When the two were alone, Zhou Lei grabbed Yue Ze's arm and frowned, "Yue Ze, what's going on?"

Yue Ze gave him a brief explanation. Of course, his explanation was the same one he gave Zhou Quan. He said that he knew he could pass the county-level exam and also the provincial-level exam, but he had no family or relatives to rely on. He was worried that he would be captured and used by others to do things that would harm the country and the people. Therefore, he swore allegiance to his elder brother, so that he would have someone to protect him in the future.

He understood the explanation, but Zhou Lei felt uneasy. How could he have sold himself to his older brother, who was, after all, his good friend?

Yue Ze laughed and said that rather than having his throat controlled by those treacherous officials, he would rather be a servant of the Zhou family. At least if something happened to him, the Zhou family would protect him.

The logic was sound. Zhou Lei, who had been feeling melancholy for a day, was relieved and told him that they would still be good friends. Yue Ze smiled and said that was natural. He was going to take the imperial examinations, learn martial arts, and become stronger to repay Brother Zhou for his kindness in protecting him.

After making the arrangements, Zhou Quan bid farewell to the two of them and rode back to Qingshi Town.

Ten days later, Zhou Quan returned to Qingshi Town and told Li Mai about Yue Ze's visit to him.

Li Mai was surprised, "That child looks aloof, yet he has such a calculating mind? He does resemble the Yue family. Ashu, though he seems carefree, is very meticulous and calculating."

"But I never expected that our Zhuzhu is only seven years old and has already been noticed by someone?" Li Mai didn't feel disgusted by Yue Ze's thoughts, but she felt that he saw things very clearly. If he had told Zhou Quan everything about his feelings for Zhuzhu, Zhou Quan would have been completely disgusted with him.

Although the feeling he described was the same as Zhou Quan's previous feelings, Li Mai believed it was both a coincidence and his genuine emotion.

“Your decision is right. Looking at it three years from now, if the child is a good one, keeping her under your wing to do some work is not a bad thing. However, we still need to be careful in choosing the people who will be by Zhuzhu’s side in the future. Zhuzhu’s skills will not need protection in the future. The only help we can give her is the career path she chooses in the future. But it has to be someone who is loyal, kind, and capable,” Li Mai said.

Zhou Quan nodded, "That's right, that's what I think too. Thank you, my wife, for your sincere concern for Zhuzhu."

Li Mai glanced at him. "Now she has to call me 'Mom' too, right? Besides, this child is so sensible. In my heart, she's no different from our Yanbao and Yubao."

"You're right, Madam!"

Zhou Quan noticed his wife glancing at him sideways, then looked back at the doorway to make sure no one was there. He reached out and hugged his wife, whispering, "I missed you, my wife!"

Li Mai reached out and patted his waist. "Where did all that weight you finally managed to gain go? And all that traveling again?"

"No, I've been resting, but my inner thighs are a little sore!" Zhou Quan smiled and whispered in her ear, "It looks like the skin is broken, Madam, would you like me to take a look?"

With a thought, Li Mai took him into the space, saying, "Take off your pants so I can see."

This person has delicate skin; if they ride a horse for a long time, the inside of their legs will get chafed.

Zhou Quan coughed lightly, "Please wait here, Madam. I'll go wash up first."

He was on the road the whole time and didn't even wash up.

Li Mai let him wash up while she found the ointment. After he finished washing, he casually hung a robe on his body and lay down on the bed. She then saw that his skin was indeed chafed. It seemed that when he said he was resting, he meant letting the horse rest and eat, and he didn't actually stay at the inn.

The journey from Xiangzhou back here is about the same as the journey from the capital; it takes at least half a month.

"How many days have you been gone?" Li Mai asked.

"Ten days!" Zhou Quan was enjoying his wife's pampering, so he answered casually.

The next moment, the wound hurt. Tsk, I gave the wrong answer.

Since it was daytime, it wasn't appropriate to stay in the space waiting for the medicine to be administered. She found him some underwear to put on, and then the two of them left the space.

This year, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Pei and Yue families, having tasted success last year, want to continue holding a fashion show.

Back in May, Pei Jing and Yue Xiu had asked Li Mai, and Li Mai agreed to let them discuss the arrangements with Zhou Heng and show her the plan.

When she has nothing to do, she designs dresses.

The fashion show is almost ready, and the Mid-Autumn Festival is just a few days away.

After Li Mai and Zhou Quan finished talking, they continued to draw the clothes design. Zhou Quan also sat down to draw, and the couple was quite quiet for a while.

Chu Yan arrived at this moment, and Li Mai invited him to sit down and asked him what was wrong.

This year, thanks to Chu Yan's presence, Zhou Heng and his two companions had an extra helper. They should be busy at the venue right now, so why did they come over here?

“Master, they’re busy, so I came to discuss something with you. They want to book the venue at our Li’s Trading Company this year,” Chu Yan said.

"Huh? Not going to Guiyuanli?" Li Mai asked in surprise.

The Lu family was grateful for her help in getting Zhou Tao through a calamity. Lu Qian also knew that she had given Zhou Tao several bottles of spiritual liquid. After hearing Chu Yan mention the price of that stuff in the capital, he was shocked. After discussing it, the father and son gave their own Guiyuan Garden to Li Mai as a token of their gratitude.

Li Mai wouldn't accept it; she was helping her sister-in-law, not an outsider. Lu Qian personally came to beg her to accept it, saying that if she didn't like it there, she could keep it as dowry for her children and daughters in the future, as that courtyard was truly beautiful every autumn.

Li Mai thought about it for a moment and then accepted it. She really liked the beauty of the garden, and had even thought how wonderful it would be if she and Zhou Quan could spend their leisurely old age there.

Originally, she thought Zhou Heng and his group would hold the event there again this year.

"Yes, our trading company is all set up now. The courtyard is bright and clean. They said they want to show off the style of our Li's Trading Company to others," Chu Yan said with a smile.

"Okay, then you can make the arrangements. Do whatever you want, but the most important thing is to pay attention to safety and not let anything happen," Li Mai instructed.

"Don't worry, Master. With me here, nothing will happen. After all, I am a cultivator." Chu Yan grinned and leaned over to look at the painting of her master drawn by her master's husband.

“By the way, Master, I saw Madam Qi in town today,” Chu Yan said.

"Huh? She's back?" Li Mai asked in surprise.

"Yes, we exchanged a few words. She said she came back a few days ago and would stay for a while. She also asked if you were busy these days. I noticed that she didn't look too good."

Chu Yan said softly, "But I am a man and a junior, so it's not appropriate for me to say things like taking her pulse or that I see she's not in good condition."

Li Mai hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "I'll go see her tomorrow morning!"

Madam Qi is Ling Jie's good friend and has always been kind to her. Now that she's back, I should go and see her.