Qinghe said nothing and simply continued studying Qin Xiao’s face.
How should she put it?
Qin Xiao’s brow ridge was prominent and well-defined. His brows sat sharply upon strong bone structure, giving him a naturally heroic appearance.
The lines of his face were clean and decisive, sharp without appearing coarse.
Today, she had met every direct relative in the Qin family, all of them related by blood.
Yet among the elders and younger generations alike, not a single one resembled Qin Xiao.
The Qin family members generally had softer facial structures, single eyelids, and light brows. Qin Xiao, however, possessed distinct double eyelids and deep, penetrating eyes full of vitality.
His eyebrows were thick and dark, sweeping upward toward his temples like the edge of a blade.
Among all those relatives, spanning three generations above and three generations below him, there was not a single person who shared Qin Xiao’s height or imposing build.
An image involuntarily surfaced in Qinghe’s mind.
All the Qin family members standing together, with Qin Xiao among them.
At a glance, he stood out as different.
Combined with the way Madam Qin treated him, Qinghe found herself filled with doubt.
“Qin Xiao, are you really your parents’ biological son?”
The thought had crossed her mind, so she voiced it directly.
Qin Xiao froze slightly at the question.
Then he lowered his eyes, as though considering the matter himself.
At last, he understood why Qinghe had been examining his features so closely.
Ever since he had grown into his looks at thirteen or fourteen, he had appeared rougher and more rugged than the rest of the Qin family. By fifteen, he was already taller than his father.
By eighteen, his beard grew as wildly as weeds, covering much of his face. No matter how often he shaved, it seemed to return immediately.
The men of the Qin family, by contrast, usually wore neat goatees and had relatively clean cheeks.
Truthfully, he had harbored the same doubts.
He had even questioned older relatives about it.
But his mother’s pregnancy had been real, and her journey to the temple to pray for blessings had also genuinely happened.
When she returned from the mountain, she was carrying a premature infant, him.
According to her, labor had begun shortly after she reached the temple.
There had been no midwife, no birthing room.
A storm had broken out with thunder and heavy rain, and there were very few worshippers present.
Left with no other choice, she had found an empty room and delivered the child herself.
The labor had lasted the entire night.
She had even bitten through the umbilical cord with her own teeth.
At the time, she had only been eight months pregnant.
There was an old saying among common folk, seven-month babies lived, eight-month babies died.
By conventional wisdom, he should not have survived.
But his mother insisted it had been the Buddha’s blessing, aided by a senior monk who had chanted prayers for her safety.
That, she said, was how Qin Xiao had been born successfully.
Stories like that were difficult to verify.
Not every baby born at eight months died.
When Qin Xiao turned sixteen, he enlisted in the army and buried those doubts deep within his heart.
By the time he returned years later, too much time had passed.
The monks at the temple had changed twice over.
Even if he wanted answers, none of the original witnesses remained.
Eventually, he stopped looking.
Now that Qinghe had brought up the subject, he found himself recounting the old story while reviewing it once again in his mind.
“There’s nothing I can do. I can’t claim I’m not their son just because I don’t resemble them.”
He shrugged.
“Forget it. They raised me, after all. All I want is to separate households smoothly in the future and provide them with money every month for their retirement. Beyond that, I’d rather keep my distance.”
“As for sickness and old age, Qin Yue will be the one worrying about those things. I doubt it’ll fall to me.”
Years from now, if his parents became ill, he would decide how much responsibility to shoulder only after seeing what Qin Yue was willing to do.
For now, he simply wanted to live his own life.
To live for himself.
Seeing that Qin Xiao had already thought everything through, Qinghe decided not to linger on such a heavy topic.
“Oh, right. I noticed a few clusters of young bamboo on the back mountain. The tender leaves make excellent tea. Since you still need to gather firewood later, why don’t you take me with you?”
Qin Xiao glanced at the sky.
Clouds covered the sun today, leaving the weather pleasantly cool.
So he agreed.
Qinghe’s skin was naturally fair and delicate.
Even after spending time under the blazing sun, she would only redden for a couple of days rather than tan.
Still, she disliked feeling sweaty and sticky.
Whenever perspiration dampened her clothes, she felt uncomfortable.
Qin Xiao could not bear to make her trek through the mountains during the hottest days.
Since he would soon be hunting in the mountains for several days, he needed to stockpile enough firewood for her beforehand.
After lunch, he tied up the hems of her trousers and brought her into the forest.
The woods nearby were frequently traveled and easy to navigate.
The moment they entered, Qinghe became noticeably more lively.
Any wild vegetable, edible herb, or mushroom she encountered, whether she recognized it or not, immediately caught her attention.
Meanwhile, Qin Xiao chopped firewood nearby and repeatedly had to pause his work to answer her excited questions.
“Qin Xiao, Qin Xiao! Can this be eaten? I think I’ve seen it before. What is it called?”
“That’s a cockscomb mushroom. It’s edible, and very tasty. The red one next to it isn’t. If you eat that, you’ll start seeing things. Throw it away.”
“You know so much.”
All afternoon, Qinghe ran around tirelessly.
Whenever she found an unfamiliar plant or mushroom, she would hurry over to ask Qin Xiao about it.
Though she was drenched in sweat, she did not seem to care in the slightest.
And every single time he answered her questions, she would praise him.
“You’re amazing.”
“Do you have a little person living inside your head who writes all these things down for you? How do you remember the names of every flower and blade of grass?”
What was usually tedious and exhausting work somehow became enjoyable for Qin Xiao.
Being praised by her made him feel rather proud of himself.
When he was young, Qin Yue practiced writing, and Qin Xiao mastered it after a single lesson.
Books that required Qin Yue to recite dozens of times before memorizing, Qin Xiao could commit to memory after only two readings.
He could not claim perfect recall, but his memory had always been exceptional.
When new recruits entered the army, many needed dozens of repetitions to learn combat techniques.
Qin Xiao remembered them after only two attempts and could execute them flawlessly.
While others were still struggling with the basics, he had already moved on to advanced training.
That was precisely why he had been selected for the scout battalion in less than a year, a unit filled with elite soldiers, many of whom came from military families.
Yet his parents had never praised him.
Not once.
No matter what he accomplished, it was treated as though it were only natural.
As though he had been born inferior to his younger brother.
As though his purpose in life was to serve as Qin Yue’s stepping stone.
That evening, a plate of stir-fried wild mushrooms appeared on the dinner table.
The prolonged dry weather meant there were not many mushrooms to gather.
After cooking, they shrank considerably, leaving barely enough to fill a single plate.
To accompany the mushrooms, Qinghe had deliberately steamed white rice.
Ordinarily, she cooked more wheat-based dishes because Qin Xiao preferred noodles.
The wild mushrooms were delicious.
Every one of them had been personally verified as safe by Qin Xiao, so Qinghe ate without worry.
Before she knew it, she had finished an extra bowl of rice.
By the end of the meal, her stomach was pleasantly round and full.
Rubbing her belly, she groaned.
“Oh no, if I keep eating like this, I’m going to get fat.”
“Being a little fatter is good. It makes you less likely to get sick.”
Qin Xiao truly did not care whether she was thin or plump.
He admitted that he had first bought her because of her beauty.
But now he felt that beautiful people remained beautiful regardless of their size.
Health mattered far more.
Besides, no matter how much weight she gained, he could still carry her.
Most importantly, people often said that a person’s appearance reflected their heart.
Even someone with ordinary features could become attractive if they were kind, sincere, and good-hearted.
Qinghe was exactly that sort of person.
Whenever he looked at her, he saw someone who was genuinely content with her current life.
Despite possessing knowledge and refinement far beyond that of most village women, she never seemed dissatisfied with her circumstances.
So whether she gained weight or lost it made no difference to him.
The choice was entirely hers.
After thinking about it, Qinghe found herself agreeing.
During the long journey south with the convicted slaves, many of the thinner people had died before reaching their destination.
It was thanks to the extra weight she had carried that she survived.
Otherwise, she might never have lived to enjoy the peaceful life she had now.
Tomorrow, Qin Xiao would enter the mountains.
After bathing that evening, he emerged into the courtyard, wiping his damp hair.
There he found Qinghe doing the same.
Carrying a small bamboo chair, he sat down behind her.
A slender crescent moon emerged from the clouds, casting a veil of silver light across the earth.
Qin Xiao took the cloth from her hand.
His calloused fingers gently lifted a strand of her long hair as he carefully dried it.
“Qinghe, I’ll be leaving tomorrow. Zhou Ye will stay with me in the mountains, and Zhou Sui will come keep you company.”
“Mm. I’ll stay home and wait for you. Be careful while you’re hunting. Even if you don’t catch anything, it’s alright. It won’t matter if we can’t hold the wedding banquet.”
After all, she was already his wife.
“Qinghe,” Qin Xiao said softly, unconsciously tightening his grip on the cloth, “I mean that I’ll be spending several days in the mountains with Zhou Ye.”
Not understanding his meaning, Qinghe turned slightly in her chair.
The bamboo seat creaked beneath her.
“I know. Didn’t you say he has his family’s hunting skills, and you have the tracking techniques you learned in the army? Together, you’re unbeatable.”
Qin Xiao dragged his chair closer.
His warm breath brushed against her ear, making the tips of her ears burn red.
In the darkness, she could not clearly see his expression.
Only the faint light reflected in his eyes.
Yet somehow, she felt his gaze fixed firmly upon her.
Intense.
Burning.
A large hand suddenly enclosed hers.
His voice had turned low and hoarse, and his breathing was no longer steady.
“Qinghe…”
“I mean that I won’t be able to see you for several days.”
“You…”
His words trailed off as he held her hand gently.
“I’m going to miss you.”