The house had not been occupied for more than a year, but there was not much dust, and it was obvious that someone had helped clean it beforehand. Jing Li had planted a yard of flowers and plants, and before leaving last year, Qin Zhao had asked the village chief to take care of it, and he probably helped with the cleaning.
After a year, the flowers and plants in the yard are still growing lushly, and the bamboo wall outside the yard is covered with vines, looking a little messy due to neglect.
Qin Zhao understood.
The villagers are all rough people who don't know how to do delicate work like growing flowers and plants. At most they come to water the plants to ensure they don't wither.
A group of people pushed the door and walked into the yard. Only Ah Qi was stunned for a moment when he saw the whole picture of the bamboo courtyard, and he took a step slower when entering the door.
Qin Zhao noticed it and asked, "Why?"
"No, it's okay. I just didn't expect..." Ah Qi's eyes dimmed slightly, and he stammered, "I didn't expect that the master used to live in a place like this."
A simple bamboo courtyard, a narrow wooden house, a remote and poor mountain village... Who could have imagined that the regent who once made everything possible in the capital would one day fall into such a situation.
Qin Zhao heard his thoughts and smiled faintly.
Chen Yanan said, "Brother, you have never been to the village, right?"
He walked at the end, holding the little fish cub in his arms, and explained, "This place is definitely not as good as the capital city, but Qin Zhao's yard is already one of the best houses in our village."
"You didn't see the place Qin Zhaoyi lived in. It was broken and leaky. I got sick from the cold when I went there to study for a few days. I don't know how he was able to live there in the first place."
Chen Yanan actually had no other intention when he said this. The house originally belonged to him, so a few complaints would not cause any harm.
But Ah Qi felt even more uncomfortable.
Even Jing Li fell silent.
Chen Yanan blinked, realizing that something was wrong with the atmosphere.
… What did he say wrong
Only Xiao Yuzai was heartless and didn't understand what they were saying, nor did he think the environment here was bad. He rolled his eyes and looked around curiously.
Chen Yanan quickly held the person steady.
It took him a lot of effort to convince the little fish that he was the fat uncle from before. He regained the precarious trust and got the opportunity to carry the little fish for a walk.
"That's enough." Qin Zhao interrupted, "What are you all standing outside for? Come in quickly."
As the person involved, he didn't think there was anything wrong, and he didn't know why these two people were so sad.
The group entered the bamboo courtyard. The little boy was delighted to see the flowers and plants all over the courtyard. As soon as he entered, he asked Chen Yan'an to put him down. As soon as he landed on the ground, he dived into the flowers and could not be caught.
Jing Li played with Xiao Yuzai in the yard, while Qin Zhaoze, Ah Qi and Chen Yanan went into the house to pack their luggage.
Ah Qi did not dare to let Qin Zhao do it, and took the initiative to take the bulk of the work, letting the host rest on the side. The last time Chen Yanan went to Qin Zhao's house, Ah Qi had not come yet, and he was not used to calling this seemingly gentle and handsome young man.
Qin Zhao said, "It's okay, let him do it."
When they moved, they didn't take many items with them. They were packed and sealed at home. Qin Zhao took out the teacups and bowls one by one, went to the kitchen to boil water, and made a pot of tea.
The aroma of tea fills the air, adding a touch of liveliness to this bamboo courtyard.
Chen Yanan looked at Ah Qi who was working efficiently and sighed: "When I go back to the county town, I will also find someone to take care of the housework."
Hearing this, Qin Zhao raised his eyebrows and asked, "Has your mother agreed to let you go to the county town?"
Chen Yanan knew his qualifications well. After so many years of hard work, it was not easy to pass the imperial examination and he had no plans to continue taking the imperial examination. Over the past year, Chen Yanan has been helping the village chief run the school, but this is not a long-term solution after all.
There are greater opportunities if you go to the county town.
Of course, Chen Yanan wanted to go to the county town not just for a living.
Thinking of this, Qin Zhao asked again: "What happened between you and Ayi?"
During these days, Jing Li kept correspondence with these old friends, but Ayi was shy and did not often talk about his private feelings in his letters. He only occasionally mentioned that Chen Yanan had gone to the county town to see him again, brought him some food and toys, and accompanied him for a stroll.
Even Mr. Xue would send letters to complain that when Ayi and Chen Yanan were together, it was almost as if he didn't exist as a grandfather anymore.
In a nutshell, everyone except the two of them thought they were in love.
As for Chen Yanan, he mentioned Ayi even less often.
It's not that he doesn't care, but because his mother has never given in. Aunt Chen is a traditional person and doesn't agree with Chen Yan'an marrying a concubine as his legal wife. Chen Yan'an can't solve his mother's problem and he is too embarrassed to mention these things in front of others.
As for Qin Zhao's initiative to bring up this matter today, it was naturally because before he came back, Jing Li often talked about how he wanted to torture Chen Yanan when they met.
Hearing Qin Zhao bring up this matter, Chen Yanan looked away, his ears slightly red: "I...what else can we do?"
Qin Zhao: "Tell the truth."
Chen Yanan hesitated, "You know, my mother thinks he's a double-faced man, and he's out there doing business all day... It's not nice to tell others about it. But... but I've been trying to persuade him for so long, she's a little soft-hearted."
"Soon, Zheng Yi will come to this mountain to buy goods, and I will take him... take him..."
Chen Yanan's voice became lower and lower, and Qin Zhao could hardly hear him: "You stop talking."
"I brought him to meet my mother, and she changed her mind about him!" Chen Yanan said quickly, "Mr. Xue also knows about our situation, and he said he is willing to make the decision for us. Let's get married this year."
"Bang-"
There was a slight sound outside the door. When Jing Li entered the room, he just heard Chen Yanan's words and was so startled that he bumped his head against the door frame.
"Ah..." Jing Li felt dizzy from the collision and took half a step back.
Qin Zhao hurriedly stepped forward to help him up: "Let go, let me see if it's swollen."
"It's okay." Jing Li was in so much pain that tears came out. After all, the collision was not serious. He rubbed the wound and said angrily: "Ayi didn't tell me anything. I'll write a letter to scold him!"
After saying that, he went into the inner room cursing to find paper and pen.
Qin Zhao smiled and shook his head, picked up the little fish that was thrown by the door, and asked Chen Yanan: "Have you set a date?"
"Not yet." Chen Yan'an was interrupted and didn't care about being shy anymore. He said, "My mother discussed with Mr. Xue and wanted you, Brother Qin, to be the witness. She asked me to come here today to ask how long you plan to stay in the village."
"This..." Qin Zhao hesitated and shook his head, "I'm not your elder, I'm afraid this is not appropriate."
"Why is it inappropriate? You are my master!" Chen Yan'an said, "If you hadn't taught me, I wouldn't have been able to pass the exam. Also, if it weren't for you, how could I have met Ayi? You are the most suitable witness."
"But… "
Qin Zhao came back just to visit the village chief and see some old friends in the village, so he would not stay for too long. But if he attended the wedding banquet, he would probably be delayed for quite a while.
Qin Zhao was undecided for a moment. Chen Yanan touched his nose and said, "Actually, Mr. Xue has already picked a few auspicious days for us. It's not too late. Brother Qin, you..."
He said, took out a piece of red paper from his bosom and handed it over.
Qin Zhao: “…”
It seems like everything is already prepared, except for him to decide on the date, right
No wonder this guy lost weight so successfully.
Chen Yan'an looked uneasy. Not far away, Jing Li was sitting at the table grinding ink. His eyes couldn't stop wandering around, and he was listening to their conversation.
Qin Zhao immediately understood what he meant, walked to the table, and handed the red paper to Jing Li: "You choose, we will leave after attending the wedding banquet."
Chen Yanan and Ayi’s wedding banquet is scheduled to be held in Linxi Village ten days later.
In the village, weddings of couples were rarely held with such grand ceremony as this one. In fact, most of the couples who could be married to this place were bought, and their status in the family was not even as high as that of a concubine, let alone a wedding banquet.
Chen Yanan did this to tell the villagers that Ayi was his legal wife and should not be bullied.
In the remaining days, Jing Li was busy arranging the wedding. He ran outside all day long, and felt as if he was getting married himself.
It was getting dark when Jing Li returned home. As soon as he entered the door, he smelled the familiar aroma of food.
"Did you cook dinner tonight?" Jing Li asked Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao: "You have a very sensitive nose."
Now with Ah Qi's help, and Qin Zhao being busy with other matters, he rarely cooks in person. Ah Qi's cooking skills are good, but Jing Li still prefers Qin Zhao's cooking.
Jing Li had been busy all day and was already starving, so he went to the kitchen diligently to get the dishes and chopsticks.
But I saw some residue from burnt letter paper on the stove.
Jing Li asked, "A letter from the capital?"
"Well, let's eat and talk." Qin Zhao helped him put the food on the table, and then said slowly, "Gu Changzhou just sent a letter this afternoon. It's news from the capital."
Jing Li bit the chopsticks and stared at him without turning.
Qin Zhao said calmly: "The news said that the emperor has been ill for more than a month. All government affairs during this period have been sent to the harem and handled by the queen mother."
Jing Li let out a soft "ah".
The Queen Mother was the queen who had fought with Qin Zhao for power.
"So, the little emperor's illness... is related to the empress dowager?" Jing Li asked.
"It's not clear yet." Qin Zhao said, "I heard that the Queen Mother has rarely acted as regent in recent years and has devoted herself to vegetarianism and worshipping Buddha. This time, the Emperor personally issued an imperial decree, and the officials petitioned, hoping that you would handle government affairs on his behalf."
Jing Li: “I don’t believe it.”
He has always believed in Qin Zhao unconditionally. In his eyes, both the emperor and the queen mother were suspected of harming Qin Zhao and were worthless.
"What exactly is the problem here? I'm afraid we won't know until we enter Beijing." Qin Zhao picked up some food for him, his tone still steady.
Jing Li asked: "Aren't you worried at all?"
"What are you worried about?"
Jing Li hummed: "I worry about these things. I always feel that the things involved are complicated..."
"There's no point in worrying." Qin Zhao said, "We are now a thousand miles away from the capital. We won't know what happened there until at least half a month later. It takes a month to go back and forth. We can't interfere."
“That’s right.”
Jing Li pursed his lips and whispered, "I'm sorry, I wanted to stay. We've been staying in the village for so many days, and we don't know how the situation in the capital will change..."
"It doesn't matter. The Chen family has done me a favor, so I should stay." Qin Zhao paused and said, "Besides, these recent events have reminded me of another thing."
Jing Li: “What?”
Qin Zhao said: "Chen Yan'an knows that he should give his beloved a decent and grand wedding banquet. I am not as good as him in this aspect."
Jing Li was stunned.
"We didn't have any money back then." Jing Li whispered, "And we had a wedding, on the Mid-Autumn Festival that year."
That simple wedding was Jing Li’s first gift to Qin Zhao.
"I'm sorry for having you follow me all these years."
Qin Zhao raised his hand and gently stroked Jing Li's cheek: "I remember everything I owe you. When we return to the capital and settle these things, I will help you make it up one by one."
Jing Li's ears felt a little hot.
He glanced at Ah Qi who was feeding the little fish nearby. The latter lowered his head with a focused expression. He even deliberately stuffed a bite of food into the little fish's mouth when he looked up curiously to divert his attention.
Poor Ah Qi, a single young man in his twenties, was able to listen to Qin Zhao's disgusting words without changing his expression and even helped cover up for them.
Jing Li retracted his gaze, his ears turned even redder: "Then let's go to the capital as soon as possible, and then go after the wedding banquet!"
Qin Zhao nodded: "I have already written to Gu Changzhou. He will send someone to pick us up after the wedding banquet."
“… Then we will go directly to Beijing.”