Chapter 26

Chapter 26

As evening fell, wisps of cooking smoke rose from the village, marking the busiest time of day. Adults chatted idly on both sides of the street, while children chased and played with each other.

Jiang Chun, pushing a wheelbarrow through the bustling streets, was greeted with envy or teasing by the villagers as he made his way home.

Song Shian, oblivious to being the subject of all this talk, sat cross-legged on the kang in the west room, calmly copying a book.

Jiang Chun washed his hands and entered the west room, intending to inform him about the gossip.

Before he could speak, he couldn't hold back a chuckle.

Song Shian glanced at him sideways, then returned his gaze to the paper before him.

Unable to tolerate his calm demeanor, Jiang Chun felt even more inclined to tease him.

He rolled his eyes and decided to turn the tables.

Jiang Chun bit his cheek to suppress his smile, then asked in a serious tone, "Was there someone else at home when you were washing my undergarments?"

Song Shian paused, as if recalling something, and quickly replied, "Aunt Cao came by. She said to set aside a pound of meat for her tomorrow, the fatty kind."

"Alright, noted," Jiang Chun responded, then shot him a glare and huffed, "Why didn't you lock the door when you were washing my undergarments? Now Aunt Cao has seen it!"

Song Shian hadn't yet grasped the severity of the situation and replied coolly, "Washing undergarments takes no more than half an hour; there's no need to lock the door. As for Aunt Cao, if she saw, so be it. We can't gouge out her eyes, can we?"

In truth, his words were a weak defense.

Given that Aunt Cao had seen him washing Jiang Chun's undergarments, it was clear that locking the door would have been necessary.

He had overlooked this detail.

After all, as a young master from a noble family, he was unaware that villagers often barged into homes without knocking.

Jiang Chun chuckled, "Gouging out her eyes won't help; you should sew her mouth shut instead."

Hearing this, Song Shian had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, she continued irritably, "Aunt Cao is known in our village for her big mouth. The moment she saw you washing my undergarments, she spread the news throughout the village. On my way back with the radishes, I was teased all the way. Do you think I'm not wronged?"

"Why do you cry injustice? Wasn't it you who forced me to wash your undergarments?" Song Shian muttered to himself.

Suddenly, he stiffened.

What?

She said everyone in the village knew he had washed her undergarments?

Wouldn't his reputation be completely ruined?

Even if he became Prime Minister again, people would only remember him as "the man who washed Jiang Chun's undergarments."

It seemed that silencing Aunt Cao wouldn't solve the problem; perhaps he needed to silence the entire village!

Of course, that was just a joke.

Eliminating the entire village was out of the question; he wasn't that ruthless.

But if he didn't, he would wear the label of a henpecked husband for life.

On second thought, since he had already been sold into the Jiang family as a son-in-law, and being a son-in-law was already a lowly position, adding the label of a henpecked husband didn't seem like such a big deal.

"Chun, Chun, come out here!"

Just as Song Shian was deep in thought, Jiang He's angry roar echoed from the courtyard.

Without waiting for Jiang Chun to go out, he strode into the west room in three quick steps.

He immediately berated Jiang Chun, "Chun, what's wrong with you? How could you let your son-in-law wash your clothes? Even though he's a son-in-law, we don't mistreat them. Making a man do women's work, it's causing a scandal. How will he face people in the future?"

Because Jiang He was a man, the women at the village entrance had changed "washing undergarments" to "washing clothes" when they teased him, and he believed it.

Jiang Chun: "..."

Jiang He, a man of his time, loved his daughter deeply, willing to remain a widower and not remarry or have sons, and even spent a fortune to buy a son-in-law for her.

However, he also harbored the era's typical patriarchal mindset, believing that tasks like washing and cooking were naturally women's work, and men doing them was shameful.

Jiang Chun didn't argue with him but directly shifted the blame to Song Shian, saying pitifully, "Father, don't wrong a good person. It was your son-in-law who insisted on washing my clothes, not me forcing him. Don't believe me? Ask your son-in-law!"

She then looked at Song Shian, casually tapping her left fist on her buttock.

The implication was clear: if he dared to say anything, she would make him wear torn undergarments that exposed his buttocks!

Song Shian: "..."

Could she be any more shameless?

Seeing Jiang He's gaze on him, he pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and reluctantly said, "Father, it's not Chun's fault. I saw how hard she works, slaughtering pigs, selling meat, and managing the household, and still has to tend to the fields. She's too busy, so I wanted to help with some light chores. Unfortunately, Aunt Cao saw it..."

Jiang Chun's lips curled up, finding him quite sensible. Her confidence soared, and she shouted at Jiang He, "Father, did you hear that? He offered to do it himself; it's not my fault."

"Hmph, I was unjustly scolded by Father! I’m so wronged!"

Jiang He rubbed his nose and chuckled, "Father thought you were bullying your son-in-law. With his frail constitution, how could he withstand your bullying? No wonder Father got so worked up."

Jiang Chun huffed, "Are you still worked up now, Father? If you are, go argue with that loose-lipped old woman, Cao Ershen!"

Jiang He shot her a glare, "What kind of talk is that? A man like Father, arguing with an old woman? I think you just want Cao Pozi to scold Father for your sake!"

Jiang Chun grinned, "Father, you’re too clever, not falling for it."

After some playful banter, the matter was dropped, as it wasn’t really a big deal.

However, before leaving the west room, Jiang He earnestly reminded Song Shian, "Son-in-law, if you want to help Chunni with chores in the future, just sweep the floor or tidy up the yard. Don’t wash clothes anymore; be careful someone sees and starts talking."

Song Shian lowered his head, acknowledging the advice, "Yes, I’ll listen to Father."

Satisfied, Jiang He left the west room and went to unload the radishes from the wheelbarrow in the yard.

Jiang Chun glared at Song Shian, cracking her knuckles as she coldly asked, "Speak, do you listen to Father or me?"

Song Shian let out a light hum, "Why didn’t you ask this in front of Father just now?"

Jiang Chun immediately jumped up, "Are you mocking me for being cowardly?"

Song Shian picked up his brush and calmly continued copying the text.

Seeing this, Jiang Chun chuckled, "You’d better answer quickly, because it concerns whether I’ll buy cloth and cotton for you in town tomorrow to make winter clothes and quilts."

Song Shian: "..."

Threatening him again?

If he dared to say he listens to Jiang He, she would surely refuse to make him winter clothes and quilts.

In that case, when it gets cold, his frail body wouldn’t stand it, and he would have to bow to her eventually.

Since he has to bow anyway, why suffer the cold for nothing?

He closed his eyes, resigned, "I’ll listen to you. Next time, when I help wash your undergarments, I’ll avoid Father."

After a moment’s thought, he added, "And I’ll remember to lock the door."

A satisfied smile appeared on Jiang Chun’s lips. She took a quick step to the kang bed, pinched his cheek, and giggled, "Good boy."

Then she turned and fled.

Song Shian: "..."

How dare she be so presumptuous! Unheard of!