strictlysupreme Chapter 137 Returning to the Countryside
Chapter 137 Returning to the Countryside
The girl's dark eyes were clear, yet they also revealed an undeniable stubbornness.
Lu Zhiheng had no choice but to give up and let Chu Qingyin feed him porridge spoonful by spoonful.
The two sat very close together, and the room was eerily quiet, with only the clinking of bowls and spoons.
Thank you.
After finishing a bowl of porridge, Lu Zhiheng was already half full. He was injured and it was really not advisable for him to eat too much.
In the following days, the two settled down at the farmer's house. Since Brother Liu usually went into the mountains to hunt, only the three of them stayed at home.
Chu Qingyin felt bad about eating and staying there for free, so she helped Sister-in-law Amei with some housework that she could manage.
That afternoon, two women were drying freshly picked medicinal herbs in the yard, the dust kicked up by the herbs dancing in the sunlight.
"Yinyin, you two aren't actually siblings, are you?" Amei said with a smile, her eyes filled with a hint of teasing as she looked at Chu Qingyin.
Chu Qingyin was removing weeds from the medicinal herbs when she heard this and paused in her busy work.
Looking at Amei's expectant and sincere gaze, she remained silent for a moment before nodding and saying, "Amei, I didn't mean to hide it before."
She buried her head so deep that her voice was barely audible, a feeling of frustration welling up inside her.
These past few days, Brother Liu and his companion have been extremely attentive to them, giving them all the best things.
I felt guilty for still deceiving them.
"Hey, what's the big deal? We know you have concerns." The woman nonchalantly tossed the winnowing basket around, her hands and feet deftly kicking up clouds of dust.
"Did you have a fight with your family? Or do they not approve of your marriage? Is that why you ran away?" She put down her work, unable to contain her gossip, dusted off her apron and squatted down next to Chu Qingyin.
Before Chu Qingyin could answer, the other person sighed again and said to himself, "I think you and that Young Master Lu are a perfect match. What's that word again?"
Sister-in-law Amei looked up as if in deep thought, then suddenly realized and said, "Ah, right, they are a perfect match!"
"Sister-in-law Amei, Brother Lu and I don't have the kind of relationship you're thinking of." Chu Qingyin blushed, not expecting her concealment to cause such a misunderstanding.
"Don't deny it. I can tell that Young Master Lu is quite fond of you. He was injured like that to protect you, wasn't he?"
The woman squinted and winked at her, saying, "This young master is handsome, but judging from his temperament, he's a reliable and honest person. Yinyin, you'd better seize this opportunity!"
Chu Qingyin was slightly embarrassed and quickly waved her hand to explain, "Sister-in-law Amei, it's really not like that, you've misunderstood."
Sister-in-law Amei didn't believe it and teased with a smile, "Are you shy, girl? I've been through this before, I see things very clearly."
Chu Qingyin sighed helplessly. Unexpectedly, when she looked up, she saw a tall, gray-blue figure leaning against the door frame.
Under the bright summer sun, the handsome man crossed his arms in front of his chest. Because of his lazy, reclining posture, he no longer had the meticulous and serious look he usually had in the court. Instead, he exuded a bit of casualness and laziness.
He was wearing Brother Liu's old clothes, with a large section of his ankles showing, which looked somewhat comical, but even so, it couldn't hide the noble air emanating from him.
Even though Chu Qingyin harbored resentment towards Lu Zhiheng, she had to admit that fate had indeed shown extraordinary favor to this man.
Not only did it give him a clever and wise mind, but it also gave him such a handsome and refined appearance.
Despite her inner grumbling, once she came to her senses, Chu Qingyin immediately put down her work, dusted off her hands, and stood up. "Why are you up?"
I don't know when she arrived, or how much of what she said to Sister-in-law Amei he actually heard.
"I've been lying down for five or six days, and I really can't stay in bed any longer. Let me get up and walk around a bit." Lu Zhiheng smiled. He has always been in excellent physical condition, and the wound on his back has already scabbed over, but it still aches a little.
"That won't do!" Chu Qingyin frowned. "As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. You've only been lying down for five or six days. How can you expect to heal properly?"
"Look how concerned you are. Even after all this, you still say you don't like him." Sister-in-law Amei kept working and winked at her.
"Sister-in-law, my sister is very shy, so please don't tease her." Lu Zhiheng smiled slightly and stepped forward to help dry the herbs.
"Lu...you...how could you get involved with Sister-in-law Mei too..."
When Chu Qingyin heard him say such a thing, her eyes widened in surprise. How come she never knew that Lu Zhiheng could be so shameless and flirtatious? Wasn't this just blatantly taking advantage of her?
When the man saw her wide-eyed stare, looking like a cat with its fur standing on end, the corners of his thin lips couldn't help but curl up even higher.
He didn't reply to her, but instead picked up the herbs he had gathered from the ground and put them on the rack to dry. Then he looked at Amei and asked, "Sister-in-law, are you going to take all these herbs to town to sell?"
"Yes, my son is studying at the academy, and the tuition fees each year cost a lot of money." When talking about her son, Sister Mei couldn't hide the smile in her eyes.
She squinted, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes spreading out like a fish tail, radiating warmth. "Speaking of which, my child should be about the same age as Yinyin. He's already a student of the first level of the imperial examination, and next year he'll be a scholar of the second level."
"This is a good thing."
Lu Zhiheng said, "Once he passes the imperial examination and enters the capital to serve in the government, the two of you won't have to work so hard anymore."
Aunt Mei laughed and said, "Oh, we don't care about fame or fortune. My husband and I only ask that he can support himself. We don't ask that he become rich and famous."
Despite saying that, she couldn't help but proudly raise her chin and say, "But my son is the most filial and intelligent. In all the surrounding villages, he is the most learned."
Lu Zhiheng agreed, and while sorting the medicinal herbs, he chatted with her casually.
Chu Qingyin gazed at this scene against the light, and her movements involuntarily slowed down.
The man before her was none other than the powerful Grand Secretary of Daqing, known among the people as the Iron-Faced King of Hell, and the enemy of her entire Chu family.
But at this moment, he was in the countryside, chatting and laughing with a peasant woman, his attitude gentle and unassuming, as if all his fierceness had vanished. At this moment, he was just a young man from the countryside, radiant and dazzling, making people unable to look away.
I don't know how long we talked, but then I heard footsteps outside the door.
It turned out that Brother Liu had returned from hunting.
He carried a wild rabbit, his face beaming with the joy of his catch. "Amei, look what good stuff I caught today!"
Sister-in-law Amei got up to greet them, took the rabbit, and said with a smile, "Honey, you're amazing! Yinyin and Young Master Lu are in for a treat tonight."
After saying that, she picked up the plump wild rabbit and went to the backyard to prepare the rabbit meat.
When Brother Liu saw Chu Qingyin, he greeted her with a smile, "Little Yinyin, what have you been up to today?"
Chu Qingyin looked up and replied with a smile, "Brother Liu, I'm helping Sister-in-law Amei organize the medicinal herbs."
Brother Liu nodded, his gaze unconsciously drifting to Lu Zhiheng, who was helping out from the side. The more he looked, the more he felt the two were a perfect match.
At night, the moon rises above the treetops, and a cool breeze blows.
The aroma of food filled the farmer's courtyard. Brother Liu skillfully processed the wild rabbit, while Lu Zhiheng helped out. Sister-in-law Amei was busy by the stove, the firelight illuminating her face.
Chu Qingyin was momentarily dazed as she watched this scene.
There was a time when she also wanted to live such a life with Pei Yuanling, not seeking wealth, but only peace and safety, having a son and a daughter, enjoying the simple joys of spring blossoms and autumn moons, and spending the rest of her life together.
Unfortunately, he was a prince, and even if he married her, he could only do so as a concubine. He could not give her a lifetime of love and exclusive affection.
In the end, their child died, their family was raided, and their brother went to prison.
Even she was poisoned to death in the cold palace...
"What are you thinking about? Come and eat."
The man's handsome face suddenly loomed large before her eyes, his deep, dark eyes reflecting the light of the campfire, faintly revealing a hint of dark inquiry.
Chu Qingyin snapped back to reality. She shook her head to dispel those emotions and forced a smile: "Okay, I'm coming."