The voice echoing in his ears was gentle. The young gentleman froze, raising his tear-stained eyes. What met his gaze was a pale face, in tattered brocade clothes.

“Li… Li Ruantang?”

His clear voice was a bit hoarse. Those beautiful phoenix eyes stared unblinkingly at the smiling woman before him, afraid that this was another illusion.

Li Ruantang had not expected to see her little husband here at all. Seeing Chiu Chiu in such a disheveled state, she immediately felt incredibly distressed.

Fortunately, there was a spring in these mountains.

She had just gone to find a water source, intending to regain some strength before going down the mountain. Now she was no longer in a hurry.

The person she had been worried about was right before her eyes.

Li Ruantang reached out and gently took the hand of the young gentleman who was standing there in a daze, “Silly one, didn’t I tell you to wait for me to come back?”

He had dark circles under his eyes, must have been searching all night.

Before Li Ruantang could ask for details, the person who was crying like a little flower cat suddenly rushed into her arms, tightly hugging her waist, “Wuu wuu wuu, Li Ruantang, I thought, I thought I would never see you again.”

He cried, aggrieved and pitiful. The spirit he had been forcing himself to maintain all night finally relaxed when he saw her.

Li Ruantang sighed softly, holding her little husband in her arms. She had not been awake for long, and now her form was slightly swaying, which was immediately noticed by the perceptive Meng Jun.

“Wife-master, are you starving!” He hurriedly supported Li Ruantang, reaching to untie the small bundle he had been carrying all night.

“Chiu Chiu, don’t rush. I’ll take you somewhere.”

In any case, her dizziness had been going on for a day or two. Li Ruantang was more worried about the young gentleman’s feet that had been soaked in muddy water for so long.

She gestured for Chiu Chiu to follow, but before she could take a step, her fingers were tightly grasped by the worried young gentleman. His face still bore a faint blush from crying earlier, and those beautiful phoenix eyes were lowered, “I, I’m afraid wife-master might faint.”

—So he needed to hold her hand.

Their fingers intertwined.

The blush on the young gentleman’s face grew deeper. He secretly glanced at Li Ruantang’s profile. Hmm, she seemed to have lost some weight.

Who knows how she had spent this night.

Those beautiful eyes carefully scanned the woman beside him, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat, “Wife-master!”

He spoke with great concern, his eyebrows deeply furrowed, “Are you in a lot of pain?”

Beneath her tattered outer robe, faint traces of dark red bloodstains were visible, especially on her arm.

Li Ruantang was startled for a moment, then curved her lips, “Don’t worry, I’ve checked the injuries myself. They’ve already scabbed over, it’s nothing serious.”

There was a faint sound of water nearby.

Li Ruantang led the suddenly silent Chiu Chiu forward. Under the mountain spring, a shallow pool flowed out.

The water was clear and cool, unlike the muddy water source she had found earlier.

“Chiu Chiu, the sunlight is just right now. You wash up here first, I’ll start a fire right away.”

Li Ruantang was after all a woman who had been trained in the frontier. Before the young gentleman could take off his clothes, she had already collected some dry firewood and was busy making a fire.

The rippling pool water was not as cold as imagined.

The young gentleman turned to look at Li Ruantang, who had her back to him. After repeatedly confirming that she wouldn’t suddenly disappear, he finally started carefully cleaning the mud from his face and hair.

He washed meticulously, and when he was about to get up, he found that warm clothes heated by charcoal fire had been placed on the large rock behind him at some point.

Even the mud on them had been carefully rubbed clean.

The young gentleman’s eyes immediately brightened. He put on the clothes and sat by the fire. He was only wearing cloth socks; his shoes, now clean of mud, were still drying nearby.

“Wife-master.” Meng Jun called her softly, reaching into his small bundle to take out an oiled paper bag, “There are steamed buns and pastries here.”

“And this too!” The young gentleman excitedly pulled out a handful of sliced wild astragalus to show her, “I heard Ah Ning say that astragalus can also be eaten raw.”

His small bundle, which originally only had a few items, now looked deflated after taking out most of its contents.

Li Ruantang’s sharp eyes caught sight of the pair of flower crowns. Before she could ask, the young gentleman’s face had already turned red, “I, I… I know I should have packed more food, but this was a gift from wife-master. I thought if I couldn’t find wife-master, it would be nice to have something to remember you by.”

He spoke haltingly, playing with the flower crown in his hands, anxiously watching Li Ruantang’s expression.

Oh no, would she think he was even more useless!

The young gentleman’s breathing slowed half a beat with nervousness.

Li Ruantang felt a softness in her heart and sighed softly. Her silly little husband hadn’t thought about his own safety at all, only single-mindedly wanting to find her.

“Oh, oh right.” After waiting for a while without hearing her speak, the young gentleman became even more flustered. He hurriedly took out the letter she had written from his small bundle, “Wife-master, I brought this too!”

“Silly Chiu Chiu.”

“Eh?” Why was Li Ruantang calling him silly again? Wuu, she must think he’s useless now, not a capable husband.

His toes, curled together, shrank into a pitiful ball.

Li Ruantang pressed her lips together, “Chiu Chiu, are your feet cold?”

Why was she suddenly asking this now?

Of course they were cold, but it wasn’t his feet that were cold, it was his heart.

The young gentleman lowered his head dejectedly. The flower crown in his hand was gently taken away, “Silly Chiu Chiu, flower crowns look best when worn.”

The flower crown, with most of its flowers fallen off, was neatly placed on top of his half-loose hair. Meng Jun looked up to see Li Ruantang also wearing the other one on her hair bun.

However, his craftsmanship wasn’t very good, and after the bumpy journey, the flower crown had become somewhat distorted.

The young gentleman looked and looked, suddenly breaking into a smile. Now Li Ruantang looked silly.

He had just curled up the corners of his lips when he felt warmth around his ankle. Li Ruantang had gently grasped it and wrapped it in her embrace.

“Wife, wife-master.” The young gentleman’s heart trembled, and his handsome face immediately turned completely red. He looked around somewhat helplessly, his arms supporting him from behind, not daring to really press the soles of his feet against her waist and abdomen.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m just warming you up.” Li Ruantang said with a serious expression.

But to Meng Jun’s ears, every word became like dancing flames, burning the young gentleman’s entire body pink.

He unconsciously licked his lips, those beautiful phoenix eyes like rippling water touched by the east wind, glowing brilliantly, “Wife-master.”

The young gentleman called out to her awkwardly, “Can I take a look at your wounds?”

The dazzling noon sunlight, the fiercely burning dry firewood, none of it stung Li Ruantang’s heart as much as Meng Jun’s sorrowful gaze.

She slowly lifted half of her robe, smiling, “See, I told you it’s nothing. It’s really just a scratch. In a few days when the scabs fall off, it will be much better.”

“Wife-master is lying again.”

The corners of the young gentleman’s eyes were crimson. The old wounds on her back hadn’t healed, and now new ones were added. Those injuries were far from simple scratches; they looked more like deep cuts from falling somewhere.

He muttered softly, puffing out his cheeks and gently blowing on them. A trivial little action, yet Meng Jun did it seriously and meticulously.

Li Ruantang had been in pain, but now waves of sweetness washed over her heart, especially when the young gentleman would occasionally stuff a slice of prepared astragalus into her mouth.

A faint sweetness spread from the tip of her tongue, along with the palpitations in her heart, making her feel as if she were immersed in honey.

Her almond-shaped eyes curved beautifully as she looked at their overlapping shadows on the ground.

“Chiu Chiu.”

“Mm?” The young gentleman, who was blowing on the wound, responded vaguely. He had been squatting for a long time, and now his calves were a bit numb.

He had just started to move his legs when he heard Li Ruantang, who was biting into a peach blossom pastry, say softly, “When we return to the capital, we—”

“We?” The young gentleman paused curiously.

He turned his face slightly, and saw that the young woman’s complexion had paled even more than before. Her brows were knitted, as if she were trying hard to endure some pain.

“Wife-master! What’s wrong?!”

The young gentleman, afraid that something had gone wrong with the astragalus, hurriedly reached out to feel her forehead. Before he could touch it, Li Ruantang grasped his hand, “Chiu Chiu, where did you get this pastry from?”

She didn’t remember much about the capital’s affairs. But when this peach blossom pastry entered her mouth, she clearly knew that it came from Wuxin Zhai.

Wuxin Zhai was definitely not a shop that could be opened in this Hu family village.

So Chiu Chiu must have met outsiders.

This person appearing in Hu family village, and specifically bringing pastries, was clearly well-prepared. Unfortunately, she now only remembered that she was investigating a case of golden elixir, and didn’t know if her silly little husband had been deceived by someone. The more Li Ruantang thought about it, the more worried she became.

Her expression was very serious, and the young gentleman pressed his lips together anxiously.

It was terrible, how did Li Ruantang know this pastry wasn’t bought in the village? Could it be that she remembered?!

Meng Jun anxiously stood up to examine her expression closely, but his legs were still numb. Seeing that his body was about to lose support and press on Li Ruantang’s back, the young gentleman instinctively removed his hand from her back.

The frost-colored sleeve passed under Li Ruantang’s armpit, steadily avoiding the wounds on her back, finding a new support.

Before Meng Jun could breathe a sigh of relief, the sensation at his fingertips was soft and unfamiliar. He curiously pinched it, and in an instant, Li Ruantang, who had been solemn just moments ago, suddenly had her ears turn red and redder.

Strange.

Meng Jun looked down somewhat puzzled, and what met his eyes was a towering whiteness beneath his fingertips.

Boom—

A scorching heat suddenly rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

The young gentleman quickly let go, falling back onto his bottom.

His burning fingers embarrassedly covered his handsome face, which was about to turn completely red. Yet that sensation was extremely strong. Just thinking about where he had just pinched, the young gentleman’s whole body was about to turn red and tense.

He secretly peeked through the gaps between his fingers at Li Ruantang, who was standing there in a daze, becoming increasingly nervous.

Would, would she be angry?