BSI Chapter 134 The Land of Gentle Comfort
Chapter 134 The Land of Gentle Comfort
"My lord, your health..."
Xie Wenyu's brows were full of shyness, and a few blushes rose on her jade-like face. The maid Shu'er beside her was also too shy to raise her head.
They hadn't noticed it last night, but when they helped Li Chong get dressed this day, they discovered that Li Chong actually had muscles.
Touching that hard body, the two of them blushed without realizing it.
Xie Wenyu's delicate hand touched him lightly, causing Li Chong's body to tremble.
She smiled gently: "My lord, you seem quite strong. How come I didn't notice it before? Could it be that you've been secretly practicing these past few days?"
Li Chong, sensing something amiss, chuckled and explained, "As you know, Yanggu County is plagued by bandits. I encountered them when I first took office. To eliminate them, I had to personally risk my life, so naturally I need to train myself to protect myself."
He is not the original body, nor is he a weak scholar.
In modern times, Li Chong wasn't exactly thin, and after transmigrating, he trained even harder, making his body even more robust.
So when Xie Wenyu touched him, he realized that Li Chong's body was a bit too strong.
Fortunately, she did not suspect anything. After all, it involved bandits, so it was normal for Li Chong to be moved and make some changes.
Sure enough, Xie Wenyu's attention was immediately diverted after Li Chong brought it up.
"By the way, I haven't asked yet. It was really dangerous when you took office, sir. Fortunately, you were able to escape unscathed."
With his hands clasped together, Xie Wenyu closed his eyes in prayer, his devotion evident.
Seeing her serious expression, Li Chong's heart fluttered.
What man wouldn't be moved if a beautiful woman were to pray for him earnestly in front of him?
"Alright." Li Chong gently pinched her cheek. "I'm fine, aren't I? In fact, I wiped out that band of bandits and got my revenge, so I guess you could say I turned misfortune into a blessing in disguise."
Xie Wenyu paused for a moment, then said reproachfully, "My lord~~~".
"Hahaha."
Li Chong laughed heartily, quite pleased.
However, when the topic of bandit suppression came up, Shu'er asked, "My lord, I heard that Cui Shi came to Yanggu County with you, didn't he? How come we haven't seen him yet after all this time?"
They all serve Li Chong and his wife. Cui Shi is also registered with Xie Wenyu. It's understandable that he didn't show up yesterday, but it's very strange that he still hasn't shown up today.
Fortunately, Li Chong had already prepared his explanation.
"Cui Shi, I originally sent him back to deliver a message, asking the family to send more guards when sending the lady here, as the road is not safe. But I had just sent him away when you arrived, so that kid probably came up empty-handed. After a few days, when he goes back and doesn't see anyone, he will naturally come back."
This reason was impeccable, and Xie Wenyu couldn't find fault with it. She even felt grateful that Li Chong cared about her, and her heart was filled with tenderness.
As for Li Chong, it's even simpler. Anyway, Cui Shiren is already dead. If he doesn't come back in a while, probably not many people will remember him.
Finally, let me add a few more words: this kid encountered bandits on the road and died, and that's the end of the matter.
In this day and age, traveling far from home is a very dangerous thing.
Later, at worst, he could send a letter to his father-in-law, asking him to take better care of Cui Shi's mother. That would be enough for Li Chong to do right by him.
"Oh, right, tell Fu Shun to arrest the people in the city who run gambling dens. Consider it a send-off for Cui Shi."
Li Chong thought to himself silently.
After a moment of distraction, Li Chong suddenly frowned and came back to his senses.
"this……"
The dress Xie Wenyu made was put on Li Chong, but the collar could not be closed properly, and the sleeves were stretched open by Li Chong's arms.
If it weren't for the fact that ancient people wore wide-sleeved robes, Li Chong doubted whether he could even put on this garment.
"It seems a bit small."
Li Chong said awkwardly.
Xie Wenyu looked remorseful: "It's too small. It was my mistake. My lord, please take it off first, and I'll correct it immediately."
In her opinion, their marital relationship had finally gotten back on track, and she had made such a big blunder, which was really inexcusable.
It would be bad if Li Chong blamed her for this.
Little did Xie Wenyu know that her husband had already been replaced.
Although they look the same, the physical differences are still objectively present. The clothes she made for the original owner would obviously not fit Li Chong.
Shu'er, standing to the side, muttered subconsciously, "That shouldn't be the case. I remember measuring it correctly. Could it be that my husband has been eating too much these days and has gotten stronger?"
Li Chong's heart skipped a beat, fearing that Xie Wenyu might overthink things after hearing this.
He quickly said loudly, "There's no rush. As the saying goes, 'A gift of a goose feather from a thousand miles away is a small gift but carries great meaning.' I have already appreciated your kindness, my lady. Let's talk about altering the clothes later. My lady, please focus on managing the household affairs first."
"Men are in charge of external affairs, and women are in charge of internal affairs. These past few days without my wife, my household has been quite chaotic, and I've had to rely on her to manage the chores~~~"
Li Chong gave a loud "Greeting," bowing strangely to Xie Wenyu.
Seeing his expression, Xie Wenyu was indeed amused: "How come you've become so funny, my lord!"
Li Chong grinned and leaned closer: "So, does my wife prefer me like this now, or like I was before?"
Xie Wenyu lowered her head shyly, her instinctive reserve preventing her from answering, but she already knew the answer in her heart.
Li Chong grinned: "Madam, think it over carefully. I'll give Shu'er some instructions."
After separating the two, Li Chong let Shu'er get familiar with the environment, and then take care of Siqi and Zhongmei more, so that she wouldn't say anything else in front of Xie Wenyu.
After introducing the three people, Li Chong finally felt a little relieved.
In the time that followed, Xie Wenyu was so focused on altering the clothes that she didn't have time to do anything else, which disappointed Li Chong.
However, Li Chong soon had no time to think about those things.
All the preliminary preparations for collecting summer taxes are complete. Li Chong is about to take charge of the tax collection, and he will send the yamen runners to various villages to collect taxes from the people. This will be a great achievement.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, summer taxes were mainly in the form of cloth and copper coins, while autumn taxes were collected in the form of grain. Therefore, there was a lot of room for manipulation in this process, and Li Chong had to keep a close eye on it to prevent anyone from causing trouble.
The collection of grain is simply a matter of large and small measures, but cloth and copper coins vary in value depending on their purity and quality. If someone really wanted to cause trouble, it would be too easy.
In order to maintain stability, Li Chong had to personally handle everything.
As he got busier, he had less energy for Xie Wenyu. Every day when he got home, all he wanted to do was collapse into bed and sleep. He couldn't muster any lustful thoughts at all.
Therefore, more than half a month has passed, and the two are still in a state of mutual respect.
However, Li Chong had completely let down his guard against Xie Wenyu, and he was even feeling fortunate that he had gained a good wife for free.
Gentle and virtuous, Xie Wenyu perfectly matched Li Chong's imagination of ancient women. Before he knew it, he had fallen for her and paid less attention to Zhong Mei.
However, while Li Chong was indulging in his love affair, he failed to notice that the love affair itself was gradually beginning to change.