TSWPF -Chapter 260 Pretending

“This is Yu’er’s child.”

Old Madam Lu pointed at the little face, then introduced Liu Zhimou and the others to Madam Lu. “Children, this is your aunt-in-law.”

Liu Zhimou and the others obediently greeted her with “Aunt-in-law,” and Madam Lu smiled and responded.

Then, Madam Lu introduced the men and women following behind her to Liu Zhimou and the others.

After they all recognized each other, Madam Lu finally asked whether Yu’er had returned.

At this question, the tears that Old Madam Lu had barely held back began to flow again.

Seeing her like that, Madam Lu felt a pang in her heart and kept asking what had happened.

Old Madam Lu wiped her tears, then choked out the story about Lu Siyu’s passing.

Upon hearing it, Madam Lu’s eyes turned red. She never would have imagined her little sister-in-law was gone.

When she had married into the family, her little sister-in-law had only been eight or nine years old. She had raised her as if she were her own daughter. But now, over a decade later, all she heard was that she was gone.

“All right, stop crying now. Don’t make the children cry too,” Uncle Lu gently patted Madam Lu on the shoulder and comforted her in a low voice.

Madam Lu nodded and responded. After a long moment, she finally stopped crying.

She went up to Liu Zhirou, crouched down, and gently touched her little face. “Rou Rou, you look just like your mother.” Seeing her was like seeing the little girl herself.

Liu Zhirou smiled shyly. “I was too young when my mother passed away, so my memories of her aren’t very clear.” She only remembered that her mother was very gentle.

Hearing this, both Old Madam Lu and Madam Lu were nearly in tears again, calling out, “Child, you’ve suffered so much.”

Seeing them cry, Liu Zhirou awkwardly reached out to wipe their tears, telling them not to cry.

Seeing them cry made her want to cry too.

“All right, all right, Grandma won’t cry anymore.” Old Madam Lu wiped her tears with a handkerchief, kissed Liu Zhirou’s face, and called her her good little one.

Liu Zhirou, not wanting to make them sad, beckoned Li Qingning over to accompany Madam Lu and the others in conversation.

Liu Zhimou wasn’t very good with words, so it was better to have Ning Ning, who was articulate and knew how to cheer people up.

Hearing Liu Zhirou call her, Li Qingning came over with a cheerful smile, leaning against Old Madam Lu and teasing her, making her laugh.

Her voice was light and crisp, and she made all sorts of funny faces, making the elder ladies laugh heartily.

The sad atmosphere from earlier was completely swept away.

Liu Zhimou and the others stayed at the Lu residence until after dinner before returning home.

Having reunited with Madam Lu and the others, Liu Zhimou had resolved one worry, and now he could focus on studying in peace.

Li Qingling, meanwhile, busied herself with renovating the roast duck shop, planning to open as soon as the renovation was done.

Children like Liu Zhirou would occasionally be taken by Madam Lu and the others to the Lu residence to play.

Everyone in the family was busy with their own affairs, but life was both hectic and fulfilling.

That day, after Li Qingling’s roast duck shop was renovated, Zeng Tietou came to inform her and asked which day she planned to open.

After inspecting the renovated shop, Li Qingling decided to open three days later.

She thought that for the opening, she should invite some influential people to give the shop a strong presence, so others would know that her roast duck shop had backing and couldn’t be easily bullied.

Otherwise, if the shop became popular, others might become jealous and target it.

She wanted to eliminate this potential risk at the start.

That evening, when Liu Zhimou returned, Li Qingling asked him to help write a notice for Mr. Luo and others, inviting them to the opening.

Liu Zhimou held Li Qingling from behind, glanced at the notice she had written, and smiled. “It’s fine. Why don’t you use what you wrote?”

Li Qingling crumpled the notice in her hands, embarrassed. She said her handwriting wasn’t good, and it was better if he wrote it.

Her handwriting truly wasn’t presentable. If shown to others, they might laugh at her.

“Let’s write it together.” Liu Zhimou held her hand that grasped the brush, guiding her like a child, writing stroke by stroke.

His warm breath brushed against her ear, making her blush.

She realized he was becoming increasingly adept at flirting. Every time, he would tease her unintentionally.

Meanwhile, her own face grew ever more sensitive; a few playful touches from him would make her cheeks burn.

“Are you hot?” After finishing the notice, Liu Zhimou tilted his head, seeing her flushed face, and asked with a raised brow.

Li Qingling nodded, fanning herself with her hands, saying she really felt hot.

“Really?”

“Yes!” As she spoke, she turned her head to look at Liu Zhimou… only to find he was so close that when she turned, their lips met.

When such an opportunity presented itself, he naturally didn’t let it go. Liu Zhimou cupped the back of her head, deepening the kiss.

Slowly… in two days, they ended up on the bed, and in the end… they did everything except take the final step.

Liu Zhimou sighed, kissed her forehead, and said with frustration, “At this rate, I’m afraid I won’t be able to wait until you’re ready.”

Li Qingling giggled into her hands, mischievously replying, “Who asked you to tease me?”

You lit the fire, but can’t put it out—who’s to blame?

“Still laughing?” Liu Zhimou couldn’t resist lightly biting her lips again. Li Qingling bit back, and they went at it another round.

The next morning, when Li Qingling woke up, Liu Zhimou had already gone out.

She rubbed her sore waist, thinking bitterly: they hadn’t even consummated properly, yet she felt this exhausted.

Hearing her get up, the maid Xi Xia asked if she was awake.

Li Qingling responded, and Xi Xia brought in a basin of water for her to wash.

She usually did things she could handle herself, and Xi Xia had long been used to life in the Xue residence.

They all knew their masters were not the type to be waited on hand and foot. Things they could do themselves, they did.

The maids, fearing they had nothing to do, would busy themselves with tasks unnecessarily to avoid disappointing their masters.

“Xi Xia, have the ducks been fed?” Li Qingling asked while drying her face.

Xi Xia nodded. Normally, the young mistress would take them to feed the ducks, but today, seeing the young mistress still asleep, she fed them first.

Li Qingling nodded in satisfaction, rubbing her stomach, saying she was hungry.

Xi Xia smiled. Breakfast was ready, and she went to serve it.

After breakfast, Li Qingling took a walk around the lotus pond to check on the ducks, then went out to the roast duck shop to see Zeng Tietou.

With the opening only a few days away, Zeng Tietou’s family moved into the shop’s backyard to better manage the business.

At the shop, she saw Zeng Tietou supervising the installation of the shop sign.

The sign had been written by Mr. Luo: Li’s Roast Duck Shop.

The name was simple but easy to remember.

“Boss, you’re here?” Zeng Tietou smiled and greeted her.

Li Qingling looked at the sign covered with red cloth, pleased. “Uncle, I have some instructions for you. Come in, and I’ll explain everything in detail.” She walked in first.

Zeng Tietou gave instructions to the staff, then followed quickly.

“Uncle, have the flyers been distributed?”

“Yes, all the flyers have been handed out.” He had never seen anyone conduct business like this before and wasn’t sure if it would work.

From his heart, he hoped it would be effective.

Li Qingling nodded and carefully explained the tasks for the opening day.

Afterwards, she had Zeng Tietou repeat them back to ensure he understood.

Satisfied, she nodded and left the shop.

Walking down the street, she felt there was nothing to do at home, so she decided to buy some fabric to make two new outfits for the old man.

The old man had been wandering in front of her, constantly complaining about his worn clothes, clearly hinting he wanted new ones.

He wasn’t straightforward, leaving her both amused and exasperated, so she pretended not to understand, causing him to glare at her and walk away angrily.

Since she had free time today, she would buy some fabric and make him two new outfits to cheer him up.

However, she didn’t expect to run into Tong Wanrong at the store.

Tong Wanrong paused when she saw Li Qingling, then smiled. “Miss Li, buying clothes too?”

She had heard about the conflicts between the Jing Zhao Mansion and the Duke’s Mansion.

She both envied and resented Li Qingling. If she weren’t Liu Zhimou’s wife, how could she have Mr. Luo as a powerful backing?

She had truly gotten lucky, marrying Liu Zhimou.

Li Qingling gave a graceful, polite smile and reminded her, “Miss Tong, please call me Madam Liu, thank you!”

It wasn’t like she didn’t know Li Qingling was married. Why still call her Miss Li? Was she trying to replace her as Liu Zhimou’s wife?

Her smile stiffened. Tong Wanrong smiled again. “Sorry, I often forget you’re married.” She nearly tore the handkerchief in her hand while saying this.

“No problem.” Li Qingling shook her head and smiled. “It’s just that you’re young, and your memory seems poor. Are you ill?”

Who doesn’t know how to pretend?