Liu Yanping suddenly smiled and said, “Alright, let’s have dinner at my place tonight. But I have to go to the county office first. Yanan and I are both out of town, leaving only my mother and sister at home. I have to inform my elder brother so he can return home every two or three days.”
Lu Chengxiao thought for a moment, “Then you should come with me to the fabric shop first. Bring my horse and give it to Brother Yanqing for his use first. It’ll be convenient for him to travel back and forth for the rest of the months.”
This indeed was convenient. If Liu Yanqing could come home every day, Liu Yanping would feel much more at ease while being away. “Then let’s not stand on ceremony. Let’s go.”
The two returned to Lufeng Fabric Shop. Lu Chengxiao sent Babao to inform Lin Huaigeng and Liu Zhang. They would meet at the pier early the next morning. Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanping went to the county office first to see Liu Yanqing.
Liu Yanqing had been quite busy for the past month and a half and hadn’t returned home. He only knew that his sister and mother had started a clothing business, but he had no idea his two younger brothers were causing such a commotion. He inquired about many details and was surprised to hear that Liu Yanping had bought six hundred bolts of fabric on credit. He couldn’t help but feel anxious. They were really daring back home.
However, after listening to all of Liu Yanping’s considerations, Liu Yanqing repeatedly reminded him to be careful on this trip, especially with those fabrics. Whether they could be sold or not was another matter. He didn’t want any problems to arise.
Knowing that six hundred bolts of fabric were worth two hundred taels, he felt his heart pounding. He didn’t even pay much attention to the horse, which he usually wants the most. He waited until Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanping left, and then his attention finally turned to the horse he was holding.
Men just loved horses. Liu Yanqing was no exception. There were two horses in the county office, but most of the time, he didn’t get to use them. Now, he stroked the horse’s mane and led it into the county office through the back door, intending to place it in the stable.
Two deputy constables who were close to him saw him and approached, “Where did the horse come from?”
Liu Yanqing couldn’t very well say it was his future brother-in-law’s, so he simply said it belonged to a friend and was borrowed for one or two months. This made Chen and the other constable envious, but they also knew horses were valuable, so they could only admire from afar.
~
After Babao delivered the letters to Lin Huaigeng and Liu Zhang, he harnessed the mule cart and waited in the shop. Lu Chengxiao and Liu Yanping returned, and the three of them hurried to Xifeng Town.
In the backyard of the fabric shop, Zhou Qiongying asked Lu Chengzhang, “Did your third brother really purchase several hundred bolts of summer fabric?”
Lu Chengzhang nodded, saying, “I heard he rented a fairly large ship. Including the stock from the Liu family and his two friends, there should be nearly fifteen hundred bolts in total.”
Zhou Qiongying gasped. It was too audacious, too bold!
It’s good to split the family, or else they’d be using public funds for this venture.
Not to mention how relieved Zhou Qiongying felt, Liu Yanping and the others rented a cart to return home and Liu Yu was surprised to see Lu Chengxiaocame with them.
By now, it was getting dark. The women who worked at the Liu family had also gone home. Mrs. Wei was cooking dinner in the kitchen, and Liu Yanan was practicing calligraphy with Liu Yu using a sand tray.
Liu Yanping said, “We’ll leave early tomorrow morning. Chengxiao have come to see you.”
Liu Yu just realized that although his second and third brothers had gathered the cloth, indicating they would leave in the next few days, he hadn’t expected it to be so soon, and he felt a twinge of reluctance.
Liu Yanping glanced at the two of them and smiled, “I’ll go tell Mom to add two more dishes. Yanan, you go pack your luggage for this trip. Once we reach Yuanzhou, there’s no turning back. Think carefully about what you need to bring.”
“Alright,” Liu Yanan was dismissed to the west wing of the outer courtyard to pack his luggage.
Liu Yanping smiled at Lu Chengxiao, “Please, have a seat.”
He then instructed Liu Yu, “Yu’er, show Chengxiao to the flower hall.”
Seeing both nod, he went to the kitchen himself.
Babao was clever too. Seeing that there were only the three of them left in the courtyard, he immediately said, “I’ll go feed the donkey.”
Everyone was making space for them, and the atmosphere was subtly tense. Liu Yu led Lu Chengxiao to the flower hall, feeling somewhat absent-minded.
Although they didn’t usually see each other much, being away for one or two months made a difference. As they entered the flower hall, just a few steps away, the slight reluctance in her heart magnified into a feeling that Liu Yu couldn’t quite describe.
It was extremely subtle, yet it weighed heavily on her heart, making it both sour and heavy. Liu Yu dared not reveal this emotion. She kept her head down and didn’t raise her eyes, saying, “Please, have a seat. I’ll make you some tea.”
“Yu’er.”
Liu Yu’s hand was held.
Lu Chengxiao held her hand, which felt as soft as cotton. His heart raced. “Don’t worry about other things. I just wanted to see you.”
The sky was dimming, and the flower hall was still unlit, even darker than outside. Their clasped hands were concealed beneath their wide sleeves. Liu Yu’s heart beat faster, and her breath was affected by her heartbeat, becoming more rapid. However, she didn’t try to withdraw her hand from Lu Chengxiao’s grasp.
How deadly was such encouragement?
Lu Chengxiao tightened his grip on her hand, and his breath became slightly irregular. An inexplicable desire arose in his heart, a desire to embrace her, and perhaps something more.
This kind of excitement was completely foreign to him. He wanted to get closer, to touch, even though her delicate hand was already in his, there was still an indescribable emptiness in his chest, urging him to draw closer, to possess more.
No, perhaps there was a slight similarity a few days ago when he was influenced by the medicine, but Lu Chengxiao knew they were different. The medicine affected his mind, but his desire for Liu Yu was rooted in fondness and love. It was always his heart that was influenced.
Lu Chengxiao didn’t know, but Liu Yu was also feeling uneasy, especially when Lu Chengxiao tightened his grip on her hand, and his fingertips unconsciously touched her palm.
With her heartbeat accelerating, that strange and intoxicating feeling came again, just like that night in the inn in Yuanzhou. Her breath became tight, and her strength was gradually being drained away.
No, that time he only held her hand, but this time…
Liu Yu felt out of sorts.
In her past life at Liuxian Pavilion, she had learned many things. Of course, as someone who hadn’t married yet, she couldn’t have practiced on real people. Most of the time, it was taught by the matchmaker and the teaching maid, including what kind of reaction could be triggered by touching certain areas, such as the palm, fingertips, or back of the hand.
But Liu Yu never expected that what she had learned would be used on her by Lu Chengxiao. Moreover, he didn’t do it on purpose, and she even felt that Lu Chengxiao might not even understand these things.
Yet, she strangely didn’t reject it. In fact, she liked it. She enjoyed being alone with him, liked… being held by him like this, even though she knew it wasn’t proper, she didn’t even want to withdraw her hand from his palm.
Liu Yu didn’t know the reason. If there really was a reason, it could only be because she liked him, she liked Lu Chengxiao very much.
She quietly raised her eyes, wanting to take a glance at Lu Chengxiao, but as she did, she met his scorching gaze, almost sticky, and Liu Yu’s heart raced. Hastily lowering her eyelids, she turned her face slightly away.
The flower hall was too silent, so silent that the heavy breathing of each other was clearly audible.
Lu Chengxiao’s throat moved slightly, and he struggled to move his gaze away from Liu Yu’s full lips, wondering how much self-control it took to resist the urge to touch her lips.
Both were a little flustered, avoiding each other’s gaze. Neither dared to look at the other again, only their hands clasped under the sleeves, remaining in place, while their hearts beat louder and louder.
The sound of footsteps from Liu Yanping walking out of the kitchen startled the pair of lovebirds and finally caused those two hands, seemingly with their own adhesive properties, to separate.
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