Her voice was gentle. The young gentleman who was awakened was pressing on his own arm. Those beautiful phoenix eyes looked at her in a daze, stunned for a moment, then suddenly grinned, “Tangtang!”
That familiar voice, she had heard it countless times in that recent dream of the flames of war.
“Mm, why are you sleeping here?” Li Ruantang’s ears turned slightly red as she helped up the still drowsy young gentleman.
He was still in a daze. Meng Jun rubbed his eyes and obediently opened his mouth to drink the warm water Li Ruantang brought to his lips. Those phoenix eyes were a little guilty, “I, I have to watch over my wife-master.”
Meng Jun’s clear voice inexplicably lowered.
“Silly Jiu Jiu.” Li Ruantang stroked his hair, “These injuries of mine are nothing, you don’t need to worry about me so much.”
“Many years ago when I was in the army, I was once stabbed by a sword here.” She lightly pointed to her waist, “Although I lost a lot of blood at the time, I still pulled through.”
“Especially since most of the injuries this time were from falling and scraping. ” Li Ruantang pointed to her own chest, a faint smile on her lips, “So, Jiu Jiu can rest assured. I promised you, no matter what, I will definitely live.”
When she spoke, her eyes were gentle. The clear gaze was like a spring breeze blowing across a pool of clear water, shimmering with ripples.
The young gentleman looked at her in a daze, but his fingers hidden in his sleeves seemed to have a will of their own, lightly touching the corner of her eye.
It was like a feather brushing past. Li Ruantang’s eyelashes fluttered. The ticklish sensation on the young gentleman’s fingertips was like a spring thunder, startling him into a fluster as he hastily withdrew his hand.
“Wife-master, I, I didn’t mean to.” The young gentleman anxiously explained to her. He didn’t know what came over him. His handsome face turned red as if it would drip blood.
“Jiu Jiu doesn’t need to apologize.”
Li Ruantang also blushed. She slightly turned her face and looked out the half-open window. In the distance, the mountain ranges overlapped, shrouded in mist, just like her young husband’s furrowed brows in his fluster.
“I……” Li Ruantang felt a sweetness in her heart. Just as she was about to speak, she was interrupted by the sudden sound of cursing and door slamming from outside.
Smoke from cooking was rising in the courtyard.
Hu Youning was busy in the kitchen, sweating profusely. Upon hearing this commotion, he inwardly thought it wasn’t good.
He quickly went over it in his mind. Most likely that ruffian had seen him going to Changshan Valley in the morning and had come to make trouble again.
It was strange, he should have been more careful. Hu Youning gritted his teeth resentfully. The Hu family’s fields were far from home. Even if his mother and father got the news and came now, they would probably be too late.
He could only rely on himself!
Thinking of this, Hu Youning grabbed the kitchen knife from the table. As soon as he walked out of the kitchen, he ran into Li Ruantang who had heard the commotion and come out.
“Young Master Hu.” She slightly nodded her head and tactfully asked, “Is there some difficulty at home?”
“Apologies for troubling Lady Li.”
Hu Youning pursed his lips, his eyes glaring resentfully at the courtyard gate, “The person cursing outside is a ruffian from the village, surnamed Fu. Previously, she schemed against my mother and my mother owed her three silver taels.”
Before he could finish speaking, Madam Fu outside the courtyard could no longer hold back. She kicked the dilapidated courtyard gate several times, causing the mud walls to shake and dust to fall.
“Hu family, open the door quickly! Paying back debts is a matter of course. If you don’t have money, then use your male concubine to pay off the debt. What, did you think sending your precious son out of the village would settle everything?”
She had set her sights on Hu Youning long ago, but this young male concubine had high standards. Fu Lanxian invited several matchmakers to the Hu family’s door, but they refused to agree no matter what.
Thinking about it, the Fu family could be traced back three generations and had even held high positions in the capital. Although they had fallen from grace now, they still had some family assets.
Fu Lanxian threw a few strings of copper coins behind her, and the few ruffian friends following her immediately got excited. In an instant, the shouts and curses grew much louder.
Their words were so vulgar that Li Ruantang frowned upon hearing them. Hu Youning had a fiery temper, how could he endure it? As soon as he took a step, he wanted to go forward.
But Li Ruantang was one step faster than him. She stretched out her arm and easily disarmed the weapon in his hand.
She smiled gently at Hu Youning, “Young Master Hu is still an unmarried male concubine after all. If Young Master Hu doesn’t mind, I am willing to face them on your behalf.”
