No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 30

After finally seeing off those two little demons, Feng Aoshuang felt more exhausted than after a fight.

Before she could rest, Yang Lulong came out of the kitchen.

“Come help chop firewood.”

“Why should I?!” She looked at her unhappily.

“If you don’t, you don’t get to eat.” Yang Lulong gave her a cold look.

“Tch…” She snatched the axe from Yang Lulong’s hand.

“How do I chop?”

“How else? Just chop the wood.”

Yang Lulong stood on the side with her arms crossed, looking like an overseer.

Feng Aoshuang casually picked up a piece of wood and placed it horizontally on the ground.

She then chopped down hard in the middle of the wood.

The axe didn’t split the wood.

Instead, it was stuck deep inside, and it took a lot of effort for Feng Aoshuang to pull it out.

Just as she was about to swing the axe a second time, Yang Lulong couldn’t stand it anymore and stopped her.

“Are you messing with me? You don’t even know how to chop this?” She took the axe.

“Watch how I do it.”

Feng Aoshuang stood to the side with a sullen look on her face.

She watched Yang Lulong place the wood vertically and chopped it in the middle.

With a “thwack,” the wood was immediately split in half.

Yang Lulong picked it up and chopped it a few more times, and a thick log was split into firewood.

“How hard is that? It’s so simple. I’ll get it after one try…” She took the axe and, imitating Yang Lulong, chopped down on the vertical log.

The result was not what she expected.

It didn’t split in half.

The axe was stuck in the middle of the wood again.

Yang Lulong said with a smirk, “Simple?”

Feng Aoshuang was annoyed that Yang Lulong saw her in such a pickle.

She chopped several more times, getting angrier with each swing.

The firewood she chopped was uneven, some thick and some thin.

“I’m telling you, there’s a trick to it.

Watch…” Yang Lulong snatched the axe and continued to demonstrate the method of chopping wood.

Although Feng Aoshuang was unhappy, she patiently watched her demonstration.

They continued like this, one watching and one teaching, for quite some time.

Even though Wan Niang repeatedly declined, Ren Xuemeng insisted on helping her.

As Wan Niang stir-fried the dishes by the stove, she helped her wash and cut the vegetables.

“It smells so good…” Ren Xuemeng sniffed the steaming pot and praised Wan Niang’s cooking skills.

“Want to try some?” Wan Niang used her chopsticks to take a small piece for her to taste.

“The taste is perfect. It’s delicious.” She praised her again.

“How do you make it so delicious?”

“The trick is that I marinated it beforehand.

It gets the flavor first, and then I stir-fry it…” Wan Niang carefully explained her cooking secrets, teaching her how to cook.

Ren Xuemeng watched and learned.

She had never cooked before because she was a young lady.

Even though she was interested in cooking, the servants never allowed her to enter the kitchen, saying they were afraid she would get hurt.

It was even more so after she married Feng Aoshuang.

There was no way the daughter-in-law of a great general would cook.

The servants were afraid that the general would blame them, so they wouldn’t let her into the kitchen.

This was finally her chance to learn.

The two of them worked together seamlessly and quickly made a table full of delicious dishes.

They brought the dishes out.

“Stop chopping! Dinner’s ready!” Wan Niang shouted at the two who were still chopping wood.

Yang Lulong rushed over impatiently.

She had been tormented.

No matter how much she taught Feng Aoshuang, she just couldn’t learn.

She was on the verge of teaching her hand-in-hand.

And no matter how much she couldn’t learn, she wouldn’t let her rest.

She insisted on having her demonstrate it over and over again.

They had chopped more than half of the firewood they had stored for the year.

The food was on the table, and the three of them sat down, but Feng Aoshuang was still practicing her chopping.

“Come and eat!” Yang Lulong shouted at her.

But she didn’t respond at all.

“Looks like she’s not going to eat…” She shook her head helplessly.

Feng Aoshuang might not eat, but she was hungry.

She quickly served rice for the other two and herself and started eating.

“Eat slowly, you’ll choke,” Wan Niang told her.

Ren Xuemeng held her bowl but didn’t take a bite.

She looked at Feng Aoshuang, who was still chopping wood, and frowned.

She seemed to see her practicing her swordsmanship every day.

She really did work hard, but for some reason, she just couldn’t learn.

After every test with her father-in-law, she would disappear.

She would secretly follow her and see her sitting by the riverbank not far from home, staring blankly at the water.

She would stay there until it got dark before going home.

Wan Niang saw that she was holding her bowl and not eating.

She gave Yang Lulong a look, glancing at Feng Aoshuang.

Yang Lulong sighed helplessly, put down her bowl and chopsticks, and walked over to Feng Aoshuang.

She grabbed her.

“Stop chopping! Eat!”

“Let go!” She glared at Yang Lulong fiercely.

“Eat.” Yang Lulong wasn’t afraid of her.

She glared back at her.

Seeing that she was still being stubborn, she lowered her voice and said,

“For the sake of your wife and your child, go and eat.

If you don’t eat, she won’t either.

In the end, it’s her body that will get hurt.”

After hearing Yang Lulong’s words, Feng Aoshuang looked at Ren Xuemeng and saw that she was also looking at her.

When Ren Xuemeng realized that Feng Aoshuang was looking at her, she quickly lowered her head.

Unexpectedly, this method worked.

Feng Aoshuang broke free from Yang Lulong’s hand, straightened her clothes, and walked to the table sullenly.

Seeing Feng Aoshuang sit down, Ren Xuemeng smiled happily and served her rice.

While they were eating, Yang Lulong poked Feng Aoshuang with her hand and gave her a look.

Although Feng Aoshuang was unhappy, she did as she was told and picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and put it in Ren Xuemeng’s bowl.

“Thank you…” Ren Xuemeng looked happily at the meat in her bowl.

“Mmm…” Feng Aoshuang just gave a low reply and continued to eat as if nothing had happened.

When Yang Lulong saw that Feng Aoshuang was listening to her, she proudly raised her eyebrows at Wan Niang, showing off her “victory.”

Wan Niang smiled and shook the bowl in her hand.

Yang Lulong immediately “clacked” her chopsticks and put two pieces of meat in her bowl.

The meal was relatively peaceful.

After they finished, Wan Niang took Ren Xuemeng to the room to check on her condition.

Yang Lulong and Feng Aoshuang were left to clean up.

“Wash the dishes.” Yang Lulong handed her the bowls.

“Huh?” Feng Aoshuang was unhappy.

“All of them?”

“You wash, I’ll get the water for you.”

“Why should I?” She handed the bowls back to Yang Lulong.

“You wash, I’ll get the water.”

“You wash, or I won’t teach you how to chop wood anymore.” Her attitude was firm.

“…” This worked on Feng Aoshuang.

She unhappily took the bowls and chopsticks and went to the well.

Yang Lulong drew a bucket of water and then went back to the room.

Looking at the less than half a bucket of water, Feng Aoshuang angrily yelled at her back,

“Would it kill you to get more?!”

Wan Niang tidied up the room where Yang Lulong used to stay and let Ren Xuemeng and Feng Aoshuang stay there.

After settling them in, she and Yang Lulong went back to their own room.

Wan Niang sat at the table, sewing a woolen shawl for the winter.

Yang Lulong changed into her sleeping clothes and sat next to her.

“How did you get her to listen to you?” Wan Niang said, looking at the needle and thread in her hand.

“I’ve figured it out…”

“Figured what out?”

“People like her are a typical case of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

The kinder you are to her, the worse she’ll be,” Yang Lulong said, picking up a pear from the table and starting to peel it.

“As long as I’m firm with her, she’ll listen.”

She suddenly remembered the little mutt.

It was always fierce with her, but as soon as she was fierce back, it would wag its tail to please her.

This made her laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Wan Niang asked.

“Don’t you think she’s a little like our dog?”

Wan Niang thought about it.

The dog looked fierce, but it was all an act.

It would back down when it met someone it couldn’t bully.

It was also most afraid of Xiao Hua and Er Ni.

Whenever the two children came, it would hide.

But they would always find it and hold it in their arms.

It wouldn’t dare make a sound and let them do whatever they wanted.

Thinking about Feng Aoshuang today, she also started to laugh.