twenty one
21. Door-to-door syndrome...
The mountain lord successfully gave birth to three cubs, one black and two white.
Huang Tao was overjoyed, and Qiu Su allowed her to choose one first. Based on the principle of not wearing the same clothes as others, Huang Tao chose the sturdy little black one. At this time, she did not know that the little black one was male, while the two little white ones were female, nor did she know that Blue Eyes had only appeared once and had already captivated her little black one, whom she treated like her own child.
He Zhuo was also in a bad mood, and Qiu Su reluctantly let him choose one of the two little white ones. He Zhuo looked at the two little ones that hadn't opened their eyes yet, then looked at Qiu Su's still swollen lips, pointed at her and said, "I want you."
"Huh?" This is... How can someone this old act like they're having a fit of hysteria?
He Zhuo smiled and said the next moment, "Just kidding. Which one does Su Su like?"
Qiu Su blinked, turned her head to look at them, and pointed to the one with a few gray hairs on its neck, saying, "This one is good, it does have a bit of a blue-eyed look."
"I want that one."
"Huh?" This is... How can someone so old take things from her?
He Zhuo looked aggrieved, and pitifully pulled a long face, "Su Su doesn't want to part with it? Su Su said I could choose it!"
"If you're willing, then you can give it a name."
"Let's call her Susu."
"Huh?" This person is so old, how can they speak without thinking?
Pei Yuan gave a sarcastic snort and said, "The daughter-in-law of Prime Minister Pei shares a name with a dog?"
He Zhuo replied ambiguously, "It's fine as long as Su Su agrees, what's it to you?"
The two of them turned to look at Susu at the same time. "Susu, oh?"
Qiu Su was startled by the two ambiguous "Oh~" sounds emanating from her small frame. She chuckled awkwardly, put her hands behind her back, and said in a serious tone, "He Zhuo's idea is good, but it's too damaging to Qingfeng Village's image. Our Qingfeng Village's chieftain is known for his elegance and intelligence. We already have a mountain lord; we can't have another chieftain with the same name. It would be detrimental to Qingfeng Village's long-term development. Huang Tao, do you have any good ideas?"
Huang Tao looked at Xiao Hei and said, "Mine is named Dou Dou."
"Dou Dou? Dou Dou is great! Dou Dou is great! Great idea!" Qiu Su praised. "Does He Zhuo have any other ideas?"
He Zhuo shrugged. "Then let's call her Zhuo Su."
Qiu Su's lips twitched, and she immediately thought of the second half of He Zhuo's sentence—"From now on, I will call it Su Su."
Okay, there's nothing shameful about sharing a name with Xiaobai. If Xiaobai achieves great success in the future, she can even benefit from it.
Qiu Su looked at the pure white one, then at Pei Yuandao, and asked, "What about the other one?"
"Suqiu?"
Qiu Su raised her foot and gave a feint kick, "I'm serious!"
Pei Yuan's expression softened, and he said with a smile, "My wife can choose whoever she likes."
"Let's go with Xiaobai, he can write about both the divine and the realistic."
Huang Tao and He Zhuo's lips twitched in unison, and even Pei Yuan raised an eyebrow.
The unfortunate thing was that there weren't many rooms in the garden. The entire family of the owner was crammed into one room, leaving only one empty room. The dozen or so escorts naturally lit mugwort and slept outside, but Qi Xiu, Huang Tao, He Zhuo, and the others couldn't sleep in the open with the guards, so they had to make makeshift beds on the floor at the other end of the room.
Qi Xiu and He Zhuo slept at the innermost part of the house, while Huang Tao's makeshift bed was between two rooms (in houses with beams, a room was separated by wooden beams; most houses had three rooms). The location wasn't ideal, directly facing the thick beam. Farmers had a saying that sleeping under a beam could easily lead to encountering a hanged ghost at night, so Huang Tao was constantly uneasy. She would lie down for a while, then shift to one side, and when she reached the floor, she would secretly stand up and pull her makeshift bed closer to her. With each tug, the makeshift bed became quite close to the beds where Pei Yuan and Qiu Su slept.
Qiu Su originally intended for Pei Yuan and He Zhuo to sleep on the floor, while she and Huang Tao would sleep in the bed. Pei Yuan, who had planned to eat meat that evening but hadn't, was disgruntled and silently claimed a bed. Behind the bed curtains, with his eyes closed, a pair of hands were roaming over Qiu Su's body.
Qiu Su couldn't understand why Pei Yuan, who had always strictly adhered to etiquette, had suddenly become so affectionate. There had been plenty of opportunities along the way, but he hadn't shown any interest. Yet, when the Mountain Lord gave birth, he suddenly became clingy. Was he perhaps envious of the Mountain Lord having three adorable little ones?
Hmm… Qiu Su blushed and slapped the hand that had crawled onto her chest, then whispered in her ear, “Stop fooling around, people will laugh at us.”
Pei Yuan, in a fit of pique, squeezed the soft flesh in his hand, then rolled over and pinned Qiu Su beneath him. Qiu Su let out a soft moan, then abruptly covered her mouth, her eyes filled with panic as she looked at Pei Yuan, who had his eyes closed. Pei Yuan didn't do anything further, simply letting out a sigh as he half-covered her before remaining still.
Huang Tao, however, felt uneasy again. Although Qiu Su's soft moan was low, she still heard it in the quiet room. Coupled with the creaking of the bed when Pei Yuan turned over, Huang Tao was reminded, rather impurely, of the large bed in the small building on Qingyuan Mountain that had been smashed. Huang Tao started to move to another spot, pulling the mattress on the floor. After several such movements, she ended up on the side where He Zhuo was sleeping.
Huang Tao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and carefully lay down. Just as she lay down, she heard He Zhuo let out a heavy snort not far away. Huang Tao wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue at He Zhuo's back. She snorted inwardly as well, then closed her eyes.
They arrived in Kyoto at the end of the month. The weather was already scorching hot. Qiu Su had endured countless agonizing days and nights in the carriage, but when she saw the city gate, she burst into tears of joy.
"My wife is in such a hurry to go home, it pleases me greatly," Pei Yuan said teasingly, rubbing her ears with peppermint oil. Since that one time they part-timed their vegetarian meal, Pei Yuan hadn't been able to actually have his way with her. Either their living conditions wouldn't allow it, or Qiu Su was too dizzy from vomiting during the day to entertain any other thoughts. Looking back, all he'd done on the journey, besides tending to his wife's every need, hadn't really accomplished much.
The carriage stopped at the city gate. Qiu Su, with tears in her eyes, tremblingly pushed his hand away, lifted the curtain, and jumped out of the carriage. Not caring about her appearance, she ran to the foot of the city wall and started vomiting. She vomited until there was nothing left to vomit, and even bile came up.
Pei Yuan went over to help her up, gently patting her back until she recovered before saying, "If you're so afraid of carriages, won't you get even more nauseous riding a horse?"
Qiu Su was too lazy to speak, feeling that her mouth would only taste bitter. She stood for a while, leaning against the city wall, and when she saw the people in front of her starting to ride their horses into the city, she said pitifully with a bitter face, "Is it far? Why don't we walk back?"
Pei Yuan glanced at He Zhuo, who had a tense expression, not far away, and waved to the person leading the way. The leader rode over, dismounted, and bowed, saying, "This humble servant escorted the young master here and will return to the palace to report first."
"Guard Liao, you're too kind."
Most of the group left in a flash, leaving Qiu Su and her party with two coachmen. Pei Yuan arranged for them to return to the manor first. Although He Zhuo was reluctant, he remembered He Xu's instructions before leaving and went with Qi Xiu and Huang Tao first.
The capital city was indeed bustling; even stacking the two city gates of Pingcheng together wouldn't reach the height of this city wall. Inside the city, one mostly saw two-story wooden buildings, each with a prominently displayed signboard. Pei Yuan led Qiu Su by the hand, walking slowly. Qiu Su, her initial nausea subsiding, felt a pang of regret, thinking that Pei Yuan had been away for a long time, and it was inappropriate for him to be walking so slowly back from the capital.
"How about we..."
"No need, I'll show my wife the sights of the capital."
Though she claimed to be sightseeing, Qiu Su had no real interest in it. Only after arriving in the capital did she truly realize that her in-laws were right there, and the ugly daughter-in-law was about to meet her in-laws. Qiu Su's palms were sweating as she walked, her eyes constantly glancing at the women passing by on the street, then back at herself. After comparing herself several times, Qiu Su frowned and said, "Because I've been the chieftain of Qingfeng Village for so long, I've become a bit carefree. Ziqing, do you think my clothes are a little inappropriate?"
Pei Yuan turned his head to look at her, pointed his chin at her head and said, "Your hairstyle is the worst."
Qiu Su hurriedly touched her hair, frowned, and said, "Yes, we shouldn't be dressed like this. Shall we go to an inn to rest first?"