After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 61 Big misunderstanding
Lin Yunche thought he had misheard. He patted his face and found that Du Huan was indeed still in his bed. Then, with a dark expression, he said, "Get out!"

Du Huan suddenly became anxious, grabbed Lin Yunche's blanket, and tearfully recounted what he had experienced in the past two days.

"Brother Lin, if you don't take me in, I'm afraid I'll freeze to death here in this snowy mountain today."

Lin Yunche's lips twitched slightly, and he finally gave in. He gave up his room and went to his parents' room next door. Fortunately, his parents were sleeping on the snow mountain today, and the room was empty.

After Lin Yunche finished preparing everything, he went back to sleep.

Not long after, he sensed movement in his room. He listened intently to the sounds inside, his whole body ready to defend itself. But to his surprise, the other person didn't attack him; instead, they simply lifted the corner of his blanket and crawled in.

Lin Yunche growled, "What are you doing!"

Du Huan trembled, his upper and lower teeth chattering as he exhaled frosty breaths. "Brother Lin, it's too cold. I can't sleep without you!"

After saying that, Du Huan moved closer to Lin Yunche, who froze in place. "Du Huan!"

"Hmm?" Du Huan responded softly.

"Get out of here! Get out now!" Lin Yunche practically roared as he kicked Du Huan out of the room.

Du Huan, feeling wronged, wrapped himself in the blanket and returned to his bed, constantly exhaling frosty breaths. Lin Yunche, speechless, brought in the pot from the kitchen and lit some firewood for him.

With the firelight, Du Huan felt much warmer. Lin Yunche frowned. "Now you can sleep well, right?"

Du Huan nodded vigorously, then plopped back down on the bed and fell asleep soon after. His previously furrowed brows and curled-up body gradually relaxed.

"She really has a delicate body." Lin Yunche glanced at her, then returned to the next room and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Lin's father and mother brought their daughter down from the snow-capped mountain.

As soon as Cui entered the house, she went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the family. But when she got to the kitchen, she was dumbfounded. The place where the iron pot was placed on the stove was now empty, with only a hole left.

Cui sighed inwardly, "Although we haven't found any top-grade medicinal herbs like snow lotus these past two days, the household chores have reached the point where we need to sell our iron pots."

Seeing Cui Shi standing there muttering to herself, Lin Feiyun walked over and was stunned when she glanced at the stove.

"Damn it, our family is bankrupt? Why are we selling everything we own? Is this... a sign of breaking up the business?" Lin Feiyun said.

Cui instantly switched to battle mode, "It must be that brat Da Tou, I wonder if he's gotten himself into some big trouble." With that, she grabbed a kitchen knife and stormed towards Lin Yunche's room.

But as soon as she entered the door, Cui saw the iron pot on the ground, with burnt wood ash inside. "Hey! This kid is using her precious pot as a stove. When did he become so fussy!"

Just as Cui was cursing, Da Niu came running over, panting, "Mom! Mom! Make an extra breakfast later!"

"Hmm?" Cui asked in confusion. A moment later, Lin Feiyun ran over. "Madam, do you want to make an extra breakfast? We have guests, and there's an extra horse in the backyard!"

Not to be outdone, Da Niu chimed in, "Big Head Brother and Sister-in-law are sleeping in Mom and Dad's room right now!"

Da Niu laughed excitedly, Lin Feiyun laughed awkwardly, only Cui Shi blushed, "This brat, even though he's engaged, he can't be so irresponsible towards the girl! I'll teach him a lesson!"

After saying that, Cui took the kitchen knife and went to the door next door. Da Niu saw her mother suddenly stop and couldn't help but ask, "Mom, didn't you say you were going to teach Big Head a lesson? Why aren't you going in?"

Cui leaned down and whispered in Da Niu's ear, "Um... have your brother and sister-in-law put on their clothes yet?"

Da Niu shook her head, and Cui Shi immediately left. "Let's cook first! I'll cook first. Your sister-in-law will definitely be hungry when she wakes up."

"What about Big Head Brother?" Da Niu asked, never one to miss a good spectacle.

“When that kid comes out, I’ll naturally prepare another ‘feast’ for him. Da Niu, come to the kitchen and help me!” After saying that, Cui took the iron pot back to the kitchen and began to clean it. Da Niu was washing rice and also gathered a pile of firewood to start a fire later.

The noise outside woke Lin Yunche from his sleep. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he always felt that it was warmer to sleep in his parents' room.

Hu~hu~
The snoring beside him pulled Lin Yunche back to reality. Wait! Who's in his bed?

Lin Yunche instinctively kicked the person next to him, and a scream echoed throughout the Lin family.

So frightened was Cui that she dropped the iron spoon in her hand, and Lin Feiyun, who was feeding the horses in the backyard, also ran out in terror.

"Madam, this..." Lin Feiyun was also more flustered than ever before.

"You little brat! Did he force himself on me last night? Lin Feiyun, your Lin family really produces some talented people!" Cui was furious. Lin Feiyun said aggrievedly, "Who knows who this brat takes after? Back then, I was also..." Lin Feiyun made a gesture, unafraid of death. While the Lin couple were still tearing each other apart, the people inside came out one after another. The first one to be kicked out was Du Huan, who stood at the door with his quilt in his arms, feeling aggrieved.

Du Huan thought to himself that the heater was useful last night, but he woke up from the cold after only a short while. He didn't know how to start a fire, and he tossed and turned, unable to fall back asleep because of the cold. That's why he went to Lin Yunche's room to warm up. He didn't expect Brother Lin to be so furious.

Du Huan still looked resentful, but the Lin couple in the kitchen were completely unable to remain calm.

"Big Head Aunt, am I seeing things? This... isn't that girl from the Bai family, is it?" Lin Feiyun shook his head, blinked carefully, and what appeared before him was indeed a rare sight.

Mrs. Cui was also stunned. "Heavens! When did our son develop such heavy tastes? You wait, I'll break his legs right now."

Da Niu looked up at her parents with a sweet and innocent expression. She didn't know why they were so angry. Although it wasn't the handsome older brother from last time, this brother was still quite good-looking! Did Da Niu have a new sister-in-law?

When Lin Yunche came out with a dark expression, Cui Shi was already approaching with a knife in hand. Lin Yunche jumped in surprise, "Mother, what are you doing?"

Without a word, Cui swung her sword directly at Lin Yunche, yelling, "I'll teach you to be so disobedient! You're not a proper man anymore, what are you trying to do! How can you face your father and me!"

Lin Yunche then realized that his parents had misunderstood him and Du Huan.

Upon hearing these suggestive words and witnessing the scene just now, Du Huan felt that it was indeed easy for people to misunderstand, and blushed appropriately.

"Mother, you've misunderstood! Brother Du and I are friends, it's not what you think," Lin Yunche explained as he dodged.

But Cui wouldn't listen to him. "I misunderstood. Look at him, his face is as red as a monkey's bottom. How could I have misunderstood?"

Lin Yunche turned his head and glanced at Du Huan, almost fainting from anger.

"Auntie, you've misunderstood. Lin and I have nothing. I have a woman I like!" This farce finally ended with Du Huan's explanation.

Only then did the Lin couple learn of Du Huan's ordeal.

"So what are your plans now? You can't stay at our house forever, can you?" Lin Yunche really didn't want to stay with this young master anymore, so he asked.

Du Huan's eyes darkened. "I really have nowhere to go right now. I can't go back to the county. My aunt will arrest me and take me back. Brother Lin, could you please let me stay a little longer?"

Lin Yunche gritted his teeth and said, "No!"

Du Huan frowned, which made Cui Shi at the dinner table feel a little soft-hearted. "Uh, Young Master Du, if you don't mind, why don't you stay at our house on the snow mountain? It's remote and not easily found by ordinary people."

"Mother!" Lin Yunche tried to stop her, but Cui whispered in his ear, "This is your future relative. Now that she's in some trouble, we have to lend a hand!"

Lin Yunche's attempt to stop him failed, and Du Huan was able to stay. But the next second, Lin Yunche realized that he had been too soft-hearted.

"Brother Lin, I haven't bathed for four or five days. Where do you bathe?" Du Huan sniffed his own body and frowned as he asked.

Lin Yunche rolled his eyes. "Everyone says that women and petty men are hard to deal with, but I didn't expect that the young master would be so hard to deal with too!"

Du Huan smiled good-naturedly. After all, he was living under someone else's roof, so he couldn't expect too much.

Resigned to his fate, Lin Yunche moved a wooden tub from the backyard, then lit a fire in the kitchen and boiled most of the tub of hot water for Du Huan. Du Huan took a good bath in Lin Yunche's room and only then did he feel alive again.

"Brother Lin, are you going to the county town today? Please send a message to Furong for me, I'm afraid she'll worry!" Du Huan's mind was filled with thoughts of Furong; he hadn't heard from her for several days and missed her terribly.

Lin Yunche shook his head, saying with some anger, "I'm not going!"

Du Huan was completely baffled. Had Brother Lin quarreled with Miss Bai? He couldn't help but recall Lin Yunche's early departure earlier. At the time, he had assumed that Lin Yunche had something to do and left first, but now it seemed that was not the case.

“Alright! If you’re not going, I will! I’ll go with Aunt Lin to find a place to stay, and then I’ll go!” Du Huan said, and followed Cui and the others up the mountain.

Lin Yunche wanted to memorize an article in the room, but he just couldn't concentrate.

"That woman really doesn't care about herself at all. She hasn't shown her face since she came back. She's a bad person! She's a bad person!" Lin Yunche thought to himself, while feeling somewhat envious of Du Huan's honesty.

It is said that Du Huan went up the mountain with Cui Shi and suffered a great injustice.

"Auntie! Is it really possible to live on this snow mountain?" Du Huan looked at the endless expanse of white snow around him, his heart filled with despair.

(End of this chapter)