After Transmigrating Into An Idiot - Chapter 13

Since she had already found the person she was looking for, there was no need to stay in Song Family Village any longer. It would be best to return to the capital as soon as possible.

Eat well before setting out. Mm, that sounded a little unlucky.

Song Jianshuang’s brows drew together slightly. In any case, she was not someone who liked to wrong herself. She would eat and drink well, and once the sky was fully bright, they would leave.

Just then, a series of banging noises came from the kitchen.

Startled, Song Jianshuang went out to take a look. Seeing no flames, only some smoke, she finally let out a breath of relief. As long as this fool did not blow up the kitchen, that was enough.

Another half hour passed. The sky had already turned fully bright, and Qiu Liang finally walked out carrying two plates.

“Time to eat!”

She placed the plates on the table and sat down boldly.

Song Jianshuang stared at the two plates on the table and tightened her grip on the teacup in her hand.

One plate held lumpy things, black as charcoal. The other was a sticky mess, yellow and white mixed together, its original color impossible to identify.

“What is this black plate?”

“Pancakes.”

“And this plate of paste?”

“Rice porridge.”

Song Jianshuang fell silent. Pancakes? Rice porridge?

In her twenty years of life, she had never seen such filthy-looking pancakes and rice porridge. Could these really be eaten?

Qiu Liang looked completely calm. Simple food was something she could make.

But these ancient pots and stoves were too hard to control. If she was not careful, the fire would grow too strong.

For her first time, being able to cook anything at all was already not bad.

Seeing that Song Jianshuang had no intention of eating, Qiu Liang secretly gritted her teeth and reached out to pick up a piece of coal—no, a pancake.

Seeing her hold that black thing and bite into it, the corner of Song Jianshuang’s mouth twitched, and her expression gradually stiffened.

Qiu Liang kept her face wooden and mentally numbed herself for a while. Under Song Jianshuang’s gaze, she struggled to swallow a mouthful of over-fried flatbread.

That was close. She had nearly choked herself.

She coughed lightly and said calmly, “Why aren’t you eating? This is just what my cooking is like. It may not look good, but the taste is still fine. You’ll know once you try it.”

Hurry up and eat. If you don’t, I’m going to lose control and spit it out.

As expected, she was not suited to being a cook. Eating this thing might poison someone to death.

But in order to let Song Jianshuang also taste this delicacy, she endured it.

She had already tested the poison with her own body. How could this woman stay out of it?

Song Jianshuang silently shifted her gaze away. “I’m not hungry. You eat it all.”

She would wrong herself a little after all. Going hungry for a while would not kill her. Once they entered the city, she would eat at a restaurant.

As for the food this fool had made, forget it. She cherished her life.

Qiu Liang: “…”

Not eating!

Then hadn’t her performance just now been for nothing?

Qiu Liang turned her head and dry-heaved. Her face flushed red, but she still could not spit out that mouthful of pancake.

She could feel her heart twitching, and her chest felt terribly blocked.

It was over. She wouldn’t destroy herself before even accomplishing anything, would she?

Her lifelong reputation, ah. Qiu Liang wanted to cry but had no tears.

Song Jianshuang sneered inwardly. Fortunately, she had not eaten it. This fool truly had no good intentions.

“Some people try to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to lure it. Stop retching. Pick up the bundles and come with me into the city. One bundle each.”

While Qiu Liang had been cooking, Song Jianshuang had already packed up everything, tied it into two bundles, and placed them on the bed.

Song Jianshuang led by example, picking up one bundle and slinging it over her shoulder.

Qiu Liang looked at the remaining bundle, which was as large as a small mountain, then looked at the shrunken little bundle on Song Jianshuang’s shoulder.

Holy crap. This was one bundle each?

Her one big bundle was enough to equal four or five small ones, all right?

She refused.

“Ah-ba… ah-ba…”

The corner of Song Jianshuang’s mouth twitched, and she nearly bit her own tongue.

She pressed her lips together and said through gritted teeth, “I advise you to stop pretending to be stupid. If we delay any longer, I’ll sell you back to the Qiu family. Even at a loss.”

Qiu Liang rolled her eyes and pointed at the large bundle on the bed. “I can’t carry it. Either we switch, or you split some of it out.”

She did not have supernatural strength. This bundle was almost as big as she was. Carrying it all the way to the county town would exhaust her to death.

Wait. Was Song Jianshuang planning to leave Song Family Village today?

Once they left, she did not want the firewood, rice, oil, and salt in the kitchen anymore?

Bah. This woman did not lack those things anyway.

But after leaving Song Family Village, where would they go? The capital?

Qiu Liang’s eyes lit up. The capital. She had only ever seen ancient capitals on television. Was she now going to experience the prosperity of an ancient imperial city herself?

Song Jianshuang swept a glance at the large bundle on the bed and said simply, “Carry it out of the village, and we’ll stop a carriage. I won’t make you carry it all the way into the city. Let’s go.”

Song Family Village was right beside the official road. Many carriages passed by, and as long as one had silver, there was no worry about being unable to hitch a ride.

Only then did Qiu Liang resign herself to carrying that large bundle. The sooner they left, the better. She was also worried that the Qiu family would go back on their word.

With Madam Bai’s unreasonable and troublemaking nature, which one of them could withstand her? It was the same principle as a scholar encountering a soldier. Even if you argued until the heavens split, it would be useless.

Because the other person did not reason at all.

But before she could get the bundle onto her back, there was a knock at the door outside.

Both of them were unconsciously startled.

Qiu Liang held the large bundle without moving and raised her eyes to look at Song Jianshuang.

Song Jianshuang reacted even faster. She immediately set the small bundle on her shoulder back on the bed, then used the blanket to cover both bundles.

“Come with me and see who it is. Stay sharp.”

The two walked into the courtyard one after the other. From next door came a noisy commotion. Presumably, those debt collectors from the gambling house had already come knocking.

It seemed the person knocking was most likely from the Qiu family.

Unexpectedly, when the door opened, it was not the Qiu family outside, but an unfamiliar young man.

The young man looked refined and scholarly, wearing a pale blue long robe that gave him a somewhat gentle and elegant air.

“Miss Song, this one is Song Qingzheng. The village headman of Song Family Village is my father.”
(Village headman: a basic local official in ancient times, equivalent to a modern village chief.)

The young man introduced himself as soon as he spoke. His eyes only stared at Song Jianshuang, as if he had not noticed there was another person present. Anyone with eyes could tell why he had come.

Qiu Liang was secretly amused. This woman Song Jianshuang really did have a lot of peach blossoms.

First, there was the hunter. Then the butcher’s grandson. Now came the village headman’s son. Nothing else aside, Song Jianshuang’s appearance and bearing were indeed outstanding. It perfectly fit the saying: when a family has a daughter, a hundred families come seeking her.

She silently walked to the wall, squatted down, and dug at the dirt, pretending she did not exist. She continued being a dutiful fool.

Lower her presence, take the right position, and conveniently eat melon.

Song Jianshuang was also a clever person. This village headman’s son who had come uninvited was probably here for her.

In that case, there absolutely could not be any involvement. Right now, she only wanted to return to the capital as soon as possible. Her father was still waiting.

“So it is Young Master Song.”

After saying this, Song Jianshuang stood quietly without adding anything else. She merely looked at Song Qingzheng with her eyes, waiting for him to continue.

Song Qingzheng considered his identity as the village headman’s son to be enough of a tiger skin to borrow, so he had plenty of confidence. Unhurriedly, he said, “Speaking of which, ever since Miss Song returned to her hometown, my father has been thinking that he ought to come pay a proper visit once he found the time. Unfortunately, village affairs have been too busy, and after one delay after another, it was put off. This one thought that both emotionally and logically, I should come in his place to apologize…”

By the wall, Qiu Liang raised her brows. This son of the village headman looked like a neat and capable young man, but unexpectedly, he was a chatterbox. Once he opened his mouth, he went on endlessly, almost tracing things back to their ancestors. Inside and out, his words meant that their Song clan was affectionate and righteous, that they were related, and that he was not an outsider.

He did have some patience. Unfortunately, he was playing the lute to a cow.

Song Jianshuang had been born in the capital, separated from Song Family Village by two generations. How much sentiment could she possibly have in her heart?

Song Jianshuang indeed had no mood to listen to him keep trying to claim connections. As for why the village headman had not come to visit, she understood better than anyone.

After all, the first thing she had done upon arriving was go to the village headman’s house and deliver a letter.

The letter had been written by her grandfather. It only explained a few things: his eldest son had been imprisoned and his fate was still uncertain; his granddaughter had returned to their hometown to take refuge; he asked the village headman to restrain the clan members, not to panic and not to disturb her.

Thinking of this, Song Jianshuang interrupted the young man’s rambling. “Young Master Song, was it? Unfortunately, today really is not a good time. I have urgent business and need to make a trip to the county town. Why don’t we speak another day?”

There would be no other day. She would be leaving shortly.

Interrupted like this, Song Qingzheng also knew she did not want to listen to these family matters. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, “I heard Miss Song is already engaged?”

This had spread from the hunter brothers, but it had not dispelled the affection filling his heart.

Ever since he first saw Song Jianshuang, he had been astonished as if seeing a celestial being. After learning from his father that Song Jianshuang had come here to take refuge, his thoughts became even more active.

But his father had kept stopping him. Forget finding a matchmaker to propose marriage; he was not even allowed to come near this place.

After hearing that the hunter’s younger brother had been rejected, Song Qingzheng really could not sit still anymore. Taking advantage of his father going out, he came looking for her.