Alas, Qiu Su was unaware that even greater losses were yet to come.
"My lady," Pei Yuan tugged at the red silk in his hand, "Are you perhaps hungry? Why are you staring at the table?"
She wasn't hungry, but seeing Magistrate Qin clinking glasses with several wealthy men, she had a feeling she was going to lose money today. Don't ask why; a woman's intuition is sometimes as accurate as the ring finger of the enlightened monk Wudao at the Buddhist Temple in the west of the city—it's always right.
As the chieftain of Qingfeng Village, Qiu Su hadn't explicitly stated whether this marriage was a wedding or a bride-to-be ceremony, and no one asked. In the front hall, she was allowed to leave her veil unattended. At this moment, seeing her inch closer to Pei Yuan, and glancing at the yellow peaches bestowed upon her by Granny Liu, who was considered incredibly lucky by everyone down the mountain, she whispered, "Is there a major flood down the mountain?"
Pei Yuan frowned. "I haven't heard of it."
"A locust plague?"
Pei Yuan smiled, "My wife, have we experienced drought in the past few years? Besides, locust plagues usually occur in the summer and autumn."
Qiu Su frowned, about to ask again, when she heard the old woman laugh and raise her voice, "Oh, so the young lady and the new son-in-law can't wait any longer and are already talking? Are they in a hurry to go to the bridal chamber?"
The crowd burst into laughter, and even the mountain lord, who was sitting at the feet of the main seat with a red silk flower on his head, barked twice with delight.
Okay, she didn't actually say anything. Qiu Su was speechless.
Pei Yuan smiled and looked surprised, as if to say, "You figured it out!"
"Alright, everyone, stop for a moment. Although Miss Liu is free-spirited and not an ordinary person, she still needs to observe proper etiquette. Let's perform the formalities first before we have a good meal and drink." Granny Liu said in a drawn-out tone.
Magistrate Qin volunteered to be the master of ceremonies and, at the urging of Granny Liu, ascended the platform. Qiu Su had no parents; the seat of honor was occupied by He Xu and his wife, in a slightly off-center position, and they did not receive the full ceremony. He Xu had been by Qiu Su's side since she was a toddler. He was usually quiet, but whenever Qiu Su got into trouble, he was the one who came down the mountain to resolve it. He was widely recognized as the strategist of Qingfeng Village, and Qiu Su considered him family. Furthermore, since Qiu Su had been raised by Aunt He and Sister-in-law Zhou, it was normal for He Xu and his wife to sit in the highest position.
As the county magistrate, he naturally exuded an air of authority. He stepped onto the platform and made a soothing gesture with both hands, which immediately quieted down the brothers and others in the village below.
Magistrate Qin chuckled as he stroked his goat-tail-like mustache, straightened his sleeves, and then walked over to the newlyweds.
"Miss Qiu? How come Miss Qiu has already married? Didn't you say you would wait for me to return from the imperial examination?" A male voice came from outside the hall, and Qiu Su narrowed her eyes.
"Miss Qiu!" A scholar carrying a book basket and dressed in a coarse blue robe grabbed the arm of Ruan Hu, who was blocking the road, and shouted to Qiu Su, "Miss Qiu, I haven't been able to spend the fifty taels of silver you gave me. I still keep it close to my body. I finally understand what you meant back then and appreciate your good intentions."
Pei Yuan glanced at Qiu Su, a smirk playing on his lips, which inexplicably made Qiu Su feel awkward, as if she had been caught cheating.
Qiu Su waved her hand, "Please, Young Master Lu, take a seat and have some drinks."
Ruan Hu beckoned to another person, who then flanked the scholar and placed him at the table in the far corner. Ruan Hu put one leg on a stool, said nothing, and just smirked at the scholar with one corner of his mouth twitching as if his leg was cramping. The scholar was a clever man. Seeing his posture, he pointed at Qiu Su and said softly in a consultative tone, "I've come to discuss marriage with Miss Qiu."
Ruan Hu remained silent, but his legs trembled even more violently.
The scholar glanced at the legs, pressed his forehead with his sleeve, and cleverly picked up a pair of chopsticks to eat. Ruan Hu shrugged and walked away. The scholar quickly got up, but before he could utter a sound, another person appeared in front of him in a flash.
Ruan Hu sat down opposite him and said with a smile, "Miss asked me to accompany Young Master Lu for drinks."
The scholar was quite moved after a moment's thought. "She actually remembered my name. Alas, I shouldn't have looked down on her just because she was the master of Qingyuan Mountain. I hope it's not too late."
Little did Qiu Su know that she had a deep impression of him because she had once held onto the naked man's two white legs and untied him from the rope. It had taken quite a bit of effort, and she had almost touched a certain forbidden fleshy creature while being kicked and punched. That was the first time Qiu Su had touched a man's flesh, his legs still covered in fine hair, and the man had a detached look on his face, as if he had come and gone naked without any ties.
Ruan Hu narrowed his eyes and explained kindly, "It seems that Young Master Lu has come to the wrong person." As he spoke, he whistled and called out "Mountain Lord".
The mountain lord was squatting and waiting to see Qiu Su bow. Seeing that the two bowed and it wasn't very interesting, he was about to go to the banquet to find some meat when he heard Ruan Hu whistle. He ran over happily, squatted down in front of him, and wagged his tail.
Ruan Hu pointed at the scholar and said, "Mountain Master, someone is looking for you."
The mountain lord turned to look at the scholar, his gaze earnest. The scholar glanced at the mountain lord's wet, black lips and the sharp teeth hidden behind them, then quickly picked up his chopsticks again and buried his head in his food, his expression sorrowful.
Qin Qin, sitting at a table not far away, kept looking up, searching for someone. Although she was angry that time, after thinking about it, she realized she had indeed done something wrong; she shouldn't have reopened someone else's wounds for her own sake. But now that Qiu Su was officially married, things were naturally different. If He Zhuo could turn his gaze to her, that would be good. If he couldn't see her, she would appear in front of him from time to time until he noticed her.
Qin Qin searched several times, only to be utterly disappointed. She didn't know where He Zhuo was, but she was certain he wasn't sitting at this banquet.
The other side had already exchanged greetings under the supervision of Magistrate Qin. Pei Yuan accepted the red silk and led Qiu Su to offer a toast. Magistrate Qin took the initiative to lead Qiu Su to his table and even moved her to the side, having two chairs added next to her.
With the county magistrate being so hospitable, Qiu Su naturally had to reciprocate. She raised her cup, inviting the others to make themselves at home, and sat down next to Pei Yuan. But after only one drink, Magistrate Qin put down his cup, rubbed his hands, frowned, and sighed, "Miss Qiu, it hailed down the mountain last night."
"Huh? Why didn't we encounter them at Qingfeng Village?"
"Yes, yes." Magistrate Qin glanced at Qiu Su, then sighed and said, "That's why Qingfeng Village has excellent feng shui, protecting the small thousand households in Youping City from the hailstorm. Cough cough, but that thousand acres of fertile land outside the east city, it was destroyed."
Pingcheng is a mountainous area, built against the mountains, with the plains only to the east. Most of Pingcheng's farmland is located to the east of the city. In late spring, when the wheat is just beginning to fill out, this situation is truly dire, extremely dire. Qiu Su immediately thought of the grain stores at the foot of the mountain, and could almost see the terrifying scene of Magistrate Qin leading the city's residents to receive free grain.
Magistrate Qin looked at the bride, who was standing silently with her eyes down, and pointed to the artificial hill still placed in the courtyard outside the main hall. “Miss Qiu cares about the people and relieves their suffering. This artificial hill was carved out by the people at the foot of the mountain and sent to me by the officials. They said that Miss Qiu deserves the title of ‘generous and righteous.’ Oh, and here is also a letter of thanks from the people. They asked me to bring Miss Qiu here.”
Qiu Su glanced at the stack of cheap white paper stained with ink and bloody fingerprints, barely managing to suppress the twitching in her jaw. She knew it! She knew there was ulterior motive behind sending gifts twice! She knew it all along! Not only had they taken even the money for a stone, but they were also planning to make things worse. She wondered why he brought fifteen or sixteen constables to a wedding; even catching thieves wouldn't require this kind of entourage. Turns out, he was preparing to carry an equal weight of silver down the mountain! How could she possibly know such a treacherous and inhumane magistrate?
Pei Yuan kicked Qiu Su, who was chewing her teeth under the table, and smiled at Magistrate Qin, who was staring at Qiu Su.
Qiu Su looked up, her lips twitching as if in a spasm, "But..."
"Good!" Magistrate Qin clapped his hands, and the yamen runners cheered. The mountain lord, who had been sitting and watching the scholar eat his rice, was so surprised that he stood up and ran over to bark twice.
"Very good! Miss Qiu is indeed the leader of the village, so straightforward and generous. On behalf of the people of the village, I would like to offer Miss Qiu a toast."
What did she say? She just wanted to say that in Qingfeng Village, a few shops were barely enough to support the hundred or so people on the mountain. Qiu Su's lips trembled; she felt like crying.
Seeing that Qiu Su hadn't raised her glass for a while, Pei Yuan picked up a glass and placed it in her hand, then took her hand and clinked glasses with Magistrate Qin. Magistrate Qin didn't mind; after all, drinking this wine meant that most of the matter was settled.
"The Autumn Maiden is noble and righteous, protecting the people of Pingcheng from famine. This act will surely be recorded in the county annals and be remembered for all time."
A bailiff at another table raised his voice and said, "It won't just be remembered for eternity; the people will also erect a monument in commemoration."
Qiu Su's heart ached even more. She had given money, given grain, given herself. So young, yet destined to be etched on a stone tablet, to be buried alongside the dead—how tragic! Utterly tragic!
Pei Yuan looked at Qiu Suxiao, kicked her again, and whispered in her ear, "My wife is so engrossed in wanting her husband to cover himself with a light veil?"
Qiu Su's lips twitched, and she looked up and smiled at Magistrate Qin. This smile relieved Magistrate Qin, who raised his glass with a smile and said, "I wish Miss Qiu and her new son-in-law a long and happy marriage and many children."
So, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely! Oh, I forgot to mention, that "host" was the mountain lord who ate so many bones that he burped.