Chapter 58

Lu Jingzhe didn’t ask any further. They walked along the mountain path together. Thanks to Guo Yumei’s earlier clearing, there were no more branches blocking the way. Their walk was smooth.

In the mountains, the moon seemed to rise especially early. The sun hadn’t completely set yet, and it was already hanging eagerly on the treetops.

They walked home, one behind the other. They passed through a small bamboo forest. The wind rustled the bamboo leaves, and there were still a few women in the fields outside the bamboo forest, chatting as they picked sweet potato leaves.

Xia Qingning hadn’t paid attention to what they were saying, but when her name entered her ears, she couldn’t help but slow down.

“Xia’s Qingning girl is back. Did you see her?”

“How could I not? She came back with Lu’s second son.”

“You know, Lu’s second son, he never had any warmth in him when he was little. He’s still the same when he grew up. His face is as cold as frost! He never smiles.”

“Well, that’s because of what happened with his father. If you ask me, that Su Hui was a real blockhead. Such a good-looking young woman, a sent-down intellectual, why couldn’t she find a man anywhere in the ten miles around? She had to pick a stinky old Ninth Category with a child.”

“How is she a blockhead? Didn’t Lu Baichuan eventually have his label removed and go back to the city? She’s smart. Now that she’s with Lu Baichuan, I don’t know how good her life is.”

“Good my foot! I heard she’s already dead!”

“Ah! Dead? Sigh, what a pity. She suffered a lot with Lu Baichuan, but she didn’t enjoy any good fortune.”

“I think it’s probably because she’s unlucky with her second son. Look at his cold face. It makes people shudder. People like that bring disaster.”

Xia Qingning listened to these words from behind the bamboo forest. Her emotions surged. She was even angrier than Lu Jingzhe.

Those injustices were already unfortunate enough. Now they were becoming gossip for people to talk about over tea. They didn’t know how ignorant and vicious their speculations and judgments were.

“I’ll go tell them to stop.” Xia Qingning, who was always gentle, couldn’t help but turn around and walk out, her face wrinkled with indignation.

Before she could take a step, a large, strong hand reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her.

Xia Qingning looked at Lu Jingzhe with a puzzled expression, but she saw that he was calm, his expression unreadable, as if he wasn’t affected by those words at all. She only heard him say two words in a deep voice:

“No need.”

Xia Qingning was both angry and heartbroken. She blurted out:

“Why are they saying such things about you and your mother?”

Lu Jingzhe’s expression shifted slightly at her defense, but he didn’t let go. He said in a low voice:

“There’s no point in arguing with them.”

Xia Qingning knew that he couldn’t possibly not care. His clenched fist had already betrayed him. Those were his closest people, the ones he couldn’t bear to lose, the ones he wanted to protect most!

He was just being patient, unwilling to engage in a pointless argument with these ignorant country women.

Xia Qingning gradually calmed down. She knew that if things got out of hand, it would only make Lu Jingzhe more embarrassed. So she didn’t insist on going to reason with them.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Lu Jingzhe was about to let go of her arm, but the next second, his hand was suddenly grabbed by her.

Her hand was small, and she seemed to be using a lot of strength, covering his hand. He could feel her five fingers constantly pressing down, as if she wanted to give him some strength.

The warmth from her palm spread outwards, like a warm spring flowing. His indifferent eyes flashed with surprise. He hesitated for a moment, but didn’t pull his hand back.

Xia Qingning’s heart was full of sincerity at that moment. She didn’t have any other thoughts. She didn’t know how to comfort him, so she grabbed his hand in a moment of urgency. She wanted to give him some warmth and strength, to let him feel that the world wasn’t all bad.

Her eyes were clear and bright, and she looked at him gently, saying confidently:

“They’re all talking nonsense. What’s this about being unlucky or not? It’s all feudal superstition. You’re good, really, really good. So don’t pay attention to what they say.”

“Yeah.” Lu Jingzhe responded, his eyes filled with tenderness and affection. He whispered a single word: “Okay.”

Xia Qingning then noticed that she was still holding his hand. She suddenly felt a little embarrassed. To cover it up, she could only smile, then awkwardly withdrew her hand.

She secretly observed Lu Jingzhe. Finding that he didn’t seem to mind and didn’t show any signs of disapproval, she felt relieved. They were about to continue walking when they suddenly heard those village women chatting again:

“Huh, I remember that the Xia girl was engaged to Lu’s eldest son. How come it suddenly became the second son?”

“Yeah, maybe they don’t care about those distinctions in the city. They’re brothers after all. It doesn’t matter who she marries.”

“How can you not care? It was because the girl’s father died saving Lu’s eldest son that they arranged this marriage. The other family is from the city, and she’s a country girl. How could she choose who to marry?”

“That’s right. She should have married the eldest son. Why is she marrying the second son now?”

“I think it must be that the girl actively seduced the second son or used some kind of dirty trick…”

Those aunties might gossip, but they were pretty accurate!

Xia Qingning had just comforted Lu Jingzhe, and suddenly the fire was directed at her. She gave a forced smile, pretending not to care, and walked forward quickly.

As they walked out of the bamboo forest, Xia Qingning suddenly heard Lu Jingzhe “cough” deliberately. Hearing the sound, the women immediately stopped talking and looked over.

Xia Qingning walked in front, her back straight. She wouldn’t show any weakness in front of these gossipy women. As she was walking, a large military uniform was draped over her shoulders.

This action instantly reminded her of the first time they met. When she was most embarrassed and helpless, he had also used a large piece of clothing to wrap her and silently helped her out of her predicament.

But unlike the simple help he had given her last time, this felt more like protection.

“It’s getting windy.” He said as he lowered his head to help her adjust the clothes. “Don’t catch a cold.”

His voice was cold, but it was magnetic and pleasant to hear.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he took her hand and walked forward calmly.