Tao Yu, unable to avoid his disturbance, opened her eyes and fiercely threatened: “If you dare to interrupt me again, forget about me helping you with that thing!”
Yue Linze’s face instantly turned red, but Tao Yu had already closed her eyes and missed the moment. Yue Linze stared at her, wanting to speak but ultimately keeping quiet, obediently staying in bed.
Without his interruption, Tao Yu quickly fell back asleep. When she woke up an hour later, she saw Yue Linze listlessly looking at the bed curtains, half his body held by her, not daring to move.
She smiled slightly and gently released his arm. Yue Linze noticed the movement and looked over joyfully: “You’re awake?!”
“Mm, awake. Let’s get up,” Tao Yu said, amused.
Yue Linze happily nodded, shaking his slightly numb arm and getting up. Looking at Tao Yu still sitting on the bed, he said, “Breakfast is too late now. Let’s go to the market to eat something. How about I take you to the lake?”
“Okay,” Tao Yu laughed in agreement.
Yue Linze was happy, but his face gradually reddened, awkwardly saying, “Don’t threaten me with that thing in the future. I want you to give me a child soon, so don’t use that to blackmail me.”
Tao Yu was stunned, momentarily unable to recall what “that thing” was. Finally, through his bashful expression, she understood it was her morning threat.
Tao Yu laughed: “You’re quite enjoying it, aren’t you?”
“N-no!” Yue Linze blushed and retorted.
Tao Yu stopped teasing him: “Alright, I understand. I won’t threaten you with that again, don’t worry.”
“…Mm,” Yue Linze glanced at her and lowered his head to dress.
Tao Yu smiled, remembering the discovery from Zhou Ying’s body, her smile fading slightly. When they were ready to go out, she casually asked, “Where did the person who drowned yesterday die?”
“Why are you asking about this?” Yue Linze was puzzled.
Tao Yu shrugged: “I just thought a place that someone would remember even when drunk must be a good spot.”
“It is a good place. Wei Huan Lake is the most beautiful place in the city. But the Zhou family is mourning there these days, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to go. Let’s go somewhere else,” Yue Linze said with wide eyes.
Tao Yu pursed her lips: “But I want to see Wei Huan Lake.”
“This…” Yue Linze looked conflicted.
Tao Yu grabbed his hand and shook it, looking pitiful: “Take me there. The lake is so big, we might not even run into the Zhou family. We can just walk around the edges.”
Yue Linze was softening, and Tao Yu immediately said: “If you don’t take me, I won’t give you a child!”
This sentence hit Yue Linze’s weakness, and he nodded in agreement. Tao Yu, seeing he had agreed, laughed, comforting him before they left together. After stopping at a small eatery, they arrived at Wei Huan Lake around noon.
It was lunchtime, with people either returning home or going to restaurants. The lakeside was sparse. The wind blew, making the tree branches tremble, accompanied by the lake’s moisture, creating an indescribably pleasant atmosphere.
If not for the white mourning banners and simple altar in the distance, with faint crying sounds, the scene would have been enchanting.
Yue Linze glanced at the mourning Zhou family and frowned at Tao Yu: “Let’s go. Seeing this makes me uncomfortable.”
Tao Yu looked ahead, seeing a horse-drawn carriage heading towards the altar. She calculated the time and said, “They’ll leave soon. They won’t make you uncomfortable anymore.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the Zhou family, seeing the carriage, cried and boarded it. The carriage turned and drove away, leaving only a servant boy guarding the altar.
Yue Linze relaxed slightly, though still not in high spirits: “I don’t like this.”
“I know. We won’t look. Let’s walk somewhere else,” Tao Yu consoled with a smile.
Yue Linze gave her an awkward glance, finally nodding with a pursed mouth. The two held hands and walked to a place far from the mourning hall. Tao Yu said a few words to him, then circled back to Zhou Ying: “Is the place where they set up the mourning hall the same place where that person drowned?”
“No, it’s just a flat area suitable for setting up the mourning hall. Zhou Ying drowned over there,” Yue Linze said, pointing to a spot ahead, which was also surrounded by white mourning banners, but with scattered stones that could only be fixed with rocks.
Tao Yu had just glanced over, thinking about how to coax Yue Linze to take a look, when voices of young people came from ahead. As she looked up, she heard Yue Linze happily call out: “Changqing! Da Li!”
The others greeted him happily and walked towards them. Yue Linze took the opportunity to tell Tao Yu: “These are my fellow students from the academy. We’ve been good friends for many years.”
Tao Yu looked over, noticing that although they were together, some seemed serious and proper, while others had a playboy demeanor. She found it interesting that people with such different personalities could enjoy each other’s company.
After exchanging greetings, one of the older men said: “Since we’ve met, why don’t we have a meal together?”
“Ah Yu and I have already eaten,” Yue Linze replied seriously.
The man laughed: “Even if you’ve eaten, can’t we sit down and chat? I’m always teaching at the academy and don’t often see you, and I’d like to talk.”
Yue Linze immediately looked questioningly at Tao Yu. Before she could say anything, a young gentleman laughed: “The city lord has only been married two days and is already hen-pecked?”
Everyone laughed, and Tao Yu, seeing it was just a joke, laughed along: “Go ahead, chat with them. I just saw someone selling sponge cake and want to buy some. I’ll meet you at the restaurant later, okay?”
She knew there were topics men wouldn’t discuss in front of women, and she wanted to investigate the scene alone, so she found an excuse to leave.
Yue Linze hesitated, remembering the cake seller was nearby, and nodded. He pulled out all his silver from his pocket: “If it’s not enough, find us at the restaurant, and I’ll have someone bring more.”
“City lord, this is enough to buy several cake shops,” a scholar teased.
Tao Yu found it amusing and nodded before separating from them. The group went to the restaurant and got a private room, then started chatting.
The playboy winked at Yue Linze: “How is it? After getting married, aren’t you enjoying not being single anymore?”
“…” Yue Linze blushed and said nothing.
The teasing continued, making Yue Linze’s face burn. Soon, someone slipped something into his pocket and winked: “This is from an old doctor I met last night. I ran into you before entering home, so I’ll give it to you.”
“What is it?” Yue Linze curiously wanted to open it.
The man quickly stopped him: “Don’t look now, wait until you’re alone.”
“You’re not teaching the city lord something bad, is it an erotic painting?” a more upright person frowned.
The man innocently said: “How could it be… well, not exactly. It’s a secret palace manual from an old doctor. They say following it can determine the sex of your future child.”
“Really?” someone immediately expressed doubt.
As they argued, Yue Linze listened, his palms starting to sweat, the booklet in his pocket growing warm.
Author’s Note: Tomorrow, I’ll try to catch up on progress and visit the kindergarten. Pay attention to the keywords. Other people’s children have stopped updating for the New Year, but I’m still so diligent. Everyone, please praise me! Speaking of the New Year, what do you all want tomorrow? The additional updates will be posted in the previous place. Should I draw a lottery on V.blog? Or give out red packets in the comments tomorrow night? Let’s do both. I’ll confirm the update time tomorrow night.
★ City Lord is Sick 5
