[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-delicate-darling-with-her-rough-man":3,"chapter-the-delicate-darling-with-her-rough-man-the-delicate-darling-with-her-rough-man-chapter-168":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1303290,1729,"Chapter 168 - 167: Double-dealing","the-delicate-darling-with-her-rough-man-chapter-168",168,"\u003Cp>The few aunts exchanged glances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’This woman is so two-faced.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’That’s not what she said at first.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aunt Leng, afraid they might say something more, immediately started shooing them away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, aren’t you all going up the mountain? Then hurry up and go.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The aunts were speechless. They hadn’t even said anything. ’Why is she so angry?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They wanted to say more, but Aunt Leng shot them a look as sharp as a dagger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were old enough to know how to take a hint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They nudged each other along and left together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aunt Leng watched them until they were a good distance away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did she drop her ferocious expression and put on a loving smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leng Yuan, they’re all spouting nonsense. Don’t you believe them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leng Yuan had little patience and couldn’t be bothered to listen to their pointless chatter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He rescued Gu Jiaojiao from Third Aunt Leng’s grasp and spoke in a cold voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aunt Leng, Third Aunt Leng, if either of you says one more word, I’ll have your other sons sent back to keep you company.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aunt Leng and Third Aunt Leng were so frightened they immediately snapped their mouths shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’That little bastard means what he says.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’If he really sent their other sons back, their families would become the laughingstock of the entire village.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without giving the two another glance, Leng Yuan pulled Gu Jiaojiao back into the courtyard and shut the door decisively, leaving Aunt Leng and Third Aunt Leng completely shut out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aunt Leng immediately grew anxious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do we do now? Even mentioning his grandfather doesn’t work on him anymore.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Aunt Leng was silent for a good while before she spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tonight, let’s take some spirit money and secretly go burn incense for our father-in-law.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aunt Leng didn’t get it. \"What good will that do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Aunt Leng whispered, \"We’ll have Father-in-law visit him in a dream and teach him a good lesson.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aunt Leng was speechless. \"You think that will actually work?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third Aunt Leng was just as helpless. \"Do you have a better idea?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’I guess not.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’What a mess this has become.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’We’re even resorting to superstition.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After muttering to each other for a while, the two decided to fold some extra paper ingots and burn them for their deceased father-in-law.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’What if it works!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the courtyard, Gu Jiaojiao had already set out the meal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leng Yuan saw the two eggs in his bowl and immediately moved one into Gu Jiaojiao’s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If we’re out of eggs, let me know. I’ll go buy some more.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Jiaojiao gave a dry laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’I didn’t add eggs to my bowl because I didn’t want any, not because we were out.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’I gave him two eggs because I was trying to figure out how to bring up the topic of going up the mountain.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「At Village Chief Xu’s house.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Wenwan was hungry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her family only ate two meals a day, but Xu Wenwan couldn’t stand it. Chen Xiumin felt sorry for her and would always make her something extra to eat at noon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had gotten used to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking out of her room, she saw Chen Xiumin and asked, \"Mom, is my lunch ready?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xiumin still felt a pang of sympathy for her daughter and wanted to sneak off to make her some food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, Village Chief Xu walked out of the house, his expression dark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eat, eat, eat, that’s all you know how to do all day! You don’t do a lick of work. If you don’t wash the clothes and feed the chickens today, you’re not getting any dinner tonight either.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’No food?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Xu Wenwan, this was like a bolt from the blue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes instantly reddened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dad, am I even your daughter? How could you treat me like this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Village Chief Xu averted his gaze, refusing to look at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m doing this for your own good. All this food comes from everyone’s back-breaking farm work. You want to eat without working? Life doesn’t work that way.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t be bothered to waste more breath on this daughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In short, no work, no food.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that said, he called his wife back into their room and went inside himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Xu Wenwan was left standing alone in the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had never been wronged like this before. She turned and ran back to her room, crying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>「In Xu Chongfeng’s room.」\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xiaoli had seen the whole thing unfold clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’That sister-in-law of mine sure cries a lot. She starts bawling at the drop of a hat, acting as if she’s been grievously wronged.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xiaoli put down the clothes she had just finished mending, only to see Xu Chongfeng sitting to the side, fast asleep and snoring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Annoyed, she kicked him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kicked for no apparent reason, Xu Chongfeng opened his eyes in a daze. \"Honey, what’s wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xiaoli: ...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Your sister ran back to her room crying and locked the door again. You’re asking what’s wrong?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she didn’t bother explaining. Instead, she put on a thoughtful smile and said in an incredibly gentle voice, \"It’s nothing. You can go sleep with your son tonight!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Chongfeng: ...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, honey, I think we can talk about this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Xiaoli had no intention of discussing it. She grabbed Xu Chongfeng by the ear and shoved him out the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go find your son.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Chongfeng was furious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t need his wife to tell him; he knew Xu Wenwan must have been stirring up trouble again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just couldn’t understand it. How could his sister, who had just come back from the city, cause so much drama every single day?\u003C\u002Fp>",954,"2026-06-05T18:11:09.760Z",1,"novelbin.me","16de1f93be3fa8e390c1bc1dafa3ebc7fbce302721d11e76f6ae23956f0776bb","the-delicate-darling-with-her-rough-man-chapter-169","the-delicate-darling-with-her-rough-man-chapter-167",407,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-delicate-darling-with-her-rough-man-cover.jpg"]