CH 17

Chapter 17 – Looking  For My Wife

Four pairs of fluffy slippers were neatly placed under the bed.  In autumn and winter, rabbit fur slippers were worn, snakeskin slippers were worn in summer and in spring, any kind of casual footwear could be worn.

The stone house that was warm in winter and cool in summer was in reality made of stone.  It was originally a naturally formed cave and the walls inside the cave were hard stones.  The previous dweller had made a stone bed, table, and other necessities.

When Li Jing’er and her children moved in, they only needed to do some cleaning up and bought some daily utensils.  The stone floor was very smooth and easy to take care of.  She used a homemade mop to clean the floor once in the morning and once in the evening.  This was because when the children rolled on the floor, their clothes would not be dirtied, and not a speck of dust could be found in the house.

“Uh!  It’s so cold………”

When she opened the cumbersome but beast-proof iron and wooden door, a gust of cold wind blew directly at her.  She took a deep breath of fresh air and felt a refreshing feeling in her lungs.  A breath of primitive mountain forest air penetrated her nose and her mind instantly cleared and she shivered.

Thud!  Thud!  Thud!  Thud……..

In front of the stone house was a large open space for the children to play and there was still some white mist lingering in the place.  The constantly flowing mountain wind was like the spirits of the mountain forest guarding this tranquility.

Following the strange sounds, Li Jing’er walked forward and came to the spring.  Through the mist, she could vaguely make out the figure of a man and in his hand, he was holding up the axe she bought not long ago.  It seemed he did not use much effort to chop down on the piece of wood and split it into half……….it was a piece of wood that was supposed to be used as an outdoor picnic table that she had carried back for more than ten miles.

She covered her mouth and almost exclaimed aloud with eyes that were glowing with admiration.

This arm strength is truly too amazing!  He could actually split the piece of wood right in the middle with just one strike and the two pieces were equal in size like a jiao bei*.

With just a toss, the two pieces of wood would turn over and face upwards into a smile.

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(Jiao bei is a tool made from wood, bamboo, or metal used by Taoist believers to seek answers from the gods after prayers.  The following is the link showing a Jiao Bei made from wood. )

Wood Jiao Bei

Suddenly she felt a little thirsty, her throat tightened and she stared at the upper body of the man.  The muscles were not overly developed but the lines were distinct and very beautiful.   A combination of tension and beauty, especially those bulging arm muscles……..

Ai!  She seemed to feel a little aroused and her body started to heat up.

She lost her mother at the age of 14 and to show filial piety, she mourned for 3 years.  Then she got married at the age of 17 and gave birth to a daughter the following year.  After staying in her husband’s house for another 6 months, she was chased away and then lived alone for a year.

Thinking about it, she was almost 20 years old.

In modern times, if she is at this age, she should be a female college student and should be a little bit older than a child.  However, in ancient times, she is already considered ‘old’.  She felt that an ‘old’ woman like her at the age of 20 is the same as a woman of 30 in the modern world.  So the changes in her body are just natural reactions.  A woman at 30 is like a tiger and a woman at 40 is like a wolf.

She will be……..horny…….and that is considered normal.

“Jing Niang?”

Perhaps her eyes were too piercing.  When the man felt someone looking at him, he turned around abruptly.

“Ah!  Why is it you?!”

Upon seeing distinct facial features on the man’s face, the startled Li Jing’er screamed and jumped a step back.  She stared in shock as the tall figure walked toward her.

“Good morning!  Jing Niang, you’re up very early.  It’s still cold outside, so go back in and sleep for a while more.  Don’t catch a cold.”

He spoke in a tone that sounded like a husband who cares for his wife and could not bear to let her get up early.

“Good morning?!  What good morning?!  What are you doing here?!”

The traps that she set up were laid out like a maze using the wisdom of the 21st century and were not easy to crack.

Li Jing’er does not understand the Five Elements or the Eight Trigrams but she had gone through countless mazes and is a maze lover.  Moreover, she is good at using the terrain, so in the setup, there was a connection between reality and fantasy.  However, in reality, fantasy would lead people to walk into a forked path.  After going through many twists and turns, the people will eventually walk out again from the original path and will never find their way to the exit.

Unless one can see through the peculiarities in the setup and discover the secret passage that is also set with traps.

“Chopping wood.”  He grinned with bright eyes and showed his white teeth.

When Li Jing’er saw the firewood that was piled up like a hill, her mouth twitched involuntarily.  That was enough for her to survive through the winter.  The wood that she had to chop for a few months was all completed by him in an hour or two………

This……..comparison made her angry.

She should feel happy that someone helped her to chop the firewood but she felt her blood pressure rising and her blood vessels about to burst.

The disparity in their strength is too large.  How can she withstand such a blow?

Initially, Li Jing’er thought that a woman can surpass a man’s ability, she can do whatever a man can do and will never lose.

However, it was a slap in the face.

Xiao Jingfeng made it clear to her with his strength that there is a vast difference between men and women.  Her thinking was just to deceive others as well as herself.  In face of absolute strength, she was so weak that he could pinch her to death with just one finger.

“My meaning is why are you here?”

Hallucinations, hallucinations, he doesn’t exist!  I’m drowsy with sleep and this is an illusion!

Xiao Jingfeng showed a solemn smile and caressed her slightly messy hair.

“I came to look for my wife.  She seems to have eight legs and can run very fast.”

“When did you have a wife?  We’re divorced……..divorced, do you understand?  There’s no husband and wife relationship between you and me.  I am Madam Li and you’re Xiao Baihu.”

She could not help shouting and venting the anger in her chest.

Who would like it when someone comes silently to the door in the middle of the night?  And if that person has bad intentions, would she not have to bear the humiliation and swallow the loss and let that person have all the advantages?

It looks like the stone house is not as safe as she had imagined.

“I’ve said before that I don’t agree.  I’ll go back to Minjiang County later to request for the documents to be canceled.  They’re not valid without my permission.”

No one can represent him to do anything against his will.  He has a wife and daughter, why should he abandon them?

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“Parents can act on their child’s behalf and if the child disobeys, it means he is unfilial.  Even a little woman like me can let go, so why can’t you, a dignified man, let go and give you and me a way out?”

Why is he so stubborn about this?  There are women everywhere and as long as he stretches out his hand, he could grab a whole bunch of them.

Li Jing’er really could not understand the way he thinks.

Isn’t it great for a man to get promoted and for his wife to die?  He can even be promoted to an official from a soldier, so why should he be worried that he can’t get a wife?

She knew that she is only a little better looking than the average peasant woman and compared to the young ladies of the city’s wealthy families, she is miles apart.  She is not a beauty that could attract a second look, therefore, in her opinion with Xiao Jingfeng’s current qualities, it should not be a problem for him to marry another young and beautiful girl.

So, why is he reluctant to let go and keep chasing after her?  If everyone pretends that it hadn’t happened, wouldn’t everything be over?  Who would stage such a play of ‘reconciliation’ in the wilderness thousands of miles away?

“Don’t worry, I’ll resolve this with my parents.”

As long as they are given enough silver taels, the two elders will open up their hearts and accept his wife and daughter.

“You’ll resolve it?”  She snorted coldly and poked her honey-colored index finger on his chest.  “Did you ask me what I want?  Why should I return to the Xiao Family where everyone ganged up together to bully me?  As soon as they saw I gave birth to a daughter, they didn’t even help me with the confinement and I was so hungry that I couldn’t even get out of bed.  Your mother insisted that I was pretending and pulled me out of bed by my hair and told me to work in the fields to harvest the wheat……..”

At that time, she was truly very angry and felt the original owner of her body had suffered grievously.  She opened her mouth to bite Mother Wu’s arm and glared fiercely as a warning that if the old woman touches her again, she would die together with her.

Mother Wu who was bitten until her arm bled became frightened.  She only said she was unlucky to have encountered a lunatic and simply swung her hands away and ignored Li Jing’er to see when she would give in.

And it was because Mother Wu did not care about whether she lived or died, Li Jing’er was able to secretly get the kind-hearted Auntie Jiu to send her water and confinement meals to make it through that most difficult month.

“Jing Niang, I’m here……….”   No one could hurt her anymore.

Li Jing’er sneered again.  “Do you know the plans your good younger brother made?  He had already discussed with the Niangniang of Wan Hua Lou in town that when Little Sister Yue reaches 3 years old, she would be sent to the brothel to be taught.  Once she starts to menstruate, she would officially be old enough to receive guests.”

At that time, she was squatting by the well and washing clothes and could hear Xiao Lao San and his wife talking happily about this matter inside the house.  They also lamented it was a pity that the Second Branch only gave birth to one daughter.  If more daughters were born, they would surely become rich.  One could be sold for 50 taels and if there were 4 to 5 more, the daughters could fetch more than 200 taels.  If that was the case, they, the Third Branch, could buy land and become landowners.

That year, due to the drought and flood, lands were sold cheaply at a very low price.  A piece of land that was originally sold at 7 to 8 taels or more could be bought for 2 taels of silver.

“What?”  He was so shocked that the axe in his hand fell to the ground without him realizing it.  A feeling of anger surged in his heart and seared his entire chest.

If Xiao Jingrong was standing in front of Xiao Jingfeng at this moment, his stone-like arms would have strangled his brother’s neck and Xiao Jingrong would have lost half of his life even if he did not die.

How dare Lao San have such vicious thoughts?!  Does Lao San even dare to sell off his daughter to that kind of place?  He is simply mad!

“Xiao Jingfeng, let me tell you honestly.  I will never return to the wolf’s den that wants to eat my flesh and drink my blood.  Unless you cut off relations with them and sever all communications with them, it will be impossible between us.”

Being frank with him saves a lot of trouble.

“Jing Niang, you are making it difficult for me.  You should know that blood relations can’t be broken………”

No matter how bad his parents and brothers are, they are still his family.  How can he cut off all relationships with them?  As their child, how can he stop supporting his parents and be unfilial?