Chapter 5

Really?

Who would’ve thought that silent, stone-faced Lu Cheng, the kind of man who could barely grunt three words, would think to show his care with an egg.

“Let’s share it,” Gu Yueqian said.

“I’ve already eaten, Sister-in-law. I’m going to feed the pigs. You eat.”

With that, Lu Yao plopped herself back on the doorstep, hefted a heavy chopping knife, and—swish, swish, swish—skillfully chopped the pig grass into pieces. Her practiced movements made it clear she’d been doing chores since childhood.

When she finished, she piled the chopped greens high in a winnowing basket, carried it over to the big communal stove outside, and tipped the heap into the pot set aside for pig feed. That stove had two cauldrons: one for cooking meals, one for pig slop. Though Lu Yao barely stood taller than the stove itself, she managed to lift the basket and dump it all in.

Next, she dug out a scoop of rice bran from a burlap sack and tossed it in, then stirred with a heavy iron ladle. Once boiled, it would be ready to feed the pigs.

This was the true picture of most children in this era.

Gu Yueqian had only eaten half. She placed the rest—the half bowl of noodles and half egg—on the windowsill, then walked over and took the ladle from Lu Yao’s hands. “I left you half. I couldn’t finish. Let me stir this instead.”

She thought: she might be a time-traveler, but she couldn’t just sit idly as a spectator. If she was going to use this marriage to bring her child safely into the world, she ought to contribute something to this household.

“No, Sister-in-law, don’t. These rough chores are mine. You sit and rest.”

Lu Yao refused to let her help. She already felt deeply grateful that her sister-in-law had come to the countryside to suffer with them; how could she dare let her lift a hand? Besides, her brother had ordered her not to let Sister-in-law work.

The two were still bickering when Lu Dabao, tired from playing, stumbled back into the yard.

The moment he stepped inside, his nose twitched. Something smelled different.

Eggs.

Never mind a fried egg from this morning—he could sniff out the aroma of one fried last month.

“Who fried an egg?!”

His shifty little eyes darted around, and in an instant locked onto the half bowl of noodles and half an egg sitting on the windowsill.

It might be the west wing’s window, but Lu Dabao didn’t care whose it was. Anything tasty or fun had to go to him first.

“Egg noodles!” His eyes lit up. He lunged like a starving dog, snatched the bowl, and shoveled food into his mouth with no need for chopsticks.

“Put it down!”

Gu Yueqian spun around just in time to see her saved egg stolen. She recognized him at once—Lu Dabao, the most infamous brat in the book, who spent his days bullying Lu Yao or snatching her things. With Lin Yufen egging him on, no one ever stopped him. But under Gu Yueqian’s watch? Not a chance.

“Spit it out!”

She strode over, grabbed him by the hair, and yanked his head back. But the egg was already in his mouth. So she pried his jaw open and dug it out with her fingers.

“Ah! My egg! Give it back!”

No one had ever snatched food from Lu Dabao’s mouth before—let alone clawed an egg out of it.

He shrieked, eyes blazing red, and swung at her.

But Gu Yueqian wasn’t about to indulge him. She kicked him hard, sending him flying several meters. He rolled across the ground, slammed into a wall, and finally stopped, seeing stars.

Aside from his father, no one had ever dared hit him. He sat there stunned.

Gu Yueqian looked down at the chewed, slobbered mess in her hands, wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Yao Yao, this has been gnawed by a dog. You can’t eat it. I’ll make you another.”

She marched into the pigsty and tossed it all into the trough.

“You—what are you doing?!”

Lu Dabao finally snapped out of it, eyes bulging. After a moment of dumbstruck shock, he scrambled up and bolted toward the village, bawling at the top of his lungs:

“Grandma! She threw the egg to the pigs! Grandma!”

“…Sister-in-law…” Lu Yao stood frozen, gaping at the scene. This delicate-looking sister-in-law had just floored both Dabao and his egg.

“It’s fine. I brought eggs from the city. I’ll make you a fresh bowl.”

“No, Sister-in-law, you should hide inside! Dabao’s awful. When Grandma comes back, she’ll scold us to death. I’ll go fetch my brother right now.”

“What’s there to be afraid of? If they dare come, I’ll dare face them. Since when is stealing our egg considered right?”

As they spoke, Lu Dabao stormed back in, reinforcements in tow.

“Who threw away my grandson’s egg? Pick it back up for me!”

An old woman with graying hair charged in. Thin and wiry, but vicious when roused—no one in Lujiagou dared cross her. Her triangular, sharp little eyes glared daggers at Gu Yueqian.

Only because this was Lu Cheng’s new bride did she restrain herself, curling her lip as she demanded:

“Daughter-in-law, was it you who tossed my grandson’s egg? Dabao is your nephew, yet you’ve got the black heart to bully a child! Shame on you. Heaven will strike you down!”

“Old hag, I threw away my own egg. What’s it to you?”

Gu Yueqian’s tone was ice.

“You—?” The old woman froze. She hadn’t expected this fragile city girl to call her an old hag straight to her face. No one in the entire village had ever dared!

“I’m your elder. And you dare talk back like that? Let’s see how I teach you a lesson!”

She lunged for Gu Yueqian, hand aimed squarely at her chest. Shameless trollop—she’d beat her properly.

But Gu Yueqian caught her wrist in a steel grip and flung her to the ground.

The crone crumpled, powerless to resist.

“You hit my grandma?! I’ll kill you!” Dabao rushed in again, only to be sent flying with another merciless kick.

Out in the fields—

“Bad news, Cheng! Your wife tossed the egg to the pigs, and now she’s being beaten by Dabao’s grandma!”

Lu Cheng was working the land. At the words, his gaze sharpened like a blade. He dropped his tools and sprinted home.

Boom!

With a single kick, he blew the courtyard gate off its hinges.

The door crashed straight down on Dabao’s head, and the brat howled in pain.

Lu Cheng had expected to find his wife cornered and bullied. Instead, he saw the old hag sprawled on the ground and Dabao moaning nearby.

His brows knit into a thunderous frown. He strode to Gu Yueqian, scanning her from head to toe. Seeing she was unhurt, his eyes finally fell coldly on those still on the ground.

With his tall frame casting a shadow, his sharp brows blocked the light, his gaze a dark storm of menace.

Dabao trembled, instinctively shuffling backward, too terrified to make another sound.

But the old woman screeched, “Lu Cheng! Look at the wife you brought home—daring to strike her elders! She’s lawless! In the old days, women like her would’ve been drowned in a pig cage! She even threw away Dabao’s egg, the wretched thing! Aren’t you going to rein her in?”

Lu Cheng’s cold stare cut into her like a knife.

“If you know she’s my wife,” he said, voice sharp as frost, “then it’s not your place to meddle.”

The words dripped with fury—an ironclad warning, and a clear declaration:
he would protect what was his.