The speed of her movements and the earnestness of her voice took Wang Yongzhu by surprise for a moment.
Just moments ago, she had been feigning weakness, clumsily trying to help, leaving the mountain goods scattered all over the ground, but after witnessing Wang Yongzhu knocking Wang Yonggui unconscious, Lady Sun became remarkably agile, quickly gathering up the mountain goods and packing them into a bag.
Then, she reported cautiously, "I... I’ve finished cleaning up..."
Old Granny Zhang inspected the ground, didn’t find anything left behind, glanced at the table, saw that the noodles in the bowl had been nearly all picked out, leaving roughly half a bowl’s worth, the saucepan was still overturned on Laosan’s head, and a few shreds of cucumber remained in the vegetable dish.
Old Granny Zhang dumped the remaining noodles into the vegetable dish, soup and all, making up roughly half a bowl, "Today, I’m going to lay down the law for you. In the Wang Family, nobody gets a free meal. If you want to eat your fill, you’ve got to work for it. I’ll assign chores to you every day. Finish them and you get to eat, don’t finish and you go hungry! Do you hear me?"
Lady Sun’s backer, Wang Yonggui, had already been knocked out. Where dared she oppose? She meekly agreed, "I hear you, Old Madam."
"Furthermore, the concubines of the Wang Family don’t have the right to sit at the table for meals; they eat something inferior to ours. Today, since you’ve just entered the house, I’ll give you some face, and let you eat the same as us. Take your bowl and go eat over there," she said, gesturing for Lady Sun to take the dish and leave.
Lady Sun really didn’t want to take it, but her stomach was growling with hunger. She had never suffered or felt such indignity before; in the past, a sultry look, a bit of coquetry, a few tears, and the men would all come flocking to her. Despite her unsavory reputation, she hadn’t had to endure such treatment for many years.
The situation now was beyond her control, and she wasn’t foolish. She knew this was the Wang Family’s way of showing her who’s boss, so she bit back her tears and took the dish.
Old Granny Zhang didn’t care whether Lady Sun felt aggrieved or not. She liked to cry? Well, there would be plenty of time for that later.
The Wang family had all eaten their fill, leaving Lady Lin and Lady Jiang to clean up the table, while everyone else went inside to wash up.
Normally, they would have sat in the courtyard for a while longer, enjoying the cool breeze and chatting.
But not today. Today, they all better behave humbly.
When Lady Lin and Lady Jiang finished cleaning up and came out, they saw Wang Yonggui was still unconscious, and Lady Sun was holding a basin, still foolishly standing there.
With a cold snort, Lady Lin went into the house.
That left Lady Jiang, who looked at Lady Sun with a complicated gaze.
Lady Sun was an astute observer. She had already seen that Wang Yonggui’s new wife was of little use. Seeing that only Lady Jiang remained, her eyes lit up, and she was just about to speak.
Jinhua appeared from the side, grabbed Lady Jiang, and dragged her into the house, then slammed the door shut behind them.
Lady Sun dared not shout; she sat down next to Wang Yonggui with the basin, in this strange place, with only Wang Yonggui as someone she knew, at least she felt a little safety.
Smelling the sauce from Yonggui’s head, for some reason, her hunger intensified.
The half-bowl of noodles she had previously found revolting now seemed somewhat palatable.
After some hesitation, Lady Sun picked out a noodle, put it in her mouth, and even without any oil or salt, the refreshing, crisp flavor of the cucumber made it surprisingly pleasant to eat.
As Lady Sun slurped the noodles, she pondered her next move. In the Wang Family, the only one she could count on was the unreliable Wang Laosan.
She had to win his favor and capture his heart—that was the key.
Today, Wang Yonggui had eaten nothing. She decided to save this bit of noodles for him. When he woke up, she would give them to him, whispering sweet nothings to win his favor, as long as Yonggui stood by her side, she could plot her next move gradually.
Having made up her mind, Lady Sun looked down at the basin in her hands and her eyes widened. Where were the noodles?
The basin was already empty, with only a few strands of cucumber left.
Unknowingly, she had already finished the half bowl of noodles, and she was only half full.
Lady Sun was stunned, standing motionless for a long time, and, deciding not to hesitate any longer, she picked up the remaining strands of cucumber and put them into her mouth as well.
She then carefully lifted the marinating basin off Wang Yonggui’s head, went to the well to fetch water, and washed the basin clean.
The weather was hot, and Wang Yonggui’s head and face, smeared with marinade, had already attracted flies and mosquitoes that incessantly buzzed around him.
Lady Sun searched for a long time until she found a rag in the kitchen. Thankfully, Lady Jiang was always keen on cleanliness, so the rag wasn’t too greasy.
She filled a basin with water, wiped Wang Yonggui’s head and face with the rag, and by that time, it had already turned dark.
In the countryside, there were naturally many mosquitoes. In the past, the Wang Family would always light mugwort in the courtyard to fumigate the area, but now everyone was confined to their own rooms, and the mosquitoes swarmed into the courtyard in droves.
Lady Sun felt that her face and hands—any skin that was exposed—became targets for the mosquitoes.
The whole courtyard echoed with the slapping sounds of her killing mosquitoes. Despite her efforts, it was to no avail; soon enough, Lady Sun’s face and hands were covered in many bites, which were both itchy and painful, making her utterly miserable.
Wang Yonggui also groggily woke up; Wang Yongzhu hadn’t been entirely heartless and had been restrained in his actions.
All he could hear was the slapping sounds beside him. Turning his head and barely making out the figure in the moonlight, he saw it was Lady Sun, "Ahfu, what are you doing?"
"Sanlang—you’re awake! Sanlang, do you feel dizzy now? Does it hurt much? Is it serious?" Lady Sun stopped swatting at the mosquitoes and hurried over to Wang Yonggui, shaking his arm and bombarding him with questions.
Wang Yonggui’s arms were tied behind his back, and as Lady Sun shook him, the knots tightened around his wrists, causing a painful sting.
Looking around the courtyard, seeing that it was just the two of them and the lights were out in the house, he whispered, "Ahfu, quickly, help me untie these ropes."
Upon hearing this, Lady Sun carefully looked towards the main house and Wang Yongzhu’s sleeping quarters; there was no movement.
She then nodded slowly and walked behind a tree, using the moonlight to try and untangle the knots.
The knot was, in fact, one that Wang Yongzhu, when he was still reminiscent of Ming Zhu, had learned—a knot that looked ordinary but was complex to those unfamiliar with it. Those who didn’t understand it not only could not untie it but would make it even tighter the more they tried to undo it.
Lady Sun, who already lacked strength, struggled for a long time without managing to loosen the knot, and instead worked up a sweat.
Wang Yonggui had waited a long time without the knot coming undone; instead, the hemp rope was nearly cutting into his flesh, "Ouch... Do you even know how to untie it? It hurts like hell... Why are you so useless..."
"Forget it, forget it, go to the kitchen and get a knife to cut it," Wang Yonggui said impatiently to Lady Sun, having run out of patience.
Lady Sun inwardly clenched her teeth with hatred yet had to maintain a guilty expression on her face, "Sanlang... it’s all my fault for being useless, it’s all my fault..."
"Shut up, if I hear your voice again, I’ll tie both of you up and make you a pair of distressed mandarin ducks!" Wang Yongzhu’s voice came from the inner room.
Lady Sun immediately fell silent.
Wang Yonggui also instinctively straightened up a bit more.
The courtyard suddenly became quiet, and from the main house, the suppressed laughter of several children could be faintly heard, along with the low scolding of Wang Yongfu and Lady Lin...