In the blink of an eye, Yang Da'e arrived, her heart aching at the sight of her son bruised and battered. Furious, the fat around her waist trembled.
Cui Xiaoqi's heart tightened. Yang was notorious in the village for being "overbearing," "shrewish," and "unreasonable." She quickly leaned close to Xu Qiaoqiao's ear and whispered a few words.
Seeing that Xu Qiaoqiao understood, she immediately plopped down on the ground and cried out at the top of her lungs, "Everyone, come and judge this! The Wang family's Wen Wazi took advantage of my absence and tried to ruin Xiaoqi's innocence. He's worse than a beast—utterly shameless and despicable!"
Xiao Jiu clung to Xu Qiaoqiao, wailing even louder.
Upon hearing this, the villagers rushed out one after another, surrounding the Cui family's courtyard until it was packed tight.
Wen Wazi had always had his eye on Seventh Girl, but he couldn't just flout the law like this!
The gazes directed at Wang Wenhan were filled with disgust.
Yang Da'e didn't care whether the words were true or false. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight.
Wang Wenhan, lying on the ground, felt humiliated by the crowd's stares. Covering his face, he tugged at his mother's sleeve.
No one knows a son better than his mother.
Yang Da'e immediately realized that what Xu had said was true.
"Don't you dare frame my son! What if it was your Seventh Girl who seduced him?"
She insisted on being stubborn, refusing to admit anything even if beaten to death.
Cui Xiaoqi curled her lips. Shameless words just rolled right off her tongue.
The villagers sneered. Even a blind person wouldn't fancy a son like hers.
Upon hearing that his son had been beaten by the authorities, Wang Shougen hurried over without stopping, stumbling several times along the way, his face covered in snow and dirt.
As the village head, he couldn't lose his temper in front of so many people. Glaring at Cui Xiaoqi, he spat out a threat, "Two days from now, just you wait!!"
With that, he dragged Yang Da'e and his useless son away in disgrace.
Cui Xiaoqi was taken aback. Why two days from now? What new scheme was he plotting?
Xiao Ba brought some herbs to rub on Cui Xiaoqi's arm, but Cui Xiaoqi stopped her. "I'm not that delicate. It'll heal by tomorrow."
The villagers hadn't had their fill of the spectacle, but the excitement was already over.
Inside the kitchen, the rabbit meat stewed in the pot was so tender it melted in the mouth. The four of them ate until their lips glistened with oil.
They had eaten their fill today, but what about tomorrow? Xu Qiaoqiao's face was clouded with worry.
There wasn't enough meat left in the pot for tomorrow's meal, and the rice jar at home was nearly empty—even mice wouldn't bother squeezing inside.
Cui Xiaoqi put down her bowl. Seeing Xu Qiaoqiao's expression, she knew exactly what she was thinking and immediately comforted her, "Mother, first thing tomorrow morning, I'll go into the mountains to hunt. I won't come back empty-handed."
Xu Qiaoqiao nodded. That was true. Ever since that incident, her daughter's archery had become incredibly accurate.
Almost never missing a shot.
Glancing sideways at the snowflakes outside the window, which were falling heavier and heavier, she worried, "If this snow keeps up all night, hunting in the mountains tomorrow will be very difficult."
Cui Xiaoqi knew all too well that no matter how accurate her archery was, if the prey hibernated and didn't come out, even the cleverest housewife couldn't cook without rice.
Thud! Something heavy landed under the eaves.
Surprised, Cui Xiaoqi stood up and walked outside, only to see a burlap sack under the eaves.
She immediately stepped out of the courtyard and spotted a slightly hunched figure in the wind and snow, looking particularly lonely.
Xu Qiaoqiao had followed her out. When she saw the figure, she let out a sigh.
Cui Xiaoqi knew that Xu Qiaoqiao still held resentment in her heart.
No one spoke a word.
The wind and snow grew fiercer, covering the footprints on the road with falling snow.
A layer of snow had settled on the burlap sack beneath the eaves, containing ten catties of coarse rice—provisions he had saved from the very teeth of hunger.
Eyes half-lidded, Xu Qiaoqiao’s resentment needed time to fade, something no one else could speak of.
Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, Cui Xiaoqi silently set to work repairing the fence.
Xiao Jiu and Xiao Ba were not idle either, helping with the task while cursing Wang Wenhan as a despicable creature.
As dusk deepened, the fence was finally mended, and the courtyard gate was fortunately already in place.
Cui Xiaoqi walked to the large locust tree outside the courtyard, pulled an arrow from its trunk, returned to the yard, and placed the arrow into the quiver hanging on the wall.
Once night fell, the villagers, to save lamp oil, retired early to their warm brick beds.
The Cui household originally consisted of three thatched huts, including the kitchen. After taking in Xiao Ba, who disliked sharing a room, an additional hut was built for her to live alone.
On ordinary days, Xu Qiaoqiao and Xiao Jiu slept in one room.
Cui Xiaoqi occupied another by himself.
Cui Xiaoqi braved the wind and snow in the dark, heading to the backyard to gather a large bundle of thick branches before returning indoors.
Inside, the charcoal brazier burned brightly, the sturdy roots crackling as they burned, making the room feel anything but cold.
Yawning, she walked to the bed, removed her deerhide boots without undressing, and slipped under the covers.
Turning her head, she gazed by the flickering firelight at the man lying beside her—his nose high-bridged, his thin lips pressed tightly together.
As she watched, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier…
In the night, the charcoal brazier’s fire died out, and a cold wind seeped into the room.
Cui Xiaoqi felt the chill, her body instinctively seeking warmth.
Her hands fumbled aimlessly until she sensed something amiss, her eyes snapping open.
She touched the man’s body and forehead—both cold as ice shards—then moved her hand beneath his nose.
Still breathing…
As if aware, the man grasped Cui Xiaoqi’s warm hand, turned to pull her into his embrace, and rested his chin against her forehead.
Feeling the man’s shivering cold, Cui Xiaoqi pressed against his chest, intending to push him away, but her hands slid downward instead.
To save him, she disregarded propriety between men and women, shedding her clothes.
As she transferred her body heat to the man, his arms tightened their grip even more.
Cui Xiaoqi, squeezed breathless, drifted into a heavy sleep.
After an unknown length of time, the snow outside reflected a silvery glow, piercing through the oil-papered window and flooding the room with brightness.
“Eighth Sister, come quick! Look at the snow rabbit I made!” Xiao Jiu’s cheerful laughter drifted from the courtyard into the room.
Cui Xiaoqi groggily reached up to rub her eyes, her fingertips barely touching her eyelids when a sharp, icy sensation suddenly pierced the back of her neck.
Her eyes flew open, meeting a pair of frosty pupils that resembled a lone wolf in the deep woods, fixed on its prey.
The man’s lips curved slightly, the cold tip of a hairpin pressed against the back of her neck, then slid forward to her throat.
Cui Xiaoqi could clearly feel the sting of the needlepoint breaking her skin.
“Who… are… you?” The man’s voice was hoarse, carrying a dangerous edge.
“Cui Xiaoqi!” She gasped in pain, her lips bitten pale.
Was this the treatment a lifesaver deserved? If she had known, she should have left this blood-soaked fellow in the icy wilderness to feed the wolves!
The cold hairpin pressed down another fraction.
Clearly at a disadvantage now, even a capable woman must know when to yield.
She could only force a smile uglier than tears and pour out the story she had prepared.
Of course, skimming over the heavy details.
She emphasized how she had struggled tirelessly to carry him home—though in truth, she had dragged him.
And how she spent dozens of taels of silver on medicine to save him, when in reality, that bottom-of-the-chest medicine was worth at most a string of cash.
A cold laugh escaped the man’s throat, half-convinced and half-doubting. The silver hairpin suddenly pressed harder: “Speak, who sent you?”
Cui Xiaoqi’s intuition as a hunter told her that this newly awakened man was an extremely dangerous “prey,” utterly uncontrollable.
“Heaven sent me!” The words left her mouth, and she immediately regretted them. The tip of the hairpin pierced her skin at once.
She hurriedly switched to a pitiful, charming demeanor: “I’m your savior. If it weren’t for me, you’d have been dragged into a wolf’s den and devoured without a trace!”
“Could… could you move that hairpin away first?”
As she spoke, she stole a glance at his expression, only to find his gaze suddenly drop. His barely noticeable Adam’s apple rolled uncontrollably, and her heart instantly sank.
Suspicion churned in the man’s eyes. He sensed something unusual in his body. Though he was a eunuch who had not been castrated, a Gu insect had been planted within him long ago, rendering him incapable of relations between men and women. Yet the nameless fire stirring in his lower abdomen was unmistakably desire, not suppressed by the Gu insect.
This filled him with vigilance and hostility toward the woman before him.
The hairpin not only remained in place but pressed down even harder.
“You… how could you treat your savior like this?!”
One moment she was questioning him, the next she sniffled, sobbing pitifully, “For your sake, I didn’t even care about my maidenly purity.”
“You… you really don’t remember?” Cui Xiaoqi said with grievance.
Friendly reminder: If you find this book enjoyable, to avoid losing it next time, please remember to add it to your bookshelf.