No wonder she hadn’t interacted much with the original owner of the body in the past.
“Hey, is she famous in your village or something?”
A woman nearby poked Zhao Dahua quietly, her eyes glinting with gossip as she whispered.
Zhao Dahua heard someone talking and deliberately raised her voice to answer.
“Oh! You don’t know? Her name is Xia Wanyue. She’s quite famous in our village. Why? Because she was lazy and greedy, caused her husband’s death, and then got kicked out by her in-laws. This story spread through our village yesterday. Her husband just died, and the very next day she was driven out by her family-in-law.”
Zhao Dahua’s gloating expression was almost comically loud, like she wanted a megaphone to broadcast it to everyone.
No sooner had she finished speaking than people on the ox cart started whispering among themselves.
Although their voices were low, the looks they cast at Xia Wanyue were full of contempt.
“Did I ever offend you?”
Xia Wanyue’s cold voice rang out.
“What?”
Zhao Dahua didn’t react immediately. When she finally realized, her face turned awkward, and she stiffened her neck, looking at Xia Wanyue.
“So? What if you did? What if you didn’t?”
“Since I’ve never wronged you, why are you targeting me?”
Xia Wanyue’s calm voice carried a hint of anger.
Zhao Dahua’s gaze flickered nervously.
How could she explain? Should she say it was because her own man had complimented Xia Wanyue’s looks?
“Since you think my late husband was good, why didn’t you marry him?”
“You fancy that dead man? Well, now that I’m officially divorced, maybe you can marry in—keep him company while he’s fresh in the grave. Perhaps Old Li’s family will even let you drink a bit more of the dishwater for your selflessness.”
“You… you shameless woman! Who’d want that corpse? Stop talking nonsense, or I’ll tear your mouth apart!”
Even though she had once thought Li Ke looked better than Tian Youfu, could she really say this out loud? If her own man heard it, he’d probably beat her to death.
“Shameless! Who are you cursing?”
“Shameless, cursing you… ah!”
Smack.
“You know you’re shameless yourself!”
Xia Wanyue sneered, then grabbed Zhao Dahua off the ox cart in one swift motion and slapped her across the face. The blow sent Zhao Dahua flying.
Her once-plump cheeks instantly swelled from the impact. In these hot days, managing to maintain that weight was already a feat in itself.
After the slap, Xia Wanyue’s hand felt sticky and grimy from oil. She squatted and wiped it on Zhao Dahua’s body.
“Speak carefully from now on! Otherwise… you’ll get another one.”
“You… you…”
“Hm? What were you going to say?”
Zhao Dahua tried to yell back, but when she met Xia Wanyue’s amused eyes, her throat clenched, and she swallowed her words.
She could only stare at Xia Wanyue in grievance, too intimidated to speak.
Xia Wanyue stood up and returned to the ox cart. The other people on the cart swallowed hard at the sight of her, shrinking into the corners.
After a while, the cart was full again, and Zhao Dahua, covering her face in shame, trudged back to the village.
Xia Wanyue knew this woman wouldn’t let it go easily. Who knew what lies she’d spread about her in the village?
But she didn’t care. Since yesterday, she understood one thing: evil people must face their own suffering.
Reputation meant nothing to her now. She was a single woman with three kids, and she had to be ruthless—otherwise everyone would think she was easy to bully.
The ox cart wobbled along for an hour before finally reaching the town.
“Phew.”
Liu Datou tightened the ropes and stopped the ox cart.
“Alright, you all go ahead! I’ll wait here for two hours, so be on time! No exceptions.”
Everyone nodded, shouldering their goods and quickly dispersing.
Xia Wanyue nodded at Liu Datou and turned to enter the town. Two constables stood at the city gate, maintaining order.
The streets were dotted with patrolling officers. There were many vendors selling all kinds of goods.
Calls of merchants echoed, and the air was filled with the scent of food drifting from the west side.
Xia Wanyue glanced at the food stalls.
Her pockets were empty, so she couldn’t buy anything. Then she remembered the money she had secretly taken from that man’s belongings.
She took out her pouch from the space and retrieved a small silver ingot.
Approaching a baozi stall, the aroma grew stronger the closer she got.
“Boss, how much are your buns?”
“Sir, one wen each for buns, two for a plain steamed bun. How many would you like?”
The stall owner quickly greeted Xia Wanyue as she approached.
“Ten buns and twenty steamed buns, please.”
The owner swiftly wrapped them in lotus leaves.
“Here are your ten buns and twenty steamed buns. That’s twenty wen. Here’s your change—keep it safe.”
“Boss, could you tell me which tavern in town is the best? Fair prices, honest owner?”
The owner lifted the steamer lid, pointing to the left down the street.
“Turn left ahead, there’s the Qin’an Tavern. Their prices are fair, and their reputation is excellent. If you want to sell anything, you can go there.”
Xia Wanyue thanked him, placing the food into her basket.
She tore into a bun immediately, eating three in one bite before stopping.
“Not bad… I’ll buy more later.”
After all, the famine was approaching, and she needed to stock up.
Following the vendor’s directions, she arrived at the tavern around the corner.
It wasn’t meal time, so there were few people inside. The owner was at the counter tallying accounts, while a waiter wiped tables.
“Hello, sir… what would you like to eat? Today we have—”
Xia Wanyue raised her hand to stop the waiter’s explanation.
“Little brother, sorry, I’m not here to eat. I have a bear cub here—do you want it?”
“What? You caught a bear?”
The waiter eyed Xia Wanyue skeptically. She was thin, pale, and clearly malnourished—a frail little figure. He doubted her claim.
Xia Wanyue noticed his doubt and didn’t explain. She simply said:
“Yes, I caught a bear cub. Are you buying it?”
The waiter snapped to attention and called loudly to the owner.
“Boss! A young lady here says she caught a bear cub!”
The owner, finishing his accounts, looked up and quickly approached, astonished.
“Miss, your family caught the bear cub?”
He could hardly believe that such a frail young girl could have taken down a bear cub.
Xia Wanyue nodded.
“Will you take it?”