Chapter 227: The Fruit of Southern Zhao Is Ripe

May 11th.

Greetings, Steward Hu~

Hehe, greetings, Mr. Zhang~

In the afternoon, Hu Couhe sat in the shade of the estate gate, waving a cattail fan. Whenever a neighbor passed by, they never forgot to greet him, the head steward of the Chu County Dukes Residence.

Make Do enjoyed this feeling very much.

But in his opinion, being a steward was not that easy; he didn’t know how many things he had to worry about every day.

For example, since the ‘Little Madam’s’ confinement was ending tomorrow and she would return to the estate, he had already booked a table at the Deyue Restaurant at the end of the alley to welcome her back.

Cypress branches for cleansing the body and a brazier to ward off bad luck had all been prepared in advance.

Confinement, after all, was probably similar to being in jail.

Following the procedure for a prisoner’s release to welcome the only mistress of the Chu County Dukes Residence’s inner courtyard was sure to be correct.

Besides these trivial matters, he was also shouldering the security work for the entire Chu County Dukes Residence.

Their own young Lord was now a favorite of the imperial court.

Every day, an endless stream of various people came to pay visits or deliver invitations; he had to keep his eyes sharp. Gifts that shouldn’t be accepted couldn’t be accepted, and people who shouldn’t enter absolutely couldn’t enter.

May I ask~

While he was pondering, he heard a clear, crisp voice ring out, ‘Is this the Chu County Dukes Residence?’

Hu Couhe looked up and saw a young woman in a green cloth dress, carrying a small bundle, standing below the steps.

Although this woman was dressed like a farm girl, her appearance was beautiful, though her expression was very cold.

Hu Couhe’s heart immediately became alert. He stood up and asked in return, ‘I don’t know what business you have, young lady?’

I’m looking for… Ding Suian~

Oh my, to dare call his Lord by his name directly, the relationship must be quite deep.

It’s over!

It must be a love debt the young Lord incurred outside, and now someone has come looking for him!

Hehe, young lady, you’ve come to the wrong place. The person you’re talking about isn’t here.

Hmm?

Zhao Ning’s moist, naturally alluring eyes glanced at the ‘Chu County Dukes Residence’ plaque above, and she asked in confusion, ‘Isn’t Ding Suian the Duke of Chu County?’

Hu Couhe, who originally wanted to cover for his boss, knew he couldn’t hide it anymore, so he had to say, ‘Uh, I mean, the Lord is currently not in the estate.’

Oh~

Seeing that the farm girl had no intention of inviting her into the estate to wait, she did not display any Life Qi. She carried her small bundle, walked over to the locust tree opposite, found a stone bench, sat down steadily, and waited quietly.

She had the air of someone who wouldn’t give up until she saw the person.

Hu Couhe was very anxious. This was a blockade!

He had to quickly send someone to inform the young Lord about this. He walked back two steps before remembering that AZhi had gone out early this morning and wasn’t home.

Afternoon, at the hour of Shen.

Ding Suian and his group rode back from outside the city under the hot sun. Over the past two days, they had preliminarily verified the fields and residences involved in the rebellious Prince’s case.

Aside from the imperial-bestowed manors, Prince Anpings Estate did not have much real estate under its name.

However, the Cui family, who were in-laws of Chen Duan and also accomplices in this case, had thousands of hectares of good farmland, and their villas and gardens were everywhere.

After excluding the parts that needed to be returned to the commoners they had forcibly seized, quite a lot still remained. Of course, the bulk naturally belonged to Princess Xingguo, but as the main person in charge of this case, it wouldn’t be difficult for little Ding to acquire a garden through ‘redemption’.

He had the intention of setting up a manor outside the city.

Old Ding still refused to move in with him, so he would simply get him one, so that he would have a place to escape the summer heat in the future.

However, Old Ding had been very strange recently. Ever since the night of Chen Duan’s rebellion, Ding Suian had gone to Chilao Alley several times, but Old Ding was either not there, or even if they occasionally bumped into each other, he would always hurriedly leave under the pretext of ‘official business’.

It seemed like he was deliberately avoiding Ding Suian, not wanting to have a deep conversation with his son.

Lord, young Lord~

Unconsciously, Ding Suian and his group returned to the Nine Gates Patrol Yamen, when suddenly they heard a series of anxious, low calls.

Looking back, it was Mr. Zhang who ran a bookstore on Suimian Street.

Ding Suian couldn’t help but be curious. He dismounted and stepped forward, ‘Mr. Zhang, why are you here? Are you waiting for me?’

Young Lord~

The enthusiastic neighbor, Mr. Zhang, looked left and right, stepped forward, leaned in to his ear, and said in a startled tone,’Something bad has happened!’

Ah? What’s wrong?

Steward Hu asked this old man to come and inform the young Lord.

Mr. Zhang’s voice lowered even more, ‘An hour ago, a young lady stormed into the estate, insisting on finding… She called the young Lord by his full name directly.’

Old Zhang was a warm-hearted person, and he took the opportunity to offer advice like an experienced person: ‘This kind of thing can be big or small. Young Lord, it’s best to hide for a while to avoid being blocked at the door and making a scene. Or find someone to give that young lady some money to send her away, so as not to affect the young Lord’s official reputation.’

What is all this about?

Ding Suian was confused. Looking at Old Zhang’s mysterious expression of ‘we are all men, I understand too’, he roughly understood that this was probably a melodramatic scene of a heartless man who abandoned his lover, a good young lady who was played with and then cruelly discarded, and then came knocking at the door!

And he, the dignified Duke of Chu County of Great Wu, was the male lead of this event.

Who is this good young lady?

Night Contain? Impossible. Besides, she wasn’t a ‘good’ young lady either.

Xu Jiuxi? Even less likely. She was so ripe she was dripping juice; no one would call her a ‘young lady’.

Steward Hu couldn’t leave, so he entrusted this old man to come and tip off the young Lord. Young Lord, this old man immediately closed the bookstore, didn’t even do business, and ran all the way here.

Old Zhang was still claiming credit, and Ding Suian cupped his hands, ‘Thank you.’

He immediately turned and mounted his horse. Let’s see, just where did this bad woman come from to ruin my clean reputation!

Young Lord, you can’t go~ It’s best you don’t show your face!

Behind him, the warm-hearted Old Zhang’s advice faded into the distance.

Heh, can’t go?

What’s there to be afraid of?

My shadow is crooked, but I don’t fear a straight body!

Suimian Street.

In the afternoon, when the summer heat had not yet dissipated, pedestrians on the street were sparse.

Under the old locust tree opposite the Chu County Dukes Residence, a tall and slim figure sat upright in the shade. If not for the warm summer breeze passing through the mortal world occasionally playfully lifting the corner of her skirt, she would have seemed like a cold jade sculpture.

It seemed that if no one disturbed her, she could wait until the end of time.

Hu Couhe was becoming more and more nervous. This was a tough customer!

Da da da~

Just at this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly rang out at the end of the long street, instantly breaking the afternoon silence.

The ‘jade sculpture’, which had been like a dead object, finally reacted. Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her clear, alluring eyes, which had been looking at the ground, turned.

Instantly, she was injected with vitality.

A spirited black steed was rapidly approaching.

The person on the horse’s face became clearer and clearer.

The ‘little farm girl’ stood up involuntarily. The mottled sunlight passing through the tree branches cast onto her face, still maintaining her usual coldness.

Only, her breathing became rapid, and her hands hanging by her sides could not help but start to tremble slightly.

Whoa~

Neigh~

A few breaths later, Ding Suian rode close and reined in his horse.

Mythical Beast’s front hooves rose into the air, and it let out a clear, resounding neigh. It gave a very pretentious entrance.

The moment their eyes met, Ding Suian’s Adam’s apple rolled, surprise appeared on his face, and he immediately dismounted and walked quickly a few steps, ‘ADu, why are you here!’

The Chu County Dukes Residence’s employee number 001, the loyal little Hu, who was just planning to step forward to help resolve the situation, couldn’t help but stop in his tracks upon hearing this.

The scene before him seemed a bit different from what he had imagined.

…

Under the shade of the tree, Zhao Ning opened her mouth, but because she was too emotional, she couldn’t speak.

She slightly tilted her translucent, fair face, and wateriness, as if substantial, rippled in her clear, alluring eyes. The phrase ‘I miss you’, which had originally lingered in her heart countless times, turned into a dream-like, soft murmur when she was about to speak, ‘The fruit of Southern Zhao is ripe, I brought some for you to taste~’

After saying this, she took the small bundle off her shoulder.

As if to prove the legitimacy of her coming from thousands of miles away, she added in a low voice: ‘They are all specialties of Southern Zhao, you usually… can’t eat them in Central Heaven.’

Hahaha~

Ding Suian laughed heartily and took Zhao Ning’s hand, ‘Let’s go, let’s go home~’