After sleeping for half an hour, Qingqing stretched lazily and glanced out the window at the sun.
Judging by the light, it should have been around mid-afternoon.
She got up, dressed, and washed her face.
Looking at the busy Lin Heng in the courtyard, she asked,
“Why didn’t you take a nap? What are you working on?”
Only when she walked over did she realize he was cleaning a set of animal traps and a bow and arrows.
“Where did those come from?”
Lin Heng pointed toward the storage room.
“The previous owner’s? Do you know how to hunt?”
Qingqing looked at the stoic man with curiosity.
He nodded.
“You do? That’s amazing. By the way, I’m going into the mountains later to dig up some medicinal herbs. Do you want to come?”
As she spoke, she turned to fetch an empty basket and a small shovel.
Lin Heng walked over, gently caught hold of the hem of her sleeve, and led her to the basket beside the flower bed. He pointed at the herbs inside, then gestured toward the village. Finally, he pointed to the kettle on the stove and mimed drinking.
“You mean Aunt Liu brought these herbs over and said we should boil them in water to drink?”
Lin Heng nodded.
This woman really is clever.
She understood him after only a few gestures.
Seeing the earnest look on his face, Qingqing couldn’t help smiling.
“All right. I’ll sort them out later and dry them properly. We’ll save them for making herbal tea. But today I’m looking for herbs to treat your wounds. I’ve seen them growing in the mountains. They’re better than the ones sold at the apothecary and will help your injuries heal.”
Lin Heng pointed to the bow, then toward the mountains.
“You want to bring the bow and come with me? You want to try your luck and see if you can catch some game?”
He nodded vigorously.
“All right, let’s go. It’s cooler now. Go change into some dark-colored work clothes. I’ll wait for you here.”
Lin Heng went into the east room and found a plain gray cotton outfit in the wardrobe.
He carefully took off the white robe and cotton underclothes he was wearing.
Qingqing had made them for him by hand.
They were incredibly comfortable.
He folded them with unusual care and placed them neatly at the head of the bed.
Once he was ready, he followed Qingqing toward the mountains.
Qingqing had visited this mountain countless times already, so she led the way with practiced ease.
Lin Heng stayed close behind her the entire time, constantly on guard.
Every time she climbed over a patch of steep, damp rocks, his heart leaped into his throat.
Fortunately, she crossed each one steadily and without incident.
The deeper they went, the denser the forest became.
Green stretched as far as the eye could see.
Taking in the mountain scenery, Lin Heng felt completely at ease.
Qingqing carefully searched through the undergrowth, looking for medicinal herbs.
Now and then she came across honeysuckle, Angelica dahurica (Bai Zhi), and astragalus.
These wild medicinal herbs could also be sold to the apothecary for a decent sum.
Using her small shovel, she carefully dug them up and placed them into her bamboo basket.
Lin Heng watched her curiously and blinked.
“You want to know how I recognize all these herbs?”
He nodded.
“When I was little, I was always brewing medicine. Sometimes I’d go to the apothecary to buy herbs and chat with the physicians while they sorted them. Little by little, I learned to recognize the common ones. Later, whenever I had free time, I’d study medical books. Eventually I learned most of the herbs and what they were used for.”
Yes…
Later, after becoming a concubine in the Marquis’s manor and becoming pregnant, she had spent much of her idle time asking the maids to bring her medical texts. She studied herbs and prescriptions, searching for remedies that could strengthen the body and benefit the baby.
“You go look around over there and see if you can catch anything. I’ll stay here and dig up these herbs. There’s enough here to keep me busy for a while. Don’t go too far. I’ll be waiting right here.”
As she spoke, Qingqing reached up and brushed a twig off his shoulder.
The moment her hand suddenly appeared before him, Lin Heng’s face turned red.
This woman really has no sense of propriety.
She’s always looking for an excuse to touch me…
Then he realized—
She hadn’t been touching him at all.
She had simply removed the twig from his shoulder.
…I misunderstood her again.
Feeling awkward, he quickly turned and walked deeper into the woods.
Why do I always end up thinking about her that way…?
Is there something wrong with me?
He found a suitable place to set his animal traps, took each one out of his basket, placed them carefully one by one, and marked their locations.
Back in the shadow camp, besides enduring brutal training, there had been many days when they barely had enough to eat. During the years when they were growing boys with endless appetites, hunger had been a constant companion.
Whenever it became unbearable, they would sneak into the mountains together to catch rabbits and pheasants to roast over a fire.
Over time, he had become an excellent hunter.
Before long, Qingqing had nearly finished digging up all the herbs.
She stood and looked around but couldn’t find him anywhere nearby.
Walking a little farther, she called out,
“Lin Heng… Lin Heng…”
Then, feeling playful, she deliberately changed what she was calling.
“Husband… Dear husband!”
The more she called, the less serious she became.
In the distance, Lin Heng, who was cleaning a rabbit, heard someone calling his name.
Then it became…
“Husband…”
“Dear husband…”
This woman… she really has no shame.
Who says I’m her husband? We haven’t even held a wedding ceremony.
A wedding ceremony…?
Why did I think of that?
Lin Heng stuffed the rabbit and two pheasants into his basket and headed toward her voice.
Just as Qingqing turned around, the man suddenly appeared behind her.
She jumped in fright.
“You rotten man! Can’t you make a sound before sneaking up on someone? You nearly scared me to death!”
If I could make a sound, Lin Heng thought as he rolled his eyes at her, would you have needed to shout for me in the first place?
“Come on, let’s head home. It’s getting late, and we still have quite a walk back down the mountain.”
As she spoke, she slung her basket over her shoulder and tugged lightly on his sleeve.
“Wow! Not bad at all. One rabbit and two pheasants in such a short time. My man’s amazing!”
Lin Heng glared at her again.
Seeing the aggrieved look on his face, Qingqing secretly laughed to herself.
Teasing this block of ice was surprisingly entertaining.
“Hahaha…”
“When we get home, I’ll make you stewed chicken with the dried mushrooms I’ve been drying. Mmm… it’ll be so delicious. Just thinking about it is making me drool.”
“Do you like spicy food? I do. We’ll add some Sichuan peppercorns too. Spicy and numbing—it’ll smell incredible.”
“Let’s have plain white rice porridge tonight. No brown rice this time. Next time I go into town, I’ll buy more white rice. We’ve still got plenty of money, so we won’t go hungry.”
“You’ve already cleaned the rabbit, right? Then let’s eat one chicken tonight. Tomorrow, when we go into town, we’ll sell the rabbit and the other chicken. It’ll also give us a chance to see what prices are like. Once your injuries heal and you start hunting on your own, you’ll know how much everything is worth.”
The entire walk home, Qingqing chatted away without pause.
Lin Heng listened attentively.
Every now and then, he nodded in response.
“I really hope the poison leaves your body soon. Then you’ll be able to talk with me. It’s so boring talking to myself all day…”
Even if I could speak, Lin Heng thought, I still wouldn’t be able to keep up with you.
This woman talks far too much.
She’s an absolute chatterbox.
Once they returned home, both of them got busy.
Lin Heng cleaned the game and stored it in the coolest corner of the kitchen, placing it inside a basket and covering it securely to keep rats and other animals away.
Meanwhile, Qingqing began preparing dinner.
She chopped the chicken into pieces.
Once the wok was hot, she added oil, scallions, ginger, and garlic, stir-frying them until fragrant before adding the chicken. She slowly browned the meat, then poured in water and let it simmer over high heat.
She soaked the dried mushrooms in warm water, and once the chicken was nearly tender, added the mushrooms to the pot. Pulling a few pieces of firewood from beneath the stove, she reduced the fire to a gentle simmer and let everything cook slowly.
The rice porridge bubbling away in the clay pot released a delicate fragrance of rice.
From afar, wisps of cooking smoke curled into the evening sky.
There was something about the warmth of a home filled with the smoke of cooking that soothed the heart better than anything else.