My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration] 12

Chapter 12: Argument

Song Changxu couldn’t back out now. Xu Zhizhou ran over, carrying a water bucket.

“You’re here to fetch water too? Perfect, you can help me fill my water vat,” Xu Zhizhou said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I need to fetch water for my own family,” Song Changxu refused tactfully.

“I almost sprained my ankle walking this afternoon. Can you bear to let me fetch water by myself?” Xu Zhizhou said pitifully.

Song Changxu remembered hearing Xu Zhizhou cry out earlier. It seemed he really had sprained it. He fell silent for a moment, then compromised.

“This is the last time.”

Xu Zhizhou nodded. What’s he mumbling about? What last time? I don’t understand at all.

Song Changxu carried the water to the Xu residence. Xu Zhizhou was supposed to be waiting at home, but he had gone to the latrine and hadn’t informed Song Changxu.

At this hour, my parents and elder brother are in the fields and won’t be back. It should be fine.

Cao Qin came back carrying a hoe. She had to go to her parents’ house today, so she had returned early. She carried a basket of eggs, had changed into clean clothes, and wore a pearl flower hairpin. She looked at herself in the bronze mirror.

It’s best to go to my parents’ house looking happy. Cao Qin went to the main hall to pick up the basket of eggs. She heard a creaking sound and subconsciously looked towards the door.

When Song Changxu arrived at the Xu residence with the water, he heard voices inside and quickly found a place to hide.

Not long after, Cao Qin left with her basket, chatting and laughing with an auntie from the village. Xu Zhizhou poked his head out and looked around.

Song Changxu revealed himself and delivered the last trip of water.

Xu Zhizhou patted his chest. “That was close, so close. We were almost discovered.”

Song Changxu took the opportunity to say earnestly, “You should do your own things yourself. Otherwise, you’ll always be worried and afraid.”

Xu Zhizhou said, “I won’t always be worried and afraid. We’ll be family soon, and then you can help me with my chores openly.”

Song Changxu: “…”

He dragged his heavy feet, ready to go home. Xu Zhizhou called out to him and handed him a small oil-paper package of dried fish.

“Luzhen gave these to me. I thought they were good, so I’m giving them to you.”

Song Changxu was a bit flattered. He was being rewarded for his black-market labor.

After fetching water for the Xu family, he had to fetch water for his own. Song Changxu sat on a stone stool to catch his breath, drank a mouthful of barley tea, and opened the oil-paper package to eat a piece of dried fish.

It was fragrant and crispy.

Xu Cheng, with his sharp eyes, saw Song Changxu eating and ran over, looking at him eagerly. “Uncle, what are you eating?”

Song Changxu ruffled his nephew’s hair and handed him the dried fish. “I know you have a sweet tooth. Go on, eat.”

After sending Xu Cheng away, he massaged his sore legs and shoulders.

By this time, the villagers were all returning from the fields. Song Ye didn’t rest when he got home. He had asked someone in the village to buy some medicinal herbs for him.

As the weather grew warmer, there were more mosquitoes in the house. Asking someone to bring back a few handfuls of mugwort was a good idea, as it had many uses and was a worthwhile purchase.

The family would boil the mugwort into a juice and apply it to the walls. It had a faint medicinal scent and kept the mosquitoes away.

Song Ye: “Tomorrow, take the mosquito nets to the river to wash, and brush the shoes while you’re at it.”

Tonight, the family had wild vegetable congee, spicy dried radish, and a steamed fish.

The wild vegetable congee was thick and had the fresh fragrance of the vegetables. The family’s congee was savory. Song Changxu usually ate sweet congee, so this was his first time trying a savory one.

It was a bit hot, but the taste was surprisingly good.

Liang Su said, “Alright, the work in the fields is not busy anymore. It’s time to tidy up the house. What about the matter you mentioned about asking the carpenter to make a cabinet?”

Song Ye said, “It’s already been ordered. We’ll go pick it up in half a month.”

Liang Su thought about what other major things needed to be done for her son’s wedding. The most important and expensive part was the banquet. However, for their village, it was relatively simple. They could ask relatives to help with the cooking, and borrow tables and chairs if they didn’t have enough.

The key was buying the ingredients. They would decide on the menu first, buy the ingredients in town a few days before the wedding, and prepare the banquet in the morning.

The banquet had to be decent; it couldn’t be without meat. Liang Su had some savings, but she couldn’t be too extravagant. She initially planned for three meat dishes and six vegetable dishes. A nine-course meal was already quite good.

Besides the cost of the banquet, they also had to consider the face of both families.

At night, Liang Su told Song Ye her plan. “I estimate we’ll need to prepare about a dozen tables.”

Song Ye and Liang Su had worked hard their whole lives and had a considerable amount of savings. But after supporting Song Changxu’s studies, they didn’t have much money left. With the wedding expenses, more than half of their savings would be gone.

He said, “Then let’s do it that way. It’s not about showing off, but we have to make it presentable.”

When Song Mingyan got married, the old couple had put in a lot of effort. The dowry was all of good quality, and they had secretly given Song Mingyan three taels of silver for his own use in his new home. When a young couple first started out, their family was still struggling. The maiden family’s heart ached for the ge’er, so how could they not help out?

But it was best not to mention the result.

Song Ye and Liang Su chatted about other things.

The candle in the Song family’s house had been extinguished, leaving only one small room lit. Song Changxu couldn’t sleep. He lit a candle and copied a book. When drowsiness washed over him, he blew out the candle and climbed into bed.

Song Changxu had seen a few ge’ers chatting and laughing with Xu Zhizhou in the village. He had looked closely and hadn’t found any difference between them and other men. He didn’t know how they could give birth to children.

He hugged his quilt. What should I do? If he delayed the consummation of their marriage, he didn’t know what Xu Zhizhou would think.

I’ll take it one step at a time. The thought of sleeping in the same bed with someone, holding them as they slept, made Song Changxu feel a bit uncomfortable.

.

At dawn, Song Changxu took his lunchbox to Lingshui Village. Liang Su and Song Mingyan gathered the dirty clothes, mosquito nets, and bedsheets and took them to the river to wash. They beat the quilts with a stick and hung them up to dry at home.

Xu Cheng stayed at home to watch the house. They carried the washbasins, soapberries, and laundry sticks.

There weren’t many people at the river at this hour. The water rippled. Liang Su and Song Mingyan each took a stone. They washed the clothes first, and then the shoes.

Both of them were hardworking and didn’t say much after they started washing. After a while, other villagers came with their washbasins.

“You two are so early. You’ve already washed so much,” a woman said.

Liang Su said, “We have too many clothes piled up at home. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go back.”

More and more people came, occupying most of the stones by the river. The weather was good. They washed the clothes in the morning, hung them up in the afternoon, and could collect them the next morning.

Song Mingyan beat the clothes and then rubbed them with his hands.

Liang Su: “Mingyan, take a break. Wash slowly.”

Song Mingyan agreed.

Liang Su looked at his clean and tidy appearance, her gaze gentle.

Auntie Fang, while washing her clothes, moved closer to Liang Su and said, “Do you know about the Xu family’s matter?”

Liang Su’s face showed disgust. “What could be going on with their family?”

“Aiyo, I heard it’s a happy occasion. I don’t know what Xu Peng did, but he caught the eye of a head steward from a large household in town. Now he’s working in a shop with the head steward. I heard he gets two taels of silver a month. I used to see him coming to ask Mingyan for reconciliation, but now that he’s married and has a big, healthy son, he’s completely disappeared.”

Auntie Fang: “If you ask me, you should have been a bit softer back then.”

Song Mingyan was right next to Liang Su. He heard Auntie Fang’s words, clenched his fists, and his nails dug into his palms, leaving marks. He lowered his head, feeling a bit lost.

Liang Su sneered. “What does the Xu family’s business have to do with us? A divorce is a divorce. Our Song family doesn’t do things that harm our children. Even if he becomes successful, what’s done is done. Every family loves their own children.”

The villagers were all washing clothes on the side. Liang Su and Auntie Fang’s voices were neither loud nor soft. The riverbank was quiet, and for a moment, they all heard the conversation.

Auntie Fang: “…That’s not what I meant.”

Cao Qin had brought her two sons to do laundry. Hearing Liang Su’s words, she strongly agreed.

Song Mingyan clenched his hands. “I don’t regret divorcing Xu Peng either.”

After finishing their laundry, Liang Su and Song Mingyan went home. Song Mingyan went to hang up the clothes, while Liang Su went to her room, opened her jewelry box, and took out a hairpin with a pearl.

“You’re still young. Don’t be so plain all the time,” Liang Su said, inserting the hairpin into his hair.

“Mother,” Song Mingyan said, holding Liang Su’s hand. “You’re so good to me.”

“What’s there to say? You’ve been sensible since you were a child. You’ve never given me any trouble. If you ask me, it would have been better if you had caused more trouble as a child, had a tougher personality. Let’s see if that Xu Peng would have dared to bully you then.”

Liang Su held Song Mingyan’s hand in return. “Let the villagers say what they want. We’ll live our own lives.”

After Liang Su and Song Mingyan left, the women continued to do their laundry. Auntie Fang couldn’t stay any longer and left first.

As Cao Qin beat the clothes, she thought to herself that the Song family was a good choice for a marriage. Zhizhou wouldn’t be mistreated if he married into their family.

Xu Zhizhou knew about the Xu family’s matter. Old Madam Xu had bragged about it herself, so most of the village knew. But who would say it in front of the Song family, and even say that Song Mingyan shouldn’t have divorced?

Wasn’t that like stabbing someone in the heart?

What was the fun in that?

Xu Zhici and Xu Zhizhou went back together. He said, “I think Brother Song is a resilient person.”

Xu Zhizhou nudged Xu Zhici with his shoulder. “I think Elder Brother wants to make friends.”

Xu Zhici’s thoughts were exposed, and his earlobes turned red.

Xu Zhizhou: “After I marry Song Changxu, we’ll all be relatives.”

On the other side, Auntie Fang returned to her room, feeling regretful.

“Two taels of silver a month. Isn’t that a lot of money?”

She heard a noise and looked outside the courtyard. Song Changxu was on his way home with his book box.

“Studying isn’t that easy. Even the people in town and the county have a hard time passing the exam to become a xiucai. So much money has been spent. I’m afraid it’s all going to be for nothing.”

As for being an accountant in town, that also paid two taels of silver a month, sometimes less.

Song Changxu didn’t know about this. When he got home, he saw his little nephew squatting by the tree roots playing. He glanced at him and went back to his room to put down his book box.

Scholar Li’s mother was seriously ill and had to be sent to town for treatment, so he had given them a ten-day holiday.

He was already familiar with the format of the policy essays and felt a little relieved. He had been studying the Four Books and Five Classics these past few days and planned to write them out from memory to strengthen his memory.

At the dinner table, Song Changxu announced his ten-day holiday.

Song Ye: “In that case, don’t tire yourself out studying at home. Go out for a walk more often.”

Song Changxu smiled and agreed.

Author’s Note:

Little Song: I’ll be successful! [Starry eyes]

Little Xu: Have some candy. [Purple candy]