CHAPTER 74

The Young Couple

This was a peaceful little village, untouched by the outside world. With just a few dozen households and around a hundred people, a shout from one end of the village could be heard at the other. Surrounded by clear waters and green mountains, crisscrossed by paths, with the elderly and children living in contentment, even the Peach Blossom Spring could hardly compare.

It was just past dusk, the sky nearly dark. The farmers of Niutou Village had long left their fields, hurrying home to their wives, children, and warm beds.

"Knock, knock, knock." The sudden sound of knocking startled the Liu family, who were gathered around the table for dinner. They paused, chopsticks in hand, exchanging puzzled glances: at this hour, when every household was eating, who could be visiting?

Liu Fuqing, the head of the Liu family, calmly held his bowl and gestured with his chopsticks toward the courtyard gate. He nudged his eldest son, Liu Dazhu, who was busy fighting with his younger brother over a sweet potato: "Dazhu, go open the door!" Brat, why don't you know how to give in to your younger brother?

"Alright!" the fifteen-year-old boy answered loudly. He turned and shot a warning glare at his brother, snatched the sweet potato, clamped it between his teeth, and ran into the courtyard to pull open the bolt.

Only to hear a soft "thud" as the hard-won sweet potato fell to the ground, offering itself as a tribute to the Earth God.

Liu Dazhu seemed not to notice, showing no sign of regret. Instead, he stared wide-eyed at the unexpected guest outside the door, his mouth hanging open, completely forgetting to close it.

"Good heavens!'

'Was this an immortal descended from the heavens? How could anyone be more beautiful than the Auspicious Boy on New Year paintings?'

He used to think that Xinghua, the girl from Uncle Li's family at the end of the village, was the most beautiful person in the world. But now, in comparison, she couldn't even measure up to this person's little finger!

"Dazhu! Dazhu! What are you doing standing out there, you little rascal?" After waiting for a long time without any response, Liu Fuqing's temper flared. He tossed his chopsticks aside and pushed the door open, stepping into the courtyard.

Things had been uneasy these past few days. Livestock had been disappearing one after another, and yesterday, another hen had gone missing. The family had suffered heavy losses and was almost unable to make ends meet! At this critical moment, could it be that those d@mned thieves had returned?

'D@mn it! Are they bu|lying us farmers for being honest or what? They're getting bolder by the day! If they push me too far, I'll have to teach those thieves a lesson! Even a clay figurine has a temper! At worst, we'll fight to the death, who's afraid of whom?'

Liu Fuqing thought resentfully to himself, only to see his eldest son standing dumbly by the door like a fool, while two figures seemed to be standing in the shadows. His heart tightened. Keeping an eye on the location of his carrying pole, he strode toward the courtyard gate. When he finally saw the two people outside, even Liu Fuqing, who prided himself on being "worldly," turned into a second wooden post.

The visitors wore identical black robes, unadorned except for a few plum blossoms embroidered at the collar, simple yet exuding an innate elegance. They looked to be in their early twenties, standing side by side, complementing each other like a pair of strikingly beautiful husband and wife.

Liu Fuqing, who usually only ventured as far as the county town a few miles away, had never seen such extraordinary figures. For a moment, he stood there awkwardly, at a loss.

However, having lived a few more years than his son, he snapped out of his daze after only a brief moment. Racking his brains to recall how city folk interacted, he stammered, "Y-you two... w-what brings you here?"

'This young master is truly handsome, even more so than the girl beside him. How rare!'

"It's getting late, and we have nowhere to rest. My zhuojing [humble wife] is with child and shouldn't travel further, so we've taken the liberty of disturbing you. May we stay for the night?" The "young master" who had stunned both father and son was, of course, Su Yan. She had shed her usual cold demeanor, appearing gentle and courteous as she inquired. With her snow-like complexion and voice as clear as jade pendants, even high-ranking officials accustomed to beauty would find it hard to refuse her, let alone ordinary farmers.

"Y-yes, no problem. P-please come in." Liu Fuqing cursed the shabbiness of his home, fearing that these immortal-like noble guests would look down on it. Rubbing his hands together, he ushered them into the courtyard, not forgetting to call loudly to his wife and children inside the house, "Wife, children, we have honored guests! Quickly set two more pairs of chopsticks and slaughter the little rooster from our backyard!"

"Alright!" came a brisk reply from inside the house.

"Our humble home is crude. Please forgive us!" Liu Fuqing's eyes flickered to the exquisite jade pendant adorned with colorful silk tassels at Su Yan's waist. He smiled humbly and said, "My surname is Liu. May I ask how to address you, young master?"

Su Yan lowered her gaze slightly, concealing the disgust in her eyes. "My surname is..." She glanced at Tong Tong, who was following closely beside her, and said softly, "Tong."

'Huh?'

Tong Tong stifled a gasp, studying Su Yan's face intently, wanting to say something but holding back.

"So it's Brother Tong! Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you!" Seeing that Su Yan appeared gentle but had no intention of elaborating, Liu Fuqing tactfully fell silent and walked ahead, eager to be of service.

While the host led the way ahead, Tong Tong whispered, "Hey, hey, Senior Brother, what does 'zhuojing' mean?" 'And also, how come you're surnamed Tong now!'

Su Yan paused in her steps, her dark eyes seeming to flicker with an unusual light, though it was hard to tell in the dimming sky. "Zhuo is a humble term, meaning clumsy or dull, Jing refers to a hairpin, a symbol of women." Put together, it means a clumsy girl.

Tong Tong was so irritated by his casual tone that she lost her temper, though she only mumbled meekly, "Oh..."

'Clumsy your sister! Bu|lying me for not being cultured, huh?'

'Guess what? Where I come from, there's this thing called historical TV dramas!'

'Zhuojing means wife, did you think I didn't know, you jerk!'

Though inwardly she was silently raging, another voice in her head whispered a reminder: 'Does this mean we're officially together? Husband and wife, isn't that moving a bit too fast? Oh my, I'm so embarrassed...'

Thinking this, a faint blush spread across Tong Tong's cheeks. She bit her lip shyly and fell silent, perfectly playing the part of a bashful young wife.

Glancing over inadvertently, Su Yan's lips twitched, and her jade-like face inexplicably flushed as well.

'It's just a temporary arrangement, what's there to be shy about? How ridiculous...'

"Oh my goodness, this is..." Liu Fuqing's wife, Madam Qian, was a genuine countrywoman, broad-shouldered, sturdy, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. Despite her rustic appearance, she was warm and hospitable, greeting guests with a smile before even speaking. Her neat teeth made her hard to dislike.

'Well, well! Look at this, the young lady is already a rare beauty in the village, and the young gentleman beside her is even more handsome, prettier than a girl! It makes my heart flutter! What am I to do...'

"Wife, these two are here to stay the night. Hurry and tidy up Little Ya's room, prepare a new set of bedding, the best we have!" Liu Fuqing felt the silver ingot Su Yan had "forcefully" slipped into his sleeve during their earlier conversation and smiled even wider, eagerly urging Madam Qian to get things ready. "Don't forget, slaughter the chicken! The young lady is with child, she needs nourishment!"

Though times have been tough lately and we only have one little rooster left, what does it matter? This silver ingot could buy more than a dozen chickens anyway! This young gentleman isn't just handsome, he's also generous. Truly a distinguished guest, we mustn't treat him poorly!

Madam Qian, though honest and simple, was no fool. Though she wasn't keen on slaughtering their last little rooster for guests, she didn't dare defy her husband's wishes. Fine, at least it's being served to such a handsome young gentleman, that rooster died for a worthy cause!

"Ah, you're right! When you're expecting, you need good nourishment!" So she cheerfully agreed and hurried to the backyard to slaughter the chicken.

'Ugh! You're the one who's pregnant, your whole family is pregnant, you jerk!'

'I was too focused on 'zhuojing' earlier and didn't catch those two words... This is even worse!'

'Unmarried and pregnant is one thing, but we haven't even gotten started, how can I be pregnant?!'

'Su Yan, you're ruining my reputation! You'll have to take responsibility for this!'

'Hmm... but since there's chicken to eat, I'll let it slide for now!'

Tong Tong glared at Su Yan, her face flushed red, unsure whether she was more angry or embarrassed.

Su Yan watched the couple's conversation and actions with a cold gaze, seeing through their thoughts with perfect clarity. A sneer rose in her heart, yet her expression grew even gentler. She pulled along Tong Tong, who had turned sullen and was sulking, to sit at the edge of the banquet table. Nodding slightly toward Liu Fuqing, she said, "In that case, I'll trouble you."

She clearly noticed the sudden sparkle in Tong Tong's eyes upon hearing about slaughtering the chicken. Su Yan couldn't help but smile helplessly, swallowing back the words of refusal. Yet, the curve of her lips held a tenderness and indulgence she herself hadn't even noticed.

"Mhm, thank you for your trouble, Uncle!" Tong Tong's mind was completely occupied by the thought of delicious chicken drumsticks. Without thinking, she followed Su Yan's lead in being polite, but she didn't notice that after she casually added the honorific, Liu Fuqing's face stiffened. His rough hand absentmindedly touched his own face, and his smile took on a hint of awkwardness: Was he really that old...

'Mwahaha, I finally get to have chicken drumsticks!'

'Everyone says that free-range chickens from the countryside are the tastiest! When I was little, all I ate were hormone-injected chickens, and at Chonghua, they emphasized a simple and restrained lifestyle with bland, vegetarian diets. Heaven knows how crazy I've been craving roasted chicken! No matter how this auntie cooks it, even if it's just plain boiled chicken, I'm drooling over it!'

The Liu family was considered middle-class in Niutou Village, with a small two-courtyard house and a little yard, quite good conditions among farming households.

There were five people in the family: two sons and one daughter, all relying on Liu Fuqing's farming to make a living. On top of that, Madam Qian raised over a dozen hens, a yellow ox, and two sheep. The children got fresh eggs every day for nutrition, and during festivals, they could steel themselves to k!ll a chicken for the table. Life was quite pleasant, until that incident happened in the village half a month ago. Everyone was on edge, and it seemed like their good days were about to come to an end. But from these two unexpected visitors, they caught a glimpse of hope.

With their status and presence, perhaps...

Liu Fuqing pondered this silently for a moment. Meanwhile, his younger son, Liu Erzhu, cleverly stepped in to smooth things over, respectfully greeting them and signaling to his sister with his eyes.

Liu Xiaoya was a sharp girl. With a quick glance, she affectionately linked arms with Tong Tong, wearing a sweet, innocent smile on her little face. "Sister, where are you from? Where are you headed?"

Truthfully, Liu Xiaoya would have preferred to link arms with Su Yan, but that older brother, though gentle in demeanor, exuded an air of aloofness from head to toe, not someone easy to get close to.

Since ancient times, boys and girls were separated after the age of seven. Even though the countryside wasn't so strict about such rules, she didn't dare be too bold. She could only approach him indirectly through Tong Tong.

Though young, the girl was quite shrewd.

Naturally, Tong Tong had no idea what she was thinking. Though she wasn't used to interacting with children, she didn't push her away. Instead, she thought seriously for a moment before answering mysteriously, "From whence we came, to where we go..."

After saying this, she nodded smugly and even glanced at Su Yan, raising her eyebrows as if seeking praise: 'How about that? My answer is deep, right? Praise me!'

"Uh..." Liu Xiaoya was left speechless, her spring flower-like face flushing red. But she couldn't say anything, so she reluctantly let go of Tong Tong's arm, pouting and falling silent.

"Heh." Su Yan's lips curved into a smile, and in that instant, it was as if a hundred flowers had bloomed, filling the air with fragrance for miles, leaving everyone present stunned.

'D@mn! Suddenly, the temptation of roasted chicken doesn't seem so strong anymore... Could this be what they call "feasting one's eyes"?'

'I wonder if Senior Brother would let me take a bite to satisfy my craving...'

"Old Liu, open the door!" Just as they were lost in thought, knocking sounded from the courtyard again, accompanied by a rough, unpleasant male voice. An inexplicable sense of gloom settled over their hearts.

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