Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lu Wanxiao turned around and saw a woman in a blue floral dress walking toward her with a basin of laundry.

The newcomer was the wife of Zhang Daniu, their neighbor, known as Gossip Liu, who loved to spread rumors and was "'respectfully' called Gossip Liu" by the villagers.

She had a daughter the same age as Lu Wanxiao, and had once had her eye on Song Changting, hoping to marry her daughter Zhang Lanxin to him. She had arranged several so-called "coincidental" encounters along Song Changting's path home, but he never even spared her a glance.

She had originally planned to wait until Zhang Lanxin turned fifteen, then use some scheme to trick Song Changting into marrying her.

Unfortunately, before Zhang Lanxin could come of age, Song Changting, at the age of fifteen, married fourteen-year-old Lu Wanxiao because her father, Scholar Lu, was gravely ill and had entrusted her to his care.

At that time, Song Changting's legs were still intact, and he was actively preparing for the imperial examinations. Lu Wanxiao eagerly anticipated becoming an official’s wife after Song Changting passed the exams, so she naturally gave Gossip Liu no chance to employ her schemes, often mocking her whenever they met.

Later, Song Changting broke his legs, became lame, and could no longer take the imperial exams, requiring care. Gossip Liu, naturally, kept her distance. Her daughter Zhang Lanxin, after coming of age, was married off to a petty landlord in the town who had already buried eight wives.

No, to be precise, she was *sold*!

Then, using the money from selling her daughter, she arranged a wife for her son and bought herself a few new clothes and accessories, flaunting them around every holiday.

Not only that, whenever she met Lu Wanxiao, she would gloat and taunt her, saying whatever was most hurtful.

Lu Wanxiao was a real hothead; she wouldn't stand for it. The two of them had nearly come to blows several times.

Thinking about this, Lu Wanxiao suddenly remembered that she was almost seventeen in this life, which meant Song Changting had been lame for over two years, nearly three. Could it still be cured after so long?

Lu Wanxiao felt she should find an opportunity to examine him soon. If it could be treated, they should act quickly, as treating leg injuries was always better done sooner. If not, she could take him to find a renowned doctor specializing in leg ailments, hoping to improve his condition as much as possible.

Her mind occupied with Song Changting's leg, Lu Wanxiao sped up her work, naturally having no time to deal with Gossip Liu.

Moreover, she didn't enjoy verbal battles—they were pointless and not very meaningful.

Seeing that Lu Wanxiao wasn't engaging with her as usual, Gossip Liu found it strange and quickened her pace, intending to taunt her further. But then she noticed Lu Wanxiao wasn't holding clothes but a plump pheasant.

At the sight of the succulent pheasant, Gossip Liu could almost smell the aroma, unconsciously drooling, wishing she could snatch the pheasant from Lu Wanxiao's hands.

For common folks like them, earning a living wasn't easy. Just being able to feed their family and keep them from going hungry was already a feat. As for meat, aside from holidays, it was rarely seen.

Though they could hunt in the mountains, they weren't hunters. Catching a pheasant or hare was a stroke of luck, and the deeper parts of the mountain were too dangerous for anyone to venture into. How many pheasants and hares could be caught on the outskirts anyway?

Her husband and son had spent a whole day in the mountains a few days ago and only caught a half-grown rabbit. If she hadn't sneaked a couple bites while cooking, she wouldn't even know what rabbit tasted like.

How could Lu Wanxiao—a lazy, gluttonous, idle widow—catch such a fat pheasant?

Why did she have such good fortune? Heaven was truly unfair!

Suddenly, Gossip Liu recalled seeing Lu Wanxiao and Hunter Zhu pulling and shoving each other one evening some time ago. She immediately understood and silently cursed her as shameless, then spoke again with a mocking tone: "Oh my, such a fat pheasant—where did you pick *that* up from? Must have taken quite some *effort*, huh?"

She emphasized the word "effort" and looked at the pheasant in Lu Wanxiao's hands with a look of disdain and greed.

Seeing that Lu Wanxiao still ignored her, Gossip Liu set down her basin by the river. "Tsk, some people will do anything for a bite to eat. Not even bothering to hide it, they still have the nerve to flaunt it. So shameless. If my daughter were to do something so disgraceful, I would have broken her legs long ago, never letting her show her face in public again."

"I wonder if Scholar Lu down there is turning in his grave..."

Lu Wanxiao found it amusing. She glanced at Gossip Liu, who was spouting righteous words all the while staring at the pheasant without blinking, and said airily, "Want to know? Go ask him. It's not like anyone's stopping you."

She then continued cleaning the pheasant, thinking about how to cook it later.

This Gossip Liu clearly coveted her pheasant. Why not just say so directly, instead of going around in circles? Anyone listening would think she was sorry for Lu Wanxiao's father for having such a daughter.

"What?" Gossip Liu didn't immediately catch Lu Wanxiao's meaning.

"I said, since you're so eager to know if my father is turning in his grave, why don't you go down and ask him yourself?"

"You mean, you want me to die?" With Lu Wanxiao being so blunt, Gossip Liu finally understood.

Lu Wanxiao smiled noncommittally, packed the cleaned chicken into the bucket, scooped up some water, stood up, and glanced at Gossip Liu, who looked ready to scratch her eyes out. She clicked her tongue in disgust. "Quick, wipe that drool off your mouth. At your age, aren't you ashamed of yourself? Aren't your husband, son, and daughter-in-law disgusted by you?"

Hearing this, Gossip Liu instinctively wiped her mouth, only to find nothing there. Realizing she had been tricked, she pointed at Lu Wanxiao and cursed, "Lu Wanxiao, you shameless slut! You dare play me—"

Before she could finish, Lu Wanxiao stuffed a handful of chicken feathers into her mouth.

"Ugh—" A foul, fishy, indescribable taste spread through her mouth. Gossip Liu gagged, trying to spit it out, but Lu Wanxiao held her hand over her mouth to prevent her from spitting them out.

"I know you want to eat chicken, but there's only one, and my Song Changting and I have to eat it too. But don't worry, these chicken feathers are free for you. Take your time and savor it—I'm sure they'll have a bit of chicken flavor."

As if afraid she hadn't angered Gossip Liu enough, Lu Wanxiao added lightly, "We're neighbors, after all. I eat the chicken, you eat the feathers—call it sharing the good fortune."

With an expression that said, "See how kind I am?" Lu Wanxiao nearly gave Gossip Liu a heart attack.

"Oh, no need to be so moved. I'm just a nice person. Next time there are some chicken feathers, I'll treat you again!"

With that, ignoring Gossip Liu's venomous glare, Lu Wanxiao washed her hands in the river, smiled cheerfully, and picked up her bucket to leave, leaving Gossip Liu frantically rinsing her mouth with water.

After a few steps, she thought better of leaving the feathers by the river and turned back.

Gossip Liu, still trying to clean her mouth, saw Lu Wanxiao returning toward the pile of feathers. Fearful that she would stuff them into her mouth again, she scrambled away, abandoning her clothes and basin.

Lu Wanxiao clicked her tongue, not even sparing her a glance. She swept the feathers into a small pit a little farther from the river, washed her hands, then picked up her bucket and hummed a tune as she headed home.

As she approached the intersection, she saw Song Changting standing there, apparently for some time now.

But that wasn't the point. The point was that his position offered a perfect view of the riverbank.

Did that mean he had just witnessed her stuffing chicken feathers into Gossip Liu's mouth?