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墨書 Inktalez
"Though my waist has slimmed down, this part has certainly grown."
Shen Muhan said as he playfully poked at the red spot. Xia Muxin shivered, an indescribable feeling surged within her, as if it were trying to break free from her bones. This sensation made her quite uncomfortable, and with the little rationality she had left, she swatted Shen Muhan's mischievous hand away.
In this past month, she had worked hard and lost weight, but ever since the Koi Water arrived, her chest had grown unexpectedly. In just a short time, it seemed to have transformed from a small bun into a soup dumpling; it felt decent to the touch.
Shen Muhan was a normal man. Though he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. At this moment, he found himself quite attached to Xia Muxin's soft body, like a puddle of water beneath him revealing a different side of her. Yet every time this happened, the one who suffered the most was himself—watching but unable to indulge, while his own discomfort grew. He truly wondered if by the time that day came, he would be prematurely aged.
"Get up! I need to get home for something."
Seeing him still pressing down on her like a mountain, Xia Muxin finally couldn't help but urge him to move.
It must be said that every moment with him was reassuring; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to sleep so soundly. She was already thirteen years old; some girls in the village at that age were already pregnant and giving birth. Since she had decided on him, occasionally indulging in some sweetness wasn't a bad thing.
Noticing her tense body and slightly cold expression, Shen Muhan huffed softly and playfully pinched her petite nose before reluctantly getting off her. He then pulled her up as well. Xia Muxin quickly scanned their surroundings with caution and hurriedly adjusted her clothes, noticing that Shen Muhan was already neatly dressed and was now gazing at her chest with an inquisitive look.
Xia Muxin shot him an annoyed glance before turning towards the carriage.
Ever since she realized that she was developing in that area, she had made several light-colored undergarments. Now, no matter when, she always wore one underneath. She had originally planned to make a bra, but she had been too busy lately to get around to it.
Shen Muhan rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment before striding over to catch up with Xia Muxin. Once they entered the carriage, he cheekily remarked:
"Does touching make them grow?"
Xia Muxin shot him another glare and grabbed a book from the tea table to throw at him, but he caught it effortlessly and flashed her a charming smile as he drove the carriage homeward.
Xia Muxin sighed softly, wondering if all men were as frivolous as he was, or if it was just in her presence...
Upon returning home, she found that her family had already prepared lunch. There were still two tables set for meals every day, with Ming Yi and others totaling more than ten people, along with a few who tended the fire. With their own family members included, the two tables were quite crowded. The dishes were prepared with the help of Sister Swallow, Aunt Liu, and Ermiao.
When Sister Swallow and Ermiao saw Xia Muxin return, a mischievous smile flashed across their faces. Noticing Shen Muhan had gone to park the carriage, they hurried over to pull Xia Muxin aside and began questioning her like inquisitors.
“Tell us, where did you go last night? What did you do? Was it...”
Though Sister Swallow usually kept quiet in public, her outgoing personality shone through when it came to Xia Muxin, treating her more like a younger sister. At this moment, however, she wore a teasing grin and even tapped her thumbs together playfully at the end of her sentence.
Xia Muxin felt a few black lines appear on her forehead as she noticed Ermiao staring at her with wide curious eyes.
Jokingly tugging at Sister Swallow, Xia Muxin replied seriously, “Don’t corrupt my pure sister-in-law. Just wait until my brother finds out; he’ll come after you.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed Ermiao's neck turning red as well. Xia Muxin exchanged a knowing smile with Sister Swallow before they playfully went to wash their hands and eat.
Just as she sat down, Shen Muhan appeared out of nowhere and took a seat beside her, completely focused on serving her food.
Today, her brother seemed to be in a different mood as he sat next to Ermiao. Occasionally, he would serve her some dishes too. The table was mostly filled with family; Ming Yi and the others had taken large bowls of rice and dishes to eat on the side. So aside from the four of them, there were only their mother, Aunt Liu, and Sister Swallow present.
Since her brother sat down, Ermiao's face hadn't stopped being red; in fact, it was turning quite alarming. The adults exchanged knowing glances while Sister Swallow occasionally teased them. Yet Shen Muhan remained oblivious to their interactions; he simply focused on serving good food into Xia Muxin's bowl. As she stuffed her cheeks full of food, she looked at Shen Muhan's serious face in confusion, wondering how his expressions had transformed in front of her...
After dinner, she went to the Kiln. Since it wasn't raining today, the oil paper had been removed, and it was neatly stacked in the Thatched Cottage to cool.
All seven kilns were firing well, and the crackling sounds filled her ears.
"Xia Muxin, I command you to put them down!"
Xia Muxin circled around the kiln. Despite the wind and rain yesterday, neither the water channels nor the kiln had sustained any damage. She felt grateful; if it weren't for the Villagers, everything wouldn't have turned out so well. She looked up and saw shadows on eight tree stumps. Her heart sank. She had intended to ask Ming Yi and the others to bring some water for them, but before she could speak, an unfriendly command rang out.
She scanned the crowd and saw Zhao Qiushui leading Wang Shoucai and Meng Family members, marching toward her with a fierce demeanor.
Zhao Qiushui was wearing a translucent summer dress in willow green today, cinched at the waist. Fortunately, the bodice was conservative enough to cover her upper body except for her arms; otherwise, such an outfit would have been quite inappropriate.
Zhao Qiushui's gaze toward Xia Muxin was venomous, perhaps due to the incident with the drop of red liquid last time. However, Xia Muxin didn't care about her hostility; she simply disliked this woman from the bottom of her heart. The thought of giving those people some water vanished at that moment.
"Are you deaf? Did you hear me? I command you to put them down."
Zhao Qiushui approached without noticing Shen Muhan talking with Ming Yi and the others in a shaded area. Instead, she stood directly in front of Xia Muxin, pointing at a tree stump with an angry tone.
It was evident that she was somewhat flustered. Xia Muxin recalled the eight people tied up there and suddenly realized that one of them seemed unfamiliar. The fleeting panic Zhao Qiushui had displayed earlier was likely due to that unfamiliar face.
"Who do you think you are? Just saying 'let them go' doesn't mean anything. They haven't compensated for my losses yet! Also, so many people fell from the kiln—there are costs for fright, lost work time, emotional distress, and family panic. If they don't stay up there until I get at least one or two thousand taels, they can forget about it! Besides, this isn't something I brought upon myself; even if it were me, I wouldn't have had the ability to tie these people up! I've heard that some of them even wet themselves. This land is already mine; if it gets dirty or stinks, they will have to compensate for that too! Lord Wang, Madam Wang, do you agree with what I'm saying?"
Xia Muxin laid out her points one by one and ended by throwing the question back at Wang Shoucai and his wife.
Because they had often bullied the villagers in the past—rumor had it that they charged children for urinating in front of their house and accepted food as payment if they didn't have money. Families were busy with their daily lives; with young children around, how could they manage so much? It wasn't just one family that had been bullied like this.
She was using their own methods against them.
The Wang family had only one heir, Wang Dafu. Today, when Xia Muxin spoke, the Meng Family and Wang Shoucai didn’t even dare to resist, looking utterly defeated, heads downcast and eyes lowered, exuding an air of despondency.
“Muxin, dear sister, please let them put your brother-in-law down. He is weak and cannot withstand this kind of torment. Surely you wouldn’t want to see your cousin become a widow? Besides, Liulang has been unfaithful and has betrayed you while being involved with Color Lotus. He has wronged you and Gui Lian as well. But don’t take it to heart; there are all kinds of people in this world. Losing one more won’t matter. Don’t let your resentment fall on us; we must endure these hardships together. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Zhou Qinglian had always been like a sheltered young lady who rarely left her home. Today, for some unknown reason, she had come out with the Royal Couple and rambled on about unrelated matters. Her voice was soft and gentle, which was pleasant to hear, but her words made Xia Muxin shake her head.
Were the Zhou family members completely out of their minds? This was an issue from eight hundred years ago, yet they loved to bring it up.
As if she had truly suffered a great injustice from being abandoned by Feng Liulang.
“Young Lady Wang, please listen carefully. Feng Liulang’s romantic history has nothing to do with me. Don’t drag me into your family quarrels; I wouldn’t even look at that kind of scum.”
Xia Muxin didn’t know much about Zhou Qinglian; after all, in her memories, she was merely the Young Mistress of the Wang family. However, their families had always been at odds, and she had never seen Zhou speak up before today. Now she was pretending to be a good person and stirring up trouble, which showed that she wasn’t someone to be underestimated.
Zhou Qinglian was momentarily choked by Xia Muxin's cold attitude. A flicker of determination crossed her eyes as she forced a smile and said:
“I’m sorry, Muxin cousin. I rarely go out and have only heard things through gossip; just consider my words as mere ramblings.”
- End of Chapter -
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