TSWPF -Chapter 353 Trouble

Li Qingling chuckled softly and rubbed his face, saying his skin was much rougher than before.

Liu Zhimou looked at her, a little speechless. After a moment, he said that he was a grown man—what use did he have for such good skin?

“Pleasing to the eye.”

“Wife, am I no longer pleasing to your eye now?” Liu Zhimou looked at her with mock sadness.

Li Qingling laughed and gestured with her fingers, saying he was just a teeny tiny bit worse than before.

A teeny tiny bit?

Liu Zhimou looked at her deeply. Before she could react, he reached out, cupped the back of her head, and kissed her red lips.

After who knew how long, he finally released her slightly and asked, “Still worse?”

This man was definitely doing it on purpose. Definitely.

Li Qingling rolled her eyes at him and leaned her head on his shoulder, refusing to let him kiss her again.

Liu Zhimou curled his lips into a smile and gently stroked her back.

Even without speaking, just quietly leaning against each other, the atmosphere was unbearably warm.

It wasn’t until Xichun called for Li Qingling from outside the door that the two of them separated.

Li Qingling stood up to open the door and asked Xichun if everything was ready.

Xichun nodded and asked when they would start dinner.

“Now…” Now was just the right time.

“Alright…”

The welcome banquet that evening was incredibly lively. After the Liu family guards and the escorts got to know each other, it was inevitable that they would spar a little.

Whether it was martial arts or drinking, neither was neglected.

Seeing how harmoniously they got along, Liu Zhimou finally relaxed.

Earlier, he had been worried that the two groups wouldn’t get along. If that happened, it would be troublesome.

Thankfully, they didn’t disappoint him, and nothing he feared came to pass.

“This is the first time the house has been so lively,” Li Qingling said with a smile to Liu Zhimou.

Liu Zhimou nodded with a smile. The lively atmosphere at home infected him, and the smile on his face never faded.

“Wife, should we hire a cook for the household?” There was no cook at home. Usually, either Li Qingling cooked, or Xichun and Nianxia did. Now that there were so many more people, it wouldn’t be right to let them keep cooking—it was too exhausting.

Besides, he didn’t want his wife cooking for so many men. He would get jealous.

Li Qingling hummed in agreement, saying she was considering the issue too.

With nearly fifty mouths to feed, it really wasn’t appropriate to rely on them alone for cooking.

“You can ask Madam Hu whether she knows anyone suitable,” Liu Zhimou suggested. “It’s more reassuring if someone familiar recommends them. If not, then we’ll have to go through the labor agency.”

“Alright…” Thinking about how many more people there were now, Li Qingling felt a little worried. It seemed she really needed to consider whether to open a roast duck shop in Ninghua County.

When Li Qingning asked her last time, she had firmly said no. This time, she might have to change her mind.

With so many more people at home, expenses had increased a lot. If things continued like this, she would end up living off their savings.

No, she had to find a way to make money.

“Brother Zhimou, what do you think about me opening a roast duck shop in Ninghua County?” She shared the idea with Liu Zhimou, wanting his opinion and wondering whether opening a shop here would affect him.

Liu Zhimou frowned and thought for a moment. He said she could open one, but it had to be run by someone else, and no one could know that she was the owner.

He was afraid that if the He, Zhao, Lin, and Wang families found out, they would use it against him. He was even more afraid that if the common people knew, they would keep buying roast duck every day to repay him.

Just like before, when gifts piled up at the front gate—leaving him both amused and helpless.

Li Qingling nodded immediately and said that was fine.

If she really decided to open a roast duck shop, she would let someone else manage it and not show herself.

As long as it made money, everything else didn’t matter.

Liu Zhimou gently squeezed Li Qingling’s hand, grateful that she always considered him.

If she weren’t worried about affecting him, she wouldn’t need to hide herself just to open a shop.

He felt he was letting her down, making her suffer such grievances.

Fortunately, Li Qingling didn’t know what Liu Zhimou was thinking. Otherwise, she would definitely scold him for being silly and overthinking things.

They were husband and wife—being considerate of each other was only natural.

“My lord, let me toast you.” The escort captain walked in with a cup of wine, thanking Liu Zhimou for taking such good care of them.

Liu Zhimou released Li Qingling’s hand, picked up his cup, lightly clinked it with the captain’s, and drank it in one go.

Liu Shi, who followed the captain in, burst out laughing when he saw how straightforward Liu Zhimou was. “County Magistrate, you have great tolerance for alcohol. Come, this subordinate will toast you too.”

Liu Zhimou accepted every toast, drinking cup after cup.

No matter how good his tolerance was, he couldn’t withstand so many people coming to toast him.

After cup after cup went down, the aftereffects kicked in. He looked at Li Qingling with hazy eyes.

Li Qingling knew at a glance that he was drunk. She sighed silently and gave an apologetic smile to the others who wanted to come toast him.

“My husband is drunk. I’ll take him back first. Please continue enjoying yourselves.”

After saying that, she carefully helped Liu Zhimou away from the banquet. Next time, she definitely had to warn him again and again—he must not get drunk outside, in case someone took advantage of him.

Back in the room, Li Qingling wrung out a handkerchief and gently wiped his hands and face. Then she helped him loosen his clothes so he could sleep more comfortably.

“Wife?” Liu Zhimou opened his eyes wide, reached out to grab her hand, and called softly.

Li Qingling answered and tried to pull her hand back, but he refused. He dragged her onto the bed, clinging to her shamelessly and calling out “wife… wife…” over and over.

At first, Li Qingling responded to him. In the end, she was too tired to answer and let him keep calling.

“Wife?” When he didn’t hear her response, he propped himself up slightly and stared at her.

“Yes…” Li Qingling answered again, both annoyed and amused. “Go to sleep. Stop calling.”

Liu Zhimou gave her a foolish smile, cupped her face, and leaned in to kiss her.

Li Qingling quickly covered his mouth with her hand to stop him. His breath was full of alcohol—she was about to be overwhelmed by the smell.

“If you dare drink this much again next time, I won’t let you sleep on the bed. Do you hear me?”

“Mm—mm…” Someone muffled a protest, shook his head, and shook her hand off. He seemed to forget all about kissing her, resting his head on her shoulder instead and calling her name dependently.

He kept calling until there was no sound at all.

Li Qingling softly called him once, but there was no response.

She gently pushed him away and realized that he had fallen asleep.

She poked his forehead helplessly and muttered “drunkard,” then sighed again, carefully helped him undress, tucked him in, and went to call Nianxia to have hot water brought in so she could bathe.

The next day, when Liu Zhimou woke up, it felt like there was a hammer pounding inside his head. The pain made him frown deeply.

Li Qingling pushed the door open and saw him sitting on the edge of the bed, frowning. She immediately knew he was suffering from a hangover headache.

“Awake?” She set the sobering soup she was holding on the table, walked over, and teased him. “Does your head hurt a lot? Let’s see if you’ll dare drink that much again next time.”

Getting so drunk—what a sight.

Liu Zhimou reached out to hug Li Qingling around the waist, resting his head against her. “Wife…”

There he went again, acting spoiled. Li Qingling laughed and patted the back of his head. “Spoiling won’t help. Who told you to drink so much? You deserve it. If it doesn’t hurt once, how will you learn your lesson?”

“Wife…” Liu Zhimou lifted his head and looked at her accusingly. “You don’t love me anymore.”

“…”

Li Qingling reached out and tugged his cheek. “Alright, stop acting cute. Other people really should see you like this. Let’s see who still dares say the county magistrate is stern.”

“I won’t let others see. Only you.”

“Did you eat sugar first thing in the morning? You’re talking so sweet.”

“Wife, do you want to see whether I ate sugar or not?” Seeing his eager expression, Li Qingling shook her head and refused.

“Doesn’t your head hurt anymore?”

“It hurts…”

“Get up. Hurry and wash up. After you drink the sobering soup, it won’t hurt anymore.” Li Qingling pulled him up, pushed his back, and urged him to go wash up instead of clinging to her.

Liu Zhimou glanced back at her, dawdled over to the basin, slowly finished washing up, then strolled back to her leisurely and said, “My head hurts.”

Li Qingling rolled her eyes, picked up the sobering soup, shoved it into his hands, and told him to drink it quickly.

Liu Zhimou glanced at her again, lifted his head, and gulped it all down. Then he opened his mouth at her and said he was finished.

Such a childish man—how was he the same man who was so serious and composed when presiding over cases?

It was said that every man became a child in front of the woman he loved.

She truly understood it now.

“Very good…”

“No reward?”

“…” Li Qingling lowered her head and kissed his lips lightly. “Reward! Magistrate Liu, allow this little woman to remind you—if you don’t go to the yamen soon, Magistrate Ma will be crying as he comes to find you.”

Liu Zhimou stood up, pecked her lips twice more, then happily went to change into his official robes and walk to the yamen.

Seeing that two escorts were accompanying him today, he raised his eyebrows slightly and asked where Eleven was.

The seventh-ranked escort, Ling Qi, answered respectfully, “My lord, from today onward, Ling Ba and I will accompany you. Eleven has been assigned to other tasks.”

Liu Zhimou fell silent for a moment and called out, “Captain Liu.”

Liu Shi immediately appeared before him. “My lord, you were looking for me?”

“You’ve discussed it already?”

Liu Shi understood his meaning. “Yes. This subordinate has discussed it with Ling Yi. We will stay in the shadows, while they remain in the open.” He would follow Liu Zhimou at all times to protect his safety.

Liu Zhimou hummed in agreement and said that as long as they had it settled, it was fine. With that, he stepped out the main door.

The instant Liu Zhimou lifted his foot, Liu Shi’s figure vanished once more.

Ling Qi and Ling Ba exchanged a silent glance, full of admiration for Liu Shi’s ghostlike movements.

Truly worthy of being the Liu family guards—not to be underestimated.

When Liu Zhimou arrived at the yamen, he happened to run into Magistrate Ma, who was hurrying out in a rush.