TL notes:
A couple of updates!
– I’ve looked around changed some of the name formatting (Wan yu is now wanyu haha)
– some terms have been changed (lord dongfang will now be the patriarch dongfang and so on)
Sorry for the long wait!!
After the two waves of demonic beasts finally settled, Dongfang Wanyu took Minghui to a place to rest.
“What have you been doing for most of the day? Breaking into a bird’s nest? Robbing their eggs?” Seeing her pale and flustered expression, Dongfang Wanyu was unable to restrain herself from asking.
Dongfang Minghui’s face was filled with bitterness, it was distressing to explain, there was probably no other woman that currently matched her suffering. Having traveled there to be a cook, how could she get rid of it?
“If you don’t want to explain, that’s fine. Just don’t expect me to save you next time you’re in danger.” Dongfang Wanyu’s tone was slightly heavy. She had to admit, Minghui’s current appearance was pitiful, enough for her to soften. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have aided in rescuing her.
“I didn’t steal the egg.” She couldn’t help but defend herself, how could the lady nine in the magnificent Dongfang household ever commit such a crime.
Dongfang Wanyu made a cold ‘hmpth’, “If you didn’t take their egg, why was it in your pocket, why did the flock chase after you?”
Dongfang Minghui nursed a grievance, just because it was in her pocket didn’t necessarily mean she stole it. In her mind, it didn’t automatically come into her pocket, but the truth was almost like that. Such a shameful thing, she felt too ashamed to speak it out.
“Your ninth sister is really a lucky charm, those beetles would’ve never left so swiftly if she didn’t bring over the flock of Jinwu birds here.”
In a sense, the Jinwu birds were indeed a fearsome match against the beetles. The iron beetle shells wouldn’t break with knives or guns, but once it met with the beaks of the Jinwu birds, it couldn’t withstand even a single blow. Furthermore, as fowls and beasts, the land-dwellers and flying creatures were already natural enemies.
“Tsk tsk, if it weren’t for the way she looked before, I wouldn’t have believed it was all an accident.”
The two sentences the cold voice rung in her head automatically silenced Dongfang Wanyu.
Seeing the other party had assisted her once again, Dongfang Wanyu decided not to investigate on where she went off to for most of the day.
“Find a water source and clean yourself off.” Dongfang Wanyu threw the burden to her.
Dongfang Minghui looked at herself, her hair was scattered, clothes unseemly, not to mention her face, greasy and limey, it was simply a mess.
It was no wonder why the heroine was so scornful of her.
Dongfang Minghui found a place with water. The lake was crystal clear, clear enough to see to see the bottom, combined with an exquisite scenery. She untied her robes and walked in with her pants still on.
Certainly, she was confident she would be able to daringly march into the center of the lake.
“At last, I can finally take a bath.” Life these days had overturned what she used to do. Not to mention the harsh meals, there weren’t much places to bathe, and even when she could they lacked the warm heat. Spending a day drenched in the scent of the corpse grass, she felt her sense of smell was out of tune.
As Dongfang Minghui washed, inwardly tucking in her heart, she couldn’t help but think, how long must she live this way?
In the end, all of that still laid in the hands of the female protagonist.
Pondering on this, Dongfang Minghui wailed mournfully, immersing her whole face in the water. The bundle of hair was released, just enough so she could thoroughly clean it up. Just as she was washing freely, a voice burst in.
“The water here is pretty clean. Why don’t you take a dip first.”
Suddenly, two men came over to the shore. One of them was in high spirits, taking off his clothes and jumping into the lake with only his shorts.
With a ‘sploosh‘, the water made a big splash.
“Ay, young master, be careful about the cold.” The person beside him picked up the clothes the man scattered, going over to rest at on a boulder nearby the shore, waiting patiently.
Dongfang Minghui watched in a wide-eyed horror, choking on a mouthful of water. As soon as she heard the man’s voice on the shore, she dipped down, burying herself in water and held her breath, trying not to expose herself.
Yet it was not a long-term solution, watching the man swim happily underwater, singing, and singing……
Dongfang Minghui covered her eyes, wanting to back up a little, to hide behind somewhere. But as she stepped back, she was not careful of her surroundings, the sole of her foot slipping.
“Gughlughgh…”
Carelessly, she gulped down a mouthful of water, “Ah, hel——!”
She didn’t know how to swim.
The noise caused the man to lift his head, finding Minghui in his vision. The two faced together, then——
“Ah——!”
“H——Kugh——Help!” Dongfang Minghui had been in the water for half a day, if she stood firmly, she’d be fine.
Two piercing screams almost occurred in sync.
Quietly by the lake, a group of birds were so frightened they fluttered away.
Donfang Minghui attempted to cover herself and wanted to go back.
“Young master.”
The man was so frightened that he left and went back to the shore, with little time, he loosely equipped his outer garment and his footwear, but he hadn’t managed to put on the other boot.
Dongfang Wanyu, who had been resting not far away, heard the voice of Dongfang Minghui and thought what had happened. She rushed over.
She saw a man with a white chest, his clothes and trousers sticking to his body wetly. His hair was shawled, messy as a wolf’s. A servant stood beside him, arms still holding a pile of his clothes. And then there was Dongfang Minghui was in the water, not daring to come out, covering her chest with her hands, giving off a bullied appearance.
Dongfang Wanyu drew out her long whip in a near instant, striking it on the ground towards the man, “How bold.”
“Young lady, you’ve misunderstood, this is purely a misunderstanding, if you don’t believe ask that person——girl. I didn’t see anything underneath, really, I can swear.” As soon as the man explained, he wore everything back on his body with the help of his servant. As for whether his clothes were wet or not, it no longer mattered.
“Seventh sister.” Dongfang Minghui was about to cry, this time she really wanted to cry without tears. Just a few days after she left the house, she encountered so many things, one after another. Even washing taking a bath wasn’t safe, and to have this kind of dog blood drama to happen, it was unbearable.
Dongfang Wanyu waved her whip once again, sighing, “You two, turn around.”
The two quickly turned around, standing upright obediently.
Dongfang Minghui finally found courage to walk tardily to the shore, hiding behind the tree and taking off the wet clothes and trousers, changing into a clean dress. Still in a set of men’s clothing, wet hair was still scattered on her head, feeling slightly wronged as she emerged from behind the tree.
“Did he trouble you?” Dongfang Wanyu spoke bluntly.
Dongfang Minghui shook her head. She pulled her to the side, whispering, “I went down in my trousers so he probably didn’t see it. I was just surprised, it wasn’t any problem, it’s better to just let them go.”
Dongfang Wanyu looked her up and down, and after determining that she was fine, “But whether or not he saw, you can’t just leave it like this.”
“Does the young master have anything to say?” Dongfang Wanyu bounced back a question to the other party.
If not for the fact Dongfang Wanyu had come, he would’ve sneaked away with his servant earlier.
“Ah, what does the girl want?”
With a slight roll of her eyes, Dongfang Wanyu suggested, “Whether you saw or not, you’re held responsible. You’re best decision is to meet with my ninth sister’s family and tie the bond, what do you think?”
Dongfang Minghui: “……”
This protagonist was killing my rhythm.
Not waiting for the young master to show his stance, Dongfang Minghui pulled the heroine aside, “Seventh sister, don’t kid around, nothing happened between us, I didn’t give him an inch of exposure save for my shoulders, and I don’t want to put my long-term future in one basket for a man I barely know.”
It concerned her life-long happiness, so what, she was still going to fight for it.
Dongfang Wanyu rose her brows, “Then what about you?”
Dongfang Minghui waved her hand, “I just wanted to tell you what I think, Seventh sister, I’m not any short of two pounds nor am I injured, there’s no need to hold him responsible for it.” This sort of random marriage arrangement was not reliable, it had no emotional foundation. She really didn’t want this.
It was the first time Dongfang Minghui seemed so determined on her decisions. Dongfang Wanyu stared at her for a long time before nodding her head, “It’s my business, make sure you don’t regret it.”
Dongfang Wanyu was thinking of playing the role of a sister, to serve a duty as an older sister, but now it seemed there was nothing that needed to be done.
“You’re lucky, since my ninth sister is showing benevolence to let you go, you may leave.” Dongfang Wanyu put away her whip, “But you better forget what happened here today. If a fifth person ends up knowing what happened, you better watch out.”
The nobleman had never encountered such a brutal person before. After giving an assuring nod, he grabbed his servant and ran as if someone was chasing him.
As Dongfang Minghui watched them flee, she couldn’t help but let out a giggle.
“You’re actually laughing, I’ve never seen a girl that could laugh after she’d been peeked at.” Dongfang Wanyu wanted to cut open her head and look at what was inside her brain.
Dongfang Minghui immediately put on an image of a darling’s little wife, restraining her smile and pursing her lips, “It’s already happened, does Seventh sister want me to wash my face with tears everyday?”
Daring to talk back.
Dongfang Wanyu gave her a cold, indifferent look, “You don’t care, I don’t care. But in this place, women tend to be on the losing end. I won’t talk to anyone about what happened today, you can rest assured.”
Dongfang Minghui blinked, she was completely at peace, it wasn’t that big of a deal. However, in this era, this matter would inevitably cause some unease, it was of no surprise the protagonist forced the young lad to marry her.
Thinking of the harem the heroine would gather…… Dongfang Minghui’s lips formed into a grin, she would like to see how she’d respond in the future.
Suppose from now on she should be more careful when bathing. She couldn’t let herself bathe alone, only when someone else was with her could she be at peace.
“I’m hungry, you can make something to eat.” After the protagonist finished speaking, she retreated to a spot where she could rest her eyes and train her mind.
Dongfang Minghui was speechless, since when did her occupation change to be a chef?