Pei Yuan smiled and went downstairs. Huang Tao's eyes swept over Qiu Su, and when she saw Qiu Su frown and glance over, she chuckled and said, "Miss, you're in such good health that you can actually get up?"
Qiu Su sighed, "It didn't take much effort."
Huang Tao's gaze shifted from admiration to horror, a hint of pity creeping into her eyes as she looked at the stairwell Pei Yuan had just passed. They say women in their thirties are like wolves and tigers; her young mistress must have been exposed to too many men on the mountain, and eaten too much dog meat, resulting in an excess of yang energy. She was no ordinary woman to begin with, and after nearly eighteen years of pent-up desire, her wild nature had already surfaced the moment she got married. Should she brew some aphrodisiac bull penis soup? Even though Young Master Pei looked dashing, he couldn't withstand such depletion!
Huang Tao glanced at the bed, then glared and made two "tsk tsk" sounds, earning her a roll of her eyes from Qiu Su.
Pei Yuan, feeling refreshed, strolled out of the courtyard, stretching his arms. He was surprised to see Lu Mingcheng following behind Ruan Hu, talking to him. Ruan Hu jogged around, stretching his limbs, while Lu Sheng, panting heavily behind, wiped his sweat from his brow as Pei Yuan approached and hurried over, saying breathlessly, "Young Master Pei, please tell me, Xiao Qiu promised me last night..."
Ruan Hu walked over and snorted, "You treat Qingfeng Village like a theater, and you even run a school? Why don't you open a teahouse?"
Lu Mingcheng said sincerely, "Hero Ruan's idea is good, but it will be better to open a teahouse after the academy is opened and people come to visit relatives or sell things. You need to send a few people to me first so that I can get this academy ready. Otherwise, we won't be able to recruit students in time for the end of summer."
Ruan Hu clenched his fists, struggling to keep his eyes open and not forget to greet Lu Mingcheng.
Pei Yuan glanced at Qiu Su, who was walking over with the mountain lord behind her back, and said with a smirk, "Is this Lu Sheng's current dream?"
Lu Mingcheng sighed, "You are willing, but I am not. Love cannot be forced. Although Xiao Qiu saw me naked, she is right. I cannot take my own life because of this. I must make something of myself to live a worthwhile life and to honor my parents who raised me. Life is too short, and love is too beautiful. If I have it, I am fortunate; if I do not, it is my fate. I cannot force it."
Pei Yuan smiled and pursed his lips, "You seem to have a very open-minded attitude."
"But on another note, the academy really needs to start construction as soon as possible. Ruan, oh? Xiao Qiu? Xiao Qiu, did you tell him that you promised me? I'm thinking that if we're going to do it, it's better to start construction as soon as possible, so that the children and adults down the mountain can come up and see how unique our Qingfeng Academy is."
Qiu Su paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, and then said to Ruan Hu, "Give him a few men. If it's not a large sum, there's no need for a reward. I'll inform Uncle He later."
"Miss Qiu is indeed noble, and I knew I hadn't misjudged her." Lu Mingcheng didn't notice Qiu Su's face darken instantly, and assured her with a smile, "Qingfeng Academy will surely produce countless talents, recorded in history, and remembered for eternity."
She refused to hear the word "noble righteousness" again; it was blatant irony. But the scholar looked innocent and full of gratitude, so she couldn't retaliate. The only solution was to walk away.
Qiu Su pursed her lips and walked past Lu Sheng to the front. Lu Sheng followed her and said, "Where are you going, Xiao Qiu? How about I draw a plot of land on the back mountain and rebuild two buildings? Of course, they won't be too close to your little building."
Pei Yuan quickly stepped aside, "Lu Sheng, don't betray my wife's trust. Go and build the academy. As for the location, as long as it's reasonable and Mr. He agrees, you can cross it out."
After thinking for a moment, Lu Mingcheng said, "Then I'll get back to work. Take care, Young Master Pei."
The artificial hill stood in the center of Qingfeng Village. Qiu Su walked forward with her head down, and halfway there she suddenly looked up and saw the four characters "Generous and Righteous," only then realizing that there was a large rock in the middle of the empty village. Qiu Su looked at it for a moment with her hands behind her back, pondering the possibility of kicking the artificial hill down, but then thought that it would be bad to hit the pedestrians below, so she walked over the artificial hill and went directly to the front hall.
There were quite a few people, still carrying the festive spirit. When they saw her enter, they all looked at the two who came in shortly after her and smiled knowingly. He Zhuo also smiled, but his smile was somewhat gloating.
Pei Yuan raised an eyebrow at He Zhuo, a bright smile playing on his lips, a smile that sparked the imagination.
Sure enough, He Zhuo's face darkened as soon as Pei Yuan smiled, staring at him as if he wanted to poke two holes in him right away.
Zhou Tong smiled, his eyes narrowing. "Did you rest well, Miss?"
Aunt Zhou sized up Qiu Su and felt somewhat dissatisfied with Pei Yuan.
"Oh, why are your eyes a little dark? I'm not trying to criticize you, but young man, don't be so greedy for these things. Although this isn't the young lady's first time, it's not long since she's been through this. Can't you be a little more patient?"
"Aunt Zhou is right," Pei Yuan said, looking at Qiu Su who was propping her forehead up with her hand. "I will pay attention in the future."
Qiu Su felt somewhat helpless. Even if they hadn't done anything wrong, such matters shouldn't be discussed at the dinner table. Once you've been naked in front of your elders, you have no privacy left to share.
If last night, Pei Yuan had indeed passionately pushed her down, and even accidentally knocked over a nice bed, that was true. But then, he turned her around in his arms and pulled the bright red wedding quilt over her head—that was also true. But beneath the quilt, there was no alluring scene, only a pair of bright eyes looking at her, unusually serious, without a trace of teasing.
He said, "Sleep peacefully. How could we not give you time to get used to it?"
He said, "What? Still not asleep? Do you really want to solidify your relationship?"
He added, "Then, let's do it!"
later……
Later, she rewarded him with a potsticker, almost knocking his nose crooked. The atmosphere was alright, but lying down like that, half-standing and half-lying, required a lot of skill to fall asleep. Qiu Su couldn't sleep; whenever she felt drowsy, she wanted to curl up and slide down. Pei Yuan holding her waist made it even harder for her to sleep; she always felt like there was a ring of fire around her waist. Finally, the two of them discussed it and simply wrapped themselves in the wedding quilt and rolled around on the floor all night. The floor was too hard, so they didn't sleep well and woke up early, sitting at the table looking at the bed and talking to each other intermittently.
Qiu Su turned to look at Pei Yuan, thought for a moment, and very virtuously ladled out a bowl of soup and handed it to him, but He Zhuo leaned over and took it from her.
"Thank you, Susu. Susu, you can eat by yourself, don't worry about me."
Pei Yuan glanced at He Zhuo with disdain, took Qiu Su's hand, scooped a spoonful from her bowl and ate it, then said with a smile, "My wife, don't worry about it, we can share one bowl."
Everyone stared at the three of them, then shook their heads and continued eating their breakfast.
"Is my wife going down the mountain today?"
Qiu Su was slightly surprised. "Yes, that's a plan."
He Xu looked at Pei Yuan and frowned, saying, "The group of men in black has not yet been identified."
"It's daytime, and we're at the foot of the mountain, they wouldn't dare do anything. Don't worry, Uncle He, I'll be careful."
"Don't worry, Dad, I will protect Susu's safety."
Qiu Su remained silent, only taking a couple more bites of food.
Pei Yuan glanced sideways. "Brother He is so hospitable. I thank you on behalf of my wife. Please eat slowly, my wife. How did you get so hungry? If I had known you were this hungry, you should have eaten another meal before bed last night."
"Snap!" A pair of chopsticks was destroyed in He Zhuo's hands.
Zhou Tong smacked him with his chopsticks, "One coin! What a waste!"
Men are truly childish creatures to an outrageous degree. Qiu Su looked down at the mountain lord squatting at her feet, waiting to pick up rice grains, and sighed. It's better to have a dog; less trouble, and easier to take care of.
"Xiao Qiu, why hasn't anyone called me for dinner?"
Qiu Su turned her head and looked at Lu Mingcheng, who walked in covered in sweat with his eyes darting around. This solidified her belief that the mountain lord was easier to raise than a man.
No matter how much silver was on the mountain, it couldn't compare to the bustling prosperity down below. Because of the recent hailstorm, there weren't many people setting up stalls on the streets; they were probably all out in the fields checking on their crops. The shops, however, were all open as usual, with wealthy households and merchants who didn't rely on farming coming out to enjoy the hustle and bustle. Qiu Su, who hadn't descended the mountain for many days, found herself somewhat weary after finally coming down, her eyes darting around with delight.