Ties of Love, Ruan Wan

The night before, Qiu Shuang packed her things, and the next morning, the group set off in a grand procession.

It takes half a day to get to the village. Although Lou Qianyuan has a three-day holiday, it will take a day to travel there and back. If he wants to have a good time, he naturally has to set off early.

There were two carriages. Haiping drove the first carriage, while Ruan Wan and Lou Qianyuan rode in the second carriage.

A Jin drove the second carriage, which carried Qiu Shuang, Cui Mo, and Cui Lu, while two other servants, Chao Sheng and Sha Bai, rode alongside to protect them.

Zhuangzi was located at the border of the capital and Xijing. Most of the people in the capital bought their estates here, especially the old nobles.

The weather gradually got hot in June, and by noon the sun was already quite strong.

Qiu Shuang hurriedly jumped off the carriage, ran to the carriage in front, and opened her umbrella.

Haiping opened the curtain, Lou Qianyuan jumped down first, Chaosheng set up a footstool, and Ruan Wan got off the carriage with Lou Qianyuan's help.

Because no one had come to inform them in advance, the people on the estate were unaware that Ruan Wan and her group had arrived. By the time Ruan Wan and her group reached their quarters, Li Yuan and his wife, who were guarding the estate, had already eaten lunch.

Seeing the large group of people appear at the door, Li Yuan and his wife immediately knelt down. "Young Master and Madam, why didn't you give us any advance notice? This old servant didn't prepare anything."

Lou Qianyuan laughed and said, "Get up. We just decided on a whim. Make sure you have some food and get the bed ready."

Cui Mo and Cui Lu went to help prepare lunch, while Qiu Shuang followed Zhang Shi, Li Yuan's eldest daughter-in-law, to prepare the bed.

Ah Jin brought over chairs and spread out silk scarves. "Young master and madam, please sit down and rest for a while."

Just as Ruan Wan and Lou Qianyuan sat down, Wu, Li Yuan's second daughter-in-law, brought them tea.

Lou Qianyuan took the bottle and handed it to Ruan Wan. "Have some water and rest for a while. You must be hungry. Have them pick some fruit for you."

Ruan Wan smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, I'm not too hungry yet."

Ruan Wan looked outside and saw that the old couple really didn't miss any space. They even planted scallions and soybeans in the small yard in front of the door.

The soybeans are growing vigorously, with plump pods and abundant harvests, making them the most delicious time of year.

After a while, Li Yuan returned, bowing respectfully, and replied, "Steward Li said he was unwell and therefore did not see the young master and madam today."

Li Yuan was extremely uneasy, constantly glancing at Lou Qianyuan and Ruan Wan's expressions, fearing that they might get angry and cause collateral damage.

The young master and his wife have condescended to visit him many times, but he still acts arrogant and refuses to see them. He really doesn't know what's good for him.

Fortunately, the young master and his wife were not angry this time.

Lou Qianyuan sighed. "Take good care of Uncle Li. If anything happens, be sure to send someone to the manor to inform him."

Li Yuan nodded in agreement.

When Qiu Shuang returned, she asked, "Young Master and Madam, the beds have been made. Would you like to go and rest for a while?"

Lou Qianyuan stood up and held out his hand. "Wan'er, let's go rest for a while. The food will probably be a bit delayed."

Ruan Wan placed her hand on Lou Qianyuan's palm, while Qiu Shuang stood at the door holding an umbrella.

This estate has a separate courtyard reserved for the Lou family to stay in. During the hot summer months, people from the capital like to come to Xijing to escape the heat.

The yard is less than 200 meters behind Li Yuan's house. Li Yuan and his wife did not grow any vegetables there.

The roadside is lined with peach, plum, apricot, and apricot trees. At this time of year, the green plums are just ripe and can be used to make salted green plums and green plum wine.

Although they are still mostly green, the sight of the trees laden with fruit is quite delightful.

Ruan Wan thought that she would come back to visit again when the peaches ripened, so as not to waste the fragrance of the garden.

The orchard used to be a flower garden, with all kinds of flowers blooming in competition, fragrant and pleasant, and the summer heat felt half as much.

After a morning of carriage travel, Ruan Wan's body was stiff, and she went straight to bed as soon as she got to her room.

Before, she didn't care about her image, but now that they're a real couple, she doesn't need to maintain any image at all. Ruan Wan lay sprawled on the bed, stretching.

Lou Qianyuan sat on the edge of the bed, massaging Ruan Wan's shoulders and back. "You must be exhausted after sitting in the carriage for half a day."

Ruan Wan closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling. "I'm really pampered as a lady now. I never felt this tired when I was climbing mountains and crossing rivers."

Lou Qianyuan slowly slipped his hand from her waist inside, stroking Ruan Wan's belly. He gently leaned closer and climbed onto her waist. "Wan'er, are you pregnant? I've heard that women feel easily tired after becoming pregnant."

Ruan Wan laughed and said, "No, how could I not know if I did?"

She's a doctor herself, so she could easily tell if someone was menstruating just by taking their pulse, and besides, her period was still going strong.

Lou Qianyuan looked dejected. "Sigh, when will I finally get pregnant? I've been trying so hard every night."

Saying these things in broad daylight made Ruan Wan blush. "Do you really want a child that badly?"

"Changfeng already has a child, so it's about time we had one too, so he'd have a playmate."

Lou Qianyuan's face was full of anticipation: "The most important thing is, how beautiful our children will be when they are born!"

Ruan Wan smiled and said, "This can't be rushed; sometimes it just comes naturally."

Lou Qianyuan lay down as well, pulling Ruan Wan into his arms. "Should we try harder during the day too?"

Lou Qianyuan's hands were already restlessly kneading Ruan Wan's chest. Just as their passion was growing stronger, there was a knock on the door.

"Young master and madam, lunch is ready."

Ruan Wan hurriedly pushed Lou Qianyuan away, stood up and straightened her clothes, but Lou Qianyuan lay on the bed and refused to get up.

Ruan Wan reached out to pull Lou Qianyuan up. "Get up quickly, I'm hungry."

Lou Qianyuan buried his face in the blanket. "Wait a moment, it'll take me a while to calm down."

Having already gone through the personnel changes, Ruan Wan could only stand awkwardly to the side and wait, not knowing what Lou Qianyuan meant by the Dao of Nature.

There wasn't even time to kill a chicken or cook a pig for lunch; it was all seasonal dishes, which were indeed more delicious than any of the delicacies.

Cui Mo introduced the dishes, saying, "This is stir-fried bok choy, this is a soup made with tender broad beans and eggs, this is stir-fried green beans with oil and salt, and this is fish caught from the pond, steamed for its freshest flavor."

The table was covered in green, looking very light and refreshing. After being used to eating rich and heavy meals, it was quite a treat to have such a light meal occasionally.

Ruan Wan smiled and said, "Let's follow this standard for dinner too, eat more seasonal vegetables, it's good for your health."

Qiu Shuang pouted angrily and said, "Cui Mo, Hai Ping, and I were thinking of eating some game, so let's prepare this for the young master and mistress. We'll have some plump chicken and duck ourselves."

Lou Qianyuan laughed, "Qiu Shuang has been spoiled by you; she's becoming more and more unruly."

Ruan Wan glared at Qiu Shuang. "Since you like eating wild game so much, why don't you ask Uncle Li to find you a husband on the estate? Then you can eat your fill."

Cui Mo and the others couldn't help but burst out laughing.

After lunch, the sun was still strong outside, so Ruan Wan and the others decided to rest for a while and go out to play when the sun wasn't so intense.

Lou Qianyuan couldn't wait to pull Ruan Wan back to her room. He specifically instructed Qiu Shuang, "You don't need to wait on me anymore. Find a room and take a nap."

Qiu Shuang immediately understood and quickly walked away.

Lou Qianyuan's lust had not been completely extinguished when it was instantly reignited. He closed the door and began to kiss Ruan Wan wildly.

After their lovemaking, both of them were exhausted, and Ruan Wan fell asleep in Lou Qianyuan's arms.

In the afternoon, Lou Qianyuan took A Jin to the pond to fish.

Ruan Wan was fishing for shrimp, but she couldn't catch a single one after a long time. So she threw away her fishing rod and took Qiu Shuang, Cui Mo, and Cui Lu to the orchard to pick green plums.

It's cool and fragrant under the shade of the trees, much more comfortable than fishing in the sun.

Each man carried a small bamboo basket as they moved through the plum grove. Ruan Wan chuckled, "Why do all men love fishing so much?"

Cui Mo laughed and said, "When I was still at home, my father would only go fishing when we had nothing to eat. He would just boil the fish in plain water, and it was awful because there was no oil in it."

Cuilu also said, "When poor people catch fish, they mostly take them to the street to sell; very few eat them themselves."

Autumn Frost chimed in, "Only a young master from a noble family like you would take fishing as a pastime."

Ruan Wan recalled the time when she was alone in the mountains. She was young then and didn't know how to set traps. If she wanted to eat some meat, she would go fishing by the river and catching shrimp in the stream.

Boiled food in plain water is indeed hard to eat, so Ruan Wan marinates it with berry spices before grilling.

Ruan Wan suddenly had an idea: should she have something different for dinner?

Lou Qianyuan and his friends can really sit still; they spent the whole afternoon fishing by the pond with A Jin and the others without moving an inch.

Ruan Wan and the others each picked a basket of green plums, removed the stems, washed them, and placed them in a ventilated place to dry, while Lou Qianyuan and the others were still fishing in the same spot.

Ruan Wan sat listlessly beside Lou Qianyuan, leaning on his shoulder. "Aren't you bored all day with no fish biting?"

Lou Qianyuan smiled and said, "The process of waiting is actually quite wonderful. The longer you wait, the more satisfied you feel when the fish finally comes to the surface."

Ruan Wan had some understanding of this behavior but also some incomprehension. She could understand the sense of accomplishment that came from spending a lot of time making a piece of clothing or cooking a dish, and the feeling of accomplishment when the final result was presented to her after putting in so much effort.

Ruan Wan couldn't understand why Lou Qianyuan was just waiting idly.

As the sun slowly descended, the water shimmered with the afterglow of the setting sun.

Ruan Wan glanced at the empty basin beside her and patted Lou Qianyuan on the shoulder. "Maybe we should just forget about it; it's getting dark."

When men get stubborn, they're like children. Lou Qianyuan said earnestly, "Li Yuan said the fish we caught at noon were caught in this pond. There are fish here."

Ruan Wan knew, of course, that there were fish in the pond, but whether she could catch any was another matter entirely.

The sun cast long shadows on the ground. Ruan Wan patted Lou Qianyuan on the shoulder again. "Let's stop, it's already dark."

Lou Qianyuan closed his eyes, stood up, threw away his fishing rod, shouted, and plunged into the pond.

Ruan Wan cried out in fright, "What are you doing?"

Lou Qianyuan swam around in the water, sometimes diving down and sometimes surfacing.

After a while, Lou Qianyuan plunged in and didn't come up for a long time.

Ruan Wan was extremely anxious and shouted at the water, "Qian Yuan, come out quickly! Don't scare me like this, I'm scared!"

There was no reaction underwater, so Ruan Wan immediately shouted to A Jin and Hai Ping beside her, "Hurry up and go down to save the young master!"

Haiping and Ajin immediately jumped in. As soon as they entered the water, bubbles began to rise to the surface.

Lou Qianyuan emerged from the water, and Ruan Wan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, frowning as she called out, "Come out quickly, you scared me to death!"

Lou Qianyuan laughed heartily, "Wan'er, I caught a fish!"

Ruan Wan looked into Lou Qianyuan's arms and sure enough, he was holding a large carp.

The fish was still thrashing about in Lou Qianyuan's arms when Haiping and Ajin couldn't hold back any longer and jumped out of the water.

The three of them worked together to lift the large carp up. They were soaked to the bone, covered in mud, and looked like drowned rats.

Lou Qianyuan looked at the large fish on the ground with a smug expression. Ruan Wan punched him in the chest and said, "Still laughing? You have no idea how worried I was about you."