CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 98: REPAYING KINDNESS

The next morning, Long Yue and Li Qingmu packed two small bags and moved into the Qin Mansion with Elder Qin, who looked very excited.

The Qin Mansion had few people, only seven or eight servants responsible for cleaning, all of whom were in their forties or fifties. They were old members of the Qin Family and returned upon hearing that the young master was back.

"Young Master, the room is ready. You can move in, and if there’s anything missing, just let me know!"

"Everything is well arranged, there’s nothing missing. You’ve worked hard, Elder Qin!"

"Haha, not at all, as long as the young master is satisfied. I’ll leave now to not disturb your rest!"

Long Yue politely escorted Elder Qin out, then looked at her husband.

"There will be some peaceful days ahead, we need to quickly get our business going and accumulate wealth! Money can make miracles happen; it’s a golden truth...Right, it’s almost spring, your training should also be scheduled."

"What training?"

Li Qingmu was unpacking the small bags, arranging the contents one by one, but he panicked upon hearing his wife’s words.

He had a vague feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

"It’s what I mentioned before! After spring, I’ll teach you martial arts. You will follow me for morning exercises, we’ll build our bodies sturdy, and learn the skills well, so you won’t struggle when facing bad people in the future."

Long Yue was very excited, imagining her husband being as powerful as her, sparring every morning, which felt great. Yet, Li Qingmu felt a chill down his spine, the idea seemed too unreliable.

"Ahem, my lady, I haven’t fully recovered..."

His wife was quite intimidating. Li Qingmu thought of being dragged into training by her, and the scene was somewhat unbearable, prompting him to flee.

However, Long Yue, like her mother, was stubborn and couldn’t be swayed by ten bulls once her mind was set, so Li Qingmu was bound to suffer.

Her slender eyebrows lightly raised, she glared and said, "Li Qingmu, do you feel guilty saying that? Don’t forget how energetic you were last night!"

"Ahem..." Li Qingmu blushed and quickly explained, "No, my lady, it must have been your imagination last night!"

"Imagination? Oh..." Long Yue laughed dryly, dearly wanting to pin him down and give him a hard beating, "So last night was a dream? And I had the same dream three times?"

This talk could fool a ghost. Even if deep asleep last night, being a martial artist, her alertness would tell the difference between dream and reality.

Indeed, she couldn’t be too kind to him, or he would become spoiled!

"My lady, truly not, you must have been dreaming!"

Li Qingmu stubbornly denied, but Long Yue wasn’t afraid of his denial and coldly said, "Need me to recount last night’s battle for you? The first dream was at Hai hour, the second at midnight, the third at Chou hour?"

"My lady!" Li Qingmu’s face changed dramatically, knowing he’d been caught by his wife. Seeing her sleep deeply, he hadn’t touched her in months, so sneakily indulged, which resulted in...

"I was wrong, my lady..."

"Wrong or not, morning exercises start tomorrow!"

Long Yue was immensely domineering, which left Li Qingmu depressed.

The next day, she fetched a small whip, smiling at her sleepy husband, "Honey, wake up!"

"My lady..."

In the morning, with perfect sunshine, Li Qingmu was dragged from the warm bed by his little wife into the chilly courtyard.

"Young Master! What are you doing?"

Elder Qin, dutifully protective, quickly ran over to ask, unwilling to see him suffer in the cold wind.

"Training!" Long Yue patted the whip in her hand and smiled, "Elder Qin, you might not know; he was nearly killed by mountain bandits while traveling to the provincial capital, so I’ve decided to teach him martial arts from today, to prevent future helplessness against wrongdoers!"

Seeing Li Qingmu shivering in the cold air, Elder Qin felt heartache, but hearing Long Yue’s explanation, he nodded vigorously: "Right, right, Young Madam is absolutely correct, Young Master really needs some self-defense skills, otherwise how would he face trouble later?"

Li Qingmu, "......"

"Honey, stop dawdling, come, start running with me, warm up, then train!"

"Oh, my lady, slow down..."

"No, running fast is better!"

"......"

Thus, two figures appeared running in the courtyard of the Qin Family Mansion, Long Yue leading, Li Qingmu following. Though tiring at first, gradually, they got used to the rhythm.

As the morning sun spread across the land, warming them, the morning practice ended.

Long Yue watched Li Qingmu’s slightly flushed face and happily said, "This is great, we’ll keep following this rhythm, and once you’re stronger, I’ll teach you hand-to-hand and blade techniques!"

"What?"

Li Qingmu was baffled, hand-to-hand was understandable, but blade technique? Shouldn’t it be swordsmanship?

Noticing his confusion, Long Yue pouted and said, "The assassin who tried to kill you last time, was he wielding a sword or a blade?"

Li Qingmu recalled, "It was a blade! The scene is unforgettable!"

"That’s crucial! Blade techniques are powerful and lethal; swords are too lightweight, unable to withstand a hefty blade!"

Li Qingmu was speechless; although he wasn’t going to battle, he followed his wife’s orders.

As Long Yue predicted, the next period was quite peaceful, routines developed: morning training with her husband, managing the Qin Family Embroidery Workshop’s business, handling accounts, and working together with Father Xiang in the medicine fields.

Fortunately, Father Xiang was literate, and with talented people around, the medicinal planting techniques she documented weren’t a problem for them.

After this busy spell, spring arrived, and Long Yue knew it was time to fulfill her promise.

She had said before, to enable the entire village to grow medicinal plants and make money, Wang Lizheng had helped her greatly, now it was time to give back.

"Young Master, Young Madam, where are you heading?"

Following Long Yue’s directions, Elder Qin loaded two bags of goods onto a carriage, he’d seen the contents, mostly seeds, but was unsure what the Madam intended to do with so many seeds?

"Going to Qingshui Village. Their village chief helped me, it’s only right to reciprocate; these are medicinal seeds, plant them, and next year they can earn substantial silver."

Elder Qin nodded repeatedly, praising, "Truly the descendant of our master, just as grateful and reciprocative, excellent, excellent, truly splendid!"

Thus, the carriage, with the young couple embarked, headed to Qingshui Village.