Without waiting for Xiao jing to react, Li Yu’er headed straight for the main house without looking back.
Seeing her young mistress move so quickly, Xiao jing was secretly surprised.
Her young mistress hadn’t been this nimble in days.
“The doctor’s medical skills are truly miraculous, young mistress, wait for me~”
And just as Li Yu’er and Xiao jing both ran back to the main house to rest.
In the east wing, Xu Ping’an was grinding herbs, his feet on the medicine mill, steadily pressing down.
Squatting beside him was the curious, well-behaved young lady Pei Qingxuan.
“Husband, what are you doing?”
“This is grinding medicine. These herbs need to be crushed before they can be processed further.”
“Oh…”
Pei Qingxuan stared with wide eyes, looking intently.
Seeing her curious little-baby expression, Xu Ping’an couldn’t help but smile.
“What? You want to try?”
“Husband, may I?”
“Of course you can, come, sit here.”
If his wife wanted to experience it, there was naturally no question.
He stood up and offered his seat to Pei Qingxuan, then placed her feet on the mill.
“Just go back and forth like this.”
“Like this?”
Pei Qingxuan tried to apply a little force, and the stone mill immediately let out a ‘ga-zhi-zhi’ sound.
The feeling was like someone was grinding their teeth hard, and even the mill stopped turning.
“Gently, gently~ Good heavens, my mill, which I’ve used for eight years, was almost sent to its grave by your foot.”
Although he had long anticipated his wife had a lot of strength, he didn’t expect it to be this much.
This was a stone mill; even if a person stood on it with their full weight, it wouldn’t make such a terrifying sound, would it?
Wiping a bead of cold sweat from his forehead, Xu Ping’an couldn’t help but recall the nights of these past few days.
Hmm… his wife was indeed formidable.
Even the Nine Revolutions Divine Pill almost couldn’t withstand it.
“Hehe~ Husband, do you think this is okay?”
Although her strength was immense, her control was equally abnormal.
In just two tries, she had mastered the force and began grinding the medicine smoothly.
Seeing this, Xu Ping’an nodded.
“Not bad, not bad. As expected of my wife, you learn things quickly.”
The little girl, praised, immediately showed a simple, honest smile and then began to grind even more diligently.
Suddenly, there was a crisp ‘ga-zhi-ka-cha’ sound.
The stone medicine mill, as expected, met its end with that one press of her foot.
Xu Ping’an slapped his face, looking at his little wife who was looking up with teary eyes.
He couldn’t say any words of blame.
“Alright, alright, I didn’t say anything to you, don’t cry, don’t cry~ It’s just a medicine mill. We can just buy another one in the county town tomorrow.”
“Wuwuwu~ Husband, did I cause trouble?”
“Of course not. This broken medicine mill, I’ve used it for eight years and it hasn’t broken. I’ve wanted to replace it for a long time. Thanks to you, wife, otherwise I don’t know how much longer I would have used it~”
“Really?”
Pei Qingxuan threw herself into Xu Ping’an’s arms, her large eyes filled with anticipation.
“Of course it’s true. Alright, alright, don’t cry~”
“But~ but I always feel like there’s something not quite right about what you’re saying, husband?”
“Be good, that’s just your imagination~ My dear wife is the cutest. Oh right… could you get me a cup of water? I’m thirsty.”
“Mmm!”
Although she felt something was off, Pei Qingxuan didn’t think much of it.
She nodded, wiped away her tears, and turned to get the water.
Xu Ping’an watched Pei Qingxuan’s retreating figure with a smile, until she walked out of the room.
The moment the door closed, the smile on his face could no longer be maintained.
He looked at the two halves of the millboard, feeling like crying without tears.
This was the medicine mill that had been with him for eight years.
Xu Ping’an traced the familiar patterns on it, sighing, “Mill-brother, rest in peace. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a grand burial~”
With a slight sigh, Xu Ping’an stood up.
What he should be focusing on now wasn’t how to give the medicine mill a grand burial, but rather how to put away the medicine he had ground today.
He separated the debris, collected the usable powder, and finally moved the mill outside, placing it in a corner by the door.
Xu Ping’an shook his head helplessly.
It seemed he still had to do these tasks himself; his wife’s body was a bit too robust.
“Forget it, since I can’t grind medicine today, I’ll practice my calligraphy.”
Xu Ping’an went to his desk and began to grind the ink.
Just as he picked up the brush but before he could put it down, he heard the crisp sound of a horse carriage’s bells from outside the courtyard.
On the small road outside the courtyard gate, a somewhat luxurious carriage slowly stopped.
Before he could react, the curtain of the carriage suddenly lifted, and a familiar figure jumped out.
“Oh my… why is she back again!?”
Before he could go out to greet her, he saw Liu Yingying suddenly turn around and extend both hands to help an old man descend from the carriage.
Xu Ping’an’s brows slightly furrowed.
With his Chaotic Golden Eyes, he could tell the old man was extraordinary with just one glance.
Spiritual energy enveloped his body, and within his dantian, there was a thick and powerful sea of spiritual energy, constantly rotating like a vortex.
Most striking was the golden glowing core situated right in the center of the vortex in his dantian.
A Golden Core stage cultivator!
And in the late stage at that!
Xu Ping’an could almost instantly recognize cultivators like this, as the immense spiritual energy within their bodies showed no intention of being concealed.
Unlike Pei Qingxuan, whose cultivation was almost completely wasted, he couldn’t even tell if she was a martial cultivator or an immortal cultivator, let alone her cultivation level.
For cultivators who had already formed a core, their dantian would naturally emit a golden light.
Of course, this light was usually invisible to ordinary people.
Looking at Liu Yingying’s attitude towards him, if he still couldn’t figure out a thing or two, then he, Xu Ping’an, would have wasted all these years mingling in this world.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Pei Qingxuan standing at the entrance, holding a teapot.
Her phoenix eyes were slightly narrowed, with a hint of hostility, staring at the old man.
It seemed… she sensed a threat from him?
Without daring to think further, Xu Ping’an quickly stepped forward, took the teapot, and patted his little wife on the shoulder.
“Don’t be afraid, wife, your husband is here. You’re safe.”
“Husband~”
Pei Qingxuan, startled by the pat, instantly snapped back to attention, and the hint of sharp intent in her eyes immediately vanished.
“It’s alright, don’t be scared.”
Xu Ping’an first comforted his wife, then approached the courtyard gate and bowed.
“This junior, Xu Ping’an, greets Elder Ancestor Liu.”
“Hahaha~ Is this the Xu family lad you’ve been longing for? Hmm… not bad, not bad.”
“Third Great-Ancestor, what are you talking about~”
Even with Liu Yingying’s straightforward personality, she couldn’t handle her elder pointing it out right in front of the person.
Her pretty face instantly turned crimson, and her moist eyes secretly glanced at Xu Ping’an before quickly looking down again.
“So it’s the Third Elder Ancestor of the Liu family. Third Elder Ancestor gracing my humble abode truly brings honor to this place… May I ask why Third Elder Ancestor has come? If it’s for medical treatment, please forgive this junior for not understanding the ailments of cultivators, making it truly difficult to intervene.”