Chapter 157: 157. Owning Her Own New Room

157. Chapter 157: Owning Her Own New Room

This sight broke Li Shoude's heart; he quickly pulled Yun Ying into his arms and softly comforted her for a long while.

"Wu-wu-wu… Shou De, I knew I never chose wrong—I'll die without regret if I can spend this life with you…" Yun Ying clung softly to Li Shoude's chest, weeping uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Sun Shi trembled with rage, her eyes red, rushing forward to tear the two apart: "Aaah! I'll kill you both, you filthy pair!"

Seeing Sun Shi lose control again, the Li family finally snapped out of it and rushed to pin her down.

"You bitch, I think you've got it coming!" Li's Old Matriarch stormed forward and slapped her across the face, "My son's now a scholar—the County Magistrate treats him with respect. Who the hell are you to hit him?!"

Still not satisfied, she kicked Sun Shi hard several times.

Sun Shi collapsed to the ground, her heart dead, no longer resisting or fighting back no matter how much the Old Matriarch beat or cursed her.

"Mother, stop…" Li Shoude's face flickered with pity; he moved to intervene but was immediately hugged tight by Yun Ying, still curled in his arms.

"Wu-wu-wu, Shou De, I'm scared…"

"Don't be afraid, Yun Ying, I'm here." Li Shoude immediately shielded the woman in his arms, and Sun Shi was instantly forgotten.

The Li family's drama temporarily ended.

The villagers gathered outside the courtyard watched with delight; within half a day, the news that Li Shoude doted on his new concubine and despised his lawful wife had spread throughout Yuhe Village.

…

"Sigh, I thought Li Shoude was a good man, but after passing the scholar exam, he's turned into such a heartless wretch…"

Qiulian Niang was picking vegetables in the Jiang Family Courtyard and sighed helplessly upon hearing the news.

"Men, all of them are the same," even the usually silent Zhao Dasao sighed.

"Mom, they say Yun Ying was brought back from Yanliu Alley—what's Yanliu Alley?" Chunya, only eight, helped pick vegetables and asked innocently.

"Don't ask foolish questions—it's no good thing. Hurry up and finish picking these vegetables," Zhao Dasao glared at her and shoved a bundle of shepherd's purse into her hands.

Tomorrow was the grand day for the Jiang family to move into their New House and host the banquet; everyone put aside other tasks and focused entirely on preparing tomorrow's meals.

Chunya pouted, then spotted Gao Xiaoyan carrying a bucket of freshly milked sheep's milk into the house, and couldn't help asking again: "Yanzi-jie, what's Yanliu Alley?"

Gao Xiaoyan nodded twice; at fourteen, she was a young woman and understood what men's pleasure dens were like.

"…They say it's where Yellow Flower Maidens are sold, to serve men for life."

"Ah!?" Chunya gasped, her small face filled with disbelief: "Those women are so pitiful—how could their parents sell their daughters to such a place…?"

Gao Xiaoyan, as if struck by painful memories, silently carried the bucket to the sheep pen.

Chunya realized she'd said the wrong thing and immediately clamped her mouth shut.

Gao Xiaoshuan, drying wild ginger flowers nearby, watched Gao Xiaoyan's lonely back and felt a deep ache in his chest.

His parents were too busy to care for him; he'd been raised by his elder sister since childhood. Before he could even walk, she carried him to the fields every day, climbed mountains to dig wild vegetables, and never left him behind for chores… To Gao Xiaoshuan, Gao Xiaoyan was like a mother.

When his father planned to sell his sister, he was the first to refuse.

How could they sell someone as good as her?

So now he deeply cherished and was grateful for the work the Jiang family gave him—it let him earn money, and as long as he earned enough, his sister wouldn't be sold…

Thinking this, Gao Xiaoshuan worked even harder, carefully drying the wild ginger flowers on the bamboo mats, picking out dust and fallen leaves.

Ever since he'd found that wild beehive on the mountain last time, Jiang Xiaoxiao had paid him a sum of money to buy it.

He brought the money home; his father was overjoyed, praised him all night, and even treated his sister more kindly.

He thought if he could find another wild beehive, he'd do it—so he asked Goudan to join him on the mountain. They didn't find a beehive, but they discovered the wild ginger flowers Jiang Xiaoxiao had longed for.

At this moment, Jiang Xiaoxiao was arranging furniture in her new home.

As furniture arrived one by one, mother and daughter grew busy.

Having transmigrated into this world, Jiang Xiaoxiao now had her very own room.

Her room was the main house facing south, warm in winter, cool in summer, filled with light—when both windows opened, sunlight flooded in, making the room brilliantly bright.

Beside the window stood a solid wooden desk, neatly stacked with the books she'd recently read; behind them hid a small, elegant rechargeable desk lamp—gifted by her all-powerful Female Lead mother.

Kerosene lamps were expensive in this era; few households stayed up late—they went to sleep as soon as darkness fell.

As a Modern Person accustomed to staying up reading novels, Jiang Xiaoxiao had been deeply uncomfortable when she first arrived.

Now with the lamp, she could do many things at night—like training her abilities—moving such tasks to nighttime, then sleeping soundly after exhaustion. Just thinking of it made her feel blissful.

Thinking this, Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't help smiling as she turned to admire her bed.

Beneath the bed was a kang, its flue connected to the stove; when cooking, fire burned in the stove, smoke passed under the kang, then exited through the chimney—come winter, it stayed warm.

But the kang was hard; those used to soft beds usually couldn't sleep on it.

Her mother, fearing Jiang Xiaoxiao's small frame would be uncomfortable, pulled out a natural latex mattress from her space—woven fabric, filled with soy protein cotton—and laid a sheet over it; lying on it was incredibly soft.

Besides these, her room had a solid wooden wardrobe, shoe cabinet, chairs, a matching dressing table… and a screen for hanging clothes.

Some furniture pieces were common in this era; others bore modern styles.

Jiang Xiaoxiao wasn't worried someone might sneak into her room and notice anything odd—she glanced at Little Tiger, sound asleep on the rug at the foot of her bed. If any fool dared sneak in, they'd regret it…

Ever since her room was set up, Little Tiger had rushed in impatiently and refused to leave, ignoring even the new nest her mother built for him.

Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't drive him out, so she let him stay.

Fortunately, the tiger seemed extremely human-like—he only slept in her room, and handled all eating, drinking, and waste outside.

"Aowu~"

Little Tiger sensed his master watching him; he quickly scrambled off the rug, bounded three steps forward, rubbed his fluffy little head against her pants leg, and cooed sweetly.

As if terrified Jiang Xiaoxiao would kick him out… (End of Chapter)