Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 661 - 616: Heart-to-Heart Between Husband and Wife
Li Xingsheng’s gaze slanted over.
Lou Chengye blinked, "Second brother, why are you looking at me like that?"
"Too much talk!"
Lou Chengye, "..." What does that mean? Did it happen or not? "Second brother, that female bandit was so fierce, didn’t your purity remain intact?"
Li Xingsheng’s look at Lou Chengye became sharper. He picked up a piece of pastry and stuffed it into Lou Chengye’s mouth, "Eat something!"
Lou Chengye bit the pastry, still asking indistinctly, "Did it happen or not? Second brother, did you lose your purity?"
Li Xingsheng squinted, "After we return, I’ll tell Yu En that you have taken a liking to a maid here."
Lou Chengye was so scared he almost jumped up, "Second brother, you’re accusing me unjustly."
"Then stop the nonsense, I’ll keep your secret." Li Xingsheng smiled slightly and leisurely drank his tea.
Lou Chengye felt aggrieved, he hadn’t taken a liking to any maid!
Ling Yuezi finished discussing matters with Big Master and came out to instruct her subordinates to serve breakfast.
Once breakfast was arranged, Ling Yuezi also arranged for two big guards to carry Big Master onto a wheelchair, sit him down comfortably, and push him into the outside room to have breakfast.
Even though Big Master still couldn’t eat, only being fed some liquid food by others, today was special, so Ling Yuezi invited Big Master to join in a reunion meal.
Big Master took a sip of the soup fed by a maid, glanced at Li Xingsheng, then at Ling Yuezi, with a smile in his eyes.
The two of them, being the day after their wedding, were both dressed in festive vermilion attire, sitting together, looking extremely well matched.
When Li Xingsheng spoke to Ling Yuezi, he was very gentle. When a dish was served, he’d first ask Ling Yuezi if she wanted to eat some.
Big Master saw this and felt satisfied in his heart.
.
After Li Xingsheng and Ling Yuezi got married, Ling Yuezi would take Li Xingsheng wherever she went.
The people in the village all called Li Xingsheng "Mr. Li" but still called Ling Yuezi "Miss Ling."
Only Lou Chengye called them "young master and young mistress."
During the days accompanying Ling Yuezi in patrolling the village, Li Xingsheng memorized the routes within the village by heart.
Lou Chengye, also possessing a good memory, kept track of the headcount in the village.
Don’t be fooled, even though the men here were dressed similarly, among the women, aside from Ling Yuezi who wore a bright red dress, the others were either dressed in green clothing or gray-blue skirts.
But Lou Chengye had his own way of recognizing people. Even if it were two brothers or two sisters who looked alike, having met them only once, he had ways to distinguish between them.
In just a few days, one of them had memorized the village routes, and the other had familiarized himself with the number of people here.
There were four masters here; Big Master had seventy-five subordinates, Second Master had eighty-three, Third Master had only thirty, and Ling Yuezi had fifty subordinates.
Besides Ling Yuezi’s people being loyal, Third Master, who did not stay much in the village, almost all his subordinates were under Second Master’s command. Since Big Master fell ill, many people outwardly followed Big Master or Ling Yuezi but secretly sided with Second Master.
Therefore, it appeared that Second Master was the most powerful person in the village, commanding almost more than half of the subordinates.
If Ling Yuezi doesn’t want to be bullied by Second Master, she surely will find ways to resist.
Li Xingsheng was waiting for the day when she would resist.
.
That night, the weather was sultry.
It was the second watch, and Li Xingsheng was still strolling in the courtyard, yet to return inside to sleep.
Ling Yuezi sat under the lamp, flipping through a few pages of a book, seeing that Li Xingsheng still had no intention of returning inside, she put down the book and got up to head into the courtyard.
After they got married, although sharing a room and a bed, they had yet to consummate the marriage, living respectfully together.
Li Xingsheng never made any special demands; each day he just lived leisurely as a son-in-law, admiring flowers, grasses, appreciating the moon, and tasting tea.
Occasionally, Ling Yuezi would ask him to help her look at the ledgers or write a notice for village people.
Li Xingsheng never complained, helping gladly.
His obedience made Ling Yuezi feel guilty inside, so she treated him with lenience.
"It’s getting late; husband, return inside to rest," Ling Yuezi walked up behind Li Xingsheng and softly called him.
Li Xingsheng turned back, glanced at her with a look that hesitated to speak.
Ling Yuezi smiled slightly, "Does husband have something to say? Feel free to speak."
"Today, someone delivering wine spoke to me about something," Li Xingsheng looked at Ling Yuezi, once more giving only half the story.
Ling Yuezi was extremely wise.
She knew Li Xingsheng had something he wanted to ask her, "What does husband want to say?"
"That person said that our Feihu Village is engaged in robbery and killing, and he mentioned that within several dozen miles, there are no villages left. Earlier years, there clearly were villages, but because of the Feihu Village gang occasionally harassing, robbing people, grain, money, the villagers were all scared away." Li Xingsheng looked at Ling Yuezi, "Wife, is what the wine shopkeeper said true? Have you killed anyone?"
Ling Yuezi’s expression suddenly froze.
She knew that certain matters could not be concealed forever.
Mr. Li was an outsider; he was merely innocent, not foolish.
"Yes," Ling Yuezi looked at him calmly.
Li Xingsheng slightly raised an eyebrow, "Who did you kill?"
Ling Yuezi replied, "Those who resisted me, those who wanted to kill me."
Li Xingsheng looked at her, "Did those villagers resist you, and you killed them too?"
Ling Yuezi shook her head, "No, I killed those from the village; they killed villagers, and I killed them."
Li Xingsheng’s gaze flickered, "The people in the village all belong to you; why did you kill them?"
Ling Yuezi sneered, "You’ve been here for many days; you should have noticed that people in the village are not united. There are always troublemakers wanting to destroy the entire village; killing one or two ringleaders is not enough to make the whole village behave."
Seeing Li Xingsheng looking at her without speaking, Ling Yuezi added, "The troublemaker is Second Master. This village was managed single-handedly by my adoptive father; he has never committed village robbery, and I’ve been taught by him, never bullying villagers. Second Master joined later, but chose a different path than my adoptive father. He wants to drag the whole village down; how can I watch and do nothing?"
Having spent some time in the village, Li Xingsheng had come to understand the characters of several major masters.
His reason for asking Ling Yuezi was to hear her explanation directly.
As expected, Ling Yuezi’s explanation did not surprise him.
"If wife dislikes Second Master’s approach, why not eliminate him?" Li Xingsheng looked at her and asked.
Ling Yuezi lightly laughed, "Certainly, it’s a matter of timing."
"Do you need my help?" Li Xingsheng looked at her.
Ling Yuezi’s eyes revealed a hint of astonishment; shortly she smiled, "Husband, it’s getting late, return inside to rest."
Li Xingsheng glanced at her, "Okay."
Both retreated inside, washed, and went to bed.
Still sleeping separately, quiet as two pillows.
Li Xingsheng placed his hands under his head, closing his eyes to relax.
Ling Yuezi couldn’t sleep; not knowing whether it was due to the sultry weather or being questioned by Li Xingsheng.
Thinking about matters in the village, her mind racing with thoughts, she couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning several times on the bed.
Li Xingsheng opened his eyes, lifted his arm, and laid it across her, "I said I would help you, stop thinking, and rest peacefully."
That arm, quite unexpectedly, pressed against her breast, though separated by clothes and a thin blanket, Ling Yuezi’s face suddenly flushed red.
Fortunately, the room was dimly lit, everything was barely visible.
Ling Yuezi gently moved away his arm, "Thank you."
Li Xingsheng chuckled, closing his eyes to sleep.
Ling Yuezi exhaled quietly, dared not move anymore, gradually falling asleep.
