The Stepmother is Unkind

Yin Mingyu rode out for three miles, then stopped the horse and waited for Xie Qin to lead the way.

Xie Qin rode over without haste or slow, until he was parallel to her, Fang said: "Come with me."

The two turned away from the hunting ground and headed southwards, and several guards followed from a distance without disturbing them.

The entire Longyu Mountain area for hundreds of miles belongs to the royal family. There are mountain forest hunting grounds and Huangzhuang farmland. The food, fruits and vegetables obtained from farming are mostly supplied to the Beijing Palace and Longyu Mountain Palace.

The predecessor of the Liu family's village was a part of the royal farm, which was a reward from the late emperor. The Xie family's house and some other people who had houses nearby were rewarded by His Majesty for a piece of land and they built it themselves.

When he just left the hunting ground, Yin Mingyu followed Xie Qin on the same road as back to Zhuangzi. When he turned at a junction, the road became narrower and narrower until only two horses could run side by side.

The Miscanthus on the side of the road trembled in the wind, and some extended to the road, occasionally hitting the horse and her legs.

The horse doesn't like Miscanthus very much. Every time it is paddled, it will snort and make noises. Yin Mingyu took it to the middle of the road and walked behind Xie Qin's horse.

Passing through this patch of Miscanthus is a winding path through the dense forest. Looking from the entrance, the line of sight is blocked and there is no end in sight.

I drove my horse in, and tall trees shrouded my head. Light shot down through the gaps in the leaves, and light spots of various shapes fell on my face, body, and ground...

The calls of insects and birds come and go one after another, echoing each other, and playing music unique to the mountains.

Between heaven and earth, they seemed to be the only two of them besides the insects and birds, and Yin Mingyu didn't pay attention to Xie Qin at all.

A section of the soil of the two trees is still independent, and when they go up, they snuggle up and hug;

Under a large spot of light, unknown yellow flowers clustered together in clusters;

The dead tree has only a sturdy trunk at the height of a person, with slender branches sticking out, and the ants bypass it and continue to climb up;

There was a big-tailed squirrel on a tree in the distance, looking down at the person coming, but as soon as they approached, they got into the tree hole in shock.

Yin Mingyu stared at the hole with burning eyes, and suddenly said, "There should be a lot of pine nuts hidden?"

Xie Qin turned back and followed her line of sight to look up. A squirrel quietly showed its head at a round hole in the tree, and seemed to be frightened by the terrible person, and quickly retracted it.

That appearance, I don't know why it looks a bit like Xie Ce...

Xie Qin said: "...Don't worry about it, you will have it right away."

When Yin Mingyu heard this, he looked down at the cloth bag on the horse's back, opened the mouth of the bag with his fingers, and sure enough there was an oiled paper bag.

She took it out, removed several layers to reveal the pine nuts and hazelnuts inside, wrapped it up and stuffed it into her sleeve, and asked, "Lang Jun will eat these when he is outside?"

Xie Qin turned around and said lightly, "It's from Yaoqing... Yaoqing is the name of my friend Chu He. I always keep these by my side. I took it from him before I went to find you."

Yin Mingyu didn't expect Xie Qin to have a friend who always kept snacks by his side. He clamped his horse's belly again, followed up, and asked curiously, "Which official's family name is Chu in Beijing?"

Xie Qin said: "He is from Yangzhou. He was in the palace exam in the same year as me. His Majesty appointed him as Tanhua Lang. Now he is serving as a supervisor in the Imperial College."

"Superintendent?"

"Well." Xie Qin's friend Luo Tuo flashed in front of his eyes, "He worked it out on his own, saying that he was able to get through the 'hard work in the cold window' for many years, and he liked watching the students study hard."

Yin Mingyu: "…"

Xie Qin accepted her so easily. Is there a trace?

However, this kind of reason for not seeking progress... "But the family business is rich?"

Xie Qin nodded, "Yao Qing ancestor was a well-known businessman in Yangzhou, but after the new dynasty, the family business declined a lot. After his father died, he separated from his two brothers. According to him, the family wealth was meager."

Yin Mingyu understands that although he is not rich and noble, he does not have to be forced to make a living. Naturally, he can live how he wants to live.

The two chatted for a while, walked for a while, and finally walked out of the path, and immediately saw the fields as far as the eye could see, and the eyes were wide open.

Yin Mingyu sighed in admiration. Seeing Xie Qin continued to walk along the field path, he followed up, "Not yet?"

"Just ahead."

Yin Mingyu looked in the direction he pointed, there was a low mountain there, and there was nothing special about the scenery.

And she followed Xie Qin around the low mountain, and as soon as she entered her eyes, there was a clear blue spring flowing on the stone, and what was even more noticeable was the peach trees beside the spring, and the trees full of peaches.

"I came here by chance one year in the spring. When the peach blossoms were blooming, the scenery was very beautiful." Xie Qin looked at her, "I see that you seem to like peach blossoms. It happened to be nearby, so I brought you here to see."

Yin Mingyu nodded, unable to see the peaches, "Yes, I like it very much."

Xie Qin smiled slightly, took the reins from her hand, and tied the horse to the tree.

Yin Mingyu carried the Ru skirt, walked along the spring water, stepped on smooth stones, and slowly approached the largest peach tree.

I don't know how many years this tree has grown. When she stops under the tree and looks around, it is extremely lush, not as short as other peach trees. When the peach blossoms bloom in spring, it will be unforgettable.

Yin Mingyu took a few steps back, looked up at the plump peaches in the south of the tree canopy, and raised his hand to reach the ripe peaches on the lowest branch.

She stood on tiptoe and stretched her hand out, still half an arm's distance away.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her waist and lifted her steadily.

Yin Mingyu was slightly startled, grabbed the hand on his waist subconsciously, then looked at the peaches in front of Jinzai's eyes, and let go to pick them again. ?"

Xie Qin: "...you pick it up."

Yin Mingyu just said it casually. With strength, he picked some big and watery peaches, and he signaled Xie Qin to put her down until he couldn't hold her.

The peaches were placed on the ground, leaving only two, and they carefully lifted their feet and walked towards the spring.

Xie Qin grabbed her and took the peach from her hand, "The spring water is cold."

Yin Mingyu didn't argue, and stood beside him waiting for him to carefully wash the peaches and hand them over.

After the two leisurely finished eating the peaches, they planned to take the peaches back to the house. Yin Mingyu taught the guards to pick a few and bring them back to eat.

Xie Qin acquiesced, and the guards happily went to pick them before returning together.

When they returned to the Xie Family Village, the sky was already dark, and even though Madam Xie knew that they had gone out together, she was still anxious, and when she saw them, she complained: "There are wild animals everywhere, and I don't know if there are beasts, why didn't they come back earlier. "

Yin Mingyu stood silently behind Xie Qin and asked him to deal with Mrs. Xie.

Xie Qin did not argue, and let the old lady teach her a lesson.

Xie Ce stood beside the old lady, holding her great-grandmother's skirt in her small hands. After the old lady taught her a lesson, he nodded his head in support and looked at them accusingly.

Yin Mingyu poked Xie Qin's back waist with his fingers, but he didn't notice that Xie Qin's waist was stiff for a moment, and he shoved the cloth bag containing peaches into his hand.

Xie Qin held the cloth bag and held it in front of him, signaling the maid to take it.

The maid stepped forward to pick it up, and the old lady asked him what it was.

Xie Qin said lightly: "Peach, specially picked for grandmother, father and mother to taste."

Then he looked at Xie Ce and added, "Let Ce'er have a taste too."

When Mrs. Xie learned that her grandson had picked peaches by herself to honor them, she put aside everything else and immediately urged her maid to wash.

Xie Ce also stared at the figure of the maid.

However, they came back a little late, and they were about to have dinner, so the maid did not serve it immediately after washing it.

Mrs. Xie didn't ask much about where the two were going, but just glanced at Xie Qin, who was still taciturn, and Yin Mingyu, who was eating with relish.

She didn't tell Mrs. Xie what happened in Liujiazhuangzi during the day, but she went back to the bedroom at night and mentioned it to the head of the Xie family.

The head of the Xie family was serious, but he didn't criticize it. "The future mistress of the Xie family is a little bit more temperamental than cowardly, but she acts in a maverick manner.

This is also true, so Mrs. Xie was not dissatisfied with Yin Mingyu because of this.

On the other hand, when Mrs. Xie came back, she had someone deliver the "meeting gifts" to their yard.

When Xie Qin saw it, Yin Mingyu briefly explained a few words.

Xie Qin only frowned slightly when she talked indifferently about what Madam Jiang had done and when Jiang He saw Ji Saburo and Liu Erniang rendezvous, and did not express any dissatisfaction or accusation against her words and deeds.

"If you don't like it, don't be rude on the surface, don't worry about getting too close to them."

Yin Mingyu has his own set of logic for communicating with people, nodding his head at will, and skipping this matter.

After the evening grooming, the two lay down on the same bed for the third time.

Xie Qin lay upright on the bed, with one hand on his abdomen and the other under Yin Mingyu's pillow.

Yin Mingyu didn't lie down, "I'm tired today, we sleep like a still water."

Xie Qin closed his eyes and said lightly: "Indulgence is not good for health."

It didn't mean that in the first place, but Yin Mingyu looked at his arm, still didn't move, his eyes were questioning.

Xie Qinfu opened his eyes again and sighed helplessly: "How do you sleep, don't you know?"

Yin Mingyu paused, she knew it.

Xie Qin closed his eyes again and said calmly, "Besides, you were the first to do it last night. I'm not someone who can't sit still."

Yin Mingyu immediately grabbed the words and said, "Since that's the case, you shouldn't sleep with your arms in your arms. It's uncomfortable to sleep with your arms in your arms. When we return to Beijing after a few days, we'll sleep separately."

Xie Qin didn't answer, just retracted his arm and said softly, "Go to bed earlier."

Only then did Yin Mingyu lie down, but as soon as she fell asleep, her body didn't obey her orders. Xie Qin only occupied the side of the bed, which was still not enough for her to roll over.

Xie Qin sighed and stretched out his hand to wrap the person in his arms, so that he was no longer kicked and beaten from time to time.

The next day, when Yin Mingyu woke up, Xie Qin was no longer there. She didn't feel the discomfort of being restrained at night. She got up as usual and went to the main courtyard for breakfast.

As soon as Xie Ce saw her, he stared at her closely, and she was ready to follow as soon as she moved.

But Yin Mingyu just moved his body and never meant to go out. Xie Ce became a little anxious and circled around her incessantly.

Madam Xie saw Yin Mingyu sitting in her courtyard, and Xie Ce couldn't sit still if she didn't leave. She was speechless: "Go back."

Yin Mingyu slightly curled the corners of his mouth, deliberately didn't say leave, and said softly: "Grandmother, I'll stay in the village today to accompany you, so I won't go out."

When Xie Ce heard that she couldn't speak, she hurriedly shouted, "Mother, get out!"

Madam Xie glanced at him helplessly, and said to Yin Mingyu, "You don't have to accompany me, just take him to the hunting ground."

Then she told Nanny Tong to take care of Xie Ce, and waved her hands to let them go.

Xie Ce suddenly became happy and stretched out his hand to pull her up.

Only then did Yin Mingyu slowly get up.