Because of that crying performance, Shen Ning successfully transformed herself from a wall-climbing widow who had almost been caged and drowned into a chaste, fiercely loyal widow devoted to her deceased husband.
Of course, there were still people who did not believe her. But the dead were paramount, after all, and funerals were especially important in the countryside. When one of the clan elders proposed holding Zhao Mu’s funeral and burying him starting the next day, the others could no longer continue causing trouble.
Only after all the villagers had left and the noisy courtyard had fallen quiet did Shen Ning finally have the chance to take a proper look at her “new home.”
Calling it a house with nothing but four bare walls would not have been an exaggeration. The courtyard walls were crumbling, and some sections were almost collapsing. The three rooms were extremely dilapidated, and even the paper covering the windows was torn and ragged.
The original Shen Ning had spent every day thinking only of the refined and handsome “Young Master Pei.” She had nearly become obsessed, working herself like an ox and a horse for the Pei family. How could she have had the time to tidy up her own home?
The first thing she did after returning to her room was change out of the red clothes she was wearing.
The original owner had painfully spent money to have this outfit tailored in the county town, thinking of nothing but wearing it for Pei Yuanzhou to see. Even after her husband’s corpse had been brought home, before his bones had even grown cold, she had been unable to wait a few more days before wearing it.
There were still several simple outfits made of coarse cloth in the cabinet. They were barely presentable… After all, although the original owner had been obsessed with Young Master Pei, she had not wanted to dress herself so shabbily that she looked completely destitute.
All the furniture in the room had been made by Zhao Mu himself. It was simple but orderly. The only thing that could be said to have any real value was the bronze mirror on the dressing table.
Shen Ning sat before the mirror. Only after looking into it did she discover that this body, born and raised in the countryside, was unexpectedly beautiful… More precisely, its features were beautiful.
The original owner was only seventeen that year. Before she had even turned fifteen, her father, who was addicted to gambling, had sold her to the honest and unassuming Zhao Mu.
Zhao Mu had a proper appearance and a skill to make a living. He was not the sort of man who could not find a wife. The reason he had chosen the original owner was also because she was fairly attractive.
The person in the mirror was clearly still a young girl. Her skin had become somewhat rough and flushed from years of manual labor and exposure to the wind and sun. On top of that, her vulgar, rustic hairstyle and the crudely made, conspicuous hair flowers on her head had concealed the natural beauty of her face, making her look laughably gaudy and countrified.
But none of that mattered to her…
Shen Ning lowered her head and looked at this healthy body, feeling the long-lost freedom of being able to control herself. Her heart was filled with emotion and gratitude.
She had suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Little by little, she had lost control of her body. In the end, she had not even been able to drink water or swallow.
But now, she was so healthy, so full of vitality and energy, that she did not mind these harsh, impoverished conditions or this difficult predicament in the slightest.
This was a blessing granted to her. She would cherish it properly!
Just then, some noises suddenly came from outside. Shen Ning froze at first, then abruptly remembered that she was not the only person in the courtyard.
Before Zhao Mu died, he had found his younger brother, Zhao Nan, from whom he had been separated in childhood. It had been that slow-witted, foolish Zhao Nan who had brought Zhao Mu’s body back.
Apparently, Zhao Mu had breathed his last somewhere not far from Qingyuan Village. Otherwise, a fool like him probably would never have been able to find his way back.
In other words, she now had a foolish younger brother-in-law, who was also in the courtyard.
Shen Ning hurried outside and followed the sound into the kitchen.
The moment she stepped through the kitchen door, she saw a pitch-black figure curled up beside the stove.
The man’s clothes were tattered, and his face was filthy. He was holding half a black, coarse bun in both hands and gnawing on it. When he saw her enter, he seemed to have been startled. He instantly hid the bun behind his back and glared at her fiercely, his eyes resembling those of a small wolf brimming with wariness.
She called him a small wolf because that gaze was fierce yet simple and innocent, clearly revealing that his mind was not fully developed.
Only then did Shen Ning remember that ever since Zhao Nan had brought Zhao Mu’s body back yesterday, the original owner had not paid any attention to this little fool, much less prepared food for him.
He had gone hungry for an entire day and night… perhaps even longer.
Not only that, but when the original owner had seen Zhao Nan last night, she had looked at him with disgust and told him to get lost. No wonder he was so afraid of her.
Shen Ning sighed silently, then deliberately softened her voice. “A-Nan, don’t be afraid. I’m your Eldest Sister-in-Law.”
All right. Although the original owner was only seventeen and the Zhao Nan before her was clearly already in his twenties, an Eldest Sister-in-Law was still an Eldest Sister-in-Law!
Zhao Nan did not respond. He continued staring at her with his eyes full of wariness.
Shen Ning prudently did not move any closer. After all, she was not yet sure whether he was aggressive.
She glanced at the dilapidated kitchen, with its cold stove and empty pots. After a moment of silence, she turned and went outside to look for ingredients so she could prepare something to eat.
Her own stomach was growling, too.
There was a chicken coop in the courtyard. She remembered that the original owner had raised some chickens and thought she would look for a few eggs. But just as she reached the coop, she saw a group of hens gathered around the carcass of a rooster, pecking at it.
She knew a little about the habits of chickens, but she still felt a wave of revulsion. Turning around, she found a stick and used it to pull out the rooster’s corpse. She had no idea how it had died, but it had been pecked until it was almost unrecognizable.
She looked at it from one side and then the other, but she truly could not bring herself to accept the mangled, rotten flesh. In the end, she simply dug a hole and buried it.
Afterward, she went into the chicken coop and collected three eggs.
The original owner was busy every day working herself like an ox and horse for the Pei family and did not even feed the chickens properly. The hens were so thin from hunger that getting three eggs from them was already no easy feat.
After searching everywhere, she found nothing besides half a radish and a few wild scallions. Since it was already getting late, she decided to use the three eggs and half a radish to make something to eat.
When she entered the kitchen, Zhao Nan, who had already finished gnawing on the coarse bun, was still curled up in the corner. Shen Ning did not move too close, worried that he might panic. She merely walked over to the stove.
There was water in the water jar. She wiped down the cutting board and stove, then washed the radish and cut it into thin strips…
Before she had fallen ill, her greatest hobby besides studying had been cooking. She enjoyed the process of making delicious food. It was a way for her to relax and enjoy herself.
Later, when she could no longer cook, the videos she most enjoyed watching while lying in bed were cooking videos.
Cutting vegetables was easy for her. With the original owner’s memories, she also knew how to use the stove. After lighting the fire, she used the brush from the oil bowl—which contained only a little oil—to wipe the pan, then cracked the three eggs into it.
The oil sizzled. She flipped the eggs twice, and once they had taken shape, she poured in the boiling water she had just heated. A burst of steam rose as the boiling water struck the fried eggs, turning into a thick, milky-white broth. She then added the shredded radish.
Soon, the fried-egg and shredded-radish soup was ready. After adding a little salt, she sprinkled scallions over it. The vivid green scallions floated atop the thick, white soup, while the plump, glistening fried eggs gave off a faint fragrance.
Zhao Nan, who had been huddled in the corner, moved. His eyes stared longingly at the bowl of soup on the stove.
Shen Ning beckoned to him. “A-Nan, come over and eat.”
Zhao Nan was clearly ravenously hungry. Though he remained wary, he could not resist. He slowly stood up and cautiously approached Shen Ning.
Only after he drew near did Shen Ning discover that this little fool was actually so tall.
“Sit down.”
She placed a small stool in front of Zhao Nan, then pushed the bowl toward him. “Eat.”
Zhao Nan looked at the single egg in his bowl, then at the two eggs in Shen Ning’s bowl. He did not move.
Shen Ning was silent for a moment. She picked up the remaining small piece of black coarse bun from the porcelain basin beside her and placed it in Zhao Nan’s bowl.
She looked up at the little fool and smiled with incomparable gentleness. “Look. One, two… You have two as well now.”
Although one was an egg and the other was a coarse bun, the little fool clearly did not think of that distinction. He counted them and saw that the numbers matched. Finally, he sat down, hugged his bowl, and began wolfing down the food.
After drinking the last mouthful of soup, Shen Ning looked at Zhao Nan sitting across from her and began considering whether it might be possible to teach this little fool to wash dishes. Of course, before that, she would have to teach him to wash himself.
Sitting across from him just now, she had discovered that he truly smelled awful.
Just then, Shen Ning suddenly noticed that one of the little fool’s legs was held at an awkward angle. Looking carefully, she realized that Zhao Nan had an injury on his leg.
His clothes were tattered and covered in filth, so it was difficult to notice without looking closely. Shen Ning had initially thought that the smell coming from him was simply because he was too dirty. Only now did she realize that it was coming from the ruptured, festering wound on his leg.
The injury was not minor.
After a moment of silence, she tentatively said to Zhao Nan, “A-Nan, you’re injured. Let me bandage it for you.”
She tried her best to make him understand and pointed at his wound. “I’ll treat it and bandage it. Then it won’t hurt anymore.”
Zhao Nan lowered his head and glanced at his leg, then looked at her… Perhaps the bowl of fried-egg and shredded-radish soup had made him lower his guard somewhat. Zhao Nan hesitated, then nodded, his eyes simple and innocent.
Shen Ning brought him into the main room and had him sit down while she went to prepare what she needed.
The conditions were limited, so she could only make the best possible use of what was available. She boiled some water, then boiled the only item she had found that could barely be used—a dagger—as well as several pieces of coarse cloth she had dug out.
Once everything was ready, she coaxed Zhao Nan into letting her tie him to the chair.
The mind of a child was simple. After lowering his guard, he became especially obedient. He allowed her to tie him up and stared at her without blinking.
Shen Ning carried a small stool over and sat down in front of him. She lit all the oil lamps and placed them nearby. Then she cut open the leg of his already-tattered trousers.
Part of the fabric had already adhered to the wound. When she pulled the rag away, yellowish-red pus and blood immediately flowed out, and Zhao Nan stiffened.
“It’s all right. Bear with it for a little while. It’ll be over soon.”
As she comforted him, Shen Ning used the boiled dagger to gently pry open the swollen, rotting patch of pus-filled flesh…
Zhao Nan’s entire body stiffened from the pain. But to Shen Ning’s surprise, he did not make a sound, nor did he move at all.
She looked up and saw the little fool pressing his lips tightly together, his body tense. On his pitch-black, filthy face, his eyes were stubborn yet pitiful.
She knew how painful cleaning out a wound was. But she also knew that the injury had already become this serious. If it was not treated promptly, his leg would be ruined.
While soothing the little fool, who was trembling slightly, she quickly and delicately scraped away the rotting flesh covered in pus and blood… until the original wound underneath was revealed.
A crossbow-bolt wound?
The wound had clearly been caused by an arrow piercing in above the knee… The injury itself was already severe, but more importantly, the arrow must have been poisoned.
Who would poison a fool?
Wait. A leg injury, mental impairment…
A sudden jolt went through Shen Ning’s mind. She abruptly remembered something.
The novel she had only read the beginning of had briefly mentioned the life of its male protagonist, Pei Yuanzhou, as a prelude. In the book, the person the male protagonist ultimately pledged allegiance to was Emperor Jingyong, Xiao Nanchen.
In the novel, Emperor Jingyong was the one who recognized and promoted the male protagonist, Pei Yuanzhou. He was also the backer behind the secondary female character, Li Yushi.
The book mentioned that Emperor Jingyong, Xiao Nanchen, had been ambushed in his early years, leaving one of his legs crippled. After the poison spread to his brain, it had affected his mind. At a time of crisis, one of his subordinates had hidden him in the countryside under the identity of a brother. As it happened, he had been treated by the secondary female character, Li Yushi, who lived in the same village.
Because of this, when the female protagonist, Xie Lingyue, and the secondary female character, Li Yushi, competed for the male protagonist, Pei Yuanzhou, Emperor Jingyong had once helped Li Yushi, adding yet another obstacle to the love between the male and female protagonists.
And the secondary female character, Li Yushi, was currently in Qingyuan Village.
The people, the characteristics, the location—everything matched…
Shen Ning’s heart began to pound.
In other words, this filthy, foolish young man before her was none other than the future ruler of Great Xuan, Emperor Jingyong, Xiao Nanchen!
Wait. Had the original owner not ignored Zhao Mu’s corpse in front of him yesterday, even though he regarded Zhao Mu as an elder brother, and cursed him as a fool before telling him to get lost?
At that moment, Shen Ning regretted it immensely. She should have given him two eggs just now.
It absolutely was not because she wanted to curry favor with someone powerful. She was simply showing sympathy for an injured person!