Chapter 83: What's it like to have to go out together right after a divorce?

This feeling, I can't say whether it's abrupt or not.

Du Shanü only knew that Chinu, amid the moonlight, gave her a faint glance and then turned away......

And that night, she had a dream.

In the dream, she returned to that dense forest once again.

This time, Chinu cried and whined, awkwardly demanding a title from her.

She said, "Okay."

Then, just as all those storybooks describe, their lips and teeth met, sharing a long kiss.

That was a kiss completely different from Yu Baobao's.

Chinu demanded she swear to remember him forever.

She also swore she would definitely remember that endlessly lingering feeling......

However, upon opening her eyes, she could not recall it no matter what.

The sky was already bright, Yu Baobao was still asleep, but the space beside her was already empty.

Last night's thin moon and the hateful gaze beneath it seemed to be merely an illusion......

Really, is it just an illusion?

Du Shanü narrowed her eyes, about to hug Yu Baobao and sleep a bit longer, when a glance caught A Chou, whom she hadn't seen in a day, sniffling as he leapt through the window into the room.

A Chou's movement was small, but his voice was extremely loud:

"Wuuu wuuu Wife Master(ノДt)!!!"

"Chinu told you to get up; he said you two discussed yesterday that today you'd go check out the surrounding cities, and if you don't go with him...... he'll beat me!"

Chinu, Chinu is truly crazy!

After returning yesterday, I grabbed him and gave him a fierce beating; then, after some difficulty, it seemed I recalled something, went back inside, and halted our sparring......

As a result, this morning when I got up, I grabbed him again and unleashed a series of moves!

I've always heard that women's moods are changeable in daily life, and so Chinu is like that too—occasionally he has a bad temper!

A Chou tearfully complained, lifting his wrist to show a bit of red swelling to Du Shanü; Du Shanü really didn't feel comfortable saying that if the swelling had come later it might have been better, so she asked:

"Why didn't Chinu come himself?"

Last night the three of us slept together!

Just let her wake up early if she wants; a shout would be enough!

And yet you still have A Chou deliver the message......

"Mm......"

A Chou heard this, hesitated a few breaths, then spoke:

"Chinu says he hates you, and from now on he won't speak to you anymore."

Du Shanü: "......"

Yu Baobao, half-asleep and awakened by the noise: "......?!!"

Good heavens!

Really, good heavens!

If I had known, I wouldn't have slept!

Before sleeping, he had been hoping that the Wife Master and Chinu's relationship could improve a bit; but after waking up from sleep, Chinu came to hate the Wife Master!

He must not hate!

He ought to respect and love her, treating her as if he were gazing at the sky from the earth, chasing the sun with the moon!

Yu Baobao felt the sky collapse; A Chou still thought the master pitied him, and his eyes instantly reddened.

Master and servant embraced, wailing loudly; Du Shanü feared that if she stayed longer she couldn't help laughing, so she forced herself to press her lips, silently got up, washed up, and then went to the front courtyard.

Chinu had already been waiting for her under the old scholar tree by the door.

As she pushed the door open, he was leaning against the old scholar tree, with two horses of unknown origin beside him, pawing the ground.

Heaven and earth just awoke, morning mist threading through the clouds.

Tree shadows fell across his body in a mottled pattern.

Chinu lifted his face, gazing at the branches and leaves above, not knowing how long he had been looking.

One hand hung at his side, fingertips twisting a fallen leaf.

He had twisted it for a long time, waited a long time; the leaf stalk had already broken, the leaf was about to fall but hadn't yet.

Du Shanü stepped forward, each step light, yet in this quiet early morning it was especially distinct.

His gaze moved.

It shifted from between the branches and leaves, deviating to the side by an inch.

He didn't look at her, merely shifted that inch, as if startled by her footsteps, yet also as if he had heard them long ago and had been waiting for this moment.

However......

When the moment truly arrived, his gaze again didn't know where to rest.

Thus, those eyes could only hover emptily over the empty space beside her.

He kept his head tilted that way, not looking at her.

The line of his jaw tensed slightly, his lips pressed together, his face showing little expression.

His knuckles whitened slightly, the half‑leaf at his fingertip fluttered down completely, landing on his shoe upper, yet he did not lower his head.

The contour of that side of his face alternated between light and dark in the tree shadows; the shadow of his brow bone fell into his eye sockets, making his eyes appear extraordinarily deep—deep enough that nothing could be seen.

A tit on the tree chirped once, then fell silent.

He stood there, unmoving, with no intention to leave.

It seemed he was waiting for her to speak first, or waiting for her to go away, or perhaps not waiting for anything at all—just standing there, not looking at her, not leaving.

Awkward.

Really, it's too awkward.

Du Shanü remained silent for a long time, yet this thought still rose in her mind.

Whether to resent or not, whether to hate or not—

In the end, they're just not frank.

Yu Baobao's permission for him to oversee the state and handle government affairs is absolute trust.

If he were willing to open his heart to Yu Baobao, she would surely comfort him.

Even if the two little bitter gourds strive together, even if they don't become sworn brothers, they won't be wandering in misery for years, each bearing their own hardship.

If he had then insisted she give up Yu Baobao, who knows.....

That kiss in the dream could also come true.

Chinu is prone to jealousy, the least frank.

No one knows when they'll realize that tormenting oneself and others only pushes what one wants farther away.

Du Shanü sighed, paid no mind to Chinu's awkwardness, and simply took out Afang's map again, looking it over once more.

Yesterday she had suspected two locations; although she had instructed Ouyang Yan to inquire about the origins of the corpses in the dense forest, it certainly wouldn't happen that quickly.

In the end, she needed to go out and see the surroundings herself; that was the right thing to do.

Thus, from Du Shanü's current position, crossing the bridge to Ju Cheng, passing through Daguan Village, then to Zhenjiang Village, finally finding a ferry to pass by and see Afang, then returning, would make a fine route.

What's more, today she has a horse, which will surely be much faster than walking yesterday......

At last, she no longer needs to walk!

Du Shanü's heart eased a little; she greeted those at home, then straight away reached for the horse's reins.

Never having ridden a horse in this life doesn't mean she didn't in a previous life.

Although it was only a few trivial horsemanship lessons to kill time, for someone as strong-willed as Du Shanü, it must have been solid learning that sank into her heart.

The girl's fingers caught the knot of the reins, her mounting motion swift and without hesitation.

The horse let out a loud snort, then used the momentum to turn its head steadily.

From start to finish, Du Shanü never once glanced at the old locust tree.

Chinu stood beneath the old locust tree, his hand already slightly raised as if to take the reins; seeing Du Shanü mount with ease, his fingertip twitched, then fell back to his side.

His gaze lingered on Du Shanü's profile for a few breaths, then quickly shifted away.

Each mounted their horse, the hooves shattering the thin frost at the village exit as they rode out, one after the other.

The mountains and forests closed in on both sides.

Pine needles carpeted the road; the horse's hooves made a muffled sound, occasionally exposing scattered stones beneath, the horseshoes striking them and sending sand and dirt flying.

She rode ahead, he behind, keeping about half a horse's length between them.

Wind blew through the woods, carrying the scent of pine resin and the lingering morning mist, fluttering the stray hairs at her ears.

She didn't look back, nor did he urge his horse to catch up.

The horses galloped; after about an hour, the terrain began to open up.

A stone bridge spanned the creek, its width narrow enough for only single-file horse traffic.

Du Shanü slowed her pace; the horse's hooves stepped a few times on the stone planks at the bridgehead, then steadily mounted the bridge.

Chinu, meanwhile, reined his horse at the bridgehead, waiting for her to cross the deck before following.

Below the bridge, the creek water was clear and shallow; the moss on the pebbles was drawn by the current into thin green threads, its gentle gurgling making the surroundings seem even quieter.

Having crossed the bridge, the view suddenly opened up.

Fields stretched on both sides, which should have been the height of the busy farming season——

But Du Shanü's glance revealed that the fields were completely empty.

This was not a normal harvest.

Across the ridges lay trampled footprints, clods of earth turned everywhere, straw scattered haphazardly; some stalks had been pulled up root and all, roots still clinging to clods of dirt flung onto the field edges, others snapped at the middle, their fibers bursting open, standing stark white toward the sky.

Broken bean pods littered the ground; when the wind blew, the withered bean leaves rolled a few times over the soil in front of the hooves.

Seeing this, Du Shanü's brow furrowed instantly, and her horse's speed unconsciously slowed——

What the hell.

This doesn't look like a normal harvest at all; it looks more like...... it's been looted?!

?? Did I forget to mention? No need to memorize the map; the author will post it whenever needed!

? If Chinu keeps being awkward, even Shasha's second child won't get a turn with him QAQ