Adorable Food Goddess - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Xia Chunyu heard the noise and looked up, his eyes visibly brightening at the sight of her . She looked so simple, elegant, and coquettishly charming with that white overcoat and crimson hundred pleat dress . Her attire contrasted against her blushing face, her eyes sharp and intelligent, beautiful and moving . Indeed, the simple and elegant style definitely suited her better .

“Have you eaten yet?” Xia Chunyu picked up the cup, taking a sip of tea .

“Yes, I had a bowl of porridge . What are you doing? Are you coming up with a battle plan?” Ye Jiayao glanced at the map and saw an encircled place – Xin Yi town .

Xia Chunyu calmly drew the map away . Even if she was technically his wife, he still had to be careful and put his guard up . He could not tell anyone what his true plans were .

Ye Jiayao curled her lips angrily, forcing herself to stay quiet . I would not understand it even if you let me see it!

Xia Chunyu leaned back leisurely, sipping his tea . He pointed to the seat beside him, motioning for her to sit .

“Where did you get your culinary skills from?” Xia Chunyu asked casually .

Was he suspicious? Ye Jiayao put on a miserable and helpless expression immediately, replying sadly, “I learned it from my family’s chef . Although I am the eldest daughter of the Ye family, my father is not very fond of me and I rarely get to see him . Even during morning and evening visits, my stepmother would find ways to stop me from seeing him . She would either say that my father was too tired and had already gone to rest, or that he was in a bad mood and I should not disturb him . I am a dispensable person in the Ye household, Chunyu . I decided to take up cooking so that at least I could give my father something to remind him of me . ”

Ye Jiayao spoke in a low voice, trying hard to force out her tears, letting them well up in her eyes . She was portraying the pitiful child lacking parental love, whose life was made difficult by her stepmother .

As the saying goes, all the world’s a stage, putting her acting skills at stake .

That speech was craftily mixed with truths and lies . Ye Jiayao’s host did learn cooking in order to win her father’s favor . However, the dishes she made were never delivered to her father . That just went to show how little she was valued in the household . Even the host’s marriage with the Wei family had to depend on her maternal family’s power in order to come to fruition .

Although pitiful, Xia Chunyu was still suspicious with the validity of her words . Just as he was about to ask her, she sniffed and wiped her tears, saying self-deprecatingly, “Sorry for getting a bit emotional . That’s why you kept saying that I do not behave like a proper lady . I am indeed no proper lady . I did not learn the four arts, only learned how to cook a few dishes from a chef . So, in the future, I can only make you food, wash your clothes and serve you tea . ”

With her eyes still red with unshed tears, she looked so miserable that Xia Chunyu couldn’t help but feel sympathetic . “Well it’s better than nothing,” he consoled .

“Will you despise me?” Ye Jiayao asked .

Xia Chunyu thought about it for a long while . He did not have any expectations of her so he could not really despise her . He wondered it if saying that would be too straightforward as he looked at her hopeful gaze .

Is it really that f*cking difficult to answer? As a lady from a wealthy family, marrying a bandit like him was considered marrying down . I am just being humble you arrogant git!

“Forget that I even asked . ” Ye Jiayao waved her hand resentfully, getting up to leave .

Xia Chunyu frowned, replying unhappily, “What do you mean forget it?”

Ye Jiayao stopped in her tracks . “I’m just afraid of hearing something I want to hear, and also afraid of something I do not want to hear . ”

“What does that mean?” Xia Chunyu asked, genuinely confused .

“It means that it was a senseless question . ”

After saying that, she left, leaving Xia Chunyu staring after her in bewilderment . What the f*ck? Did she mean that she really didn’t care either way whether he cared about her or not?

Xia Chunyu could not stay calm and chased her to their room .

“Hey, make yourself clear . Why was that a senseless question?” Xia Chunyu demanded .

Ye Jiayao was arranging her new clothes and shoes, marveling over their prettiness . Truthfully, the ancient attire looked way better than modern clothes . They were just a little troublesome to wear, and even on a hot day, she had to cover herself tightly . It would be a wonder if she did not get heat rash .

“I have a name, can you not call me hey?” Ye Jiayao said, not even bothering to raise her head .

“I like calling you that, so deal with it . ” Xia Chunyu said carelessly . “Answer my question . ”

“If you are going to call me however you like, does that mean I can do the same too?” Ye Jiayao rolled her eyes at him .

“The husband is your guiding principle, do you know that? I have the right to call you whatever I want,” Xia Chunyu raised his voice at her pompously .

Ye Jiayao rubbed her ears, thinking that he must’ve been the god of rage in his past life . Why does he love shouting so much?

“Ah, so you admit that you really are my husband?” Ye Jiayao suddenly smiled . “I thought so . How could you despise me when you treat me so well?”

When did he treat her well?

“Don’t deny it . You took out the fatty meat from the buns so meticulously and even went down the mountains to pick Sargasso for me . I heard that those herbs grow at the edge of cliffs and are very difficult to pick . Feifei… I mean, Chunyu, I will treat you well, don’t worry . ” Ye Jiayao said, opening the cupboard and taking his clothes out before putting hers in .

The corner of Xia Chunyu’s mouth twitched with indignation . She was acting like the person who was worried about being despised was him . Xia Chunyu said angrily, “That is because I can’t stand how you keep being overly suspicious . ”

“Whatever you say . I just want to let you know that I appreciate your intentions . ” Ye Jiayao tidied her clothes which took up the whole cupboard . She was unable to squeeze any of his clothes back in .

“Hey, you took up all the space! Where am I going to put my clothes?” Xia Chunyu protested .

Ye Jiayao looked around and carried his clothes to the Rohan couch . “We’ll leave it here first! The furniture seems to be lacking with more people in the house . Chunyu, go find another cupboard and bring it back . ”

Why did that sound like he was the extra person?

Xia Chunyu walked over to open the cupboard and threw her clothes out . This is unacceptable! How dare she take over my place?

“Hey, hey, what are you doing? Are you going to fight with a woman over a cupboard? Aren’t you afraid to become a laughing stock when the word gets out? Can you just be more gentlemanly?” Ye Jiayao snatched her clothes off the floor, placing them back into the cupboard again .

Xia Chunyu was speechless as she stared at this shameless woman . He was furious and felt an indescribable sense of defeat . She was being unreasonable, yet, it was as though he was the one being stingy . It was true, what the ancient people had once said, that only women and vile characters are difficult to raise . He could finally understand why his father would rather go to the borders than stay at home to face a bunch of women . He could barely manage with just one!

Ye Jiayao pouted, acting like a proper young wife who was bullied .

Forget it! A gentleman should not fight with a woman .

Xia Chunyu flung his sleeve angrily and went to leave .

Ye Jiayao shouted from behind him, “Chunyu, come back early tonight . I will make you a delicious dinner . ”

She rolled her tongue on purpose when pronouncing the word ‘yu’ so that it would sound like dumb .

Xia Chunyu closed his eyes in fury, knowing that the days ahead were going to be insufferable .

Since third-in-charge was in a bad mood, all the bandits were punished . Initially, it was agreed upon that there would be no training today . Therefore, some of them went back to sleeping, some gambled with dice, and some loitered around, all of them feeling contented . However, a wave of hurried bugle horn stirred them all, disrupting their peace .

One by one, the bandits rushed to the training grounds, only to see third-in-charge holding on to a command flag in the middle of the training ground . He looked like a mighty thundercloud, ready to blast everyone and everything in his wake . The gang knew that the third-in-charge holding onto the command flag meant that today will be a formation practice . There would be a real fight and it simply came down to either beating someone into a pulp or getting beaten to a pulp .

For a moment, everyone felt as though they were going to face their deaths; their visions blurred, their knees trembled .

Oh heavens, they wondered what provoked third-in-charge this time .

The whole afternoon’s training left everyone on the grounds with a bruised face . They dared not to voice it out but they were all screaming with pain on the inside . It wasn’t until it was dinner time that they saw the light at the end of their dark, torturous tunnel .

Song Qi ran to the training ground and called, “Third-in-charge, sister-in-law called you back for dinner . ”

Everyone was so spent and drained, they were about to cry . Thank f*ck, sister-in-law is finally going to collect her man!

Unexpectedly, third-in-charge behaved as though he did not hear Song Qi . He ignored him and shouted, “Single line formation!”

The command flag fluttered in the wind, and the bandits ran like crazy, screaming for mercy in their head .

Song Qi remembered sister-in-law’s instructions then braced himself and shouted again, “Third-in-charge, sister-in-law said that if you don’t go back, she would personally come down to call you . ”

Xia Chunyu blank face finally showed some emotions as he thought of how she would call his name, rolling her tongue purposefully . If she came here screaming at the top of her lungs, everyone in the stockade would probably be calling him dumb donkey behind his back . Darn woman! She was getting braver! How dare she threaten him?

This was the first time that Xia Chunyu started to hate his name .

Peng Wu went up to him, smiling as he said, “Third-in-charge, the sky is turning dark and sister-in-law is waiting for you to go back . Let’s just continue tomorrow . ”

Without a word, Xia Chunyu withdrew the command flag and handed it to Peng Wu .

Peng Wu waved the command flag in the air . “Dismissed!”

Everyone suddenly fell on the ground, their tongues hanging like a dog, huffing and puffing . If this went on, they would all be tortured to death .

Song Qi kept quiet as they trudged back to the house, dutifully following behind third-in-charge, secretly laughing at him . He thought that sister-in-law’s method was indeed effective if she could get him to come to her so easily .

Xia Chunyu remained silent the whole way back, thinking of how to deal with his errant wife . He could not continue to indulge her stubbornness and fiery attitude . He finally realized that she was not a simple character . She was merely playing dumb in order to climb all over him . He gave her an inch and she took a yard .

She had painted a pitiful picture of herself but from what he could see, her stepmother was no match for her at all .