Transmigrated into the Villain's Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife (Transmigrated into a Book) - Chapter 2

A burly soldier with a fierce expression glared at Lin Chu.

The cold blade of the knife immediately made goosebumps rise on Lin Chu’s neck, and the intense smell of blood made her stomach churn with nausea.

Damn it!

What kind of trouble had she gotten herself into now?

She hadn’t even gotten a look at what her villainous husband looked like yet!

Lin Chu’s mind was racing like a thousand horses.

“Wang Hu, what are you doing? Put the knife down!” scolded another soldier with a scarred face standing by the bed.

It seemed that this scar-faced soldier had some authority among the group. The soldier called Wang Hu, upon hearing his words, gave Lin Chu a fierce glare before reluctantly putting away his knife.

Lin Chu pinched the back of her hand hard, the pain bringing tears to her eyes,

“Husband—”

That cry was so heart-wrenching that even Lin Chu herself got goosebumps on her arm.

Everyone stared at her, stunned.

Lin Chu threw herself down by the bedside, her tears falling just at the right moment, landing on the edge of the bed. She looked utterly heartbroken.

“If anything happens to you, how am I supposed to live…?” she wailed, then began to sob loudly.

The soldiers exchanged glances. Was this the same woman who just days ago was making a fuss, trying to call off the marriage to their brother?

While fake crying, Lin Chu finally got a good look at her villainous husband, Yan Mingge.

Although his face was covered in bloodstains, his features were still discernible.

The villain Yan Mingge, who was renowned in the original novel for his good looks, was indeed astonishingly handsome!

His sword-like eyebrows angled sharply toward his temples, giving him an innate sharpness and intensity. Likely due to pain, even in unconsciousness, his beautiful brow furrowed slightly. He had a high nose bridge, and Lin Chu thought it was that nose bridge that made him look less effeminate at first glance and gave him a masculine ruggedness. His lips were thin; although chapped from the wind, the shape of his lips was still quite appealing.

The corner of his mouth was tinged with blood, giving him a hint of savage wildness.

Though she was a bit disappointed that she couldn’t see what kind of eyes her villainous husband had, Lin Chu was convinced that once those eyes beneath his sword-like brows opened, they would have a wolf-like gaze!

“Mrs. Yan, stop crying and get me a basin of hot water!” the military doctor shouted.

Yan Mingge’s condition didn’t seem optimistic at all. The cloth that the doctor threw on the ground was soaked in blood, and the bedding on the bed had also turned a dark color from all the fresh blood.

In the original story, this part about Yan Mingge being injured was barely mentioned, only touched upon in a flashback.

So even though Lin Chu knew Yan Mingge wouldn’t die, she was still scared and flustered by all the blood.

“There’s hot water on the stove! I’ll bring it over!” She stumbled out, face covered in tears, looking like a devoted wife deeply worried about her husband’s fate.

Two soldiers followed her to help.

The hot water on the stove was leftover from when Lin Chu had washed the pig offal earlier. After two basins were carried out by the soldiers, none was left.

Lin Chu wasn’t sure if the water would be enough, so she boiled another pot.

The water tank happened to be empty, and seeing the free labor around, she asked one of the soldiers to help fetch more water.

Lin Chu sat on a small wooden stool, watching the fire in the stove, deep in thought. Yan Mingge was injured, which presented an opportunity for her to gain favor. However, in the original novel, Yan Mingge had a violent temperament and was unpredictable. If she acted rashly and tried to curry favor, what if she got slapped to death for being an eyesore?

Just as she was worrying, she heard a woman’s voice, dripping with sarcasm,

“Commander Yan isn’t even dead yet, and some people are already trying to secure their future!”

Was she referring to her asking someone to fetch water?

Lin Chu looked up. The woman appeared to be in her early thirties, with a flat face and a broad, stocky frame, likely from having children and doing manual labor over the years. She was staring at Lin Chu with disdain.

After being mocked and taunted repeatedly, even Lin Chu, who usually remained calm, couldn’t help but get angry.

“Who are you, ma’am?”

And why was she here acting all high and mighty?

This woman was Mrs. Li, who loved gossiping about others, embellishing stories among the neighborhood women. The original character’s bad reputation throughout Qiangcheng was largely due to her.

Hearing that Commander Yan had been carried back injured, with a bedridden husband and a young, pretty, restless wife, Mrs. Li’s imagination went wild. She hadn’t even bothered with lunch, rushing over to see the spectacle.

Mrs. Li scoffed, seeing Lin Chu dare to talk back.

“Afraid of being talked about after doing something disgraceful?”

The fire in Lin Chu’s chest surged even more. Seeing the soldier who had fetched water returning with two buckets of fresh water, she cried out loudly, her voice trembling,

“What disgraceful thing have I done? My husband is lying in there, uncertain if he’ll live or die, and the doctor needs water. The tank was empty, and this kind brother helped fetch it. Yet you, madam, slander me like this—what is your intention? What grudge do you have against my husband that you choose this moment to spread rumors?”

Lin Chu pinched her hand hard again, bringing tears streaming down her face. Since the original character had a naturally delicate appearance, her crying now made her look as fragile as a lotus in the rain. And her words all revolved around her concern for Yan Mingge.

Sure enough, the young soldier who had fetched the water slammed the two full buckets down on the ground and shouted angrily,
“Who dares to delay Brother Yan’s treatment? I’ll twist their head off!”

Mrs. Li’s husband also had a military background, though he was now older and worked at the city gate. She herself was built like a tank, and seeing the soldier’s young age, she didn’t take him seriously and sneered,

“Look, her lover is already standing up for her!”

“You fat old hag, what nonsense are you spouting?!” The young soldier, hot-tempered and full of youthful energy, flushed with rage at being slandered. He picked up a stick of uncut firewood from the ground and was about to take action against Mrs. Li.

The commotion outside caught the attention of the soldiers inside the house, and a few of them came out.

The scar-faced soldier shouted,

“Liuzi, what’s going on?”

Seeing the crowd gathering, Mrs. Li became even more agitated, as if she feared the world would remain peaceful, and said,

“Look, look! My Brother Yan’s life is still uncertain, and I merely scolded this little wench a bit, but this paramour wants to kill me with a stick!”

“Third Brother, I didn’t!” The young soldier, likely being falsely accused for the first time, flushed bright red, his neck tensed in anger.

Lin Chu fully exploited the delicate nature of the original body’s persona. She pinched her arm hard, and tears came rolling down without restraint.

“I was immature before, but now I just want to live a good life with my husband! I know my reputation is already tarnished, and I can accept whatever Auntie says about me, but this man is one of the brothers who fought side by side with my husband! How could you slander us like this? You truly have malicious intent!”

In this frontier land, without a man in the household, a lone woman would never be able to survive.

Lin Chu’s sudden change made the soldiers think that she had finally come to her senses in recent days and was now willing to settle down with Commander Yan.

A delicate flower showing repentance and vulnerability made the soldiers, who originally despised her, feel some sympathy.

They had already overheard Lin Chu’s deliberately loud words earlier, and combined with the current situation, they could piece together what was happening.

This Mrs. Li usually loved to gossip and exaggerate, but stirring up trouble at a life-and-death moment like this, trying to sow discord between the brothers and Brother Yan? This foolish woman must have had her brain gnawed on by a dog!

The scar-faced soldier glared at Mrs. Li coldly,

“Do you eat dung all day? Every word you spit out stinks! Wang Hu, throw her out!”

The burly soldier named Wang Hu really moved to throw her out, and Mrs. Li, terrified, dared not continue her tantrum—being thrown out could easily break her back.

She scurried away in a flurry, only stopping a good distance away to spit in the direction of Lin Chu and the soldiers.

Wang Hu made a motion as if to chase her, causing Mrs. Li to trip and roll away in panic.

And so, the farce came to an end.

The military doctor was still tending to Commander Yan wounds, and the soldiers continued to keep watch in the house.

The young soldier who had helped Lin Chu carry water, possibly to avoid further suspicion, stayed inside and refused to leave.

Lin Chu didn’t plan to ask for help again. In this cursed ancient time, even getting someone to help carry water was enough to bring about gossip—it was truly exasperating!

This body was frail, unable to carry a full bucket of water, so she could only pour the water into a wooden basin and then transfer it to the water jar.

After pouring in two buckets, the jar was only one-fifth full.

Lin Chu, sweating heavily, glanced at the lacquered bucket by the stove. It contained the cleaned offal she had prepared and the piece of pork Lan Zhi had given her.

She had intended to cook the meat, but who knew this kind of incident would occur suddenly?

Her stomach growled in hunger, but Lin Chu knew she couldn’t cook for herself now. Those soldiers seemed to be Yan Mingge’s comrades, and as the lady of the house, she was supposed to host them properly.

But the rice jar was nearly empty—even if she cooked all the offal and the piece of pork, it wouldn’t be enough for those big, burly soldiers.

After some thought, Lin Chu brought in a pot of boiling water, took out six rough earthenware bowls, and poured hot water to serve to the soldiers.

The soldiers exchanged uncertain glances, unsure if they should accept.

Lin Chu knew that if she wanted to live well here, she not only needed to win Yan Mingge’s favor, but also improve her standing with the others. So, choking up a bit, she said,

“Thank you, brothers, for bringing my husband back. We have no tea at home, so please have a bowl of plain water.”

It was the scar-faced soldier who finally took the bowl from her hands, saying,

“Sister-in-law, no need to be so courteous. If not for Brother Yan, none of us would be standing here.”

Lin Chu noticed the heaviness in his words, and the rest of the soldiers seemed similarly somber. She figured something must have happened on the battlefield but didn’t ask further.

Since this soldier called her “sister-in-law,” the rest of the soldiers didn’t need Lin Chu to serve them personally; they poured themselves some hot water.

“No need for you to trouble yourself, sister-in-law. We’ll help ourselves.”

Except for Wang Hu, who had first held a knife to Lin Chu’s throat, and the young soldier who fetched the water, who both seemed a bit uncomfortable, the other two soldiers were now much friendlier toward her.

“It’s done.” The military doctor’s words drew everyone to the bedside in an instant.

“Doctor Hu, how’s Brother Yan?” the soldiers asked anxiously.

“Let me drink some water first,” the doctor replied.

Lin Chu hurriedly handed him a bowl of water.

After drinking it all, the doctor let out a breath and said,

“His life is saved.”

This was as Lin Chu expected, but the soldiers collectively let out a sigh of relief, clearly having been on edge.

“Yan Mingge, that guy! His life is tough—even the King of Hell doesn’t want him!” The doctor chuckled. “Take good care of him for a month, and he should be able to get back on his feet.”

“I knew Brother Yan would be fine!” Wang Hu began to sob.

“Fifth Brother, is this all you’re good for?” The other soldiers teased him, but their eyes were slightly red, showing how genuinely worried they were about Commander Yan’s condition.

Not long after, another group of soldiers arrived, bringing with them five liters of rice and two pieces of pork.

Lin Chu observed that the leader of this group was likely an officer. The short-bearded man wore noticeably better armor than the average soldier and carried himself with arrogance.

“Commander Yan was injured in the last battle, and the general is concerned. How is his condition?” The banner officer asked, but his tone lacked warmth, clearly indifferent to Yan’s life.

“Several knife and axe wounds across his body. The most serious injury was an arrow to the chest—just a little further, and he wouldn’t have made it…” The doctor spoke with a detached air towards the banner officer.

“Have Commander Yan rest well, then,” the officer replied haughtily. “These are for his recovery.”

He motioned for the soldiers to place down the rice and meat. He then pulled out a money pouch, which seemed full, but from the sound of the coins clinking inside, it was mostly copper.

“This is also a reward for Commander Yan.” His gaze swept across the room and eventually rested on Lin Chu. His eyes roved from her head to toe with a lecherous gleam, and he chuckled,

“Oh, I heard Commander Yan recently married a pretty wife. Seeing her today, it’s true indeed…”

That gaze made Lin Chu’s scalp prickle, and she mentally cursed him countless times, but all she could do in reality was keep her head down and stare at her toes without saying a word.