CHAPTER 75: CHAPTER 72: SCHEMING HEHUA’S COUNTERATTACK

Looking at the height of the sun, she should start cooking.

The third sister happened to come out of the room: "Ming Yue, can I study with Xiao Hui and the others in the future?"

Huh?

Jiang Mingyue suddenly had an idea.

"Third sister, as long as you want to learn, I’ll teach you. It’s not hard."

She had been careless.

Originally, among the four siblings of the Jiang Family, only Zhenzhu attended school properly. The eldest and second brothers never went to school, and the third sister could only recognize some characters because she shared a room with Zhenzhu. How could this level of education be sufficient? She was supposed to lead the family to prosperity. What if she couldn’t even understand the accounting books?

After the meal, Jiang Mingyue devised a learning plan suitable for her older siblings.

They wouldn’t study with Xiao Ran, starting with pictograms instead. Previously, Yan Jinzhi had brought over some copybooks, and a few were well-suited for the third sister and second brother to practice writing. Jiang Mingyue called the second brother and third sister to practice together. Luckily, the second brother was also ambitious, and since he couldn’t work on labor, he’d rather learn with his younger sister.

In fact, learning also requires a learning atmosphere. Look... Xiao Ran, Jiao Can, and Xiao Meng form a group, Yun Di and Xiao Hui form another, the second brother and third sister yet another. In total, seven people form a learning group. Even the youngest, Xiao Ran, is working hard. Wouldn’t you, who are much older, feel ashamed to slack off?

Basically, Jiang Mingyue would sit aside, assign tasks, and let them study on their own. If they didn’t understand something, they’d ask her. She was cultivating their ability to study independently from the start. That was more important than anything else.

The eldest brother didn’t come home to eat lunch and wasn’t outside either. Jiang Mingyue used her spiritual power to check, and that big fool was in Baihua Forest punching a tree! It’s not a sandbag; wasn’t he worried about ruining his hand?

But this was also good! Jiang Mingyue was somewhat relieved, indicating that the eldest brother wasn’t impulsive when dealing with matters.

But that half-pie lay in the middle, waiting to see how the eldest brother chose.

Sigh! Mrs. Jiang hadn’t returned yet, and no one knew how the sales were going.

Thinking of the chaos in the city, Jiang Mingyue would occasionally stand under the soap tree waiting for someone, but no one came. However, she couldn’t sit idle.

But what Jiang Mingyue never expected was that at the moment she was looking eagerly, Mrs. Jiang returned, carried by a person, and that person was none other than Liu Yinghe, whom she had threatened away in the morning.

Jiang Mingyue was so frightened that she forgot everything else and rushed over to support Mrs. Jiang.

"Mom, Mom, what happened? Did you fall or is something wrong?"

Unexpectedly, Liu Yinghe, as if seeing her for the first time, smiled and said, "This is Ming Yue, right? Really beautiful. Don’t worry too much; auntie just accidentally fell, sprained an ankle, and it’ll reduce greatly after applying cold water and resting. No need to worry."

"Yes, Ming Yue, I’m fine, don’t worry. Fortunately, I met Hehua. This girl is truly kind-hearted. She wasn’t afraid of delaying her tasks and insisted on carrying me back, saying that my leg shouldn’t bear more weight, otherwise it would get worse."

This was indeed a fact.

Jiang Mingyue couldn’t find fault with that.

Even the eldest brother, who had come back emotionally composed, was stunned by the situation.

"Why are you just standing there? Go pour a bowl of sugar water for Hehua," then warmly took Hehua’s hand, "Girl, stay for dinner tonight. Just accept it as thanks from auntie. Don’t refuse."

Hehua, looking embarrassed by the thought of a meal, said, "Auntie, how can I accept this? Besides, it was just a small effort on my part; how could it warrant a meal?"

A meal in this era held significant meaning.

"Why not? If you agree, I wish you could eat at our house every day."

Liu Yinghe mentally laughed with joy: Future mother-in-law hinting for her to join the family! As for what Jiang Mingyue said in the morning, after thinking it over, as long as she wouldn’t admit it, who could do anything to her? Of course, she’d also have to hurry to make things formal with Jiang Jian Country.

Hehua, shyly lowering her head with a soft voice, said, "I, I certainly would like to." After speaking, she sneaked a glance at Jiang Jian Country.

Jiang Jian Country, having complicated feelings earlier, found them even more tangled now. Honestly, if this happened before today, he wouldn’t have resisted holding Hehua’s hand and promising a lifetime together. But now, he had no idea how to approach Hehua.

He even subconsciously glanced at Hehua’s lower abdomen, covered by a slightly long shirt, obscuring whether it protruded. He’d seen the bellies of pregnant villagers’ wives pushing out their shirts with time.

He even hoped her abdomen stayed as it was. Suddenly thinking, if it remained the same after a year, he’d definitely marry Hehua.

This development puzzled Jiang Mingyue, but reason told her not to act rashly.

This Hehua... heh! With skills like hers, in ancient times, it’d be a disservice not to enter the palace as a concubine.

Time to cook—Xiao Meng and the others, realizing the atmosphere, left discreetly, likely taught by their families.

The third sister and Xiao Ran ran into the kitchen to help.

Xiao Ran: "Sister, I’ll get the fire going for you."

Jiang Zhenmei: "I’ll wash the vegetables."

The second brother also squeezed in, and luckily, the kitchen wasn’t small.

"Fourth sister, what can I do?"

The third sister quickly pushed him out: "Go, go, don’t come in and make a mess."

Jiang Jianjun wasn’t willing to leave, helplessly turning to Jiang Mingyue for support: "Fourth sister, let your second brother stay. Just look outside, I don’t seem to have a place."

Jiang Mingyue laughed, "Isn’t it just the right time to listen to how engaged couples interact? You’re about the right age, second brother."

"But I don’t like that type; only the eldest brother does. Tsk! Every time her eyes accidentally meet mine, they feel like hooks, making me uncomfortable, so uncomfortable I avoid looking at her. If she became family, I’d insist the eldest brother live apart."

Jiang Zhenmei added, "I don’t like her either. The eldest brother’s too honest to control that woman. But if he delays further, I’m afraid he won’t find a wife. Sigh!"

Jiang Mingyue comforted her, "Don’t worry. As our family’s situation improves, if we build a house, with the eldest brother’s appearance and physique, many girls will have secret crushes. Our doorstep would be trampled by matchmakers."

Her words successfully distracted the thoughts of the other two.

Jiang Jianjun: He imagined smiling matchmakers bringing him potential wives, telling him which girl wanted to marry him, just waiting for him to choose, feeling like an emperor choosing a concubine.

He shuddered, snapping back to reality.

Jiang Zhenmei imagined being approached by girls whenever she went out, eager to learn about her brothers, testing if they had feelings for them.

Jiang Mingyue focused on cooking, uninterested in what the trio outside were discussing.

But during the meal, Liu Yinghe slipped off her shoes and used her bare foot to slyly rub against the eldest brother’s leg, which sickened her.

This wasn’t something she sensed but saw when Xiao Jiang Ran dropped his chopsticks and she bent to pick them up.

Jiang Mingyue couldn’t understand Liu Yinghe’s intent with such actions—secretly checking her reaction, smugly looking as if to say: see, what can you do? This house doesn’t adhere to your words; you’re just an in-law waiting to be married off.

As for the eldest brother, he was so flustered that he couldn’t focus on eating, his face blazing red.

However, her smugness lasted only a second before everything turned around so swiftly.