How could someone be unhappy living in a matriarchal society?

Chapter 8 Shi An is Jealous

Shi An got up and washed up as usual. Looking in the dim bronze mirror in the room, she used the wooden hairpin she had received the night before to style her hair.

He was a little embarrassed when he pushed open the door and went out.

After all, it was the first gift Chu Ci had given him; he wondered what she would say when she saw it.

With a mix of anticipation and trepidation, Shi An went outside.

However, as soon as he looked up, his heart sank and his face turned much paler.

Not far away, Chu Ci was talking to a tall, handsome young man. The two seemed to be having a good time, both with smiles on their faces.

Shi An watched for a while, then felt a slight pain in her chest and gritted her teeth as she returned to the house.

But halfway there, he remembered that he was Chu Ci's lawfully wedded husband, and suddenly felt confident. He immediately took small steps to Chu Ci's side and obediently called her "wife".

Li Yu, who had dressed up specially for the occasion, froze for a moment when she saw Shi An's outstanding appearance, but quickly recovered and even took the initiative to start a conversation.

"This must be your new husband, sister. He's so handsome."

Chu Ci nodded and pulled Shi An in front of her. "Yes, my husband's name is Shi An. Shi An, this is Li Yu, the son of Li Da from our village. He lives at the entrance of the village."

Shi An glanced shyly at Chu Ci before greeting Li Yu, "Hello, I'm Shi An. Nice to meet you."

Li Yu responded generously, "Hello brother, we can get together more often when we have time, and we'll gradually become familiar with each other."

"Ah."

Even though Shi An didn't like him very much, seeing his good attitude, she felt a little less resentful.

Suddenly, Li Yu seemed to remember something and turned to Chu Ci.

"Oh, by the way, Sister Chu, I didn't come to your wedding. Is it too late to say congratulations now?"

Chu Ci waved her hand, "It's not too late, it's not too late. You've put your heart into it, which is better than your sister's."

When Li Ziang was mentioned, Li Yu said helplessly, "My sister has been a troublemaker since she was a child, so please don't hold it against her. I apologize to you on her behalf."

"No need, I've already made her pay the price in my own way."

Li Yu certainly knew what Chu Ci was talking about, after all, his sister's leg was still lame.

So he just smiled and didn't say anything.

Shi An was unaware of the relationship between Li Yu and Li Zi'ang, and asked in confusion, "What happened?"

Chu Ci patiently explained to him, "The woman who kicked down our door last time was his sister."

"what!"

Shi An was surprised for a moment, then looked at Li Yu with a somewhat ambiguous expression.

"So she's your older sister. You two don't look alike, I didn't recognize her."

The man opposite lowered his head slightly, looking somewhat disappointed. "I'm really sorry to have caused you trouble."

Chu Ci didn't seem to mind. "It's alright. I don't know how your family raised you. You and your sister are completely different."

Li Yu smiled slightly after hearing this and took out a plate of pastries from the basket she was carrying. "I just made these this morning. You can have them."

"I can't accept this," Chu Ci declined.

"Take it. I made it especially for you... It's all my sister's fault. Didn't she say the door was broken? Consider this compensation."

“This…” Chu Ci accepted the pastry that was being stuffed into her hand. “Then thank you.”

Li Yu shook her head, "You're welcome. I'm going home now; I still need to make breakfast for my family."

"Okay, be careful on your way back."

"Ah."

After seeing Li Yu off, Chu Ci placed the pastries on the dining table and waved to her husband with a smile.

"Shi'an, come and try it, this is good stuff."

The man obediently walked over, but didn't touch the plate of pastries; instead, he started talking about other things.

"Do you remember Uncle Wu, my wife, when we ran into him while washing clothes by the river last time?"

"Well, remember, what's wrong?"

"Uncle Wu said that the person you originally wanted to marry was the younger brother from the Li family who just came over."

Chu Ci recalled that there seemed to be such a thing.

"That's true, but they didn't agree because of the bride price issue."

Shi An said "oh" and silently sat down at the table, taking small sips of porridge, but could only drink half a bowl before she couldn't drink any more.

Chu Ci frowned upon seeing this. "Why did you eat so little today?"

The man honestly replied, "I don't have much of an appetite."

"No appetite?" Chu Ci asked with some concern. "Are you sick?"

Shi An shook her head. "I'm not sick."

"Then why do you have no appetite? Is the food I cook not good?"

"No."

Chu Ci pressed on, "Then why?"

"........."

Shi An didn't know how to explain, hesitated for a moment, and then asked in a low voice.

"Um...did my wife used to...like that...young master Li?"

"Huh? What did you say?" Shi An's voice was too soft for Chu Ci to hear clearly.

Shi An bit her lip and raised her voice a little.

"My lady...do you like that young master from the Li family?"

"Huh? I don't like it. Why do you think that?"

The man looked up suspiciously after hearing this. "Really?"

Chu Ci nodded sincerely, "Really, there's nothing between us. The Li family only moved to Sanyuan Village a few years ago, and I've only met him a few times."

Although the original owner of this body did have some feelings for Li Yu, she is not interested in him now.

Shi An carefully observed Chu Ci's expression and felt much better after confirming that she wasn't lying.

It turns out they've only met a few times. He thought they were childhood sweethearts.

With the anger that had been building up in her chest dissipating somewhat, Shi An no longer found the plate of pastries so offensive.

Since it's just compensation for the apology, well... might as well take it.

Shi An picked up a piece of milk cake, smelled it, and after confirming that the taste was acceptable, she handed it to Chu Ci's lips, "My lady, you should try it first."

Chu Ci took a bite of the entire pastry, and the stray hairs on her cheek brushed against Shi An's hand, causing his fingers to tremble inexplicably.

"Hmm...it's pretty good."

"Is that so..." The man withdrew his hand, his ears itching slightly. He dared not look at Chu Ci any longer, picked up the bowl, and drank the rest of the porridge.

Chu Ci looked at him and suddenly noticed something. "You're wearing the hairpin I gave you today. It looks really good. You look good even without it, but I'm very happy. Thank you for accepting my gift."

"Hmm..." Shi An felt as if a flock of butterflies were fluttering in her heart when she heard Chu Ci's praise.

He was already a little shy, and now he dared not look up and look Chu Ci in the eye. He could only fiddle with the hem of his clothes.

Chu Ci's praise made Shi An feel flattered and a little embarrassed.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and changed the subject.

"My lady, please eat first... please... please stop talking..."

"why?"

“..............” Shi An shook his head, only continuing to put food on Chu Ci’s plate.