Chapter 18: This wait, like the wedding night, was completely unexpected...

Tang Li was taken aback, then burst into laughter, patting the bed as he laughed.

Qingduo retorted angrily, "What are you laughing at!"

All the bookstore owners combined aren't as excessive as Dad! He single-handedly created an absurd situation for ten people!

She wanted to take back her previous praise of her father!

"Hahahaha, that slender waist, so delicate and graceful, and it's actually, actually, a man... Hahahaha—" Tang Li slumped on the bed, laughing uncontrollably.

In her panic, Qingduo blurted out, "That's because I'm not a man! Look, when I draw women, their figures are fine! But when I draw men, it doesn't work. It's all because I'm not born a man!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Li burst into laughter again, saying haltingly, "You, you, haven't you ever seen a crab run, run?"

Logically speaking, a married woman should know a man's physique after experiencing intimate moments in the bedroom, but Tang Qingduo is the one who still doesn't know.

To be precise, I've seen it myself, but who kicks their husband on their wedding night and then takes a good look at his physique!

Each word struck a nerve with Qingduo, making her furious and embarrassed. She stormed out of the room with a dark expression, slamming the door shut in anger.

Zhu Niang had already heard the sounds of laughter and anger coming from inside. She didn't want to get involved in the father and daughter's affairs, so she just leisurely ate melon seeds in the courtyard until she saw Qing Duo angrily leave. Then she quickly got up and grabbed her, laughing, "What's wrong now! Your father is such a big man, why doesn't he give way to the child? Good Zhao, don't be angry. There's steamed pork on the stove. We'll have a nice meal in a bit, and drink some bayberry wine. It's refreshing and cool. After we've eaten, I'll get revenge for you!"

Hearing the laughter coming from inside the house, Qingduo was furious at the combination of old and new grudges. She flung Zhu Niang's hand away, stood on tiptoe, put her hands on her hips, and shouted into the house, "You spend two hundred on fish, and only give me fifty? Are fish more precious than daughters? Humph! Tang Ali, when you get sick again, I'll make you wait on rotten fish and shrimp!"

"Since you like fish, use your jade rod to catch a whole bunch of them, all of them surnamed Tang! Oh, by the way," she sneered, "that broken rod sank with the boat a long time ago, it all went to the fish and became a treasured possession!"

The laughter inside the room stopped abruptly. Tang Li, stung by the remark, snapped, "So what! Old Tang, I'm willing! Even if you send me ten or eight more jade rods, I still won't give them to you!"

"Who cares!" Qingduo stomped her foot. "You and your fish can live happily ever after! Today I'm changing my surname to my mother's, to Qin! Humph, I've wanted to be surnamed Qin for a long time! Qin Qingduo sounds ten, a hundred, a thousand times better than Tang Qingduo!"

Tang Li had just made a sound when he started coughing. Zhu Niang, not having time to hold Qing Duo back, hurriedly went inside.

Qingduo shook her head and muttered to herself, quite unconvinced: "So you think you can draw? So you think you can talk? Just because you're good at drawing doesn't make you great! Why are you mocking me? You're so arrogant and haughty! You have no class at all!"

The coughing inside hadn't stopped when Qingduo took a few steps forward and then stopped. After thinking for a moment, she tiptoed to the window, crouched down, and quietly peeked inside. She saw Aunt Zhu gently patting her father's back, her face full of worry, muttering, "Slow down, slow down!"

Father drank the water from Aunt Zhu's hand, his cough subsided, but he was still breathing heavily. Qingduo couldn't help but regret it. She knew her painting skills were poor, and Father would only laugh a couple of times. Why did she have to be so quick-witted and upset him?

Zhu Niang's gaze swept over unintentionally, startling her so much that she quickly lowered her head and moved sideways until she was away from the window. Only then did she straighten up, frown at the half-open door, hesitate for a moment, and finally leave.

A faint laugh rose from the depths of her heart, following behind her like an unshakeable tail.

*

Qingduo lifted the lid of the casserole, revealing amber-colored broth surrounding chunks of meat, bubbling and churning, the pork belly trembling under the pressure of the sauce. Satisfied, she put the lid back down, clapped her hands, and said, "It has to be me, Chef Tang... Qin."

Before leaving, Zeng Zhengqing instructed that he should return home around noon today. Qingduo thought of the last time when he said that even though she thought the dishes were a bit salty, he still said they were good. It seemed that only her cooking could satisfy his taste. She got up early in the morning to draw up a menu and planned to cook four dishes and a soup to welcome him back.

However, the steam rising from the dishes had dissipated, and the golden sun above had gradually set in the west. The meal still hadn't arrived to be enjoyed by anyone.

The setting sun cast its last rays on Qingduo's dejected eyes. She sat curled up on the bed, arms wrapped around her legs, head resting on her knees, gazing out the window. Seeing her forlorn expression, Fangqing comforted her, "Young Madam, the young master is probably delayed by something urgent. This has happened before; he'll definitely be back soon. Why don't you have your meal first?"

"How fast is 'soon'?" Qingduo remained unmoved.

"It will be soon..." Fangqing dared not say it, for saying it too early would only increase expectations, and saying it would only add to her sadness.

Qingduo sighed, buried her face in her arms, and muttered, "Zeng Zhengqing is lying."

Fang Qing sighed inwardly. She watched as the young mistress went from being cheerful in the morning to being listless, like a morning glory that opens in the morning and closes in the evening.

Suddenly, it seemed like a lot of people were pouring in from outside, making a lively scene. Qingduo abruptly raised her head, her face beaming with joy: "Zeng Zhengqing is back!"

She jumped off the bed. Having sat in one position for too long, her legs went weak. Fang Qing was quick to catch her, but she didn't care and stumbled and ran straight out. Halfway there, she remembered something and suddenly turned back to the bronze mirror. She ran her hands through her hair haphazardly and saw her reflection in the mirror. She smiled at herself, lifted her skirt, and hurriedly went out.

"Husband—" Qingduo stopped speaking in surprise and slowed her pace when she saw the scene in the courtyard.

Zhou Ma and several old women were squatting on the ground, planting newly arrived flowers in the garden. Upon seeing Qing Duo, they quickly stood up and respectfully greeted her, "Young Madam!"

Fang Qing chased after her, interlacing her fingers tightly in front of her, and whispered, "Young Madam, I forgot to tell you, Zhou Ma is going to bring people to renovate the garden today."

Qingduo immediately deflated, turned around dejectedly, and slowly shuffled back into the room. She said sadly, "Fangqing, is he not coming back in time?"

She looked so pitiful with her listless appearance that Fangqing couldn't bear it and changed the subject, saying, "Young Madam, how about I make you a bowl of ice cream? Eating something sweet and cold will lift your spirits."

Qingduo slumped down at the table, looking at the food that had been sitting there for a long time and had lost its aroma. She felt that she was just like them at that moment, with a piece of her soul missing.

She slumped weakly onto the table, murmuring, "Fangqing, I'm a little..."

"What is it?" Fangqing asked hurriedly.

She couldn't quite explain it; what exactly was it?

These past few days, those unspeakable emotions have piled up in her heart, and she can't wait to get them out: the panic when her father fell into a coma, the gratitude for the Zeng family's timely help, the pain of her paintings being ridiculed... She only wants to tell one person about all these feelings.

It's strange. She's only known Zeng Zhengqing for a short time, so why does she always want to share things with him?

Qingduo racked her brains but couldn't figure out why. All she knew was that she understood those few lines of poetry:

After countless ships have passed by, none of them are the one I seek.

My heart breaks at Bai Pingzhou.

Exhaustion from a long day and the frustration of waiting in vain washed over Qingduo. She slumped onto the table and fell asleep without realizing it. Fangqing tried to wake her to go to bed, but couldn't, so she covered her with a blanket. Qingduo slept soundly, perhaps because she had been thinking about it all day, the unpleasant experiences of the past flashing through her mind in her dream, until she dreamt that she was making braised pork for Zeng Zhengqing that morning—

It was such a vivid dream. She not only saw tender, glistening chunks of meat, but also smelled the aroma. In her hazy state, she remembered that she had been waiting for Zeng Zhengqing to return and hadn't eaten yet...

Wait a minute! I just got up to make braised pork, how come you haven't eaten all day?

Qingduo felt a chill run down her spine, instantly waking up to realize she had just been dreaming. She breathed a sigh of relief, then realized she'd been drenched in sweat from the nightmare. She tried to kick off the blanket, but suddenly froze, her leg dangling in mid-air—

Why am I in bed?

An even more terrifying thought popped into her head: Could it be that she hadn't cooked at all, which was why her dream was telling her to get up earlier?

Ah! Won't it be too late by the time Zeng Zhengqing returns?

Qingduo hurriedly got up, pulled back the bed curtains, got out of bed, put on her shoes, and took a few steps outside, but then realized something was wrong. There were candles lit in the room, and it was clearly nighttime.

She remembered that she had fallen asleep by the table, so who had carried her to bed to rest?

She had a vague idea, her heart pounded uncontrollably, and she rushed towards the outer room in a daze. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and saw a person sitting at the table. The figure was so familiar.

Hearing footsteps behind him, the man turned around and saw Qingduo standing there in surprise. "Madam? Why are you awake?" he asked.

Qingduo stared in disbelief, rubbing her eyes and shaking her head. For a moment, she wondered if a "Snail Lord" had suddenly appeared in her house.

Zeng Zhengqing stood up and walked to her, grasped her shoulders, and gently asked, "Did you have another nightmare?"

His palm was so warm, but Qingduo felt her body trembling with cold. She gritted her teeth and tried to control herself, then reached out and slapped Zeng Zhengqing's arm away hard.

"Ouch!" The blow was just as unexpected as it had been on their wedding night. Zeng Zhengqing clutched his arm, staring in astonishment at Qingduo, whose eyebrows were raised, her delicate nose twitching, and her eyes filled with anger.

"lady--"

"Zeng Zhengqing! Didn't you say you'd be back by noon on the 12th? Now, it's already, it's already, it's definitely not noon anymore!"

Zeng Zhengqing stared blankly at his wife, her cheeks flushed red with rage, but only temporarily. In an instant, her raised eyebrows suddenly dropped, her eyes filled with tears, she pouted, threw herself into his arms, and hugged him tightly.

He hastily raised his arm, but remained motionless.

Tick, tick, tick-tock...

Zeng Zhengqing's world seemed to be filled with colorful clouds and countless water droplets, forming a dense expanse that stirred his heart with unrestrained and irresistible emotions.

Qingduo nestled against his warm chest, hearing his chaotic thoughts, and felt incredibly at ease. Tears finally streamed down her face as she said, with a wronged expression:

"Why are you only getting back now?!"