In early April, the spring nights were getting warmer. The charcoal brazier had been removed early in the morning, and only the couple were left in the guest room.
The candlestick was placed next to the inkstone. When Guo Honglei massaged the back of his wife's neck, the sleeves of his robe blew up the wind, and the breeze made the candlelight sway, and the shadows in the room swayed.
"Hey," Jiang Yushu leaned back in her chair and waited for a while, then asked in confusion, "I'm asking you, why don't you answer?"
Guo Honglei was meticulous, focusing on massaging her neck, and instead of answering, he asked, "Is the strength right?"
Jiang Yushu, who had originally closed her eyes to rest, was stunned for a moment, opened her eyes, turned her head and replied, "Not bad."
"Is it okay?" Guo Honglei raised his eyebrows and slightly increased the strength of his hand. "How about this?"
"It hurts a little less, please be gentle." Jiang Yushu was pinched and struggled forward.
Guo Honglei was quick to act. He put his left arm around her, bent over the back of the chair, and with his right hand, he brushed aside her soft hair and reached in to caress her delicate skin. He whispered in her ear, "So, is this strength appropriate?"
His breath was whispering in her ears. His palms were broad and slender, covered with thick calluses from years of holding swords in competitions and supervising horseback riding and archery training. When he stroked her fair and tender skin, Jiang Yushu felt a tingling sensation and gasped.
She understood instantly.
"I'm asking you, why don't you answer?" Guo Honglei repeated her previous question, and his right hand slowly stroked forward from the back of the neck, and then gradually moved down, reaching into the crimson collar, stroking the soft and warm jade with sometimes lightness and sometimes force.
Under the candlelight, Jiang Yushu's face flushed, her heart pounding like a drum. She took a deep breath, hurriedly grabbed his hand through his clothes, and blurted out, "It was obviously me who asked you first. I have some official business to ask Captain Guo for advice."
Guo Honglei laughed dumbly, sighed, and said seriously, "I'm very happy to help, but it doesn't sound urgent. If it's not urgent, let's talk about it later." He leaned over to her ear again, his deep and rich voice hoarse, "How is your recovery?"
More than two months after giving birth, she, the wet nurse, and Aunt Pan took care of the child at home. It was a leisurely and relaxing time, supplemented by a healthy diet. Now her body has completely recovered and her complexion is much rosier than before.
Jiang Yushu lowered her head, her hair slightly disheveled, and cast down her eyes for a few breaths. She didn't answer directly, but instead raised her hand and pointed at the large map of Yongzhou on the table, saying softly, "I referred to the map in Zhishu's painting in advance. When I was surveying these two days, I carefully compared it and found that some of it didn't match, but I couldn't find where the mistake was."
Guo Honglei understood and smiled happily. He suddenly turned the chair around, picked her up sideways, strode towards the bed, and whispered, "Do me a favor first, and I'll help you look at the picture later."
Jiang Yushu lowered her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder, unable to see his face clearly.
As soon as the curtains were lowered, they rubbed their ears together and whispered to each other, when suddenly there was the sound of clothes tearing, mixed with delicate panting and heavy breathing. The couple had not been truly intimate for a whole year, and they were busy with their own things in the previous two nights. Finally, they were reunited, and their love for each other lasted for a long time.
The candle on the desk burned shorter and shorter, and the wax dripped more and more. When it was about to burn out, it was already late at night.
It was late at night and everyone was asleep when the curtains were finally opened.
The bedding was in disarray and clothes were scattered everywhere.
"Look, you've torn my clothes." Jiang Yushu murmured in the tent, exhausted, and it took her a long time to catch her breath.
Guo Honglei sat down on the bed, his undershirt unbuttoned, revealing his broad, muscular chest. He was in high spirits, quickly picking up all his clothes, picking out his outer robe, and leaning into the curtains. He asked seriously, "Sorry, I was a little too rough just now. Look, this is my robe. I'll tear it for you to play with, okay?"
Jiang Yushu was sleepy, her skin was rosy, and she said angrily, "If you have energy but nowhere to use it, I won't tear it apart."
"It's up to you. If you don't want to tear it, then don't tear it." Guo Honglei smiled and put a pile of clothes on the table beside the couch. In a good mood, he walked briskly while serving tea and water and wringing the handkerchief. Although his movements were clumsy, he did not miss a thing.
Then, true to his promise, he relit the three candles, sat down to examine the map, and said, "You go to sleep first, I will look at this map."
"Forget it, it's late. There's no need to rush. It's not too late to look at it tomorrow."
"It's okay, I'm not sleepy." Guo Honglei was concentrating on thinking.
Jiang Yushu lifted the curtain and looked out, then reminded him, "At least put on a robe. Won't you feel cold if you leave it uncovered? Be careful not to catch a cold or get sick."
"Hmm." Men are often particularly happy at times like this. Guo Honglei was no exception. He put down his pen, put on his robe as instructed, and leaned over to kiss her until she was breathless. Only then did he let her go and went back to check the map, feeling satisfied.
Due to their official duties, they have rarely seen each other. They met again by chance and happened to be traveling the same way. They were together for only seven or eight days before parting ways. Guo Honglei led the new recruits back to Tu Ningwei to report, while Jiang Yushu and others went to the provincial capital.
The weather warmed up early this year, and a late spring cold snap hit in mid-April.
Overnight, everyone put on fur coats and cotton jackets again.
At noon, the sky was overcast, the wind was biting, and a light rain was falling. Two carriages and two officials were on their way in the rain.
On the way, two officials tied the horses to the back of the carriage. They huddled together with the coachman to keep warm. They all wore straw raincoats and hats, and hunched their necks to sniff.
In the car, Cuimei rubbed her hands vigorously and shivered, saying, "It's so cold, so cold, my fingers hurt."
Jiang Yushu was helpless and sighed, "Look at the sky, it looks like it's going to snow."
"Ah," Cuimei said with a frown, "it must be so cold, even colder than the middle of winter."
"There's nothing we can do. We can only endure it. Fortunately, the late spring cold snap won't last long. It usually passes in ten or eight days at most."
A strong wind suddenly blew open the curtains, and the cold wind rushed in. The master and servant hurriedly held the curtains closed. Jiang Yushu was dressed very warmly, but it couldn't withstand the biting cold. "When we get to the town where we're going to rest, we might as well buy two quilts and put them in the car to wrap ourselves up warm."
"That's a good idea," Cuimei agreed. "We'll be in the city in five or six days. I wonder what it's like there now."
"You'll know after you see it." Jiang Yushu wrapped her cloak tightly around her, stuttering from the cold. "But my guess is that it's still in ruins. Just imagine, during the occupation of Yongzhou, the enemy soldiers burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of atrocities. Even the towns and villages along the way suffered, not to mention the capital. I heard, I heard from the Second Young Master that on the eve of the recapture, the enemy soldiers set fires crazily, burning countless houses, and the city was ablaze."
"Brother Rong, Brother Rong told me too." Cuimei's teeth chattered as the two of them cuddled together. "Brother Rong said that if the city hadn't been attacked in time, even the government office would have been burned down."
It was as if a ball of cold air was lingering in her chest, making her feel uncomfortable. Jiang Yushu sighed and thought, "When we get to the government office, we'll first pay our respects to the prefect, and then ask if there are any old files that we can check. If there are, that would be great, so we can refer to them."
“What if there isn’t?”
"Then we can only continue to explore."
Cuimei sniffed, her nose reddening. "It's been a few days since we last met. I wonder if the young master and his family have returned to Tuning County?"
Jiang Yushu smiled and replied, "According to the date, it should be here soon."
"Well, if we weren't so busy and hurried on the road, we could have traveled with my cousin and the others." Cuimei chatted casually.
After days of hard work, Jiang Yushu felt sleepy and yawned. "My cousin was in a hurry to take up his post and set off early in the morning. He had a deadline." Before she finished speaking, the coachman Zou Gui let out a "whoosh" and the carriage suddenly stopped. They leaned forward and almost fell down.
"Ouch!" Cuimei hurriedly raised her hand to support the wall, steadying herself, and asked in surprise, "Zou Gui, what's going on?"
"Lord Wei's carriage has fallen into a pit," Zou Gui answered loudly.
Jiang Yushu calmed down and asked loudly, "Are they injured?"
"I'm not sure. I'll go down and take a look."
"Go ahead and help get the car out." Jiang Yushu cheered up, stood up and said, "Let's go and take a look."
"Put on your hat!" Cuimei hurriedly picked up her snow hat and as soon as she got off the car, the wind and rain hit her face, and she was so cold that she stood straight on the ground.
Cuimei hugged her arms and stamped her feet, gritted her teeth, and walked forward tremblingly.
Jiang Yushu hurriedly walked through the muddy ground and asked from a distance, "How is everyone?"
"It's okay." Wei Xu waved his hand, turned around with a dark face, and angrily asked the servant, "Shi Tou, what's wrong with you? The road is so wide, you can go anywhere else, but you have to rush into the pit?"
"Sir, calm down. I really didn't mean it." The servant pointed at the puddle with a sad face and complained, "It's all because of this puddle. I mistakenly thought the ground was flat. In the end, I didn't realize there was a pothole until the wheel sank into it."
The two escorting officers tried to smooth things over, "Forget it, forget it. Don't blame the stone. Get the car out quickly. We need to hurry."
Jiang Yushu circled the carriage and found it was quite deep, with the wheels mostly sunk in and the entire carriage severely tilted. After a moment's thought, she suggested, "Let's give it a try. The horses pull the carriage forward, and we'll push it from behind."
"You two drive the cart, and we'll push it." Wei Xu sighed and asked the man to go around to the back of the car.
So Jiang Yushu and Cuimei stood by and whipped the horses, while the others pushed hard.
But the pit was really deep, the carriage was not light, and the road was slippery due to the cold weather. The men tried their best to push, but the wheels were stuck in the mud and were getting deeper and deeper.
"well"
Wei Xu was so cold that his face turned pale and his lips turned blue. He glared at the servant angrily and said loudly, "Everyone, don't be discouraged, try again."
"Come on, try harder."
After a long time, they were exhausted and out of breath, but they still couldn't push the carriage out of the mud pit.
The drizzle wet her eyelashes. Jiang Yushu lowered the brim of her hat, cheered herself up and asked, "How about we bring our horses over and try harnessing them to this cart?"
"The pit is full of mud and can't be pushed." Wei Xu raised his hand to adjust his hat. "It seems that I can only borrow your horse."
Zou Gui turned around and was about to unhook his horse when he saw a team of carriages and horses approaching slowly from behind. He looked intently and shouted, "Look, it's that group of escorts!"
Escort
Jiang Yushu and the others looked over when they heard the voice. Wei Xu's eyes lit up and he said happily, "Since we know them, let's ask them for help. They probably won't refuse."
In a short while, people from Longshun Escort Agency arrived.
Du Feiyan lifted the car curtain, looked out, got out immediately, ran over, and asked in surprise, "Sister, why are you here?"
"Hahaha, we are so destined to be together."
"Hey, your carriage fell into a pit." Du Feiyan spoke quickly, glanced at the carriage stuck in the mud pit, and without waiting for the other party to respond, she turned her head and waved, "Fourth brother, come quickly and help push the cart."
"Do I need you to remind me of this?" Du Laosi, wearing a bamboo hat, led his men to the scene and ordered, "Get the car out."
"Okay." The two sides got to know each other, and more than ten strong bodyguards were happy and worked together. In a blink of an eye, a group of men pulled the carriage out of the mud pit.
Jiang Yushu and the others breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you very much."
"There's no village or shop in the middle of nowhere. I'm lucky to have met you."
"Thank you for your hard work."
"It's just a small favor, not hard at all." Du Lao Si smiled generously and said with a fist. "Indeed, the Du family owes you two a favor, and I don't know how to repay you."
Wei Xu shook his head, and Jiang Yushu said, "It's just a small favor, Mr. Du, don't take it to heart."
"No, no, no, it's almost a life-saving favor, we are deeply grateful," Du Laosi said solemnly.
"Sister," Du Feiyan said excitedly, but was interrupted by her brother, "Ahem, what did I teach you before?"
Du Feiyan stuck out her tongue in embarrassment and changed the subject, "Madam Guo, where are Captain Guo and the others? Why are there only a few of you?"
Jiang Yushu walked towards her carriage. "They have returned to the camp to report. The rain is getting heavier and it's cold. The girl has neither a hat nor an umbrella. Hurry back to the carriage or you'll catch a cold."
"It's okay, I'm not afraid of the cold." Du Feiyan stood shoulder to shoulder with her, holding her breath, unconsciously tightening her fingers, pretending to be casual, and asked eagerly, "Then, where is Lord Pei? Where is he?"
As a woman herself, Jiang Yushu was keenly aware of the girl's hidden concern. She thought for a moment and smiled, "He's busy with official duties. We separated early this morning and I don't know where he is. By the way, how was the case judged?"
"We won! The plaintiff not only received a beating but also received a large sum of money in compensation." Du Feiyan smiled broadly, raised her chin in relief, and said happily, "My eldest brother has been released from prison and is recuperating in Chujie. Thanks to Lord Pei's wise and fair judgment, we were able to escape safely. I am so grateful to him."
Jiang Yushu said calmly, "As a senior official, he should uphold justice for the people. Where are you going?"
"Let's go to the provincial capital." Du Feiyan was very excited. "Let's observe Yongzhou and see if it's suitable for opening a branch office."
Jiang Yushu stopped beside the carriage and said, "Oh, congratulations in advance. I wish your business will be prosperous."
"Thank you very much," Du Feiyan clasped her fists, her cheeks flushed.
When they were about ten feet apart, Du Lao Si said politely, "Mrs. Guo, please get in the car and take shelter from the rain. Don't pay attention to Feiyan. She is a natural chatterbox and talks a lot of nonsense."
"Fourth brother" Du Feiyan glanced at him sideways with displeasure.
"Go away, go back to your own car immediately." Du Laosi waved his hand impatiently.
Du Feiyan ignored him, smiled, and took the initiative to help Jiang Yushu get into the car. She looked up and asked expectantly, "Are we going the same way? If so, let's go together and take care of each other on the way."
Before Jiang Yushu could say anything, Wei Xu beside her replied, "What a coincidence, we are also going to the capital city."
"Oh, that's great," Du Feiyan said with a smile, "Then let's go together. It's more lively when there are more people."
Du Laosi simply grabbed his sister's braid and pulled her away, "Stop talking nonsense, it's time to get going." He nodded apologetically to Jiang Yushu and led his men away.
Jiang Yushu nodded politely in response.
After a while, everyone set off, and the escort agency's carriages followed the officials.
Du Lao Si sent his men away, rode his horse close to the car window, frowned and asked, "Sister, what did you mean just now?"
"What do you mean?" Du Feiyan lifted the curtain.
"Stop playing dumb," Du Lao Si frowned and asked bluntly, "You were so enthusiastic just now, your eyes were shining, weren't you just talking to Madam Guo? Were you also talking to her cousin?"
Du Feiyan's thoughts were exposed, and her face was uncomfortable for a moment, then she raised her chin, "So what? Lord Pei is our family's great benefactor. If it weren't for his help, I don't know when my brother would be able to get out of prison. I..."
"What's the matter?" Du Lao Si interrupted, his face gloomy, "Do you want to repay your kindness with your body?"
Du Feiyan bit her lip and said, "Stop talking nonsense."
"Okay, I shouldn't talk nonsense, but you are not allowed to have wild thoughts either." Du Lao Si lowered his voice and said sternly, "Sister, don't forget the family rules. The daughters of the Du family would rather be the wives of poor families than the concubines of rich families."
Du Feiyan's face flushed red, and she slapped the window sill with her right palm, "You are the one who wants to be a concubine!"
Du Laosi tapped his sister with his whip and advised, "The emperor and we are not of the same kind. We are not a good match. Besides, that Pei guy always has a cold face and looks very arrogant. Deep down, he probably looks down on peddlers and hawkers."
Du Feiyan stared into the void, silent.
"Don't worry, I understand. It turns out my sister likes gentle and fair-skinned men. When I get home, I will quietly remind my mother to ask her to carefully choose a gentle and fair-skinned son-in-law." Du Laosi promised.
Du Feiyan was in love for the first time and was stubborn by nature. She suddenly raised her chin and said without a trace, "Hmph, in my opinion, nothing is absolute in this world. If you don't try, how can you know whether the result will be successful or not?"
The author has something to say
Cousin, you don’t have to try, it’s impossible.
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