It was past midnight, and Xie Yuancheng was still talking. I listened to him, propping myself up on my hands. It was all about restrictions. He was enjoying himself now, but when he asked me to go out with him later, I knew I'd have a way to get back at him.
"Ying'er, are you thinking that if I ask you to go out in the future, you'll find a way to remove all these things?"
"No, no, Your Excellency is overthinking it. Tell me quickly what you did outside, I want to hear it!"
I poured tea for Xie Yuancheng. He's such a talkative guy; doesn't he worry about losing his voice? Xie Yuancheng looked at me with a half-smile; this guy must be thinking something bad.
"Yuancheng~ Chengcheng~ I'm tired and I'm going to take a nap. We'll talk tomorrow."
"It's only been a short time, and Ying'er is already being too proactive. I haven't even had time to react."
Xie Yuancheng pulled me over, and I stepped on his instep: "You're just dreaming. I saw you were tired from the long journey, and you've been talking about it nonstop ever since you got back."
"Let's go look at the moon first, and we'll discuss it in detail when we get back." Xie Yuancheng pulled me out the door, not forgetting to put on a thin outer garment.
At that moment, there was a ghostly moon. When I went outside, I saw dark clouds above. Just as I was about to speak, Xie Yuancheng led me over the wall and out.
“You start nagging as soon as you get back. You only ate some food this afternoon, and then you kept talking. Aren’t you tired? And now you have to go out.”
Sitting on horseback, I felt a sense of familiarity, as if the road ahead led to the Western Regions. He always prepared only one horse, and I always felt sorry for the horse.
"Ying'er, you still have time to worry about the horse, but not about me at all~"
As soon as Xie Yuancheng came up, I put my arm around his: "You have no idea, when I went out, I dreamed of going out with you. When I woke up during the day, seeing Xizhi was like seeing you."
“Xi Zhi looks exactly like you, yet you say that seeing him is like seeing me. When I first saw you at the Ji residence, you looked just like Xi Zhi.”
But you are more refined. The three children are a mix of our looks, Ying'er is truly irreplaceable~
Xie Yuancheng mischievously pinched my waist as he spoke, and I leaned into his arms: "They're still young. I just hope they grow up safely. It doesn't matter whether they achieve anything or not."
"That's what I think too. I've worked hard all my life to give you a good life and not let you worry."
I smile so sweetly, and he's the only one who can say sweet nothings; one of his words is worth a dozen of mine. Anyway, I like listening to him. What he says is always true, and he even does things better than he says.
"But why did Changze and the others come to Linyang? Last time, it was lucky that your senior brother Mei showed up, otherwise I would have been captured by Cailu."
"How dare you say that? Changze is now the son-in-law of the Western Regions, he's busy every day. If Cailu hadn't been unintentionally provoked by you, how could she still be so hung up on him!"
"Let bygones be bygones. I only want you. I don't want anyone else, no matter who they are."
"It's good to have the awareness, but we still need to take some action." Xie Yuancheng, having gotten the benefit, still acted innocent. I promised to listen to him, and only then did he drive his horse away.
"Where are we going so late?" The streets of Linyang are now decorated with marble. There are large quarries here, and these things are not expensive and can be found everywhere.
"I was supposed to come back in three days, but my sister sent me a message and I came back. This time I'm taking Ying'er with me to run some errands."
"Alright, I've been waiting for your news at the manor for so long. This time, I won't let you leave me behind."
"Stop being so sweet-talking." Xie Yuancheng spurred the horse's belly a few times. I looked around but didn't see the red cloak.
"I gave it to the teachers because I was worried about something going wrong. I received a message that some villages had more outsiders, and since Changze and the others were there too, they helped out."
Now let's meet up and see if it's true. If it is, I won't leave the whole village here. My brother-in-law and the others already searched through everyone living here and found out everything.
They wouldn't say anything then, but we won't let them send out extra people out for no reason now.
"What an incredible project!" I was speechless. How did they manage to accomplish that? It's truly amazing.
"As you know, we often saw them conducting censuses in 2020, right? This was very good for the people, as it allowed them to gather a lot of information."
Besides, our place isn't very big, and we only have a limited number of residents, so of course we need to find out the exact number.
"That's true, you're so dedicated to your work, you're really lucky. When we get back, I'll give you a shoulder and leg massage, so you can enjoy what I do for you every day."
"Stop pretending to be innocent. I still have things to settle with you when we get back. I had no idea Ying'er was so beautiful. She really is as she said before, attractive to both men and women."
"My body and reputation are a gift from my parents; if you want to hold someone accountable, go find them!"
“I have already sent a letter to the capital. My parents-in-law know about it. They even said that they will bring Yu’er to Linyang for the New Year this year and help me, their good son-in-law, to put in a good word for my daughter.”
"You're so annoying~" I tried to grab his hair, but Xie Yuancheng grabbed me with one hand and kept laughing out loud.
I'm so frustrated. It's a good thing that my parents came, but I'm just too unlucky. It's not my fault, so why is everyone blaming me?
"Ying'er~ concentrate. After we leave the city, the lighthouse won't be repaired yet. I need to take care of you and be careful on the road, it's very dangerous."
"This is your territory, what danger could there be?"
There were fewer people on the street, and I could finally lean quietly against Xie Yuancheng's chest. It was so comfortable. I really needed him by my side so I could stay in one place without moving.
"We still need to be careful, as the first few years are unstable. Otherwise, I would have had my parents-in-law come over long ago."
"Okay, I'll be your eyes. If anything bad happens, I'll be the first to help you solve it."
"Just lean against me and don't move around. If you get sleepy, take a nap. I'll wake you up when we get there."
I turned to look at him. "I don't want to fall asleep. I want to stay with you." The road he was walking on was indeed dark. I wanted to light a tinderbox, but Xie Yuancheng wouldn't let me.
Something's not right. They're all shrewd people; didn't they pay attention when they were repairing the road? I was about to ask when I heard footsteps, and that's when I started to look more closely.
It was pitch black all around. Xie Yuancheng made his way at a leisurely pace. After we rounded a few trees, some people started jumping out with their swords drawn.
Xie Yuancheng pulled on the reins. The ground below was sand, and the horse kicked a few times, sending sand flying everywhere. I saw them all fall to the ground, and when I looked up, I saw Xie Yuancheng holding a small stone in his hand.
"I remember now, with tear gas, you can see the number of people around you clearly." I think I vaguely dreamed about it, but Xie Yuancheng was able to handle it all by himself, so it was a good dream and I didn't pay attention.
Xie Yuancheng fired several tear gas canisters from the bag below, and the sound of crying rang out. I saw a light and quickly threw a spare tinderbox over it, and the previously dark place suddenly became brightly lit.
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