Marry a Northern Song Dynasty civil servant

Chapter 17

Her brows furrowed even more, and she unconsciously snuggled closer, finding a comfortable spot against his warm chest. She murmured, "Daddy...Mommy..." Her brows relaxed, then furrowed again, and her little mouth trembled, her voice trembling with a hint of a sob, "I miss you so much..."

Lu Ziqi looked down at the person in his arms, and his heart was gently touched.

Who is she calling out to? Such deep dependence must be from a close relative, right? At such a young age, she left her hometown alone, and he became the only person she could rely on, her family…

When I took off her coat and covered her with a blanket, my fingers accidentally touched the top of her foot.

It felt as cool as ice.

Almost instinctively, she enveloped the coolness in her warm palms. She was thin and small, just like her. However, her toes were full and round, each one like a crystal grape.

A few faint smile lines appeared at the corners of her lips. Perhaps her hand trembled slightly and tickled her. Her tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, and she grinned.

He shrank his legs and shifted his body, making Lu Ziqi tense up. What if they woke up and looked at each other in awkward silence...?

Fortunately, this did not happen.

Seeing that she only murmured a few words indistinctly before falling back asleep, Lu Ziqi breathed a silent sigh of relief.

She carefully placed her feet, still warm from her palms, into the blanket. As she straightened up to leave, she glanced at the thing on the table that she had been pressing down on earlier. It turned out to be a book, with a folded piece of paper next to it.

On a whim, he reached out and took the book: a travelogue and a prescription.

The characters on them are neat and orderly, while the other is casual. However, upon closer inspection, the brushstrokes are remarkably similar, suggesting that they were written by the same person.

Looking back at Song Xiaohua, who was fast asleep, Lu Ziqi raised an eyebrow slightly. After a moment's thought, he quickly skimmed through the contents of the book, then put it back in its original place and folded the paper into his bosom.

He blew out the oil lamp, closed the door, and went out.

Author's note: Happy Lunar New Year to all of you!

Chapter Twenty: The Affair Exposed

The next day, when Song Xiaohua woke up, she was a little confused about why she was lying in bed perfectly fine. She quickly attributed it to an unconscious act of climbing into bed while she was still half asleep, and then stopped investigating.

And, just as Lu Ziqi had predicted, the habitually careless woman was completely unaware that the prescription had vanished...

Because I had barely slept the night before and had been up all day yesterday, I woke up late today and felt listless and lacking energy. So I stayed home and devoured the book Yuan Hao had given me instead of going to the teahouse.

On the third day, Song Xiaohua was back to her energetic self. After buying breakfast, she went to buy groceries. When she returned, she found all the dishes and snacks in the book that could be made with ingredients that could be bought at the local market, and decided to copy them down so that she could practice them later.

Lu Ling is an incredibly well-behaved child at times. At an age when he should be constantly on the go and running around everywhere, he almost never goes out to play and always stays at home obediently.

If they see Song Xiaohua busy, they will quietly watch from the side or do what they can. Otherwise, like Song Xiaohua is seeing now, they will pick up stones and tiles and draw on the ground.

Having learned from his previous two falls, this time when Song Wuque saw Song Xiaohua approaching, he immediately and consciously jumped off Lu Ling's lap. However, he lost his balance upon landing and still fell flat on his face...

"Ling'er, why don't you use paper and pen to practice your calligraphy?"

"Father said that we have to practice on the ground first, otherwise it will be a waste of paper and ink."

"Tch! How can you possibly learn well this way!" Song Xiaohua scoffed at this educational approach: "Go to your father's study and get some paper and pen. Let's practice writing together."

Lu Ling asked very seriously, "How can you play with writing?"

Song Xiaohua sighed, "Ling'er, if you keep going like this, you'll end up like your old man, a rigid and old-fashioned person! Children should act like children, not always be so mature and imitative of adults. Listen to me, I'll take responsibility for anything!"

Lu Ling only vaguely understood her long speech before, but she understood the last sentence very clearly, and immediately stopped hesitating.

Song Xiaohua waited outside the study and received the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones that Lu Ling had brought out, but did not go in to help.

There, lies his ex-wife. There, lies their world...

So when Lu Ziqi returned home today, he saw two tabby cats, one big and one small, and a dog that was getting even blacker.

After staring blankly at the mess on the table in the front hall for a moment, Lu Ziqi turned around, bowed to the person next to him, and said with a helpless bitter smile, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Brother Yuan."

"Brother Lu's home is full of life and joy, so how can you say it's laughable?"

A long blue robe, a handsome face, and a clear voice.

A 'boom' sounded in Song Xiaohua's head, and then she excitedly displayed a four-character banner—

'The affair was exposed'.

Lu Ziqi took a few photos and rushed over eagerly, but stopped abruptly when he got close, respectfully calling out, "Father!" His son's little head bobbed, "This is your son, Lu Ling. Ling'er, this is Uncle Yuan."

"Ling'er greets Uncle Yuan."

"What a clever child! Intelligent and composed, just like his father!"

"I am truly unworthy of such praise."

"Never exaggerates or boasts against one's conscience."

They laughed together and went inside side by side.

"This is my wife. Yaoyao, this is Brother Yuan, a new friend of mine."

"Greetings, sister-in-law."

"ah……"

Song Xiaohua opened her mouth and uttered a meaningless monosyllable.

How did Yuan Hao suddenly get involved with Lu Ziqi?! Huh?!

But judging from the looks of it, they didn't seem to recognize her. Right, right, I'm dressed as a woman now, and my face is covered in ink, it would be a miracle if they recognized me!

"My wife is uncouth and has never seen much of the world. If there is anything inappropriate about her manners, I hope Brother Yuan will not take offense."

"Brother Lu is too modest. Your wife is capable of writing calligraphy and painting; she is no ordinary woman."

Lu Ziqi glanced at the big, smug cat whose mouth was twitching like it could 'splash ink and wield a brush,' lowered his eyelids, coughed softly, and said nothing.

Yuan Hao, seemingly oblivious, looked at the dog still rolling around in the ink and said, "Brother Lu's family is so well-off that even a small dog is covered in ink. You truly deserve the title of 'a family of scholars'."

Lu Ling felt proud upon hearing this and loudly introduced it to Yuan Hao: "Uncle Yuan, its name is Wuque!"

"Wuque? What a great name!"

Song Xiaohua's mouth twitched more and more violently, resembling a spasm.

Lu Ziqi finally spoke again: "Brother Yuan, please come with me to the study and I will get that book for you."

Yuan Hao bowed to Song Xiaohua again: "Sister-in-law, please excuse me."

"ah……"

Song Xiaohua still only uttered a single syllable.

Anyone who didn't know her would surely think she was mute, or stupid, or a mute-stupid...

As Lu Ziqi entered the study, Yuan Hao's gaze swept over the memorial tablet, and he immediately exclaimed, "Brother Lu has such a vast collection of books!"

"Most of them are just idle and useless books, which will certainly not meet Brother Yuan's standards." Lu Ziqi walked to the bookshelf and took down a book.

Yuan Hao strolled to the desk with his hands behind his back. His gaze shifted and was drawn to a piece of paper that seemed to have been casually placed on it. He tilted his head to look at it, his thin lips slightly pursed: "Brother Lu, if I'm not mistaken, this seems to be a prescription for nourishing the stomach, right?"

Lu Ziqi laughed and said, "That's right, I didn't expect Brother Yuan to be knowledgeable in medicine as well."

"I wouldn't call myself an expert, I only know the basics." Yuan Hao looked at it carefully again: "However, in my humble opinion, it would be best to add one more ingredient to Brother Lu's prescription. It won't affect the efficacy, but it will improve the taste of the herbal tea."

"Oh? That would be perfect! Brother Yuan, you don't know, this medicinal tea really doesn't taste very good. Every time I drink it, I can't help but think that the doctor who prescribed it probably has some kind of dissatisfaction with me, but doesn't dare to say it outright, so he uses this method to remind me. I've been reflecting on this deeply for the past two days."

Yuan Hao laughed loudly: "Although I have only been in your county for a few days, all I have seen and heard is the people's respect and praise for Magistrate Lu. How could anyone harbor any dissatisfaction with you, Brother Lu?"

Lu Ziqi handed the book to him and shook his head, saying, "Brother Yuan, you are mistaken. As an official in charge of a region, one should naturally seek the well-being of the people in that region. This is one's duty, so why should one be respected or praised? Besides, even if one is cautious and walks on thin ice, there will still be oversights and shortcomings. How can one guarantee that everyone will be satisfied?"

"Brother Lu is absolutely right, I have learned a lot." Yuan Hao bowed respectfully, then chuckled softly, "However, Brother Lu, don't you think it would be quite interesting if someone were to use this prescription, which is missing one ingredient, to express some emotion?"

Lu Ziqi smiled wryly: "As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, it can be considered a clever idea, and it shows a refined person."

Yuan Hao clapped his hands with the book and said, "Great minds think alike!"

Since all the writing implements had been moved to the front hall, the two of them chatted and laughed as they came together.

At this moment, there was no one or no dog in the room, only a mess on the table.

Yuan Hao then held the paper in one hand and the pen in the other, and wrote down the last ingredient.