I BECAME THE FEMALE LEAD'S STEPMOTHER - CHAPTER 5

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Chapter 5: Isn't This Just Going to Get Us Killed Even Faster?

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On the way back, Xiang Wu kept her head lowered, looking troubled and helpless.

Yueqing walked beside her with a dark expression, saying nothing as she stared straight ahead.

She didn't want to look.

She didn't want to see Xiang Wu's delicate, sweet appearance, the kind that could make even another woman blush.

Even less did she want to see Xiang Wu wrapped in the Young Master's robe.

The two of them returned to the young lady's courtyard and went into the side room where the maids lived.

There were four maids like Xiang Wu and Yueqing serving the young lady. Because they held relatively good positions, they were given rooms shared by two people.

Xiang Wu shared one with Yueqing.

As soon as they entered the room, Xiang Wu hurried to change her clothes.

Yueqing, who had remained silent all this time, watched coldly from the side.

She saw Xiang Wu take off the Young Master's robe and hang it nearby. Then Xiang Wu began removing her own scallion-green dress, revealing her fair, delicate skin and slender figure.

Yueqing covered her chest, feeling miserable.

Xiang Wu really was beautiful.

Her skin seemed made of flowers and her bones carved from jade. It wasn't only men who couldn't help staring at her. Even women would find themselves wanting to take a few extra looks.

Yueqing actually liked Xiang Wu quite a lot.

But at the same time, she was jealous that Xiang Wu had caught the Young Master's attention.

In the end, she thought about it for a moment before abruptly turning her gaze away.

She wasn't going to look at her anymore!

Meanwhile, Xiang Wu continued changing clothes, sighing all the while with a deeply troubled expression.

Yueqing couldn't stand it anymore.

“Something this good happens to you, and instead of secretly rejoicing, you're sitting there looking miserable. What are you doing? Anyone who didn't know better would think someone had bullied you!”

Yueqing spoke irritably.

Xiang Wu, however, didn't take it to heart at all. She knitted her little brows and said, “Sister Yueqing, I'm worried!”

Worried?

You're worried?

Then shouldn't I just go jump into the river?

Yueqing wanted to hit her.

She said irritably, “What are you worried about?”

Xiang Wu looked at her innocently, still troubled.

“I always feel like the way the Young Master looks at me isn't right. What should I do?”

Yueqing: “!!!”

Her heart was furious, her mouth bitter, and she felt uncomfortable all over. Her hands were practically trembling.

But she forced herself to endure it.

She let out a cold laugh, gritting her teeth as she said, “Isn't that great? The Young Master has taken a liking to you. You can climb up the social ladder now! Congratulations, congratulations!”

Xiang Wu was somewhat bewildered.

She looked at Yueqing in surprise, then pointed at her in disbelief.

“Sister Yueqing, so you've secretly had your eye on the Young Master all along?”

Yueqing's eyes widened.

“You!”

What nonsense was she talking about?!

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Of course not! Absolutely not!

And yet, just at that moment, the other two young maids, Lanruo and Huameng, heard the commotion and came in.

The moment they entered, they saw Yueqing's face, which looked as though she was desperately holding back tears.

They hurriedly asked, “What happened?” Yueqing angrily pointed at Xiang Wu.

“She…. said I have desires for my master!”

Xiang Wu, however, was now certain of it.

She hadn't noticed it before, but after hearing Sister Yueqing say all that, she wasn't stupid. Of course she could tell now. Sister Yueqing wanted to become the Young Master's concubine.

Xiang Wu shook her head and looked at Yueqing helplessly. With the earnestness of someone imparting hard-earned wisdom, she said, “Sister Yueqing, a maid who sets her sights on her master, isn't a good maid. You must remember that. You absolutely cannot go down this path.”

Yueqing almost burst into tears.

How could she say something like that?

What right did she have to say it?

Just because she had won the Young Master's favor, did she have to mock her?

Easy for her to say when she wasn't the one suffering!

She was infuriating!

Lanruo and Huameng both glared at Xiang Wu when they heard this.

How could Xiang Wu be so foolish?

This was Yueqing's private longing. She wanted to marry the Young Master. That was her dream. Even a little maid was allowed to have dreams. How could Xiang Wu just expose her feelings like that?

Xiang Wu was stared down by the two of them and looked completely innocent. She grew a little anxious and helpless.

“Sister Yueqing, I know you like the Young Master and want to become his concubine, but you need to understand that being a concubine isn't that easy. You'll have no standing beside the Young Master for your entire life. And the principal wife may not tolerate you. If you're unlucky, you could be sent away and married off to some old man!”

Yueqing finally let out a loud sob.

Covering her face, she ran out.

Xiang Wu frowned helplessly.

Why had she run away?

Why wouldn't she listen?

Lanruo and Huameng exchanged glances before turning toward Xiang Wu and scolding her.

“Why do you care about her? What's so bad about becoming a concubine?”

Xiang Wu had never expected that these two thought the same way.

She had never really thought about matters between men and women before. She simply hadn't realized that the three sisters around her all had such thoughts.

Now she became even more earnest, speaking with the solemnity of someone passing down hard-earned wisdom.

“I'm telling you this from experience. You have to listen to me. You're both still young, so you don't understand all the pitfalls involved…”

But before she could even finish, Lanruo and Huameng both looked at her with utter disdain.

“Listen to your experience? We'd probably die even faster!”

A maid who didn't want to marry the Young Master wasn't a good maid. Honestly, who knew what was even inside Xiang Wu's head!

Xiang Wu was troubled.

“You two sisters, about becoming a concubine, we absolutely must—”

But the two of them had already hurriedly turned around and ran away.

Xiang Wu stared at the now-empty room and sighed.

She had discovered that putting her own life back on the right track and saving her sisters was going to be a long and arduous task.

---

Xiang Wu was troubled.

Her first worry was her sisters.

Yueqing, Lanruo, and Huameng had all grown up together with her. Although they could be petty at times and occasionally bullied her, Xiang Wu felt that suffering a little was a blessing, and there was nothing wrong with letting her sisters benefit from her good fortune.

But now that the girls had set their hearts on the wrong path, Xiang Wu had practically taken on the mindset of a mother.

She was determined to somehow straighten out their thinking and make them understand that becoming a concubine would never end well.

But her sisters simply wouldn't listen to her!

Her second worry was men.

She counted on her fingers again and again.

As for Ergouzi, she still wasn't certain about him. She felt that she should test Chen Zhong first. Chen Zhong was older and might have known how to cherish his wife. If she married him in the future, perhaps she could live a comfortable life.

Once she had made up her mind, Xiang Wu neatly bit through the thread in her hand and set aside the newly embroidered belt.

This belt was for the Marquis. She had to finish the job within the next couple of days, and today she could give it to the young lady.

Holding the belt, Xiang Wu suddenly remembered the day she had encountered the Marquis.

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The Marquis had been terrifying.

His entire body radiated an intimidating aura that seemed capable of frightening a person to death. Just one look at him had been enough to make her legs go weak, as though she were about to die.

When she thought about how the young lady was actually going to give such a terrifying Marquis a belt, Xiang Wu suddenly felt a surge of admiration for her.

To dare face someone like the Marquis, the young lady truly was the young lady.

And Xiang Wu truly was destined to be nothing more than a maid.

Thinking this, Xiang Wu took the belt and went to deliver it to the young lady, Huo Yingyun.

Huo Yingyun looked at the belt with satisfaction.

At last, she could show off her skillful hands and filial devotion in front of her father.

She was pleased with herself.

But when she glanced at Xiang Wu, she felt that there was something different about her today.

Her skin was as fair as the first snow of winter. Her eyes were so clear and watery that they seemed to hold an entire spring within them. And her figure…

She was clearly standing there properly and demurely, yet somehow, without doing anything at all, she seemed to exude a vivid, alluring charm.

To be fair, Huo Yingyun was quite satisfied with this maid.

Having Xiang Wu standing beside her to look at was surely more pleasing than going outside to admire flowers.

But then she remembered Young Master Chu.

Her expression became somewhat distant as she said quietly, “Go on down. Yueqing can attend to me.”

Hearing this, Xiang Wu understood even more clearly.

The young lady was wary of her now.

In the past, Xiang Wu naturally wouldn't have thought much of it. Whatever the young lady said was what mattered. She didn't need to use her own brain. She simply had to obey the young lady in everything.

But things are different now.

Now that she knew she was destined for such an ending, she had to start thinking for herself.

No matter how clever the young lady was, she couldn't think on Xiang Wu's behalf forever.

With her little mind busily working out her own plans, Xiang Wu left the rear courtyard and headed toward the side courtyard where the stables were located.

When she arrived, she saw that they were chopping grass with a guillotine.

There were two men doing the work.

The one responsible for feeding the grass into the guillotine was a somewhat pudgy man named Wang Shuan.

The one responsible for pressing down the guillotine was Chen Zhong. That was the more physically demanding task.

The spring sunshine had begun to grow warm and gentle.

At this time of day especially, the sunlight warmed the dried grass until it gave off a fresh, pleasant fragrance.

The dry grass was placed beneath the gleaming blade of the guillotine.

Chak! Chak!

Each stroke reduced the grass to pieces.

The man raised and lowered his arms with sheer strength, every movement carrying the force of hard labor.

Xiang Wu tilted her head as she watched. The more she looked, the more capable she felt this man was.

He was strong, sturdy, and full of vigor. Even if he could only do physical labor for the rest of his life, he should still be able to support himself and never go hungry, right?

Just as she was thinking this, the grass-cutting blade came to a stop.

The somewhat pudgy Wang Shuan glanced toward the little maid. Then he smiled.

He could tell.

The little maid's eyes had been darting back and forth over Chen Zhong.

He gave Chen Zhong a look that clearly said, Lucky you, you've got a beauty interested in you.

Then he laughed loudly and said he needed to go prepare some feed for the horses before quickly leaving.

That left only Xiang Wu and Chen Zhong beside the haystack.

Xiang Wu looked at the man over again.

He was dark-skinned and strong, a man built like an old ox.

So what if he was a little older?

She certainly wouldn't lose out by marrying him!

With that thought, Xiang Wu's gaze softened, and her smile became sweeter.

She called softly, “Brother Chen Zhong.”

Regardless of whether it was twenty-something-year-old A-Fu or thirty-something-year-old Chen Zhong, whenever she had her eye on someone, she simply called him “Brother.”

Hearing that sweet, soft “Brother Chen Zhong,” Chen Zhong was taken aback.

After his surprise passed, he became a little embarrassed as well. He rubbed his hands awkwardly.

“Why have you come here, Xiang Wu? Does Miss need a horse, or does the Young Master need one?”

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As her lively eyes shifted, Xiang Wu became somewhat embarrassed too.

She had neither parents nor a family elder to make decisions for her, and there was no young lady to arrange such matters on her behalf.

She could only handle this herself.

It really was embarrassing.

Her smile slowly faded, and she simply stood there quietly, looking at Chen Zhong.

Her eyes were clear and pure, as though they had been washed by an autumn spring.

Chen Zhong's face suddenly reddened.

He had experienced quite a few things in life and had met all kinds of women. Some were innocent and simple, while others were charming and worldly.

But he had never encountered someone like the girl before him.

She was clearly as innocent as a child, yet she could look straight at a man with such directness that it left him completely flustered.

Chen Zhong took a deep breath, his face still red.

“Miss Xiang Wu, what is it?”

Xiang Wu looked at him expectantly.

“Miss doesn't need a horse, and the Young Master doesn't need one either. It's me who needs a horse.”

Chen Zhong: “?”

Xiang Wu lowered her gaze.

Her long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly as she spoke in a soft voice.

“But I'm only a little maid. I'm not allowed to use a horse. Brother Chen Zhong, what do you think I should do?”

She kept calling him “Brother Chen Zhong,” and the sweet, gentle girl was asking him what she should do.

Chen Zhong's heart began pounding.

He felt as though his chest were filled with a galloping horse.

“So… so what would you like me to do, Miss Xiang Wu?”

Xiang Wu's expression softened, and her voice became gentle.

“Brother Chen Zhong…”

Even as she said it, her own face began to flush and her heart beat faster.

After all, the ways she knew of winning a man's affection had all come from the dreams she had experienced.

She knew what to say in her head, but actually saying some of those things aloud was another matter entirely.

She took a deep breath.

Then, in a soft and gentle voice, she asked,

“Tell me, where should I go to find a horse?”

After saying this, she secretly glanced at Chen Zhong.

She was pleased to see that his entire face had turned red, and he was breathing heavily.

He looked like an old ox straining against a rope, eager to break free yet held firmly in place.

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