Song Yubai pressed his lips tightly together, his expression unreadable. "You don't have to do this. I'm not the kind of man who would go back on his word. The spot for the Accelerated Imperial Examination was originally obtained on the condition of our marriage. Now that we're to have a He-li, I'll simply take the examination on my own merits. Three years—I can wait!"
Yu Wanzhu was silent for a moment, then her smile faded as she slowly repeated, "You can wait?"
"Song Yubai, do you think I'm trying to charity you? That being helped by someone you despise has crushed your proud self-esteem?"
Her tone was gentle, even carrying a hint of tenderness, but to Song Yubai's ears, it struck like a muffled thunderclap.
"Yes, once Mother and you are cured, I truly won't owe the Song family a single thing. But when you speak like that, have you thought about Mother? Have you thought about Xiaolan?"
"Mother toiled and struggled to raise the four of you siblings, supporting your studies—wasn't she hoping that one day you'd make something of yourself? Xiaolan is only fourteen, yet she's already shouldered the family's burdens, facing others' malicious slander all alone!"
A gentle smile lingered at the corners of Yu Wanzhu's lips, but her words were like sharp blades, each one piercing straight into Song Yubai's heart.
She continued, "But what about you? Since you were willing to marry me for the sake of the Accelerated Imperial Examination, you're not as patient as you claim to be. The way you're acting now is simply because you loathe me and refuse to owe me anything."
"So you'd disregard their feelings? Song Yubai, if you accepted this graciously, and when you achieve success and glory, repaid me with genuine gratitude and silver, I would admire you. But the way you're desperately trying to shake me off now—why bother?"
Silence. A long, heavy silence.
Song Yubai looked as if he'd been struck by lightning. He stared at Yu Wanzhu in utter shock, unable to force out a single word.
After what felt like an eternity, he straightened up and solemnly bowed to her with clasped hands, his voice hoarse. "I stand corrected."
Yu Wanzhu let out a sigh and quietly walked out of the room.
She didn't deny Song Yubai's character. Though he didn't care for her, he was still upright and aboveboard in his dealings. She just couldn't stand that aloof, self-righteous air of his—and why did he only direct it at her?
If he were truly that noble, he wouldn't have married her in the first place.
Yu Wanzhu pursed her lips and silently chanted to herself, Stay calm, stay calm. It was because she genuinely cared for the Song family that she wanted to knock some sense into him.
Meanwhile, Song Yubai sat on the bed, dazed.
He never would have imagined that all his dark, petty thoughts had been seen through by her.
Indeed, he had looked down on Yu Wanzhu from the very beginning, avoiding her like a snake or scorpion. Even with all her changes these past days, he'd only assumed it was a ploy to win his attention.
After all, that woman had once clung to him so desperately—how could he believe she'd truly reformed so easily?
He never expected that he'd been the one in the wrong…
…
Yu Wanzhu continued to tend to Song Yubai every day.
However, the two of them were cold and distant with each other, so much so that even Song Xiaolan noticed something was off.
Once, she accompanied her eldest sister-in-law to deliver food to her eldest brother, and she felt that whenever the two of them were together, even the air pressure in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.
She went to ask Yu Wanzhu about it, and the latter just smiled and said, "Have you forgotten? Your eldest brother never liked me. It's fine."
Days passed like this, and before they knew it, it was mid-December.
After taking two rounds of medicine, along with the dietary care during this period, Mrs. Xu had mostly recovered from her illness. She could now move about normally, though she still couldn't do heavy labor.
Having witnessed Yu Wanzhu's transformation over these days with her own eyes, she felt both happy and worried.
Her daughter-in-law's temperament had improved, but her son was still as stubborn as ever. Could it be that he was rejecting her simply because of her figure?
But looking at her daughter-in-law, didn't she seem to have lost quite a bit of weight over the past half month?
When she asked, it turned out to be true.
Yu Wanzhu replied with a beaming smile, "I've lost about twenty jin."
Everyone drew in a sharp breath. In half a month, she'd quietly shed twenty jin?
Although her figure was still quite plump, upon closer inspection, she really had slimmed down considerably—her clothes hung much looser on her than before.
Yu Wanzhu felt secretly pleased with herself. After all, she had the System!
As long as she completed her weight-loss tasks, she'd receive System rewards. These past days, the System had taken her all over the place to dig up wild mountain goods—wild yams, winter bamboo shoots, konjac… She'd been eating them in all sorts of ways.
Eating was only one part of it. She increasingly felt that the System was subtly making her do physical labor.
But as long as she could lose weight, it was a good thing. Not only had she shed twenty jin, but this body also felt much lighter and more agile in movement.
That night, Yu Wanzhu stripped off her clothes again and stepped onto the scale.
The numbers on the display flickered before stopping at 89 kg.
The System interface appeared.
—Congratulations, Master, on completing the task. Current reward: 1 Wild Chicken Falling from the Sky. Claim location: 20 meters down from the summit on the eastern side of North Mountain, Qinghe Village.
—Next task: Lose 6 jin. Next reward: 10 Slimming Candies.
Yu Wanzhu: "…"
The Wild Chicken Falling from the Sky was easy enough to understand—she just had to go to the designated spot and a wild chicken would fly right into her arms. But what the heck were Slimming Candies?
The next day, right after breakfast, Yu Wanzhu dragged Song Xiaolan up the mountain to gather firewood.
Over this period, the bond between the two had grown considerably.
Song Xiaolan had grown accustomed to the fact that following her sister-in-law up the mountain always meant bringing back some rare treats. Along the way, she casually asked, "Sister-in-law, what delicious thing are we having today?"
Yu Wanzhu tilted her head, looking at her with a smile, and said, "Xiaolan, would you believe it if I said a wild pheasant could fly right into my arms on its own?"
Song Xiaolan was taken aback, then shook her head skeptically.
If it were still about digging up mountain goods, that was one thing, but a wild pheasant was a living creature that could fly—even a skilled hunter wouldn't dare guarantee they could catch one. Could her sister-in-law really be so lucky that a pheasant would fly right into her arms?
But before long, she found herself proven wrong.
Yu Wanzhu led her around the mountain for quite a while before finally finding a spot. The moment the two stood still, something came falling down from the trees toward them.
It really was a wild pheasant!
A live wild pheasant!
Song Xiaolan was too stunned to speak, then asked in admiration, "Sister-in-law, how is it that you always know where the good things are?"
Yu Wanzhu thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it's because I'm lucky?"
This time, Song Xiaolan didn't dare say she didn't believe it. Mountain goods were lifeless things that grew in the soil, but a wild pheasant had flown right in front of her—it could only be attributed to her sister-in-law's good fortune!
Yu Wanzhu firmly pressed down on the pheasant flapping wildly in her arms, examined it first, then weighed it in her hand and said, "This pheasant's wing is broken—no wonder it fell. It's pretty plump too. We're in for a treat today!"