Volume One, Chapter 12: I Will Teach You How to Refine Saltpeter

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Watching her retreating figure, Li Chen shook his head with a smile. He picked up the firewood knife and headed to a nearby hill to chop wood. He didn’t just chop firewood; he also gathered a fair amount of sour jujube and birch wood, as well as some slender poplar sticks about wrist-thick. After half an hour, he returned.

Just as he entered the house, wiped the sweat from his brow, and took a sip of water, he heard footsteps outside—scattered and irregular.

Turning his head, he saw the young maid wife carrying a large bamboo basket, tears streaming down her face, sobbing as she hurried back into the courtyard.

“What’s wrong?” Li Chen frowned and stepped forward.

“Ah… nothing, nothing at all,” she stammered, wiping her eyes vigorously and nervously clutching the hem of her garment.

“Let me see,” Li Chen said, sensing something was amiss. He moved closer and forcefully pushed her hands aside.

To his surprise, the fine jacket she wore was slashed with a large tear.

“Master, I’m sorry, sorry! I accidentally tore the new clothes. Please punish me,” the young maid wife panicked, dropping to her knees and covering her head. With trembling hands, she picked up a vine whip from the corner of the wall and held it out to Li Chen.

He took the whip but only rested it on the ground, frowning as he stared at her. “Who did this?”

The young maid wife, still innocent and naive, had only wanted to show off her new clothes a little. She loved the garment dearly, took great care of it—there was no way she could have damaged it herself.

It must have been someone envious and jealous, cutting it on purpose.

Realizing this, a surge of anger welled up inside Li Chen.

The young maid wife knelt silently, shaking her head with quiet sobs.

“Tell me, who did it?”

Li Chen helped her up with one hand and pressed again.

“It was Zhou Jiao, the daughter of Old Zhou from the south end of the village. She touched my new clothes, said they looked nice, then pretended it was an accident and cut it with a wild vegetable knife. Boohoo…”

Seeing Li Chen’s fury, the young maid wife dared not lie and kept crying, her eyes fixed sadly on the ruined hem.

“I’m going to find her!” Li Chen grabbed the vine whip and strode out.

“Ah, Master, better not… this is a girl’s matter,” the young maid wife urged anxiously, fearing trouble.

“You are my wife. Whoever dares to harm you dares to provoke me,” Li Chen said coldly, already outside the courtyard.

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At that moment, a group of women gathering wild vegetables came back, passing by the courtyard.

Li Chen stepped out, whip in hand, and immediately spotted Zhou Jiao among the crowd.

Zhou Jiao was about the same age as Yu Wanqing but had a sturdy waist.

Feeling guilty, she panicked when she saw Li Chen’s fierce approach and tried to flee.

Li Chen’s long strides quickly caught up with her, blocking her path.

“What... what do you want?” Zhou Jiao trembled, clutching the wild vegetable knife.

“You cut Wan’er’s clothes, didn’t you?” Li Chen’s voice was cold and sharp.

“Wan’er… is that how you address me?” The young maid wife’s eyes sparkled in surprise.

“I didn’t mean to…” Zhou Jiao forced herself to speak.

“Xiaofeng, you’re wrong. You saw her new clothes and, out of jealousy, deliberately cut them with your knife. You owe her an apology,” a tall, strong girl carrying a bamboo basket stepped forward to speak up.

It was Xu Xiuer, the village chief’s daughter.

Several other girls gathered, chattering and rebuking Zhou Jiao.

“Xiaofeng, this is really wrong. Those clothes look expensive; Wan’er loves them so much. She said her master bought them in the city, yet you deliberately slashed them.”

“Exactly! You should apologize and mend her clothes.”

“Apologize quickly! Look how much Wan’er is crying—she really loves those new clothes.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, and I’ve already apologized. Killing someone is a serious crime, but what else can I do? Li Chen, a grown man, is interrogating me, a girl—doesn’t he have any shame?” Zhou Jiao, with a bit of a rebellious streak, lifted her chin and refused to apologize.

“Smack!”

Li Chen wasn’t about to tolerate it and struck her leg with the vine whip.

“Apologize!” he commanded.

“Ouch, that hurts…” Zhou Jiao clutched her leg, yelping like a cat stepped on its tail. “How dare you hit me? You’re so bold! Come see! Come see! A grown man is hitting a woman!”

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Though young, Zhou Jiao was sharp and unruly, screaming nonstop.

“Whether man or woman, if you err, you must be punished. Today, I’ll teach you a lesson!” Li Chen ignored her cries and curses, swinging the vine whip with all his might. “Smack, smack, smack”—several lashes fell, and Zhou Jiao collapsed, clutching her sore leg and wailing loudly.

“Anyone who bullies my Wan’er will end up like this,” Li Chen snorted, glancing around. The surrounding women all lowered their heads.

Xu Xiuer looked at him in stunned silence, a strange mixture of envy and resentment stirring within her—since childhood, Li Chen had always paid attention to her, yet now he ignored her completely and was defending the young maid wife by punishing the Zhou girl.

Besides, the new clothes Li Chen bought for the young maid wife were so beautiful!

Just then, a woman rushed over—Wang Caifeng, the middle-aged woman who had mocked him with Ma Lian a few days prior.

Wang Caifeng had been gossiping behind, but upon hearing the commotion, hurried over. Seeing her daughter beaten and lying on the ground, she was furious and lunged at Li Chen in a rage.

Li Chen’s gaze snapped sharply as he turned to face her.

The moment their eyes met, Wang Caifeng felt an icy chill run through her entire body, paralyzing her as if frozen in place.

After a few breaths, she regained movement but saw Li Chen already leading the young maid wife back into the courtyard.

She ground her teeth in frustration, wanting to pursue but dared not. That boy’s eyes were terrifying.

She could only lift her daughter, who wailed into her arms.

Seeing the bloodstains on her waist and legs, Wang Caifeng gnawed her teeth in fury.

“My dear daughter, when your father returns from hunting in the mountains, we will find that little bastard and demand justice!” Wang Caifeng cursed bitterly.

Back home, Li Chen sat as if nothing had happened, catching his breath. His earlier test on Wang Caifeng had reconfirmed that when he locked eyes with someone with authority, it caused them to freeze momentarily, as if frozen solid.

Meanwhile, Yu Qingwan’s sadness lifted, replaced by a vague, indescribable happiness and sweetness that swirled in her heart.

She paced around the room several times, then suddenly remembered something. She fetched a bowl of water and brought it to Li Chen. “Master, please drink some water.”

After he drank, she went outside to retrieve a broken rattan fan and fanned him. “Master, I’m fanning for you.”

A little later, she put down the fan and half-kneeling, said, “Master, let me massage your legs.”

“Alright, alright, my legs don’t hurt. Come, I’ll teach you how to make refined salt,” Li Chen said helplessly, standing up.