The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 683 Husband and Wife and Companions

Qin Huai's arrival at the Wang family was even more natural than his return to the Duke of Yong's mansion. The gatekeeper already knew him and, seeing Qin Huai and A Yu's carriage approaching from afar, quickly ran back into the house to report.

Soon, Zhu'er came running out and, seeing Qin Huai getting off the carriage, opened her arms to greet him: "Brother Qin Huai!"

Qin Huai picked him up in one scoop. When Ayu, who had come down with him, saw this, she laughed and said, "Mother said yesterday that you've gotten fat, and today you're clinging to your brother. Are you trying to see if his strength has increased as well?"

"No, that's not it," Zhu'er said. "If Brother Qin Huai carries me, Sister won't have to carry me, and she won't be tired!"

Ayu: "I didn't say I was going to carry you. You're all grown up now, you need to learn to walk on your own."

"Sister is lying. When you were this age, your brothers would carry you around in their arms and on their backs, and you could ride on the little lambs." Zhu'er said, then sighed like a little adult, "What a pity, what a pity, the little lambs wouldn't let me ride them."

If I could ride a sheep out for fun, wouldn't all my friends be so envious?

Too lazy to talk to the little brat, Ayu stepped inside first, intending to see what her mother and the others were doing and if they needed her help.

“You’re right, your older sister was quite spoiled when she was little,” Qin Huai said. “Who told her to be our family’s most adorable little darling? Not just us, Zhu’er, when you grow up, you can carry your older sister on your back, buy her delicious food and fun toys, and take her sightseeing, okay?”

Zhu'er patted his little chest: "You don't need to tell me that, I've been planning this for a long time! My brothers are all brothers, but I'm my sister's only brother. Do you know what 'only' means? It means I'm the only one!"

When the little boy spoke, he held his chin high, just like little Ayu back then.

Thinking of this, Qin Huai's eyes filled with a smile. He pretended to look ahead, but whispered in Zhu'er's ear, "Do you know that there will be no more brothers and sisters, but there is no fixed number of brothers and sisters?"

The implication is that as long as new children are born in their generation, his younger brother will certainly not be the only one.

When Ayu turned around, she saw that Zhu'er, who had been cheerful, suddenly looked sad and her mouth was pursed, as if she was about to cry.

"What's wrong?" Ayu first looked at Zhu'er, then at Qin Huai.

Qin Huai shook his head slightly, thought for a moment, and then said, "That's how kids are, they love to cry."

Zhu'er's voice was muffled, with a hint of sobs that she could barely contain herself: "N-nothing."

That brother-in-law is so mean! I'll never call him brother-in-law again, hmph!

When he grows up, he'll find lots of people for his older sister who are even better looking and more capable than Brother Qin Huai. Then we'll see who's crying.

After this little incident, Ayu brought Qin Huai into the Wang family home, where the wives of the grandchildren had already prepared a meal.

Upon learning that they had brought back a large crab, the cook, who had already washed his hands, quickly changed into his costume, picked up the crab, and headed into the inner room, saying he wanted to show off his skills to everyone.

"To keep seafood fresh, it shouldn't be cooked for too long. It's just right for us to eat while we wait," Wei Qianying said with a smile, inviting everyone to sit down.

Jiang Wujing nodded: "Yes, I once went to a tributary of the canal with my maternal grandfather. There were some seafood that were easy to raise and transport. The locals treated them like the crabs we usually eat, simply cleaning them and steaming them. That was the ultimate delicacy."

Ayu said, "You may be familiar with the good food around here, but if you want to travel all over the country and find good food, our family has other experts too!"

As she spoke, Ayu pointed towards Zhou Chuchu, who remained silent.

Zhou Chuchu looked up blankly under everyone's gaze, uttered an "uh," and then realized what was happening, her face immediately turning red.

"Chuchu, we're all family, why are you shy?" Jiang Wujing patted her shoulder, but then saw that Zhou Chuchu's face was even redder, and she was startled. "Are you alright?"

Ayu also stood up and craned her neck to look: "Fourth Sister-in-law, are you alright?"

"Cough cough cough!" Zhou Chuchu pounded her chest hard, finally managing to swallow what was in her throat. She then breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's okay, I just choked."

It turned out that the kitchen had made her favorite five-spice cake today, and she couldn't resist eating two extra pieces, not putting them down even when it was time to eat.

She was in a good mood when the topic was suddenly brought up, and she choked before she could react.

"In that case, it was my fault. I apologize to Fourth Sister-in-law." Ayu hurriedly apologized to Zhou Chuchu.

Zhou Chuchu waved her hand: "It's not that serious, I'm just a glutton. Where were we? Seafood? Our family has indeed been in the seafood business for the past few years, but it's been mostly unprofitable, so my grandfather usually uses it mostly for our own consumption. I do know some recipes for seafood, like this big crab..."

As Zhou Chuchu recounted her story, everyone savored the delicious food while listening to her culinary insights. When the large crab was served, everyone felt that the seafood was even more delicious than they had imagined.

Normally, the Wang family would eat at the same table with the old lady. She rarely made decisions on major matters now, letting them figure things out themselves, as long as the general outline was correct. However, she placed great importance on etiquette and manners, which the Wang family found unusual, as this was something the old lady had previously disregarded.

For example, at the dinner table, the old lady wouldn't allow everyone to chat and laugh; only after one person finished speaking would others be allowed to continue.

Now that Grandma Wang is temporarily free to supervise, everyone is speaking freely, and the whole house is filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Qin Huai was in a very good mood and even ate an extra bowl of rice than usual.

After the meal, Qin Huai should have left, but the thought of returning to the Duke of Yong's mansion, though much better than other places, still felt like a place for nobles, lacking in human warmth.

He bought a house next door, and even though it was just a wall away, it felt much quieter.

"Brother Ayou, come with me to digest my food." After finishing her conversation with Zhu'er, Ayu turned to Qin Huai's side. "Let's go for a walk in your yard. I haven't checked on it for a while, and I don't know how the flowers I planted are growing."

Qin Huai smiled and said, "Let's go." Zhu'er followed along eagerly, "Me too! Don't worry, sister, I water the flowers every day, and they're growing really well."

The two greeted Liu and the others before taking Zhu'er to the next room.

Upon arriving next door, Chi Jia swiftly picked up Zhu'er and flew to another room where there were many things to play with at night. Zhu'er immediately started playing there and forgot to look at the flowers.

Once they were alone, Qin Huaicai said to Ayu, "It wasn't convenient to talk to you during the day in the capital, but I've found some clues about what's going on in the village, and what your grandmother said is pretty much the same."

"Did you tell your aunt, the Empress?" Ayu asked. "Does she believe you?"

Qin Huai: "She can only trust me."

In fact, before they even arrived in Wanning City, Empress Qin had already learned of the news through the flying eagle messenger and made corresponding arrangements. Before they had even traveled halfway, Empress Qin dispatched a large number of people to Hujia Village.

In truth, none of them could be sure whether they had alerted the enemy that night, but only by pretending not to would they minimize the other party's suspicion.

Once they leave, their stance will be clear. With Old Mrs. Wang in charge of the village and overseeing the overall situation, it shouldn't be difficult to delay them for enough time.

What might be difficult for others should be a piece of cake for her.

After combining various pieces of intelligence, Qin Huai had already concluded that Old Lady Wang was Princess Yongchang. If she was such a talented and beautiful person, and had the experience of living among the common people, she would naturally be more adept at doing things.

Qin Huai didn't go into too much detail with Ayu, not wanting her to worry too much. Besides, the royal family wasn't exactly a clean and innocent one, so there was no need to tell Ayu about things that couldn't be discussed openly.

Ayu didn't ask any more questions, only saying, "If there's anything I can help you with, don't hesitate to ask."

"If there is a real need, I certainly won't hesitate."

Ayu patted Qin Huai on the shoulder and said with great enthusiasm, "That's right, after all, we'll be husband and wife in the future."

The slap was delivered firmly, and the tone was carefree, as if she were talking not of husband and wife, but of sworn brothers, full of chivalry and righteousness.

But if you asked Qin Huai to pinpoint exactly what was wrong, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He understood the nature of marital affection, but he didn't truly comprehend it.

In Wanning City, in families that don't follow the rules, boys are allowed to have sex at the age of ten, and in some later years, they are arranged to have a concubine at the age of twelve.

Girls, as early as eleven or twelve, would begin to be taught about matters between men and women, the ways of husband and wife, how to serve their parents-in-law, educate their children, and manage their servants. After four or five years of learning, they would formally get married.

Qin Huai was not interested in these things.

Judging from Ayu's expression, she had no interest in studying these things.

“Yes, we are husband and wife,” Qin Huai continued, “and also partners who can trust each other.”

After saying that, the two looked at each other and smiled.

Time flies, summer has passed and autumn has arrived. After a torrential downpour, Wanning City began to feel cool.

Before they knew it, it was the second day of the eighth lunar month. Old Mrs. Wang and Old Mr. Wang were on their way back, only a little over a hundred miles away from Wanning City.

The two young men driving the carriage were from the village. When they reached a fork in the road, the entire carriage suddenly shook violently.

One of the young men exclaimed, "Oh no! The cart shaft has broken!"

"Grandpa Wang, Grandma Wang, hold on tight, I'm going down to check." Another young man jumped off the carriage.

Suddenly, a dozen or so masked men emerged from the bushes on either side of the carriage, each wielding a knife and staring at them menacingly: "Leave your things, or we'll spare your lives!"

"Oh no, we've been robbed!" The two young men quickly jumped onto the carriage, about to climb inside to find the two elderly people, but someone held a knife to their necks.

The leader laughed and said, "Oh, so the people inside are planning to cower like turtles?"

Just as Old Wang was about to speak, Old Mrs. Wang patted the back of his hand, and he mouthed a few words.

"I'll count to three. If you don't come down by then, don't blame me for being impolite. Three..."

"Go ahead and count, I want to see how many dogs you have that dare to lay a hand on me!" Old Mrs. Wang's voice came from inside the carriage. "If those two young men lose even a single hair, I can guarantee that not a single blade of grass will grow on your grave in the future."

The first one: "..." How come this is different from what we agreed on?

Sorry, I asked the editor for leave, but I don't know how to ask readers for leave on the platform.

I've been infected for the past few days, and my condition has been terrible. Fever and headache are the most basic symptoms; my whole body aches, and my hands and feet cramp. Today, all that's left is a cough, a stuffy nose, and a tearing back pain.

As long as my head and hands don't hurt, I can continue working.

Several elderly people in my family have been infected. Some have mild symptoms, while others are so severe that they had to be admitted to the emergency room. The doctor told us to be prepared.

If the elderly person doesn't make it through, we'll have to go back to our hometown for the funeral in the next few days, but we still hope we can avoid that process.
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(End of this chapter)