A stick of incense later.
After Wei Changtian repeatedly assured Xu Qingwan that he wouldn’t make her lose the twenty silver coins, Little Xu finally stopped crying with suspicion.
It wasn’t until then that she realized her face had turned red.
She hastily freed herself from Wei Changtian’s embrace, wiping away her tears and adjusting her clothes, feeling like she didn’t know what to do with herself.
Finally, Wei Changtian broke the awkward silence in the room.
“Cough, haven’t you had dinner yet? Today is Laba, and I had the chef make some Laba congee. It should still be hot…”
As he spoke, he took out a ceramic jar from the food box, smiling as he said: “I didn’t eat my fill either, so let’s have some congee together.”
“Oh…”
Xu Qingwan looked down, quickly snatching the small wooden box from the table and hiding it behind her back. Wei Changtian pretended not to see, picking up the ceramic jar and pouring two large bowls of Laba congee.
Laba congee, as its name suggests, requires at least eight ingredients. Adding more is also fine.
For example, in a wealthy household like Wei Changtian’s, a single bowl of congee would contain at least ten different ingredients.
Apart from the usual glutinous rice, millet, and lotus seeds, there were also red dates, walnut kernels, and dried grapes that ordinary people wouldn’t add. The aroma of the congee instantly filled the entire room.
“Drink up.”
He handed Xu Qingwan a pair of chopsticks and took out a few small dishes of pickled vegetables from the food box.
Wei Changtian took the lead, drinking a large mouthful of congee, then savoring a bite of Li Suyue’s pickled chili peppers.
Xu Qingwan had initially wanted to wash her face first, but seeing Wei Changtian eating so deliciously, she couldn’t resist and started drinking the congee as well, not caring about the tear stains on her face.
“Slurp, slurp” – the sounds of the two of them eating filled the room, with Wei Changtian making the louder noises and Xu Qingwan making the softer sounds while crying and eating.
However, she wasn’t crying because she was sad, but because the chili peppers were too spicy.
“Hahaha, so you can’t handle spicy food!”
Wei Changtian intentionally added another pickled chili pepper to his mouth, laughing as he said: “In Sichuan, the climate is cold, and if you can’t handle spicy food, you’ll easily get rheumatism.”
“R-rheumatism?”
Xu Qingwan stared at Wei Changtian with tear-filled eyes, looking puzzled: “What’s rheumatism?”
“Cough, it’s just bone chill.”
Wei Changtian rephrased it, shaking his head: “If you catch a cold, I won’t be able to take care of you.”
“Who, who wants you to serve them……”
Xu Qingwan’s face turned even redder: “Always, always saying these weird and strange things……”
“That’s nothing compared to your weirdness.”
Wei Changtian’s face suddenly turned stern, his tone serious: “You still haven’t answered my question from earlier.”
“Why didn’t you reply to my letter? Why did you transfer to Shu Province without telling me in advance?”
“I……”
Xu Qingwan put down her bowl, lowering her head, stuttering as if she was trying to answer, but it was hard to make out.
“I, I wanted to write to you……”
“But, but……”
“But what?”
Wei Changtian directly pulled his chair over to Xu Qingwan’s side, discontentedly saying: “Speak up a bit louder.”
“Oh……”
Xu Qingwan quickly wiped away the corners of her eyes, explaining in a pitiful tone, like a mosquito buzzing:
“But, but every time I pick up my pen, I cry…… The paper always gets wet before I can finish writing, so I didn’t send it to you……”
“Don’t, don’t get angry, okay……”
Gently tugging at Wei Changtian’s sleeve, Little Xu looked anxious.
But Wei Changtian was taken aback, taking a deep breath before speaking seriously:
“Can’t you just wipe away your tears and write at the same time?”
“……”
This time, it was Xu Qingwan’s turn to be stunned.
From noble mtl dot come
She opened her small mouth, unsure of how to respond, but fortunately, Wei Changtian was just teasing her, and immediately asked again:
“What about the transfer to Shu Province? Even if you couldn’t write a letter, didn’t my father have to approve the transfer from the capital to Shu Province?”
Wei Changtian analyzed: “But my father didn’t tell me, so did you tell him not to?”
“Uh, uh……”
Xu Qingwan still held onto Wei Changtian’s sleeve: “I, I was afraid that if I told you, you wouldn’t let me come……”
“……”
Wei Changtian’s tone paused: “Are you stupid?”
Xu Qingwan shook her head foolishly: “No, not……”
“? ? ?”
Looking at Little Xu’s IQ, which seemed to be below 50, Wei Changtian almost couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hehe…… Cough! Let’s drink the rice porridge!”
“Oh, oh……”
Xu Qingwan also realized that she seemed a bit silly, and quickly lowered her head to drink the porridge, her face flushing with shame.
Wei Changtian looked at her for a while, then drained the remaining porridge in his bowl before suddenly asking again:
“Is it delicious?”
“Delicious, delicious……” A very sincere response came from the big bowl.
“……”
When you’re hungry, anything tastes good, and many people can probably relate to this.
When you’re hungry, even thinking about steamed buns makes you drool, but when you’re full, even the most exquisite dishes seem flavorless.
So it’s understandable that Xu Qingwan, who hadn’t eaten dinner, thought the Laba porridge was delicious.
Although Wei Changtian had already eaten hot pot, he was now smiling and nodding his head.
“Yeah, I think it’s pretty good too.”
……
After drinking the rice porridge, the two of them sat down and chatted for a while.
Xu Qingwan talked about some things that had happened in the capital over the past three months, while Wei Changtian selectively shared his experiences in Shu Province.
As for Yang Liushi and Liang Qin… he didn’t try to hide it.
After all, it was impossible to conceal such things.
Little Xu comrade would definitely be lying if she said she didn’t care, but she didn’t say much, probably because she had already prepared herself mentally.
Time flew by quickly, and it was soon close to midnight. The night outside the window had already grown very deep.
A lone man and woman being together in a room under such circumstances would be unthinkable in their previous life, unless the man had been kicked in the head by a donkey.
But now, in this ancient era where openness was not high, Wei Changtian, although he wanted to stay overnight, knew that a “proper” woman like Xu Qingwan wouldn’t agree.
No choice, let’s just drop it.
“You’ve traveled for so many days, get some rest early tonight.”
Standing up, Wei Changtian said regretfully, “I’ll go back first and come find you again tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
As expected, Xu Qingwan, although a bit reluctant, only wanted to spend more time with Wei Changtian and didn’t have any “premature surrender” plans.
“Drive slowly on your way.”
“Got it.”
Wei Changtian put away the ceramic jar and other items in the food box, then reached out to take the broken red cord.
But Xu Qingwan suddenly stopped him at this moment.
“Wait… wait a minute.”
“What’s wrong?”
“This is for you…”
She reached behind her head, gently tugging, and her soft, silky hair instantly fell down.
Xu Qingwan handed the removed red cord to Wei Changtian, saying softly, “I originally wanted to embroider a fragrant pouch for you, but I don’t know how to do needlework, and I didn’t learn it from my mother even after a long time… don’t dislike it, okay?”
“……”
Taking the brand-new red cord, Wei Changtian put it in his chest and said, “I won’t… okay, I’ll go now.”
“Okay… wait a minute again.”
“What’s wrong again?”
Wei Changtian turned his head back, looking puzzled.
But this time, Xu Qingwan didn’t say anything, only lightly grasping his sleeve, then, under Wei Changtian’s astonished gaze, she suddenly closed her eyes and leaned forward, her thin lips slightly pursed.
“Ah~”