Song Ci looked at Xu Mingzhu expressionlessly. In the end, his gaze settled on the money pouch in her hand.
Xu Mingzhu felt uncomfortable all over. This was really troublesome. She had stopped throwing herself into their affairs, yet somehow they still kept appearing in her line of sight.
Wen Yining nodded politely at Xu Mingzhu, then glanced at Song Ci.
His expression remained as cold and distant as ever, but his eyes had been fixed on the woman in the distance.
“A Ci, your cousin is here. Should we go over and say hello?”
“No need. I’ll take you back to the city.”
“Alright then.”
When Xu Mingzhu looked up again, Song Ci was already heading toward the village entrance.
Li Laizi laughed and edged closer, lowering his voice. “Well? I’d say I played my part pretty well. That guy is already getting close to another woman. Don’t tell me you still like him, Xu Mingzhu.”
Since the male and female leads were still watching, Xu Mingzhu couldn’t very well push him away. She could only glare at him. “Li Laizi, stop being ridiculous. Who said I like him?”
That single sentence made Li Laizi’s lips curl into a broad grin. Raising his voice deliberately, he shouted: “You should’ve said so earlier! Since you don’t like your live-in husband, you can like me instead. I’m not married anyway. Whether you marry into my family or I marry into yours as a live-in son-in-law, I’ll do whatever you want!”
Xu Mingzhu moved quickly, but she couldn’t stop the man’s loose tongue.
The two people about to leave suddenly paused.
Wen Yining asked in confusion, “A Ci, your cousin is married?”
“Mm.” Song Ci quickened his pace, clearly unwilling to discuss it further.
Wen Yining frowned and glanced back at the two figures behind them before lowering her voice and saying, “A Ci, for the sake of her being your cousin, I think you should remind her to mind her behavior. She’s already married, yet she’s still acting so intimately with another man. No matter what, it doesn’t look good. You’re already a licentiate now, and you’ll go even further in the future. If people find out you have relatives like this, they’ll surely gossip about it.”
“Mm. I’ll remind her.”
Once they had left, Xu Mingzhu forcefully shoved Li Laizi away. “Li Laizi, are you looking for death?”
A trace of gloom flashed across Li Laizi’s face, but he quickly returned to his usual carefree, roguish manner. “This young master is still waiting for you two to get divorced. How could I bear to die before then?”
Madam Zhou could no longer stand listening. She stepped between them. “Li Laizi, my little sister-in-law and her husband have a very good relationship. A few days ago, they even consummated their marriage. She might already be carrying his child by now. You’re dreaming if you think they’ll divorce!”
The moment Xu Mingzhu heard that, she hurriedly stuffed the money back into Li Laizi’s hands and dragged Madam Zhou away. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to warn him not to talk nonsense. If the male and female leads found out the truth, the entire Xu family might lose their lives. The divorce had to happen as soon as possible.
The two women arrived at the back mountain.
Soon, Xu Mingzhu heard women laughing. It turned out her worries had been completely unnecessary. Wooden partitions surrounded the area. In the center was a large, smooth stone platform dotted with many small pools. Water flowed down from the cliff above, filling the pools before spilling over the edges. The water was crystal clear and sparkling. It was a natural bathhouse.
A group of women and children splashed and played in the water, making the place lively and bustling.
The water looked far cleaner than anything in a modern bathhouse.
“Mingzhu, I’ll go wash first. If you’re just washing your hair, you can do it over there. If you want to bathe, just keep your undergarments on.”
“Okay.”
Zhou Jinhua quickly stepped into the water.
Xu Mingzhu dipped a finger into the pool. The water was actually a little warm. She was delighted and instantly forgot all the unease she had felt earlier after running into the male and female leads. She picked up some soap pods and rubbed them through her hair. They produced a bit of lather, though not much. Once this busy period was over, she was definitely going to figure out how to make some soap.
One of the women chatting with Madam Zhou called out loudly, “Mingzhu, you don’t mind going into gambling dens full of men, so what’s this? Feeling shy? Or do you just look down on us?”
The shout drew everyone’s attention.
“It’s not that. I took a bath yesterday. Today I’m just washing my hair.”
Xu Mingzhu had already made up her mind. She would sneak back another time for a proper bath. This place was far better than washing at home with a basin.
Zhou Jinhua leaned over and whispered a few words to the woman. After that, no one else urged Xu Mingzhu to get into the water.
“Jinhua, your little sister-in-law really does seem to have changed for the better. Before, if you tried to say a word to her, she’d practically roll her eyes to the heavens.”
“If she stops gambling, your family’s life will be a lot easier too.”
“You know, your father-in-law appearing in that dream really did accomplish something good. None of us dared imagine what would happen if Xu Mingzhu kept going the way she was. Who knows what state the Xu family would be in by now.”
Madam Zhou nodded. “Now that she’s changed, she’s started a business and bought rice and meat for the family. Yesterday I took some meat to Zhuzi, and he was very pleased. Not only that, she even said she’d help me redeem Daya and bring her home.”
“Really?”
Madam Zhou hummed in agreement. “So, for my sake, could you all stop teasing her? Alright?”
Just then, Xu Mingzhu happened to look their way. She offered them a polite, faint smile.
“You know, after hearing what Jinhua said, I think even the girl’s appearance has changed. She’s actually quite pretty.”
“Forget it. At the end of the day, she’s still just a young girl. Since she knows she was wrong, let’s not make things difficult for her.”
Xu Mingzhu noticed them glancing at her as they talked. She didn’t need to think much to know they weren’t saying flattering things about her. By the time she finished washing her hair, one of the women walked over with a teasing smile and said, “Mingzhu, you’ve been eating well, haven’t you?”
Xu Mingzhu thought the woman was referring to the meat, so she smiled and replied, “Auntie, we’re selling braised meat in the city. If you’d like some, just let us know in advance, and we’ll save a portion for you.”
The moment she finished speaking, another round of laughter erupted.
Xu Mingzhu was completely baffled. Only after the woman had laughed her fill did she explain: “Mingzhu, Song Ci is one of the most handsome men for miles around. I’ve heard that at his academy, young ladies gather outside the walls every day hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Now that a man like that belongs to our Mingzhu, tell us, is he as cold and aloof in the bedroom as he is outside?”
Xu Mingzhu: “…”
Who said ancient people were reserved?
The woman was clearly asking whether her husband was any good in bed. No matter how thick-skinned Xu Mingzhu was, being stared at by so many people still made her blush.
“Auntie, what are you talking about?” Xu Mingzhu tried to dodge the question.
Unfortunately, the woman took her evasiveness as embarrassment. “My husband is rough as can be. The moment he starts, there’s no gentleness at all.”
“Isn’t that the truth? Tossing and turning all night without getting tired.”
“And don’t tell me that fields can’t be overworked. Every morning I feel as though my whole body has been taken apart and put back together again.”
One woman chimed in after another, and before long the conversation turned back to Xu Mingzhu.
“Mingzhu, just tell us. Let us see whether a scholar is truly gentle all the time.”
Xu Mingzhu was suffering inwardly. What was she supposed to say? That they still hadn’t consummated their marriage? She valued her life, sure, but she had her pride too. If they found out that after being married to the male lead for so long, she still hadn’t managed to win him over, who knew what they would think of her afterward?
Seeing how uncomfortable she was, Madam Zhou kindly stepped in to help. “Alright, alright. What kind of questions are you all asking? They’ve only just gotten married. How do you expect my little sister-in-law to answer such embarrassing questions?”
Xu Mingzhu was so grateful she could have knelt and thanked Madam Zhou on the spot.
The very next thing she heard nearly made her die of embarrassment.
“If you really want to know, just ask me. I’ll tell you. When they consummated their marriage the night before last, there was quite a commotion coming from their room for a long time…”
Xu Mingzhu hurriedly cut her off. “Sister-in-law, are you done bathing yet? I was thinking I still have some things to take care of when we get back.”
“All right, all right. I’m done.”
“She’s embarrassed.” Seeing how flustered she was, Madam Zhou decided not to tease her any further and got up to put on her clothes.
As soon as Xu Mingzhu saw that she was dressed, she immediately made a run for it.
That evening, when Song Ci returned home, Mother Song wore a strange expression. Several times she seemed about to say something but stopped herself. In the end, she couldn’t hold back any longer.
“You’re a scholar. In the future, you’ll take the imperial examinations and pursue an official career. You should be more mindful of your reputation in certain matters.”