Chapter 5: Osmanthus Candy

“Ah, ah!” Pu Donglai hurriedly responded, his eyes turning red as he quickly stepped into the shop.

He rubbed his hands together, looking at Pu Jiaojiao a bit awkwardly and asked in a dry voice, “Daughter, why are you here? Is something wrong?”

“Come on, Dad, can’t I come home even if nothing’s wrong?” Pu Jiaojiao said with a cheerful smile. She gently patted Jing Xiaohua on the head and whispered for her to go sit on the small stool nearby.

Jing Xiaohua obediently sat down, and from her little pouch, she took out a piece of candy that Pu Jiaojiao had bought her earlier and popped it into her mouth.

The osmanthus-flavored taffy was sweet and fragrant, so sweet that it made her squint her eyes in delight.

“Daddy didn’t mean it that way.” Pu Donglai looked a bit embarrassed and also slightly aggrieved as he gazed at Pu Jiaojiao, his eyes welling up with tears. “Daddy loves you, Jiaojiao. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I never wanted to marry you off like that…”

“If I’d had any other choice, how could I let you suffer this kind of injustice?”

Pu Jiaojiao’s mouth parted slightly in surprise as she looked at her father, who was crying with both snot and tears—it left her somewhat dumbfounded.

“You old fool! What are you wailing about? She’s not dead!”

Suddenly, a loud scolding voice exploded from the courtyard behind the shop, sharp enough to blow the roof off.

Before the words even settled, the curtain at the doorway was flung aside with a loud swish, and a woman stormed in, full of energy.

She looked to be in her early thirties, wearing a slightly worn but neatly kept sky-blue cotton blouse. It wasn’t made of fine silk, but had been laundered and pressed to crisp perfection, every corner lying flat and sharp.

Her sleeves were smartly rolled up, revealing the pale underlayer of her inner garment.

Her hair was neatly wrapped in a dark cotton headscarf with not a strand out of place, making her appear sharp and full of vigor.

The woman had good bone structure—she must have been a beauty in her youth. Though there were now a few lines on her face, the lively, no-nonsense spirit in her demeanor couldn’t be hidden.

Hands on her hips, she stood there like a firecracker ready to go off at any moment.

Just as she was about to reach out and twist Pu Donglai’s ear, her eyes landed on Pu Jiaojiao standing nearby. The fire in her eyes instantly cooled, and her gaze turned red with emotion.

She frowned. “What are you doing here? You didn’t come back after the wedding, and now it’s been so many days, yet here you are all of a sudden.”

This fierce woman was the original host’s mother, known as Aunt Qiao—Qiao Sanniang.

Qiao Sanniang was famous for her fiery temper. She was known throughout the neighborhood, and it just so happened that she had married a man with a soft personality.

Still, theirs had been a loving marriage, and raising children together had been full of life and joy.

They had thought their lives would continue peacefully—until their son got married, their daughter married off—and their family could live in harmony and happiness.

But fate was cruel. When their daughter went out to burn incense at the temple, she was accosted by a scoundrel, and everything went downhill from there.

And then their daughter married, and never came back home, not even once—clearly holding resentment toward her parents.

Qiao Sanniang, for all her tough exterior, had worried deeply over this and even fell ill because of it.

Her daughter resented them, and they didn’t dare ask too many questions. Even though their homes weren’t far apart, after all, Jiaojiao had married a constable. As common folk, they naturally had some fear of people who worked in government.

But unexpectedly, after several days, Pu Jiaojiao came back. However, she came alone—and even brought along a “burden.”

Qiao Sanniang’s expression suddenly changed again as her gaze locked onto Pu Jiaojiao. “That Constable Jing—is he treating you badly? Did he give you attitude?”

Why else would Pu Jiaojiao return home all by herself?

Though she feared officials like anyone else, Qiao Sanniang still wanted to stand up for her daughter and demand justice if needed.

With a cold expression on her face, she rolled up her sleeves and was about to storm out when Pu Donglai quickly blocked her path, eyes brimming with tears.

“Don’t be hasty. Let’s hear what our daughter has to say.”

After several more soothing words, Qiao Sanniang finally lowered her sleeves in a huff.

Pu Jiaojiao: …

She cleared her throat. “I came to buy a few things.”

“It’s not like I deliberately avoided coming to visit. On the day we got married, he was suddenly dispatched for an official assignment and never came back.”

“I thought it would be improper to visit on my own. Who knows what the neighbors would think? So I figured I’d wait for him to return.”

“Who would’ve thought that once he left for the assignment, he’d be gone for so long? I couldn’t just keep waiting forever. I just wanted to buy something today, so I thought I’d stop by the house and take a look.”

Hearing Pu Jiaojiao speak like this, Qiao Sanniang finally calmed down completely.

She gave Pu Jiaojiao a light slap, her eyes red. “Even if you couldn’t visit in person, you could’ve at least sent a message.”

She and the old man had been restless with worry, not knowing how she was doing.

Though Qiao Sanniang’s words were sharp, her tone was filled with concern.

This touched a soft spot in Pu Jiaojiao’s heart — a girl who had never experienced motherly love. She took two small steps toward Qiao Sanniang and tugged gently at her sleeve. “Mother, it was my fault.”

“You know how things were a while ago — after everything that happened, I couldn’t settle my mind. Then after getting married, my husband left that very night on assignment. I didn’t know what to do and spent those days in a daze. I only recently managed to pull myself together.”

“And once I did, I came straight here to see you. I was worried about Father and Mother too.”

Before Qiao Sanniang could respond, Pu Donglai burst into tears again. As a man, he couldn’t hug his daughter, so he wiped his tears with his sleeve instead.

“My poor Jiaojiao, it’s all my fault. I’m useless. If I had known, I would’ve come to see you earlier and spared you so much worry. Wuuu wuuu wuuu—”

His genuinely heartfelt sobs made even Pu Jiaojiao’s eyes turn red.

The original owner of this body had truly been fortunate to have parents who loved her so dearly. She didn’t understand how she could’ve let her life fall into such disarray.

But now that they were her parents, she would enjoy their love and make sure to be filial to them in return.

Qiao Sanniang tried to hold it in, but the vein on her forehead twitched uncontrollably. In the end, she couldn’t help herself and roared, “Old man Pu! Stop crying! If you cry one more time, I’ll smash that jar of wine you’ve been hiding!”

Pu Donglai, who had been sobbing his heart out, immediately went silent. He clapped a hand over his mouth and looked at Qiao Sanniang with wide, accusing eyes.

Pu Jiaojiao blinked, and for some reason, suddenly let out a “pfft” and burst into laughter.

These two were… quite amusing.

Seeing Pu Jiaojiao’s smiling face, both Qiao Sanniang and Pu Donglai looked a little embarrassed and cleared their throats. Qiao Sanniang then said, “Since you’re here, stay for lunch. It’s just bad timing — your brother went out to restock supplies and isn’t back yet.”

“No problem. It’s not like I won’t come again in the future. Or are Father and Mother saying I’m not welcome?” Pu Jiaojiao felt warm inside and even teased the two elders a little.

“How could we not welcome you? I’d be thrilled if you came every day,” Pu Donglai immediately replied, wiping his eyes hard with his sleeve and beaming. “Didn’t you say you came to buy something? Just take whatever you need.”

“Your father’s right. Even if you came every day, we’d still welcome you. Just wait — I saw someone selling fish at the street corner earlier. I’ll go buy one and make you braised fish.”

With that, Qiao Sanniang bustled off energetically.

Pu Jiaojiao had originally thought they’d just eat something simple for lunch, but seeing how happy the two elders were, she swallowed her words.

Oh well — they were family, after all. No need to stand on ceremony. She turned to Pu Donglai and began telling him what she needed.