Heating Water for a Bath

Helen Parker was still unwilling to give up. She was plotting to sell Lily Evans for silver. Such a pretty and lively girl, even if she wasn’t a virgin anymore, could still fetch a good price.

Grandma Evans was just as reluctant to let the money slip away. She exchanged a glance with Helen Parker, both thinking that once things quieted down, they could secretly tie Lily up and sell her to a brothel far away.

Lily Evans saw right through their dirty schemes. She addressed the Village Chief and the villagers: "Helen Parker wants to sell me or marry me off, everyone knows that. If I ever go missing, it’s because the Evans Family secretly kidnapped and sold me. You all can go straight to the Evans Family to demand me back. Clearwater Village has always had a good reputation—let’s not let a couple of human traffickers ruin it and make other villages think we’re a den of kidnappers."

Human traffickers are hated by all. If something really happened, no one would dare deal with Clearwater Village again. The Village Chief immediately glared fiercely at Grandma Evans and Helen Parker: "Did you hear that? Lily is married now. No matter what you’re scheming, if you dare break the law and kidnap anyone, I’ll kick your whole family out of the village. Clearwater Village doesn’t tolerate immoral traffickers!"

Grandma Evans knew that if she got the reputation of a human trafficker, her eldest grandson’s future would be ruined. She quickly said, "Helen only wanted to find Lily a match, but since Lily is married now, we won’t look for another husband for her. Let’s just drop the matter."

"Alright, everyone heard Grandma Evans’s promise. If anything happens to Lily, we’ll go straight to the Evans Family. Enough, let’s disperse and get back to work." The Village Chief was tired of the women’s bickering. Since the Evans Family promised not to sell Lily anymore, digging further into the matter would only harm the village’s reputation, so he waved everyone off.

Margaret Evans watched the crowd disperse, her legs still shaky. Lily helped her back to the inner room to lie down, comforting her: "Mom, don’t take what outsiders say to heart. I’ll make sure you live a good life from now on."

Margaret Evans looked at Lily with guilt: "It’s my bad reputation that’s dragged you down."

"I wouldn’t exist without you, Mom. If you say that again, I’ll get mad." Lily deliberately put on an angry face. "They’re only happy when we’re struggling, so let’s live our lives with a bang and make them jealous!"

Margaret Evans couldn’t help but laugh: "Alright, alright, I won’t say it anymore."

After soothing Margaret Evans to sleep, Lily Evans left the room, only to see Lucky squatting at the doorway, eagerly waiting for her.

"Wife, I’ve chopped all the firewood!" Lucky grinned widely as soon as Lily came out. Honestly, Lucky was really handsome—his smile could make any girl’s heart flutter.

Lily went to the backyard to check, and sure enough, there was a neatly stacked pile of firewood. For Lily and Margaret, it would have taken four or five days to chop that much, but Lucky finished in less than half an hour.

Having a strong man in the house really made a difference.

Lucky was still wearing the same shirt he’d arrived in, though now it was covered in dust and dirt, making it hard to tell what it originally looked like.

By now, Lucky was sweating, his cheeks flushed. Lily looked into his innocent eyes and smiled, "Lucky, I’ll boil some water so you can take a bath."

Lily turned to the kitchen to boil water, and Lucky followed her around like a little tail, helping to stoke the fire and carry water.

The Evans house had two big wooden water buckets. Normally, Lily had to use all her strength to lift just one, but Lucky easily picked up both buckets, full of water, as if it was nothing.

There was an old bath tub in the Evans family’s woodshed. Lily had Lucky pour in the bath water while she bent down to tidy things up, reminding him, "Lucky, wash up nicely on your own, okay? I’ve put clean clothes, a towel, and soapberry on the chair for you."

Behind her, Lucky’s eager voice answered, and when Lily turned around after tidying up, she was greeted by a well-built, muscular male body—so fit it was almost explosive. And naked...