After a moment of silence, a young, beautiful woman in green clothing was the first to approach with a smile.
Recognized, Qu Xiaojue adopted her usual serious demeanor, slightly lowering her eyes: “And you are?”
“I’m Li Xianlan, a subordinate of the Qu family in Huancheng. I came to Yiling specifically to pay respects to the Qu family master. I didn’t expect to encounter you here first.” She curtsied elegantly, her young face breaking into a lively smile.
“From the Li family?”
“Yes.”
Glancing at her husband, who was silently eating fish, Qu Xiaojue said, “Since you’ve traveled far, rest well. Come to the Qu family tomorrow.”
Clearly dismissed, Li Xianlan didn’t say more. She bowed slightly, saying, “Please enjoy your meal. Farewell.” Then she turned gracefully and walked through the crowd.
The interruption caused everyone to return their attention to their bowls.
Xu Wanzhi put down his chopsticks: “I’m done. Take your time.” It was a purely habitual polite phrase, sounding like a prelude to leaving. Qu Xiaojue looked up, but he had already taken out the silk handkerchief given by Qier and naturally wiped his mouth, making no move to leave.
“Full?”
“Mm.”
She suddenly let out a sigh of relief, put down her chopsticks, and casually added a piece of silver. Qu Shan and Qu Yao sat at another table, and when they saw the two rise, they followed out at the same time.
Well-fed and satisfied, the miscellaneous thoughts in his heart were filled out. When Xu Wanzhi narrowed his eyes, he asked, “I have nothing to do, are you going back?”
Indeed, just eating and going home!
Qu Xiaojue said, “That’s fine.” He was originally going to meet some merchants, but since he had brought him out, there was no reason to leave him behind. After a slight pause, he went along with his wish.
“Qu Yao, tell Miss Lin and the others that I won’t disturb them today. Go to Xing Li Zhai, buy two boxes of apricot pear cakes, and send them to Han Zhang Yuan.” Qu Yao responded and turned to leave.
She really doted on her son. Xu Wanzhi heard this, slightly turned his head, and asked, “What, not preparing a share for your father?”
