Chapter 123

Chapter 123

"I've known for a long time that you're not Li Niang."

Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned, yet not entirely surprised. Qi Cheng was, after all, a clever man, and she had done many things uncharacteristic of an ordinary village woman. It was only natural for him to be suspicious, even convinced of the truth. The old lady had likely sensed something too, but neither had voiced it.

Lu Yuan remained silent.

Qi Cheng pulled her closer and continued, "Though I know, I am a selfish man. I don't care where the former Li Niang went; I only care about you, about whether you'll leave again, leaving us behind."

"Just thinking about it, I don't dare to imagine further. I'm scared I'll lose my mind."

Lu Yuan neither admitted nor denied it, simply saying, "Instead of worrying about what you might gain or lose, it's better to live well in the present. Making the most of the present is what truly matters."

Qi Cheng gave a low hum of acknowledgment, then asked, "So are you just settling for me, or are you actually fond of me?"

Lu Yuan fell silent.

This drunken Qi Cheng—why was he so chatty? She really wanted to shut him up.

She turned over, cupped his face in the darkness, leaned in, and found his lips to give them a peck, whispering soothingly, "I do like you. I have feelings for you."

Even though she had initially intended to merely make do, if he had been of bad character or unsightly, she certainly wouldn't have conceded so easily.

Qi Cheng's lips curved into a smile. He pulled her waist closer and pecked her lips several times, saying, "I like you too, very much."

Lu Yuan couldn't suppress a smile. "I know, I know."

Qi Cheng, especially assertive after drinking, declared, "No matter who you are, even if someone argues until they're blue in the face, you are my wife, Qi Cheng's wife. No one can change that fact."

Lu Yuan: "Yes, yes, I am your wife. No one can change that."

Reassured by her firm words, Qi Cheng fell asleep contentedly.

Not hearing his voice, only his steady breathing, she knew he was asleep. Lu Yuan smiled, muttered "you menace" with a smile, then closed her eyes and slept in his embrace.

After the lunar New Year celebrations ended, Lu Yuan began to do the accounts.

In just half a month, during the New Year period, the stall and shop together earned over seven strings of cash.

Throughout the year, except for the New Year, there were few customers from late autumn to spring, but the stall and shop could still bring in fifty or sixty strings of cash.

Combined with Qi Cheng's monthly pay and after deducting other expenses, they managed to save around sixty strings of cash this year.

Added to what was left from last year, it came to a neat hundred strings of cash.

They were getting closer and closer to buying a house.

After the first month of the year, an official decree came down from the court: the Acting County Magistrate had been recognized for his merits in suppressing bandits and was specially appointed as the Guangkang County Magistrate.

This meant he would continue serving for another two years.

When the decree was announced, folks were glad that Lord Yang would remain in Guangkang but also felt he was getting a raw deal.

While resting in the watchhouse, one constable grumbled, "Our Lord suppressed so many bandits. How come he only got promoted to County Magistrate?"

Constable Ji, who was nearby, said, "From what I heard, Lord Yang chose to stay in Guangkang voluntarily."

Everyone turned to look at him.

Constable Ji explained, "Lord Yang said Guangkang isn't fully stable yet, so he plans to stay for another two years. He'll leave only when Guangkang is peaceful and its people are living happily."

Hearing this, everyone felt profound respect for their Lord.

After the crowd dispersed, Constable Ji asked Qi Cheng, "Didn't you sign a two-year contract with Lord Yang? Since he's staying, will you continue serving?"

Qi Cheng answered truthfully, "If Lord Yang still needs me, I'll stay at the public office. There are still seven months left on the contract, so there's no hurry."

The contract he'd signed was set to expire when Lord Yang's term ended.

Time had flown by; he'd already been at the public office for over a year.

From his initial reluctance to his current willingness, after seeing what Lord Yang was made of.

Constable Ji passed on what he'd heard to Deputy General Zhou, who then passed it on to Lord Yang.

"Why didn't you just ask him directly, Lord?" Deputy General Zhou asked.

Yang Zhiyuan, working on an annoying official report, said, "We agreed on this earlier. How could I possibly go back on my word now that I'm in this position? Besides, if he doesn't want to stay but feels pressured to agree because I asked, wouldn't that make me a superior who doesn't keep his word?"

Deputy General Zhou said, "Didn't you use some underhanded methods before to force Stockade Official Qi to join the public office?"

Yang Zhiyuan glanced at him. "If I hadn't gotten him into the public office, would *you* have led the troops into the mountains to clear out the bandits?"

Deputy General Zhou shrugged. All their fighting experience was on open ground, not in mountains. If he had led the troops into the mountains, they could have taken heavy losses.

Yang Zhiyuan said, "But still, it was pretty underhanded." After a moment's thought, he added, "Go buy two geese from the market and deliver them to his house. Hint that I want him to stay on."

Deputy General Zhou muttered to himself, "Why beat around the bush when you could just ask him directly?"

Yang Zhiyuan: "Just do as I say. Less talking, more doing."

Deputy General Zhou replied, "Alright, alright, I'm on it, sir."

Yang Zhiyuan glanced at the report on his desk, annoyed, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it on the ground.

He hated writing those reports more than anything.

Qi Cheng had just returned home from duty when Deputy General Zhou showed up at his doorstep with two large geese.

He explained that the County Magistrate, appreciating Qi Cheng's hard work, had specially sent two geese over.

After tying up the geese, Qi Cheng led Deputy General Zhou into the main hall.

Lu Yuan glanced at the geese. Goose meat wasn't cheap. A single goose cost several hundred coins, let alone two—that must be nearly a full string of cash.

Why would the County Magistrate suddenly send two geese to Qi Cheng?

After some thought, she realized: the County Magistrate was staying, but Qi Cheng's term was about to expire. This was probably related to that.

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment, then warned the children, "Don't get too close. Those geese might peck you."

Then she went to the kitchen to prepare tea.

Once the tea was ready and brought to the main room, and just as the tray was set down, the sound of a child crying came from the yard.

Before Lu Yuan even had a chance to react, Qi Cheng had already rushed out of the house like a gust of wind.

Lu Yuan was right behind him, with Deputy General Zhou trailing behind.

Out in the yard, they saw Qiu Hua being held in Qi Cheng's arms, sniffling and pointing an accusing finger at the goose, complaining, "It pecked my bottom! The goose is bad!"

Hearing this, everyone in the yard couldn't help but laugh.

Lu Yuan suppressed a smile and said, "I already reminded you and your sister not to get too close—the goose pecks people."

Qi Cheng gently wiped the tears from the corner of her eye and whispered soothingly, "We'll cook it up soon and give it to Qiu Hua to eat, alright?"

Qiu Hua nodded vigorously, "Mm!"

Qi Cheng invited Deputy General Zhou to stay for dinner so they could discuss matters in detail.

Qi Cheng went to slaughter the goose, while Lu Yuan offered to cook it.

It had been so long since she last ate goose—she was craving it.

Stewed goose in an iron pot—just thinking about it made her mouth water.

The house had both wine and spices.

Lu Yuan added the seasonings while Qi Cheng stir-fried.

After all, a whole goose weighed seven or eight *jin* (approximately 7.7 to 8.8 pounds), so stir-frying it was quite a task.

Lu Yuan added a few *liang* (approximately 1.3 to 1.6 ounces) of mild wine to braise it, then asked Qi Cheng to entertain their guest.

While the goose was braising, Lu Yuan sent Cui Niang to the east market to buy some vegetables and a rack of ribs to stew with the goose.

With the addition of a few *jin* of ribs, the pot was filled to the brim with meat.

The old lady asked, "For just our small group, are you making so much? Can we finish it all?"

Lu Yuan replied, "I was thinking of having my husband bring some to County Magistrate later. After all, these two geese cost quite a bit of money."

After the food was ready, Lu Yuan filled a jar and said to Qi Cheng, "After dinner, take this to the public office and deliver it to County Magistrate."

Qi Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Deputy General Zhou will be returning to the public office later. Let him deliver it to avoid gossip."

Lu Yuan nodded and agreed, "That works too."

When Deputy General Zhou heard Qi Cheng ask him to deliver the food to County Magistrate, he said, "Then I’ll go eat with County Magistrate so the food doesn't get cold."

"County Magistrate has no one to keep him company, so I’ll go accompany him."

Qi Cheng didn’t press him to stay and instead had Lu Yuan pack other dishes and a pot of rice into a basket for Deputy General Zhou to take back.

Over dinner, the old lady asked, "Why did County Magistrate suddenly send two geese and have Deputy General Zhou deliver them personally?"

Having raised such a clever grandson, she was naturally wise herself and had probably figured out the reason.

Qi Cheng didn’t hide it from her and answered truthfully, "He came to ask if I’d be willing to renew my contract and continue working at the public office."

Qi Cheng looked at his grandmother, curious about her opinion.

Since she had already guessed, she wasn’t too surprised.

After eating a piece of meat that had been stewed separately for nearly half an hour until it was falling-apart tender, she said leisurely, "You’re grown up now—I can’t keep managing everything. Whatever decision you make, I won’t stop you. But remember one thing: protect yourself and don’t get hurt."

Her grandson was a treasure, but so were other people’s sons and grandsons, all striving for the peace and prosperity of Guangkang. Their family had been sheltered by these efforts—how could they stand apart and remain uninvolved?

Qi Cheng nodded gently.

After the evening meal, they washed up and returned to their room. Qi Cheng took down Lu Yuan’s hair and combed it.

When he finished, he looked at her noticeably rounded belly and said, "What do you think we should name this child?"

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "Can I decide this on my own?"

Qi Cheng laughed, "You’re the child’s mother. If you can’t decide, who can?"

Hearing this, Lu Yuan was pleased.

Her eyes sparkling with laughter, she turned and looked up at him, "I’ve actually thought of a few names."

Qi Cheng said, "Tell me."

Lu Yuan: "Chun Hua and Qiu Hua’s nicknames not only have 'flower' but also seasons. I was thinking our child should have that too."

Qi Cheng’s mouth twitched slightly, "What if it’s a boy? His nickname can’t have 'flower' in it, can it?"

Lu Yuan quickly shook her head, "Never mind. The child will be born in summer. If it’s a girl, her nickname could be Xia Hua (Summer Flower), and her formal name could be Qi Xiaying, Xia Zhu, or Xia Can."

"But if it’s a boy, we'll just use 'Xia' (Summer). Qi Xiayuan, Xia Tao, or Xia Yi—how does that sound?"

Qi Cheng listened to the names she suggested—each one elegant, as if chosen by a scholar.

He smiled, "I think Xia Can is nice. It works for either a boy or a girl—'radiant summer,' full of vitality."

Lu Yuan hesitated, "Maybe we should ask the old lady which name she prefers. Another opinion couldn’t hurt."

After a moment, she added, "We should also give Chun Hua and Qiu Hua formal names."

They had previously thought that once they had the child, they would officially change the names and record them in the family registry together.

Qi Cheng asked, "Have you decided?"

Lately, during her free time, Lu Yuan had been thinking of names for all three children.

Lu Yuan said, "For Chun Hua, I thought of several and narrowed it down to two: Chun Yi and Chun Sheng. For Qiu Hua, there’s Qiu Yu and Qiu Lan."

Qi Cheng said, "These names are really lovely. Why not let the children choose for themselves?"

Lu Yuan asked, "Have you thought about it too?"

Qi Cheng nodded, "I have, but now I think the names you’ve chosen sound better and suit them more."

Lu Yuan rolled her eyes at him, "Smooth talker."

Qi Cheng: "It’s the truth. The names you’ve chosen for them all have beautiful meanings—Chun Yi and Chun Sheng both evoke the vitality of spring; Yu means clever and beautiful; Lan means vast and expansive."

Lu Yuan’s eyes shone with even greater delight, and she said happily, "I knew you’d understand me."

Qi Cheng also smiled, "After the child is born and we finalize the name, we’ll let them choose their own names—it’ll make it more ceremonious."