Chapter 166 - 158: Meng Nan is Afraid of Tigers
Chapter 166: Chapter 158: Meng Nan is Afraid of Tigers
Ms. Zhang snorted. "They’ve got some nerve. Their whole family is at home resting, while they expect me and mine to bake in the sun digging wild vegetables for them?"
Bai Erzhu didn’t understand. "So where are we going now?"
Ms. Zhang said, "We’ll dig for wild vegetables first. We’ll get a lot, then take it all to my second brother’s house. We’ll eat half ourselves and trade the other half for some of his rice porridge. We can’t just show up and expect to eat for free."
Bai Erzhu grunted in acknowledgment, clearly reluctant. ’If we’re going to her second brother’s house to eat, why don’t we just go straight there? Why do we have to dig for wild vegetables first? It’s so hot, and the road is so long.’
Ms. Zhang and Bai Erzhu had been married for over a decade. How could she not know his disposition? She knew what he was thinking the moment his brow twitched.
"Bai Erzhu, ever since you all drove out Zhao Lan, the workhorse of the Bai Family, you should have known this day would come. The day we have to rely on ourselves. No one in the Bai Family, or my Zhang Family, is going to selflessly support loafers. If you want to eat, you have to work for it. Otherwise, you can just wait to starve."
Walking under the scorching sun, Bai Zhenzhu’s cheeks stung from the heat. Her already tan skin would probably be even darker when she got back. "If only we had a carriage to ride in," she muttered.
Bai Erzhu sighed as well. "If only we had known, we would have acted differently. If our Bai Family hadn’t driven out Zhao Lan and Bai Zhi, wouldn’t the carriage Lord Meng sent today be ours? We’d be riding in a carriage whenever we went out. How impressive would that be!"
The more he thought about it, the more he regretted it. Too bad there’s no cure for regret in this world.
「Luoying Mountain」
Bai Zhi had the Jin guard unhitch the carriage first, tying the two horses in the shade of a tree. She then used the small bucket kept on the carriage to fetch them some water, sparing them from suffering under the hot sun.
Meng Nan looked at the gloomy, dense forest before them and frowned. "Why are you going into the mountains? To hunt?"
Bai Zhi shook her head. "I need to find an herb. I saw it last time I was here. It’s just on the outskirts; we don’t need to go deep into the forest. Don’t worry."
Meng Nan’s expression was a little stiff. "Wh-who said I was worried? It’s just a mountain. As if anyone’s scared." He swallowed hard. Though he forced a calm expression, the panic in his eyes had already given him away.
The Jin guard chuckled. "Don’t worry, Young Master. With me here, even if a White-striped Tiger were to leap out, I could slay it with a single strike and ensure your safety."
"Pah, pah, pah! What nonsense are you spouting? How could there be a White-striped Tiger in a place like this? Stop trying to scare me. Besides, even if there was one, I wouldn’t be afraid." His calves seemed to start trembling.
"Is that so? Then we’ll be waiting to see your performance!" ’The Young Master is great in every way, except for one weakness: he’s afraid of tigers. A few years ago, he’d turn pale at the mere mention of one, let alone seeing a real one.’
’Perhaps because he’s gotten a little older these past few years, he doesn’t seem as scared on the surface. But I know that deep down, the Young Master is still terrified.’
Bai Zhi was amused. "So you’re afraid of tigers!"
Meng Nan shot her a glare. "You say that as if you aren’t afraid."
Bai Zhi shrugged. "I don’t know if I’m afraid or not. The tigers I’ve seen before were all in cages. They were very docile. You could pull out their fur, and they wouldn’t even cry out. So, I have no idea what the tigers in this forest are like."
Hu Feng gave her a sidelong glance and raised an eyebrow. "Where did you see someone keeping tigers in cages?"