That evening, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Since they had gone to town yesterday, hauled back so many things, and dealt with such a ruckus that morning, Ye Xiaohua didn’t go out today. Instead, she stayed home and prepared something delicious for herself and little Douzi.
After cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks, Ye Xiaohua took out a small portion of the mountain thorns (wild crabapples) she had brought back that day. Together with the white sugar she’d bought in town, she planned to make a tasty snack for little Douzi.
Little Douzi had tasted the mountain thorns before; they were sour, astringent, and not good at all. However, the little fellow wasn’t foolish. While Ye Xiaohua was washing the fruit, he sneaked a piece and dipped it in some white sugar.
The sugar was sweet, but when combined with the mountain thorn, it still retained that acidic, astringent taste. It wasn’t exactly delicious, though it was barely palatable.
“Is it good?” Ye Xiaohua asked with a smile, watching his eyes and nose crinkle up from the sourness.
Little Douzi kept his mouth tightly shut and shook his head. After a long while, he gasped and said, “It’s not good, Sister. What are you making?”
“It’s not supposed to taste good that way, because that’s not how you eat it.”
Ye Dou stuck out his tongue, looking a bit shy. “Then how do you eat it?”
He was truly craving a treat. His sister never used to cook, but now everything she made was exceptionally delicious—far better than what his mother used to make. She made sure they were full, and they even had meat to eat; even when his mother was around, Douzi had never dared to dream of such things.
When Ye Xiaohua saw the mountain thorns, she immediately thought of hawthorn berries. The flavors were quite similar, and hawthorn was a versatile ingredient that could be made into many delicacies. Although she hadn’t found actual hawthorn here, these fruits could easily serve as a substitute.
She planned to make some jam and mountain thorn cakes first, as these were relatively simple. As for other ideas, she would research them when she had more time.
Little Douzi didn’t know what his sister was planning, but he busily helped out, full of anticipation. He learned from Ye Xiaohua how to remove the pits. Since Ye Xiaohua hadn’t taken out too many, the siblings finished the task quickly.
Next came the washing and boiling. By the time they were done, little Douzi had long since succumbed to sleep. Ye Xiaohua tasted the thick, sticky paste. Because she had added a generous amount of white sugar, the flavor was quite good—a mix of sweet and sour. She just wasn’t sure if it would set properly overnight.
Although their home was so poor it made a tinkling sound and they had nothing worth stealing, there were only the two of them left. Ye Xiaohua felt it was better to be cautious. After washing up, she prepared to lock the gate and dump the foot-washing water.
As she reached the gate, her keen senses alerted her that someone was nearby. Doing business in the dead of night meant nothing good.
She pretended not to notice, and as she passed the gate, she splashed the water from the basin in the direction of the movement. A familiar voice sounded: “Pfft! Pfft! What kind of water are you splashing?!”
It was indeed Qin Xiulian.
That morning, Ye Xiaohua knew Qin Xiulian had sensed something. She was bound to come and question her. She hadn’t expected the woman to be so impatient; it seemed she was terrified that her dirty secrets would be exposed.
“Foot-washing water!” Ye Xiaohua said with a heartless laugh.
“You… you smelly fool…” As soon as she said it, Qin Xiulian realized her mistake. “No, you’re not a fool anymore, are you?”
She wiped the dirty water from her face, enduring her disgust. Some of it had even gotten into her mouth. Thinking of the silly girl’s dirty, smelly feet, her stomach churned.
“Heh.” Ye Xiaohua sneered. Since they were face-to-face, there was no need to hide. Pretending any longer would only make this vicious woman keep plotting against them. Rather than that, it was better to let her know she was no longer the same person.
“Eldest Aunt, I’m no longer a fool. That’s a good thing, isn’t it? Why don’t you look happy? Are you afraid?”
“I… what would I be afraid of?” Qin Xiulian had been feeling uneasy, but now her anxiety had turned into genuine fear.
“If you aren’t afraid, why are you here looking for me?” Ye Xiaohua yawned. She was worried that little Douzi might wake up and cry if he found her missing, and she was exhausted and didn’t want to waste words. “Qin Xiulian, let me be clear: I am no longer a fool. So, tuck away those little schemes of yours. If people don’t offend me, I won’t offend them. But if you dare to plot against me, little Douzi, or our house again, don’t blame me for exposing all those ugly things you’ve done.”
After warning her, Ye Xiaohua didn’t give her a chance to react; she turned around, shut the wooden door, and even bolted it.
Qin Xiulian stood there, trembling all over—whether from anger or fear, she wasn’t sure. The brat actually dared to talk to her like that! She stood at the gate, afraid to speak too loudly for fear of eavesdroppers; if anyone heard, her trip here would have been for nothing.
“You… go ahead and say it! See if anyone believes you.”
Ye Xiaohua didn’t stop. “Is that so? Then tomorrow, I’ll go tell everyone that I saw you and Uncle Sun hugging and kissing in the woods at the village entrance, and that you even took off your clothes… and after I saw you, you pushed me into the pond… and that’s how my head got ‘fixed’…”
“Don’t, don’t, stop!” Qin Xiulian had just been trying to intimidate Ye Xiaohua, but she realized the girl was the type who wouldn’t yield to threats. She was like someone barefoot who had nothing to fear, but Qin Xiulian couldn’t afford to be reckless.
“Remember what I said. Don’t go around thinking about murdering me to silence me. The King of Hell isn’t ready for me yet.”
Ye Xiaohua yawned again, followed by the sound of the door opening and closing.
It wasn’t that Ye Xiaohua was soft-hearted. She had her reasons for not exposing Qin Xiulian immediately. Having leverage over her meant Qin Xiulian would have to behave herself for a while, giving Ye Xiaohua time to recover her strength.
If she completely tore off the mask, there was no guarantee that Ye Teng wouldn’t retaliate with madness. She could defend herself, but it was hard to say for little Douzi. She couldn’t watch over him twenty-four hours a day.
This was a calculated decision: stay still while the enemy stays still. She believed Qin Xiulian wouldn’t want to blow this matter out of proportion either.
Qin Xiulian didn’t even know how she got back to the Ye house. Her life was firmly in the hands of that wretched brat, Ye Xiaohua. She dared not do anything now—no, she had to get her cousin to come over and discuss this.
Meanwhile, Ye Xiaohua lay in bed, gently patting little Douzi, and drifted into a hazy sleep.
In her dream, she was submerged in water. Despite her desperate struggles, water continued to flood her nose. The sensation of suffocation left her weaker and weaker, then her limbs stiffened. Soon, her body felt light, as if she were becoming one with the water. She was so very, very tired…
And then, suddenly, a handsome, refined face appeared before her.
Ye Xiaohua sat up with a start, breathing heavily. She looked at little Douzi beside her; the moonlight shone through the dilapidated window onto the floor.
Ye Xiaohua knew she had just had a dream.
But this dream also reminded her of an important matter.