Divorced woman with child travels through time

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, after delivering rice candy to Aunt Liu's house, Chen Wenfang brought back a donkey leg, saying it was a gift from Aunt Liu. She accepted it and then went to the kitchen to fry the soaked fried dough twists before going to rest.

On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, Chen Wenfang woke up after a good night's sleep, and Wang Erniu was already processing the donkey's leg.

Chen Wenfang caught a chicken and asked Wang Erniu to prepare it, while she went to make breakfast. Chu Yi, being very sensible, followed along to help start the fire. The three little ones squatted in the yard, watching Wang Erniu pluck the chicken's feathers.

Chen Wenfang usually makes noodles in the morning, and today was no exception. The hand-rolled noodles were chewy and delicious. She also stir-fried a pork belly as a side dish and poached about ten eggs. There aren't many vegetables in winter, usually just radishes and cabbage, so she stir-fried a bowl of vinegared cabbage and cooked it with the pork noodles.

The noodles were cooked in no time. Chen Wenfang said to Chu Yi, "Chu Yi, go and get some scallions!" Chu Yi obediently went and then said to Shi Wu, "Shi Wu, go watch the fire, I'll go get some scallions!"

Chen Xuanyu immediately stood up and said, "I'll go!" and went into the kitchen. The two little ones followed him in.

Chen Wenfang watched with amusement as the three little ones lined up and went into the kitchen, and said with a smile, "No need to come in, the noodles are already cooked, no need to watch the fire, go set the table and eat."

Chen Xuanyu said "Oh," and obediently took two bowls to the main room. The other children followed suit, taking several bowls and chopsticks. Chen Wenfang rinsed the cooked noodles with cold water and put them in a basin. She added a little bit of the bone broth that had been simmering in another pot. Just then, Chu Yi came in with some washed scallions. Chen Wenfang chopped them and put them in the basin. She carried the basin of noodles herself, while Chu Yi carried two plates of vegetables and placed them on the table in the main room.

Chen Wenfang called out, "Brother Erniu, dinner's ready!" Wang Erniu turned around and smiled at her, "Almost done!" Telling the children not to eat yet, Chen Wenfang ran to help him pluck the chicken feathers. Wang Erniu had almost finished plucking them all, except for a few feathers on the wings. The two of them plucked one wing at a time, and quickly finished. Wang Erniu returned to the table, and Chen Wenfang used chopsticks to serve them bowls of noodles. The steaming noodles were snow-white, accompanied by glistening, dark brown slices of meat seasoned with soy sauce—it was especially appetizing.

The courtyard gate was open, and looking out from inside the house, snowflakes were falling from the sky. The sky was dark, and it looked like it was going to snow heavily.

The children ate very quickly. Lately, there had been a lot of snacks on the table every day: candied plums, peanuts, red dates, dried longan, sweet potato chunks, rice candy, piles of snacks. They weren't very hungry, and their digestion wasn't very fast, so each of them ate a bowl and then went out to play. Chen Wenfang and Wang Erniu sat at the table, eating and chatting. Chen Wenfang ate slowly, while Wang Erniu ate a lot.

While eating, Chen Wenfang said, "Brother Erniu, let's go to the pond and cast our nets to catch some fish while the snow isn't too heavy yet."

Wang Erniu usually did whatever Chen Wenfang said, letting her have her way, so he said, "Okay, what kind of fish do you like to eat? I'll catch it for you!"

Chen Wenfang said, "I prefer grass carp because it has fewer bones!"

"Okay!" Wang Erniu laughed, "Then I'll catch a few big grass carp for you later. You can eat your fill."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "I can't eat that much either, so we'll all eat together."

Wang Erniu looked at her and smiled, "Okay, let's eat together." They both smiled.

Chen Wenfang asked him with a smile, "And what about you, Brother Erniu? What kind of fish do you like to eat?"

Wang Erniu chuckled sheepishly and said, "Actually, I'm not very good at eating fish. There are too many bones, and I'm not very good at picking them out."

Chen Wenfang said, "That's very simple. I'll make you pan-fried fish. You can eat it directly. There are no bones, and the bones are all crispy."

Wang Erniu looked at her gentle face and smiled, saying, "Sister Fang is so amazing, I wonder if I'll always be able to enjoy this kind of food?" He then looked at her intently, as if he were implying something.

Chen Wenfang felt the atmosphere between them suddenly become somewhat ambiguous and slightly awkward. She quickly finished her noodles and changed the subject, saying, "Hurry up and eat, I need to go wash the dishes!"

Wang Erniu smiled indulgently, "I'll go wash up later. It's cold, don't let your hands get cold."

Just as Chen Wenfang was about to say something, a horse's neigh came from not far away. Both Chen Wenfang and Wang Erniu craned their necks to look outside the courtyard. In the distance, Zhao Lue, dressed in white and riding a brown horse, amidst snowflakes and a gust of wind, arrived at the courtyard gate with two servants.

Chen Wenfang was taken aback. What was he doing here? She hesitated, unsure whether to go out to greet him. After a moment's thought, she went out anyway. Zhao Lue dismounted and walked straight towards her, scolding, "Why didn't you leave?"

Chen Wenfang asked expressionlessly, "I don't want to go!"

Wang Erniu, standing behind them, stared blankly at the two of them exchanging cryptic remarks.

The children inside came out to see what was happening when they heard the noise. Chen Wenfang turned around and said, "Go back inside!"

Chu Yi hurriedly led them back to their room. Chen Xuanyu, that little devil, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) and opened a small crack in the window to eavesdrop, calling out to them, "Come on, come on, let's look here!"

I didn't know what to say to him, so I just gave up and stopped listening to him.

Zhao Lue was furious. He snapped his whip in frustration, looked at her face, and said angrily, "Why? Tell me the reason!"

Chen Wenfang turned her head away from him and said coldly, "It's for no reason. I just don't want to be a concubine."

Zhao Lue scratched his head in exasperation, his face full of anger. "Women of your status, what else can you do besides be a concubine? Don't be so willful! Haven't I treated you well? You wanted money, so I gave you a thousand taels of silver as a betrothal gift, plus nearly several thousand taels worth of jewelry and headwear. Let alone a woman with a child like you, even the daughter of an official, I could just snap my fingers and have her sent to my bed for free! What makes you think you can do that?"

Wang Erniu kept a close eye on Chen Wenfang, his fists clenched tightly under the table. He probably knew the situation; he had even spoken to Chen Xuanyu about Zhao Lue from before. However, this matter mainly depended on what Chen's wife wanted to do. He didn't dare to speak up, so he silently sat to the side as a background figure.

Chen Wenfang tried hard to suppress his anger, constantly telling himself, "Be careful, he is the heir apparent and a general. I can't go too far, or these people might lose their heads."

Chen Wenfang turned around, faced him calmly, suppressed her anger and put on a gentle and submissive expression. She bowed and said, "General Zhao, you are right. I am a widow and I am not worthy of you. I have never dreamed of marrying you. I also have a child and I am even less likely to become your concubine. This is to tarnish your reputation. It is getting dark and it is likely to snow heavily. There are too many people in my house to accommodate you, so I will not keep you any longer, General."