Song Haiming’s whole body became stiff. He felt as if fleas were crawling all over him.
It was true that he liked feet.
But he only liked the chubby little feet of children!
What was wrong with Zhaodi? How could she have such a dirty idea?
He did not say a word, but his trembling lips showed that he was cursing inside.
“Second Young Master, let’s go gather firewood over there too!” Song Li said anxiously as she prepared to follow them.
But Song Hailan stopped her with interest.
Everyone thought the eldest son of the Song family was a refined gentleman.
Who would have guessed that he secretly liked feet?
And he even tried to cover it up by insisting he only liked children’s feet.
How hypocritical!
Zhaodi might not be good at many things, but she was surprisingly good at judging people.
Song Haiming was in for a treat. Soon he would get to see a beautiful woman’s feet. Who knew how excited he would be?
It was better if they did not interfere.
What if they ruined everything and Song Haiming got angry with him?
Not interfering was his bottom line.
But he still wanted to watch the drama.
“I see some dry wood over there. Let’s collect it first.”
Song Li looked where he pointed. It was not far from Song Haiming, so she agreed.
The two of them gathered dry branches while pretending to casually glance toward Song Haiming and Zhaodi.
Song Haiming stepped onto a large rock and filled a bucket with water.
As he came back to shore, Zhaodi insisted on helping him carry it.
Song Haiming quickly dodged her.
But Zhaodi lost her footing, twisted her ankle, and threw herself toward him.
In that instant, the heavy bucket pulled Song Haiming off balance as well. His body tilted backward, and he rolled all the way down the rocky riverbank until he landed in the river.
His white robe was soaked.
His hair was a mess.
He looked completely miserable.
Song Hailan’s eyes lit up with excitement.
…
Zhaodi sat on the ground, still staring unwillingly at the motionless Song Haiming.
She held her ankle and cried out,
“Ouch… Ouch…”
Her sweet, delicate voice attracted two guards.
The guards rushed over and immediately carried Song Haiming away on their backs.
Zhaodi: “…”
Wasn’t it obvious that she had hurt her ankle?
Song Li: “…”
【This isn’t what happened in the story.】
【My cousin is a trained martial artist. How did his legs suddenly go weak and make him fall into the river?】
【Unbelievable.】
【In the original story, Cousin held the bucket with one hand, caught Zhaodi with the other, effortlessly spun around twice, then the two stared deeply into each other’s eyes while breathing heavily…】
Song Haiming, who was being carried past them by the guards, squeezed his eyes shut.
…Enough. Stop talking.
I would never do something like that!
Song Hailan stroked his imaginary beard and nodded wisely.
Yes… this is more like his real personality.
After Song Haiming was gone, the two avoided looking at each other.
Then, without saying a word, they picked up their bundles of firewood and walked back together.
Zhaodi: “…”
Did she not cry loudly enough?
What kind of brother was Song Hailan?
His sister fell down, and he did not even help her.
And Song Li too!
She claimed they were best friends, yet she simply abandoned her there.
After everything she had done by taking her in…
What an ungrateful person!
No.
She had to find a way to completely win over this cheap older brother.
In the future, if she told him to go east, he would never dare go west.
If she told him to stand, he would never dare sit.
Other people who traveled into novels always got at least four brothers who spoiled them.
She only had one, and he always went against her.
How ridiculous!
Still, the mysterious person had not contacted her these past few days, so she had no one she could use.
She would wait for the right opportunity.
After making up her mind, Zhaodi stood up by herself.
She had only been pretending.
She was not foolish enough to actually hurt her own ankle.
…
Meanwhile, Song Li and Song Hailan were starting a fire together.
Song Li thought to herself,
【Now is the perfect chance to make everyone dislike Zhaodi.】
【The brothers need to understand that they shouldn’t take her with them anymore. She’s nothing but trouble.】
【Today she bumps into things, tomorrow she falls down. How is anyone supposed to get real work done?】
【The worst part is that, a few months later, Zhaodi disguises herself as a man and secretly follows Old Zhuang to the battlefield to save the wounded. Instead of saving anyone, she gets captured by Western Rong. My cousin leads a thousand elite soldiers to rescue her. Five hundred brave men die before they finally find her.】
【And what is she doing? She’s flirting with the Western Rong prince. When it’s time to leave, they can barely bear to part from each other.】
【She even shamelessly claims that nothing happened between them—that they simply admired each other as heroes.】
【That makes me sick. What kind of hero is she?】
【Then what should the five hundred dead soldiers be called?】
【If she’s supposed to be a delicate young lady, then she should stay home and learn proper manners. Why run to the battlefield just to get attention? You’ll never understand pain until the blade falls on you.】
【Stepping over the lives of five hundred soldiers just to fall in love with the Western Rong prince. How wonderfully romantic!】
Nearby, Song Yannian, Song Hailan, and even Song Haiming, who was changing clothes inside the carriage, all pricked up their ears in shock.
They could hardly believe that, in the near future, Zhaodi would cause such a disaster.
And that they themselves would ignore the lives of their soldiers just to rescue such a selfish woman.
But…
If they truly treated Zhaodi as their daughter and sister…
They really might have gone to save her.
After all, they owed her eight years.
She had suffered for eight years, and they would never willingly let the enemy humiliate her.
Cold sweat immediately covered Song Yannian’s back.
It seemed that once he returned, he would have to establish a new military rule.
Song Haiming’s hands trembled uncontrollably.
He wished the scene could happen right now.
Whoever dared to rescue Zhaodi—
He would personally stab that person with his sword.
…
Just then, Song Li carefully tested the waters.
“Zhaodi is becoming more and more like a noble young lady. I’m almost forgetting what she used to be like.”
Song Hailan’s ears twitched.
He heard uneven footsteps approaching from behind and curled his lips into a mocking smile.
“Zhaodi has the blood of the Song family. She was always a noble young lady.”
“I’ve told her many times to get used to her identity and stop fighting with the servants over chores.”
“But she simply can’t sit still.”
“This time will teach her a lesson.”
“After this, she won’t keep making trouble for herself.”
“The Second Young Master is so wise!”
Song Li praised him enthusiastically.
She did not care what Song Hailan’s real reason was.
As long as he stopped taking Zhaodi along, she was happy.
…
Zhaodi, still pretending to limp, thought,
Brother really went to all this trouble just to help me break my habit of working.
How thoughtful.
Fine. I won’t blame him this time.
But I still have to fix his habit of not listening to me.
She limped pitifully over to Song Hailan.
“Brother, I heard what you just said.”
“I know I’ve gotten used to always keeping busy.”
“I’m upset with myself too.”
“But you have to give me time to change, don’t you?”
“Please don’t be angry with me anymore.”
“I know I was wrong. Isn’t that enough?”
Song Hailan could not be bothered arguing with her.
He was about to call Old Zhuang over to examine her.
But then he remembered she might cling to Old Zhuang afterward, so he decided against it.
Seeing that he still said nothing, Zhaodi assumed he was still angry.
Tears immediately filled her eyes.
“Brother… my foot hurts so much…”
“Sob… You’re still ignoring me…”
“Old Zhuang! Go examine Zhaodi!” Song Yannian suddenly ordered.
Originally, he had planned to completely keep Old Zhuang away from Zhaodi.
But after hearing Song Li’s thoughts, he changed his mind.
He wanted Zhaodi to watch every opportunity slip through her fingers like passing clouds.
She would always be able to see them, but never reach them.
With her selfish and arrogant personality, such a fate would be worse than death.
He had seen many people who believed they were extraordinary.
They would do anything for fame and profit.
Yet they always fell just one step short.
In the end, their faces became twisted with hatred, and their minds grew more and more unstable.
By then, they no longer had any chance of succeeding.
Old Zhuang obeyed and walked over to Zhaodi.
She secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Song Hailan had ignored her the whole time, making things unbearably awkward.
Thankfully, Father loved her and could not bear to see her sad.
“Excuse me, Second Miss.”
Old Zhuang removed her shoes and socks and examined her ankle.
“Your ankle is fine. Just move it around a little, and it will recover.”
“But you really shouldn’t put scented powder on the bottoms of your feet.”
“Once you sweat, the powder turns into mud and sticks to the soles of your feet and between your toes.”
“That can easily cause an athlete’s foot.”