Ugly girl only wants to farm

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Yue Niang quickly withdrew her hand. She then turned away and began to sob softly.

Sobbing, she questioned, "I've gone to such lengths, and you still refuse me. If you knew this would happen, why did you agree to marry me in the first place? Isn't this ruining your life? If you really don't want this marriage, we can get a divorce in a few days. I don't want to trap you in this responsibility for the rest of your life."

At this moment, Yue Niang had come to a realization: her marriage to Qi Yu was something she had been forced to do out of necessity.

He was forced to marry out of a sense of responsibility, and she shouldn't have been so foolish as to listen to her mother's advice to have a child as soon as possible.

These days, Qi Yu has been very caring towards her and has also been kind to Ya Ya. She thought he genuinely wanted to spend his life with her, but it seems she overestimated herself. How could a woman who had been married twice be worthy of a refined and cultured scholar? She was just being delusional.

Qi Yu's hand hung in mid-air, unsure whether to put it down or retract it.

He knew the man was angry the moment Yue Niang turned around. Now, seeing her accusing him and crying so heartbrokenly, he was momentarily at a loss for words.

Yue Niang was sobbing uncontrollably. Qi Yu was stunned for a moment before reaching out and pulling her into his arms. He let her lean against his chest and gently comforted her, "Sister, don't cry. It's my fault."

Moon Lady raised her tear-filled face and looked at him stubbornly: "I am not your elder sister, and you are not my younger brother. You are my husband, and I am your wife."

Qi Yu was momentarily speechless and quickly explained, "I got used to calling you that before and can't change it now. You've misunderstood me, you've really misunderstood me."

Zhang Yueniang punched his chest a few times and yelled, "I misunderstood you! What could I possibly misunderstand about you? We've been married for so many days! How many dirty looks have I endured behind your back?"

Qi Yu really didn't know how to respond to her words.

After saying those words against her will, Zhang Yueniang regretted it.

Actually, all she got was a few disapproving looks from her mother. She was told she should be more proactive and show more care for her husband. Instead of being like a lamppost, only moving when prodded.

Back at that other place, she was dominated by that man, constantly burdened with endless chores and relentless verbal abuse. Deep down, she harbored some resentment towards men.

Qi Yu raised his sleeve and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

He opened his mouth several times: "Yue, Yue Niang, that's what I'll call you from now on. Let others say what they want, let's just focus on living our own lives. As for having children, there's no rush."

The moon goddess's wounded heart had been somewhat soothed by his earlier words. But after he finished speaking, her eyes suddenly dimmed again.

She spoke in a muffled voice: "Are you still looking down on me, thinking that I, as a second-time bride, am not good enough for you?"

Qi Yu hurriedly explained, "Yue Niang, what are you saying? And please don't ever say things like 'divorce' again. Although I married you out of a sense of responsibility, it was also my own choice."

Suddenly, Yue Niang began to struggle in his arms, and a hint of anger appeared on her face.

"You're willing to marry me now, but what will you do when you're capable and powerful enough to just kick me to the curb? You'll abandon your wife who's shared your hardships, and now I'm just your servant."

Seeing that she was going too far, Qi Yu sat up and looked her in the eye: "Yueniang, why are you going so far? When did I ever have such thoughts?"

Yue Niang looked at him, who suddenly seemed so self-righteous: "We've been married for so long, why haven't you touched me? If not because you dislike me, then what is it?"

Qi Yu then understood the crux of the problem. He sighed slightly, wanting Yue Niang to look at him. But as soon as he touched her, she seemed to be frightened and struggled, shouting, "Don't touch me! If you dislike me, then don't touch me!"

Qi Yu simply pulled her into his arms and waited for Yue Niang to calm down before explaining to her.

“I’ve been so busy with your studies at the academy lately that I’ve neglected you. That’s one thing. Another thing is that you’re still a bit weak from falling into the water and haven’t fully recovered. I’m thinking of letting you rest for a while longer before we talk about having a baby. There’s no rush for the next year or two. Yaya, right now is the time when she needs her mother’s company. She also needs time to accept me. If we give her another brother or sister, she’ll feel like we don’t love her anymore, that the younger sibling is taking away her affection, and that we have to think about her too.”

After hearing what he said, Yue Niang lowered her head in shame. She really hadn't thought about such a long-term issue.

She knew perfectly well that she had wronged Qi Yu this time, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it, and her head drooped lower and lower. She simply shrank back like a quail.

Qi Yu glanced at her, a slight smile playing on his lips, and reached out to poke Yue Niang.

"Why were you so self-righteous just now? Like you were going to devour me alive. Why are you so quiet now? You're quite the talker, aren't you? Why don't you stand up and say a few words to me? I haven't had enough yet."

"Ugh, you're so annoying. I'm sleepy and going to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow."

Moon Maiden slipped out of his arms like an eel, and immediately began snoring as she turned her back to him.

Qi Yu chuckled softly, turned her body around, and placed a light kiss on her forehead, his gentle voice ringing in her ear.

“Moon Lady, I hope you don’t think too much. I have indeed neglected you these days. My mother hasn’t come yet, and I’ve been preoccupied with these things. I haven’t paid attention to your feelings. We’re not in a hurry about the child. Let nature take its course. I need to let Ya Ya get used to my presence first.”

The roots of Yue Niang's ears turned red after his kiss landed on her.

The next day, when Xu Chaoyan was picking mint leaves with her, she asked a question out of the blue.

"Sister, did you and Qi Yu have a fight yesterday? I heard noises coming from your room so late at night, and Auntie asked me about it this morning."

The old woman blushed and quickly stuffed all the mint leaves into the basket.

"Where did we argue? We didn't do anything, we just raised our voices a bit, I guess you misheard."

"Did I really hear wrong, sister? You must be hiding something from me."

"Don't make wild guesses, I have nothing to hide from you." Zhang Yueniang quickly changed the subject by stuffing another handful of leaves into her hand.

"How exactly do you make this floral water? We've almost harvested all the mint here."

Xu Chaoyan looked at the basket of mint leaves: "This should be enough. I'll try to make some. Also, soak some of the honeysuckle you dried at home for me."

Zhang Yueniang got up and rubbed her aching back. Xu Chaoyan glanced at her and grinned mischievously, "You two still need to be more moderate and not take advantage of your youth and good health. Even though you're newlyweds, take it easy."

Zhang Yueniang's face flushed red instantly. She had just argued with Qi Yu about this matter last night, and now Xu Chaoyan was teasing her again. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to disappear.

He glanced at the person somewhat guiltily: "What kind of lewd words are you saying? Be careful my daughter doesn't hear them. I've been squatting here for too long, haven't I? My back and legs are a bit sore, and in the past few years, that old woman would always make me go out to work whenever it was freezing cold, so I developed this back and leg pain problem."

Xu Chaoyan smiled sheepishly, "I'm so sorry, I misunderstood you. How about I give you a massage? My technique is pretty good."

Zhang Yueniang waved her hand: "I'll go find the honeysuckle and brew it for you. Oh, and what else do you need? I'll take care of that too."

"There's nothing to do now. Just prepare some distilled water for me in three days."

"By the way, my parents are planning to go back to their old trade since they're idle these days anyway. How about we carry our loads on our shoulders and go sell tofu pudding? I think the business there is good with all the people coming and going near the academy."

The two sat there and started talking about business. In order for their son to study hard at the prefectural school for the past two years, Aunt Zhang and her husband planned to go back to their old trade. They had already asked on the street how much the monthly rent for a stall was.

There happened to be a small, unused storage room in the yard, which the three families originally planned to use to store firewood in the winter. Now it could be converted into a tofu shop.

When Meng Jiu returned from the academy in the evening and didn't see his wife, he saw his younger sister playing with Ya Ya in the courtyard and casually asked, "Where did your sister-in-law go?"

Meng Jiuxia glanced at him, pouting, "You only have eyes for your sister-in-law, can't you see me?"

Meng Jiuhe quickly took out an oil paper package from his pocket and stuffed it into her hand.

"I heard that the young ladies around the academy love this store's candied fruit, so I bought some to try. How does it taste? Why can't I see you, brother? Such a beautiful girl, I'm not blind."

"My sister-in-law was inside telling my older sister what kind of water they wanted to make. She wouldn't let me interfere; she just told me to take care of Yaya."

As Meng Jiuhe pushed open the door, he saw Xu Chaoyan stuffing bright green mint leaves into a ceramic jar. Then she added some honeysuckle. He looked puzzled and asked, "Wife, what are you doing? Can this be steeped in water and drunk?"

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Yueniang poured a small pot of wine into it.

"Your wife's head is full of strange and wonderful ideas all day long. It's because she sees how hard you study during the day and how you always get bitten by mosquitoes at night, so she comes up with some cooling and anti-itch products for you. You are so lucky to have met such a good wife."

Meng Jiuhe pointed to the mint leaves: "Is this for a bath? Why go to all that trouble? A grown man doesn't need to be so fussy."

Meng Jiuhe suddenly moved closer to her, and Xu Chaoyan suddenly smelled a faint fragrance.

She thought she had smelled something wrong, so she tried to sniff the air again.

Seeing her strange behavior, Zhang Yueniang couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, sister? Is the wine too strong? I told you it was too potent."

Xu Chaoyan shook her head: "No, sister, can you smell a faint fragrance?"

Zhang Yueniang didn't even look up as she replied, "Isn't that your scent? You always have a subtle fragrance about you. I was just about to ask you what perfume you usually wear?"

Xu Chaoyan, still puzzled, sniffed the air again, but the faint fragrance seemed to have vanished. She even thought she was imagining things.