Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 474: Trouble

Chapter 474: Chapter 474: Trouble

Outside the city, in a village, Shen Wenchen was gathered around a fire chatting with a group of older men.

Last night, it had snowed all night, so they had just finished clearing away the accumulated snow.

Now, they sat together in a circle, warming their hands by the bonfire as they waited for breakfast.

Last night, they had brought back a deer. Today, they would eat well.

"Brother Shen, I heard you used to be just a regular guy in the village. How’d you end up becoming a general?"

A young man from the village asked, his face full of curiosity.

During the recent rat extermination, Brother Shen had always killed the most rats, his movements swift and precise.

When he led them to the mountains, he always managed to bring back some game. He was impressive!

"I just happened to be at the right place at the right time."

His memories of those times were not pleasant, so Shen Wenchen chose not to say much.

Yet, they were too curious and kept asking.

The soldiers who had heard tales of Shen Wenchen quickly deflected the attention to his glorious deeds on the battlefield.

Tales of his bravery, single-handedly holding off hundreds of enemies and his mastery of the long spear.

The young men naturally marvelled, their eyes shining brightly as they looked at Shen Wenchen, full of admiration.

Wang Jingzhi saw the smile slowly drain from Shen Wenchen’s face but chose not to join the excitement, instead sitting quietly by his side.

"Jingzhi, your sister-in-law had a hard life in the village."

Shen Wenchen lowered his eyes, his larger, rugged hands clenched tightly into fists.

He had fallen off a cliff while hunting in the mountains and was rescued by General Song.

However, he had suffered memory loss, forgetting his parents and family.

Despite the hardships he faced in the military, he was able to push through.

But what about Nannan and Zhiyu?

Nannan had to care for their sick parents and raise the young Zhiyu all on her own.

Eventually, only the two of them were left struggling to survive in the village.

Though in this life he had regained his memories earlier.

He could not forget the memories of his past life.

Seeing Shen Wenchen’s pain, Wang Jingzhi couldn’t bear it and softly said, "Brother Shen, it’s all in the past now."

Initially, he also thought Nanzhi was different from before.

Only after spending time with her did he realize something was off.

Apart from their similar appearances, their habits and hobbies were identical.

He preferred to believe that Zhiyu and Brother Shen weren’t those substituted at birth.

"You’re right, it’s all in the past now,"

Shen Wenchen let out a sigh.

Nanzhi also told him that she didn’t blame him.

The force of the plot was something they couldn’t resist. Now, being together in this life was already the best outcome.

"Dinner’s ready!"

The cook yelled out, and two people carrying a large iron pot came out.

Most villagers were accustomed to cooking for themselves, but the people of Qing Fenghan were used to communal meals. So, whenever they brought back game, they would always distribute it into four parts.

One part was stored as reserves, one part for the village, one part for the fortress, and the last part, for their daily patrol and rat extermination meals.

They had brought back a deer last night and efficiently prepared it, with larger pieces of meat already cured and hung out to dry.

The remaining scraps, offal, and bones were then distributed among them.

Those patrolling all day naturally had the hardest time, so they got more meat.

But even if it was called "meat," it was nothing more than hearts, livers, and lungs.

The most prominent item in the large pot was naturally the deer head, the rest of the pot was filled with thin slices of offal.

The two aunts had fine culinary skills, and the pot of meat soup they had prepared was indeed, tantalizingly fragrant.

Behind them followed two young girls, each carrying a large winnowing basket filled with thick stacks of pancakes.

"Thank you, Auntie." Aze was very familiar with them, he stood up to help set up the pot, and then took the baskets from the hands of the two girls.

"No trouble at all, you guys are the ones who labor hard."

The aunt wiped the sweat off her forehead and said with a smile.

In this freezing weather, their group was either patrolling the village or hunting in the mountains all day, that was putting in real hard work.

"It’s our duty."

One person uttered these words, looked up at the two young girls, then quickly and bashfully withdrew his foot.

The weather was far too cold, and even though they wore cotton shoes, many of them still suffered from frostbite.

Originally, it was just a group of men sitting around the fire, chatting and warming their feet. But now in the presence of the young girls, he felt somewhat embarrassed.

"You all eat quickly before the food gets cold."

"Okay."

Even though Shen Wenchen acted without pretense in the village, everyone understood and handed him the first bowl of meat soup.

"Brother Shen can eat first."

The large porcelain bowl was filled to the brim with meat soup, with enough deer meat to fill half the bowl; it wasn’t lungs or liver, but solid meat.

Shen Wenchen pursed his lips and passed the bowl over to Wang Jingzhi beside him.

"Jingzhi, you’ve worked hard taking care of the patients. You have this bowl of meat soup."

Wang Jingzhi felt a little helpless, not sure whether to accept it or not.

"Doctor Wang, please just accept it."

Someone in the crowd urged.

Everyone was part of the patrol team, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for Shen Wenchen to give it to anyone else. Wang Jingzhi, not only did he take care of the patients in the village, but he also provided them with frostbite medicine.

It was entirely appropriate to give it to him.

Seeing that there was no way out, Wang Jingzhi accepted the bowl.

The group enjoyed a hearty meal of meat soup and pancakes before treating their frostbites and getting ready to head back up the mountain.

As no traces of rats were found in the woods, they decided to search at the foot of the mountain.

Not long after they left, Xiaoqi, who went out to fetch water, discovered something strange.

He found a few small paw prints on the snow pile, heading towards the main courtyard.

"Auntie Li! Auntie Li!"

Xiaoqi dropped his water bucket and rushed towards the main courtyard, hammering on the door.

Usually, Auntie Li would be guarding the door, but no matter how much he knocked today, there was no response.

Xiaoqi became anxious. He looked at a dead tree near him and decided to climb up the tree and jump into the courtyard.

The snow in the yard had been swept away, and the bricks from the night’s freeze were incredibly hard. He rolled on the ground a couple of times before finally steadying himself.

The courtyard was eerily quiet, except for the furnace on the side that was gurgling out hot steam.

"Auntie Li! Doctor Wang!"

Xiaoqi, with a grim expression on his face, didn’t mind the pain from his right leg, and followed the tracks to the side house.

The side house was where Auntie Li currently stayed. Although the door was firmly shut, the window was left open.

The wall that was once surrounded by powdered medicine had been strangely breached, with traces of something entering through the breach.

Xiaoqi turned pale. When he pushed open the door and entered, he saw Auntie Li lying there, her face pale white, and blood trickling from her neck.

Following the blood trail, his gaze met that of a gigantic rat.

The rat was the size of a puppy, standing erect and looking at him.

Its eyes were filled with a ferocious glare, and its whiskers were trembling incessantly.