Seeing Chen Shi’s disappointed face, Qu Zhiwen reached out and patted the back of her hand. “I know you are thinking about the children, but the children are eager to study and make progress, just like the eagles leaving the nest, they will eventually fly on their own. If they are trapped in the nest, it will harm them instead.”

“I know.” Chen Shi nodded vigorously.

Parents who love their children will have far-reaching plans for them.

The master was right, she really couldn’t be too superficial.

“The master is right, I should support Yuan’er and Wu’er, let’s not talk about this matter.” Chen Shi smiled.

“That’s true.” Qu Zhiwen nodded, “Besides, those two brats are not young anymore this year. In a few years, they will eventually get married and start a family. Then they will really leave home.”

“Instead of worrying about those two brats, my lady might as well worry about me. After all, I will be the one accompanying you for the next few decades, right?”

“Come to think of it, my lady has been lazy lately. The shoes on my feet are old and look terrible. I wonder if I can receive new shoes made by you on my birthday this time?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Chen Shi saw Qu Zhiwen talking nonsense here and said unhappily, “Just tell me, everything on you, which one was not made by me myself? I made them all for you in different ways. You still complain that I am lazy? You are really getting greedy.”

“How can I not be greedy in front of my lady?” Qu Zhiwen moved closer to Chen Shi, “I’m afraid I will be greedy for many years to come.”

“You’re such a smooth talker!”

Chen Shi blushed when she saw Qiuyue and the others giggling. “You old frivolous man, hurry up and eat some food to shut up!”

As she spoke, Chen Shi took a spoon and put the half plate of Kung Pao Chicken into Qu Zhiwen’s bowl.

Qu Zhiwen didn’t refuse. He ate as much as Chen Shi gave him.

The dinner ended with the couple joking and laughing.

Because Qu Zhiwen wanted new shoes, Chen Shi thought of making him a new summer outfit. After dinner, she went to the warehouse to look for various fabrics she had put away so that she could pick out the right ones.

At the same time, she told Qiuyue to look for the shoe patterns she had asked her to put away.

Qu Zhiwen saw Chen Shi busy and secretly called Qiuyue aside.

“How’s Madam doing these days?”

“Master, Madam has done nothing wrong lately, and she hasn’t harbored any suspicions,” Qiuyue answered truthfully, then bowed. “Master, rest assured, we maids will follow your instructions and serve her wholeheartedly.”

“Yes,” Qu Zhiwen nodded. “You are loyal and dedicated, and I’m very confident.”

Seeing Qu Zhiwen’s approval, Qiuyue was pleased and asked, “Master, those decoctions… are you still allowed to give them to Madam?”

“Since they are working well, then continue,” Qu Zhiwen sighed.

“Yes,” Qiuyue nodded. “I’ll have someone boil the medicine right away.”

“Go ahead.”

Qu Zhiwen stood in the courtyard for a long moment before going back to the study. He waited until dusk before returning to his bedroom.

Chen Shi had already washed and was combing her hair in front of the mirror.

The maid untied Chen Shi’s hair, which had been tied up during the day, and applied some osmanthus oil to her hair.

Chen Shi’s hair, already jet-black and thick, now flowed down to her waist like a waterfall.

Qu Zhiwen’s heart tightened when he saw this.

Qiuyue came in with a bowl. “Madam, the sleeping potion is ready. Drink it while it’s hot.”

Looking at the dark, bitter soup in the bowl, Chen Shi frowned. “I’ve been sleeping pretty well lately. I don’t think I need to take the sleeping potion.”

“You’re being childish again! How can you just not take the medicine the doctor prescribed? Besides, this sleeping potion is meant for long-term conditioning. How can you stop taking it just because you feel better, and then rush to drink it again?”

Qu Zhiwen took the bowl. “Be good, drink it quickly.”

Qiuyue also hurriedly brought over some candied fruit, preparing for Chen Shi to suck on one after the medicine to soothe the bitterness.

Seeing this, Chen Shi could only take the bowl, suppressing the churning in her stomach, and gulped down the extremely bitter medicine. After drinking it, she quickly put a piece of candied fruit in her mouth and breathed a sigh of relief.

After the bitterness in her mouth had almost subsided, she rinsed her mouth and lay down on the bed.

Because of the medicine, Chen Shi fell asleep very quickly and fell into a deep sleep.

After seeing that Chen Shi was asleep, Qu Zhiwen tucked the corner of the quilt for her and then closed his eyes.

On the Dragon Boat Festival in the fifth lunar month, Su Yujin got up early and started to work.

Steamed eggs, steamed salted duck eggs, steamed garlic…

After all those things were placed on the steamer trays, Su Yujin pulled Aicao, Qingkui, Shuixing, and the others over to start wrapping zòngzi.

Sweet zòngzi made with glutinous rice mixed with candied dates and raisins, savory pork zòngzi with pork belly mixed with salted egg yolk, and plain white zòngzi made with nothing but pure glutinous rice, boiled and then eaten dipped in white sugar…

The zòngzi were wrapped one by one, cooked in pot after pot, and the entire government office’s backyard was filled with the rich aroma of zongzi.

Naturally, this aroma was also mingled with the intense aroma of steamed garlic.

The Dragon Boat Festival was a time when the five poisons were most likely to emerge. According to local customs, foods that detoxify were eaten. Garlic, as a detoxifying and antiseptic food and a local specialty, had become a signature food of the festival.

Steamed garlic was not pungent at all; instead, its soft, glutinous texture and a slightly sweet flavor were incredibly delicious. Once you started eating it, it was like being addicted, and you couldn’t stop.

But while your appetite was immensely satisfied, your breath became intensely pungent.

As soon as one opened their mouth, the garlic smell—far stronger and more potent than raw garlic—could be detected from several meters away. Yet those who ate the steamed garlic could hardly notice it themselves, while it was the ones who hadn’t eaten it who…

Su Yujin, for this very reason, also joined Aicao and Qingkui in the group eating steamed garlic.

Su Yujin had many steamed eggs, steamed salted eggs, and various zòngzi delivered to Chen Shi and Kang Shi, respectively. The rest, besides being eaten by the people in the courtyard, was packed up and prepared for He Yanxiu when Qu Zhiwen entered the mountains.

He Yanxiu had been gone for several days, so his meals were simple. Rice dumplings and salted duck eggs could satisfy his cravings.

As she was busy, Qu Zhiwen hurried over.

“It’s a good thing Magistrate Qu is here. We just cooked and packed the zòngzi, so please take them away now. They’re freshly cooked, and we wanted them to taste good, so we added some of the cooking water. The mountain roads are bumpy, so be careful not to burn yourself.”

The dumplings were stored in deep earthenware jars, which kept them warm.

“Miss Su.” Qu Zhiwen wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I’m afraid there’s no time to deliver the zòngzi into the mountains now. Miss Su, you must quickly come with me into the mountains—something has happened to Lord He…”

(End of Chapter)

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