Nanny Tong followed Wu Shi’s lead and chimed in with praise: “Exactly! Whether someone puts in the effort or not is obvious at a glance. Take the bracelet you’re wearing, for example. I remember it was last year’s birthday. Since we were observing mourning back in our hometown and couldn’t celebrate, the master specially went into town, looked through all the silver shops in Qinghe County, and finally chose this Filigree Bracelet for you.”
Wu Shi was even more delighted, gently stroking the bracelet. In her buoyant mood, her appetite soared, and she actually polished off both dishes Shen Rusong had brought back.
Nanny Tong’s eye twitched slightly, and she repeatedly urged Hong’er to go to the kitchen to see if there were any hawthorns or malt, and quickly brew a strong bowl of decoction.
“Blessed be the Mysterious Yellow Immortal, Blessed be the Mysterious Yellow Heavenly Lord, Blessed be the Mysterious Yellow God, Blessed be the Mysterious Yellow Celestial!” Shen Yiyi walked backward four steps, then stood in the middle of the washroom, lost in thought.①
No reaction…
The incantation should be correct, and I’ve offered food as a sacrifice, so this method just doesn’t work, huh?
What other ways to time-travel are there?
The most common is definitely a big truck—none here, cross that out.
Then, jumping into a dry well, jumping into the Nile River, being summoned through a ritual, being pushed into a toilet—
Glancing at the Respectful Bucket, uh, let’s skip that one!
Just as Shen Yiyi paced back and forth in front of the washroom, deep in thought, she heard Sister-in-law Zhang’s booming voice from behind: “Who threw steamed buns into the corners of the latrine wall?—And why are there some in all four corners!”
…Shen Yiyi hurriedly quickened her steps and retreated to her room.
Tsk tsk, the Shen Mansion truly lives up to being a wealthy household—they even serve lunch! How refined!
Once again, Shen Yiyi ate until her belly was round and full. Unable to leave the courtyard and bored with nothing to do, Niu Shi took the children for a stroll in the yard, basking in the sun to pass the time.
The rear annex courtyard was only so big—a row of five single-story rooms enclosed by three walls—how spacious could it be?
With more people in the yard, a few words exchanged here and there naturally led to conversation again. Although it inevitably involved mutual probing, occasionally with veiled barbs.
In front of the wall directly opposite the rear annex, a loofah plant was growing, with a few thin bamboo poles stuck into the ground for it to climb. The weather was still pleasant, and a few large yellow flowers bloomed on the vine.
Two large loofahs hung there, already half-dried, likely intentionally left for later use. Shen Yiyi had seen dried loofah sponges used as dishwashing cloths in modern times too.
Hutou and Sister Nian were about the same age, and the two children were squatting under the loofah vine, digging up ant nests. Da Ya was nearby keeping an eye on her younger brother. Shen Yiyi also squatted beside them.
It wasn’t that she was interested in playing with children. It was just that ever since leaving the Hu Family, she had been confined to this small courtyard. It was already her third day since crossing over, and she had learned pitifully little.
Why is it that in those time-travel novels, the protagonist always wakes up with a relative or maid nearby to answer questions?
And each one is like a highly advanced AI tool—answering whatever is asked, providing the protagonist with information while never noticing anything unusual about them.
Unlike her, when facing Hu Sicai and Niu Shi, she had to constantly worry about breaking character.
The original host was completely unfamiliar with them, grieving after leaving her mother, and spent her days in near-silence, almost never speaking proactively. If she suddenly turned into a chatterbox, pulling them aside to dig for answers, it would be far too abnormal.
If she slipped up again and made some common-sense mistake, wouldn’t a bowl of talisman water to ward off evil be the best treatment she could hope for?
Therefore, Shen Yiyi only dared to follow the topics they raised, asking a little about her own family’s affairs.
She had also considered these children. But these three were not only young, but also native village children who had never left the village. They knew nothing when asked, unable to even name the dynasty’s reign title.
The only one with some hope was that Sister Gui, eight years old, whose family background was clearly the best among them. Weren’t her maternal grandparents said to have come from this Shen Mansion? Perhaps she even knew a few characters and certainly would know more.
Unfortunately, in their eyes, all four of them were just country mud-children, utterly beneath their notice to come out and play together.
So, Shen Yiyi could only use playtime as an opportunity to blend into the group of children, pricking up her ears to secretly listen to the adults’ conversations nearby to gather information. For this reason, she deliberately chose a spot closest to the crowd, squatting with her back to them.
Eavesdropping and feigning sleep—since crossing over, she had been forced to master these two skills.
But Sister Gui’s grandfather, Old Master Ding, was just sitting alone under the eaves, basking in the sun with his eyes closed, not participating at all.
And Old Madam Ding, who was chatting with Niu Shi, only mentioned the surface-level things about her own family that anyone could see, not revealing a single detail about the Shen Mansion. On the contrary, she managed to find out quite a bit about the Hu Family, including Niu Shi’s own maiden family.
Among the adult women in this courtyard, Old Madam Ding and Sister-in-law Zhang were at least top students when it came to gathering information. Niu Shi was clearly failing.
Fortunately, she still had a shred of sense left and didn’t mention Hu Erniang’s elopement. Otherwise, they might have been sent packing right then and there—now that would have been quite the spectacle, Shen Yiyi thought with a touch of schadenfreude.
“Hey, hey, husband! The Shen family called for a doctor! I saw it clearly—the person was carrying a medicine chest.” Sister-in-law Zhang, who had been leaning against the courtyard gate cracking melon seeds, suddenly walked back and said loudly.
Zhang Family’s Eldest Son, who had been talking to his sister Zhang Xiuxiu, replied indifferently, “So they called a doctor. Must be someone’s sick.”
“The mule cart went out this morning, didn’t we hear the mule braying? With the master not at home, which other master could be inside? Just now, it was the maidservant from Madam Wu’s side who personally saw the doctor out. The two were chatting and laughing all the way, and the maidservant even slipped the doctor a red envelope.”
“Oh, then Madam Wu must be sick.”
Sister-in-law Zhang tossed the melon seed shell and slapped her husband heavily twice. “Can’t you use that blockhead of yours for once!”
“What now!”
“If someone in your family is sick and the doctor smiles right in your face, wouldn’t you want to slap him?”
“Oh, oh, of course I’d slap him! Then… then it must mean nothing’s wrong?”
Sister-in-law Zhang rolled her eyes. “Who calls a doctor for fun? Are they so rich they’re burning money?”
“…Then, then I can’t figure it out! What are you trying to say?”
“Blockhead! If it’s not an illness, couldn’t it be a happy event? Didn’t you see they happily accepted the red envelope? If it’s not for sharing good fortune, could it possibly be hush money?”
Zhang Family’s Eldest Son was still scratching his head, pondering how an illness could be a happy event.
His sister Zhang Xiuxiu had already let out an “ah” and changed her expression, murmuring, “Then what do we do?”
“Let’s talk inside.” Sister-in-law Zhang pulled her along, called to Sister Nian, and led the way into the house.
Two people passed by, their gazes sweeping over Old Madam Ding’s face before exchanging a glare with Niu Shi, even letting out a provocative snort.
“Just look at her attitude!” Niu Shi kept glaring until the door closed, then turned to Old Madam Ding and said, “According to what that woman said, does it mean Madam Wu is pregnant?”
Sister-in-law Zhang’s loud voice earlier had made sure everyone in the courtyard heard it clearly.
Old Madam Ding watched as Niu Shi, carefree and unconcerned, continued gossiping. She absentmindedly mumbled a few words, then excused herself, claiming she needed to take a nap, and returned to her room.
Only the Hu Family’s one adult and three children remained in the courtyard.
After a moment of confusion, Niu Shi grew indignant: “What’s going on? Why did everyone leave? They’re all acting so strange, it’s ridiculous! Come on, let’s go back to sleep too!”
After closing the door securely, Sister-in-law Zhang went straight to her bundle and pulled out another handful of melon seeds.
Zhang Xiuxiu sat down beside her and asked quietly, “Is she really pregnant?”
Sister-in-law Zhang cracked a melon seed: “Hard to say. Master Shen seems to be twenty-seven this year? His wife must be a few years younger, just the right age for having children. Isn’t it said that the boy who came with them this time is five or six years old? So it wouldn’t be strange if she got pregnant again.”
“If she’s pregnant, how am I supposed to marry into the family?” Zhang Xiuxiu sat there sighing and lamenting. “My fate is to have eight sons and wear gold and silver. If I can’t enter the Shen family now, how can I give birth to sons? If I can’t have sons, how can I wear gold and silver? Oh, my fate~~ why is it so bitter~~”
Zhang Dalang had long grown accustomed to his older sister’s dramatic performances: “Yes, yes, yes! This is what Mother had calculated for Sister back then—‘A noble husband in the hall, eight sons surrounding the bed’! Mother even gave that passing Taoist a full three steamed buns!”
He slapped his thigh excitedly: “That old immortal looked exactly like he was carved from the same mold as the figures in New Year paintings! Many people saw it!”
“Where is this noble husband?” Sister-in-law Zhang spat out a melon seed shell. “I’ve heard this line so many times since our families first met that my ears are calloused. Sister will be twenty-three after the New Year!”
Zhang Dalang said sheepishly: “Didn’t the old immortal also say there was a hurdle, something about a ‘female calamity’ needing to cultivate virtuous speech? Now that it’s passed, wealth and honor are sure to come!”
“It’s your mother’s mouth that needs to cultivate virtuous speech—who doesn’t know that!” Sister-in-law Zhang curled her lip in annoyance. “And besides, you say this hurdle has passed—just like that?”
“It definitely has! Wasn’t giving birth to that wretched girl the calamity? And she even blocked the path of her eight younger brothers for nothing!” Zhang Xiuxiu glared at Sister Nian, who was lingering by the partition, scaring her back into the inner room. Then she smiled ingratiatingly and said, “Sister-in-law, you’re clever. We still need you to think of a way.”
“Yes, yes! Gou’er’s Mother, Sister is about to enter the Shen family. When that happens, our whole family can wear gold and silver!”
If, at first, when she heard the Zhang family boasting about the “noble husband” and treasuring this unmarried older woman so much, she had been somewhat skeptical, after all these years, Sister-in-law Zhang had long lost hope in that prophecy.
Moreover, she always felt that this “female calamity” should apply to her mother-in-law. That wretched old woman’s foul mouth—tsk, tsk—truly stank up the whole village. Even the big yellow dog at the village entrance would get cursed at if it passed by.
Who knows if it was because the Taoist saw her back then that he made up a few lines of prophecy to urge her to accumulate some virtue in her speech, while also scrounging for some food?
But then again, success or failure depends on this final push.
If it really works out, and our family manages to climb up to this noble connection, of course there will be many benefits.
But if it doesn’t work out, while my mother-in-law hasn’t arrived yet, I must convince my elder sister-in-law to agree to marry out!
How old is she already, still clinging to her parents’ home and refusing to marry. All day long she eats well and does nothing, just stirring up trouble with that old hag to torment her sisters-in-law.
Sister-in-law Zhang secretly made up her mind.