Chapter 3
According to the plot of the novel, the villainess’s end was marked by her passing away with soone who loved her watching as she grew old.
Hence, when Qin Yueqian realized this, she wasn’t repulsed at the idea of being married to Mu Heng. On the contrary...she felt a warmth in her heart knowing her husband was such a good and honest man.
As the story progressed where the heroine faced nurous adversities, the woman who beca the Furen of the general she loved fought and sched until old age. Yueqian preferred to be the exiled villainess instead.
She rembered as a reader thinking that the villainess’s life seed more appealing than the heroine’s. Now actually living in this body, she realized she was right. Even though she was a villainess exiled without the blessings of rebirth, having a wonderful mother was still a precious luck.
Added to this was the gift she received—a dinsion that connected her to a shopping mall, making even rural life quite comfortable.
"Right, I haven’t yet inford the Art Institute that I’ve changed the delivery location for the liquor here," she mused, touching her chin, thinking that she needed to find soone to send a letter to or perhaps make a trip to the city herself.
Traveling to the city was sowhat arduous, requiring over four hours by foot, which made the round trip quite lengthy. However, if she didn’t send a ssage, they might be moving unnecessarily.
"Fortunately, the last trade was quite substantial. I still have about twenty days before supplies run out," Qin Yueqian shook her head at herself.
If everyone knew that the exquisite liquor they were addicted to actually ca from a notorious villainess of the capital, she wondered how they would react. Thankfully, the head of the Art Institute kept it a secret, partly to prevent her from becoming a target in rchandise conflicts. They pretended to produce it themselves, so no one dared probe the gallery’s secrets.
Now in this world, Qin Yueqian had paved her own way. Even without a family, she could rely on her own dinsion.
Still, she couldn’t be too ostentatious; otherwise, people might start paying too much attention.
She found two types of liquor that suited the era perfectly—one with a bold taste suitable for the fiery n and another, a milder one that could be enjoyed leisurely. Selling them at exorbitant prices had brought her considerable profit since she was young, making it a stable business over the years.
These two fine liquors had beco renowned throughout the kingdom. Sales over the past decade have been better than any other business. Neighbors, when visiting, would go to the Art Institute to taste them. If there was a banquet in the palace, the gallery was tasked with supplying the fine liquor.
Her relationship with the gallery was like that of trusted relatives. They never doubted where she got the fine liquor from and didn’t think of seizing it. They were content just to sell it for a profit. Additionally, the elderly man who was an owner of the gallery had seen her as a grandchild ever since she first went to sell liquor there at the age of six.
They have been partners for a long ti and can be trusted.
Originally, the old man wanted to offer his help when she was about to be exiled, but she did not want to change the storyline. Moreover, she wanted to et this husband again, curious about what kind of man he was and wanting to thank him for being the only one who stayed by her side until she grew old.
"Lady Qin, it’s late, you should rest," a deep voice called from the doorway. He didn’t barge in imdiately but made sure his presence was known first.
Qin Yueqian gathered her thoughts, which had been wandering aimlessly. She checked her belongings once more before stepping out of the room. The cumberso clothes she initially wore were replaced with more comfortable, ordinary attire, still of good fabric, unlike what Mu Heng wore.
Her beautiful, flawless face had been cleaned. Her face shifted from the Young Villainess Qin to a young innocent girl once again. When Mu Heng saw her, he was stunned by her radiant beauty, which was appropriate for her age and different from her previously provocative face. Certainly, a man with little experience like him would prefer this kind of beauty.
It was also quite unexpected that Qin Yueqian would have this side to her.
"Ahh, um..." He was montarily at a loss for words until the small figure in the light pink dress walked past him, wafting a pleasant scent. He then realized how inappropriate he had been by staring.
"Let’s go to sleep," she said softly, causing his heart to flutter. Her thin lips curved into a gentle smile, her eyes showing nothing but friendliness.
How could a man who had lived as a bachelor for many years not have his heart stirred by such a beautiful woman? Initially, he thought she was beautiful and felt guilty enough not to get angry at her outbursts and scolding. But now, he didn’t think so; she was beautiful and easy to talk to, contrary to what they had assud.
That night, one person slept comfortably while the other three couldn’t sleep at all.
With the dawn’s light, the small figure on the bed rolled around a few tis, a ritual to wake up as her heavy eyes refused to open to the world. She yawned widely, enjoying the warmth of the heavy blankets in the chilly air. Who would want to get up early in such coziness?
In truth, if it weren’t for the noisy children of the house, she wouldn’t think of waking up at the crack of dawn either.
"Sigh..." The woman sighed helplessly, struggling to sit up.
"Sleep a bit more, did the kids keep you awake?" the deep voice of the newcor sounded.
He had entered just in ti to see her sigh and pout adorably—an endearing sight that made Mu Heng unable to stop watching her quietly. If it weren’t for her turning to see him right then, he would have continued remaining silent.
"Uh, no, it’s fine. Once I’m awake, I can’t go back to sleep," Qin Yueqian resigned herself to getting up from her soft mattress, rubbing her eyes to clear the grogginess.
"Then wash up first. The kids have ward up so stead buns for you," Mu Heng said, though Qin Yueqian could guess from the delicious aroma filling the house. She glanced at him briefly but said nothing else.
It was agreed last night that they would each live separately. But this morning, he still ntioned that he had prepared food for her.
Qin Yueqian walked to the jar in front of the house where the water was quite clear, likely due to the minimal pollution of the era. Finding clean water in streams was not difficult, the only drawback being that it was extrely cold, making fetching water undoubtedly a challenging task.
She looked sympathetically at the man with wet sleeves who was staring back at her. He didn’t seem tired or troubled at all. It was as if he did this routinely, and it was an easy task for him, even though it ant trudging through snow to scoop water from a stream.
Qin Yueqian made a ntal note to find a way to help him with fetching water from afar. It wasn’t just for him; she too needed the water he collected. It would be too much if she uses it comfortably without any thought.
The young woman scooped up so cold water to wash her face. She also took out a bar of fragrant soap, a brush, and toothpaste. Although others might not understand what these items were, they didn’t question it much. After all, Yueqian was a lady from the capital, and it was not unusual for her to have so strange-looking personal items.
After washing up, her dry face was nourished with lotion from a bottle resembling a small liquor bottle. The two children quietly watched; they hadn’t started eating yet as they wanted to wait for their beautiful sister-in-law.
Qin Yueqian took her ti applying perfu to her body. The delicate scent of jasmine, a fragrance she rarely used even though she liked it very much, was chosen for the first ti, giving her great pleasure. Previously, she had to use stronger, almost pungent perfus that nearly irritated her nasal mbranes. Now, out of the capital at her heart’s content, she could do as she pleased without having to hide.
She felt an indescribable ease.
"Sister-in-law, we have prepared food for you. Would you like to have so hot stead buns now?" a young girl’s voice inquired.
Huan’er looked brighter than usual today, so much so that everyone in the house noticed. Perhaps because their al wasn’t just boiled rice water anymore.
Mu Heng could only bite his own lip. He swore to himself that he would work harder so that his younger siblings could live happily. No, not just his siblings, but his beautiful wife must also live well. He would not let her suffer.
"It’s alright, let’s eat. If you’re not full, we can take more stead buns from the chest. They won’t last long anyway. If we don’t finish them, they’ll just go to waste," Qin Yueqian shook her head. She didn’t really feel like eating at buns this early in the morning.
"But... then what will sister-in-law eat?" Huan’er asked worriedly. She hadn’t prepared anything else today, and there was nothing else at ho.
"Huan’er, don’t be impolite," Mu Heng gently scolded his sister. Even though he knew the little girl had no intention to be intrusive, such thoughtless questions could make the new mber of their ho feel uncomfortable.
Yueqian didn’t interfere with Mu Heng’s discipline. She didn’t want to be a wife who always sided with the children. If the husband said one thing and the wife another, it would only confuse the children about what’s right and wrong. Besides, this was his sister, and he had every right to discipline her as he saw fit.
The young woman paid no further attention to the siblings chastising each other. Instead, she walked into the kitchen where there were a few pieces of charcoal left. They hadn’t added more since the charcoal they had gathered for the winter had to be used sparingly.
Yueqian pondered for a mont because the departnt store didn’t have charcoal at all. What they did have were electric stoves powered by solar energy, but she didn’t trust them enough yet to reveal items from another era. She decided to wait a bit longer until she could truly trust them before considering it.
"What would you like to eat? I’ll make it for you," Mu Heng understood that his wife wasn’t cooking because she didn’t know how.
After all, she was a noblewoman from a prominent family. How could she be expected to cook elaborate als? He understood this and did not bla her.
"It’s okay. May I use so of your firewood?"
"Of course, but do you...know how to cook?" the young man raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised.
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