Quick Transmigration: Only You Are the Desire of My Heart

Lu Chenyuan stared at her reddened ear tips and suddenly felt a strange flutter in his heart.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before, like a spring breeze brushing across a frozen lake, that made his heart, which had been dormant for years, start pounding uncontrollably.

"Village chief! Are you alright?" The anxious shouts of villagers from afar broke the delicate atmosphere.

Lu Chenyuan seemed to wake from a dream and quickly helped Song Qingyin to her feet.

He patted the dust off his robes, then carefully brushed away the bits of grass clinging to her sleeves before turning to the arriving villagers, his expression now normal: "It's alright. Where were we? Ah, the 30/70 profit split..."

His voice remained gentle and warm, as if the moment of loss of composure had never happened.

As he turned around, his fingertips brushed against Song Qingyin's hand, carrying a hint of lingering affection.

Song Qingyin stood beside him, looking at his profile as he spoke eloquently in the sunlight. His sharply defined features were edged with gold, and even the fine downy hairs were clearly visible.

The way he talked about the "30/70 profit split" was so radiant, a stark contrast to the man who had been tormented by nightmares that night.

At that moment, she suddenly understood something.

Those strategies for governing the country, those figures working late into the night at their desks, those seemingly indifferent yet actually fair rulings on village disputes...

Perhaps these were the seeds of hope he carefully planted on this wasteland irrigated by blood and fire.

"What do you think, Madam?" Lu Chenyuan's voice brought her back to reality.

He had finished his explanation at some point and was now looking at her with a smile, his gaze incredibly gentle.

The surrounding villagers all wore expressions of joy, their eyes sparkling with hope.

Several strong young men couldn't wait to pick up their hoes and began clearing the wasteland with great enthusiasm.

Song Qingyin smiled slightly and said softly, "Very good."

Sunlight streamed onto the newly awakened wasteland, and also onto the two people standing side by side, casting long shadows that intertwined, making them indistinguishable from one another.

That night in the study—

Lu Chenyuan looked at the completed documents. He should have checked them carefully again, but he was somewhat absent-minded at the moment.

During the day, the feeling of gently holding her slender waist remained, and he even felt as if he carried her scent with him.

squeak-

The sound of the door hinges turning startled him. Song Qingyin stood at the doorway, holding a bowl of medicine, the moonlight casting a silvery outline on her slender figure.

"My husband, it's time to change your dressing." Her voice was soft, yet it resonated in his ears like a thunderclap.

Lu Chenyuan instinctively tried to get up and avoid her, but she walked straight over and placed the medicine bowl on the table. As she moved, a strand of her black hair fell down, brushing against the back of his hand, sending a shiver down his spine.

"I...I'll do it myself." He turned his face away awkwardly, but then he smelled the faint fragrance of her hair, which was refreshing, serene and distant.

Song Qingyin suddenly reached out and pressed down on his wrist: "The wound is on your back, how can you do it yourself, husband?"

Her pulse pounded wildly beneath her fingers, and a sly glint flashed in her eyes. "Or perhaps, what is my husband afraid of?"

The candlelight crackled, casting the two people's shadows on the wall, where they overlapped to resemble a pair of lotus blossoms.

As Lu Chenyuan gazed at her face so close to his, he suddenly recalled the line from the Book of Songs, "Now that I have seen my beloved, how can I not be happy?" At that moment, he realized that being moved was not like a gentle spring breeze, but like a raging fire.

He stiffened as he helped her change the dressing, avoiding eye contact the entire time, especially after realizing his own feelings for her.

"Husband, let's go back to our room to sleep tonight." Song Qingyin tied the last knot for him, and instead of moving away, she leaned closer to him.

The warm breath brushed past his ears, and in a daze, he heard his own answer, "Okay."

After many days apart, Lu Chenyuan's feelings about sharing a bed again were quite different.

“…I’m sorry, that night…I didn’t mean to hurt you.” The two lay side by side on the bed. Lu Chenyuan stared at the gauze curtain above the bed, his slightly trembling voice betraying his nervousness.

"I know you didn't mean it." Song Qingyin tilted her head slightly, a gentle smile on her lips. "I don't blame you."

Song Qingyin's eyes were bright, as if they held countless stars in the moonlight, striking straight into Lu Chenyuan's heart.

Those were eyes he would never forget in his entire life...

-

The wind at the end of winter still carried a biting chill, sweeping across the bustling wasteland at the east end of the village.

The once barren land, overgrown with weeds and littered with rocks, is now showing signs of being tamed.

Large, stubborn rocks were pried open and carried away by working together. Deeply rooted grass roots were burned into charred ashes by the raging fire. Fertile, dark new soil was dug up, carrying the unique earthy smell, mixed with the embers of grass and wood ash, and thin wisps of warm smoke rose in the cold wind.

Lu Chenyuan stood on a newly leveled hill, his long robe covered in mud, the cuffs casually rolled up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms.

He was bending down with several elderly farmers to examine a plot of land that had just been cleared, his fingers twirling clods of soil as he carefully examined the soil texture and moisture content.

The morning light outlined his focused profile, the tip of his nose was slightly red from the cold, and his breath condensed into white mist in the cold air, yet there was no trace of fatigue between his brows.

“The soil here isn’t too bad,” he said, tapping the turned-up dark brown layer of soil with his toe. “When the snow melts in the spring, the soil moisture will be just right. We’ll plant some millet and beans that are tolerant of poor soil for the first crop to help them grow, and then we’ll see how they are in the fall.”

"Yes, village chief!" An old farmer with a deeply lined face rubbed his red, frozen hands, grinned, and revealed a gap in his missing front tooth. "With the '30/70 profit split' agreement you and your wife set, everyone has something to look forward to, and they work with great energy! Look at Erzhuzi and the others, they came with their tools before dawn!"

Looking in the direction he pointed, a dozen strong laborers were chanting and pushing the last few stubborn stones into the deep pit they had dug.

The sounds of pickaxes and hoes striking the frozen soil and gravel rose and fell, interspersed with heavy breathing and occasional bursts of hearty laughter, dispelling the bleakness of winter.

Song Qingyin carried a tightly covered bamboo food box and was wrapped in a thick silver fox fur cloak. She walked with a light step. Although she still looked somewhat sickly and pale, her complexion was obviously much better than a few days ago, and there was more vitality in her eyes.

Supported by Chun Tao, she saw this vibrant scene of land reclamation from afar.

As I approached slowly, my gaze searched through the crowd before settling on that tall, upright figure.

"The village chief's wife is here!" A sharp-eyed villager greeted her with a smile, his tone filled with genuine goodwill.

In the past few days, Song Qingyin has often brought meals to Lu Chenyuan and also brought some snacks and tea for the villagers. Over time, they have become quite familiar with each other.

Lu Chenyuan turned around at the sound, and the moment their eyes met, a corner of the frozen lake deep in his eyes seemed to melt quietly, rippling with a faint warmth.

He straightened up, patted the dirt off his hands, and strode towards her.

"How did you get here in this freezing weather?" His voice was low and concerned, his gaze lingering on her slightly pale face for a moment.

"Seeing that my husband is busy, he probably doesn't have time to eat." Song Qingyin handed over the food box, her voice gentle. "I bought some hot food from Miss Li. Her mutton soup is the best for warming up and dispelling the cold."

Lu Chenyuan took the food box, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against the back of her slightly cool hand, and both of them paused slightly.

He opened the food box, and the rich, fragrant aroma of mutton soup wafted out, along with two soft white steamed buns and a plate of crisp pickled radishes.

"Thank you for your trouble, Madam." His voice was gentle, but his gaze went past Song Qingyin and looked towards a bare old locust tree at the edge of the wasteland.

Li Qingqing was standing there, carrying a larger basket on her arm, clearly there to deliver food and hot water to the villagers who were reclaiming land.

However, she looked somewhat dazed, her gaze frequently drifting towards the dirt road leading to the town in the distance, a faint sense of loss lingering between her brows, and even her usually energetic smile seemed somewhat forced.

Song Qingyin followed his gaze and understood.

After recovering from his injuries, Shen Guan quietly left Xiahe Village late one night a few days ago, leaving Li Qingqing only a short letter and some silver. His status as the heir of the Duke's mansion meant that he could not remain hidden here for long.

Song Qingyin noticed Li Qingqing's disappointment.

"I'll go take a look." She whispered to Lu Chenyuan, then instructed Chuntao to distribute the other food she had brought to the villagers, while she slowly walked towards the girl under the tree.