Chapter 16: Reuniting with the Young Husband: Delivering Roe Deer Meat

Chapter 16: Farewell to the Young Husband, Delivering Silly Roe Deer Meat

Wang Shi also said, "It's all your fault. Ever since the marriage between your Bing family and the Li family was called off, you've been dying to take it out on Li Shi. Today, you insisted on going up the mountain with Li Shi to dig for wild herbs and even smiled at her. Tell me, aren't you up to no good? Our injuries are all your fault."

Upon hearing that it wasn't Bing Dalang who had been caught, Liang Shi felt reassured, and her confidence surged.

"You two are really good at spouting nonsense. Do you think I can read the future? Know beforehand which way you two would go, then cast a spell to make you trip and fall, and even fall into the trap your husband set, just by chance, with one breaking a leg and the other an arm?"

Liang Shi rolled her eyes exaggeratedly, "If I had such powers, you two wouldn't dare to talk nonsense in front of me."

Apart from the families of Li and Wang, the other villagers who had come along burst into laughter. Even the families of Li and Wang found it hard to bear.

Li Shi stubbornly argued, "If you meant no harm, why did you insist on following me today?"

Liang Shi shot back confidently, "I've just recently had a change of mind. I thought, let's just drop the matter with my Da Lang. Your daughter can marry, and my Da Lang can marry someone else too. We all live in the same village, running into each other all the time. It's better to settle grievances than to hold onto them. I just wanted to find a chance to make peace with you. Who knew that now I'm being accused of it? With your attitude, forget about making peace. It's better if we just go back to how we were before, not dealing with each other at all."

After saying this, Liang Shi walked off without a care for how Li and Wang reacted. As long as Bing Wengu wasn't exposed, no matter what was said today, Li and Wang couldn't pin this on her.

"Husband, stop her quickly, don't let her leave like this. Today, whether she compensates or not, she must give me an explanation," Li Shi immediately shouted.

"Shut up, can you stop making a fool of yourself!" Li Shi's husband scolded.

He already felt somewhat guilty about the broken engagement with the Bing family, but privately he didn't want his daughter to marry into such a family, so he didn't intervene. But today's matter, no matter how you look at it, can't be blamed on Liang Shi. Moreover, with so many villagers watching, and since Liang Shi didn't push them, their tantrums were pointless. Liang Shi definitely wouldn't agree to compensate, and if they made a big fuss, their family's reputation would only get worse.

"Quickly take your mother home and stay there for a while, don't go wandering around."

Li Shi was taken home by her husband, and seeing this, Wang Shi's husband also stopped his wife from dragging Liang Shi into it.

On her way down the mountain, Liang Shi kept thinking about whether today's incident was really her Da Lang's doing.

As she had said, if it was her Da Lang's doing, how did he manage to pre-plan everything, and how did he make Li and Wang fall without pushing them himself?

Liang Shi went straight home without stopping anywhere. When she pushed open the door, she saw Bing Wengu dismembering a silly roe deer.

All the questions she had thought of on the way got stuck in her throat. Liang Shi paused for a while before saying, "Da Lang, weren't you even afraid to kill a chicken? How come today you're dismembering this roe deer?"

Bing Wengu had never intended to hide the differences between him and Bing Dalang. He was himself, and he didn't want to spend his life pretending to be someone else. Moreover, his lover was here, and he wanted his loved one to love the real him, not the persona he was playing.

Besides, now was the best time for change. Everything could be attributed to having died once, and a drastic change in personality could also be explained. There were plenty of such examples.

If the Bing family caused any trouble over this, Bing Wengu was confident he could resolve it perfectly. Of course, if the Bing family didn't stir up trouble, he wouldn't mind fulfilling the original host's wishes of being filial to his parents, repaying the Bing family, and helping them live a good life.

In any case, nothing could conflict with his own interests, because he didn't owe the original host anything.

Bing Wengu glanced at Liang Shi and said indifferently, "I used to be afraid, but after dying once, I realized I'm not afraid of death anymore, so what is there to fear?"

Liang Shi blinked, tears seemingly glistening in her eyes, as if heartbroken over her son's near-death experience, or perhaps something else, "Was it you who caused Li Shi and the others to get injured?"

Upon hearing this, Bing Wengu didn't even look up, his hands still busy, "Mother, what are you talking about? I don't understand. I've said that after dying once, I've let go of many things. Since Li Erniang has already remarried, it just means we weren't destined to be. I won't hold a grudge against Li Shi because of this."

Liang Shi wanted to say that she was talking about the matter with Nan Jia Xiao Geer, but seeing her son unwilling to delve deeper, she suddenly felt disheartened.

Liang Shi said, "Forget it, no matter how harshly they spoke before, they've now faced retribution, which is enough. It's not worth risking one's life over a few words."

Bing Wengu said, "Their matters have nothing to do with us, Mother. I have no mind to care about others now, our own family's life isn't even sorted out yet."

Bing Wengu finished dismembering the roe deer, keeping a hind leg and the thick, meaty parts to deliver to the young husband later.

He gave another portion to Liang Shi, "Mother, have Erniang cook this for everyone later. The rest I'll take to town tomorrow to sell for grain."

Liang Shi had no intention of keeping any of the roe deer meat at home; she wanted to trade it all for grain. But she knew Bing Wengu wouldn’t agree, and she realized she couldn’t control her son’s decisions anymore, so she remained silent and quietly took the roe deer meat outside.

Qian Shi was thrilled when she saw it and quickly took the roe deer meat, her face lighting up with joy. “Mother, we’ll cook roe deer meat tonight! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s so delicious you’ll want to eat your tongue.”

She mused that her brother-in-law had been acting differently lately, really focusing on the family's meals. There was no way he wouldn’t let the family eat the roe deer meat he had hunted.

Liang Shi scolded, “Eat, eat, all you know is eating! What else do you know besides eating?”

Qian Shi wasn’t upset. As long as she could eat the roe deer meat, being scolded by her mother-in-law a few times didn’t matter. She cheerfully headed to the kitchen to start cooking.

Soon, the adults in the Bing family’s courtyard dispersed, leaving only a few children playing in the yard. Bing Wengu then took out a willow basket and packed the portion of fatty roe deer meat and a hind leg he had specifically set aside. Back then, meat was scarce, so people especially valued the fatty parts. Bing Wengu had intentionally saved a fatty portion for his younger husband.

After covering the basket with some dry grass, Bing Wengu carried it out. The children in the yard were too young to notice Bing Wengu, who wasn’t particularly close to them. Bing Wengu carried the basket discreetly, sticking to small paths and barely running into anyone.

When he arrived at the Nan family’s door, Bing Wengu hid behind the firewood pile and imitated the call of a cuckoo, “Cuckoo, cuckoo.”

Due to the village gossip, Miao Shi had been keeping Nan Jinping from going out lately. When Nan Jinping heard the cuckoo call, he knew it had to be Bing Wengu.

Nan Jinping's heart pounded. Bing Wengu had confessed his feelings, but Nan Jinping doubted the depth of his affection and whether it could survive the village gossip.

“Thank heavens, the old woman from Zhou Nan’s house somehow had her firewood pile catch fire, burning her house but sparing the neighbors. And then there’s Wang Shi and Li Shi…” Miao Shi was gossiping with Nan Jinping when she heard the bird call outside. She glanced out casually and continued, “It’s what she deserves.”

Nan Jinping sat on the stool, feeling guilty, his eyes shifting nervously. “Mother, I’ll go sit in the yard for a while. It’s stuffy inside.”

Miao Shi didn’t think much of it and nodded. “Go ahead, but stay out of the village. Those old biddies can't resist gossiping.”