer?”
Su Yurou felt deeply wronged. Though her hands were no longer the delicate ones that once played the zither and practiced calligraphy, she truly couldn’t handle such rough work.
Holding the handkerchief, she sighed repeatedly. “It’s not my fault. My parents only wanted to sell me for a good price back then, so they made me learn whatever seemed elegant.” How foolish she had been to mistake that for genuine affection.
Hearing this, Xie Mingzhu couldn’t help but think of her own father, Master Xie. By that reasoning, he truly cherished his daughter—instead of having her spend countless hours learning music, chess, calligraphy and painting, he taught her commerce, cooking, and household accounting.
Among noble families, these might be considered unrefined skills, since wealthy households never lacked servants or chefs.
But if one ever faced desperate circumstances, these practical abilities would become a woman’s true means of survival in today’s society.
As for the accomplishments Su Yurou and others like her had learned, their ultimate destination could only be the brothels.