Let Me Pursue You – Chapter 119
Chapter 119 Extra Story – This Life – Happy Reunion (1)
It was the ninth year of Changqing, three months after Yuan Ci Xian successfully gave birth to the second son of the Lu family.
In the middle of Second month and close to , the season was warm and cold, with strong humidity in the morning and night, but the sun was warm and pleasant at noon, which was a good time for spring fishing.
Outside Luoyang City, under the melting ice and snow, when willow branches sprout tender shoots, and within the intoxicating spring day, you can go boating to the middle of the river, take a fishing rod, and catch live fish.
At the head of river boat, Yuan Ci Xian stretched out her legs to bask in the sun, while urging the person above her from time to time: “Did you catch it?”
Lu Shi Qing held the rod in one hand, and pinched her two lips with the other hand to shut her up, looked down at her and said bitterly: “If you make another sound, even the stupid fish will be scared away.”
Her lips were pinched, so she couldn’t speak, only babbling vaguely: “Uh-huh-uh-uh, uh-uh-uh, uh-uh-uh!”
She was saying: I have such a nice voice, how can I scare away the fish!
Lu Shi Qing heard it clearly, and sighed: “Look, another one get away.”
“…” She was so angry that she groaned heavily, and when he helplessly let go, she bit his finger viciously.
He was bitten so painfully that he felt that the bone of his index finger was about to shattered. He gritted his teeth and scolded: “Yuan Ci Xian, do you know what my hand is for?”
As soon as he said this, Yuan Ci Xian remembered one night in Chang’an ten years ago.
When they first met ten years ago, she followed Lu Shi Qing to the outskirts of Chang’an to investigate a case. After being caught by her brother, he was so angry that he beat him with a whip.
At that time, she asked her brother if he knew what Assistant Minister Lu’s hand was going to do in the future, and then she answered it herself by praising him, saying that he would support the world.
She was stunned, then comfortably leaned on his leg: “Now that the world is supported, what else do you have to do with this hand?”
Lu Shi Qing obviously remembered how she blew up back then, and opened his five fingers and looked at it, then curled his lips and replied: “There is something more important than supporting the world. I have to give you relieve at night.”
“…” Yuan Ci Xian choked and couldn’t refute a word, for a while she pretended to be shy and coquettish, covered her face and said, “Someone is openly declaring their lewdness in broad daylight!”
After being married for eight years, as an old married couple, what vulgar words they couldn’t say. Declaring lewdness in broad daylight was nothing, he already restrained himself by not directly “use his hand” in this barren mountain and wild place.
Lu Shi Qing said lightly: “Why, is there anyone who dares to interfere with my affairs now?”
Yuan Ci Xian thought that he would be embarrassed.
A year ago, he brought her to Luoyang to give birth. Not long after that, he handed over his resignation letter to the poor young emperor, then used some tricks to move the whole family over. Now he was idle, and there were no political opponents trying to catch his fault
The seven-year court game was finally over.
She sighed every time she thought of this, it’s true that old gingers are spicier. When he was in the court, he and able to do a job with ease. When he retreated bravely from the court, it was like the golden cicada escaped his shell. There was nothing the young emperor could do with him. He could only watch Yuan Shu being taken away from the capital.
She twisted her body like a snake, changed from lying on her back to lying on her side facing him, and said, “If you don’t catch me a bass today, you won’t have your fill later.”
Look, she can say some lewd things too.
Lu Shi Qing sighed, tightened his grip on the fishing rod, and focused his gaze on the river.
As soon as this woman idle, tricks come out. Back then he missed her birthday on the third day of Second month for two years in a row because the Nanzhao and Huihu war, and now she asked him to make it up. Today was her birthday, and he had to make her a bowl of bass soup with his own hands.
The bass must be hand caught. The green onions also had to be grown and cut by hand. As for tofu cubes, if you can’t grind them yourself, at least you have to buy them and cut them yourself.
In order to make this bass soup, he started to plant green onions in the back garden of their house early on. Every morning, with his hands behind his back and his waist bent, he watched the onions grow up little by little, just like raising a son.
Simply insane.
Seeing him frowned with bitterness and hatred showing on his face, Yuan Ci Xian was satisfied. She was about to close her eyes and fall asleep, when suddenly she saw his brows loosened, and his hand holding the fishing rod tightened slightly.
There it is.
She immediately turned around, just as Lu Shi Qing bent his wrist and lifted the pole, pulling the bait and prey out of the water, but the next moment, before she had time to take a closer look, she scrambled to her feet.
A scream broke through the spring field. The hook was attached to a long yellow-brown object nearly three feet long, and that thing was writhing and struggling with flick after flick.
He, he caught her a slippery water snake!
Heavens knows this thing could frighten Yuan Ci Xian to death.
Lu Shi Qing was also taken aback when he saw this. Fearing that she would be scared senseless, without even unhook the bait after picking it up, he simply threw the pole quickly, and threw the whole thing far into the river.
After the “splash” sounded, he came back to his senses, and then realized that his back was heavy. When he looked down, he saw a pair of jade arms wrapped around his neck and a pair of thin legs wrapped around his waist——Like an octopus, Yuan Ci Xian wrapped herself tightly to his back, and said in surprise: “How can there be snakes in the river!”
He laughed for a moment, reached out to support her calf and lifted her up. After he steadied her hold, he turned his head and said: “If you ask me, the who should I ask?”
Yuan Ci Xian was still in shock, the goosebumps all over her body hadn’t faded. After trembling for a while she recovered a little, her forearm tightened, looking like she wanted to strangle him to death: “You caught it, if I don’t ask you then asked who?”
He was about to speak, when she suddenly shook her head violently, as if trying to shake off some picture in her head, and said “Go back and settle the accounts, quickly row the boat to the shore.”
Lu Shi Qing saw that she didn’t seem to have any intention to come down, and said, “How can I row the boat?” Seeing she pursed her lips and was about to pretend to be pitiful, the trick that had been honed for ten years, he stopped her first. Bending over, he took the pole and reminded, “Then you better hold on tight.”
She nodded, lowering her head to rub her chin against his clean and neat sideburns. “I’m holding on tight. Hurry up.”
Lu Shi Qing was urged all the way to the shore by her, and after he carried her into the carriage on the shore, he confirmed: “We’re going back to the city now, you don’t want the bass soup anymore?”
“There are snakes in the river, how can I still eat the fish you catch!”
He raised his eyebrows: “Then what about the tofu I bought and the green onions that have been raised for so long?”
She thought for a while and said, “At this time you’re still inflexible. Can you just boil noodles for me?”
“Oh.” Lu Shi Qing nodded as if suddenly enlightened, looked up at the sky and thought for a while, then said, “Alright.”
That’s alright.
The next day, on the fourth day of Second month, the day after Yuan Ci Xian’s birthday, was also the 100-day banquet for Lu Yuan Ting, the second young master of the Lu family. The banquet was held in the Lu Mansion in Luoyang City, it was very low-key, no old friend from the court were involved, and the guests invited were all closest relatives.
Early in the morning, Yuan Ci Xian woke up lying in Lu Shi Qing’s arms. Remembering the thing today, then recalling his actions last night, she beat his back and thought: There’s a bunch of guests they need to entertain, he just can’t endure it for one night, acting like tigers and wolves on her, don’t know whose birthday it is.
Lu Shi Qing was disturbed by her movement and opened his eyes. Seeing that she was about to get up, he pushed her head back and said in a hoarse voice, “It’s still early. ”
She nudged him away, “Everyone should arrive in a moment.”
“It’s okay, our own people, they can just sit anywhere when they come. Yuan Zhen wakes up early, he can entertain them.” After he said vaguely, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep, wanted to leave everything to eight-year-old young master.
Yuan Ci Xian giggled, stretched out a finger, and playfully drew a circle on his chest: ” You’re like a lively dragon at night but a sluggish mud in the morning. Lu Zishu, you’re already 32 years old, you’re getting old, aren’t you?
He opened his eyes abruptly and there was no trace of drowsiness left. He grabbed her audacious finger in his palm and replied, “Yuan Ci Xian, you can eat things recklessly, but you can’t speak recklessly.”
She bent her knees and poked him below, sensing his rising momentum, she said, ” Awake? If you’re awake, then get up.”
“Boom”.
Lu Shi Qing got up, not only got up, but also rolled over and pressed her under him, his eyes were like knives, probably berating her for fanning the flame.
Yuan Cixian had no choice. If she didn’t stir up trouble, he wouldn’t wake up, would he?
She said: “Let’s settle this quickly, hmm.”
Every time she used such “hmm” and “oh”, Lu Shi Qing’s scalp would explode, and without saying a word, he went straight to the mountain gate.
After the cloud collected and the rain stopped, and tidied things up, they chose a suitable time and stepped out of the courtyard. Just then, they heard the servants say that Lu Shuang Yu and Dou Azhang had arrived.
Speaking of this pair, there was also a story to tell. When the late emperor was still alive, Lu Shuang Yu couldn’t bear Dou Azhang’s harassment, and never gave him a good look whenever they met. Unexpectedly, when the war broke out, and she fled to Huihu with her brother, she started missing him while in foreign land. At that time, it was just a slight affection, not yet a deep longing. But she left in a hurry without leaving any explanation, so she occasionally worried that this nerd might take extreme measures or misunderstand the situation and confront the emperor.
She was worried like this for a while. When Lu Shi Qing and Yuan Ci Xian returned to the capital to support Zheng Hong, and the chaos in Chang’an was initially settled, she returned to the capital with her mother under the escort of the army.
On the first day after she went back, she made a roundabout way to asked her brother and sister-in-law about the Dou family’s situation.
Yuan Ci Xian said, do you know what a man looks like if he doesn’t cut his beard and hair for two months?
Lu Shuang Yu was stunned and asked if it was Dou Azhang.
She said yes, but she was too late and couldn’t see it. After he learned that the Lu family had not rebelled, and that she was safe and sound, he had already dealt with all the extra hairs on his face.
Knowing that Yuan Ci Xian had no reason to exaggerate the facts, Lu Shuang Yu hesitated at the mansion for a whole day, and just as soon as she made up her mind to visit Dou’s mansion, she heard that Dou Azhang was coming. She went out to welcome him, and saw at a glance that his beard and hair were indeed well-groomed, but he had lost a lot of weight, lost his shape, and hadn’t gained it back.
She couldn’t tell what she was feeling, but if she really had to describe, it was probably like eating a string of candied haws. Cool, sour and sweet.
Seeing her struggling expression, Dou Azhang thought it was because she disliked his ghostly appearance, and hurriedly said that he didn’t come to disturb her, and left after confirming that she was safe and sound.
Lu Shuang Yu secretly scolded him for being an idiot, stopped him, and asked Hong Ju to come out with a live and jumping old hen.
Dou Azhang didn’t understand what she meant until the fat chicken was stuffed into his hand, and heard her say: “Kill and eat it, make your body strong, and then come propose marriage!”
After saying that, didn’t know whether she was ashamed or angry, she turned around and run.
Dou Azhang’s heart stopped, and he stood there for a long time in a daze. When he came to his senses, he let go of his hands in excitement, then the old hen broke free and ran all over the yard.
Lu Shuang hid in the corner, quietly poke her head out. She saw him frantically chasing after the chicken, clumsily tripping and ending up covered in feathers. She couldn’t help but burst into laughter while holding her belly.
In the blink of an eye, this pair had been married for about six years. Since Dou Azhang became Assistant Minister of Rites, Lu Shuang Yu naturally lived with him in Chang’an.
Lu Shi Qing and Yuan Ci Xian talked about these past events, went out to greet them, and ordered the servants to call Yuan Zhen and Yuan Shu, who were playing outside, to meet the guests.
The servant hurriedly went to look for the brother and sister, but when he reached the side door, he only saw Yuan Shu. The eight-year-old girl was playing with a slingshot, blindfolded with a strip of red silk, and hit a row of small targets in front of her.
The target fell to the ground with a swish, and the maids who accompanied her clapped and applauded.
Just as the servant was about to step forward, and told the little lady to stop playing, suddenly there was a sound of wheels, and then, a luxurious carriage came into his line of sight. The carriage was in dark color, the wall was carved with a young dragon pattern, it was definitely not from ordinary household.
Just as the carriage came to a stop, a person stepped out from inside, and at the same time, the unsuspecting little lady over there shot a slingshot, hitting the person’s waist ornament precisely, making a crisp sound.
“Ouch!” The sound didn’t come from the person who was hit by the stone, but from a person who looked like a eunuch that also came down from the carriage, and said in a shrill voice, “Master, are you alright?”
The servant and the maids on the side were confused, but after realizing the identity of the comer, they hurriedly knelt down.
Lu Yuan Shu, who was covered in red silk, tore off the strip of cloth and looked towards the entrance with a puzzled face, and saw the young man with red lips and white teeth smiling, pushing away the eunuch’s hand and walking towards her, asked, “Yuan Shu, don’t you recognize me?”