“You can eat it?”
Old Madam Gu looked at her hesitantly.
Grandpa Gu, who had been preparing to spit out the mushroom he’d just tasted, immediately paused.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Gu Xiaoxiao calmly picked up another mushroom and popped it into her mouth.
By the time they reacted, she had already swallowed it.
“Oh, you child!”
Old Madam Gu nearly burst into tears.
“How could you just eat it like that? What if it was poisonous?”
If anything happened to her precious granddaughter, what was she supposed to do?
Gu Xiaoxiao quickly moved over to comfort her.
“Grandma, look at me.”
“Don’t I seem perfectly fine?”
Only then did Old Madam Gu carefully examine her.
Gu Xiaoxiao was standing there healthy and unharmed.
Grandpa Gu was also sitting comfortably at the table.
Apparently the mushrooms really were edible.
The old woman finally let out a sigh of relief.
“You naughty child.”
“Don’t scare us like that ever again.”
“If something happened to you, what would Grandma do?”
Though Old Madam Gu was nagging, Gu Xiaoxiao could hear the concern hidden beneath every word.
And honestly…
She liked it.
“Okay.”
“I promise.”
Only then did Old Madam Gu let the matter go.
Still, she couldn’t help asking curiously,
“By the way, Xiaoxiao, how do you know these mushrooms can be eaten?”
“And why did people get poisoned before?”
Gu Xiaoxiao explained,
“Generally speaking, the uglier mushrooms are more likely to be edible.”
“The brightly colored ones are usually poisonous.”
“Some are so toxic that you shouldn’t even touch them.”
“Other mushrooms can be eaten, but only after they’re thoroughly cooked. Otherwise, they can still make people sick.”
The family listened in amazement.
They never knew mushrooms required so much knowledge.
After the explanation, Gu Xiaoxiao glanced at the table.
The dishes were already beginning to cool.
“Now do you believe me?”
“The food is getting cold.”
“Hurry up and eat!”
Only then did everyone finally relax and continue their meal.
No one bothered asking how she knew so much anymore.
They were too busy enjoying the delicious food.
After finishing his meal, Gu Yanchen let out a satisfied burp.
Immediately, he clamped both hands over his mouth.
Looking around nervously, he checked to see whether anyone had heard him.
When he realized nobody was paying attention, he relaxed and collapsed back into his chair.
Today felt wonderful.
His sister had changed.
She no longer hit him.
She no longer scolded him.
She even cooked delicious food.
And he’d eaten so much meat.
For the first time in a long while, he felt truly happy.
I hope things can stay like this forever, he thought.
After dinner, Gu Xiaoxiao told Grandpa Gu about her plan to raise rabbits.
To her surprise, he readily agreed.
“Go ahead and try it.”
As for building a proper rabbit cage, they would have to wait until tomorrow.
It was already too late today.
After cleaning up the table, everyone returned to their rooms.
Gu Xiaoxiao was still recovering from her injury.
Although the wound was nearly healed, she hadn’t fully recovered.
She was already feeling exhausted.
The moment her head touched the pillow, she fell asleep.
When she opened her eyes again, it was barely dawn.
The sky was still dark.
Yet roosters throughout the village had already started crowing.
One after another.
Louder and louder.
As if they were competing to see whose voice carried the farthest.
The noise made further sleep impossible.
So Gu Xiaoxiao got up.
She had assumed she would be the first one awake.
To her surprise, the entire family was already up.
Looking outside, she saw that the sky was only beginning to brighten.
Why was everyone awake so early?
Some neighboring families had already left for the fields.
Gu Yong had been waiting for her.
Seeing that it was getting late and she still hadn’t emerged, he’d been debating whether to wake her up.
Just then she opened the door.
“Perfect!”
Gu Xiaoxiao went to wash up.
There were no toothbrushes in this era.
Wealthy families used animal bristles.
Poor families like theirs couldn’t afford such luxuries.
Instead, they chewed the ends of willow twigs into brush-like fibers.
It worked…
though it felt rather unpleasant.
As soon as she finished, Gu Yong hurried over.
“Xiaoxiao, are you ready?”
His expression was surprisingly anxious.
Still confused, she nodded.
The next second, he grabbed her hand and started pulling her along.
“Then hurry!”
“The ox cart is about to leave!”
Before she could even ask questions, she was dragged out the door.
Behind them, Old Madam Gu stood in the courtyard calling after them.
“Be careful on the road!”
Only then did Gu Xiaoxiao realize—
they were leaving already?
The sun hadn’t even risen yet!
They rushed toward the village ox cart.
Just as it was preparing to depart, Gu Yong shouted:
“Wait! Uncle Sun, wait!”
The driver, Uncle Sun, heard him and stopped the cart.
Gu Yong quickly pulled Gu Xiaoxiao aboard.
Once they were seated, Uncle Sun called out,
“Hold on tight!”
Then he urged the ox forward.
Only after the cart started moving did Gu Xiaoxiao fully process what was happening.
Because they had arrived late, she could only squeeze into a seat along the very edge.
Her father sat on her right.
Beyond him was empty space.
“Xiaoxiao, hold onto the railing.”
“Otherwise you’ll fall off.”
The warning proved timely.
A sudden jolt nearly sent her face-first out of the cart.
She immediately grabbed the wooden rail behind her.
The village roads were covered in stones and ruts.
Every bump rattled her bones.
Before long, she felt as though last night’s dinner was about to be shaken out of her stomach.
Thankfully, the ride became smoother once they reached flatter roads.
Only then did she have time to look around.
Today was market day.
Many villagers had brought goods to sell in town.
Most of the faces on the cart were familiar from yesterday’s drama.
Then she spotted someone sitting quietly in a corner.
Xu Cuihua.
The moment Gu Xiaoxiao noticed her, she saw Xu Cuihua glaring at her with pure resentment.
Naturally, she wasn’t intimidated.
She stared right back.
Xu Cuihua froze.
Then she quickly glanced at the people around her and lowered her head, adopting a pitiful expression.
Only then did Gu Xiaoxiao notice who was sitting beside her.
Xu Yu.
Today, he was accompanying Xu Cuihua to a pharmacy in town to get medicine.
When he’d first seen Gu Xiaoxiao running toward the cart, he’d actually been a little surprised.
Even impressed.
Now, however, from his perspective, it looked as though Gu Xiaoxiao had been staring directly at him.
A trace of smugness appeared on his face.
See?
I knew I was handsome.
But not just anyone is worthy of me.
He carefully studied Gu Xiaoxiao’s appearance.
Cherry-red lips.
Delicate willow-leaf eyebrows.
Large almond-shaped eyes.
Fair skin.
The more he looked, the more satisfied he became.
Well…
Her looks are acceptable.
Barely worthy of me.
If she truly admires me, perhaps I could consider accepting her as a concubine.
As Xu Yu indulged in his fantasies, Xu Cuihua remained busy pretending to be weak and pitiful.
She never noticed the way he was looking at Gu Xiaoxiao.
If Gu Xiaoxiao had known that one glare at Xu Cuihua had somehow led Xu Yu to start imagining her as his future concubine…
She would have regretted looking in their direction at all.
And if she ever learned what he was thinking?
She would probably beat him so badly that even his own mother wouldn’t recognize him.