Chapter 46: The Fence-Sitter (3)

He turned around, his gaze sharp as an arrow, looking at Wen Lan who was running over with a basin and cloth in hand.

“This is what you brought back using my cloak with the stitched-up pocket?”

“Yes, it’s soap pods (zaojiao),” Wen Lan replied.

“Didn’t I give you scented balm?” Xuan Yue sounded a little annoyed, as if something of his had been ruined.

Wen Lan hurried to explain, “The scented balm is for fragrance, this is soap pod—it’s not for washing clothes.”

“Then what? For occupying my water vat?”

“Of course not. It can be peeled for a kind of grain used in desserts.”

“……” Xuan Yue clearly didn’t believe her.

In the Southern Dynasty, people commonly crushed soap pods for laundry, but he’d never heard of anyone peeling them for grain. Grain? Was she performing magic tricks?

“It really produces edible grains. Trust me,” Wen Lan raised two fingers toward the sky. “Lord, I swear to the heavens—if I’m lying, may lightning strike me where I stand!”

“You dare swear something like that?”

“Because I’m telling the truth! If you still don’t believe me, I can even swear to die childless—”

“All right.” Xuan Yue suppressed his temper, snatched the cloth from Wen Lan’s hand, dipped it casually in water, and wiped his face.

He hadn’t eaten anything all day before going up the mountain, and now, starving, he wasn’t in the mood to argue with the girl.

Sitting down at the table, he was quickly drawn in by the aroma of the braised cured pig’s trotters bubbling in the pot.

He accepted the bowl and chopsticks Wen Lan handed him and picked up a piece to try.

The trotters were stewed until tender, flavorful and savory, with a faint fragrance of dried string beans.

Xuan Yue couldn’t help but glance at Wen Lan, who stood beside him attending to everything. Inwardly, he thought: this girl may act eccentric, but her cooking skills were genuinely impressive.

And she always managed to prepare something new and different.

“Sit down and eat with me,” Xuan Yue finally said.

That was exactly what Wen Lan had been waiting for. She didn’t hesitate at all, immediately said “Alright,” and pulled out a chair to sit.

Once seated, she didn’t make small talk. Other than explaining the hotpot’s preparation, she kept adding food to Xuan Yue’s bowl.

“Lord, you haven’t eaten all day. Eat more. And don’t worry about finishing it all—we can still add vegetables later,” Wen Lan said, showing off a basket of freshly washed greens.

That unexpected move actually startled Xuan Yue a bit. He was dazed for a second before recovering his usual composure.

Still, he silently reminded himself to get used to this girl’s quick wit and odd ways.

Midway through the meal, Wen Lan figured the hunter was probably in a good mood by now, so she brought up her real business.

“Lord, there’s something I want to tell you in advance.”

Xuan Yue looked up at her.

Wen Lan set down her chopsticks and pulled a worried face. “Lord, please don’t say I’m trouble. I truly haven’t provoked anyone—it’s just that they won’t let me go.”

“Get to the point.” Simple. Direct. No nonsense.

Wen Lan clasped her fingers together, becoming serious. “Today I heard from Sun Dafu that Yin Guanghong wants to send a man to climb over our wall.”

Xuan Yue raised a brow—Sun Dafu? Yin Guanghong? Who?

Couldn’t this girl explain things clearly for once? She had no trouble giving full detail about how to stew pig’s trotters.

Wen Lan immediately read the confusion on his face and quickly explained, “Sun Dafu is a local rascal in our village who specializes in shady dealings. Yin Guanghong is Yin Susu’s brother—the sister of that scumbag Meng Qiancheng who tricked me into eloping and then never showed up.”

She paused a moment to let him digest the relationships.

He was smart enough to sort it out in under two seconds.

“Yin Guanghong has nothing to do with you. Why would he want someone to climb our wall? And what does climbing walls even mean?”

“In our region, it’s slang for a woman having an affair.” Wen Lan went on to discuss it seriously with Xuan Yue. “Yin Guanghong wants to make it look like I’m cheating.”

Xuan Yue frowned in confusion again.

Wen Lan elaborated, “Here’s my guess: he’ll have someone pretend to sneak out of our house, then hire people to act like a crowd and gossip that I, Lin Furong, am an unfaithful wife who seduces men whenever my husband isn’t home.”

“Why would he do this?”

“Because…” Wen Lan glanced at him, “Sun Dafu said they’re afraid you’ll come looking for revenge, so they want to strike first.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you!” Wen Lan leaned closer over the table. “Lord, you have no idea. Your reputation has already spread all over Jiming Town. Even that rat Meng Qiancheng was so scared of you that he paid Sun Dafu hush money in silver. Not to mention Yin Susu, who incited Meng Qiancheng to smear my reputation.”

“She framed you?”

“Absolutely!” Wen Lan stood up and dramatically narrated the whole tragic story of Lin Furong’s past to Xuan Yue, like a storyteller.

“These people are just vile! Ganging up to bully a weak woman like me. I ask you, Lord, what wrong have I done? For sixteen years I’ve been well-behaved, barely stepping out of the house. So why did Yin Susu send Meng Qiancheng to ruin my name, making me lose all face and wish I were dead…”

Xuan Yue sat with arms crossed, watching her perform.

In a daze, he felt as if the girl in front of him were talking about someone else altogether. Even though she said it was about her, it didn’t feel like her.

Was she an actress?

“What exactly do you want?” Xuan Yue preferred she just say it plainly.

“I want to know, Lord, if someone tries to bully me, will you help or not?”

“What does it have to do with me?”

Damn it, not this again! Couldn’t he be a bit more humane? She’d talked non-stop for half the day!

Fine. Time for the usual strategy—if the hunter claimed it had nothing to do with him, she’d make sure it did.

“Lord, it has everything to do with you. Outwardly, I’m your wife. If someone accuses me of cheating, it’s your honor that’ll be dragged through the mud. The whole town will be pointing fingers at you.”

Xuan Yue didn’t know what “grass growing on your head” (being cuckolded) meant, but he understood her final argument.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Lend me Commander Tie. I’ll have him guard the path outside our yard. If someone comes near, I’ll tell him to bite them.”

“……”

“Well? Isn’t that a brilliant plan?”

“Commander Tie won’t bite anyone without my command.”