"Just because of these?"
He Xu turned to look at Qiu Su, smiled, and said, "Miss Qiu has always been intelligent, and there are other reasons as well."
"Uncle He, I'm planning to go to the capital with him. What do you think, Uncle He?"
He Xu avoided answering, "Does Miss already know?"
"Understood. The village will remain as it is. Uncle He, you'll have to keep an eye on it from now on."
“I’ll have He Zhuo and Qi Xiu go with you.”
"He Zhuo just won't..."
“I know what he’s thinking. Even if you try to keep him, you can’t. It’s better to let him go with you. He can do some things with his son-in-law in the future.”
He Xu took out a brocade pouch and handed it over, saying, "Store the things your father left behind in a safe place. You'll need them later. Remember, don't let anyone else see them, not even your son-in-law. It's not time for him to see them yet."
"What?"
Qiu Su reached out to untie it, but He Xu stopped her, saying, "We'll see when we have no choice but to take this path in the future."
Qiu Su didn't ask any more questions. She carefully placed the brocade pouch in her bosom and then said, "Uncle He, if the scholar really wants to run Qingfeng Academy, let him. If he can't recruit students, let the brothers in the village learn calligraphy. If Magistrate Qin comes to ask for money, Uncle He, give him less. He brought so many wealthy families with him to the wedding last time; he'll definitely raise money from them when he gets back. We don't need to cover for everyone. Also, the mountain lord is about to give birth. Uncle He, please remember to tell me how many he's had, what color they are, and save one small one for me and one for Huang Tao. Don't just send them to other people."
Is there anything else?
Qiu Su frowned and thought for a moment, "There's another wolf, with blue eyes. Tell the brothers in the village that if they encounter another wolf, it belongs to the mountain lord."
"Is Miss nervous?" He Xu smiled at the talkative Qiu Su.
"Ah." Qiu Su tightened her hands behind her back. "No, you all need to be careful from now on."
It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous. When Qiu Su was being dragged down the mountain by Huang Tao, who had red eyes and insisted on going with her, her heart was still pounding wildly.
The future is uncertain! Qiu Su sighed in her heart.
It's hard to say whether it was nervousness or excitement; oh, nervousness sometimes stems from excitement. Qiu Su hadn't truly left Qingyuan Mountain for over a decade, so this moment of husband-and-wife camaraderie required considerable courage.
Lu Mingcheng was very reluctant to part with her, constantly clutching his sleeve and sighing, his back seeming to have hunched over a bit. He knew in his heart that with Qiu Su gone, he would have even less power to command those people on Qingyuan Mountain. Sigh, he had cut down two trees in seven days, both of them rosewood, only as thick as a wrist, and Ruan Hu had kicked him in the buttocks with extreme force; even now, he didn't dare to put his whole buttocks on a bench.
He asked Ruan Hu why he didn't slap her face. Ruan Hu glared at him and said, "Am I stupid? Would I let the young lady see this and make me look bad?"
Yes, he can let Qiu Su see his face, but he can't just take off his pants and stick his butt out for her to see. That place, well, it's best not to look at it. He should just wait and let it heal slowly.
Everyone from the village had arrived, and only then did Qiu Su realize how indispensable she was. And you know what? It felt really good to be surrounded by so many people.
"May you have a safe journey, young lady," Ruan Hu shouted at the top of his lungs.
"May you have a safe journey, young lady." The crowd echoed in agreement.
Qiu Su's proudly raised eyebrows instantly fell down again. The shouts from the crowd sounded exactly like a roar during a funeral procession.
"Tch, what bad luck!" Zhou Tong kicked Ruan Hu from behind. "You should say the young lady had a safe journey."
The crowd burst into laughter and shouted in a chaotic manner, "Have a safe journey, Miss."
Qiu Su felt a warm glow in her heart. She looked at each of her brothers with her hands behind her back before raising her hand and saying, "Take good care of yourselves, follow Uncle He's arrangements, and do not go down the mountain on your own."
Huang Tao sobbed, "They haven't even said anything about me yet! Are they going to let me come along or not?"
"The journey is inconvenient."
Huang Tao didn't say anything, angrily flung Qiu Su's clothes aside, turned around and went down the mountain first.
Qiu Su was embarrassed, but Zhou Tong smiled and said, "Let's bring it along. We need someone to take care of us."
As soon as Zhou Tong finished speaking, Huang Tao ran back with a smile on her face, wiped away her tears and said, "Uncle Zhou is the best."
Everyone burst into laughter again.
Aunt He and Sister-in-law Zhou talked to Qiu Su for a long time, taking care of everything from food and clothing to sleeping and relieving herself. When they finally had time to go find their most important partner, the Mountain Lord, they realized that they hadn't seen him for most of the day.
"The mountain lord tied it to the back mountain, but released it after the young lady left."
Qiu Su said "Oh," and looked at Qingfeng Village with slight disappointment before taking Pei Yuan's hand and descending the mountain.
The journey from the mountain to the bottom took only about half an hour, and a carriage was waiting for them when they came down. Pei Yuan and Qiu Su got into the first carriage, and He Zhuo wanted to follow, but Pei Yuan kicked him off without hesitation. He Zhuo kicked him back without hesitation, and the two of them almost startled the horse. Qiu Su decisively put on a stern face before He Zhuo reluctantly got into the second carriage.
Qi Xiu didn't say much. Seeing He Zhuo get into the car dejectedly, he raised his eyelids slightly and continued meditating. Huang Tao, who had a deep-seated grudge against him, naturally mocked him before smugly occupying half of the carriage and leisurely reclining comfortably.
In contrast, the atmosphere in the front carriage was much more harmonious. Pei Yuan knew how to enjoy himself; he lowered the curtain, carried a mattress from the back, laid it on, and lay down with Qiu Su in his arms.
"To indulge in lewdness in broad daylight?" Qiu Su wondered to herself.
"Daytime debauchery?" Pei Yuan squeezed Qiu Su's hand. "Where did I seduce my wife? Oh, it seems that talking to one's own wife is called being affectionate, not debauchery."
"I didn't say that." Qiu Su was embarrassed; she had only thought about it for a moment.
Pei Yuan nodded, "I must have misheard. My wife is innocent."
Listening to the lively sounds from the street, Qiu Su asked in a low voice, "Where are the people who came with you?"
"What's ahead?"
Qiu Su nodded, then couldn't help but ask after a while, "Up ahead? Aren't we going together?"
Pei Yuan closed his eyes, sighed comfortably, and said, "Behind the horse's rear end and in front of our heads, doesn't that count as being together?"
Fine, she'll assume she didn't ask. Turns out, he'd already planted his men in the village, and she had no idea.
Normally, Pei Yuan would encounter some minor setbacks when leaving the city, so he didn't react much when the carriage suddenly stopped as soon as it left the city gate; he just frowned slightly.
"Master, there is a white wolf blocking the middle of the road."