Chapter 52: The Judgment of Mu Xueqing (Please keep reading and vote)

However, reason still held its ground!

Wang An did not want to betray Mu Xueqing, because she was the most important person to him!

But the Wang An of his past life had encountered many women; he was never a true gentleman to begin with!

Consequently, his inner world was currently so conflicted it was practically tied in knots.

It was just that Shen Wei seemed to have lost her reason!

Perhaps it was the accumulation of years of suppression, sorrow, helplessness, the frustration of a destitute life, and the uncertainty of the future!

She wanted to find release!

And so, she threw herself at him recklessly!

As for Wang An, he finally stopped hesitating.

···A long time later.

Everything fell silent!

Wang An became conflicted once again, because he had betrayed Mu Xueqing!

What if Mu Xueqing found out? How could he face her?

But after a while, Shen Wei suddenly burst into tears!

She wept with such profound grief that she could barely catch her breath!

It was as if she were questioning the heavens: why was her life so filled with thorns, mud, and rugged hardships?

Then, she poured out to Wang An how agonizing the past three years had been since her husband's death!

She confessed that there were many times she had wanted to end it all.

Especially during the early winter of the year before last, when the river had not yet frozen over—only a thin layer of ice had formed on the banks, while the water remained bone-chillingly cold.

Shen Wei had already walked into water that reached her neck, but she thought of her young child!

After struggling back home, she had suffered from a persistent high fever, drifting between consciousness and coma!

At that time, her mother-in-law was not yet paralyzed, and she had obtained several doses of herbal medicine on credit from the village doctor.

After taking the herbs, the fever broke and she recovered, but she never had her period again!

Every time, because of her child, she was pulled back from the halfway point of the cycle of life!

Wang An held the naked Shen Wei with immense tenderness.

This ill-fated female educated youth had come to the bitter, cold Kaoshan Village, only to become a tragic young widow!

How cruel fate is!

Sigh! If it weren't for meeting the "him" of this lifetime...

Perhaps the end of her fate would have remained unchanged from the Wang An of his previous life!

Holding the naked Shen Wei and stroking her smooth back, he felt an extreme sense of pity and compassion for her!

No, he couldn't care about that anymore! He had to help her vent everything so she wouldn't try to kill herself again!

With a sudden cry!

The game began anew!

······

As Wang An put on his clothes, he looked at the limp, naked Shen Wei lying on the *kang* bed.

This woman was born with a natural allure; she was a completely different flavor from Mu Xueqing!

After dressing himself, he spoke to Shen Wei in a serious and fierce tone

"Sister-in-law, you know what kind of man I am. It's best if you don't use this matter to cause trouble for me in the future. If you do, I won't let you off easy, understand?"

Shen Wei sat up, her breasts appearing even larger and more perky! She looked at Wang An but said nothing.

As she stood up to dress herself, a sharp "slap" rang out.

Wang An had struck Shen Wei's buttocks hard and said unhappily, "Don't cause trouble, understand?"

It seemed to have hurt quite a bit; Shen Wei grew a little frightened and hurriedly replied, "I understand, I won't cause trouble!"

Wang An suddenly felt that doing this was quite bad! It felt a bit like "pulling up his pants and denying responsibility"!

So, he spoke more gently: "Of course, I won't let you suffer anymore either. Until you find another man, I will support you all!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Wei's face instantly broke into a smile, and she became joyful.

A widow, having been ravaged and tormented by fate, had no grand ambitions left.

Everything was simply about living a slightly better life!

Wang An pulled out two "Big Unity" bills, found the 7-foot cloth coupon and the 10-jin fine grain coupon, and after a moment's thought, also produced 2 jin of sugar coupons and 2 jin of biscuit coupons.

He rolled them together, handed them to Shen Wei, and said, "Buy some things first to nourish your family of three."

Then, another sharp "slap" rang out, followed by the sound of wet kissing; regardless, Wang An certainly wasn't doing anything "good"!

It sounded as if she had taken a few bites of steamed buns, but perhaps she wasn't full yet!

···A few seconds later.

"I'm leaving," Wang An said. He grabbed a sack and opened the door to the west room, not daring to even glance into the east room.

He estimated that the east room had heard Shen Wei's screams loud and clear!

He pushed open the outer door and walked outside.

On the way, the more Wang An thought, the more something felt wrong.

Providing goods, providing labor, solving her needs, and finally providing money and coupons!

What the hell was he getting out of this!

Feeling guilty, Wang An circled around before returning home. His family seemed to have just finished their chores!

It seemed everyone was acting normal, yet it also felt as if everyone was suspicious of him!

Mu Xueqing glanced at Wang An, and he instantly felt a surge of panic!

Now, any slight movement in the house made Wang An feel like he was in a war zone!

Day after day, why couldn't he exercise restraint! Why couldn't he control himself!

All this regret, self-reproach, and fear—what the hell was it for!

Anxious and uneasy, Wang An finally endured until bedtime, thinking that everything was fine!

As long as he woke up, it would be a new day!

However, a woman's attention to detail and her sense of smell were far underestimated by Wang An!

Just as she finished laying out the bedding, Mu Xueqing unleashed her fury.

"What's with these long hairs on you and that scent on your body?" Mu Xueqing asked, her face expressionless and covered in frost.

Wang An's heart shook violently, and his entire body felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar!

After a long silence, Wang An initially wanted to lie to smooth things over.

But on second thought, Mu Xueqing had already noticed the clues and was filled with suspicion!

Even if she believed his current lies, their lives would likely never be able to continue normally in the future!

Wang An remembered a sentence his cellmate had said in the Libaizi prison in his past life: "If you've done wrong, admit it; if you're being beaten, stand straight!"

Rather than using a thousand lies to cover one lie, it was better to tell the truth and just accept the consequences!

Thus, Wang An recounted everything in meticulous detail, including exactly how it happened and every single position!

After finishing, Wang An collapsed heavily onto the quilt, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He had lost all thought, waiting for Mu Xueqing's judgment!

After a very long time, Mu Xueqing said in a low voice, "How do you want to handle this?"

Handle it! What could I do! The mistake had already been made!

Why couldn't I control myself? Sigh!

Wang An felt that such a wonderful wife might be leaving him!

His heart ached intensely; after all, she was the object of his dreams, and just when he had finally obtained her, he was about to lose her!

He said without any strength, "Do whatever you think is best, I'll agree to anything!"

Wang An thought to himself that it was truly over this time; he felt a sudden sense of utter despair!

However, since Wang An had become naturally cold and detached, he wouldn't truly fall into total despair!

"Fine then. Hand over all your money and coupons to me. From now on, you are not allowed to have more than 1 yuan in your pocket! In the future, when you sell furs or anything else, besides what you give to Mother, the rest must be handed to me. As for what you promised Shen Wei, I will handle it. You are not allowed to contact her privately again!"

Mu Xueqing spoke a long list of demands, her face expressionless and icy.

"Huh? That's it?" Wang An's inner spirit began to revive from the ashes.

***

[Author's Note: This novel is primarily a period piece about mountain foraging and hunting, with some normal animal husbandry later on! There are no invincible cheats, nor will there be a commercial empire.

A person cannot live solely on hunting and do nothing else! Pure hunting is too limited in its audience, so I can only choose the path most people prefer!

Shen Wei's story is based on real-life situations, though the experiences of two people have been merged into one character.

Finally, the usual topic: please keep reading, and please give various votes. Thank you, dear readers!]

(End of Chapter)