"I... you... all..."
Outside the window, little Qian’er swallowed hard, then imdiately reacted by covering Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes, and then Qing Jun’s eyes... oh wait, Qing Jun didn’t have eyes, so she directly stuffed the little guy into her sleeve. After pausing to think for a mont, she raised her hand to cover her own eyes as well.
"Um, we didn’t see anything!" the little girl solemnly declared.
Zhao Rong exchanged a glance with Qing Jun, who was hiding at the bottom. The latter’s face flushed. They had just accidentally neglected those outside, forgetting that even though Qing Jun was diligent in her duties, she wouldn’t obstruct the familiar little Qian’er.
Zhao Rong sighed, then turned to block Qing Jun’s pinching fingers. After thinking briefly, he could only shalessly wink at Qian’er.
Noticing that Rong’er brother seed to be aware that she was secretly learning through the gap in her fingers, little Qian’er simply dropped her hand, glaring fiercely at the mischievous Rong’er brother, then turned to glare... oh, it’s laughable; the lady didn’t dare to glare.
"You’re still laughing!" Little Qian’er glared angrily at Zhao Rong, "Always just ssing around with the lady!"
But after saying that, after a mont of silence, little Qian’er suddenly turned around, drew Qing Jun and a swing from her sleeve, and flew to the courtyard to guard. Then she proactively pulled the blushing fox demon inside, closing the door behind them. Inside, the peach-eyed girl carefully closed the two doors, bolted the lock, latched them shut, and tightened them. Then she turned to tightly shut the window similarly.
With the room sealed, only the slightly swaying candle on the table and the shadows on the wall remained, little Qian’er looked up at the eastern kitchen’s arrangent and the awkwardly standing person. She murmured sothing softly and then directly pulled the semi-dazed Su Xiaoxiao over, kneeling at the cushion with the lady. Now only one person remained standing, showing sowhat boastful postures, chest beating proudly, which actually wasn’t Zhao Rong’s fault; Qing Jun rested just now, but he was continually caught by Su Xiaoxiao and little Qian’er, leading to the awkward scenario now.
However, little Qian’er’s sudden actions left the few with no ti to think about these things.
Su Xiaoxiao, bewildered, was pulled to kneel on the cushion. Her head still spun, burying it hard, not daring to look at Lingfei sister beside her. She didn’t even know if Qian’er sister was intentional or not, putting her in between them like a sandwich, unable to escape. Su Xiaoxiao could even feel Lingfei sister’s hand suddenly reaching out from below to hold her.
"I... I’m sorry, I’ve co at a bad ti," the fox-eyed girl’s voice was as quiet as a mosquito.
Zhao Rong, Qing Jun, and little Qian’er glanced at each other in silent agreent, then they suddenly reached out to pat the fox demon’s cute head below. He spoke earnestly, "No, you’ve co just in ti."
"..." Su Xiaoxiao.
Compared to Zhao Lingfei and Su Xiaoxiao, Zhao Qian’er seed more poised and proactive, without hesitation in front of Rong’er brother. She rolled her eyes at Rong’er brother’s expression, then took the initiative, regardless of Zhao Lingfei’s and Su Xiaoxiao’s astonished and tense reactions. Zhao Rong couldn’t help but take a deep breath; indeed, the second wife of the Old Zhao Family...
"Rong’er brother um, is Qian’er your intimate little cotton-padded jacket?" Little Qian’er suddenly leaned back, tilted her head, and asked with a smile.
Zhao Rong took a deep breath, looked up and thought carefully, then nodded seriously, "Qian’er is really... very obedient, very... obedient!" The last word he couldn’t help but stress. He rewarded her with a touch on her neatly grood double-hanging bangs, the gesture mixing gentle affection with a bit of reckless roughness. Zhao Lingfei and little Qian’er exchanged a glance.
"Hmph." Zhao Lingfei suddenly stepped forward, squeezing out a certain maid who wanted to compete for favors atop the lady’s head. Su Xiaoxiao’s face turned red, pinching the hem of her clothes, not daring to snatch. After a while, Zhao Lingfei suddenly pulled down Su Xiaoxiao’s collar because the fox demon wore a red crossover blouse with a double-layer collar. Her physique was girlishly slender, so with a slight tug on her shoulder, it revealed a section of her small shoulder, tender and white like a newly peeled young bamboo shoot after spring rain. Zhao Lingfei held her little hand, speaking softly, "Later, change into clean clothes; you can wear Qian’er’s."
Su Xiaoxiao was startled, then realized the wine bottle had slipped and shattered earlier, soaking her dress.
"Thank you, Lingfei sister..." Su Xiaoxiao lowered her head and whispered, like a little ostrich, but soon after, soone lifted her chin. The fox demon lightly ’hmm’-ed and looked up. It was Qian’er sister; she tilted her head, giggled, "Don’t be lazy, hurry up and join."
"...oh." Su Xiaoxiao was dumbfounded and leaned forward. Clearly, this was a ga of Landlord; Zhao Rong used his skills and wealth to grab the role of the landlord, so only he could stand. After all, only the landlord’s family has surplus food, allowing one to stand tall and steady.
Outside the tightly closed window, the stars quietly retreated, and late-night winds combined with drizzle. The autumn rain cos without distinction of ti or place, and it’s also gone as quickly as it ca. The moons finally raised their heads, slightly annoyed at adjusting their clouded bangs, fixing their wet hair, then elevated back to their originally high positions. The moon hung in the sky, lighting up the silent courtyard, brightening it up.
"So is Xiaoxiao the reward you ntioned before?" Zhao Rong asked with a smile while placing cutlery on the round wooden table in the front hall.
"Of course not!" While serving fish soup, Zhao Lingfei and Zhao Qian’er almost simultaneously answered.
"That’s not the kind of reward I’m talking about," Zhao Rong deliberately explained. "I an calling Xiaoxiao to co for dinner. Hey, what are you thinking?"
"What could we be thinking? No matter how we think, can we compare to Rong’er brother’s mischievous ideas and tricks? Even chasing with a horse couldn’t catch you," little Qian’er retorted.
"Xiaoxiao is part of the family, isn’t calling her here as it should be?" Zhao Lingfei glanced at her husband. "I had nothing to do this afternoon, so I ca early to cook. Let Qian’er pick up Xiaoxiao after work, fetch a jar of yellow wine from Qinglian Inn. The refreshing autumn weather calls for us to climb high and admire chrysanthemums, but with you busy, we rarely find the ti. I thought, tonight the family could gather around the table, warm ourselves with so wine, chat, how wonderful."
The four had just cleaned the eastern kitchen and started preparing a sumptuous dinner, each doing their part. In the front hall, only three people occupied the roles: Zhao Rong was setting up the cutlery, Zhao Lingfei scooped fish soup with a spoon, and Zhao Qian’er handed her the bowls. As for Xiaoxiao, she had just lost miserably in the kitchen’s Landlord ga, utterly confused and broke, so she imdiately ran to the back room to change into Qian’er’s clothes. At this mont, she’s fetching rice in the eastern kitchen.
Zhao Rong knew his wife’s inherent prudence and traditional mindset, always rembering the hill’s seasonal holidays. But now he pondered, asking nonetheless, "So, the reward Qing Jun ntioned before the exam brought by Qian’er is just the three of you drinking with ?"
"Yes." Zhao Lingfei nodded, casting her eyes downward.
"How else?" Zhao Qian’er questioned, her face full of naive curiosity, then teased, "Wait, were you thinking about sothing else again..."
"..."
Zhao Rong silently glanced at the peach-eyed girl accusingly. The corner of his mouth twitched... Ha, you told sothing different before the exam.
...
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