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

Knowing she needed his help, Shen Yu softened her somewhat stubborn voice and cautiously spoke towards the door, "I'm troubling you, young master. I suspect my leg is broken. Could you please go to town and fetch a doctor to examine me?"

There was a moment of silence outside the door, then Li Shuozhou's impatient voice came through the door, full of complaints: "Why are you making things so complicated? Our home is dozens of kilometers away from town, a mountain road. Do you know how much hardship it takes for my brother to make this trip?"

"Besides, our place is in the mountains and far away. If we want a doctor to come to our door, the consultation fee is outrageously expensive. Do you think we have mountains of gold and silver?"

Li Xiaoyun didn't say a word from beginning to end, but just stood silently outside the door.

Shen Yu couldn't help but smile bitterly.

In her previous life, this future villain avoided her like the plague, not even willing to say a word to her; but in this life, she has tempered her nature and become gentle and humble, while he has become sharp-tongued and constantly criticizes her.

Perhaps this is the true nature of this future powerful and treacherous minister?

Li Shuozhou was still muttering complaints in the courtyard: "Brother, why did you have to bring such a troublesome woman back? Our family is already struggling financially, and having a strange woman added to the mix will only make things more inconvenient..."

"Enough, go study!" Li Xiaoyun interrupted Li Shuozhou's rambling in a deep voice before speaking to Jiang Yu inside the house, "Our place is indeed remote, with high mountains and long roads. Most of the doctors in the town are unwilling to travel to these deep mountains."

Shen Yu also recalled the situation in her previous life. After she left Li Xiaoyun's family, she went to town with Li Xinyu, and a lot of time was spent just traveling.

But now her leg injury is so severe that she can't even stand steadily, and the road halfway up the mountain is rugged and difficult to travel, so it's practically impossible for her to go to town on her own.

A wave of discouragement washed over her. Was she destined to suffer from a leg ailment for the rest of her life, tormented by pain every day?

No! She absolutely cannot repeat the same mistake! Even if it takes all her strength, once her external injuries have healed a little, she will crawl to town to find a doctor for treatment!

Having made up her mind, Jiang Yu forced herself to endure the pain and first gave her superficial wounds some basic treatment.

As dusk settled, Li Shuoya's small figure, carrying a bowl of thin soup, cautiously shuffled into the house, saying in a childish voice, "Sister, Big Brother asked me to call you for dinner."

Shen Yu quickly propped herself up and sat up, taking the bowl of thin soup.

Just like in my previous life, there were only a few grains of rice in the bowl, and the soup was thin and watery.

She recalled her previous life when she was utterly shocked to see such food, and deliberately raised her voice to complain, "You clearly hunted a rabbit, how come you can't even afford to stew a bowl of meat soup for your 'sugar daddy'?"

She deliberately shouted loudly, hoping that Li Xiaoyun outside the door would hear her and that she could vent her dissatisfaction.

But at that time, she was a newcomer and had no idea how precious firewood, rice, oil, and salt were, let alone how much of a burden it would be for Li Xiaoyun's family to feed another mouth in this resource-scarce mountain.

In this life, Shen Yu harbored no more resentment.

Recalling those days in the back courtyard of Prince Yu's mansion, when she was tormented in every way by Li Xinyu's wife, she sometimes couldn't even get a bowl of thin porridge. Being able to eat was already a blessing.

She drank the clear broth from the porridge in a few gulps, leaving only a few grains of rice at the bottom of the bowl.

When I looked up, I saw that Xiao Lishuoya was staring intently at the bottom of the bowl with her round eyes, and she was even licking her lips unconsciously. She looked just like a greedy little cat.

Shen Yu's heart sank slightly, and she hesitantly asked, "Ya Ya, have you eaten?"

Li Shuoya quickly rubbed her tummy and nodded vigorously, "Full! I'm full!"

Since she was already full, why was she still staring so intently at the rice in the bowl? Jiang Yu was filled with doubt. She handed the bowl to Li Shuoya and asked softly, "Do you still want to eat this rice?"

Li Shuoya's eyes widened instantly, filled with disbelief, and she stammered, "W-Can I really eat this?"

Shen Yu nodded gently to her: "Of course you can."

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Shuoya snatched the bowl, grabbed the rice grains at the bottom of the bowl with her little hands, and stuffed them into her mouth without waiting for a single grain. After finishing, she smacked her lips with lingering satisfaction, as if she had tasted some rare delicacy.

Shen Yu's doubts deepened: Did her two older brothers not even let her eat her fill on ordinary days?

The Li family's house has a total of three rooms. One of them also serves as a storage room, kitchen, and woodshed. The other two rooms are the bedrooms of the Li brothers, Li Xiaoyun and Li Shuoya, and the room where Shen Yu is lying at the moment.

From this perspective, it seems that the Li brothers, Xiaoyun and Xiaoyun, still cherish Li Shuoya quite a bit.

In her previous life, she forcefully occupied Li Shuoya's room, forcing Li Shuoya to squeeze in with her second brother, Li Shuozhou, while Li Xiaoyun had to make do in the kitchen for one night.

In this life, Shen Yu will never be so willful and ignorant again.

She called out towards the door, "Young Master Li! I'm so sorry to have taken up Ya Ya's room. Why don't you let her squeeze into this room with me for a few days?"

The sound of the two brothers whispering could be heard from the courtyard. A moment later, Li Shuoya skipped and hopped into the house, her face beaming with joy: "Sister! My brothers agreed! They'll let me sleep with you!"

Shen Yu quickly took her little hand and said softly, "This is your room, it's your older sister who's taking up your space. Ya Ya, how about I call you Ya'er from now on?"

Li Shuoya nodded vigorously, like a cheerful little bird, and said in a clear voice, "Yes, yes! Sister, you are so gentle and beautiful, I like you the most!"

As the little girl spoke, she buried her head in Shen Yu's arms, as if she had found the most secure harbor in the world in this warm embrace.

Looking at the innocent and carefree child in front of her, Shen Yu was filled with emotion: What kind of hardships did this lovely little girl go through in her previous life to become that wicked concubine who brought ruin to the country when she grew up?

That night, Shen Yu lay on the cold, hard earthen bed with Li Shuoya in her arms, tossing and turning for a long time before finally falling into a deep sleep.

The tranquil and peaceful night filled her with apprehension, fearing that this rebirth was nothing more than a fleeting dream.

The next morning, Shen Yu woke up first.

Li Shuoya, like a sleepy little pig, remained nestled in her arms, fast asleep. The little girl climbed onto the kang without washing her face or feet, her face filthy, but Shen Yu showed no disgust whatsoever—this was the future empress dowager who would wield immense power in the harem!

Even though she looked a bit disheveled at the moment, her vibrant and lively appearance was truly endearing.

Shen Yu raised her hand and gently touched Li Shuoya's face. Her gentle appearance was seen by Li Xiaoyun, who was standing at the door.

A hint of surprise flashed in Li Xiaoyun's eyes. He hadn't expected that this delicate woman, who seemed so out of place in the deep mountains, would not mind the simple environment or the dirty Li Shuoya.

Shen Yu turned her head and saw Li Xiaoyun. Just as she was about to speak, she heard him say first, "There's rice warming in the pot, and this is a walking stick."

The implication was clear: since Shen Yu hadn't offered the jade pendant as payment in this life, she would have to take care of herself.

For Shen Yu, having crutches to walk was already a blessing in disguise.

Li Xiaoyun placed the cane beside the bed and then turned and left.

Shen Yu slowly got down with the help of her crutches, and after a while, she finally made her way outside.

Yesterday I was so focused on recovering from my injury that I didn't have time to take a good look around. It wasn't until I came out today that I realized there wasn't even a fence around the house. All I could see were weeds and trees. Only the dirt yard was relatively clean. There was a lot of firewood piled up in the corner, and some dried fish were hanging on the branches, giving off a simple yet down-to-earth vibe.

Shen Yu was about to go to the kitchen to find something to eat when she saw a beautiful woman with a blue cloth wrapped around her head and a graceful figure walking towards her with a basket on her shoulder.

"Big Brother! Are you home? Big Brother? Ah—who are you?!"

The moment the woman saw Shen Yu, she screamed as if she had seen a ghost.

Shen Yu recognized her at a glance; it was Ye Xiaoqin, the widow from the foot of the mountain, whom everyone in the village called Ye Shi.

The Li family lived halfway up the mountain. They were the only family in the area within a four-kilometer radius. The nearest village was Chenjia Village at the foot of the mountain.

Ye Xiaoqin's husband, Chen Wei, was also Li Xiaoyun's husband. He was tragically bitten to death by a venomous snake four years ago, leaving her and her child to depend on each other. Chen Wei had taken Li Xiaoyun hunting with him before his death, so they had a relationship. Therefore, after Chen Wei's death, Li Xiaoyun would occasionally take care of them.

In her previous life, on the same day, Ye Xiaoqin rushed to the Li family early in the morning. After seeing Shen Yu recuperating in the house, she made a lot of sarcastic remarks and then stormed off.

The next day, several gossipy aunties came up the mountain to "visit" her, but in reality, they just wanted to watch the excitement and gossip.

At that time, Shen Yu still had the straightforwardness of a modern person, so how could she stand these people's open and covert ridicule and gossip? She immediately and without hesitation scolded all those aunties away.

When Li Xiaoyun returned home that evening, she overheard some gossip and spoke to her rudely through the door, telling her to leave as soon as her injuries healed.

Shen Yu was furious. Her injuries had only healed for two days when she stormed off from Li Xiaoyun's house. That's when she met Li Xinyu, which started the tragedy of her previous life.