abcnovels
Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Qi Huan nodded obediently.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since she was already living in ancient times, she had to try her best to adapt to this era.
Learning to write would allow her to write letters, keep accounts, and draft business plans on her own in the future.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but quicken her pace, full of anticipation for the upcoming learning.
At this moment, there was a sudden sound of hurried hoofbeats behind her.
Qi Huan turned around at the sound and once again saw Lu Yueming.
The woman in red on the horse back cut a dashing figure, yet her expression was as cold as ice.
Seeing this, Qi Huan's heart skipped a beat.
Had something happened?
Had Lord Lu eaten too many spicy strips and gotten indigestion? ...Or was he constipated?
As their eyes met, Lu Yueming nimbly dismounted from the horse.
"Miss Qi, I bought these spicy strips but didn't want to feed them to the white wolf, and couldn't think of a suitable way to dispose of them. I wanted to return them to you......"
Qi Huan stared at her in astonishment: "We don't accept returns once the spicy strips are sold."
Lu Yueming's brows furrowed, but then smoothed out again: "I'm not returning them, I'm giving them to you. Is that okay?"
"......I find it rather distressing."
The cold wind blew against her face, and Qi Huan tightened her clothes, a little unsure of the situation.
Li Shuchen quietly took two steps forward, shielding her from the wind, and said softly: "Let's go inside to talk."
It seemed that a few words wouldn't suffice, so they couldn't let the little fairy stand out in the wind and snow.
Qi Huan voiced her agreement, and invited Lu Yueming into the back courtyard room.
When she went out to pour tea, Li Shuchen followed and said slowly to her:
"You don't need to be afraid of Miss Lu's status."
"You have me."
Earlier, Lu Yueming's expression was truly not very good. If she were to bully Ahuan later on, he wouldn't mind finding a way to replace her as the city leader.
Qi Huan looked up at his calm eyes and chuckled: "Okay."
They shouldn't keep Lu Yueming waiting too long. She went around Li Shuchen: "Ashu, you go home first. After I'm done dealing with this, I'll come find you to learn writing."
Li Shuchen didn't make a sound, quietly waiting in the main hall.
At the same time, Qi Huan entered the room and poured Lu Yueming a cup of tea.
"Miss Lu, why did you want to return the spicy strips?"
"Didn't you say you wanted to give them to your father?"
Upon hearing the word "father," Lu Yueming's expression suddenly turned unpleasant: "He doesn't deserve it!"
"Even if I fed them to a dog, I wouldn't want him to eat them!"
Qi Huan was stunned. Feed them to a dog?
So she brought them back to return to her?
At this moment, Lu Yueming was trapped in her emotions, unable to free herself.
She felt that the burden weighing on her heart was about to consume her, and she urgently needed an outlet to vent.
So, she explained in great detail:
"My father has taken a concubine."
"I originally wanted to go to the military camp to give my father the spicy strips, to surprise him."
"But there was only a surprise, no joy."
"Before I even left the city gates, I suddenly ran into my father entering the city. Strange thing was, he turned towards the west side of the city. Curiosity got the better of me, so I secretly followed him, only to discover that he stopped in front of a certain mansion."
"After knocking on the door, a bewitching woman with a swaying, snake-like waist took his hand and led him inside."
"I heard them chatting about domestic affairs, even mentioning a child named Lu Zhiming."
Qi Huan was stunned beyond belief.
Not only did he have a concubine, but also an illegitimate child.
"Yes, they have a child together," Lu Yueming said, her expression pained.
"I always thought my father was very busy. When I was sick, he didn't come back to see me, but I didn't mind because in my heart, my father was a great hero standing tall."
"But I never expected that he would be keeping another woman and child outside!"
Qi Huan could only think of calling him a scumbag.
However, in ancient times, most men had multiple wives and concubines, which was very normal for them.
Only...
"Why did your father take a concubine? Shouldn't he have brought her into the household as a proper concubine?"
Lu Yueming seemed a little uncomfortable: "Our family situation is special."
"My maternal grandfather is General Du, who is stationed in Lingzhou. My father owes his current position entirely to his promotion. My mother cannot tolerate any misconduct and doesn't allow him to take concubines."
"Initially, my father obeyed my mother's every word, even taking a vow."
"Now that my maternal grandfather has retired, my father has suddenly become much colder......"
"Not only is he increasingly impatient with my mother, but he didn't even come back when I was sick."
Lu Yueming clenched her clothes angrily, a hint of resentment appearing in her eyes.
"My father was just a lowly soldier under my maternal grandfather's command in the past. He lost his parents at a young age and was mistreated by his clansmen, which is why he joined the military. He had no family wealth, so our household expenses over the years have mostly come from my mother's dowry. Apart from his meager salary, he has no private assets. I just don't believe that if he lost his official position and salary, that woman would still be willing to share his hardships."
Lu Yueming knew that her mother would only think that her father had been seduced by the other woman.
But a fly won't lay eggs on a seamless egg.
Her father's problem was even greater!
Her father had used her maternal grandfather's influence, spent her mother's dowry, and in return, violated his vows and treated her and her mother with disdain.
She couldn't swallow this grievance.
She made up her mind and stood up.
"Thank you, Miss Qi, for listening to my complaints. I'll treat you to a meal another day."
"I'll have someone send the spicy strips to you shortly. Please help me dispose of them, thank you."
With that, she went out, remounted her horse, and rode off, her movements as fluid as a flowing cloud, causing Qi Huan's eyes to shine with admiration.
Beside her, Li Shuchen gave her a sidelong glance.
Thinking to himself: His movements when mounting a horse were even more dashing!
Unfortunately, he didn't have a horse now.
After the noodle shop closed for the day.
Mr. Xu began teaching the children like Little Shitou how to recognize characters. He wrote a large character on paper, and the children dipped their fingers in clean water and practiced imitating it on the red wood table, writing and reciting as they went.
Seeing how diligently they were studying, Qi Huan showed a pleased smile.
She found an empty spot to sit down, lightly dipping her fingertip in water and copying the characters on the table.
Li Shuchen also came over and stood behind her, earnestly guiding her.
"You wrote that part wrong."
He wrote the character "money" next to it.
Qi Huan carefully studied it for a few moments, then copied it again.
This was her favorite character, so she had to learn it well.
When she finished the last stroke, Li Shuchen let out a helpless sigh: "The final stroke of the 'gold' radical should curve upwards, like this."
He leaned down from behind Qi Huan, took her hand, and guided her fingertip to write the character "money" again.
The sudden closeness caught Qi Huan off guard, and her heart rate sped up. The warmth on the back of her hand made her face rapidly grow hot.
Her face turned redder and redder. She struggled a little, and Li Shuchen obediently let go of her hand and straightened up.
Feeling his breath quickly withdraw from behind her, Qi Huan couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.
Before she could figure out the origin of these emotions, the sound of hoofbeats rang out again from outside the noodle shop.
"I'll go take a look."
Signaling for Little Shitou and the others to continue studying, Qi Huan went out the door.
Outside, the carriage driver had just tied up the horse when he saw her and cheerfully greeted her: "Miss Qi, our young lady asked me to deliver these spicy strips to you."
With that, he nimbly climbed into the carriage and unloaded the jars of spicy strips one by one, carrying them back to Qi's Noodle Shop.
Inside the shop, Little Shitou and the others were very surprised.
The lively Qing Cao blurted out: "Sister Qi, why were these spicy strips sent back? Do we have to pay compensation?"
"No," Qi Huan patted the small bun on Qing Cao's head but didn't explain the reason in detail.
She then opened a jar of spicy strips and handed one to her, inviting the others to eat as well.
Although the spicy strips were delicious, eating too many wasn't good, so after finishing one jar, Qi Huan didn't open a second one.
The day after tomorrow would be the Laba Festival, and she had other plans for these spicy strips.