LW chapter 62

 

Chen Qing leaned against Zhou Yuan’s shoulder. Tears seeped through his clothes and fell onto Zhou Yuan’s skin. Zhou Yuan felt the tears were too hot. They were so hot that he was bewildered. “Ah Qing, we’ll always be fine.”

Chen Qing nodded and sniffled, “I know.”

“I know you chose to do this and that getting hurt is inevitable, but something happened suddenly today, and I wasn’t prepared at all.” Chen Qing’s voice was heavy with emotion, and he cried anxiously.

“It’s my fault.” Zhou Yuan was upset. If he had been more careful, these things could have been avoided. He blamed himself for being arrogant.

“What about those two people’s families?” Chen Qing was still softhearted.

“The escort agency has its rules.” Zhou Yuan felt uncomfortable. “We will compensate their families.”

Zhou Yuan rested his head on Chen Qing’s chest to hear his heartbeat.

Chen Qing listened to his steady heartbeat as Zhou Yuan hummed a song in his ear. They both slowly fell asleep.

Zhou Yuan listened to his steady breathing and gradually drifted off as well.

In the days that followed, Zhou Yuan began his recovery.

When he woke up in the morning, the bed beside him was cold. He turned his head and saw the egg pudding that Chen Qing had placed by the bed.

He ate the pudding in two bites, got dressed, and got up. The courtyard had been cleaned and the water tank filled, but Chen Qing was nowhere to be seen.

He walked over to his mother’s house next door. Aunt Sun was feeding the chickens in the backyard. When she saw him, she said, “Aqing and Li Xin went up the mountain to gather firewood.”

Zhou Yuan froze, remembering that Chen Qing had once said he wanted to go with him to gather firewood because Zhou Yuan was tall and could carry a lot of dead branches.

Zhou Yuan left Aunt Sun’s house and sighed. It seemed he was still angry.

On the mountain, Li Xin chopped down a dead tree and broke it into smaller pieces. He put the pieces in his bag. “It’s fine as long as he’s okay. My mother said she would come see him, but I said I would come first.”

“Why did Qi Shuning come back?” Chen Qing asked while sweeping pine needles.

“He said the headmaster said he was smart and had already taught him everything he needed to know. Since it was close to the New Year, the headmaster let him return.” Li Xin said.

Although those words came from Qi Shuning, Li Xin didn’t believe them. He had always felt that Qi Shuning didn’t seem that smart. They were most likely made up by Qi Shuning himself because he didn’t want to go to school.

“He could get third place on the exam, Third place is amazing,” Chen Qing said. He had never been to school and couldn’t read. He only knew that people who could become officials and take the imperial exams were extraordinary.

Because Qi Shuning had a scholar title, Li Xin’s family taxes were reduced. They had nearly spent all their savings on Zhang Yin’s treatment. Recently, however, he and Li the blacksmith had earned some money, so they would be able to make it through the year.

“That’s all he has.” Li Xin said. “He’s stupid.”

Chen Qing noticed that he didn’t seem angry, but rather playful. He remembered that they had married because of that so-called “rushed happiness.” Now, a year had passed, and he didn’t know how the two of them felt about each other.

“How are things with you now?”

Chen Qing was the only one who knew about their “rushed happiness,” so naturally, he cared about Li Xin’s relationship.

Li Xin was silent for a while before saying, “Sometimes, it’s good enough to just have someone by your side.”

Especially in Yunxi City, Qi Shuning’s actions made Li Xin feel that, although he was sometimes unreliable, he could still manage important matters.

Chen Qing smiled and suddenly thought of something. “If Qi Shuning keeps taking the exams, won’t he become an official? Then won’t you have to go with him?”

Li Xin’s smile froze on his lips. “That shouldn’t be possible, right? He’s such a fool. How could he become an official? He doesn’t even understand basic social etiquette.”

Chen Qing had only mentioned it casually, and neither of them brought it up again. They came down the mountain carrying a bundle of firewood.

At the foot of the mountain, they parted ways. Chen Qing went home. Zhou Yuan was pacing in the courtyard. Seeing that he was carrying firewood, Zhou Yuan wanted to help, but Chen Qing stopped him. “Your hand is hurt. Don’t move.”

Zhou Yuan followed behind. “We can buy charcoal. There’s no need to go up the mountain for firewood.”

Chen Qing turned around. “Every bit of money saved is still money.”

“Ah Qing, don’t be angry.” Zhou Yuan knew Chen Qing was still upset about his injury.

Chen Qing looked at him while working. “I’m not angry. You go rest. I’ll make you bone soup this afternoon. Can you buy some bones from the butcher?”

Zhou Yuan had no choice but to comply, so he went to the butcher to buy meat. On the way, he ran into Zhang Yin, who was just leaving. Zhang Yin looked him up and down. “I heard from Xinxin that you were hurt. Are you okay?”

“It’s fine, Godmother.” Zhou Yuan replied with a smile. “It’s just that Aqing is a bit sad.”

“Aqing hasn’t had it easy either. You should comfort him.” Zhang Yin was in good health now. She didn’t want to stay home like she used to. Recently, she played cards with Aunt Sun in the village. She was much cheerier than before.

“I know, Godmother. Where are you going?” Zhou Yuan asked.

“Shuning has come back. I’m going to their house to see them. Xinxin can’t cook,” Zhang Yin said with a smile.

Li Xin and Qi Shuning had moved into their new house. Zhang Yin was a bit worried about them, so she often visited.

“Then I’ll head home first, Godmother.”

The recovery days were quiet and peaceful, except for one thing: Chen Qing wouldn’t let him touch it.

Despite Zhou Yuan’s repeated assurances that his hand was fine and the injury wouldn’t affect anything else, Chen Qing refused.

Zhou Yuan couldn’t force him, so he could only hug and kiss Chen Qing every day to satisfy his longing.

As the year was coming to an end, the escort agency’s business picked up. Previously, Meng Qi and Meng Shuanzi had escorted jobs with the old head escort, but now they could go on their own.

Since it was close to the New Year, no one wanted to travel far. They only took a few short escort jobs, carrying New Year’s items and similar goods. Zhou Yuan didn’t mind not going out.

However, the agency still had other matters to handle, such as managing relationships between parties during the New Year, settling accounts, and making many decisions. After all,

The Zhenwei Escort Agency had become famous, and the internal accounts had previously been handled by people from the original agency. Zhou Yuan knew he couldn’t convince everyone right away after taking over. He was also worried that there might be accounting issues he couldn’t understand, so he asked Qi Shuning to bring Chen Qing with him to the county town.

Sitting in the ox cart, Qi Shuning was a little excited: “Brother, how did you know I studied accounting in Yunxi City?”

Zhou Yuan was stunned. “I didn’t know you studied accounting. I just thought that since you can read, you should be able to look at the accounts.”

Qi Shuning said happily, “After I finished my studies, Dean Fu said optics were useless. He asked me what skill I wanted to learn, but I didn’t know. Then, I met Shopkeeper Tian. He told me to go to Tianji and study accounting, so I did.”

Madam Hu said that some of the escort families would also find work in the county to earn money for household expenses.

Chen Qing nodded. He didn’t know what an escort agency did before, but now he had a general idea.

Zhou Yuan was busy and rarely around when Chen Qing woke up in the morning. Every morning, Chen Qing would stand behind the room door after waking up. Only after the sounds in the courtyard faded away did he quietly step outside. But as soon as he stepped outside, someone called out to him.

“Oh, I thought you’d gone out. The vegetables were fresh today, so I bought a little extra. I can’t finish them, so I’ll give some to your family.”

Before Chen Qing could react, a handful of vegetables landed in his hands. He could only keep saying thank you.

Before he could put them back inside, Madam Hu came in again, also carrying vegetables. Seeing him standing there, she asked, “Were you going to buy vegetables? All the stalls are closed.”

She rummaged through her basket, gave him another bundle of vegetables, and said, “Go earlier tomorrow. I’ll call you in the morning.”

“Thank you. How much is it?” Chen Qing was a little overwhelmed by their enthusiasm. “I, I…”

“Mr. Zhou said you were shy earlier, and it seems true now.” Madam Hu said with a smile. “Don’t worry. Everyone in our courtyard is easy to get along with.”

Chen Qing smiled shyly and said, “Sorry, I just feel a little…”

“It’s fine. Everyone is different. There’s no need to apologize.” Madam Hu continued, “You haven’t been out much, but your outlook will broaden and your mind will be more open when you travel across the land.”

Chen Qing nodded. This was the second time he’d heard someone say this. After the trip to Xixin Mansion, Chen Qing felt a sense of anticipation.

 

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