В Цзянху есть Сяо Чань

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This girl always does things so unpredictably, making people both angry and amused, yet helpless. He lightly tapped the tip of her nose with his index finger: "You..." His clear voice was low, with a hint of reproach, but even more so, doting affection.

Song Xiaohua stared intently at his handsome face, noticing the tenderness in his eyes and brows. Something about him seemed different today: "Did you wait for me here on purpose?"

"Yes, I'll wait for you to go home together."

"Really?!" She flashed a big smile and rubbed her face against his chest. "Then let's hurry up and go home together as husband and wife, then take a bath together as husband and wife, and finally... hehehe... let's do it!"

Touching her soft, fine hair, Lu Ziqi felt a familiar sense of helplessness. What kind of strange and nonsensical things were they talking about...?

Holding his hand, Song Xiaohua eagerly stepped out of the pavilion. After a couple of steps, she casually asked, "Hey, by the way, guess who I ran into today?"

Lu Ziqi raised an eyebrow, feigning curiosity: "Who?"

"Guess!"

"Aunt Zhang? Uncle Zhao? Or Doctor Hu?"

"What's the point of talking to people you see all the time?"

"Who else could it be? You don't know many people here, and you don't have any old acquaintances or friends..."

"Tch! You underestimate me!" She pouted and said defiantly, "Remember that Yuan Hao?

"He's back?"

"Yes! That's when I came back from the street where I was fighting to the death with that princess."

After hearing her description of Yuan Hao's actions that day, Lu Ziqi's heart stirred. So, the reason he was able to arrive in time and Yao Yao was spared greater harm was most likely because of that delaying action.

Yuan Hao certainly wouldn't actually go and get a so-called fine horse. Aside from the fact that such an act would be tantamount to unreasonable demands, while it wouldn't be a big deal for a mere woman like Yao Yao, he would never participate in such a frivolous act. Moreover, even if he didn't know the ins and outs of the situation, he would certainly understand the dangers of letting Yao Yao ride a horse with Princess Xingping out of the city; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths. Therefore, his actions were likely simply to buy more time.

However, why didn't he simply step forward? With his eloquence, he might have been able to resolve the matter on the spot and defuse the issue. Instead, he deliberately remained silent. There was no need for such secrecy in that situation. Therefore, there's only one possibility: it's inconvenient for him to appear. Is it because of… Princess Xingping? …

"Guess why he came to see me today?"

"What else can we do besides reminiscing? Perhaps, paint and compose poetry together?"

She lightly stepped on the foot of the guy next to her, who was trying to suppress a laugh but whose words were laced with mischief: "Get lost! He came to teach me how to ride a horse, saying that I can't let others look down on me because of this again!"

"Oh...so, have you learned it?"

"Even if I were a genius, I couldn't possibly learn it in half a day!"

"So, he'll come and teach you again!"

"Yes, we agreed to meet every afternoon."

He stopped in his tracks: "Go back to him!"

Confused: "What? You replied?"

"If you want to learn to ride a horse, I'll teach you."

"But you're so busy every day..."

"I will make time for it."

Song Xiaohua blinked, then suddenly grinned mischievously: "Are you... jealous?"

Lu Ziqi pursed his lips and answered with a single, decisive word: "Yes."

His unwavering honesty caught Song Xiaohua off guard; she opened her mouth but couldn't say anything for a long time.

"I promised I would never let go of your hand. So, can you promise me that your hand will never be held by anyone else?"

Song Xiaohua felt a little dizzy; this was probably what they called being overwhelmed by happiness.

However, as the saying goes, extremes meet, and happiness came too quickly and intensely, causing a sudden clarity to emerge from the initial dizziness: "You went home before?"

Completely taken aback by the response to his heartfelt words, Lu Ziqi instinctively replied, "No..."

"Then how did you know I wasn't home, and why did you come all the way here to wait for me?"

"…………"

"Oh, you're spying again!"

"I...didn't..." That shouldn't be called peeping, right? Although, it does seem a little bit like it... and what does "again" even mean...?

"So, that's how you knew Yuan Hao shook my hand, right?"

Under the glare of those eyes, which were as black as grapes, Lu Ziqi sighed and surrendered: "I did see you from afar, but it really wasn't intentional. Princess Xingping invited me hunting..."

Following his gaze, Song Xiaohua looked at the grove of trees, paused for a moment, and blurted out out of the blue, "We really are a perfect match..." The couple were having an affair... Damn it!

Sensing the dangerous aura emanating from the 'little jealous pot,' Lu Ziqi quickly added, "Princess Xingping invited me to tell me that she has given up."

"Give up? Give up on you?"

"Yes."

"What triggered her? Why did she suddenly change her personality?"

"I don't know about that."

Let him face all the intrigue, the confrontations, the power struggles and the dark, unspeakable filth alone! He vowed to himself that he would never allow even the slightest shadow to fall upon those clear, bright eyes.

But Song Xiaohua was still a little taken aback that such a formidable rival had suddenly turned on her and run away: "No way! Look at how determined she was to have you, not even eighteen wild yaks could pull her back. How could she suddenly give up like that? Could it be some kind of conspiracy... a strategic retreat? A feigned retreat? A covert maneuver? Or is she just going to go back and bring an army to kidnap you? Or maybe she'll knock you out of the blue and carry you away to become a bandit and your husband?!"

She kept rambling on and on, while Lu Ziqi could only helplessly rub his forehead.

I really want to crack open her head and see what's inside. Is this girl even a product of the Song Dynasty...?

"Yaoyao, do you really want Princess Xingping to continue entangled with me?"

"Of course not! I'm just trying to figure out the enemy's movements and intentions, so that I can know myself and my enemy and win every battle. As the saying goes, 'With food in hand, one has nothing to fear'..."

"You've mastered the Thirty-Six Stratagems quite well!" Finally unable to bear it any longer, Lu Ziqi interrupted her rambling, applying slight pressure to her hand: "You haven't agreed to my request yet!"

"What did I promise you?" Song Xiaohua's eyes darted around a few times. "Oh...no problem! I promise you, even if that princess doesn't want you anymore, I'll still want you! Don't be sad, sweetie~"

"…………"

Lu Ziqi felt that probably no one in the world could understand and interpret the phrase "not knowing whether to laugh or cry" better or more vividly than him.

Seeing the mischievous grin on the girl's face, he couldn't resist the urge to play a trick on her. He pulled her into his arms, tightening his grip as if he wanted to embed that soft body into his own blood and bones.

Caught off guard, Song Xiaohua could only gasp for breath, rolling her eyes and desperately begging for mercy: "My bones are broken... I'm not breathing... I'm going to kick the bucket... Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I promise you..."

He loosened his grip slightly, but didn't let go completely. His voice carried a strong threat and a hint of barely suppressed laughter: "What did you do wrong? What did you promise me?"

"I shouldn't have let another man teach me to ride a horse. If a wife wants to learn something, she should definitely ask her husband for advice; otherwise, the husband will feel very embarrassed!"

She froze, her arms involuntarily loosening slightly: "Husband?"

She quickly seized the opportunity to break free, then took the initiative and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning back slightly and tilting her head with a grin: "Husband means husband."

He frowned. "Where did you learn that term? It doesn't seem very elegant..."

“Then I will still call you Dongqing from now on, my husband, Dongqing.”

A smile spread across his face as he tightly enveloped her other hand in his palm: "Okay."

"I promise you, from now on my hand will only be held by yours. But you have to promise me one more thing."

"What?"

Song Xiaohua intently locked her gaze into his deep, dark eyes: "I won't concern myself with anything you did before, but from now on, no one else can enter your heart except me. In other words, I am the one who closes the door to your heart. Otherwise..." She chuckled twice, "I guarantee you'll never be able to think with your lower half again!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Ziqi softly replied, "Okay."

This girl is enough for him to hold a place for Tong'er in his heart. With the two of them, that's enough...

However, what does the last sentence mean...?

As the sun sets, two figures walk hand in hand.

Holding your hand, we will grow old together.

Author's Note: If you ever have the chance to travel back to ancient times, please be very careful about using the word 'husband' with your man! Because it seems to imply that your man is a eunuch... lol...

Chapter 41 The Final Kick of Failure

Officer Li is eighteen years old and just got married two weeks ago. They are currently in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, so he is particularly sensitive to certain things.

As soon as Song Xiaohua and Lu Ziqi entered the house, they saw a huge bathtub lying in the middle of the yard. Lu Ling and Song Wuque were crawling in and out on all fours, one covered in sweat and the other with his tongue hanging out. Meanwhile, Constable Li squatted to the side and cheered them on.

Upon seeing the two, he immediately bowed respectfully and handed the items in his hands to Lu Ziqi: "This package was sent by the lady's family. Since they didn't know where you lived, they sent it directly to the county government office. It just so happens that you just went out. So I brought it to you along with this letter."

"Thank you for your help. Where is that person now?"

"He said he had urgent business to attend to and had to rush back overnight, so he couldn't come to see you, sir and madam, and asked you not to be offended. Oh, by the way, he also asked me to pass on a few words to you, madam. It was your family who asked him to tell you..." A little dizzy from all the relaying, Officer Li scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled sheepishly, "I'm not good with words... Anyway, madam's family said that everything is fine at home, and this year's harvest is exceptionally good, so please don't worry. Da Zhu and Er Zhu have grown taller and are more sensible now, but sometimes they still insist on seeing their little aunt, um, that is, you, madam. Once this busy period is over, the whole family plans to visit you before the heavy snow closes the mountain passes, oh, and also you, sir and young master, that is, Xiao Ling'er."