Chapter 7: A Skilled Farmer

"Yuan'er, this child Qiuyue is an honest person, dutiful and steady. Although she is a bit clumsy with her words, she is a good child. Moreover, she is diligent and loves to learn; when she was young, she used to secretly follow people to learn outside the schoolhouse. She has some talent, and she even asked me for many books to take back and read.

You must know that of all things, studying is the highest pursuit.

No matter how much money you earn, it is useless; it is not as good as having a scholarly title to your name."

"Mother, I have already passed the exam to become a Xiucai; I already have a title."

Lu Yuan complained in his heart; Xu Qiuyue was not an honest person at all, she was incredibly cunning.

However, why would she want to brew nourishing medicinal soups for him?

And then, she really did see that he was a bit weak.

Could it be that Xu Qiuyue truly liked him?

Then, what happened last night might actually have been real.

But his finger really did hurt! Although there was no wound on his index finger and it didn't hurt anymore, he was certain his finger had been injured.

Perhaps he and Xu Qiuyue had indeed had relations.

It was just that Xu Qiuyue might not have been a virgin, so she used a secret medicine and used his fingertip blood.

Actually, he didn't care about such things.

Lu Yuan remembered Xu Qiuyue's countenance, and then he began to wonder who Xu Qiuyue had been with before. As he thought of these things, he felt that he actually did care a little.

He had to send someone to inquire about what Xu Qiuyue had actually gone through before.

How could a farm girl like Xu Qiuyue know the Heart-Bewitching Art of the Demonic Cult?

After all, there was a segment of fake memory in his mind.

This served as a reminder that there was definitely something wrong with Xu Qiuyue.

After leaving Mother Lu's residence, Lu Yuan arrived at the courtyard where Xu Qiuyue stayed.

Xu Qiuyue had set up a small stove in the courtyard herself.

She was cooking here on her own.

Chunzhu told Lu Yuan everything Xu Qiuyue had done.

Xu Qiuyue's daily life was very simple; after cooking, she would read books in her room, and when she was idle, she would plant vegetables.

In just one short day, Xu Qiuyue had already tilled three plots of land and planted vegetable seeds.

It was evident she was a skilled farmer.

She was a proper farm girl, and her farming skills were very proficient.

"Husband, I learned how to make some nourishing vegetable dishes from the medical books Mother gave me today. Please try them. If possible, I would like to make some soups for Mother and Father in the future to show my filial piety."

Xu Qiuyue spoke to Lu Yuan very amiably.

After all, as long as Lu Yuan nodded, she would be able to freely use the ingredients in this manor in the future.

Today, she had used quite a few expensive ingredients and medicinal herbs; this single meal cost nearly ten taels of silver.

Xu Chunhua had said that Lu Yuan was exceptionally stingy and petty, but that Lu Yuan was exceptionally extravagant when it came to himself.

Since Lu Yuan happened to be here today, as long as he ate this meal, he certainly wouldn't feel comfortable criticizing her later.

Even if Lu Yuan wasn't around in the future, she could just say she gave it to his parents, and Lu Yuan certainly wouldn't be able to find fault with her.

"You've only just entered the door, yet you're already calling Father and Mother so familiarly. Don't you know how to be ashamed?"

Lu Yuan said this, but he didn't hold back at all while eating; he took the soup and began to drink.

Looking at the submissive and obedient Xu Qiuyue, Lu Yuan felt a bit of a stir in his heart.

Looking at Chunzhu behind Xu Qiuyue, and then at the maid behind himself.

With so many people, even if one used Heart-Bewitching Art, one couldn't use it on such a large crowd.

This soup is quite fragrant; he would taste it first.

The flavor was indeed quite good.

Xu Qiuyue had clearly put effort into this soup.

He could feel a warm current in his stomach.

Xu Qiuyue didn't seem to have any issues; could she really like him, and thus be trying to please him?

Time will reveal a person's true heart; he wanted to see how long Xu Qiuyue could keep up the act.

There was no helping it; he truly was quite handsome, and there were many girls who liked him.

He was truly too popular.

How could so many women like him!

A new courtesan had recently arrived at Wanchun Pavilion, and she also seemed to like him quite a bit, being very much to his taste.

As he thought, Lu Yuan realized that he hadn't just drunk a bowl of soup, but had also eaten a bowl of rice, and he had actually almost finished the dish in front of him.

He usually never ate more than three bites of a single dish.

But now, he had actually become so frugal, just like his father.

Lu Yuan would forever remember how his father treated him when he was a child.

He wasn't allowed to eat his fill; they said eating until full was bad for the body.

This resulted in him always being in a state of hunger, never having been full.

When it was freezing in the winter, he wasn't allowed to wear too many clothes, saying it was bad for the body; when he was young, he was frozen like a dog and almost froze to death.

He cried, saying he wanted to eat more and wear more clothes because it was too cold.

He was lectured by his father, and after the scolding wasn't enough, he was given a beating.

His father even said that princes grew up this way.

He even said that playfulness ruins one's ambitions.

He wasn't allowed to play, only to study.

Even when he clearly caught a chill from the cold, they insisted his body was just weak and made him practice martial arts in the heavy snow to strengthen his physique.

As a result, the cold entered his body, and he was still physically weak now.

And then there was the eating, with a mountain of rules.

"Husband, is it not enough? There is another pot of soup in the stove. Please drink more; liquids are easier to digest. This concubine will go and brew another pot of soup to send to the Master and Madam."

Seeing that Lu Yuan had eaten almost everything, Xu Qiuyue brought the soup intended for Father Lu and Mother Lu to him.

Of course, Xu Qiuyue would not say that eating too much was bad for the body.

In any case, if he felt uncomfortably full, it wouldn't be her.

If Lu Yuan ate a lot, he wouldn't notice that she had eaten even more.

"It is getting late, you should rest early! Since this soup is for Father and Mother, I will take it. Go rest early."

Lu Yuan spoke to Xu Qiuyue with rare consideration.

"That would be well!"

Xu Qiuyue was just worrying about how to urge Lu Yuan to leave!

So she agreed immediately.

Lu Yuan left carrying the soup, but he went to his own courtyard.

He didn't give the soup to his parents at all.

He drank it all by himself.

It was all money, so it was better not to waste it.

He needed to nourish himself more.

His parents were old and their bodies couldn't handle heavy nourishment; eating some green leaves would be enough.

He was still young and could eat more.

"Young Master, tomorrow is the Young Mistress's return to her maiden home. Madam requested that you accompany the Young Mistress back tomorrow."

Listening to the maid, Lu Yuan nodded.

He was also thinking of going to Xu Qiuyue's home to probe the truth.

Seeing Lu Yuan agree so quickly, the maid found it somewhat unbelievable.

She thought to herself that it seemed the Young Master was indeed quite special toward the Young Mistress, and she wasn't as bad as the other maids said.

Servants were always experts at reading the wind and shifting their sails.

Although Lu Yuan was debauched, he held great authority in the manor; the servants both respected and feared him.

When Lu Yuan was generous to his subordinates, he was extremely generous.

But if one crossed him, he would not show any mercy.

Those who deserved to be sold off would be sold.

Even if Lu Yuan's father, Lu Changqing, spoke up, it would be useless.

Therefore, once they were certain that Lu Yuan was treating Xu Qiuyue reasonably well, the servants became increasingly respectful toward her.

(End of Chapter)