“You venomous woman with a snake’s heart—you dare to scold me? Believe it or not, I’ll beat you.”
Lin Dalang had thought her madness at the wedding hall last time was due to shock, assuming she should be better by now. He never expected her to call him sick.
“I not only—”
Before she could finish saying “I’ll scold you and beat you too,” Lin Dalang suddenly showed an expression of sudden understanding.
“I see now. You’re playing hard to get, aren’t you, you vicious woman?”
“In the past, you were afraid to even raise your voice lest you upset me. No matter how I ignored you, you clung on. Now you’re acting shrewish on purpose so I’ll remember you.”
He sneered. “Let me tell you—even if you turned into a great beauty, I still wouldn’t fancy you.”
Playing hard to get?
Li Miaomiao narrowed her eyes, grabbed a chopped piece of wood from the ground, and hurled it at him.
As Lin Dalang dodged, she lunged forward, seized his collar over the fence, and with a swift motion slapped him hard across the face.
Smack.
No matter how crude the original Li Miaomiao had been, that was no excuse for him to abandon her. And today he had even come specially to spew such shameless words.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She slapped him again.
“You dog of a scumbag—who do you think you are? I need to play hard to get with you?”
“My man is ten thousand times better-looking than you. Why would I need to curry favor with you?”
“You dare call me ugly? Look at yourself, like some dung beetle. You’re not even worthy to lick my husband’s shoes!”
“And you still have the nerve to call yourself a scholar? Judging people by their looks like some beast. Go to the academy and see—what scholar acts like the useless trash you are, swaggering around only in front of me?”
That dog of a man had exploited the original host’s timidity and, together with Li Xiaorou, driven her to death from anger. They could have broken off the engagement earlier.
But his family had coveted her dowry and deliberately dragged it out until the wedding day.
“I’ll beat you to death today, you heartless bastard!”
Still not satisfied, Li Miaomiao let go of him, flipped over the wall, and rushed forward to continue beating him.
Lin Dalang had been pampered since childhood. As a scholar, he had never endured such blows.
Clutching his cheeks, he stared dumbfounded at the furious Li Miaomiao.
He was completely stunned.
Only after being released did he regain his senses. Seeing her vault over the wall, he burned with rage.
“You shrew! You dare hit me? If I don’t deal with you today, I’m no true man!”
He clenched his fist and swung at her.
Li Miaomiao caught his punch and struck him square in the face with a swift counterblow.
Blood immediately appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“A true man? I’ll beat you into a ground grub today.”
She lifted her leg and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying half a meter back.
Being the only girl in the family, her grandfather had taught her martial arts and tai chi from a young age to keep her from being bullied.
Handling one Lin Dalang was more than enough.
Clutching his stomach, Lin Dalang staggered to his feet. Seeing the fury on her face, he was completely dumbstruck.
When his father had said she chopped a tree in one stroke, he had doubted it. Today he finally saw—this vicious woman had truly changed.
Was she possessed? Or had he and Xiaorou really driven her mad?
Seeing her clench her fists and approach step by step, Lin Dalang realized he couldn’t beat her.
Wiping the blood from his mouth, he barked fiercely, “A good man doesn’t fight a woman. Just you wait!”
Then he bolted as if his feet were greased.
Watching him run faster than a monkey, Li Miaomiao didn’t bother to chase.
She unclenched her fists, but the anger in her chest hadn’t lessened. She kicked a clump of dirt toward the direction he fled.
“Dog scumbag. Come again and I’ll beat you again.”
Knowing Lin Dalang’s character, he would surely run home to complain to his parents. She would just wait and see when the Lin family came knocking.
Climbing back over the wall into the courtyard, she dusted off her hands and headed toward the kitchen.
When she looked up, she saw Xiao Xian leaning on his crutches by the main hall doorway. His gentle gaze fell on her, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he recited:
“Spring fills the garden, yet it cannot be contained;A single red apricot branch leans out over the wall.”
Li Miaomiao’s eyelid twitched. She glanced sideways at the fence.
Cultured people really did have unique ways of insulting others.
Recalling that he had accused her last night of still thinking about Lin Dalang, she knew whatever she said now would sound wrong. So she pretended not to understand and flashed a grin.
“My husband has such literary talent. I’ll go check on the soup in the kitchen.”
As she walked away, Xiao Xian remarked meaningfully, “Pretending not to understand…”
Lifting the pot lid, a rich fragrance wafted out.
Li Miaomiao ladled a spoonful to taste. Finding it a bit bland, she added some salt, scooped two large bowls, sprinkled chopped scallions on top, and carried them to the main hall.
They sat facing each other.
After long simmering, the pork intestines and radish were tender, the broth milky white.
The aroma alone whetted the appetite.
Li Miaomiao picked up a piece of intestine, blew on it, and popped it into her mouth, her eyes curving in satisfaction.
“So delicious.”
She ate with relish, but Xiao Xian didn’t move his chopsticks.
Looking at the intestine in his bowl, resembling a wriggling worm, he recalled what it originally was and lost his appetite.
Seeing his hesitation, Li Miaomiao understood that some people disliked offal—especially intestines. To prevent greasiness, she had painstakingly removed nearly all the fat clinging to the surface.
Setting down her chopsticks, she looked at him eagerly, her tone soft with plea.
“Just try one piece. There’s no odor. If you really don’t like it, I’ll cook you some noodles.”
Her clear almond eyes were like a rabbit’s, filled with sincerity.
Facing her soft, almost coquettish request, Xiao Xian recalled her sweet, gentle whisper by his ear that night.
After watching her for a long moment, he finally picked up a piece.
As he chewed slowly, Li Miaomiao felt both nervous and hopeful. She truly wanted him to enjoy the dish.
The intestine wasn’t as unpleasant as he’d imagined.
Tender, yet not greasy.
After he swallowed, she bit her lower lip and asked anxiously, “How is it?”
He looked calmly at the expectant woman opposite him, tapped his index finger on the table, and replied casually, “It’s alright.”
Hearing that, Li Miaomiao relaxed.
“Alright” meant edible. She had no desire to cook noodles.
Relieved, she picked up her chopsticks again, her tone light.
“Eat up. There’s more in the pot if it’s not enough.”
He responded faintly.
She could do carpentry, cook things most people wouldn’t eat, and even knew martial arts.
Once she had obeyed Lin Dalang’s every word. Now she wished him dead.
Ordinary women, when abandoned, might seek death. Yet she had changed drastically. Could someone’s personality truly shift so much in just a few days?
He cast her a sidelong glance as she ate happily.
His tapping finger paused.
Was she really… Li Miaomiao?
He would let her live a few more days and observe.
Unaware of his thoughts, Li Miaomiao went for a second bowl.
After eating her fill, she prepared to wash the dishes, surprised to see that Xiao Xian had finished the entire bowl.
“Want more?”
“I’m full.”
After washing up, she fished out the remaining intestines, replaced the broth with braising spices, and set them to marinate.
There were pig kidneys left; she planned to stir-fry them tomorrow.
She added a few cypress branches to the yard fire.
Once free, she thought of taking a nap. Sniffing her clothes, she wrinkled her nose. “The smell’s a bit strong.”
She had planned to bathe at night, but remembering there was only one tung oil lamp and it would be inconvenient, she decided to wash now.
She fetched water from the well and heated it in a pot.
After a hot bath and washing her hair, Li Miaomiao felt completely refreshed.
The northwest rarely had rainy seasons; the quilts had dried in the sun.
She carried the dried quilt into the adjacent room, spread it over the hay, lay down straight, and rolled around contentedly.
“Finally, I can sleep alone.”
Hearing the long-awaited words from next door, Xiao Xian’s cool voice carried quiet confidence.
“I look forward to seeing how long you can stay there.”