Chapter 207: Am I That Unreliable?
“When you go back, stop by my place. I’ve prepared some things for you.” Mo Qilan spoke humbly.
Mo Ziyuan looked at him in surprise for a moment before nodding in agreement. “I understand. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go find Xin’er.”
“Xin’er? The girl His Majesty granted you in marriage?” Mo Qilan had heard his son mention this name more than once, and he wanted to learn more about his prospective daughter-in-law, who was a done deal.
He had thought about investigating Lin Xin privately to see what kind of person she was, but before he could, the matter with Qi Shi arose, and then he didn’t dare to investigate. His son already had a rift with him, and if he found out about the private investigation, it would likely spark an even bigger conflict.
“Yes.” Vigilance immediately filled Mo Ziyuan’s gaze. “What does the Duke want to ask?”
Mo Qilan’s heart ached. He hadn’t paid attention before, but now he realized that his son was guarded against him from head to toe. He forcibly suppressed his sour emotions and pretended to be calm as he said, “Father just wants to know what kind of girl she is.”
Mo Ziyuan narrowed his eyes. “When you married Qi Shi back then, you didn’t let me know what kind of person she was. Now you don’t need to understand my person. You only need to know that she is the only woman I recognize in this lifetime. Remember not to do anything unnecessary.”
After speaking, he gave Mo Qilan a warning glare. Mo Ziyuan turned, mounted his horse, clamped his legs around its belly, and galloped away.
Mo Qilan watched his back for a long time before shaking his head dejectedly, dragging his heavy legs onto the horse carriage.
“Aren’t we going shopping tomorrow? Why are you here now?” Seeing the dusty Mo Ziyuan, Lin Xin asked in surprise.
Mo Ziyuan shook his head, lifted his hand to pull Lin Xin into his arms and hold her, resting his chin on the top of her head and inhaling her fragrant scent, which finally calmed his heart.
Lin Xin was held in his arms, her nose filled with the mixed smell of dust and sweat, which was somewhat pungent, but she endured it without saying anything. She lifted her hand to wrap around his lean waist and quietly leaned against his chest.
After holding her for a while, Mo Ziyuan remembered that he had come directly from the large camp on the outskirts of the capital, having trained on the drill ground for half the day, so his body odor couldn’t possibly smell good. He quickly released the embrace and asked with a reddening face, “My smell is bothering you, isn’t it!”
Lin Xin shook her head. How could it bother her? In the apocalypse, the air was filled with rotten odors everywhere, and she had still lived for several years just fine.
Still, it was better to be clean and refreshed than sloppy.
The servants had prepared a bathtub and hot water with foresight as soon as Mo Ziyuan entered. He happily took a refreshing hot bath, feeling much more relaxed all over. He accompanied Lin Xin for dinner, set a time for going out tomorrow, and then reluctantly left.
“Are you planning to stay in the Western Frontier until the end of time? No intention of coming back?” Looking at the shopping list Mo Ziyuan had stayed up late to compile, Lin Xin asked in stunned amazement.
“No!” Mo Ziyuan also knew he had written quite a lot, but the Western Frontier was truly harsh. He didn’t want Lin Xin to live the same life as the soldiers after following him there.
“Then why buy so much? This is enough for one person to use for ten or eight years!”
“Doesn’t the saying go ‘poor at home, rich on the road’? If we prepare more adequately, the quality of life there can be slightly better. Xin’er,” Mo Ziyuan set down the list and looked earnestly into Lin Xin’s eyes. “I don’t want you to suffer with me, but I don’t want to be separated from you either, so……”
“Alright, alright, buy it all, buy everything. I can carry it anyway, so buy more.” Lin Xin really couldn’t stand Mo Ziyuan looking at her with those big puppy-dog eyes and surrendered spinelessly.
“Right, you can carry even more anyway. Why not bring some other things too.” Mo Ziyuan’s eyes lit up. He simply pulled Lin Xin to the study, picked up a pen, racked his brains, and added a few more strokes to the already very long list.
Lin Xin looked at the sky speechlessly.
Fine, anyway, she herself would benefit, so buy it all!
The two bustled around outside for a day until there was almost no space left to stand in Lin Xin’s space before they stopped.
Exhausted Lin Xin returned home and without a word threw herself onto the soft couch. She never imagined that Mo Ziyuan, such a big man, could shop so tirelessly—she, a woman, felt inferior.
“Sis, what’s wrong? Are you unwell?” Tomorrow Lin Xin would depart with the army, so Cui Shi brought Lin Nan over to see her off and deliver his gift.
“I won’t need this much! Even if I ate them as meals, it would be enough.” Looking at the half horse carriage piled with various large and small packages and bottles and jars in front of her, Lin Xin felt dizzy.
“These aren’t for you to use,” Cui Shi stood beside her, stroking his beard smugly and pointing to a large neat stack of brick-shaped paper packages stacked separately. “These are strong sleeping potions. If you encounter enemies with especially large numbers, just throw them over. One package can definitely take down a force of three to five hundred men.”
“Really?” Lin Xin’s eyes brightened. Though she wasn’t afraid of fighting, who wouldn’t prefer to save effort when possible!
“Of course. This is a formula Nan Nan and I found in ancient texts and improved,” Cui Shi glared, very dissatisfied with Lin Xin’s doubt about the potion’s effectiveness.
“Good, then I’ll note a merit for you when the time comes.”
“Give me a break!” He had been about to leave, but then thought of something and came back to instruct Lin Xin worriedly. “When using the potion, make sure to check the wind direction. Don’t end up not knocking out the enemies but instead taking down your own people—that would be a real mess.”
“Do you think I’m that unreliable?” Lin Xin rolled her eyes toward the sky.
Cui Shi said nothing, just stared at her with an “I knew it” look, making Lin Xin’s hands itch.
“Sis, sis, come here quick. I have something good for you.” Lin Nan’s arrival broke their big-eyed staring contest.
“What good thing is it?” Lin Xin haughtily glanced at Cui Shi, then turned, squatted down, and looked at Lin Nan as she asked.
“This.” Lin Nan brought his little hand from behind his back to the front and held out a small gray silk package with both hands to her.
“Can older sister open it?” Lin Xin pinched it through the fabric and could roughly tell it was a box shape, so she had a guess in her heart.
“Of course you can!” Lin Nan proudly lifted his little chin.
Lin Xin smiled and opened the small package. Sure enough, there was a deep red little wooden box inside, containing a fully processed ginseng with dense, intact rootlets—clearly something with some years on it.
“You little brat turning elbow outward, you actually gave away the bottom of Master’s box!” Cui Shi’s eyes nearly bulged out at the sight, and he blew his beard and glared as he roared.
“Master, don’t be so stingy! Older sister is going to war. What if she encounters a fatal danger? It could save a life. As long as older sister comes back alive, won’t you be able to get more ginseng in the future?” Lin Nan blinked his big eyes, painting a picture for Cui Shi.
“……You might as well anger me to death! Humph!” Cui Shi felt Lin Nan made sense, but looking at that ginseng still hurt his heart. He simply turned a blind eye and left.
