Demon King's Repayment - chapter 286

Dahua appeared outside the courtyard with a gift.

“Dahua? Did you come back to your natal house?” Yuan Xiang happily let her friend into the living room.

Dahua wore a new tuft of small sleeves and a double-breasted coat, a refreshing high bun, with the golden hairpin that Yuan Xiang gave her before she got married.

She got tanned, but her mental health was much better than when Yuan Xiang saw her half a year ago. There was a bright look between her brows, her behavior was neat and generous, and she had a hearty appearance like before she got married.

She put a stack of food boxes in her hand on Yuan Xiang’s table.

“What is this smell?” Yuan Xiang asked.

“It’s all braised pork in brine, pork knuckles in sauce, cold and crispy sausage, and barbecued pork in honey. I made it by myself. I remember you like them a lot.”

“Thank you! I’ve been greedy lately, I was thinking about it,” Yuan Xiang thanked her.

“Ah Xiang, I didn’t wear this hairpin when you came to see me last time. In fact, life at home was difficult at that time and I pawned it.” Dahua touched the golden hairpin on her hair and said embarrassedly, “Although you never asked at that time, I was very nervous that you would ask me.”

She held Yuan Xiang’s hand, “I am the daughter of a butcher, and I don’t know anything else. Since I was a child, I have only learned to cook at home. After you left last year, I thought about it, gritted my teeth, and opened a stall in the market. Fortunately, the business was blessed by the Gods. Today, I finally redeemed the hairpins you gave me.”

“Really? Your mother-in-law did not object?” Yuan Xiang was happy for Dahua. But she also knew that although Dahua’s mother-in-law coveted her dowry, she still despised her father for being a butcher. The scholars of the era looked down on the merchants who did business for a living. She couldn’t think that Dahua’s domineering mother-in-law could agree with her to set up a stall in public.

“My mother-in-law was naturally unwilling.” Dahua spread her hands, “But the family obviously can’t survive without money. My husband still has to go to Juren, so we can’t rely on me selling my dowry and my sister-in-law to embroider for money day and night. My mother-in-law opposed it, but I made up my mind. As long as my husband supported me, whatever she did, I would just ignore it.”

“Yes, yes, this is my Da Hua,” Yuan Xiang patted her shoulder.

“Furthermore, in Qiuwei last year, my husband fell off the list.” Dahua approached Yuan Xiang, and didn’t mind talking about her loss to her friend, “After falling off the list, the expressions of those extremely enthusiastic relatives turned cold. We become unsatisfactory for them. The mother-in-law herself couldn’t show off.”

“Your husband is still young. What are you afraid of? Don’t put pressure on him and let him take the test slowly,” Yuan Xiang comforted her. She remembered Zhang Xun, her friend’s  young husband. Countless gloomy demons, large and small, were grabbing on him. He was obviously overwhelmed by the pressure from all sides.

She took out the talisman paper and calmly drew something on it. The fingertips moved flexibly, folded it into a triangle symbol, and handed it to Dahua.

“This is a talisman to get rid of evil and calm the mind. Let your husband keep it on him.”

Dahua was overjoyed, got up and bowed.

“Recently there has been too much rain, the spring floods are fierce, and the water level has risen. Even the river temple in our Lianghe Township was flooded. Although my home is located in a high place, my parents were still not at ease, so they sent my brother to take me and my husband’s family.”

“Has the River God Temple been flooded?” Yuan Xiang felt a little sorrowful in her heart. So even without Dan Luo’s wanton action, Lianghe Town still had a flood.

“Yes, the old people all say that Yuanshui had not risen sharply for decades. It should have been such a time, even the Lord River God can’t help it.” Dahua sighed, and was a little happy, “But I am very happy to be able to live with my natal family for a period of time. You don’t know, my father is not like the snobbish relative of the Zhang family. He only knows that my husband is a scholar and a stubborn man. He got a quiet study room for him. He stopped yelling, so that he can concentrate on reading without thinking about anything.”

She thought of her father’s attitude toward her husband, and couldn’t help but laugh, “He also made my brother who can’t sit on the bench, get close to him and learn a few characters. My brother was so scared that he complained all day long. Even my husband himself said that living in my house is a lot easier for him.”

“That’s great, as it should be,” Yuan Xiang was really happy for her friend.