Chapter 27: Chapter 26: Danger on the Mountain

"Xiao'er, are you cooking? What delicious food have you prepared? It smells so good." Mrs. Li looked around and noticed that everything was covered in an iron pot. The maid was cleaning the stove and tidying up the firewood; it was clear that the meal was ready.

Mrs. Li was about to go and lift the pot lid to take a look, but Xiao'er immediately stopped her: "Auntie, it's almost dark, shouldn't you be home cooking?"

"You've cooked meat, haven't you? We'll just make do here tonight."

"I wouldn't dare make Auntie make do. We've separated households, and I don't have over 20 taels of private silver to cook extra food and entertain you." Xiao'er wouldn't be polite to someone planning to sell her off.

"You're quite resentful, aren't you? It's been so long, and now you eat meat every day. You bought a cartload of things yesterday, you must have spent quite a lot of silver. Meanwhile, my family can barely afford to cook."