Seeing the old emperor's furrowed brows, the sixth prince felt a pang of anxiety, afraid of saying something wrong, but not wanting to appear too incompetent, so he spoke.
"Could it be... because of the matter concerning the eldest princess? After all, he hinted on the spot that he had refused your arranged marriage, so surely..."
He only said half of each sentence, leaving the rest for the old emperor to guess, believing this was the best way to absolve himself of responsibility. However, the old emperor just glared at him coldly…
The sixth prince was so frightened that he immediately shut his mouth!
On this day, as heavy snow fell, Qin Qing's village was once again facing a food crisis!
Early in the morning, Qin Qing was awakened by a noisy commotion before she was fully awake. She instinctively reached out her hand to the side, but only touched something icy cold...
She suddenly opened her eyes, looked at the empty seat beside her, and then slowly got up. Where was Wang Yan?
As soon as she stretched her feet out, she felt a chill and quickly grabbed a thick coat from the side. She stood up, shivering.
"It's so cold! It's even colder than when I first arrived!"
Then, she opened the door and saw a figure practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard. Under the falling snowflakes, the man was dressed in black, holding a tree branch in his hand. His movements were swift and decisive, exuding a restrained yet intimidating power.
The man's eyes were calm and serious; despite the commotion in the distance, he remained completely unaffected.
Seeing this, Qin Qing felt a mix of emotions. She shouldn't have been so selfish. She said she was just going out for a walk, but only she knew what she was really thinking!
A natural-born general like Wang Yan, with his exceptional martial arts skills, courage, decisiveness, and mastery of military strategy, shouldn't have retired from the martial world at such a young age. He still had ambitions! Even if the emperor was ruthless, his righteousness in protecting the people was genuine!
A gust of biting wind blew by, and Qin Qing shivered involuntarily. The slight movement quickly attracted Wang Yan's attention. He abruptly stopped what he was doing and looked at her with a cold gaze...
Seeing Qin Qing standing at the door, her face somewhat pale, he frowned and quickly went over.
"Why did you come out? The snow is too heavy today, you should stay indoors."
He then pulled Qin Qing into the house, casually tossing the branch he was holding aside.
Qin Qing smiled.
"I'm not that delicate... By the way, what's all the noise outside? So energetic in this freezing weather!"
Wang Yan added some fuel to the stove and poured Qin Qing a cup of hot water before responding.
"The widow in the north of the village lost her grain. This morning, she saw her neighbors eating roasted sweet potatoes and became suspicious, which led to the argument. The village chief and other neighbors went to mediate..."
After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment and added.
"They've been arguing for half an hour already."
Qin Qing looked up in surprise. Half an hour? That's an hour! How could they have this much energy in this cold weather? But she didn't want to meddle, so she said...
"Alright, let's go dig for bamboo shoots on the mountain at noon! Before the snow freezes, the road will be a little easier to walk on. I heard there were rabbits on the mountain when we came! I wonder if there are any left now."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yan raised an eyebrow and looked up in surprise.
Are you sure?
Qin Qing nodded quickly; she had been craving spicy rabbit meat for a long time! Rabbits are so cute, we absolutely had to get the oil in the wok!
Wang Yan reluctantly agreed. Qin Qing then cooked some porridge and stir-fried some potatoes. The two ate a simple meal and then began preparing other things.
The noise outside gradually subsided, the heavy snow stopped, and they set off early.
As I passed the village entrance, the village chief called out to me, his tone somewhat helpless.
"Where are you two going? It's freezing cold! You've only been here a short time, what if you get lost?"
Qin Qing wasn't angry when he criticized her; she just smiled and said...
"Don't worry, village chief. My husband and I just want to harvest some winter bamboo shoots. As you know, at this time of year, every household is short of food, and we want to store some before the snow freezes over."
The village chief was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but he couldn't stop it, so he sighed.
"Alright, you guys be careful too, and make sure you come back early. If you're not back by Shenshi (3-5 PM), I'll have to gather the villagers to look for you!"
Qin Qing nodded obediently upon hearing his concern. Then, watching the village chief's departing figure, she smiled and said...
"Now you know why I chose this village to settle down, right? The terrain is just as important as the people!"
Wang Yan lowered his head, his calm and deep eyes looking at the smug woman, a hint of tenderness appearing on his face, making him seem less cold.
"Yes... Madam is right, let's go then."
Soon, the two figures disappeared at the edge of the village…
An hour later, they finally reached the top of the mountain. After all, the two of them were physically stronger than ordinary people, so their movements were naturally much faster.
Not long after, a joyful shout came from deep within the bamboo forest.
"Ah Yan, there are lots of small bamboo shoots over here! Come over quickly!"
Although Wang Yan had been fighting for many years, this was the first time he had ever heard of winter bamboo shoots, so he had never eaten or seen them. Hearing Qin Qing's shout, he quickly went over.
Looking up in the direction Qin Qing was pointing, they saw many short, thick, small, date-shaped objects growing under a layer of snow. These objects were small at both ends and large in the middle, with hunched backs, scales, and a little hair. They looked very similar to immature bamboo shoots, but there were some indescribable differences.
Qin Qing bent down and let Wang Yan open the cloth bag he was carrying. She then picked up a small hoe and began to pluck the bamboo shoots one by one. In fact, she had never seen native bamboo shoots before. After all, if you wanted to eat them, you usually had to buy them at the supermarket. She had only eaten them two or three times.
"Did you know that bamboo shoots are a rare delicacy in winter? They are rich in dietary fiber, which not only helps absorb oil and reduce the absorption and accumulation of fat in the gastrointestinal tract, but also promotes intestinal peristalsis, aids digestion, and prevents constipation and colon cancer. The key point is that they are low in calories, fat, and sugar, but have extremely high dietary fiber, which is very beneficial to the body."
Wang Yan didn't know what dietary fiber was, nor did he know what colon cancer was... but listening to Qin Qing's eloquent explanation, he nodded along helplessly.
"Yes, Madam is right!"
Qin Qing only realized what was happening when she heard the voice, and smiled awkwardly. Then, she said, "I've picked most of the winter bamboo shoots on the ground."
"Come on, let's walk further in. Maybe we'll find a rabbit hutch! If we manage to find a baby rabbit, I'll make you spicy rabbit meat for dinner, along with stir-fried pork and bamboo shoots, and a couple of sips of wine... Tsk tsk, that would be a life well-lived!!"
She doesn't like alcohol, but if the weather is too cold, it's nice to have a little bit to warm up occasionally!
As she recounted the beautiful scene, Wang Yan, who neither drank nor liked meat, became incredibly hungry and became even more eager to find the rabbit's den.
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