Ugh~~ Sometimes, isn't this kind of thinking called narcissism?
Qiu Su wrinkled her nose and gently pulled back. Pei Yuan instinctively tightened his arms around her, and then, his penis pressed decisively against her thigh.
Qiu Su's face turned bright red. Seeing Pei Yuan's eyelashes trembling as if he was about to wake up, she quickly stiffened her body and closed her eyes, while her hands were still pressed on his chest.
Pei Yuan was somewhat confused. He blinked several times before he could make out the person in his arms. He raised his hand to touch her fluttering eyelashes and asked in a hoarse voice, "Awake?"
Qiu Su's eyes darted around involuntarily. She gritted her teeth, opened her eyes, took a breath, and said, "Ziqing, it seems you've forgotten something."
"Um?"
The sound of early morning, tinged with confusion and a hoarse quality, lingered with an indescribable ambiguity. Qiu Su felt a shiver run down her spine, and her eyes darted downwards.
"What?"
Qiu Su remained silent, her eyes sweeping downwards again. Pei Yuan tightened his arms, noticing the unusual contact in a certain area, and his cheeks flushed uncomfortably.
"My wife wants me to take it back?"
Qiu Su pressed against his chest and tried to jump up, but Pei Yuan held her even tighter.
"Don't move."
Qiu Su felt awkward, unsure whether to move back or forward, her waist and hips stiff and uncomfortable. Then she thought, although he said he'd give her time to get used to things, it seemed she subconsciously harbored a wicked thought of pushing him down. Perhaps…
"Uh, Ziqing, it seems we're already married."
Pei Yuan stared at Qiu Su's flushed face, nodded solemnly, and leaned in to kiss her lips, saying, "My wife is absolutely right, then..."
Qiu Su received a light kiss on the lips. Before she could muster the courage to return the kiss, the person beside her had already lifted the thin blanket and gotten out of bed. At the same time, a large robe was draped over her shoulders. While tying the belt, he said, "Wife, take a nap a little longer. I'll go see if the water in Qingyuan is any cooler."
The words had barely left his mouth when he disappeared at the top of the stairs.
That wasn't a hasty retreat, absolutely not! Qiu Su touched her lips; rekindling those feelings after a month was simply too exciting to resist. Okay, she admitted it, she had been lusting after his good looks. But wasn't it normal for her husband to be lusting after her too?
Qiu Su leaned closer to him, took a deep breath, and muttered, "Unsatisfied?"
"What is it that you are dissatisfied with, Miss?"
Qiu Su glanced at Huang Tao coming upstairs, thinking that the upstairs really shouldn't have been turned into a bedroom so directly; it should indeed have been divided into rooms. Qi Xiu said that one's room layout can reveal a person's thoughts. Did she already reveal some kind of lewd and evil potential when she had the building constructed?
“Miss, shall we rest a little longer or start now? By the way, Ruan Hu said that someone from the grain store down the mountain came and said that Magistrate Qin went there and asked them to help store five hundred dan of wheat.”
"knew."
“Miss, the mountain lord vomited this morning.” Huang Tao said, glancing at Qiu Su’s stomach. “I just ran into the young master. He really dotes on you, Miss. He told me to be quiet and not disturb your rest.”
Qiu Su's lips twitched. If she could still sleep after such "intimate" contact through a layer of cloth, she wouldn't be a woman.
“Miss.” Qiu Su wrung out the damp cloth, spread it over her face, and pouted as she looked at the cloth, “Miss, why don’t you take the initiative to talk about going back to your husband’s family? Although you are the head of a village, your husband is also the young master of a high-ranking official’s family. You can only secure your position as the young mistress if you meet your parents-in-law.”
Qiu Su frowned slightly under the damp cloth. "Who told you that?"
"Hmph, who else? That so-and-so, of course!"
The cool handkerchief sobered Qiu Su up considerably. Qiu Su removed the damp handkerchief, looking at Huang Tao with a half-smile, and said, "He really didn't mean it. Forgive him if you can."
"Hmph, forgive? Even the mountain lord knows that you can't touch something that's tied up, so who doesn't know that? It's clearly intentional!"
Huang Tao was clearly still angry. She twisted the cloth in her handkerchief as if she wanted to tear it in half, squeezing out every last drop of water before handing it to Qiu Su.
“I know who the young lady is close to, but you don’t need to speak well of him. If I get any live creature again, I’ll tie it to that tree again. Once or twice is fine, but not a third time. If he dares to eat it again, I’ll have to go and settle accounts with Uncle He.”
Qiu Su looked at Huang Tao's sullen face and shook her head slightly. It seemed that this grudge had really gotten serious.
"By the way, Miss, if you and your husband really are heading to the capital, you should be careful. It seems like things are quite chaotic there lately."
"How so?"
Huang Tao quickly helped Qiu Su put on her outer garment and combed her hair smoothly before saying, "I heard it from Ruan Hu. He went down the mountain yesterday. There's a lot of talk in the city about it, saying that some descendant of General Ji has come out to seek revenge. Recently, the capital has been arresting people. It's easy to enter the capital but difficult to leave the city."
"Ruan Hu's cheeks twitched with excitement when he talked about General Ji. Miss, is General Ji very powerful? I've never heard of him."
Qiu Su stared blankly at the person in the mirror.
Accustomed to being pampered and cherished by everyone, her face was mostly gentle. Qiu Su raised her hand to touch her eyebrows, which were almost straight, curving slightly at the ends, and her not-so-straight nose, and pursed her lips. He Xu had said that her eyebrows and eyes were most like her mother's, carrying a heroic air, yet as pure as the clear spring water in the back mountain; her nose was most like her father's, only a size smaller. Bloodlines are truly miraculous. They gave her a similar appearance, and also a similar passionate blood.
"Miss?" Huang Tao loosely tied up Qiu Su's hair, securing a portion with a dark ribbon, and combed the rest to gather it on both sides of her chest.
"Alright. Miss, you and your husband are getting more and more affectionate. You even spend half a day lost in thought while combing your hair. Hehe, Miss, don't worry. There are few people in Pingcheng who can match your features. That Qinqin girl is pretty, but she doesn't have your noble air. Your charm is natural, Miss. You would be just as good as a wealthy family in the capital."
Qiu Su glared at Huang Tao, "Qin Qin is very pretty."
"Hehe, Miss, you're really not modest. Aren't you just indirectly saying you're prettier?"
Qiu Su felt embarrassed and gave her a reproachful glance before going downstairs.
Rumors spread like wildfire in April, infiltrating everywhere. Qiu Su walked around the village with her hands behind her back and saw four or five small groups squatting in a circle, talking about General Ji's deeds back then.
Men have an inexplicable yearning and fascination for going into battle and killing enemies, just as women are fascinated by flowers and hair ornaments. Men conquer men through swords, spears, and clubs; a legendary, valiant general like Ji is naturally a god of war in their eyes.
Ruan Hu stood on a protruding rock, spitting as he recounted the story he had heard in the teahouse. When he talked about how General Ji led two hundred elite soldiers to defeat three thousand enemy soldiers, everyone's eyes lit up as if they had just snatched silver.
Ruan Hu saw Qiu Su standing not far away with her hands behind her back. He paused awkwardly, his empty hand still outstretched, and chuckled, "Miss, I'm not slacking off. There are lookouts ahead. It's my turn to rest today."
Qiu Su nodded, and Lu Mingcheng came running over, sweating profusely, panting, "Xiao Qiu, they're all just chatting, no one's helping me cut timber."
Qiu Su frowned. She had almost forgotten about this person. If it weren't for him often saying at breakfast, "I'm late, why didn't anyone call me for breakfast?", she would have really forgotten about Lu Sheng, who was as diligent as a black beetle.
"You've started preparing the timber?"