Chapter 104 Daily Life (Part 1): You clearly bully me more often.
Li Yue'er obtained the land deed from the mistress in early autumn. The mistress was afraid that Li Yue'er would not like it, so she did not have anyone renovate the ancestral house in the past two years, even though she had the land deed. After all, no matter how the house was repaired or changed, Li Yue'er, who had lived there before, was the most familiar with it.
The next day, Li Yue'er had Teng Huang run errands to find the best bricklayers and carpenters in Chenhe County, and they planned to start renovations in the next couple of days.
Before the ancestral home was completely renovated, Li Yue'er went to the academy in the afternoon to ask her mother and sister if they wanted to visit the dilapidated house.
After all, it's a place I used to live in. Even if it's restored after renovation, there will definitely be many things that are different from before.
After some hesitation, Ming shook her head and said, "I think I'll pass."
The ancestral home had been uninhabited since it was sold by Li, the scholar, and one can imagine how dilapidated it was.
That place was not only where Li Yue'er grew up, but also where she lived since childhood. It even witnessed her transformation from innocent and carefree to infatuated and easily deceived, ultimately leading to her tragic end.
Moreover, although the house still stands, everything inside has changed beyond recognition.
With the trees bare in autumn and the house deserted for so long, it must appear even more desolate and bleak.
The scene was sorrowful, and my heart was filled with even more sorrow.
Ming didn't have the courage to go back, and she was also avoiding facing the wrong choices she had made; just thinking about it made her miserable. She could bear the suffering herself, but she had also dragged her two daughters down with her.
Ming lowered her head and rubbed her face, suppressing the sob in her voice, "Take Rong'er to see it. She hasn't seen the place where you grew up yet. I... I won't go."
Even now, she still feels guilty towards her daughters when she talks about it.
If it weren't for Li Yue'er's ambition and Qu Rong's fearlessness of worldly opinions, and the fact that the two of them had made their lives prosperous, Ming Shi felt that she would probably only be able to dream about such a stable, peaceful, and comfortable life as she does today.
Li Yue'er sat on a low stool in front of the stove, tending the fire in the pot. When she heard her mother's voice sounded off, she didn't turn her head to look. She just hummed and said, "Then I'll take her tomorrow. Mother, she probably didn't have as good a life as I did when she was little. Tomorrow I'll take her to see the world and broaden her horizons, so she can know that I was once a 'lady of a prominent family' when I was young."
Ming chuckled, amused by her words. She turned her head away and rubbed her face against her shoulder. Her voice had returned to normal as she gently scolded, "You can't always bully her. She's a year younger than you."
Li Yue'er thought, "As the older sister, it's natural for me to bully my younger sister."
She called out to Li Xing'er, who was peeling scallions by the door, "Is that right?"
Li Xing'er replied loudly, "Yes."
Li Yue'er proudly raised her eyebrows at her mother, "This one is happy to be bullied by me, and the other one who comes to eat later will definitely be happy too."
Madam Ming smiled and shook her head. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Xing'er, do you want to go to the ancestral home with your sister tomorrow?"
Li Xing'er said, "No, I want to wait until the house is repaired before I go to see it with my mother."
It's better if she doesn't go. Actually, both Li Yue'er and Madam Ming hoped that the first thing Li Xing'er would see in the Ming family's ancestral home would be bright, clean, and tidy, just like the days to come.
After all, among the three of them, only Li Xing'er had never lived in the ancestral home since birth, nor had she ever had a single good day.
Ming asked, "Is the pot boiling yet?"
Li Yue'er lifted her buttocks, half-stood up to take a look, and said, "It's open, it's open."
Li Xing'er said from outside, "I can smell the chicken soup."
The pot was simmering with chicken soup. Ming had specially picked out the chicken from the street, had someone kill and pluck it, and then brought it back to make soup and noodles.
She did want to buy live chickens to raise in the yard, so she could kill them whenever she wanted, but she didn't dare. Li Yue'er seemed bold, but she had never killed anything before... Relying on Qu Rong, who was standing far away with her brows furrowed and lips pursed, was worse than relying on herself.
Ming didn't want to make things difficult for herself. Since there was no one at home to kill, she would just buy a good one from outside.
She bought the chicken early in the morning and simmered it until evening, until it was tender and flavorful.
Take the hen out of the pot, shred the meat into strips, season half of it cold, and put the other half back into the pot to cook chicken noodle soup.
The noodles had just been prepared when Qu Rong arrived.
Garcinia and Cinnabar followed behind her, each carrying a load of things.
Ming peeked outside and said, "Why are you bringing so many gifts again? It's just going home, not visiting relatives and friends. Why are you being so polite?"
Li Yue'er listened intently. The mistress, who neither read the Four Books and Five Classics nor believed in Confucius and Mencius, spoke gently to her mother, "Rituals cannot be abandoned. These things are merely a small token of my respect for you, nothing more."
Li Yue'er scoffed. Etiquette cannot be disregarded, but she hadn't seen the mistress proactively send the old lady tonics and jewelry.
No wonder she managed to coax her mother into siding with outsiders.
Li Yue'er coughed lightly twice, and Teng Huang immediately rushed into the kitchen. "What's wrong, Mistress?"
Li Yue'er squinted at her.
Teng Huang was about to squat down in front of her, but when he met Li Yue'er's gaze, he quickly stood up straight, turned his toes, and smoothly slipped out of the kitchen.
She stood in front of Qu Rong, "Looking for you."
Qu Rong, "..."
Ming smiled and pretended not to see, then bent down to take the item from Dansha's hand and put it into the house.
Teng Huang and Li Xing'er prepared the ingredients together, and they also planned to cook a fish later.
Dansha wasn't idle either; he helped fetch water and wash the basin.
Everyone was busy, and Qu Rong stood out of place in the courtyard. Between preparing fish and starting a fire, she chose to sit next to Li Yue'er, took Li Yue'er's wrist, and put a jade thumb ring on her thumb.
Li Yue'er looked up at her in surprise, "!"
Qu Rong: "This one is yours."
Li Yue'er became happy, wrapped her arms around her mistress's arm, and rubbed against her like a puppy, "Why are you so fond of me? We're an old wife, and you still do these little romantic things."
She raised her hand, holding the ring up to the firelight, her eyes shining. "How much can I sell it for?"
She accused her of being mercenary and obsessed with money, completely oblivious to the two names engraved on the ring.
Qu Rong glanced at her sideways, and seeing that she really hadn't noticed, she couldn't help but reach out and pinch her cheek in annoyance, "Try selling it if you dare."
Li Yue'er hummed and raised her hand to rub her face. She was just asking.
Just then, Madam Ming came in and saw her young wives sitting together, Qu Rong sitting still, and Li Yue'er still tending the fire. She jokingly asked, "Weren't you going to make Rong'er do chores?"
Qu Rong's ears turned red, and even with her mother-in-law watching, she didn't try to snatch the fire poker from Li Yue'er's hand.
She can light a stove, but she really can't do this. Last time, she almost poked out the fire that Li Yue'er had finally managed to light, which made her lose face in front of her family. She really remembered it well.
Once is enough for this kind of thing.
Li Yue'er chuckled, "My patriarch is not the type to do this kind of work. I'll take care of it."
As the pot was lifted and Ming was about to cook the noodles, Li Yue'er reached out her hand, pretending to say, "Oh, let me do it."
Ming glared at her, "You didn't even wash your hands, how dare you touch noodles when they're not clean?"
Li Yue'er stretched out her thumb. "Isn't it clean? This bright green color is so clean and refreshing."
Ming Shi, "..."
When Ming looked at Qu Rong, Qu Rong's ears turned red, and she pretended that her skirt was very dirty, so she kept dusting it off.
Ming said, "Just indulge her. She's the best at taking advantage of others."
Qu Rong smiled silently upon hearing this. She understood this all too well.
During the meal, Li Yue'er showed off her thumb ring on the table again, but although the thumb ring was nice, it was indeed inconvenient to wear while working.
After dinner, while washing the dishes, she took off the thumb ring and put it in her purse at her waist.
The light blue purse looked to be from two years ago, with a thin string that made Ming afraid it would break. "Be careful, it might fall off later."
Garcinia then said, “If I find it, I won’t return it to you. It has no name or surname, so whoever finds it keeps it.”
Li Yue'er laughed at her, "Who said you have no name or surname? The ring clearly has 'Yue' and 'Rong' engraved on it."
Upon hearing this, Qu Rong subconsciously looked up at Li Yue'er.
Li Yue'er looked at her with a smile. Although the two did not say a word, after looking at each other for a moment, they both blushed.
She saw the mistress's little scheme when she raised her hand towards the firelight.
After they were settled, Madam Ming did not keep the two of them at home. She led Li Xing'er to the door and watched them get into the carriage before turning back.
Li Xing'er raised her head and said, "Mother, Sister Rong gave me a set of writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone. She said I should be able to use them in a few months."
Li Xing'er's eyes shone brighter than the stars in the sky, "I can study now too."
Madam Ming put her arm around her daughter's shoulder and said softly, "Our little Xing'er must study hard. Even if she doesn't let down her older sister and sister Rong, it's good to broaden her horizons."
She patted her daughter's head and said with a smile, "I've heard that even the eldest princess in the imperial court can go to the battlefield and enter the court like a man. Maybe our Xing'er can do it in the future too."
Li Xing'er chuckled, hugged her mother's waist, and said softly, "Mother is joking again. Girls aren't allowed to go to school these days."
Mr. Ming sighed, "Who knows what will happen in the future?"
Just like a few years ago, she never imagined that things would turn out this way, let alone that her two daughters would be able to take her surname and return to their ancestral home.
Li Xing'er nuzzled her face against her mother's waist to cheer her up, "Then little Xing'er will definitely study hard, since my mother and older sister are both talented women~"
Ming laughed.
The talented woman praised by her younger sister is currently riding in Qu Rong's palm, acting as a martial woman attempting to ride a horse.
She draped her skirt over her mistress's forearm, and with her hands on her mistress's shoulders, she tiptoed up and down in her mistress's hands as the carriage swayed slightly.
She bit her lip, suppressing her breathing, her eyes watery and her vision blurred.
Li Yue'er thought she looked bad half-crying, but in Qu Rong's eyes, her eyes were alluring and moist, and he couldn't wait to pull her into this blissful moment.
The spacious carriage was inlaid with luminous pearls at the four corners, something Li Yue'er hadn't known before, but she eventually found out.
This bead does not shine during the day, but it is bright and radiant at night.
Under the shimmering light, Li Yue'er could barely suppress her gasps, her voice breaking.
Qu Rong raised her hand, intending to cover Li Yue'er's mouth, but fearing it would suffocate her, she simply patted Li Yue'er's side, indicating that she should turn her back to her.
As Li Yue'er leaned back in her arms, she placed one hand under her skirt and the other hand's fingers inside Li Yue'er's mouth, gently teasing her tongue, as shown below.
Li Yue'er was overwhelmed and gripped her mistress's wrist with her fingers. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she turned to look at her pitifully.
The mistress kissed the corner of her eye, lifted her chin, and kissed her lips.
The hand above had been removed from Li Yue'er's mouth, but not below; in fact, it took advantage of the deep kiss to tease her even more fiercely.
Li Yue'er trembled with sobs, finally shaking the tears into the mistress's palm, with some spilling onto her skirt.
The pleasure came quickly; the two exchanged a single glance in the carriage and couldn't help but kiss. Li Yue'er, passionate as fire, whispered, "I want to."
Qu Rong, who always spoiled her, washed her hands again and then reached inside.
Qu Rong didn't know how to wash dishes, but she gently rubbed the rim of Li Yue'er's bowl with four fingers together and asked in a low voice, "Is this how it is?"
Whether this is true or not is unclear, but Li Yue'er's bowl is getting wetter the more she washes it.
As for how to keep Li Yue'er's stove burning without letting the fire go out, she's an expert at that.
She wasn't good at the manual labor in the kitchen, but she was already an expert at being Li Yue'er.
Qu Rong loved watching Li Yue'er transform from a green shrimp into a wriggling red shrimp in her palm, finally squirting out juice and collapsing limply in her arms, panting.
Li Yue'er parted her lips slightly, reached out and tugged at her mistress's clothes, kissed her on the corner of her mouth, and spoke in a breathy voice, but with a smile, "Mother said I always bully you."
Li Yue'er: "Actually, you clearly bully me more often."
Qu Rong kissed her forehead, then the tip of her nose, and then her lips.
As they approached the Qu residence, the two stopped there, deciding to tease each other a little more when they got back and took a bath together.
After all, when they're clean and their bodies are moist and refreshed, it's the perfect time for them to kiss each other and collect nectar from the flower buds.
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Moon: It's a number! [shy]
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