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After climbing for most of the day, the group finally reached the detached courtyard of the tea garden.
When the elderly couple who were guarding the tea garden saw that the group was in a sorry state, they quickly fetched water and firewood, and prepared clean clothes for them.
Qin Sang had been visiting this place for many years and had left behind a lot of clothes, which the girls changed into. However, Xie Sui'an and his servant Jinyun only had the coarse linen clothes of the garden keeper to change into.
Outside, the rain was pouring down harder and harder.
Unbeknownst to them, it was also raining heavily in the nearby town of Lixian.
On the balcony of a private room at Chaotianlou, the only large inn in Lixian County, the plump Li Mintian was carefully examining the aroma of a row of tea leaves in front of him. The occasional drizzle did not interrupt his enjoyment.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door three times. Li Mintian said, "Come in," and a guard-like man entered and stood in front of the desk to report, "There is a coincidence that may be of use to you, Master Li."
Li Mintian: "Go ahead."
"When I was returning to the city, I saw a pregnant woman with a big belly in the distance. She was carrying a basket on her back and hurrying home. But the road was slippery because of the rain. The pregnant woman slipped and fell, and she and her unborn child died."
Li Mintian remained silent, and when he continued, the guard said, "I saw this pregnant woman a couple of days ago. She went to Renxintang to get medicine."
Li Mintian paused in his hand, which was twisting tea leaves, and threw the tea back into the teacup. He said with a half-smile, "That's incredibly rude of you."
The guards immediately fell silent and dared not mention it again.
But then he heard Manager Li sigh softly, "Well, it's just that we're all unlucky and have run into a tough customer. Go ahead, just scare them a little, don't kill anyone. It'll get your hands dirty."
On this side of the mountain, in the tea garden, Xie Sui'an refused to wear coarse linen clothes, preferring to stay in bed and wait for his clothes to dry.
He huddled on the small bed, wrapped in a blanket with only his head sticking out. Seeing Jinyun busy back and forth in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, he couldn't help but chuckle: "Jinyun, I just realized your legs are so short."
Jinyun was speechless and dared not refute, so he could only pout and do his work, carefully drying his noble young master's clothes over the charcoal fire.
Qin Sang shouted from outside, "Want some roasted pork skin and chicken drumsticks?"
Xie Suian hadn't eaten since leaving home that morning, so he was naturally hungry. However, he was a picky eater. He only took one bite of the vegetable pancake that the old farmer guarding the tea garden had brought him and then put it down. But when he heard about pork skin and chicken legs, his eyes lit up.
Jinyun didn't care about him; she knew he had no clothes to wear and couldn't go out, and he couldn't eat even if he wanted to.
Xie Sui'an called out to him, "Hey, Jinyun, go out and get me some pigskin."
Jinyun said, "The clothes aren't dry yet."
"Tsk, go bring it in and dry it again."
Just as Jinyun was about to put down his clothes and go out, he saw Qin Sang standing at the door with a plate of meat. Xie Sui'an nervously wrapped the blanket tighter around himself and said, "Aren't you ashamed? How could you trespass into someone else's bedroom?"
"Get this straight, this is my room. Here, Jinyun, this is for you." Qin Sang handed a small plate of pig skin to Jinyun, without even glancing at Xie Suian, and added, "You can't eat on the bed, it'll dirty the bed. Don't give it to him."
Jinyun wanted to laugh but held it in, said "Oh," and carried the plate into the house.
In front of Xie Suian, he carefully picked up a piece of pigskin, popped it into his mouth, and ate it with a slurp. However, he only dared to eat one piece. No matter how much the young master doted on him, he had to be aware of his status. Before Xie Suian could get angry, he quickly handed the plate over: "Here, this was given to me by someone. I'll just eat one piece. The rest are for the young master."
Xie Sui'an stretched his hand out from under the covers, picked up his chopsticks and started eating, glancing at the door as he ate: "Go close the door, don't let someone steal my innocence."
Jinyun: "..."
Xie Sui'an only began to appreciate the flavor after eating the third piece. He smacked his lips several times and said, "What's in here? It tastes so...unique...I don't think I've ever tasted this kind of spice before."
Jinyun, still savoring the taste, swallowed hard upon hearing this and nodded, saying, "Yes, it's delicious."
Xie Sui'an angrily said, "Hurry up and dry the clothes!"
After finishing the plate of meat, Xie Sui'an was still not satisfied. The sizzling sound of roasting meat continued to come from outside. He couldn't stand it anymore and said to Jinyun, "When will the clothes be dry? When did you become so long-winded? Fine, help me change into those clothes and wear them for now."
Jinyun: "..."
Xie Sui'an put on the shorts and t-shirt that farmers wear when they work, only to find that they didn't cover his arms or legs, making him look like an adult wearing a child's clothes. After agonizing for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and went out.
Qin Sang looked up when she heard footsteps, sized her up for a while, then clicked her tongue and said without changing her expression, "Sit down."
Some people are born beautiful and have excellent figures. Even if they wear tattered clothes, they can't hide their noble air. Xie Sui'an is such a clothes hanger.
The main house of this villa is a two-bedroom house with a wooden frame and a thatched roof. The middle room is the living room, sitting room, and tea room. Sitting here, you can overlook dozens of acres of tea fields outside.
The terraced fields, layer upon layer, are neatly laid out and shrouded in the misty rain of the mountains, as if they are covered with a layer of ethereal fairy-like atmosphere, which is quite interesting.
Having not noticed it when he came in, Xie Sui'an was stunned for a moment after sitting down and looking out, before sighing, "This place is really... not bad."
Qin Sang thought to herself that it was more than just "not bad." At this moment, Qin Yue, who had been frowning, suddenly raised her head and said, "That's really how it is. I slipped and Feng Lang tried to grab me but failed, which is why I rolled down. He didn't push me."
Qin Sanghui didn't even bother to answer Qin Yue's question, and instead put the roasted chicken into Xie Sui'an's plate: "It was just killed, it's very fresh, don't worry about getting an upset stomach."
Xie Sui'an took a bite with relish: "What kind of spices did you add? I've never had them before."
Qin Sang then said, "I made my own secret blend of spices into powder. Is it delicious?"
Xie Sui'an nodded: "Delicious."
Qin Sang then handed him a cup of matcha milk tea. Its emerald green color was pleasing to the eye. Xie Sui'an took it, carefully sipped it, and exclaimed in surprise, "What is this now?"
"Fresh buffalo milk with matcha powder, isn't it delicious?"
Xie Sui'an nodded again: "It tastes good."
Qin Yue suddenly grabbed Qin Sang's sleeve: "Sister, why don't you send someone to check? What if Feng Lang and the others take people back to look for us? It's raining so hard outside, and the roads are so slippery... It's very dangerous..."
Xie Sui'an happily munched on chicken and said, "Let him look for you. Anyway, he was the one who pushed you down. Letting him get a little rain is punishment enough."
"He didn't push me!" Qin Yue's eyes suddenly reddened. "Did you see it? If you didn't see it, why are you making up stories and slandering him? Is it fun?!"
After saying that, she looked at Qin Sang and said with a wronged expression, "Brother Feng has only ever protected me since we were little. It's impossible for him to like other women."
Xie Sui'an was annoyed by the yelling and continued to rub salt into the wound: "You said it yourself, that was when I was a child. When I was a child, the number of women I promised to marry could line up all over Shenwu Street. You actually believed that?"
Qin Yue finally burst into tears, crying, "Who is he? Sangsang, kick him out! Kick him out! Don't let him take shelter from the rain in our house, and don't let him eat our chicken!"
Qin Sang glared at Xie Suian, who, fearing he wouldn't get any chicken, quickly put a few pieces into his bowl, turned around, and began to slowly nibble on them.
Qin Yue cried and cursed, "I know I'm inferior to Yan Yan in every way. I'm not as beautiful as her, nor as gentle. She's excellent at needlework and embroidery, but... even so, he could have just told me directly. Why did he push me off the cliff? I could have just given it to them. Why..." She suddenly stopped sobbing, "Could it be that they wanted to kill me?"
Qin Sang: "Well... that's unlikely. No one would die from a fall in that valley; at most, they'd suffer broken bones or disfigurement..."
"Disfigurement?!" Qin Yue was even more incredulous. "Why would you disfigure me? Can disfigurement be a reason to break off an engagement?"
Qin Sang couldn't understand why either, so she used a twig to poke at the charcoal fire, making a crackling sound.
Xie Suian sighed, "Maybe he just wanted to scare you, to let you know he's a bad person, so you'd go back and break off the engagement with him! See, you don't even have to ask for your elders' scolding, how great is that?"
Qin Sang glanced at him and sneered, "It seems that Young Master Lu is quite experienced in this area."
Xie Sui'an humbly replied, "So-so, I only know a little bit."
The spring rain was continuous, and once it started, it didn't stop, drizzling on and on until the afternoon.
The mountain path was difficult to traverse. The old servant guarding the tea garden glanced at the sky, put on a straw raincoat and cloak, and, leaning on his wooden cane, headed down the mountain. He needed to deliver the news that Qin Sang couldn't return home; otherwise, his master would worry about the situation on the mountain.
Actually, although the mountains were beautiful after the rain, they weren't very pleasant; they were very damp. The group had to add more firewood to the brazier in an attempt to drive away the rain and chill. Xie Sui'an was thinly dressed and shivered, so he moved closer to the fire and Qin Sang. Seeing this, Qin Sang handed him a piece of clothing to wear.
After finishing her meal, Jinyun went back to her room to continue drying clothes. Qin Yue, with her leg injured and having just experienced great sorrow and pain, went to bed and silently cursed the ungrateful couple for a while, vowing to teach them a lesson when she got back. She then sobbed herself to sleep.
The firelight illuminated the living room, making it glow red, and only the two of them remained, silent for a moment, with only the whistling wind outside the door.
The wind howled and the rain drizzled, the air was biting cold, but the floor of the whole house was covered with two layers of oil paper, on which was a tightly pressed mattress, and on the mattress were mats and woven blankets, so it was warm and cold-proof in winter.
Qin Sang had placed some storybooks here and even made a rocking chair. When she was bored, she would lie on the rocking chair with a storybook and read the stories. For example, right now, she was reading and clicking her tongue: "Superficial... Superstitious... Naïve... Too outrageous..."
Xie Suian moved closer, but because of the dim light, he could only get closer and closer until he could smell his scent. Qin Sang turned her head slightly to look at him and said, "Young master, men and women should not touch each other. Please stay away from me."
Xie Sui'an said disdainfully, "If the story is too awful, then don't read it. Just keep me company and have a chat. I'm quite bored too."
Qin Sang put down her book: "What are you talking about?"
Xie Sui'an wrapped the blanket tighter around himself: "Tell me, is this tea plantation yours?"
"Hmm. You have a problem with that?"
"You built this little house?"
Qin Sang said, "Otherwise what?"
Xie Suian clicked his tongue: "The layout is not bad, quite unique, but it's a bit small."
Qin Sang ignored him and changed the subject: "Young Master Lu, you're from Kyoto, aren't you?"
Xie Sui'an turned his head back, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "How do you know?"
"Just a guess."
"Heh, you guessed wrong."
Qin Sang didn't argue with him, and said calmly, "Our Li County has no gold or mines, and no port. We only have enough resources to be self-sufficient, and we don't have any special products that can be traded abroad. What are you doing here, young master? Are you looking for relatives or visiting friends?"
When the words "finding relatives" were mentioned, Qin Sang's heart skipped a beat. She looked at Xie Suian again and asked, "You're not really here to find someone, are you?"
Xie Sui'an stirred the stove and thought for a moment: "Not really. I ran away. My parents wanted to arrange a marriage for me, but I disagreed, so I ran away. I'll go back when they change their minds."
Qin Sang blinked, reached out and patted his shoulder, expressing her sincere sympathy: "We're from a wealthy family, there's nothing we can do, it's all about marriage for mutual benefit. You can run away for a while, but you can't run away forever. Once this rain stops, you should obediently go back. Who knows, the other party might be a beautiful and gentle young lady. It would be a pity if you missed out."
Perhaps feeling that he couldn't refute this statement, Xie Sui'an sighed sadly, hugged the back of his head, leaned back, and remained silent.
After a moment of silence, Qin Sang suddenly asked, "Hey, let me ask you, is your family background very powerful?"
Xie Sui'an glanced at her sideways.
Qin Sang: "For example, there's a very domineering merchant in Quzhou Prefecture. He clearly has powerful backers. He insists on buying my tea garden. Do you... have any connections that can smooth things over?"
Xie Sui'an thought for a moment, then suddenly put his hand down: "Who, who wants to buy your tea plantation?"
Qin Sang was too embarrassed to directly ask for help, especially since the other party didn't seem to have come knocking on her door yet. However, it's always good to have a backup plan, so she smiled and said, "No, I was just asking. I've heard that there are many cases of people bullying others and seizing land in other places. My tea garden is so precious, I'm worried too."
Xie Sui'an rested his head on his arms again, crossed his legs, and said, "Don't worry, if anyone dares to forcibly buy your tea plantation, I'll take care of them for you!"
Qin Sang's eyes lit up.
Xie Sui'an closed his eyes and smiled with a look of intoxication: "But your tea garden is so nice, I'm thinking of buying it and building a separate courtyard for it."
Qin Sang yanked the blanket off Xie Suian: "Get out! Get out of here!"
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