The large water vat in the yard wasn't full yet, so Ali took the empty bucket back to the oxcart; she still needed to go and fill it with water.
When the Prime Minister saw the old ox leave the courtyard on its own again, he followed it. He said to the men who were going to follow him, "You don't need to follow. Find someone to tell the young master that the person they are looking for has returned. The rest of you stay here. If they come back, tell them we went to fetch water."
Ah Li noticed that the Prime Minister had followed her, so she patted the old ox, and the ox stopped.
The prime minister didn't need Ah Li to greet him; he simply got into the oxcart himself.
The old ox continued walking, and the journey was very quiet.
The Prime Minister looked Ah Li up and down. She was neither a stunning beauty nor a beauty that could topple kingdoms. How could she have captured the hearts of three men?
When they arrived at the water source, Ah Li had just filled two buckets with water when they heard the sound of horses' hooves.
Ah Li didn't hear it, but the Prime Minister did. He turned around and saw Xue Rongyu, Nangong Xuan, and his son.
The three of them slowly dismounted, looked at the old ox, and then at Ah Li; she really had returned on her own.
Li Wenping wanted to go up, but Nangong Xuan stopped him.
What are you doing!
"Don't scare her, it's slippery over there."
Li Wenping had no choice but to stop. The Prime Minister waved to them, saying, "This must be the person you're looking for."
"Um."
Xue Rongyu looked at the old ox, and the old ox mooed a few times at Xue Rongyu.
At this moment, the Prime Minister said, "When I returned to that courtyard, I found that the old ox was gone. I said, 'Did the old ox find this person?'"
Xue Rongyu replied, "Who knows?"
At this moment, the breeze was cool. At the water-fetching spot, only Ah Li was there, with no one else around except for a few of them standing behind and watching.
As Ahri turned around to put the water on the oxcart, she noticed three more people had joined her.
Xue Rongyu walked over, took the water from Ali's hand, and said, "Let's go home."
Li Wenping also walked over at this moment. Unlike Xue Rongyu, he didn't restrain himself at all. He hugged Ali directly and said, "You scared me to death! Where did you go?"
Ah Li blinked and noticed that the old man was looking at Li Wenping with a disappointed expression. She guessed that the old man might be Li Wenping's father.
Ali raised her hand and patted Li Wenping. When Li Wenping slowly let go of her and looked at her, she gestured unhappily and said, "Where did you go? There's no water in the tank. I thought you weren't coming back."
Li Wenping said very seriously, "I went to look for you."
Nangong Xuan said, "Let's not reminisce here anymore, it's time to go back."
Li Wenping took Ah Li's hand and helped him onto the horse, then he followed suit.
The old ox mooed a few times, then pulled the prime minister and several buckets of water back home.
The Prime Minister looked at the old ox and said, "It is indeed intelligent. It will come back to the capital with you."
Xue Rongyu and Nangong Xuan followed Li Wenping, and they both smiled as they looked at Ah Li sitting on her horse.
Back in the courtyard, there were already quite a few people busy at work.
There were also many people cooking in the kitchen, coming and going.
At first glance, it's all men.
The old ox slowly pulled the prime minister and several buckets of water back, and Ah Li's hand never let go of Li Wenping's.
Before long, someone brought out a table and several dishes from the kitchen.
Li Wenping said to Ali, "Eat some first, and I'll have someone prepare more when we get to the capital."
Xue Rongyu drove the old ox back into the cowshed. He immediately noticed that the cowshed had been cleaned. He patted the old ox and said, "It really was you who went to find the person and clean up the cowshed for you."
The old ox flicked its tail and bellowed a few more times.
After we finished eating, the yard was cleaned up.
The Prime Minister and his entourage left first, asking before they departed, "What are your plans for your marriage after you return?"
Xue Rongyu said, "Let's choose a good day. I'll marry her first, and three days later, Nangong Xuan will marry her."
Before Li Wenping could even make a sound, Nangong Xuan held him down and said lazily, "Third brother, you'll have to wait six days before you can marry her."
"Why should I!"
"Because we obtained the imperial decree for marriage before you."
"You guys are awful!"
Li Wenping was furious. He looked at Ali, who was completely oblivious to the situation. He was going to take his men and Old Yellow Ox away secretly tonight.
Regardless of Li Wenping's outbursts, the Prime Minister led his men away, and those who had originally returned with Xue Rongyu and Nangong Xuan also left.
Before long, the courtyard became quiet.
Xue Rongyu closed the courtyard gate, and Nangong Xuan walked towards Li Wenping.
"What are you doing?!"
"Ah! Let me go!"
Li Wenping was tied up by Xue Rongyu and Nangong Xuan, and they carried him back to the house, threw him onto the large wooden board where they had slept before, and even covered him with a blanket.
Li Wenping wanted to shout again, but Nangong Xuan said, "Be quiet, the grass can't hear you."
"Don't go too far!"
Li Wenping tried to struggle, so Nangong Xuan stuffed a piece of cloth into his mouth.
"What goes around comes around. You should know how we felt back then."
Ah Li was taken by Xue Rongyu to wash up, and she looked into the room with concern.
As a result, Xue Rongyu suddenly lowered his head and kissed Ali. When Ali looked at him, he said, "Don't worry, we won't do anything to him." They will only do something to her.
That night, after Xue Rongyu and Nangong Xuan finished washing up, they lay down on the warm kang (heated brick bed) with Ali.
Li Wenping could finally understand how those two people felt when they heard those sounds.
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