Chapter 182: The Male Green Tea's Remarks

Gu Xixi's face sank instantly, "Just spreading baseless rumors?"

"I advise you to stop here; after all, we've gotten along this long—keep some dignity."

Mu Nan Zhao, however, refused to let up, blocking her path again.

"You hit me just now—it was clearly deliberate, right?"

Gu Xixi snorted contemptuously, disdainfully saying, "Anyway, I already hit you—think what you like."

"She did it on purpose—so what?"

Master Liu said the village had Shadow Guards secretly protecting it.

"If some petty thief could come in broad daylight to ransack things, wouldn't that be utterly useless?"

So Gu Xixi, seeing no disturbance outside her home, guessed it was Mu Nan Zhao returning.

"Using a hoe to catch thieves was just a pretense; hitting people to vent anger was the real motive."

At that moment, An Qinghe ran around, found no one, and walked toward the west wing, saying, "Strange, Aunt Zhang said Xixi was home."

Just before, as he was nearing home, he met Aunt Zhang heading out with a vegetable basket.

Aunt Zhang, beaming, said she was going to the field to pull some scallions and cilantro, only telling him that Xixi was home and the door wasn't locked.

But when he arrived home, the gate was open, yet no one was to be found.

An Qinghe walked and muttered to himself, "Chen Fang left—isn't this house locked? Could Xixi be in here?"

Inside the west wing, Gu Xixi insisted on leaving, when Mu Nan Zhao suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her right hand up.

"You're doing all this just to drive me away, for An Qinghe, that Western Regions person?"

Gu Xixi winced in pain, brows furrowed, and despite the pain said, "I don't understand the nonsense you're spouting!"

"Moreover..."

She said in a low voice, "You just returned and already know this so clearly—it seems your people have been watching me a lot. Even the fact that my business partners moved into my house, they report to you promptly."

"And Master Liu, using the guise of a teacher, has had the village schoolchildren exploited."

Gu Xixi's eyes filled with heavy sarcasm, "All this—did you arrange it painstakingly just to protect me?"

Mu Nan Zhao's pupils contracted sharply, "So in your heart, I'm someone who stops at nothing."

Gu Xixi met his gaze without flinching, sneering, "Otherwise?"

For some reason, Mu Nan Zhao's gaze dimmed slightly, his grip on Gu Xixi's hand gradually loosening.

Gu Xixi seized the moment to pull her hand away, quickly putting distance between them.

An Qinghe reached the west wing door, saw it open, and immediately stepped inside with a chuckle.

He held out a long string of rice cakes, clanging, "Ding ding ding ding! Xixi, look what this is!"

"I ran into your favorite forked cake at the market and had the vendor cut a piece with the most red dates!"

No sooner had he spoken than An Qinghe moved the forked cake aside and saw the two people standing off inside the house.

"Xixi, what are you—"

"Eh? Brother Chen, how did you come back?"

Mu Nan Zhao said coldly, "How so? I shouldn't have come back?"

"Or perhaps, for certain people, my return is untimely."

An Qinghe said, bewildered, "There's really no question of should or shouldn't."

"Since Xixi bought you, this place is inherently your home—you ought to be able to return anytime."

He smiled, seeking Gu Xixi's opinion, "You'd agree, right, Xixi?"

Although An Qinghe favored Xixi, he always laid things out openly, without any scheming.

But the more he did so, the more Mu Nan Zhao's sarcastic remarks fell flat, even striking a sore spot.

"What did you say?" Mu Nan Zhao's expression turned grim and somewhat frightening.

"That she bought me—do you even have the right to comment?"

Gu Xixi saw his right hand reach toward his waist, startled. Thinking a blood‑drawing soft sword was hidden there, she stepped forward several places to stand before An Qinghe.

"Don't forget what you're truly supposed to do!"

An Qinghe didn't know what had happened, but he could sense the atmosphere was off.

"Xixi, what's wrong? Could it be that I did something amiss, upsetting Brother Chen?"

Mu Nan Zhao merely stared fixedly at Gu Xixi.

After a moment of stalemate, when he lowered his eyelids, Gu Xixi actually saw in his eyes a hint of injury.

She was taken aback, and before she could think further, she heard Mu Nan Zhao say:

"No wonder my staying or leaving needs the two of you to discuss—it seems our relationship is already deep."

"To protect him, you can really go to such lengths."

Gu Xixi merely looked at Mu Nan Zhao, saying nothing.

Mu Nan Zhao suddenly said coldly, "Get out."

He lifted his gaze at the two before him, his eyes empty and indifferent.

"The Imperial Court doesn't refund those sold off as marital criminals, so I still have some right to use this house, don't I?"

Gu Xixi seized An Qinghe's arm and dragged him out of the west wing.

In the main hall, the table was laden with big and small packages, all things An Qinghe had bought in the county town.

Gu Xixi sat at the table silent, while An Qinghe held a forked cake and walked circles around her.

Forked cake: steamed glutinous rice pounded soft, a thick layer spread in the mold, smoothed and pressed, then a layer of red dates, then more glutinous rice, and so on—usually three or four layers of glutinous rice suffice.

Finally, it's steamed in a pot until the red dates are soft and mushy, then taken to the market to sell.

Cut into long triangular prisms, threaded with thin bamboo sticks like candied hawthorn skewers; viewed from the side, thick snowy‑white glutinous rice cake encloses layer after layer of reddish‑brown dates.

When out shopping, buying a piece, holding the lower end of the bamboo slice, eating while walking is very convenient, and you don't have to worry about dirty hands.

An Qinghe laughed and said, "You don't love eating this? While it's still not hard, just take a bite!"

Gu Xixi forced a smile and said, "Thanks, I'm not hungry yet."

"Let's leave it until noon when it's steamed hot, then we'll eat it together."

She thought that after beating Mu Nan Zhao and venting her anger by laying her cards on the table, the recent pent-up frustration should be released.

However, that didn't happen; she felt even worse in her heart.

An Qinghe eyed the pastry and said, "It's indeed a big piece; I originally wanted to invite Brother Chen to eat together, but he seems to be in a bad mood and doesn't want to be disturbed."

Gu Xixi suddenly burst out laughing and said, "Your remarks really sound like you're pretending to be innocent, but fortunately I know you're just naturally clueless."

An Qinghe, thinking he had mastered it, then heard the incomprehensible "Grand Enterprise language."

He frowned in puzzlement and said, "Pretending to be innocent? Natural?"

"Xixi, are you thirsty? Do you want to stay here and drink some green tea?"

Gu Xixi burst out laughing so hard that tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.

Taking up the tools and the fertilizer and potions she had prepared herself, Gu Xixi went out again.

The tea plantation at the foot of the mountain was still waiting for her.

No matter what turmoil had just occurred, nothing could stop her steps in farming.

An Qinghe grabbed the water bucket and scissors and other tools, saying he would help Gu Xixi carry these heavy items.

Gu Xixi saw that his attitude left no choice, so she didn't bother saying more and just followed him.

Just as the two of them stepped out of the courtyard, the door of the west wing opened.

Mu Nan Zhao gazed at the empty doorway, his eyes dark and inscrutable.

He had just heard her laughter.

Maybe he really shouldn't have come back this time.

Maybe he really shouldn't have come back this time.

Instead, she became wary and disgusted, thinking he was monitoring her every move.