Meanwhile, on the gravel road and seated in an oxcart, Susan was all smiles as she padded the huge cushion repeatedly while making sure that everything was okay with it, in terms of comfort.
"Aren't you afraid that you might end up damaging it the more you do that?" a hoarse male voice sounded forcing Susan to raise her head in the direction where the man had spoken and smiled.
"Dear, you know, Calista. If there is a slight change in the cushion, she would be complaining for five hours. Are you sure that you want to hear her nagging today?" Susan stated with a smile as she looked slyly at the man she had just called intimately.
When the man heard that, he involuntarily shivered as he recalled how Calista was a demoness at times.
"I guess you should carefully look at it. We wouldn't want such a thing happening, after all!" he hurriedly acquiesced.
"Pft~" Upon hearing the answer she was expecting, Susan burst into a peal of laughter finding the man she had married into her family for three to four years very interesting, and cute.
"Dear, you are having fun in your husband's misery?" Susan's husband complained in a wronged voice upon seeing his wife laughing at him again.
"Frank … hahaha…. Dear, you are still afraid of her even after so many years? Haha, tell me, how do you even fetch water for her with some fear like that?" Susan couldn't help but laugh heartily at how cowardly her husband tended to be whenever Calista was involved.
"Umph. I only carry it to the hill and leave. What is tough about that?" he retorted shamelessly as he guided the cow that was pulling the cart.
"Haha. Indeed, how tough could it be?" Susan was all teary as she laughed her heart out.
"Fine. Stop laughing at me. You are attracting the villagers already!" Frank coaxed in a whisper afraid that some gossipmongers in the villagers might hear his words.
When Susan heard that, her eyes narrowed as she scanned which villagers were already out of their homes when no one was even farming.
They finished harvesting three weeks ago. And the only people who had something to do were those with gardens. As vegetables could be grown throughout the year, those who had some fields to spare, planted vegetables.
So, at the moment, it wasn't the time when people would just wake up, change and start roaming around. Unless those people were story-hungry, they should be at home cooking for their families and doing house chores.
When she saw the few villagers who were walking, her narrowed eyes went back to normal. All of them weren't the group of gossipmongers she was looking for. They owned gardens, which was probably why they were out so early in the morning.
"I will just mind my words then, just in case I slip and say the wrong words!" Susan turned her focus to her husband before promising him.
When Frank heard that, he sighed with relief. The village was filled with all sorts of strange and shameless people. These people would talk about anything as long as they felt like it.
It was even worse for Calista who wasn't loved when she first married into the Green family, making her the first co-wife in the history of eight districts. Life was already difficult to take care of one wife and children, so why should a man marry a second one or third?
And yet, ten years ago, that happened in a poor village. A man married a girl half his age, and he pampered her so much as if he was bewitched by a charm. It was a sensation back then and everyone knew her.
Even now with her husband dead and gone, Frank had witnessed firsthand how the villagers were still not fully fond of her and at times they would attack her verbally.
It was fortunate that Calista was strong and knew how to hold her ground, otherwise she would have followed her late husband and be history.
Calista was associated with his wife, so he was afraid that she would be attacked and be implicated by Calista though he had always known that Calista was a good person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten a chance to marry and be with the woman of his dreams.
Nevertheless, he didn't want to see his wife being targeted because of the words she had spoken, so he reminded her to be careful.
The couple immediately dropped that topic and began to talk about what they would be doing when they reached town.
With them talking harmoniously, it wasn't long until they were at the bottom of the hill, waiting for Calista to descend.
"I wonder what she would be wearing today?" Susan wondered out loud as her gaze remained locked on the path that one needs to take to go up and down the hill.
"Something fancy as usual."
"Alas, she always knows how to attract hate, doesn't she?"
"Is not like she is using their money. Besides, don't we both know how she earns every coin she spends crazily like that?" Frank asked as he responded.
"Even if we know, that won't stop others from talking," she sighed helplessly at the thought of people continuously throwing stones at Calista without understanding her as a person and not just the Calista who nearly wrecked a marriage.
Hearing her indignant sigh, Frank understood her bitterness.
Calista was a good person and a very charitable person to make things sweeter. Most villagers had never tried for a second to see her for who she was but always thought of the person everyone hated secretly and openly when John decided to marry her.
They don't see the goodness buried deep down in her heart and the many good things she had done without taking credit for in the past decade.
Unfortunately, only a few of them knew. Otherwise, wouldn't everyone be revering her and worshipping her crazily to grab some of that luck?