"Qiu Yan, you're back. Didn't you say you were with your second uncle? Where is he?" Gu Qian was quite familiar with the place, as if he had always lived in this village.

"My second uncle stayed in Baiyang."

“I heard from Master’s wife that Xiao Ran has been living with you these days. I’m sorry to have troubled you.”

Before Qiu Yan could reply, Gu Xiaoran said first, "Dad, I'm very well-behaved, it's no trouble."

Qiu Ling'er interjected, "Xiao Ran is indeed very well-behaved, just a little mischievous."

Gu Qian paused slightly; these words sounded somewhat contradictory.

Qiu Ling'er's words made Wang Shi, who was washing vegetables and cooking in front, laugh.

Qiu Yan and Gu Qian weren't very familiar with each other, so they didn't talk much.

With Wang Shi cooking at home, she took out the herbs she had collected a few days earlier and began to clean and prepare them.

Seeing her like this, Gu Qian squatted down in front of her, picked up one himself, and helped her.

"Qiu Yan, you can also make medicine?"

"I know some." These days, Qiu Yan has been taking time to read the medical books that Old Zhao lent her, and she has memorized all the herbs that he has processed.

With Gu Qian's help, Qiu Yan finished cleaning the herbs in no time, and then sliced ​​them.

Gu Qian was very proactive, helping her the whole time. Wang Shi, who was cooking in the kitchen, turned her head to look at the two of them. Didn't this man have a child?

When Qiu Xu returned, he was somewhat surprised to see Gu Qian. After a brief greeting, he went back to the west room.

Just as dusk was falling, Li Zheng returned from hunting.

Gu Qian went to the Li family immediately.

Wang pulled Gu Xiaoran aside, "Xiaoran, where is your mother?"

"I have no mother." Gu Xiaoran's words made Wang's heart sink. "Poor child."

At this moment, Gu Qian walked over from the Li family with his head hanging low. Hearing what Wang Shi said from afar, his face darkened.

Wang felt embarrassed for a moment, then lowered her head and continued doing her work.

Tonight, besides Wang, there is one more person at the Qiu family's dinner table.

Gu Qian carried Gu Xiaoran and sat down next to Qiu Yan. Qiu Yan looked at him, but he didn't feel awkward.

Qiu Yan had experienced this man's shamelessness before, "You really treat this place like your own home."

Gu Qian served Gu Xiaoran food bite by bite, and said with a smile, "Xiaoran asked me to leave these."

Gu Xiaoran: "Father, why are you only coming to find me now? I thought you didn't want me anymore."

Gu Qian: "How could that be? Even if Dad doesn't want me, he won't abandon Xiao Ran."

That night, Madam Ye came by and said the same thing as before, asking Gu Qian to stay in his daughter's room for the night. "Gu Qian, when do you plan to leave?"

"Master's wife." Why is she already sending him away so soon after he arrived? "I'm not leaving anytime soon."

"There's no place for you to stay here. You'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning!" Madam Ye disliked Gu Qian and didn't want to see him.

After Ye left, Gu Qian looked sullen.

He looked at Qiu Xu reading by candlelight in the west room, and put on a smiling face. "Ah Xu, your senior brother will sleep with you tonight."

Gu Xiaoran and Qiu Ling'er told Gu Qian about Qiu Xu learning martial arts from Li Zheng, and now they could take advantage of that connection.

Qiu Yan paused in her work of making the bed when she heard the voices beside her.

Qiu Xu: "..." He only just realized that he had a senior brother.

Wouldn't that make him Gu Xiaoran's... martial uncle?

Their old courtyard has almost become a rest stop.

Qiu Yan walked out of the house and looked at Gu Qian, "Uncle Li's house happens to have a spare room, why don't you stay there?"

"My master dislikes me." Gu Qian didn't want to stay in Li Wenshu's room.

"Gu Qian, what do you do for a living, and where do you live?" Because of Gu Xiaoran, Qiu Yan became more curious about Gu Qian.

"I joined the army at a young age and lived in the barracks year-round. Now that the world is at peace, my home is wherever my master is," Gu Qian said earnestly.

Upon hearing that he was going to join the army, Qiu Yan's impression of Gu Qian improved.

She thought to herself, "If the Li family is your home, why don't I see you living here?" "Where is Xiaoran's mother?"

"Also in Lingnan Village." Gu Qian blurted out, then realized he might have said something wrong, so he just went with it.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it." Qiu Yan took it as Gu Qian joking.

Gu Qian smiled and said, "Xiao Ran likes you very much."

Qiu Yan suddenly felt like she was being teased.

"Gu Qian, I'm not staying at my house for free." She looked around and finally fixed her gaze on the willow tree by the stream in front of the door. "Can I borrow your horse?"

"You can ride a horse?" Gu Qian asked, somewhat skeptical.

"Of course!" Qiu Yan said confidently.

Gu Qian asked, "What are you doing riding a horse?" He needed to keep an eye on things when necessary, in case Qiu Yan accidentally fell off the horse.

His horse is not easy to ride.

"I need to go to Baiyang before dawn tomorrow," Qiu Yan thought. She planned to buy a donkey in Baiyang when she had some spare money. She felt that it wouldn't work to keep borrowing Uncle Li's donkey.

"Alright, you can have the horse. But why go so early?" Gu Qian asked, puzzled.

"Doing business." Qiu Yan only said a few simple words and then stopped talking, leaving Gu Qian completely confused. He couldn't figure it out, so he ran to the west room to ask Qiu Xu, and only then did he learn that the business Qiu Yan was talking about was selling breakfast.

Gu Xiaoran rarely gets to see her father, so tonight she will sleep between Qiu Xu and Gu Qian.

The next day, just after dawn, the bright moon hung high in the sky.

After getting up, Qiu Yan quickly washed up and went to the stream to wake up the horse that was sleeping standing up.

After leading the horse over, she first let it eat some grass and drink from the stream, then mounted the horse and prepared to set off.

The horse was gentle while grazing and drinking, but as soon as Qiu Yan mounted the horse, she heard it neigh and shake its body violently, trying to throw her off.

Qiu Yan pulled the reins tight, and once the horse had calmed down, she flicked the whip and set off again.

However, the horse seemed to think Qiu Yan was a horse thief, swaying its body and refusing to move. It took Qiu Yan a lot of effort to steady it again.

Because the horse was neighing loudly, the surrounding households lit candles one after another, all wanting to see who was stealing the horse.

Qiu Yan saw Li Zheng looking at her from afar, and then he turned around and went back to the courtyard. He probably thought Gu Qian was leaving.

The horse wouldn't let her ride it, so Qiu Yan had no choice but to shake her head and prepare to dismount.

Just then, Gu Qian arrived and caught Qiu Yan's body as she was about to sink.

"Qiu Yan, didn't you say you could ride a horse?"

"It's not my fault, it's your horse that's not cooperating."

"I send you."

"I can do it myself!"

"I forgot to tell you, my horse is shy around strangers and only lets me ride it. If you want it to behave, let me take it to you."

Qiu Yan pulled hard on the reins, forcing the horse to steady itself. "Never mind, I'll just ride Uncle Li's donkey."

"Qiu Yan, don't refuse me. You help me take care of Xiao Ran, and I'll send you to Baiyang. It's only right that I do it."

"I helped Xiaoran for Axu's sake."

"That helped me too."

Qiu Yan shook her head and pointed to the Li family's courtyard in the distance, "You ride the donkey and follow me. The horse will obey when it sees you."

Gu Qian twitched his lips, and even though he was unwilling, he still went to lead the donkey.

However, as soon as he turned around, he saw Qiu Yan forcefully flick her whip, and the horse galloped away in the next moment.

Gu Qian looked regretful; the horse had betrayed him.