Chapter 375: Reciprocity
Editor: Atlas Studios
Qi Xiuyuan held the pouch that was transferred to his hand and couldn’t help but laugh as he shook his head. He knew very well what his brother and Mu Yangling had been doing recently, and he was happy to watch them busy themselves. Just as Ah Ling had said, his wife would be the mistress of the family head in the future, so the more respect she received, the better.
Previously, seeing as Li Jinghua did not react at all, he had even praised her for being calm. He did not expect that a bouquet of wildflowers would ‘blow her up’.
He stared at the pouch in his hand thoughtfully. In some instances, it was not the value but the thought of the gift that counted. Sometimes, the cheaper the gift, the more precious it was.
Qi Xiuyuan put on the pouch and said to the maidservant, “Go and tell Fourth Young Master and Miss Mu that they don’t have to send anything over to the Li Residence.”
The maidservant left in response, thinking that her life as an errand girl was over. She even felt a little regretful because every time she went to the Li Residence to deliver things, she would receive a lot of reward money.
However, the next day, Qi Xiuyuan called the maidservant over and pointed at a basket of apricots at the side. “These are freshly plucked from the farmstead. Send them to Third Miss Li.”
The maidservant was stunned for a moment before picking up the basket with a smile. Before she left, she thought for a moment and asked, “General, do you have any message to pass on to the Third Miss?”
Qi Xiuyuan thought for a moment and said, “Tell her that the soldiers in the military camp picked this fruit. I tried it and thought it was pretty good, so I wanted her to taste it.”
The maidservant answered and left.
The soldiers in the military camp were indeed the ones who picked the fruits. There were a few mountains in the military field, and two of them were filled with fruit trees, apple trees, pear trees, jujube trees, and apricot trees. It was time to eat apricots, so the soldiers went up the mountain to pick fruits happily during their spare time outside of training. Qi Xiuyuan felt that it was quite sweet after eating it, so he brought a basket back.
Two days later, when Qi Xiuyuan returned from the military camp, he saw a clay figurine vendor on the street. He saw a young husband buy one for his wife, who held it in front of her chest with a beam on her face. Qi Xiuyuan thought for a moment and asked someone to buy a set and send it to the Li Residence…
Ever since that bouquet of wildflowers, the gifts sent to the Li Residence by the General’s Residence were no longer sent in regular intervals. Sometimes, something would be sent every three to five days. Sometimes, a gift would be sent over in the morning and another in the afternoon. The gifts became more and more casual. Once, Qi Xiuyuan ate a crystal dumpling outside and felt that it was quite delicious. He immediately got someone to pack a portion and send it to the Li Residence.
As Third Miss Li reciprocated with more and more gifts, various legends about the general and the beauty began to circulate on the streets and alleys of Jingzhao Prefecture and Hanzhong Prefecture. Although the storyteller in the teahouse did not name them, everyone knew who they were talking about.
From five-year-old girls to 80-year-old grandmothers, everyone was envious and jealous of Li Jinghua. Even the people in the Li Residence felt that Qi Xiuyuan must have known and fallen in love with Li Jinghua way before this. Even Li Jian called Third Miss Li to ask if she had seen Qi Xiuyuan other than that time at home.
Not to mention that Li Jinghua had truly never seen him before that day, even if she had, she would not tell Li Jian. Otherwise, this could potentially be used against her. So, she denied it seriously.
Li Jinghua’s eldest brother, Li Chi, laughed out loud. He looked at his younger sister seriously and said, “Misfortune or fortune are always closely followed by each other. This saying is very true indeed.”
Li Jinghua’s heart skipped a beat. She asked, “Brother, has General Qi seen me before?”
“Silly sister, how could you have forgotten about the Jin soldiers attacking the farm on the 28th of December? Wasn’t it General Qi’s army who saved us back then?” Li Chi’s lips curled up slightly as he said, “Back then, because I was incompetent and could only lie in my room anxiously, you, a female, had to lead people outside to fend the enemy off. I believe that you caught General Qi’s eye that time.”
Li Jinghua’s heart thumped wildly.
Li Chi stroked his sister’s hair and said, “This is your fortune. That’s why I said that misfortune or fortune are always closely followed by each other. Since he adores you, he will definitely respect you. In the future, even if love is gone, the affection will still exist. Since Father and I can’t give you anything to rely on, you can only rely on yourself.”
Li Jinghua’s eyes reddened. Nodding, she said, “Brother, don’t worry. I’ll definitely live well.”
From then on, Li Jinghua became even more concerned about Qi Xiuyuan. Before she even married over, she already had the shoes and boots sent over.
The two of them had yet to spend their lives together, but they were already so sweet towards each other. Mu Yangling kicked Qi Haoran’s foot and said, “Learn a little.”
The next day, Qi Haoran gifted Mu Yangling a precious dagger. Although it could not slice through iron like mud, it could flatten a bamboo pole with one slash. This was Mu Yangling’s first long saber. Previously, she’d only owned short daggers.
Mu Yangling happily accepted it.
Two days later, Qi Haoran sent Mu Yangling another bow tailor-made for her. Six days later, he sent an expensive horse…
Mu Yangling circled the horse twice before personally leading it to look for Qi Haoran. “Where did you get the money to buy these things?”
Qi Haoran chuckled.
Mu Yangling sighed and returned the horse to him. “You went to borrow it from Zijin again, right? I’m asking you to learn Big Brother Qi’s attitude. Who asked you to give such an expensive gift every time?”
Mu Yangling rambled on. “Big Brother Qi’s gifts for a month don’t cost more than ten taels of silver in total. If your horse alone costs hundreds of taels of silver, that precious dagger definitely won’t be cheap either. Plus, the bow was tailor-made for me. If you continue giving me gifts for a month like this, won’t you go bankrupt…”
Qi Haoran quietly watched Mu Yangling nag and his heart warmed. The wind blew the hair on her forehead until it covered her eyes. He watched as Mu Yangling gently told him to give cheap gifts. As long as it came from the heart, she would be very happy… Looking at her exquisite and rosy face, Qi Haoran didn’t seem to hear Mu Yangling’s words, but he also seemed to be listening.
Qi Haoran suddenly bent down and kissed Mu Yangling on the cheek. It was a soft kiss. Other than the fact that his heart almost jumped out of his chest, there was also a sweet feeling.
Startled, Mu Yangling’s face turned red. She seemed to have been kissed. This was the first time in her two lifetimes that she had been kissed by a boy. Heart in a mess, Mu Yangling secretly looked up at Qi Haoran. Alas, he caught her red-handed.
Initially, Qi Haoran was still uneasy, his limbs a tad cold as he stood beside her. After all, this being a hooligan’s behavior, he’d wondered if Ah Ling would throw him down the hill.
However, when he saw that she was stealing a glance at him and her pretty face was flushed red, he immediately became bold. He leaned over and planted another kiss on her cheek, before pulling away immediately. Seeing that Mu Yangling was still staring at him in a daze, he became even bolder. This time, he went to kiss her cheek again, but he did not pull away as soon as his lips touched. Instead, he bit lightly and left saliva on it…
Only then did Mu Yangling come back to her senses and accidentally pushed him away…
Qi Haoran fell onto the grass and looked at Mu Yangling in a daze. Mu Yangling was also shocked and stared at him for a while. Seeing that he was sitting on the grass without moving, she thought that he was in pain from the fall. After all, amidst her panic, she did not hold back just now.
She quickly went forward to hold him steady. “Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself from the fall?”
With a grab of her arm, Qi Haoran pulled her down with all his might. He flipped over and pressed on top of her, then pretended to be fierce and said, “Geez, how dare you push me to the ground? I’m your husband!”
