Becoming the Cannon Fodder Wife of Crazy and Powerful Official - Chapter 45

The room was silent, the hazy candlelight outlining Shen Qingqi’s figure. The sharp contours of his face gradually took on a deeply amused expression.

Those dark-ice eyes held the power to see through everything.

He lifted one corner of his lips in a lopsided smile. “What are you looking for?”

“!!!”

Screams of a groundhog erupted in Xin Yueying’s heart, but on the surface, she maintained a facade of nonchalance, “What? Looking for what? What does that mean? I don’t understand.”

“You’d better not understand.”

His unnerving expression made Xin Yueying extremely uneasy. She blinked, stood up, and forced an awkward smile. “Come on, let’s go to the kitchen together. You cook, I’ll eat.”

She followed Shen Qingqi to the kitchen and filled her stomach.

It had to be said, Shen Qingqi’s culinary skills had improved significantly. One bowl wasn’t enough for her; she scooped another half-bowl and sat on a small stool, slurping down the noodles.

Shen Qingqi didn’t speak either, silently watching Xin Yueying sitting on the little stool.

After a while, Huo Qi also came to the kitchen to join the late-night snack.

Thanks to Huo Qi’s presence, the atmosphere finally eased up a bit.

The next day, Xin Yueying used the excuse of delivering the cloth and wine she bought yesterday to Aunt Song to drive the donkey cart down the mountain.

She headed straight for the bookstall in the market.

“Do you have ‘Sequel to the Records of Spirits’?” she asked the bookseller.

“Yes.” The bookseller tossed her a copy. “Ten coppers.”

Xin Yueying paid, hitched the donkey cart, and sped like the wind to Lame Ma’s house.

Lame Ma had a patient at the time. Xin Yueying came in, greeted him, and sat to the side waiting. After a long while, the patient finally left.

Lame Ma gave Xin Yueying a sly glance, got up to close the doors and windows, then turned to ask her, “So? What about your brother?”

Xin Yueying, “Let’s not talk about him for now. I need to ask you about something serious.”

She opened the book, flipped through it for a while, and finally found the passage beginning with “Xie Duan, a man of Houguan in Jin’an. He lost his parents young and was raised by neighbors.” She spread the book open on the table for Lame Ma to see. “Take a look for me. What story is this telling?”

Lame Ma looked closely at Xin Yueying, noticing her tense cheeks and unsettled expression.

Even when she was planning to ruin Meng Ruxin’s reputation, she hadn’t looked like this.

Lame Ma quickly realized something major had happened. He became serious, took the book from Xin Yingyue with both hands, read it carefully, then looked up at her. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“I’m asking you! What is this about? I can’t really understand it.”

Lame Ma, annoyed, threw the book back on the table. “You made it so mysterious, and it’s just a children’s myth story?”

“What’s this one about?”

“The Snail Maiden! Haven’t you heard of it? Didn’t your parents tell you stories when you were little?”

The Snail Maiden… she seemed to have heard of it, but had forgotten the specifics. Xin Yueying scratched her head. “My parents died early.”

Lame Ma was taken aback. A wave of intense guilt surged from the depths of his heart—the kind of guilt that would make him want to slap himself twice if he woke up in the middle of the night.

He turned the book around for Xin Yueying to see. Uncharacteristically, he patiently explained with stable and gentle patience, “Here, let your Lame Ma explain it to you.”

“This story is about a man named Xie Duan. He lost both parents young, was orphaned and alone, and barely grew up with the help of neighbors. The Heavenly Emperor pitied his poverty and hardship, so he sent the divine Snail Maiden down to earth to help him.”

“The beautiful and hardworking Snail Maiden secretly took care of his household chores, lit the fire, and cooked for him. Later, Xie Duan found it strange and repeatedly questioned the Snail Maiden. The Snail Maiden had no choice but to tell him the truth.”

“The Snail Maiden told him, ‘The Heavenly Emperor sent me down to help you. But my mission isn’t complete, and you’ve discovered the secret of heaven. So my identity is exposed. Even if you promise to keep it secret, others might find out in the future.'”

“‘Therefore, I cannot stay here any longer. I must return to heaven.'”

“Xie Duan was filled with regret upon hearing this, but he couldn’t make her stay.”

“Later, relying on two treasures left by the Snail Maiden, Xie Duan’s life gradually prospered. He even passed the imperial exams, became a county magistrate, and took a wife. To commemorate the divine maiden’s descent to help him, he built a temple, which is today’s Plain Maiden Shrine.”

After listening, Xin Yueying was so shocked she couldn’t utter a single word.

All the clues fell into place.

Shen Qingqi had seen through her from the very beginning—she wasn’t the real Xin Siniang.

Perhaps his mind had concocted all sorts of bizarre guesses and assumptions.

In the end, he had found his answer within the story of the Snail Maiden.

He wasn’t reading that book for amusement; he was trying to understand Xin Yueying.

He had completely treated that brief story as a manual on “How to Handle Xin Yueying: Important Notes.”

In the book, because the secret was revealed, Xie Duan caused the Snail Maiden to return to heaven. So, no matter how bewildered Shen Qingqi felt inside, he never asked her a single word about it.

He carefully protected Xin Yueying’s secret, even killing Xin Dabao, who tried to expose it.

And the reason Shen Qingqi lost control that day was his fear that if she went to the Plain Maiden Shrine, she might not return.

Oh my god, this little madman is so imaginative!!!

Xin Yueying sat in the chair, unable to regain her composure for a long time. She raised her hand and touched the twin snail buns on her head. No wonder he styled her hair like this every day.

So, in his heart, she was a celestial maiden???

Lame Ma leaned forward, closely observing Xin Yueying’s flushed cheeks and her somewhat dazed expression, and asked softly, “Are you alright?”

Tears welled up in Xin Yueying’s eyes.

Lame Ma thought he had stirred her sorrow by mentioning her parents’ early death, making him feel even more remorseful.

Lame Ma cleared his throat and tapped the table with his finger. “Actually, if you’re feeling upset, in my opinion, you might as well send your brother to see your parents. Let them reunite in the netherworld. Wouldn’t that be you fulfilling your filial duties?”

He narrowed his eyes and gave Xin Yueying a sly smile. “What do you think? If you’re afraid of blood, I can personally prepare a poison for you. Put it in his food, and we’ll send him to the Western Heaven to meet his parents.”

Xin Yueying was moved to tears. She clasped the hands of the wicked Lame Ma with both of hers. “Old Ma, being friends with a bunch of wicked madmen is just too awesome!!”

Lame Ma, “……”

Xin Yueying pulled herself together and went to the market.

She parked the donkey cart at the post station, intending to carefully select some meat and vegetables. She planned to prepare a lavish meal for Shen Qingqi.

Thinking about it, she felt a bit ashamed. Except for those first days when she arrived and pretended to be diligent to save her own skin, she had recently rarely cooked or done housework.

Shen Qingqi usually did the cooking. Before cooking, he would always ask Xin Yueying what she wanted to eat that day. If it was something he didn’t know how to make, Xin Yueying would work with him—she would instruct verbally, and he would do the hands-on work.

Laundry was Xie Asheng’s job. Xie Asheng had once asked Xin Yueying very directly, “Why do you change clothes every day? They aren’t even dirty.”

Tidying the house was Huo Qi’s task. Huo Qi would always scold her for not putting things back where they belonged after using them.

So what did she do?

Well, she bought groceries. But saying she bought groceries was just her excuse to stroll around the streets every day. Most of the time, she just lay on the kang. Sometimes, her back would ache from lying so much, so she’d roll over and find another position to continue lying.

She felt that “Lie-Flat Maiden” suited her better; she had nothing to do with the Snail Maiden.

But that guy Shen Qingqi actually associated her with the Snail Maiden.

She was really somewhat ashamed.

Xin Yueying’s thoughts drifted chaotically, lost in her reverie.

She didn’t notice that two men had been following her for a long time.

Xin Yueying, carrying her basket, turned a corner. Someone struck her on the head with a cudgel, knocking her unconscious, and then stuffed her into a sack.