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

"Erlang? Did you find anything you liked at the study today?"

Shen Yu broke the silence on the donkey cart first, and took the initiative to ask Li Erlang beside her.

Li Erlang looked up at the sound and his gaze fell on Shen Yu's face.

Her face was covered in a thick layer of black ash, and her sideburns were disheveled and stuck to her forehead. She looked utterly wretched, but her eyes shone like stars in the night sky, clear and bright.

He could sense the genuine concern in her words, but he couldn't help but wonder if there was a hint of mockery hidden within that concern.

The scene at the entrance of the bookstore was still vivid in my mind; she had disregarded her own safety and stepped forward to protect him.

How could a grown man like him expect a woman to take the initiative to protect him?

The mockery and insults from the Li family boys had already made him feel utterly humiliated, but her protection only made him feel even more ashamed.

Li Erlang clenched his fists tightly, abruptly turned his face away, and let out a cold snort: "What decent things can you buy with just a few taels of silver?"

He didn't say this on a whim.

Besides the usual writing implements, the study also housed many precious rare books. Although none of them were originals, their prices were far beyond the reach of ordinary people, who didn't even have the right to ask about the prices.

Fortunately, the scholar who built this academy had established a rule: any student who came to study could freely browse the books in the academy, even if they did not buy any.

There is only one ironclad rule that cannot be broken—never damage the library's collection. If a book is accidentally damaged, the owner must pay three times the original price in compensation.

As soon as Li Erlang stepped into the bookstore, he spotted the book he had been longing for deep in the bookshelf. He immediately picked it up excitedly and began to read it carefully, word by word.

He was engrossed in the book the entire time, his eyes glued to the pages, completely absorbed in its world, oblivious to everything else around him.

If it weren't for the young master of the Li family suddenly jumping out with his men to cause trouble, he probably would have forgotten even the agreed time.

That group of people not only mocked him for being too poor to afford books and called him a poor wretch who crawled out of the mud, but they even tried to snatch the books from his hands and deliberately tear them up so that he would be burdened with an exorbitant compensation bill!

Thanks to the shopkeeper who arrived after hearing the news, he kindly persuaded them for a few words, and then gave Li Erlang a few cold looks and said some sarcastic remarks. Only then did the four hooligans reluctantly let go.

In fact, Li Erlang had two taels of silver on him. If he gritted his teeth, he could have picked out an ordinary book or a set of the cheapest stationery. Even if he was just being stubborn, he wouldn't have lost face.

But what good would that do?

Buying something you don't truly like is just indulging in a moment of impulse, which only makes you a laughingstock and wastes your money. It's a complete loss.

He secretly remembered the humiliation he suffered today, vowing to avenge it a hundredfold or a thousandfold in the future!

The donkey cart traveled all the way to the foot of Wushan Mountain, when Old Wu suddenly pulled on the reins, and the donkey cart came to a steady stop.

Just as Shen Yu and the other two were about to jump out of the car, Old Man Wu suddenly turned around and looked at Shen Yu, asking, "Young lady, can you cook?"

Just then, Ya'er woke up from her sleep, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and blurted out in her childish voice, "Grandpa, my sister's cooking is so delicious! It's the most delicious! Ya'er loves it the most!"

Shen Yu looked up at the darkening sky and asked with a smile, "Old Wu, are you hungry?"

Old Wu slowly stroked his long beard, squinting as he said, "How about this? You take the half-pound of mushrooms you gave me home first, and I'll come to your house for dinner. Consider this my condition for keeping your secret. What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Yu's face lit up with joy, and she quickly nodded in agreement: "What's so difficult about that? Just come with us, and we'll make sure you get a hot meal."

Old Wu laughed heartily: "But let me make this clear first, don't waste the ingredients. My palate is quite discerning; if the food is bad, I'll take it back and won't cover for you!"

Shen Yu confidently raised her chin: "Then you probably won't have a chance to back out."

Old Wu thought she was just young and arrogant, talking big. Back in the day, he had traveled all over the country and had eaten all kinds of delicacies, so his palate had become incredibly discerning.

Although he has fallen on hard times in recent years and hasn't tasted anything good, it's not an easy task to win over his stomach!

The mountain path was rugged and difficult to traverse, making it impossible for the donkey cart to make it up. Shen Yu and the other two had no choice but to bid farewell to Old Man Wu and turn to embark on the winding mountain path.

Old Wu drove his donkey cart back to the village. As soon as he got home, he tied the donkey to the trough and picked up some fodder to feed it when Chen Gui from next door strolled over.

"Hey! Old Wu, you're back! Did anything interesting or exciting happen in town today? Tell me about it!"

"Did you buy anything nice?"

Chen Gui craned his neck and peered intently at the donkey cart's platform, only to find it completely empty, without even a blade of grass.

This is really not right!

In the past, when Old Wu came back from town, he would either carry two jars of wine or two catties of meat. Why was he empty-handed today? He didn't bring anything with him.

Thinking about the taste of wine and meat, Chen Gui's mouth watered. He usually liked to eat Wu Laotou's wine and meat to satisfy his cravings.

Today he deliberately waited outside Old Wu's house, hoping to catch him and get some wine and meat.

After all, in this village, he was the only one who wasn't afraid of the hideous scar on Old Wu's face and dared to approach this fierce-looking old man and start a conversation.

But Old Wu ignored him completely, finished feeding the grass, and turned to walk into the house.

Undeterred, Chen Gui followed behind him eagerly, asking with a shameless grin, "Aren't you going to make dinner? What good food is left at home? Want me to help you?"

Old Wu had intended to go straight inside, but seeing this shameless fellow following him, he immediately turned around and blocked his way, saying irritably, "I didn't buy any wine or meat today, so I have nothing for you to eat. Get out of here!"

After saying that, he waved at him disdainfully, turned around and went into the house, slamming the door shut with a loud "bang," leaving Chen Gui outside.

Chen Gui, locked out, was furious and pounded his heels, yelling, "Hey! You ugly freak! No wonder you'll be a bachelor your whole life, without a wife to love you!"

Old Wu stood behind the door, his face grim, glaring fiercely at Chen Gui through the crack in the door.

Chen Gui was still not satisfied after cursing, so he tried to peek through the crack in the door, only to be met with the scar on Old Wu's face and those sinister, cold eyes!

Chen Gui was terrified and screamed, "My God! There's a ghost!"

After shouting, he turned around and ran towards the village entrance, shouting as he ran, looking as if the Wu family's house was really haunted.

After that, Old Wu's reputation in the village worsened. He became someone adults feared when they heard his name, and children cried when they saw him. He was practically a living devil.

Old Wu, inside the door, snorted angrily and cursed, "Idiot! A complete waste!"

How could he not know Chen Gui's intentions? He was simply trying to take advantage of him.

In the past, he felt that life was lonely and would occasionally give Chen Gui a bite to eat or drink. But today he had a place to eat dinner, so why would he bother with this greedy guy?

After a long while, Old Wu finally brought out a jar of wine from the house, and slowly carried the jar, taking a detour along the path towards Shen Yu's house.

On the other side, when Shen Yu and the other two climbed to the top of the mountain, it was already completely dark, and they couldn't see their own hands in front of their faces.

Shen Yu's leg injury had not fully healed, and every step she took was excruciatingly painful, so she walked up the mountain very slowly.

Li Erlang didn't urge her, but silently held Ya'er's hand and walked slowly ahead, leading the way for her.

The mountain path that usually takes half an hour to walk took more than half an hour today, an extra quarter of an hour.

After finally making it to their doorstep, all three of them were exhausted and collapsed. No one had the strength to speak. The yard was quiet except for the rustling of leaves in the night wind.

Shen Yu took out the key from her waist and was about to insert it into the lock to open the door when a deep voice suddenly came from behind her: "So you know you're back?"

"Wow!!!"

"ah!!"

"Oh my god, it's a ghost!!"

Shen Yu, Ya'er, and Li Erlang screamed at the same time. Their cries echoed through the silent Wushan Valley, startling the birds in the trees into fluttering their wings and scattering in all directions.

In the darkness, only a tall, imposing figure could be seen standing there, silent and without saying a word.

"But...but is it my brother?"

After a moment, Li Erlang calmed himself down and barely recognized the familiarity of the voice. He asked in a trembling voice.

The dark figure was none other than Li Xiaoyun. He stared at the three people huddled in the corner, frowned, and squeezed out a single word: "Hmm."

Upon hearing this response, the three of them felt as if they had been granted a pardon and breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Yu quickly stood up, stumbled into the kitchen, found the tinderbox, blew on it, and lit the oil lamp on the table.

The dim light instantly filled the room, and the three of them finally saw Li Xiaoyun's appearance clearly.

He was covered in a thin layer of frost, his clothes were tattered and covered in mud, and he looked disheveled, but that face was definitely Li Xiaoyun's!

They weren't bandits or ghosts, and the three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But Shen Yu's heart began to pound: Why did he suddenly come back early?

He clearly said he would be away for about half a month before coming back.

Why did he have to come back on the very day she secretly took her younger brother and sister to town?

If he finds out the truth, will he kick her out of the house in a fit of anger?