NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: Unexpected Visitor
Chapter 9: Unexpected Visitor
A small girl—or more accurately, a little devil—startled Su Liyan momentarily.
The child landed gracefully on the ground, her eyes reddening as she pouted, “No one can see me~”
Su Liyan quickly approached, grabbed the girl’s pigtails, and carried her inside. Once through the doorway, she hastily closed the door behind them.
“That won’t work!” Su Liyan scolded, her tone serious. “What if someone in the village who knows magic spots you? What then?”
The little girl lowered her head, mumbling a response, clearly dejected.
Seeing the child’s downcast expression, Su Liyan couldn’t maintain her stern demeanor. She laughed softly, reaching into her pocket to retrieve a piece of candy—a gift from her husband the previous day.
“Alright, alright. Here’s some candy for you.”
The little girl’s face brightened instantly. She eagerly unwrapped the sweet and popped it into her mouth.
“Sister~~ I still want to eat meat~” she pleaded.
Su Liyan glanced instinctively toward the kitchen. This little imp had likely gone straight there upon arrival—the kitchen was always her first destination.
“No meat,” Su Liyan replied firmly, shaking her head. “That’s for my husband to eat. No one else.”
The child looked up, genuinely puzzled. “But Uncle told me before he left that Sister should eat it. Sister is so stingy—eating all the meat herself without sharing any~”
These words earned her a light knock on the head from Su Liyan.
As the little girl rubbed her scalp, whimpering dramatically, Su Liyan began tidying the house. “Sister can’t eat it either,” she explained seriously. “My husband loves me, yes, but I must know my place. A wife’s duty is to care for her husband first.”
“When can I eat meat, Sister?” the child asked, sucking contentedly on her candy.
Su Liyan considered the question. “Only when I’m dining with my husband.”
This answer delighted the little girl, who clapped her hands excitedly. “Then I’ll have meat tonight~”
“You cannot!” Su Liyan cut in sharply. “My husband is terrified of ghosts and spirits. Your presence would frighten him terribly.”
“But I’m not evil…” the child protested, crestfallen. “Besides… Uncle can’t see me either…”
Su Liyan remained unyielding on this matter. Though her husband indeed couldn’t see this little visitor, Su Liyan knew the child’s nature all too well. She would bump into things, knock objects over, perhaps even topple a kettle in the middle of the night—how could that not terrify her husband?
Moreover, this was now her home, her marriage. Her husband should devote his attention to her each night. Having this little spirit around would be mortifying.
Recalling the previous night’s intimacies, Su Liyan felt heat rising to her cheeks. She quickly changed the subject.
“What did my mother send you here to do?”
The little girl, characteristically forgetful, immediately abandoned thoughts of staying. “Mother-in-law didn’t ask me to do anything specific—just to check on you. The matchmaker sent word that Sister had married a good man—handsome, caring, and wealthy. Mother-in-law didn’t believe it, so she sent me to look.”
Su Liyan couldn’t suppress a beautiful smile, feeling intensely happy and somewhat proud. Everyone in the village had predicted she would marry either a crippled old man or some degenerate addicted to drinking and gambling. Yet here she was, wed to a wonderful husband.
So much for the curse of being a snake girl—her husband loved her regardless.
“So you’ve seen everything? What do you think of my husband?” Su Liyan asked as she wiped down the table, pride evident in her voice.
The little girl nodded solemnly. “It’s all true! Sister gets to eat meat in her new marriage, and Brother-in-law treats her well. I like Brother-in-law too~ He’s even kind to ghosts~”
“What?” Su Liyan turned to the child with a puzzled expression. “You haven’t even met him. How could you know he’s kind to spirits?”
The little girl shook her head mischievously. “Because when I arrived, I saw steamed buns and rice under the bridge~ I recognized Sister’s handiwork immediately. Sister is so stingy she’d normally use stones and sand to fool ghosts. So the real food must have been Uncle’s idea~”
Su Liyan rolled her eyes at this astute observation. “Fine, fine. Now go home and don’t distract me from my work. Tell Mother everything is well here, and my husband treats me wonderfully in every way. We’ll return to host a banquet soon.”
Seeing the little girl lingering reluctantly by the door, Su Liyan offered two more candies. The child skipped away happily, with Su Liyan’s warning to stay hidden from people following her out.
By eight o’clock that morning, Su Liyan had been working for nearly three hours, cleaning the house inside and out. She was efficient, and there wasn’t much to maintain—mostly books, which she dared not disturb, merely dusting their shelves and the surrounding tables.
With her chores complete, Su Liyan prepared a modest breakfast. It wasn’t that she was too stingy to share meat with the little girl earlier—even in wealth, one should practice frugality. Though Su Liyan enjoyed meat like anyone, she couldn’t justify eating it three times daily. What would the villagers say about such a greedy, lazy wife?
She found some cornmeal in the kitchen and made simple pancakes. There were also a few sweet potatoes, slightly rotten. She carefully cut away the spoiled parts and steamed them with the cornmeal. Her husband would never eat such food—given his character, he’d likely discard it entirely. Better she consume it herself than let it go to waste.
Afterward, Su Liyan returned to the yard to wash the clothes she’d soaked that morning, paying special attention to the bedsheets. Her husband, in his eagerness the previous night, had forgotten to place a cloth beneath them, leaving a small red stain.
With everything in order, she returned indoors for breakfast—a cornmeal pancake with pickled cabbage, accompanied by a cup of hot water.
“Finished eating? Just completed your chores?” a voice suddenly asked from behind.
Su Liyan turned, startled, to find an elderly woman standing there.
“I’m your neighbor,” the woman announced with a smile, pointing toward a nearby house. “My surname is Li.”
Su Liyan quickly set aside her food, selected a stool, and invited the woman to sit. When she returned, she found Aunt Li staring fixedly at her humble meal.
Su Liyan wasn’t sure why Aunt Li had come, but recalled her husband’s warning: the villagers were opportunistic and she should remain cautious.
Aunt Li had her reasons for visiting. As a new neighbor to this snake girl bride—whom she didn’t particularly like—she recognized they would nonetheless have to coexist. A close neighbor often proves more valuable than a distant relative, after all.
More importantly, she had witnessed Lu Yuan purchasing many fine goods yesterday—wine and meat! If she could ingratiate herself with the new bride, perhaps she might sample some of these delicacies herself.
Yet seeing Su Liyan’s meager breakfast, Aunt Li couldn’t hide her astonishment.
“What?” she exclaimed. “Your husband allows you to eat such poor food??”