Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Qi Cheng returned to the room after his bath. The old lady shooed Lu Yuan out of the kitchen, "What are you so shy about? Go on!"

Lu Yuan had no choice but to follow Qi Cheng back to their room.

After ushering her granddaughter-in-law inside, the old lady picked up the ladle to stir the porridge in the pot, but then suddenly paused.

Something wasn't right.

Her granddaughter-in-law had been married before—this shouldn't be her reaction.

Moreover, they had been married for almost three months, yet her reaction just now was overly timid.

The old lady turned and walked to the kitchen door, glancing towards the east room with a furrowed brow.

Could it be that these two, married for nearly three months, still hadn't consummated their marriage?

But if they hadn't, their interactions seemed far too natural, as if they had been married for three to five years.

Then again, Li Niang had a natural knack for making people feel at ease quickly, so their harmonious relationship made sense.

Still, if they hadn't consummated their marriage after all this time, that was certainly unusual.

Was Li Niang unwilling?

Or was Sheng Geer incapable?

These were two very different possibilities.

Not to sound arrogant, but her grandson's looks were such that few ordinary women would dislike him. Add to that his good temper and outstanding qualities, he was quite a catch.

Li Niang seemed to have normal preferences, so she would naturally be attracted to someone with her grandson's looks.

If Li Niang wasn't unwilling, then it must be Sheng Geer who was unwilling—or couldn't perform.

But she knew her grandson well. The idea of him not liking Li Niang was simply impossible.

If it wasn't the former, then it had to be the latter.

Sheng Geer had always kept his distance from girls since he was young. While other young men were full of youthful vigor, he was busy hunting. When it came time to arrange a marriage for him, he showed no interest.

Could it be… that even at over twenty years old, he still knew nothing about such matters?

The old lady felt a headache coming on at the thought.

With no male elders in the family, how could she help him understand?

Lu Yuan pushed the door open and entered the room. Qi Cheng was towel-drying his hair, which had not yet reached his shoulders.

As she closed the door and turned around, she saw him turn to look at her, his damp hair disheveled and his robe partly open.

Lu Yuan had seen him naked before, during his recovery, but hadn't seen him since. However, she had touched him, so she had already drawn her conclusion:

—He had recovered well.

Her gaze swept from his head down to his feet.

Qi Cheng frowned slightly and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lu Yuan replied honestly, "Grandma's worried you might be hiding an injury and asked me to check."

Qi Cheng smiled. "It went fine. Tell Grandmother I'm not injured."

Lu Yuan shook her head, speaking seriously, "That's not good enough. I need to see it with my own eyes."

Qi Cheng's expression faltered slightly as he asked hesitantly, "See it with my own eyes? How exactly?"

Lu Yuan got a little embarrassed. "Naturally, by taking off your clothes."

Qi Cheng couldn't quite believe what he was hearing and asked again, "Just my top?"

Lu Yuan suddenly burst out laughing, stepped forward, and reached for his collar with both hands. Qi Cheng pulled back a little to avoid her.

But Lu Yuan wouldn't let him. She grabbed his collar firmly. Qi Cheng grabbed her wrists and quickly said, "I'll take it off myself."

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Then let go of my hands."

She had already noticed that he hadn't fastened his buttons yet.

The moment Qi Cheng let go, she pulled his clothes open.

…

His shoulders and chest were exposed before her.

The two stared at each other.

Qi Cheng thought she had the potential to be a female rogue.

Lu Yuan raised her hands and took a small step back. "You do it, you do it."

Qi Cheng said nothing. Having witnessed her boldness and recalling how she had seen him naked while he was unconscious, he realized there was nothing to be surprised about now. Calmly, he slipped his robe down to his waist, unconsciously tightening his abdomen and flexing his arms as he turned to show her.

"See, no injuries," he said, his voice sounding resigned, before turning back to look at her.

His muscles were well-defined, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, though there were some old scars—some from claw marks, others faint scars from falls or injuries.

Lu Yuan's heart ached briefly before saying, "Alright, hurry up and put your clothes back on so you don't catch a cold. I'll go tell Grandma."

She turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Qi Cheng finally let out a sigh of relief.

Just as the old lady finished cooking the porridge and was about to let it simmer for a while, she saw her granddaughter-in-law enter the kitchen.

"You came out so quickly? It hasn't even been fifteen minutes. Did you check him properly?"

Lu Yuan was speechless for a moment at the question.

"No injuries, at least none visible on his upper body."

Hearing this, the old lady put a hand to her chest in relief.

Lu Yuan glanced at the finished porridge and said, "I'll go out to buy some groceries. We can't have porridge without side dishes."

The old lady replied, "I'm not sure if Sheng Geer has been eating properly. By the time you get back with the groceries, he'll probably have already finished eating. Let's wait and go to the east market later to buy some meat, and we'll make a proper meal for lunch."

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and nodded. "You're right. The small market doesn't sell meat; at most, they might have fish. I should buy some lamb. My husband missed out on it last time."

The old lady furrowed her brow slightly and said, "Mutton is expensive, especially now that winter's coming on. The prices are probably changing daily. You haven't set up your stall for many days now—do you have enough money?"

After thinking for a moment, she added, "It's cold out, and we've been staying indoors most of the time. I've done some embroidery. You can take it along later and sell it."

Lu Yuan trailed off.

She had forgotten that a few days ago, she had lied to the old lady, saying that renting this house had almost cleaned them out.

Since she had already told the old lady about what happened on their journey home over half a month ago, Lu Yuan saw no point in hiding it anymore and mentioned the bounty.

The old lady fell silent for a while before saying, "I don't want Sheng Geer getting this kind of dangerous bounty at all."

Lu Yuan didn't dare mention that Qi Cheng might also receive a bounty this time.

She'd even forgotten to ask earlier—whether he would get a bounty and how much it might be.

Qi Cheng came out of the room and glanced at the two children who were still observing the horse. He said, "I'll go get some feed later so you can feed it."

Hearing his voice, Lu Yuan asked him, "What's the story with this horse?"

It looked like the same one from last time.

Qi Cheng said, "The Deputy Magistrate asked me what reward I wanted, so I thought of asking for a horse."

Lu Yuan was taken aback and looked at the brown horse. "This horse is the reward?"

Qi Cheng thought it over for a moment. "I think so. After all, even an old horse is worth seven or eight strings of cash. This one's quality is probably worth twenty or thirty strings."

Lu Yuan eyed the horse and said, "If we get a cart for it, we can save on ox-cart fees for the morning market. Plus, coming back from the night market would be faster—probably less than half an hour. It would make things much easier for us."

Having a good horse was like owning a luxury car, except without the high fuel costs—just a bundle of straw would do.

Qi Cheng said, "That's what I thought too. Even if you pack up late at the night market, you can still come back here without any trouble."

Driving a horse cart at night would be faster, probably taking just over a quarter of an hour.

After all, money can always be earned, but saving enough to buy an ox or a horse would take a long time.

Chun Hua and Qiu Hua both looked at Qi Cheng with shining eyes.

Chun Hua asked excitedly, "Really? Is this horse really ours now?"

Qi Cheng nodded. "You and Qiu Hua can give it a name."

Hearing this, the children's eyes lit up even more.

Lu Yuan said, "Then later, let's take the horse to the carpentry shop and ask how much a cart would cost."

Now that we have the horse, letting it sit idle would be a waste.

After a while, she suddenly realized something was off.

She and Qi Cheng had been doing all the talking—the old lady hadn't said a word. Remembering what the old lady had said earlier, Lu Yuan understood why she seemed so down.

The porridge was ready, and the table was set with some dried radish, pickled yardlong beans, and scrambled eggs.

Though Lu Yuan was curious about how Qi Cheng had served as a guide, she knew the old lady wouldn't want to hear about it, so she didn't dare ask now.

After breakfast, seeing how exhausted Qi Cheng looked from days without proper rest, Lu Yuan urged him to rest first and go to the carpentry shop in the afternoon.

After Qi Cheng went back to his room, Lu Yuan headed to the east market to buy groceries.

The children were too young to walk far without being carried, and she couldn't manage that distance.

Lu Yuan bought mutton, radishes, and a grass carp weighing over a pound.

After noon passed, Qi Cheng still hadn't woken up.

Lu Yuan went back to her room to get her sewing and moved to the children's room to sew. Even though she tried to be quiet, she still ended up waking Qi Cheng.

"Li Niang?" Qi Cheng sat up, pushed aside the curtain, and looked in her direction with sleepy eyes.

Lu Yuan asked, "Did I wake you?"

Qi Cheng shook his head. "No, I've had enough sleep anyway."

Seeing he was awake, Lu Yuan set down her sewing basket and sat beside him.

"Tell me about how you helped suppress the bandits. I didn't dare ask with the old lady around."

Qi Cheng had also noticed his grandmother didn't like hearing about such things, so he hadn't brought it up.

He gave her a brief account of suppressing the bandits but left out the dangerous details.

"For the next few days, I had to help the Deputy Magistrate track the fleeing bandits in the forest, which is why I only returned now."

Lu Yuan couldn't help showing concern. "Do you think the Deputy Magistrate might be reluctant to let you go after you did such a good job? Would he want you to keep working for him?"

Qi Cheng looked at her silently.

After a long pause, he finally said, "He's an official, and I'm a commoner. Sometimes it's not up to me to decide."

Lu Yuan fell silent too.

Yes, since ancient times, if the ruler demands a subject's death, the subject has no choice. Commoners don't fight officials—and even in later times, that principle remains unchanged.

After a long silence, she said, "Let's not tell the old lady about this. Ever since you left to suppress the bandits, she hasn't been eating or sleeping well. She fell ill a couple of days ago and only just recovered. Let her get her strength back first."

Qi Cheng looked worried. "Grandmother was ill?"

Lu Yuan nodded. "She caught a cold, but when she heard news of you, she got better."

Hearing this, Qi Cheng found himself in a dilemma.

Lu Yuan placed her hand on the back of his. "No matter what, we'll face it together."

His heart softened, and he reached out to pull her into an embrace.

Lu Yuan suddenly whispered, "Lower your head and come closer. I want to tell you something."

Qi Cheng leaned down, bringing his ear closer.

He wondered what secret she could possibly have to share when they were the only two in the room.

As he leaned in, he felt a warm, soft touch on his cheek. His slightly narrowed eyes widened in disbelief, and for a moment, a light seemed to ignite in their depths.

Qi Cheng turned to look at her and saw her smiling back at him.

Their eyes met for a long moment before the two figures slowly drew closer, their lips meeting.

Lu Yuan's heartbeat quickened, and her grip on his arm tightened.

Nervous yet expectant.

But...

The excitement gradually faded after just lip-to-lip contact.

That's it?

That's it!

No, she had taken the initiative, yet he didn't respond at all.