CHAPTER 266: CHAPTER 265: XIA GUAGUA’S PATH OF PURSUING LOVE (FOURTH UPDATE)

"Third Son, you are indulging and sheltering!"

Mr. Mu’s body trembled slightly. Before coming here, he had been full of confidence. Despite the third family being split off, they still respected him as the elder.

What he said, the third son would not dare to disobey.

"Father, just think of me as indulging or sheltering. After all, my daughter Mu Dashan wasn’t taken care of for the first thirteen years. She suffered hardships.

For the rest of her life, even if it costs me everything, I will protect her at all costs!"

Mu Dashan’s words were resounding and resolute, leaving no room for doubt.

Mu Shuangshuang looked at the man she called "Baozi’s father" in front of her, and her heart felt warm. She felt that the purpose of hitting Mu Xiangxiang went far beyond just avenging Little Zhi.

She felt even more that her father, Baozi, had finally awakened.

Not just Mu Dashan, Yu Si Niang also spoke. "Father, you always say our third branch should do more work, but what have we gotten from that extra work?

Look at the children, how thin they’ve become! And the third son, he’s now full of ailments and cannot do heavy work or stay in the fields for long, yet who in the family has cared for him?"

Little Zhi also rushed forward, pointing at his face: "Grandpa, look at Little Zhi’s face, isn’t it still swollen?"

Mr. Mu lowered his head. Little Zhi’s face wasn’t swollen anymore, but the bright red five-finger mark was still glaringly apparent.

And also Mu Xiao Han, he too looked at Mr. Mu.

At this moment, Mr. Mu felt deeply shocked; he vaguely realized he might have done wrong.

He had always thought the eldest son would pass the imperial exams and become an official, different from others, deserving of the best things.

As for the third son’s family, being the most honest, even if they suffered some, it would be no big deal. At most, the eldest son, once he becomes an official, could give them more benefits.

Now it seemed he had indeed overlooked the feelings of the third branch.

But making Mr. Mu truly apologize was something he could not do; being over fifty, he valued face above all.

With a sigh, Mr. Mu finally said reluctantly: "I’ll head back first; you all eat slowly!"

And thus, the issue with Mu Xiangxiang came to a complete and unremarkable end.

Seeing Mr. Mu leave, the people of the third branch felt as if a weight had been lifted, especially Mu Dashan, who wiped the sweat from his forehead and said softly: "I was so scared just now, I didn’t know what made me dare to stand up to our grandpa."

"Dad looked awesome just now. From now on, no matter who bullies us, we should have the same attitude!"

"Yes, Sister is right. It’s because we’re too honest that we get bullied. My Fourth Uncle’s family is the same. Today, I also heard Sister Xiaxia say Grandma made her wash Little Aunt’s pants, they’re filthy, Sister Xiaxia even cried." Mu Xiao Han answered seriously.

Mu Shuangshuang’s lips twitched, instantly realizing what pants Xiao Han was referring to.

In ancient times, women didn’t have sanitary napkins but instead used a menstrual cloth, wrapping some grass ash on it during menstruation and placing it in their underwear.

The consequence of this was some unclean things inevitably getting left on the pants.

Generally, everyone washed their own, but there were always some who were thoughtless.

"The saying ’kind people are bullied, submissive horses are ridden’ is especially true for honest people being bullied." Mu Shuangshuang added, and after everyone nodded, they each felt increasingly firm in their hearts that, henceforth, they could not be easily bullied.

After the meal, and tidying up, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.

In the middle of the night, Mu Shuangshuang woke up from the heat, took a fan, and fanned herself for a while, finally feeling comfortable.

With the fan in hand, Mu Shuangshuang felt slightly better.

At the same time, Lu Yuanfeng also woke from the heat. He picked up the fan by the bedside, fanned himself and Yuanbao for a while, then took out the sachet Shuangshuang had embroidered for him from under the pillow, holding it with a bright smile.

Soon after, he fell back asleep.

At dawn, a rainstorm came, the rain pounding down with thunder and lightning, lasting the entire morning.

By noon, the rain finally stopped.

The temperature finally dropped, though in the following days, fans would not sell well.

An autumn rain brings a chill, and from now on, every rain will drop the temperature a little more, though it might not be noticeable now, come autumn, this trend will become clearer.

"Sister, I want to go out and play for a bit," Little Zhi rushed out, pointing at Yuanbao and Mu Shuangshuang who were waiting for him by the side door and said.

"Alright, but take Xiao Han with you."

Mu Xiaohan was still holed up indoors. Mu Shuangshuang had read him the first few pages of the "Ritual" in her spare time. This guy did nothing but hold a book and write those few characters on the ground.

It hadn’t even started, yet he was already this diligent. How would he manage in the future?

The road is long; everything must be done in moderation.

"But Brother Xiao Han wants to study!" Little Zhi said puzzled: "Won’t he not want to go out?"

"Then you should act cute. Brother Xiao Han likes you so much, he’ll surely listen to you, and Sister also has some big things to do."

Mu Shuangshuang wanted to see if, after the rain, there were any wood ears on the grass in the mountains. If there were, dinner wouldn’t be a worry.

With a basket in hand, Mu Shuangshuang left the courtyard, only to unexpectedly run into Lu Yuanfeng who also had a basket.

"I heard from my grandma that there are wood ears after the rain. I think you might want to gather some as well."

"Haha, we’re on the same page. I also plan to gather some." Mu Shuangshuang shook the basket in her hand.

"Let’s go together then!"

There really were quite a few villagers gathering wood ears. Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng found a piece of grass only to see that most of the wood ears had already been picked, and only some newly sprouted ones remained.

Wood ears only appear for a limited time, usually after rain, and when the sun comes out, these fungi are quickly dried out. So harvesting wood ears is a task that tests one’s speed.

"There’s nothing here anymore. Let’s head towards Niuwei Mountain to the north. There, the grasslands and forests are more abundant, and hardly anyone dares to go there, so surely there’ll be untouched ones!" Lu Yuanfeng suggested.

"Alright, let’s go together!" Mu Shuangshuang nodded.

As the two talked and laughed, Xia Guagua with a basket stood not far away. She watched the scene angrily and crushed the wood ears at her feet to pulp, drawing curses from the villagers.

"You woman from another village, wasting like this, how did your parents teach you?"

"None of your business, mind your own tongue, or face getting it cut off!" Xia Guagua retorted and quickly chased in the direction of Mu Shuangshuang and Lu Yuanfeng with her basket.

As she was about to catch up to Lu Yuanfeng, an idea crossed Xia Guagua’s mind, and she suddenly cried out. As Lu Yuanfeng and Mu Shuangshuang ahead turned around, she intentionally acted as if tripping over something, falling towards Lu Yuanfeng’s arms...