I won't be a prince's concubine; I'll cook delicious food and raise two villainous cu

If she were a lady from a prestigious family, Shen Yu would naturally not easily go out to meet men, but she was not of that status.

Moreover, she was currently in the countryside, and Li Dalang was away from home, so she could only prop herself up and get out of bed to deal with the visitors.

As Shen Yu reached the door, leaning on her cane, she saw Li Erlang already there to greet her, calling out, "Brother Da Niu, is it you who brought the things up the mountain!"

The man carrying the two loads of goods was a burly, dark-skinned fellow, Da Niu, the village chief's farmhand. He grinned and asked, "Erlang, where's your brother? I haven't seen him anywhere."

Li Shuozhou replied, "My brother went out early this morning, but he specifically told me before he left that you would be delivering goods up the mountain today."

Seeing this, Shen Yu asked Li Shuozhou, who was beside her, to bring a bowl of water to Da Niu.

Da Niu took the water, his face flushed, and quickly glanced at Shen Yu before leaning closer to Li Shuozhou and whispering, "Is this girl your cousin who came from afar to find her family?"

Li Shuozhou didn't want to pay attention to such gossip, so he simply kept a straight face and remained silent.

But Da Niu was a straightforward and impulsive man. Seeing that he didn't answer, he continued to mutter under his breath, "This girl is really beautiful. Could she be here to marry your brother? When will I be able to attend your wedding?"

These words thoroughly enraged Li Shuozhou. He snatched the bowl from Da Niu's hand and said in a deep voice, "Brother Da Niu, there are women in my family now, so it's not convenient for me to stay any longer. Please leave after you've delivered your things."

Da Niu clicked his tongue twice, completely oblivious to Li Shuozhou's displeasure, and continued, "Why are you angry? Even if you wanted to marry this beautiful woman, the age difference between you two is too great, you have no chance."

"But Erlang, you should also think about your brother. Everyone in the village says he's a hunter all year round and has a murderous aura about him. What ordinary girl would dare to marry him?"

"What's more, he's dragging you and your sister along as burdens!"

"My mother said that widow Ye is wicked and it's a miracle she didn't marry into your family! Now that a cousin has offered herself up, why doesn't your brother hurry up and marry her?"

After Da Niu finished his incessant chatter, he took it upon himself to carry the two loads of goods to the kitchen before turning and leaving, not daring to look at Shen Yu again for the rest of the time.

Although Shen Yu didn't hear clearly what Da Niu said, she saw that Li Erlang's face was getting darker and darker, as if a dark cloud was hanging over him.

Once Da Niu left, she asked Li Shuozhou, "Second Brother, does the village chief's family send supplies up the mountain to you every month? Does the eldest son pay for it?"

Li Shuozhou was still annoyed by Da Niu's words when he heard Shen Yu's voice.

In his heart, his elder brother was mighty and exceptionally capable; how could he not find a wife? It was all because these villagers were ignorant and didn't recognize a true good man! As for this woman of unknown origin, wanting to be his sister-in-law? She was dreaming!

Li Shuozhou glared fiercely at Shen Yu, snorted heavily, turned around and slammed the door shut, storming back into the house.

Shen Yu stood there, completely bewildered, unable to understand what she had done to offend this little devil.

This future villain has a truly unpredictable temper, making him impossible to fathom.

Li Shuoya, who was standing to the side, tugged at Shen Yu's sleeve and whispered, "Sister, every time my older brother comes back from hunting, he gives the game to Grandpa Village Chief, and Grandpa Village Chief gives us rice and vegetables in return."

Shen Yu was both surprised and delighted. She hadn't expected this little girl to know everything. She quickly hugged Li Shuoya and kissed her rosy cheek, then asked, "Ya'er, did your brother give the dead prey to the village chief's family?"

Li Shuoya nodded and said earnestly, "Yes, my brother said that dead prey can't be raised, so we send them to the village. The village chief's family is rich, and they give us rice and vegetables every month."

Shen Yu instantly understood the trick: every time Li Xiaoyun went into the mountains to hunt, he would send the dead prey to the wealthy families in Chenjia Village at the foot of the mountain. On the appointed day, the village chief would then deliver grain and vegetables to the mountain. As for the surviving prey, Li Xiaoyun would raise it first, and when he had accumulated enough, he would take it to a more distant town to sell along with other mountain products.

From this perspective, Li Xiaoyun actually has some wealth, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to lend twenty taels of silver to the Chen family.

Unfortunately, he had money but didn't know how to take care of his younger siblings, leaving both children weak and frail.

Shen Yu opened the cargo that Da Niu had brought. Inside were only two bags of rice, one bag of wheat flour, one bag of wheat bran, and a few green vegetables. The most abundant item was more than half a basket of sweet potatoes. The supplies were hardly plentiful.

She couldn't help but wonder: Was the village chief taking advantage of Li Xiaoyun's honesty? Li Xiaoyun must have brought down a lot of prey from the mountain, so how come he only got this little bit in return? And these three siblings were going to have to survive on these supplies for a month!

Shen Yu shook her head helplessly, turned around, washed her hands, and prepared to cook.

Her leg injury had not yet healed, and it was very difficult for her to stand on one leg, so she called Li Shuoya in to lend a hand, asking her to help pick vegetable leaves and wash rice.

The two were happily busy in the kitchen when they were unfortunately spotted by Li Erlang, who was coming out.

Li Erlang stormed over, pointing at Shen Yu and shouting, "You vicious woman! What are you doing? Making six-year-old Yaya do chores for you! My family feeds you and provides you with shelter, and you're such a heartless woman! Get out of here right now!"

Shen Yu took a deep breath, secretly thinking: Is Li Shuozhou suffering from paranoia? He's always so wary of her.

But thinking that he would become a powerful and treacherous minister in the future, Shen Yu could only clench her fists and swallow her anger.

She calmed herself down for a while before looking at the eight-year-old child before her, her tone tinged with displeasure: "Erlang, why don't you ask Ya'er if I forced her to do something she didn't want to do?"

Li Shuozhou immediately grabbed his sister's shoulders, shook her vigorously, and asked urgently, "Yaya, did this wicked woman force you to work? Tell your second brother boldly, and I'll stand up for you! Don't be like Ye Xiaoqin, afraid to speak up even when you've been wronged!"

Li Shuoya was so dizzy from being shaken that she cried out, "Second Brother, let me go! I'm so dizzy!"

Once Li Shuozhou released her grip, Li Shuoya shook her dizzy head vigorously before pouting and saying, "Second Brother, what nonsense are you talking about! Sister isn't a bad person like Little Girl's mother. Sister is very good to me, and Second Brother is the worst!"

After saying that, Li Shuoya turned around and ran to Shen Yu's side, hugging her arm tightly with a look of dependence on her.

This scene instantly melted Shen Yu's heart. She really couldn't understand why this future wicked concubine was so close to her as soon as she arrived at the Li family.

Having tasted all the bitterness of life in her past life, Shen Yu felt a surge of tenderness and joy in her heart at this moment.

She was kind to Li Shuoya at first because she knew she would become a powerful and favored concubine in the palace, but now she just thought of her as a cute and adorable little girl.

Shen Yu hugged Li Shuoya tightly and kissed her cheeks twice.

Li Shuozhou stood there, completely stunned.

His beloved sister, whom he cherished dearly, actually said he hated her? The three siblings depended on each other for survival, and each was the most important person in the other's life. But now, his sister was bewitched by this woman of unknown origin, and even his older brother believed her lies! Li Shuozhou felt as if this woman was about to tear his family apart and invade his home!

He stood there stiffly, feeling utterly cold inside, and finally turned and stormed back into his room.

Shen Yu ignored his tantrum, thinking to herself: Even if he becomes a powerful minister who holds sway over the court in the future, that's a matter for later. She refused to believe that she couldn't win over this little cunning minister's heart in ten years. Shen Yu had long ago made up her mind that she wasn't there to destroy this family, but to truly integrate into it.