Qiu Dafu couldn't stand being here any longer, but it wasn't just because of the oppressive atmosphere.
“Okay.” Jiang Liu didn’t seem to mind; this time, she agreed readily.
Qiu Dafu relaxed, but at the same time, a sense of loneliness arose in his heart.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, Jiang Liu said, "We can at least be friends, right? Qiu Dafu, could you come with me to Xingyue Restaurant for a meal?"
Jiang Liu felt very lonely.
This afternoon, she watched Tang Yi and Hu Ying showing affection in front of her, and left without eating more than a few bites of her food.
"I'll wait for you at Xingyue Tower." To avoid suspicion, Qiu Dafu left first.
As soon as he arrived at the gate of the mansion, the steward of the Tang family called him to a stop.
"stop!"
The butler was just about to go find Qiu Dafu when he bumped into him.
"What is it?" Qiu Dafu turned around and looked back.
"The master instructed you to come to the gate of the mansion early tomorrow morning to serve." Although the steward was following orders, he disliked Qiu Dafu.
Why is it that he can gain the lady's favor the moment he arrives?
Their adults' exact words were, "Let Qiu Dafu be a watchdog."
"I'm not going!" Qiu Dafu was no pushover.
"How dare you disobey the master's orders?" The steward was somewhat angry. What he didn't know was that once Qiu Dafu left this mansion today, he would never come back.
No sooner had Qiu Dafu left than the magistrate's wife, full of pride, arrived at the gate with her maid. When she heard the steward complaining that Qiu Dafu was disobedient, she sneered and got into her carriage. "He never belonged to the Tang family. What right do you have to order him around!"
Star and Moon Pavilion.
“Esteemed guests…” Qiu Dayu looked up and stiffened when he saw that it was his second brother and the magistrate’s wife who had come to dine.
He opened his mouth, then awkwardly said, "Second Brother, long time no see."
My second brother didn't like him before because his first words upon meeting him were always about borrowing money.
The two brothers' meeting was quite lukewarm.
Qiu Dafu nodded and was led by Qiu Dayu to a private room on the second floor.
Hearing Qiu Dayu's voice, Jiang Liu glanced at him a few more times, then ordered some side dishes and two small bottles of wine.
After Qiu Dayu left, she smiled slightly.
"Consider this meal my way of thanking you."
While dining with Jiang Liu, Qiu Dafu remained somewhat reserved, avoiding direct eye contact with her.
"Madam, you're too kind. I didn't do anything."
The beautiful sound of the pipa slowly entered his ears, but Qiu Dafu couldn't concentrate on it.
Qiu Dayu had been observing his second brother from afar. That was the county magistrate's wife, yet his second brother was able to dine at the same table with her.
During the meal, Jiang Liu only focused on drinking, and the maid beside her was anxious, saying, "Madam, please drink less."
Jiang Liu glanced at Cui Zhu with displeasure, "I'm in a good mood, and you even have to interfere with my drinking."
"No... Madam, I'm worried about your health."
"Cuizhu, I want to eat some sour plums from Ruyi Shop. Can you go and buy me some?" She's been craving something sour lately.
Cuizhu looked at Jiang Liu, then at Qiu Dafu, and was somewhat uneasy.
"Go ahead, Dafu is here, don't worry."
Cuizhu bit her lip, told Qiu Dafu to take good care of his wife, and ran off quickly.
"Madam, please stop drinking." Qiu Dafu snatched the wine cup from Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu took back the wine glass. "It's nothing, it's just a little wine, what's there to be afraid of?"
As she spoke, her eyes involuntarily filled with tears.
Why? Things were so good before.
Qiu Dafu felt depressed. Afraid that Jiang Liu had drunk too much, he drank all the wine in one go and slumped onto the table.
Jiang Liu smiled at him.
His alcohol tolerance is really low.
Her face was rosy, and her eyes held a languid look, likely from a little wine.
Cuizhu arrived and helped Jiang Liu back to the Tang residence.
After Qiu Yan returned, she spent the entire afternoon preparing herbal medicine with Gu Qian.
Not only Qiu Ling'er, but Gu Qian also learned a lot from Qiu Yan.
At night, my second uncle returned home.
Qiu Yan asked a few questions, and her second uncle said that he felt stifled staying at the Tang residence and would not go there.
"It's better if you don't go." Qiu Yan had been thinking of having her second uncle supervise the construction of the house, but she was afraid of offending Jiang Liu.
Second Uncle returned, and Gu Qian slept in the carriage that night.
Gu Xiaoran found it strange and insisted on living in the carriage with Gu Qian, which made Qiu Yan both amused and exasperated.
The second uncle was puzzled as to why Gu Qian was living here.
He thought to himself, "Thank goodness I came back."
Qiu Dafu handed Qiu Yan five taels of silver: "I know you want to build a house, so keep this money."
Fearing Qiu Yan would refuse, he slipped her the money and left.
He had wanted to continue working with the craftsmen, but he had been imprisoned for a long time and someone had already taken his place.
Qiu Yan looked at the broken silver in her hand. She was saving this money for her second uncle to use when he got married.
Qiu Ling'er was overjoyed, finally able to be with her second uncle again.
...
That day, Qiu Yan planned to go to Wudaopo to meet the old lady she had met by chance in the mountains.
Upon hearing this, Gu Qian also wanted to go.
After hearing this, Qiu Dafu came out of the west room and said, "I'll go with you."
Qiu Dafu realized that Gu Qian had taken a liking to his eldest niece, so how could he feel at ease letting the two of them go together?
"Second Uncle, you can rest at home." Qiu Yan doesn't have a biological father, but in Gu Qian's eyes, his second uncle is like a father to him, and he can't neglect him.
“The mountain road is difficult to travel. If I go, I can help you along the way,” Qiu Dafu insisted. Gu Qian hummed in agreement and smiled ingratiatingly.
"Then let's go together."
Qiu Yan actually wanted to go alone; it's just buying local produce, there really isn't a need for so many people.
Just as they were about to leave, Zhang the matchmaker arrived again, but this time, she wasn't there to arrange a marriage for Qiu Yan, but for—Second Uncle.
When the topic turned to arranging a marriage for her second uncle, Qiu Yan became quite interested.
But when Qiu Yan heard that the matchmaker Zhang was going to arrange a marriage with Widow Lian, she was so angry that she laughed.
Qiu Dafu's eyes became glazed over, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
Seeing that his thoughts were wandering, Zhang the matchmaker assumed he was hesitating and quickly started adding fuel to the fire.
“Dafu, Widow Lian is almost ten years younger than you. You won’t lose out if you marry her.”
Qiu Yan coldly said, "Go and cause trouble for others!"
Without a doubt, Zhang the matchmaker was immediately kicked out by Qiu Yan.
Second Uncle must never be defiled by a woman like that.
Even if Qiu Dafu never gets married in his entire life, he would never marry a woman like that.
The three of them went to Wudaopo.
Gu Qian was thinking of going on horseback, but Qiu Dafu said that he had been there before and it was difficult for people to walk, let alone horses.
After passing the forest where Qiu Yan often dug for medicinal herbs, the mountain path became unexpectedly difficult to traverse.
The original owner of this body had never been to any more remote mountainous areas before.
Of the three, the second uncle had just been released from prison and was slightly weaker physically, but he was still the second uncle, so how could he fall behind the younger generation?
When his father was alive, he sent him and his older brother to a martial arts school to study for a few years.
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