"People are just worried that his siblings might suffer. When there were just the three of them, A’Heng took such good care of his siblings. Now that he has married, captivated by this woman, the two children might be mistreated."

    "She is from a prominent family; it would be odd if she didn't take advantage of all three of them."

    "A’Heng, A’Heng, I don't know what he was thinking, bringing a villainess into the house."

    "Now they will probably squander his money for sure. Just look at the dress she is wearing; how many taels must it have cost? If she asks A’Heng to buy it for her, he might not have any food left to eat.”

    The whispers generally commented on how Mu Heng was too indulgent with his wife, seduced by her demonic allure into losing his senses. On her first day, he had already taken her into the town, likely spending till he was penniless, causing his siblings to suffer alongside him.

    Mu Heng seemed to want to turn back and refute several times, but Yueqian walked past as if she hadn't heard anything at all. The young man hesitated slightly. If she hadn't heard, that was probably for the best. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. And if she hadn't heard but he turned to confront the others, wouldn't it mean he was the one making her aware of this?

    Eventually, the village’s new couple made their way to the horse cart at the front of the village. Four people were already there today, mostly groups planning to sell goods in the city, evident from the various items piled at the back of the cart.

    Yueqian and Mu Heng had nothing much, just one chest, so Mu Heng carried it himself without mixing it with others. The one who were already on the cart reached out to help the young woman aboard. Although it wasn't a difficult climb, his chivalry made onlookers envious.

    "A’Heng, are you taking your newlywed wife to the town for a stroll?"

    A middle-aged woman asked, genuinely fond of Mu Heng but not quite taking to his wife, whom she felt was acquired through dubious means.

    She lived in town, so she had heard rumors about the origins of this malevolent wife, which might cause difficulties for young Mu Heng, who had lost his parents early. This thought made her look at Yueqian somewhat critically.

    "Thank you, Aunt Liao. It was my idea to take her to town, perhaps to stock up on some rice," Mu Heng proudly admitted.

    Aunt Liao had previously warned him against taking care of this problematic wife, but he was stubborn and didn't listen. Although Mu Heng understood what the other party was thinking, Yueqian was now his wife, and he didn't want others to criticize her.

    "Oh, you're going to buy rice? That’s good then. The weather is getting colder every day. In a few days, it might be impossible to travel. This might be the last round I take my chickens and eggs to the city for sale, I must wait till the winter ended to sell again. If you want to buy something, bring it all at once. Don’t be wasteful. Spend as usual. Whatever is beyond your means, don’t bother spending it on it," Aunt Liao advised.

    "Understood," Mu Heng replied briefly, without elaborating.

    He wasn't lying either; he truly had errands to run with his wife, although he also planned to buy rice and other necessities. How could he rely solely on his wife for meals? That alone already made him feel guilty.

    Yueqian said nothing either, scanning the cart around her and feeling that the business venture wasn’t too bad after all; she just needed a sum of money to buy horses and a cart.

    Of course, she had that amount. The role of driving a cart could be handled by Mu Heng, so he wouldn’t need to hunt in the dangerous woods anymore. It was undoubtedly more comfortable to drive a cart for hire than face tigers, bears, and snakes in the forest.

    Nevertheless, the wages weren’t very profitable. People didn't travel to the city often; a mere two brass coins per person could only generate six brass coins a day.

    Yueqian pondered this while riding the cart, realizing that the cart was still essential. If they were to sell goods in the city, they would have to carry their wares to the village front instead of keeping their income a secret, always under the eyes of others.

    This didn't include the goods she wanted to bring out from the interdimensional space. If she needed to make it seamless, she would have to stockpile a lot of rice at home. But if she had her own cart, how could they suspect anything?

    "Thinking about something? It's still a long ride to the city; you could rest a bit," Mu Heng asked his wife, who was frowning in thought, with concern.

    He didn’t know that since her youth, she had been waking up early every day to deliver alcohol to the Art Institute. Hence, he worried that she was accustomed to the comfortable life of the capital, where young lords and ladies got up only at sunrise to have breakfast served by their servants.

    Of course, Mu Heng didn't want to change Yueqian to wake up as early as them. If she wanted to continue living her previous lifestyle, he wouldn’t object. It was he who had dragged her down, after all.

    "Hmm? I'm not sleepy. You can rest if you want," Yueqian responded softly to her husband, yet not so softly that those eavesdropping couldn't hear.

    "Wait a moment, what did you just call your husband?" Aunt Liao, who was already predisposed to dislike her, asked irritably, her brows furrowed in frustration, unable to stop.

    Her voice was quite loud, attracting the attention of everyone in the cart.

    "........." Yueqian tilted her head, not responding to the question.

    Seeing such an indifferent face, Aunt Liao grew even more resentful towards the woman in front of her.

    "To be a wife and call your husband so informally is very rude. Moreover, your husband is older than you. Calling him in such a way seems untaught," Aunt Liao said with undisguised annoyance in her voice.

    Yueqian slightly raised her eyebrows. Although she was only 18 and appeared two to three years younger than her husband, she didn’t think that calling him “you” or by his name, “Mu Heng,” was inappropriate.

    After all, she had only met him for just one day. How could she be expected to be close enough to call him 'brother' or 'husband' already?

    Besides, Mu Heng is her first husband in both of her lives. It’s also a bit embarrassing for her to call him that.

    "How strange, not their own husband, not their own family, and not even their own mouth. I don't know why they feel entitled to impose on others," Yueqian commented nonchalantly.

    She didn’t answer the question or accept the criticism; she merely smiled sweetly as if mumbling to herself, yet her gaze was fixed directly on Aunt Liao.

    "Ha! What kind of woman is this!! Being taught by an elder and yet not listening, moreover being brazen enough to criticize others? Just look at Mu Heng’s wife; she doesn’t respect the elderly at all. It won’t be long before she starts insulting everyone," Aunt Liao was so furious that her face turned red and black. She called others to witness this wicked woman as well.

    Of course, Yueqian didn’t care. She was used to others cursing her. Remember, she was once the Young Villainess Qin. If she couldn’t handle just a vocal villager, how could she be called a young villainess?

    "It’s strange again why there are such odd people here. Meddling in other people’s family matters, and when they don’t listen, you say they are rude. Does this mean that if they want me to cartwheel, I must comply?" Yueqian shook her head like a philosopher.

    "You, you!! A’Heng, look at the shameless face of the wife you brought home. How can she live in the same village with us? She acts as if she doesn’t see the elders. Surely, she will trample on us in the future,"

    Aunt Liao didn’t know how else to berate Yueqian, so she turned to complain to Mu Heng, who had always been straightforward and kind.

    "Ah, Aunt Liao, please calm down. Yueqian didn’t mean it that way," Mu Heng tried to mediate.

    He knew that Aunt Liao had a bias against his wife, but previously when he had problems at home, she had helped him. She had testified that he and his siblings had been oppressed all along, so their successful separation from the household was largely thanks to her.

    Aunt Liao was straightforward: she disliked what she disliked, but she was fair in her judgment.

    "A’Heng, I wasn’t the one who started trouble. It's your wife who spoke out of turn. I only admonished her because she is your wife. I don’t usually want to meddle in other people’s family affairs," Aunt Liao said, and Yueqian almost laughed out loud.

    Who said they don’t want to meddle in other people's business?

    Just because she did not call her husband the way she wanted, she still got reproached severely.

    When people admonish each other, must it be done in this manner?

    ‘To call your husband in such an impolite manner,’ ‘To speak like this is like being untaught.’

    Is this really admonishment?

    Aunt Liao said this in front of many people. If she didn’t claim to have good intention, everyone would think she wanted to ruin Yueqian’s reputation.

    "Please calm down. I will discuss this domestic issue with Yueqian myself. You don’t need to worry," Mu Heng cooled the situation, but his words clearly defended Yueqian.

    Even Aunt Liao was taken aback to hear Mu Heng speak like that. His words were polite indeed, but they essentially told her not to worry about his affairs; he would handle matters with his wife himself. What could Aunt Liao possibly say in response?

    The middle-aged woman was visibly frustrated and displeased, yet she did not confront Mu Heng as she did with Yueqian.

    The beautiful wife of Mu Heng just watched the two, observing their relatively good relationship before sighing.

    Originally, she thought to interject with her own sharp retort, to speak up so no one would dare bother her again. Who would have thought that Mu Heng would come to her defense like this?

    "Brother Heng must really love his wife." There was a long silence.

    Then there was the clear voice of a lady, breaking through the quiet.

    The speaker was a young woman about 16-17 years old, probably a year younger than Yueqian. She had a pleasant face, though slightly thin and tanned, but she was pretty in a rustic way, approachable and easy to talk to.

    "Um," Mu Heng hesitated.

    He glanced at Yueqian before responding to the young woman. Although his expression remained composed, there was a trace of shyness that could not be concealed. This made Yueqian raise an eyebrow as she watched her handsome husband shyly hide his blush.