Chapter 54

Pei Du tried to reason with her: "I wasn't being mean to you just now. I was just a little surprised to hear how you viewed me, so my voice was a bit loud..."

How could Xie Qinghong agree with him? The worst thing you can do when arguing is to follow the other person's lead. She snorted coldly, "Not only did you yell at me, but you also went through my private journals behind my back." She casually dismissed the fact that she held a grudge behind my back, leaving Pei Du speechless.

Pei Du remained silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts for a retort. Xie Qinghong then took a step back: "However, since you sincerely admitted your mistake, I won't hold it against you. Have you eaten?"

This tactic of retreating to advance made Pei Du feel guilty. He realized that he had been so generous in forgiving him and even cared whether he had eaten. He would have to think twice before bringing up old grievances in the future.

Xie Qinghong closed the thin booklet, pressing the four characters "Xie Family Notes" on the cover under her fingertips. Pei Du turned to look inside the room. When the two of them seemed about to argue, the maids had all left. Lamplights were lit all around the room, and a warm glow emanated from the brazier.

When he turned back, Pei Du raised an eyebrow, bent down and picked up the little lady, who had just finished bathing and was wrapped in soft fur, from the chair. Xie Qinghong was a tiny little ball when she picked her up. She tilted her head in confusion and looked at Pei Du, but Pei Du's expression did not change, and she didn't know what he was thinking.

Once she was thrown onto the warm bed, Xie Qinghong belatedly realized what was happening and tried to get up, but Pei Du blocked her at the waist and used a clever trick to make her sink into the soft bedding. Then Pei Du leaned down and pressed down on her, supporting himself on either side of her head, staring at her intently.

Xie Qinghong glared at him: "What are you trying to do? You did something wrong and you still want to push your luck?! Pei Du, don't go too far!"

Pei Du didn't retaliate when he was scolded. Although he was known for his sharp tongue, and neither his father nor Zhou Yujin could match him, he knew that if he were to be sarcastic to the unique Crown Prince's wife even once or twice, she would probably run away.

He always assesses situations carefully.

Therefore, he slowly took off the outer robe he had just changed into, untied the jade hook belt, smiled slightly under Xie Qinghong's accusing gaze, and said, "I originally said I wouldn't invite you tonight, but who told you to invite me? I did do something wrong, and I have come here to apologize. I hope my wife will forgive me."

Xie Qinghong's face flushed red: "Who would apologize for something like this? No way, I will never forgive you! I would rather die than submit. If you force me, I will hold a grudge against you ten times over!"

Having too much debt makes one worry. Pei Du pretended to hesitate for a few breaths, finding the coercion rather amusing. Then he sighed and suppressed his anger: "Isn't that offsetting it? I'll serve you until you rest, and since I sincerely admit my mistake, please let me get rid of a few of them."

Xie Qinghong puffed out her cheeks and glared at him, secretly vowing to write down twenty grudges against him in her vindictive book and assassinate him tomorrow. He thought he could atone for it? No way!

The night was deep, and the cold winter rain pattered on the leaves in the yard, stirring up a chill. But inside the house, it was as warm as spring. Xie Qinghong couldn't help but let out some incoherent moans. Her fluffy, soft fur draped over the edge of the bed, and her hands had ripped out wrinkles from scratching it.

Pei Du was slow and restrained this time, making a full gesture of apology, but it was unknown whether the recipient of his apology was satisfied.

Xie Qinghong, wrapped in the blanket like a caterpillar, stood with her back to Pei Du, silently angry, clearly dissatisfied. There was only one blanket on the bed, which she had rolled up into a ball, while Pei Du was left uncovered.

Pei Du didn't mind. He casually put on an undergarment and leaned against the headboard. His exposed chest was covered with a thin layer of sweat from the previous activity, and his expression revealed a hint of satisfaction.

"Has Madam forgiven me?"

Xie Qinghong snorted through her nose: "Dream." Anything can happen in a dream.

Pei Du pondered for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "It seems I haven't done enough. How about we try again?"

Xie Qinghong was shocked by his shamelessness. She threw off the covers, stood up, pointed at his nose, and angrily rebuked him: "You wish! If you can't win an argument, I'll deliberately take revenge. Now there's the thirty-fifth article. Pei Du is a beast!"

Pei Du controlled his gaze, trying not to look below her fair neck. He very uprightly raised his hand to straighten her disheveled clothes, leaned down and gently kissed her forehead: "Okay, I'm a beast, go to sleep."

Xie Qinghong angrily rolled over and took the blanket away, determined to freeze the burning hot person to the bone. But Pei Du was obviously thick-skinned and not afraid of the cold. He even got out of bed wearing only that rather inappropriate undergarment, poured a glass of water on the table, and brought it to the bedside for her to drink.

When Xie Qinghong woke up the next morning, it was already broad daylight, and the bed was no longer warm from Pei Du's presence. Pei Du had been leaving early and returning late lately, probably because of important military matters. After all, if they were to go to sea, they would have to make preparations in advance. Last time, he heard that it was because of insufficient preparation that someone took advantage of the situation.

Seeing how hard he was working, Xie Qinghong hesitated for a moment and decided not to add any new entries to his grudge book. Just as he was about to get dressed and get up, Ah Xing took out the scholar's robe he had worn yesterday.

Xie Qinghong asked curiously, "You're still wearing this today? I need to go out and find Qingqing."

Because she was too tired from trying on clothes yesterday afternoon, and to avoid having to go again today, she told her in advance that she was going out to meet a friend today. The Princess Consort of the South was very reluctant to let her go, but she couldn't keep her from leaving, so she held her hand and earnestly urged her to come back soon.

Xie Qinghong wasn't lying; she really had arranged to see Yuan Qingqing's experimental results today. Since arriving in the South, she had bought a lot of farmland and hired guards. Yuan Qingqing was currently living in one of the farms.

Ah Xing sighed, "The Princess came to see you early this morning. Seeing that you were still asleep, she stayed outside for a while and chatted with Ah Yue. When she heard that you were going outside the city, the Princess said that it would be better to wear this outfit as a groom's attire, as it would be easier to walk in than a dress. The Princess also had someone send over a rabbit fur collar cloak, saying that it would be more protective against the wind if worn outside. We really couldn't refuse."

Xie Qinghong couldn't do that either, so she changed into a scholar's robe and then draped the rabbit fur collar cloak over her shoulders. The white fur around her neck made her face look even smaller.

When she finished changing her clothes and went out, it seemed that the Princess Consort of the South was waiting in the pavilion on the way out of the mansion. When she saw her pass by, she couldn't help but come over and touch her. She looked like she wanted to hug her and rub her. She also whispered to her, "My dear, come back early today. It's very cold outside. Don't catch a cold."

Xie Qinghong obediently agreed: "I will definitely come back to accompany Mother Consort as soon as possible, and Mother Consort, please don't get cold."

Princess Nan smiled gently as she watched her walk away before saying to her maid, "My little darling looks even more adorable now. Go and tell someone to prepare several more rabbit and fox fur cloaks. I remember there are a few red fox pelts in the storeroom; bring them all out."

The maid smiled and agreed.

When Xie Qinghong arrived at the farm, she found it to be an excellent location with a wide-open view and large fields stretching out in one continuous stretch. Yuan Qingqing was squatting in the field observing something. When Xie Qinghong called out to her, Yuan Qingqing looked up and immediately got up and came over.

"Ah Yao, slow down, the path between the fields is not easy to walk on."

Xie Qinghong was, after all, a noblewoman from a prominent family, and only had the opportunity to walk on the ridges of the fields on the day of spring plowing. She was led by the hand by Yuan Qingqing and carefully walked across the field. Only when she reached the other side did she have the mind to observe Yuan Qingqing's work.

I couldn't help but exclaim, "Qingqing, you're amazing!"

Winter is not a good time for planting, but Yuan Qingqing used thin, light-transmitting gauze supported by bamboo poles to grow a lush green vegetable patch. However, Yuan Qingqing humbly said, "It's because the climate here in Yuecheng is suitable, and we can grow two crops a year. Other places are not as good."

The two women gathered together and began to dream that once the wasteland in the south was fully cultivated, they could control the granaries and become the richest people in the world.

After inspecting the farm, Yuan Qingqing led Xie Qinghong to the other side, saying as they walked, "You can catch fish in the river here. Stay on the bank and don't move. I'll catch two fish for you, and we'll grill them ourselves for lunch."

She carried a net bag. Xie Qinghong, who had never played outdoors before, happily followed her to the riverbank. The sun had risen, and there was no wind even as noon approached. She simply handed her cloak to A-Xing to hold, and dressed only in a flowing, light-colored scholar's robe, she walked along the riverbank like a scholar reciting poetry by the water.

But now the young scholar wasn't reciting poetry; instead, he was bending over, looking at the fish in the river, eager to try his hand at swimming.

Downstream, several people were walking upstream when they saw a group of people upstream who appeared to be fishing. One of them exclaimed in surprise, "Who are those people who dare to be so bold? This river belongs to the Southern Prince's Mansion. Your Highness, I will go and deal with them right away."

Pei Du was somewhat absent-minded. Perhaps it was because he had started a family and his father was beginning to pave the way for him to inherit the throne. The first thing he did was to change his reputation for violence, so he arranged for him to associate with scholars of some integrity. If the scholars could casually compose a poem or essay to praise him, wouldn't the prince then have a reputation for being aloof and pure?

Today he took some time out of his busy schedule, and the scholar, being quite perceptive, heard that the young master had traveled all over the country, so he said he would come to the city to enjoy the scenery, and enjoying the scenery inevitably involves composing poems.

Pei Du had admired this scenery countless times. This area belonged to the Southern Prince's Mansion. Upon hearing this, he didn't even look at the scenery and casually replied, "It's alright, just a few fish."

The man who spoke frowned slightly, observed carefully for a while, and then said, "I think that person should be a scholar, someone who knows right from wrong. How could he do such an unseemly thing?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the white figure seemed to want to step from the bank onto a rock in the river, but the rock was too slippery, and he lost his footing and fell into the shallow river.

The group of people watching from afar saw the commotion and shook their heads repeatedly, saying, "This is an insult to civility."

Pei Du suddenly felt a pang of fear and looked up in that direction. The young man who had fallen into the water seemed to have injured his leg and couldn't get up on his own. People around him had gone into the water to help him. The next moment, he quickly ran upstream.

Several scholars, unaware of what was happening, also followed suit and hurried upstream.

Xie Qinghong felt a piercing pain in her ankle, and her body was shivering from the cold after being soaked in the river. Tears welled up in her eyes. At least she hadn't hurt herself when she fell into the water earlier, but now she was cold and had sprained her ankle, and there was still a distance to go to the village.

"Ah Yao!"

She turned her head in surprise, but before she could even see who it was, she was wrapped up in a cloak and lifted up. From her angle, she could only see Pei Du's chin, and she immediately complained, "My feet hurt so much."

Pei Du felt even more sorry for her and carried her to the farm. "How did you manage to fish and end up getting yourself caught in the river? Aren't you afraid there might be water snakes in the river?"

His tone was somewhat exasperated. Xie Qinghong was in the wrong, but she was also truly aggrieved. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to fall. Suddenly, she stopped crying, her eyes red, and asked, "Why are you here?"

Pei Du had already kicked open the gate of the manor and found his room with practiced ease. Upon hearing this, he paused, feeling a strange, inexplicable sense of guilt.

It's as if I go out without taking her out to play.