)

  Very satisfied eyes returned to his body, Qi You nodded with great pleasure, "En, Qi Liang is waiting outside with someone, where do you want to put it?"

  The purple sand mud can still make exquisite things, but at this time it's just a pile of dirt. It's not suitable to put in the flower hall. These clods need to be handled and used properly, which requires a place. If possible, she would like to move them to another courtyard, but she can't always run around outside.

  "Are there any empty rooms in the wing of the house? No skipping words."

  "Some of them, your dowry occupies several rooms, but there are still a few empty ones. Are you going to put them in the warehouse?"

  "Good, Qi Liang is here with some men. Go and get them to help out, clear one of the rooms for me, I have a use for it."

  "Yes."

  At this time, Qi You had already finished a cup of tea. Mingming and the prince's tea were the same, but he felt that this one tasted better?

  "Are you doing that movement loudly without jumping?"

  "It shouldn't be too big, right? Can't it be done in the mansion? Then I'll have someone send it to another courtyard."

  "If it's not a big deal and nothing happens here, then if you don't want to draw attention to yourself, it's best not to let others know."

  "But you've had people bring in dirt, won't others think too much about it?"

  "The basket is covered, no one is inside."

  Hua Ru's face lit up with a smile, "It's good to have a husband who thinks ahead and is meticulous. I won't let you go to waste, if we're giving gifts, tea leaves paired with a teapot are the perfect match."

  Seeing her excited expression, Qi You didn't say anything to ruin the atmosphere. He actually had a mindset of giving it to her to play with when he brought it back. Although playing with mud is a bit unusual, but since they're not from a noble family themselves, being a little unconventional isn't a big deal either.

  If Hua Ruochu thought so, he would definitely take back his previous decision to personally make one for him. It's better to give it to a pig than to someone who doesn't appreciate it, especially after putting in effort and hard work.

  Because Qi You returned early today, Hua Ru Chu decided to eat a little earlier and then go to the main courtyard to pay her respects. As for her parents-in-law, she planned to go alone since Qi You was unwilling to get close to his parents from the bottom of his heart.

  Seeing the two coming, both old men were very happy. Although Old Master's face couldn't show delight, his eyes were softer than usual.

  In the big mansion, those words came and went. Hua Ru Chun listened patiently to the old man's nagging without any impatience. On the other side, Old Master asked about the affairs of the imperial court. Although he was enjoying his retirement at home, his concern for the imperial court was no less than others.

  When leaving, Lao couldn't help but bring up old topics again, "Yu'er, if you have time, go visit your parents, they must be missing you."

  "Yes, grandmother."

  You agreed quite readily, but you'd better take action. The old lady sighed helplessly and waved her hand to signal the two of them to disappear from her sight quickly.

  On the way back home, when passing by the fork in the road, Hua Ru stopped in her tracks, "Do you want to go or not?"

  Qī Yòu's footsteps just paused for a moment before continuing forward, "It's getting dark, let's head back."

  The old lady consoled herself, thinking that it was her grandson who didn't want to go, and she couldn't be blamed. Hua Ruyi followed Qi Cang's footsteps with a happy smile, but in fact, she wasn't very willing to go either. Under the sky, there probably aren't many people who are willing to get close to their mother-in-law; otherwise, where would the saying "natural enemies" come from?

  Crossing the courtyard, she saw two cups of tea placed on the table under the tree. Hua Ruoxi also forgot her reserve when she was outside and pulled Qi Sheng's hand to sit down facing each other.

  His eyebrows and eyes remained still as he followed her movements, the warmth and softness at his wrist seeming to soften his heart a little.

  Satisfied, she took a sip of tea. Hua Ru closed her eyes and savored the taste, "Qi You, don't you think that old man's tea isn't as good as ours?"

  Our home? Their home together? Qiyou's face remained calm as he covered his chest, his heart beating a little faster, the joy in his heart so obvious, all because of that one sentence?

  "Qī yòu?"

  "Yes, it's not as good as our family's."

  Hua Ru Chu didn't think deeply about his distraction just now and asked, "Didn't you ask someone to send water to the main courtyard?"

  "I've sent it over, and also sent a barrel to your parents' place."

  "That's strange, with the same tea leaves and water, how can it still bring out different flavors?"

  Qī Yòu didn't understand either. The water from the Crown Prince's place was brought by him personally, and after drinking it, the Crown Prince indeed said that this water is extraordinary. He immediately sent the water he had brought to the palace himself and even personally brewed a cup of tea for the Emperor, which pleased him greatly. However, when he drank it at the Crown Prince's mansion, he didn't feel any difference from usual, but as soon as he came back here, he felt that it tasted good. Is this reasonable? Is Yún Shū's tea-brewing skill exceptional?

  Hua didn't think much of it at first and thought it wasn't a big deal, so she simply put it aside and changed the subject to today's events.

  Qī Yòu's eyebrows furrowed in distaste. Fortunately, it wasn't as weak as it seemed. Was Lǜ Liǔ becoming increasingly unscrupulous?

  "The rules in the mansion have been in place for many years, not just recently established. How can they be broken because of her? You don't need to bother with her, I'll have someone go and reprimand her, so that in the future things won't become even more unruly."

  He wouldn't agree, so Hua Ru Chu lowered her head and smiled slightly, saying "I understand what you mean, so at the time I didn't promise anything. But later on, I thought about it some more - Green Liu is such a rule-abiding person, yet she still came to ask me for help, she must have had an ulterior motive. Now that she's already in a half-crazed state, since she's made up her mind, I think it's better to just satisfy her. Otherwise, she might cause more trouble, and if she were to come to your doorstep again in the middle of the night and make a big deal out of things, Old Lady He would really start to have opinions about me."

  "I won't give her the chance to come begging in front of me."

  "There's no such thing as a thousand days of prevention, only a thousand days of thievery. Qiyou, just agree to it and let things be within our control, so I can have peace of mind."

  Qī Yòu gazed deeply at her, as if trying to see through her true thoughts. "You're being so accommodating to her, but in the future, they'll only become more and more overbearing."

  "Qi You, to be honest with you, I'd rather they make a scene in the open than resort to underhanded tactics. The Wu and Duan families have been too quiet lately, so quiet that it's making me vigilant. I don't know how well you understand them, but I think they're too naive and simple-minded for this inner palace, where such people can't be cultivated."

  Hua Ru's eyes fell on her slender fingers, so white and clean. Although she was born into a martial arts family, up until now she had never stained them with blood. But in the future? After leaving the martial world to enter the secular world, would she have to stain them with blood instead? From the bottom of her heart, she didn't want to.

  As long as she can protect herself, she doesn't mind occasionally giving in a little.

  "I... really don't understand them." Qi You thought for a moment, finding it very difficult to admit that he didn't care about this matter, only asking them not to cause trouble. These past few years they had indeed let him worry less, so he gradually neglected them even more.

  Hua Ruochu was eager to ask how he had accepted the Duan and Wu families back then, but after some thought, she put her mind at rest. She still thought it best to say less and do less.

  The night falls, and the face opposite also lowers, with soft eyebrows and eyelashes trembling slightly, it is very beautiful in the haze.

  But such silence made Qi You's heart unhappy, what was she thinking about at this time? Wasn't she unhappy that he had concubines? But if she was really unhappy, why did she always mention it so lightly, as if she didn't care about the existence of those few people?

  Or is her current mood also pretending like she usually does in front of outsiders?

  "As before, you don't need to pretend in front of me, no matter what you look like, you are mine."

  Hua Ru's eyes widened in surprise as she looked up, what had she done or said to make this man think such thoughts? And with...such a deep tone.

  "I don't pretend with you, yours, I am different in front of you and others."

  Is it really so? Qi You pushed away his tea cup and stood up, "You just remember that, the wind is rising, let's go back to the house."

  "Uh-huh."

  Waking up early, when Qi You got out of bed, Hua Ruochu was already awake and asked in a daze, "What time is it?"

  Qī Yòu sat down on the edge of the bed, pulled up the quilt for her and said, "It's still early, go back to sleep."

  "No, grandma said she's going to the main house for dinner. If I don't go to pay respects to my parents-in-law today, I'm afraid mother-in-law will come after me and scold me."

  Qī Yòu fell silent for a moment before saying something that shocked Huá Rú Chū, "If you don't like it, just pay and be done with it."

  "That's your parents... will this be bad for you?"

  "In this old house, in the past, I only recognized my grandparents as relatives."

  What about now? Hua Ru Chu bit her lip and barely swallowed the words back into her mouth, some answers were better left unspoken.

  "After all, they are your parents, even if there is no nurturing grace, there is still the grace of giving birth to you. I am yours, and I won't say that I want to help you, at least I cannot bring trouble to you. Serving my in-laws is a matter of course, you protect me, don't worry, your parents will not make things difficult for me. To be honest, if your mother were really cruel and ruthless, how could your father have married one house after another? If they are like this to others, how can they possibly be cruel to me?"

  Qī Yòu fell silent for a while before saying "good".

  It's not that he's heartless and doesn't recognize his parents, but the Qi Manor is now looking at us with a good and peaceful situation. However, if we turn back to ten or twenty years ago, the Qi Manor was not as weak as it is today. Every house fought fiercely, only those who lived in the manor for decades would understand. He was sent away by his parents using the method of competing for favor, and when his grandfather wanted to bring him to his side, those two were only happy and didn't let others take advantage, without thinking that they were still so young and how they would be after leaving their parents.

  Everyone thought he wasn't clear about what happened back then, but who would have thought that he remembered things so early? Sometimes he even wished he hadn't been so clever so soon, otherwise he could have avoided a lot of heartache.

  P: You little demons who torment people... When I see the little demon in the reward section, my heart only thinks of this sentence. (If you like this work, welcome to subscribe and reward, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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