Chapter 943: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 943: Showing Affection and a Surge of Jealousy (4)
Meeting the man's piercing gaze, Cui Ping’an nearly dropped the firewood he was holding. He instinctively averted his eyes, not daring to make direct eye contact.
While Cui Ping’an was sizing up Xiao Ruiyuan, Xiao Ruiyuan was also observing him in silence.
The young man before him had delicate features, but he looked very immature and didn’t seem particularly courageous. Even though Xiao Ruiyuan knew this person posed no real threat to him, the thought of a strange man staying in the house—one who would even be spending time under the same roof as his fiancée—made him extremely unhappy!
The atmosphere in the kitchen grew increasingly strange, even Zhen’er, who had been sneaking bites of food, noticed it. He looked up and finally saw the unfamiliar young man. Curious, he studied Cui Ping’an for a moment before walking over to Li Yan, who was tending the fire, and whispering, “Sister Yan, who is that big brother?”
Li Yan had been enjoying the show. Hearing Zhen’er’s question, she lowered her voice and replied, “That big brother was picked up by Sister Yan on the road. He’s been chopping firewood for the family all day today.”
As she spoke, she pointed to the neatly stacked pile of firewood in the corner.
Hearing this, Zhen’er immediately assumed Cui Ping’an was homeless and had been kindly taken in by his eldest sister. His gaze turned sympathetic.
Xiao Ruiyuan, on the other hand, had heard Li Yan’s words clearly. One look at Cui Ping’an’s fair and delicate neck and wrists told him that this was no commoner, nor was he someone who had been wandering without a home. His suspicion deepened—was Cui Ping’an deliberately using hardship as a ploy to gain Mo Yan’s sympathy?
Just then, Mo Yan returned from the backyard, carrying two freshly picked scallions. The moment she saw Xiao Ruiyuan, an unconscious smile appeared on her face. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Good thing I haven’t started cooking the rice yet, or there wouldn’t have been enough food.”
The gloom in Xiao Ruiyuan’s eyes instantly vanished the moment he saw Mo Yan. A gentle smile replaced his stern expression as he explained, “It was a last-minute decision, so I didn’t have time to inform you.”
Mo Yan had only been making small talk and wasn’t actually upset that he hadn’t informed her. Seeing how seriously he was explaining himself, she held back a laugh and asked, “What would you like to eat? I’ll make it for you.”
Feeling the stifling heat in the kitchen, Xiao Ruiyuan couldn’t bear for her to suffer. He shook his head slightly and said, “I love everything you make. There’s no need for anything extra.”
Mo Yan was about to say something when she noticed Li Yan giving her a mischievous grin. Clearing her throat, she decided not to press the matter and simply shooed Xiao Ruiyuan out of the kitchen. “It’s too hot in here. Go wait outside!”
But Xiao Ruiyuan was reluctant to leave. He glanced around the kitchen and spotted a fan used for stoking the fire behind Li Yan. Walking over, he picked it up and, despite his unfamiliarity with the action, started fanning Mo Yan. “I’m not afraid of the heat.”
A tall, handsome man fanning someone with a woven palm fan—it was such an unusual sight that no one had expected Xiao Ruiyuan to do something like this.
Although Mo Yan’s body had been refined by spiritual spring water and she wasn’t particularly sensitive to heat, she was touched by Xiao Ruiyuan’s thoughtfulness. After a brief moment of surprise, she let him continue.
Meanwhile, Li Yan and Cui Ping’an, both sweating from the kitchen heat, felt like they were being tormented by the couple’s affectionate display. Li Yan silently shoved more firewood into the stove, daydreaming about whether someone might fan her like that someday. Cui Ping’an, on the other hand, quietly stacked the firewood he had been carrying, feeling an even stronger longing for his childhood sweetheart far away in Yuancheng.
Dazed, he wandered to the back of the kitchen to continue chopping wood, only to run into Li Xiu and Tang Xin, who had just finished watering the vegetable garden. Something suddenly occurred to him, and he stopped Li Xiu, pointing through the kitchen window at Xiao Ruiyuan. He whispered, “Sister Li, who is that man?”
Following his gesture, Li Xiu looked inside and saw Xiao Ruiyuan fanning Mo Yan. After a brief moment of surprise, she smiled faintly and replied, “That’s Yan girl’s fiancé—Lord Xiao.”
Lord Xiao? A man surnamed Xiao? And a court official?
Cui Ping’an quickly searched his memories but found no trace of such a person in his past life. Could it be that this man’s rank was too low to be well-known? But judging by his imposing presence and strikingly handsome face, it was impossible for him to be obscure. After all, in the years before his death in his previous life, he had confined himself within the Cui residence, but he had still heard plenty about the outside world. Yet, there was absolutely no memory of this man.
This was now the second time something like this had happened. And it wasn’t just County Princess and this Lord Xiao—many other things were out of place. In his past life, the crown prince had already passed away by this time, and a new heir to the throne would be established two years later. But now, the crown prince was alive and well, and the previously prominent princes had seemingly vanished.
He suddenly couldn’t tell whether his past life had been real or just a long, long dream. Maybe all those terrible things in his memory would never actually happen in this reality…
Back in the kitchen, Xiao Ruiyuan was subtly trying to inquire about Cui Ping’an’s background. Upon learning that this was the troublemaker who had turned the Cui family upside down recently, his face instantly darkened.
Mo Yan immediately guessed what he was thinking and, exasperated, said, “He already has someone he loves. Don’t get jealous over nothing.”
Xiao Ruiyuan’s expression remained sour. “Since you know who he is, why haven’t you let the Cui family take him back? Normally, it’s just you ladies at home. It’s inappropriate for him to stay here.”
He, the legitimate son-in-law of the Mo family, hadn’t even been allowed to move in, so why should some runaway brat get to stay?
Of course, Xiao Ruiyuan would never admit that he was simply jealous…
(End of Chapter)
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