Chapter 5: Do It Yourself and Enjoy the Abundance

Zhu Rong originally felt that her husband arranging for Lu Yuan to marry a peasant girl was an insult to him.

But seeing Xu Qiuyue today, she felt the two were a perfect match.

The words Lu Yuan had spoken in the bridal chamber had long been reported to her by the maidservants.

If it weren't for Lu Yuan's lack of propriety, he wouldn't have fallen to such a state.

Previously, she had intended to let Lu Yuan marry her biological niece.

However, Lu Yuan cursed them every day for being "freeloaders," saying that before they even married him, they came to his house to eat and drink for free, and that marrying him wasn't for enjoyment, and then he'd go on about this and that!

How could anyone be willing to marry such a person?

But Lu Yuan was her biological son; what could she do?

Father Lu was even more unable to control Lu Yuan.

As soon as he scolded Lu Yuan, the boy would stay out, not coming home for ten days or half a month, spending every day in brothels.

It was Zhu Rong who had brought people to find Lu Yuan and bring him back.

"Good child, you have truly suffered by following my son."

"Mother, it is your daughter-in-law who has not done well enough!"

Xu Qiuyue did not take the opportunity to complain about her suffering.

She knew very well that Zhu Rong was Lu Yuan's mother; criticizing Lu Yuan would only make her unhappy.

"You indeed haven't done well enough. Mother, do you know what her dowry was? I went to take stock last night, and it was all nothing but rotten vegetable leaves, which are usually only good for feeding pigs. I had someone dry them out properly so they wouldn't spoil; when the time comes, it will be perfect for her to use them to feed the pigs."

Lu Yuan said to Zhu Rong from the side.

"You unfilial son! Qiuyue comes from a farming family; it is normal for her dowry to be like this. You, a grown man, have no sense of dignity, actually coveting a woman's dowry."

Lu Changqing truly did not want to look at Lu Yuan for another second.

Having such a son truly made him lose all face.

"Father, you're wrong about that. I gave three thousand taels of silver, plus quite a lot of betrothal gifts!"

"Is that your money? That is your mother's money."

"Father, you're a grown man; you used my mother's dowry to pay the betrothal gifts, spending my mother's money as a woman—how do you have the nerve!"

"You!!!"

Lu Changqing was so angry he was speechless.

Zhu Rong hurriedly stood up to soothe Lu Changqing's anger.

Immediately after, she spoke to Xu Qiuyue: "Qiuyue, you may withdraw for now! I've had the maids send some clothes and jewelry to your room; go and see if you like them."

"Thank you, Mother."

Seeing this chaotic scene, Xu Qiuyue did not dare to linger.

She was hungry.

She hadn't eaten anything from early morning until now!

The luxury of the Lu Estate was something Xu Qiuyue had not expected.

The wood used for the fires was carefully selected pear-scented wood; in the countryside, such wood would be used to make furniture.

Crucially, these pieces of wood were even carved with exquisite patterns.

In the past, Xu Qiuyue had never lived such a luxurious life even in the Prince's Mansion.

Carving wood just to burn it was too wasteful; no matter how good the wood was, the food cooked over it would taste the same.

In her past life, Xu Chunhua had always complained about Lu Yuan being stingy.

Xu Qiuyue didn't want to burn such wood; she was fine with burning some wood scraps.

She did not let the white rice and lean meat in the manor pass her by.

The oil and salt here were provided in abundance.

There were even spices, like star anise and Sichuan peppercorns.

These were terrifyingly expensive.

In her past life, Xu Qiuyue only dared to eat these spices after arriving in the capital.

As long as there was enough oil, even a simple stir-fried vegetable would be incredibly delicious.

The fragrant lard melted in the hot pan; watching this wonderful scene, Xu Qiuyue's mind could already imagine how delicious the vegetables would be when they came out of the pan.

It was truly too fragrant.

When Xu Qiuyue poured in the vegetables, the fresh scent of the greens and the aroma of the lard merged perfectly.

With just a few simple tosses, the vegetables released their juices; adding a tiny bit of salt, a perfect dish of vegetables was complete.

However, she was naturally not satisfied with just a bowl of vegetables.

She also stir-fried her favorite chili pork; she had cut a full pound of lean meat.

How could she have lived such a life in the Xu family?

In the Xu family, Xu Qiuyue could only secretly eat one or two slices of meat when cooking. By the time she sat at the table, the vegetable leaves would be gone, leaving only a bit of soup.

It wasn't that Xu Qiuyue hadn't thought about secretly hiding some food, but Mother Xu watched very strictly.

Xu Qiuyue could only steal tiny bites.

Lately, because Xu Qiuyue had not found a way to make big money, the Xu family's life had been exceptionally bitter.

The rice bran was so bad it made Xu Qiuyue want to vomit, feeling scratchy in her throat, but if she didn't eat, there was nothing to eat, so she could only endure the hunger.

Although Xu Qiuyue could go up the mountain to pick fruit, after eating too much fruit, her mind only craved something hot.

To act well, one must play the part completely.

A small lack of patience leads to the ruin of great plans.

Xu Qiuyue had been enduring, not going to town to buy delicious food for fear of exposing herself.

When she truly couldn't hold on, she would go to the mountains to hunt a wild rabbit to cook.

But without seasonings or oil, the dry wild rabbit tasted quite mediocre.

Xu Qiuyue picked up a slice of meat and put it in her mouth, nearly crying from happiness.

The meat slice was soaked in oil. If she had eaten this back in the Prince's Mansion, it would have been a bit too greasy.

But eating it now, it was truly delicious.

Especially the taste of being soaked in oil; one couldn't describe how good the texture was.

Particularly this fragrant white rice.

It was too fragrant.

With the Xu family's diet, forcing oneself to practice martial arts would only deplete one's qi and blood, eventually leading to death from blood deficiency.

Fortunately, Xu Qiuyue had a space, and within the space, there was spiritual spring water. She could use the spiritual spring water to grow medicinal herbs for martial arts training.

Otherwise, even if Xu Qiuyue knew a multitude of martial arts manuals, she would have no way to cultivate.

In this era, it was considered good enough for the poor to simply be full and not starve to death.

Xu Qiuyue ate the white rice in large mouthfuls.

"Young Mistress, how long has it been since you last ate?"

Seeing Xu Qiuyue devouring the food, Chunzhu couldn't help but ask.

Otherwise, the food smelled quite fragrant and looked quite good.

Chunzhu secretly swallowed her saliva.

The food in the Lu family had always been decent; even the servants' food was not bad.

Chunzhu didn't lack food, but smelling this meal made her a bit greedy.

She was too embarrassed to ask Xu Qiuyue for food.

After all, Xu Qiuyue was the mistress, and Xu Qiuyue was cooking the food herself.

Lu Yuan had specifically instructed that she could not help Xu Qiuyue with chores; her main job was to watch Xu Qiuyue to ensure she didn't touch anything in the warehouse.

Then there was cleaning the rooms.

She wasn't allowed to do any other work.

Chunzhu sighed silently for Xu Qiuyue in her heart. She felt Xu Qiuyue was very pitiful; she must have lived very hard before and was starving.

The elders in her family weren't good people either; such a shabby dowry showed at a glance that they didn't care about this daughter at all.

They didn't even bother with appearances.

For a woman without a natal family, life in her husband's house would inevitably be very difficult.

The Young Master wasn't a good person either; even though they had already shared a bed, he was still so harsh toward his wife.

On the very first day of the wedding, he went out to seek pleasure.

He even specifically instructed her to keep an eye on the Madam.

Chunzhu felt a few more degrees of sympathy for Xu Qiuyue in her heart.

(End of Chapter)