Chu Qiao had no idea what he was thinking. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and gathered the hair around her ears. Although she felt a little embarrassed, she still said stiffly, "What are you doing here?"
As soon as the words fell, the room fell into a brief silence. Chu Qiao knew that she had said the wrong thing, so she lowered her head and remained silent.
It seems that no one knows how to deal with such a completely different relationship, nor does anyone know how to respond.
The moonlight outside the window was very bright, pouring all over the ground like mercury, as if a layer of clear snow had fallen.
"What are you doing in Xianyang?"
Zhuge Yue suddenly asked, Chu Qiao was slightly stunned, and suddenly felt a little panic in her heart. Over the years, there were very few things that made her panic. Even when facing the blade of Da Xia, she could remain calm and composed. Only when facing him, her composure seemed to disappear, and her heart seemed to be filled with an uneasy rabbit.
"I..." Chu Qiao coughed calmly and said calmly, "I have something to do."
"Is it done?"
“Almost…almost.”
"So when are we leaving?"
Chu Qiao had no choice but to continue, "Just one or two days."
"One or two days? That means tomorrow or the day after tomorrow?"
Chu Qiao was a little angry and said in a bad tone: "Tomorrow."
“Oh.” Zhuge Yue nodded, sat down at the table and poured himself a half cup of cold tea, but he did not drink it, just shook it gently in his hand.
Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows and glared at him, then asked, "What about you?"
"Me? Me what?"
"What are you doing in Xianyang? When are you leaving?"
Zhuge Yue smiled faintly. Two years of not seeing each other seemed to have made this little fox even more cunning. He nodded calmly and said, "I'm here for fun, but I'll be leaving in a few days." Then he stood up and was about to walk out, saying as he walked, "Since you're leaving tomorrow, I won't bother you anymore. Have a good rest."
"Hey!" Chu Qiao was startled and quickly stood up, shouting unconsciously, "Stop."
Zhuge Yue turned around and asked calmly, “Anything else?”
He must have done it on purpose! Chu Qiao stared at him for a long moment, then lowered her head slightly and said in a very low voice, "Actually, I'm not in a hurry to leave." As if she was afraid that Zhuge Yue would misunderstand her, she quickly added, "Anyway, there's nothing urgent for me to do when I go back."
“Oh.” Zhuge Yue nodded meaningfully, picked up the outer robe beside him and handed it to her, with a hint of smile on his face, “Hurry up and wash up, today is the Ghost Festival, it’s more lively than yesterday.”
She didn’t know if it was true or her mood had changed, but Chu Qiao really felt that today’s street market was more lively than yesterday.
Famous flowers bloom in the wind, beautiful trees flourish, and the cool breeze on both sides of the lake carries lush moisture, which is refreshing. The street circuses seemed much more interesting than yesterday's. When she met a beggar on the road, Chu Qiao showed her mercy and gave him ten gold coins. The little beggar was stunned holding the money. If an ordinary family uses this money frugally, it would be enough to provide them with food and clothing for ten years.
Zhuge Yue sighed in a gloomy tone, “What a grand gesture.”
Chu Qiao turned around and glared at him, mocking him: "The richer the people, the more stingy they are. Girl, I'm in a good mood."
Although he knew that the words were meant to mock and ridicule him, Zhuge Yue felt happy after hearing them – happy? Why is it good? He walked up cheerfully, then took out a silver note with the seal of Chenyue Money House on it, and two hundred taels of gold written in black and white.
"Don't be a beggar anymore. Buy a manor and become a rich man." After saying this, he walked away in the astonished eyes of Chu Qiao and the little beggar.
Chu Qiao hurriedly chased after him, eying him suspiciously.
Zhuge Yue glared at her and said, “What are you looking at?”
"I didn't expect you to have a change of heart. Is it because you have too much money?"
Zhuge Yue snorted, "There are many things you haven't thought of."
After taking just two steps, Chu Qiao's stomach began to growl. No wonder, she hadn't eaten for the whole day.
Zhuge Yue seemed to be very familiar with Xianyang City, and he listed the names of several restaurants and eateries like a treasure. Chu Qiao, however, could not move when she smelled the fragrance from the street noodle stall.
Zhuge Yue was naturally reluctant, but before he could object, Chu Qiao had already sat down. The waiter came up attentively, and she ordered two bowls of scallion oil noodles, half a pound of beef, a plate of peanuts, and also asked for a bottle of wine at the waiter's recommendation. Unexpectedly, the wine had a very elegant name, called June West Frost.
Zhuge Yue looked at her strangely and asked, “Don’t you not drink?”
Chu Qiao's hand holding the chopsticks hesitated for a moment, then she smiled faintly and said, "Before, I was afraid that drinking would cause trouble, but now I am free, so I don't care so much."
Zhuge Yue frowned, stretched out his hand to grab her cup, and said in a deep voice: "Don't drink it."
Chu Qiao didn't force it, she shrugged and whispered, "Pretentious."
The waiter brought the food quickly. The wine was indeed not a good one. One smell showed that it was rice wine mixed with water, designed to fool those amateurs who were trying to show off their taste. The food was average, but the portion of noodles was very generous. Chu Qiao was so hungry that she could only eat half a bowl and couldn't swallow it anymore.
They stood up and saw a group of little beggars with scribbled faces staring at the remaining half bowl of noodles with their mouths watering. Zhuge Yue turned around and threw a penny to the shopkeeper, saying, “Give them a bowl each.”
The shopkeeper quickly agreed with a smile. Chu Qiao looked at him in confusion, "Are you addicted to pretending to be a bodhisattva?"
A little boy of about twelve or thirteen saw that the two of them were well-dressed and generous, and seemed to be easy to talk to, so he came forward with a smile and said to Zhuge Yue, "Master, please give me some wine."
Zhuge Yue looked at the child with great interest, then turned around and gave the shopkeeper some more money, saying, “Give him a jar of wine, don’t mix it with water. If he can’t finish it, this meal won’t count as my treat. Just beat him up and send him to the authorities.”
The child smiled happily upon hearing that and went away happily.
Chu Qiao smacked her lips and said, "How can a little kid drink a whole jar of wine?"
“If you don’t let him try, he will never know what it is.” Zhuge Yue said calmly, “Only if he suffers a loss once can he learn a lesson.”
Chu Qiao was slightly stunned when she heard this, and her steps slowed down, and she fell behind him.
Zhuge Yue took two steps and when he saw that she hadn’t caught up with him, he turned back and frowned, “Let’s go, what are you thinking about?”
Chu Qiao came to her senses and quickly quickened her pace to catch up.
Only after suffering a loss can you learn your lesson. But Zhuge Yue, how many times have you suffered losses? Why don’t you learn your lesson?
Just as she was thinking about it, she suddenly felt a burning pain on her cheek, and the sound of firecrackers followed, right above Chu Qiao's head. Chu Qiao was startled and was about to turn around to look, but she felt a strong force suddenly attacking her from the front. Zhuge Yue grabbed her hand and swiftly pulled her into his arms. He stepped back a few steps, his pair of slender, sharp eyes slightly raised, filled with deep anger.
"How is it? Are you hurt?"
Chu Qiao looked up and saw a restaurant that was setting off firecrackers on the second floor. They didn't notice if there were people walking below. Besides her, several other people suffered. At this moment, many people were shouting and cursing downstairs, but they were drowned out by the sound of firecrackers.
Zhuge Yue pulled down Chu Qiao’s hand that was covering her face, only to see that it was slightly red, with two faintly redder spots, and her complexion couldn’t help but look a little ugly.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt.” Chu Qiao was still not used to his gaze. She tried to pull her hand away from his grasp, but he didn’t move at all. The palms of my hands were a little warm, and I could vaguely feel the sharp lines and calluses.
"It's nothing." She said a little embarrassedly, "It's not disfigured."
"A woman's face is so important, but you don't care about it." Zhuge Yue said indifferently. Although his tone was bad, his meaning was still good. Chu Qiao didn't argue with him, but he added, "But it doesn't matter whether your face is disfigured or not."
Chu Qiao was stunned. She didn't expect that he would fall into his old habit again within three sentences. She retorted, "You are the only one who looks good."
Zhuge Yue took it as a matter of course, turned around and walked towards the store. Chu Qiao was worried that he would fight with others over such a small matter, but he stood there for a while, then turned around and came back. She came forward and asked, "What were you doing there?"
“Remember the name.”
Chu Qiao was shocked, "You actually hold a grudge like this!"
Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows, "What are you thinking about? I smelled the strong aroma of wine inside, and I planned to come and eat tomorrow."
Chu Qiao was very depressed. It wasn't like this before. Why was she always at a disadvantage every time she talked to him now? She followed him with a frown, not noticing the smugness slowly rising in the corners of the man's eyes.
The night breeze was quiet and peaceful. From time to time, vendors on both sides came forward to sell their goods. From time to time, a little girl selling flowers came over to praise Chu Qiao's beauty and persuade Zhuge Yue to buy flowers for his wife.
Zhuge Yue accepted everyone's misunderstanding calmly. He even bought three flower baskets along the way, but gave them all to Chu Qiao. He walked ahead alone with ease. Chu Qiao followed behind like a little maid, carrying large and small bags. Passers-by all stared at her. Gradually, the flower girls stopped coming over. They must have fallen from the position of a wife to a servant. The surrounding discussions drifted into Chu Qiao's ears:
"Look at that young master, he is so handsome, even the maidservant he brings with him is pretty!"
Chu Qiao frowned depressedly. Does she look like a maid? More than ten years have passed, why am I still his maid?
The wind was a bit strong on the lakeshore, and the two of them walked along the lake embankment. It was very quiet here and there were not many people. Their steps became slower and slower, but no one spoke, as if they didn't want to break this rare peace. From last night till now, neither of them mentioned the two years since they separated. Life suddenly brought them together here, far away from Daxia and Yanbei. There were no power struggles or intrigues. Life here was peaceful, with birds singing and flowers blooming. Even the air was unusually fresh. Their spirits were relaxed and no one wanted to mention those things that made bad people feel unhappy.
The breeze swayed on the lake and the moonlight was faint, like the morning glow condensed all over the ground.
Unconsciously, he had walked to the foot of that sturdy old elm tree again. Zhuge Yue stopped involuntarily and looked up at the broad treetops. The turbulent years of the past few years flashed through my mind. I stumbled and came back to this place unexpectedly.
Chu Qiao looked at him and saw that the man was tall and straight, with handsome features, but his eyes were no longer as cold and arrogant as before, replaced by a calm and elegant demeanor, with a hint of vicissitudes and desolation in his eyes, which was heartbreaking to see if you looked closely.
He narrowly escaped death, was abandoned by his country and bore a bad name, and had no choice but to go into the evil place. He built such a foundation in two years. How could he be as relaxed as he said, "I'm not dead yet"?
These days, she gradually heard about the situation on that day.
After she followed Li Ce back to Bian Tang, Da Xia wrote to Bian Tang seven times, demanding that Li Ce hand over Chu Qiao. Yan Xun also sharpened his sword and sent troops to attack Bian Tang, fighting several battles with Bian Tang on the northwest border. Finally, Wei Guang of the Wei clan personally came forward and led the newly formed Southwestern Army to Bian Tang to put pressure on Li Ce. Although everyone in the world knew that Daxia did not dare to have a real military conflict with Bian Tang at this time, the people of Bian Tang were extremely dissatisfied with Li Ce's behavior. Some people even wanted to rush into the palace several times to hand over Chu Qiao, the cause of the trouble.