"Yes. Xiao Qiu, can we cut down the trees on this mountain? I've already cut down two."
Qiu Su nodded, "Apart from fragrant nanmu and sandalwood, anything else is fine."
Lu Mingcheng bowed in confusion, "Xiao Qiu, what do fragrant nanmu and sandalwood look like?"
Qiu Su frowned. "You should start preparing the stones first. I'll have someone take you to see them later."
Ruan Hu jumped down and, still in a bad mood, raised his voice and said, "You've already cut down two trees in just a few days? Let me tell you, you can't cut down trees that aren't thick enough to fit a leg on this mountain."
"ah?"
"What?!" Ruan Hu's expression changed. "You wouldn't even spare the saplings, would you?!"
Ruan Hu dragged Lu Mingcheng into the woods, and Lu Mingcheng said angrily, "Brother Ruan, you are too rude. I am the teacher invited by Xiao Qiu. Xiao Qiu, sigh, Xiao Qiu?"
Qiu Su shook her head and turned to walk towards Qingyuan Spring in the back mountain.
Pei Yuan sat on a rock by the spring, his hair still wet and dripping with water. When Qiu Su came over and made room for him, he patted her and said, "Sit down."
Qiu Su didn't stand on ceremony and sat down next to him.
Pei Yuan put his arm around her shoulder, sighed, and said, "Susu, I have to go back to the capital."
Whenever he calls her Susu, it means he has something important to say, and this time was no exception.
Qiu Su wasn't surprised at all. "When are you leaving?"
"As soon as possible."
"oh."
"Oh?" Pei Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Wife, you don't need to bring much. We can buy it when we get home."
Qiu Su remained silent.
"Wife?" Pei Yuan pinched her shoulder and teased, "Wife, are you afraid? Don't worry, wife, you're not ugly at all. You don't need to be afraid to meet your parents."
“To be honest,” Qiu Su paused for a long time after saying that, and Pei Yuan did not urge her, quietly waiting for her to continue.
"The vegetables I planted have only grown two leaves. I want to watch them grow up so I can cook them. The grain store has had such a large amount of grain taken away by Magistrate Qin. I'm afraid it won't be enough until the autumn harvest. We're extremely busy right now. And the mountain lord, his cubs are a month old. Can't they come to the capital with him?"
“However, I am going with them.” Qiu Su turned her head and smiled at Pei Yuan. “I heard that the capital is very prosperous. If I don’t go and see for myself, I will really be unworthy of the title of chieftain.”
Pei Yuan tightened his grip on her arm. "The journey might be a bit difficult, but don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."
Qiu Su frowned and pondered for a long time before sitting up straight and saying, "If we really encounter a powerful person, can I leave you behind and run away first?"
Pei Yuan recalled her instinctive shoving last time, and his face darkened instantly. They had just met, and she could have just thrown him away. But after all this time, asking him that question was infuriating. Not pushing him away didn't mean he wasn't her husband. A wife asking her husband, "If you die, can I escape first?" is like asking, "If you die, can I remarry?"—it's blatantly accusing him of being cuckolded.
"You don't want to?" Qiu Su raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm." Pei Yuan remained noncommittal. "If you're not afraid of becoming a widow, then go and run for your life."
Qiu Su pouted, "She's really stingy."
Pei Yuan held Qiu Su in his arms and sighed, "If that's really the case, Su Su, run away, run as far away as possible, and never come to the capital again. Never!"
"Hehe, okay, I've got it!"
Pei Yuan felt a pang of jealousy at Qiu Su's quick agreement. He playfully pulled Qiu Su's arm around him, rested his head on her lap, and sighed, "I'm feeling a bit irritable, my wife, please rub it for me."
Qiu Su laughed as she watched the person pulling her hand and pressing it against their chest. They were truly adept at being shameless, a trait somewhat similar to He Zhuo, though their methods of coquetry differed.
Pei Yuan squinted, thoroughly enjoying himself, when he suddenly felt a warm, wet sensation on his cheek. He laughed and said, "My wife ambushed her husband."
Qiu Su smiled silently, her lips pursed. The mountain lord, squatting on the other side, looked at the smiling Pei Yuan with a slightly surprised tilt of his head. Seeing that Pei Yuan didn't open his eyes for a while, he licked his cheek again. This time, the lick was big, sticky and covering half of his face. Pei Yuan was thinking to himself, why not kiss this side but that side? But when that big tongue rolled over him, he immediately understood. He opened his eyes and was met with the mountain lord's drooling face and Qiu Su, who was laughing so hard she was cramping up on the other side.
************************************************
Pei Yuan: My wife, your tongue is so big!
Qiu Su: Still laughing, ignore me!
Mountain Lord: The son-in-law's face is so easy to lick.
16
16. It means I am about to embark on a long journey...
Qiu Su never expected that He Xu would take the initiative to approach her before she decided to look for him.
She never dared to be too casual in front of He Xu. He was different from Zhou Tong, who was always laughing and joking, like a playful old man, and often accompanied her down the mountain to do a business deal or two. He Xu, however, was the strategist of Qingfeng Village. He would only step in to resolve Qiu Su's troubles, and he never left any loose ends. His expression was always profound, and Qiu Su called this aura "the air of an immortal."
He Xu was quite amiable in front of her, perhaps because of his imposing presence and his angular appearance, which always gave Qiu Su a faint sense of pressure.
Huang Tao, who had been playing with the mountain lord, quickly stood up when he entered, patting the lord's head to signal it to be quiet. Huang Tao turned to make tea, but He Xu stopped her, saying to Qiu Su, "Miss, go for a walk." With that, he turned and left the room first.
Huang Tao stuck out her tongue, laughed, and made a face. Qiu Su straightened her clothes, flicked her sleeves, and followed her out with her hands behind her back.
“Miss, you must know why I’m here,” He Xu said with certainty.
"I know. Uncle He didn't try to stop my marriage with Ziqing, so he must be very at ease."
"Prime Minister Pei is a loyal and virtuous minister with extremely strict family education; his son will certainly not be bad either."