Transmigrated into the Villain's Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife (Transmigrated into a Book) - Chapter 45

Perhaps it was because of her pregnancy that Wei Rou had been especially sleepy lately. After a quick dinner, she went straight to bed. Worried that Yan Mingge’s loud voice would wake her, Lin Chu hurriedly whispered, 

“Senior Sister just fell asleep — please don’t let her hear you.”

Yan Mingge sat stiffly in the Taishi chair behind the desk, his lips pressed into a thin, icy line, his silent rage palpable.

Back at the inn at Jintong Pass, when he first found out Wei Rou was pregnant, he had immediately sent a letter back to Nandu. Judging by his expression, the reply must have arrived today.

Lin Chu still wasn’t clear on all the details between Mu Xingfeng and Wei Rou. She hadn’t known Wei Rou for long, but she trusted her senior sister’s judgment — if Wei Rou had chosen someone, he couldn’t be that bad. Still, seeing Yan Mingge’s reaction made her hesitate.

She carefully asked, “Does he know Senior Sister is pregnant?”

Yan Mingge let out a cold snort. 

“Baixi Elder’s prized disciple doesn’t need to stoop to using an unborn child to force a marriage!”

Meaning, Mu Xingfeng probably had no idea about Wei Rou’s pregnancy yet. Regardless, in any era, pregnancy before marriage was scandalous. Yan Mingge’s choice to leave that part out of the letter was a form of protection for Wei Rou — after all, if anything went wrong, in this harsh, judgmental world, it would only be Wei Rou who bore the brunt of it.

Lin Chu thought for a moment and said, “Maybe… let’s not tell Senior Sister for now. I’ll find a good time to bring it up.”

Suddenly, the door to the main room swung open. Wei Rou, wrapped in a thick robe over her sleepwear, walked in calmly, her face devoid of any sadness.

“How big of a deal could it be that you need to hide it from me?”

“Senior Sister—” Lin Chu hadn’t expected Wei Rou to overhear.

Yan Mingge’s face soured, partly because of what she said, and partly because she had approached the door using a breath-concealing technique — and he hadn’t even noticed.

“If he’s willing to live quietly with me on the mountain for a lifetime, I might begrudgingly take him in,” Wei Rou said with a roll of her eyes. “But if he dreams of locking me up in some grand mansion for the rest of my days… not a chance!”

She yawned as she spoke, looking utterly unconcerned.

“I didn’t think you’d act so fast, you brat. Don’t go chasing him down again — you make it seem like I’m desperate to get married. Master’s wife taught me from a young age: if I’m going to marry, I’ll find a strong, broad man to marry into my family. Otherwise, how would the Wei family’s smithing techniques be passed on?”

Yan Mingge stared at her for a long moment, his expression dark. 

“He touched you — he should take responsibility!”

Wei Rou lazily lifted her eyelids. “Why don’t you just say I touched him?”

Yan Mingge: “…”

Wei Rou waved a hand dismissively. 

“Fine, fine. Let’s say he touched me. In that case, tell him to send eighty to a hundred thousand taels of gold as an apology, and then we can each go our own way.”

Yan Mingge looked like he was about to have a stroke. “Can you act a little more like a proper woman?!”

Wei Rou shrugged. “Blame Master’s wife — she taught me everything. If you’ve got complaints, go find her.”

She threw a meaningful glance at Lin Chu.
“You think every woman is sweet and gentle like your little sister-in-law here? You should count your blessings, kid!”

Lin Chu, suddenly called out, was horrified. Me? Gentle? Sweet? Well… she could pretend if she had to.

“Auntie—”
A timid little head peeked around the door.

The babyish voice drew Lin Chu’s attention. Han Junye, who had gone to bed early, was awake and rubbing his sleepy eyes at the doorway. Just as she was about to call him over, he spotted Wei Rou, froze for a moment — then ran forward and threw his arms around her.

“Mother!”

Lin Chu: “…”

This kid’s randomly recognizing mothers again?!

Wei Rou was stunned. She looked down at the soft, delicate little boy — his features were so fine, like a porcelain doll — and her heart melted. She pinched his chubby cheeks affectionately.

“Whose child is this? He’s adorable! Almost as cute as little Yan Heng was back in the day. Hmm… just a bit chubbier.”

The newly recognized “mother” Han Junye: “…” I really need to start my weight-loss plan.

Yan Mingge’s face darkened even further. 

“He’s the grandson of the Duke of Han.”

Wei Rou didn’t seem to mind at all. She kept teasing Han Junye as she said lightly, 

“No problem. As long as he’s not the emperor’s son, I can raise him.”

Lin Chu: “…”

Just who raised Wei Rou to be like this?

Yan Mingge said dryly, “If you like him so much, take him back to the mountain with you.”

Wei Rou shot him a look. “I haven’t forged a divine weapon yet. No divine weapon, no disciples. But once I do — I’ll take in a whole bunch! When my daughter is born, there’ll be a line of young suitors waiting for her. Unlike me, back then, stuck on the mountain with no one to choose from!”

Lin Chu was a little surprised. Senior Sister’s so sure it’s going to be a girl?

Maybe she was just speaking casually.

Han Junye, hearing that, stared anxiously at Wei Rou’s belly, a look of deep worry on his chubby face. Clearly, winning over his future mother-in-law was now an urgent mission!

Yan Mingge’s temples throbbed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Wei Rou gave him a look of disdain.
“Look at you, flying into a rage at the drop of a hat. You’re like an angry lion. Where’s your stability?”

Yan Mingge: “…”

Lin Chu quickly stepped in. 

“It’s getting late. Senior Sister, you’re pregnant — you should get some rest.”

Han Junye, being short, had to stretch to reach Wei Rou’s belly. After struggling for a bit, he finally managed to press his little hand against it through her robe.

Wei Rou looked at him, amused. Han Junye’s big, clear eyes sparkled with wonder.

“Baby,” he said softly.

Wei Rou laughed and glanced at Lin Chu. “This kid’s adorable.”

She gently patted Han Junye’s little head. “Yes, there’s a baby inside.”

Han Junye smiled, but deep within his eyes, a sorrow lingered — silent and profound.

Mu Huaqiong, this time, I’ll be there when you’re born. I’ll watch you grow up, from marriage to old age. All the pain and hardship you suffered in the last life — I’ll shield you from it all this time.

Lin Chu, thinking Han Junye was just precocious, didn’t give it too much thought. She bent down to pick him up, planning to coax him back to bed — only to realize the little boy’s eyes were red, like he was about to cry.

Startled, she quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Han Junye yawned and reached out to her, using the motion to bury his face against her shoulder, mumbling, “Sleepy…”

Young children’s sleepiness often came quickly and fiercely. Neither Lin Chu nor Wei Rou thought much of it. There were only three bedrooms anyway — Wei Rou had one, Jing He had another — so Han Junye usually squeezed in with Lin Chu and Yan Mingge.

Lin Chu was just about to carry him back when Wei Rou suddenly said, “Let him sleep in my room tonight.”

Before Lin Chu could answer, Yan Mingge immediately said, “Alright.”

Wei Rou saw the meaningful smiles on their faces, but said nothing. She simply led Han Junye back to her room. Lin Chu let out a long sigh and turned to Yan Mingge.

“Husband, the bed’s a little narrow… you’d better keep sleeping on the floor tonight.”

The next morning, Yan Mingge had to report to the military camp early. Lin Chu tried to get up to make him breakfast, but he firmly pushed her back into the warm blankets, telling her to keep sleeping. Before he left, he stole a couple of kisses from her.

Lin Chu ended up sleeping until the sun was high in the sky. Just as she was about to head to the kitchen, she discovered that Yan Mingge had already called Zhao the cook over early to prepare breakfast.

The weather was beautiful that day. Even Jing He was basking in the courtyard sun. Seeing everyone had been waiting for her to wake up before eating made Lin Chu’s face burn with embarrassment. She really shouldn’t have been so lazy!

After breakfast, Wei Rou pulled her aside for a chat. She took out a thick stack of weapon blueprints and asked Lin Chu to help refine them into more precise schematics.

Lin Chu looked over the designs — meteor hammers, nine-claw hooks, seven-section whips — each more exotic than the last.

Curious, she asked, “Senior Sister, what are all these for?”

“They’re weapons people asked me to forge,” Wei Rou replied.

“So many all at once?” Lin Chu blinked in surprise.

Wei Rou touched her stomach lightly.

“I want to finish them while I still can. Once the baby’s bigger, I probably won’t be able to forge anything for quite a while.”

“Senior Sister, why don’t you just focus on taking care of yourself now?” Lin Chu said, worried. “You can get back to smithing after the baby’s born, once everything’s safe.”

Wei Rou’s sudden change in attitude had caught Lin Chu off guard. Unable to hold back her curiosity, she asked directly, “What made you change your mind so suddenly?”

Wei Rou chuckled. “You were right that day. This child is my child — it doesn’t matter who her father is. I can raise her well on my own, so why shouldn’t I? I can’t see a future with her father, but that’s no reason to give up on her. My master’s wife once said, ‘In life, it’s not a mistake that will ruin you. It’s making a mistake and then bending over backwards to find excuses for it.’ Excuses might make you feel better in the moment, but in the end, they’re not necessary.”

Lin Chu was still worried. “Just… make sure you take care of yourself.”

Wei Rou smiled warmly. “Don’t worry. I’m practically half a doctor myself. The baby’s doing great right now. I just want to save up a bit more money while I can.”

“How much can you even make from forging weapons?” Lin Chu muttered. “And besides, your brother — my husband — wouldn’t just leave you on your own.”

Wei Rou patted Lin Chu reassuringly on the shoulder, though her delicate brows furrowed slightly.

“I dare say that apart from my master, there’s no one else in the world who can surpass me in forging weapons. But… I’ve yet to create a true masterpiece. Without a famed weapon under my belt, even forging a custom weapon only brings in… a mere one to two hundred taels of gold per piece.”

She sighed. “But once I forge a divine weapon — that’ll change everything.”

One to two hundred taels of gold…

Lin Chu paused for a moment. Wait, blacksmithing was this lucrative back in the day?

Only later would she understand just how rare and coveted a weapon crafted by the Wei family was — and how true Wei Rou’s words had been.

“What kind of weapon would count as a divine weapon?” Lin Chu asked casually, but her mind drifted to the image she once saw online — the famous Goujian Sword of Yue.

Wei Rou smiled faintly. 

“You’ve seen Yan Heng’s black iron war bow, right? That bow was my master’s final creation — his true masterpiece. He never even gave it a name. So many have tried to lay hands on it, but most don’t even know what it actually looks like…”

As she spoke, her expression suddenly changed. She looked sharply toward the door.

Moments later, there came three knocks — clear and steady.

Lin Chu instinctively rose to open the door, but Wei Rou immediately said, “Don’t go.”

Startled, Lin Chu froze in place.

Three more knocks followed — again, calm and unhurried, neither too light nor too heavy.
Just from the sound, you could sense that the visitor was gentle and refined.

Wei Rou didn’t move, but her hand hidden in her sleeve clenched into a fist.

A bout of coughing came from outside. It sounded bad — so violent that Lin Chu worried the person would cough up a lung.

After the coughing fit finally subsided, a soft voice spoke from outside the door:
“Ah Rou, the red beans in Nandu have ripened beautifully this year. I’m back.”

Translator’s Note:

Hi everyone! 

I hope you’re all enjoying the story so far! Just a quick heads-up: updates for all of my novels will be delayed this month. I’ve got some important personal stuff going on, and I haven’t been able to focus on translating as much as I’d like.

Thank you so much to everyone who’s been leaving comments! Reading them really motivates me to keep going and do better—it means a lot.

You might notice some inconsistencies or details that feel a little off in certain chapters. I plan to go back and review the translations and make edits sometime next month. I’ll do my best to keep the translation as faithful and readable as possible. Please keep in mind that Chinese isn’t my first language, and I rely on translation tools and AI to help with the drafts before editing them for clarity and flow.

Lastly, I’ll try to reply to comments whenever I have time! Thank you again for reading and supporting my translations —it truly means a lot. 💕