Transmigrated as the Husband of a Vicious Villainess - Chapter 13

The clothes on Ji Baiqing’s back were washed until they were pale neat, but worn. The few other items in her wardrobe were the same, so she didn’t bother changing.

Yunshui Village was backed by mountains and surrounded by water. While not as affluent as the neighboring village, no villager there had ever starved to death.

The mountains behind the village belonged to the community. Ji Baiqing led Wen Miao to an orange grove that had been harvested the previous year. A section at the foot of the mountain was fenced off. After circling inside for a bit, Wen Miao picked a few of the larger oranges. She peeled one, took a bite, and squinted her eyes.

She then fed a piece to Ji Baiqing. Ji Baiqing bit into it, but before she could even say thank you, she was jolted by the intense sourness of the fruit.

“Pah, pah, pah!” She spat out the orange and looked at Wen Miao, pretending to be fierce. “Well played, Wen Miao! You actually dared to trick me!”

Wen Miao gave a cunning smile and spat out the unswallowed orange in her own mouth.

Ji Baiqing made a move to tickle her. Seeing this, Wen Miao let out a shriek and ran up the mountain. Like two children, one chased while the other fled. By the time they reached the mountainside, Wen Miao finally ran out of energy. She leaned against her knees, gasping for breath.

Seeing her delicate state, Ji Baiqing said helplessly, “Alright, I’m done chasing you. Walk a bit slower.”

Wen Miao looked up and suddenly spotted several trees bearing fruit that looked like caterpillars. She pointed at them, sounding a bit hesitant. “Are those mulberry trees?”

Ji Baiqing snapped her fingers. “Smart girl.”

She unfolded the small bundle she had brought. “Let’s pick some to take back. Do you drink? These can be used to brew mulberry wine.”

Wen Miao nodded and stepped forward to help Ji Baiqing pick. The dark purple fruits were very sweet. In this era, there were no pesticides to worry about, so Ji Baiqing ate as she picked. By the time the small cloth bag was full, she was half-full herself.

She turned to look at Wen Miao. The beauty’s fair face was stained with the purple juice of the mulberries. Ji Baiqing stifled a laugh and reached out to wipe it away with her finger.

She showed the purple stain on her fingertip to Wen Miao, teasing, “You’ve turned into a little calico cat.”

Wen Miao huffed, then took the opportunity when Ji Baiqing wasn’t looking to smear a streak onto the other woman’s face. She looked triumphant. “Now you’re a little cat, too.”

Ji Baiqing looked at her and wiped her cheek with a light smile. Wen Miao really is oddly cute, she thought. She still couldn’t fathom how the author could have written such a person as a “villainess.”

Hanging the cloth bag on a branch, she led Wen Miao to gather fiddlehead ferns, mustard greens, and Chinese toon. When picking the toon, the beauty’s face was full of undisguised disgust, the stuff smelled pungent.

Ji Baiqing explained, “Toon stir-fried with eggs is delicious. Some people like it steamed, too. I’ll make some for you when we get back.”

Hearing this, Wen Miao eventually gave a reserved nod.

After filling a large hemp sack with wild vegetables, Ji Baiqing took Wen Miao to find “tea bubbles” and “tea ears” the sweet, crunchy growths found on tea trees during this season.

Ji Baiqing picked one for Wen Miao to taste. “How is it?”

Wen Miao swallowed it, her brow furrowing slightly. “…It feels a bit strange, but it’s actually quite good.”

At this, Ji Baiqing’s eyes curved into a smile. “There are lots of delicious things on the mountain. Every season has different scenery. You’ll see when the time comes. In the summer, I’ll take you to the river to catch fish.”

Listening to Ji Baiqing talk about the future, Wen Miao felt a growing sense of expectation for the life ahead. It seemed that life in the countryside wasn’t nearly as unbearable as she had imagined.

Wen Miao knew the primary reason, of course, was Ji Baiqing’s presence. When she was around, time seemed to fly.

She responded solemnly, “Okay.”

The two spent the whole morning on the mountain before heading down with their haul. Ji Baiqing carried the large, bulging hemp sack on her back, appearing to carry the weight without any effort at all. Wen Miao followed behind, carrying the light cloth bag of mulberries.

However, Wen Miao wasn’t watching the path. After stepping on something unidentified, she froze instantly, her voice tight with tension. “Ji—Ji Baiqing!”

Ji Baiqing stopped and turned her head in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Feeling something wriggling under her foot, Wen Miao felt goosebumps erupt across her back. At the same time, she didn’t dare lift her foot. She sounded like she was about to cry. “Under my foot. I think it’s a snake, ugh…”

Hearing this, Ji Baiqing immediately dropped the hemp sack and hurried over to check. Seeing a small head struggling desperately under the fabric of the cloth shoe, Ji Baiqing let out a breath. “It’s okay. It’s just a lizard-snake (skink). It’s not poisonous.”

Now that she knew what it was, her eyes lit up as she looked at the creature under Wen Miao’s sole. “Wen Miao, keep your foot down, don’t move.”

Wen Miao nodded, tears shimmering in her eyes.

Like a magician, Ji Baiqing pulled another cloth bag from her pocket. Gripping the creature’s head through the fabric, she told Wen Miao to lift her leg. Wen Miao tremulously raised her foot, and Ji Baiqing deftly bagged the skink and tied a knot.

She reached out to take Wen Miao’s hand, but Wen Miao, thinking about how Ji Baiqing had just touched the “snake,” instinctively resisted the touch.

“Don’t… I’m scared,” Wen Miao whispered.

Ji Baiqing shook her head helplessly at this rare display of fear. She shook the bag in her hand and said, “Don’t worry, it’s just a skink, not a snake. We’ll stew it for dinner tonight.” She thought to herself that it had been a while since they had meat; this would be a nice treat.

At this, Wen Miao retreated several steps, shaking her head in refusal. “No.” She was deathly afraid of slimy, cold-blooded animals especially snakes. Eating one was out of the question.

Ji Baiqing leaned over and took her hand. “Alright, I didn’t actually touch it. Hold onto me, let’s go home.” She tucked the small bag into the large hemp sack. With the sack over her left shoulder and Wen Miao’s hand in her right, she looked completely at ease.

At lunch, Ji Baiqing prepared the stewed skink and added an egg. Wen Miao helped wash the Chinese toon, which Ji Baiqing stir-fried with eggs.

When He Xiangyue returned and saw the stew, she was surprised. “You caught a skink?” Usually, these were easier to find in the scorching heat of July or August.

Ji Baiqing glanced at Wen Miao and said with a grin, “Youth Wen caught it.”

At this, He Xiangyue gave Wen Miao a big thumbs up. “Miaomiao, you’re quite impressive!”

Wen Miao gave an awkward smile and said nothing.

During lunch, He Xiangyue kept urging Wen Miao to try a piece of the meat or have some soup, but Wen Miao kept refusing. She had expected the toon to taste as bad as it smelled, but the eggs were surprisingly good the toon was fresh and tender, and the eggs were silky.

With only a bit of the stew left, He Xiangyue gave an enthusiastic recommendation: “Miaomiao, have a bite of this. It’s actually no different from pork very tender and delicious. The soup is fresh, too.”

Seeing Wen Miao’s conflicted expression, Ji Baiqing was about to just eat it herself to end the pressure. However, Wen Miao pressed her hand down. Her expression struggled for a moment before she finally gave in. “Fine, I’ll try it.”

Ji Baiqing pulled her hand back with a smile. Wen Miao used a spoon to dish some into her bowl, closed her eyes, chewed a few times, and swallowed it whole.

Though she was terrified of them, the meat was indeed firm and tender, and the soup was exceptionally savory.

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