He gently caressed her soft, pliant fingers, her lips like vermillion, her spirit like a nimble serpent.
Sleepless nights spent with his beloved, and as dawn broke, another day began.
It was early morning, and despite a sleepless night, Xu Ping’an was still full of vigor.
He couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly as he looked at Pei Qingxuan, sound asleep beside him.
“This Nine-Nine Spirit Rejuvenation Pill is truly worth it. I haven’t slept for several nights, yet I’m still full of energy… worthy of its name, ‘Spirit Rejuvenation’.”
He gently brushed aside a few playful strands of hair from her beautiful face, watching his wife frown and occasionally pout in her sleep.
She looked so lovely.
“Hmm, it’s about time to get up.”
The morning sun streamed into the courtyard, illuminating the vibrant greenery within.
The aroma of a few herbs in the medicine garden was particularly sweet today, indicating they were likely nearing maturity.
Xu Ping’an got up, covered her with the blanket, changed into a new set of clothes, and admired himself in the mirror for a moment, making sure nothing was amiss before stepping out of the room.
The East and West wing rooms were directly opposite each other.
Coincidentally, as he pushed his door open, the door opposite also opened.
Xiao Jing was yawning, holding an unusually shaped… err, chamber pot.
No, it wasn’t the kind with a round, small opening.
It was a women’s specific design.
The opening of a normal male chamber pot is cylindrical, making it convenient for men to use.
However, this made it inconvenient for women.
Thus, the ancients were very clever, dividing the opening of the women’s chamber pot into two parts.
The opening and the body of the pot could be separated.
The entire opening was like a slightly deeper, narrower fish dish, oval-shaped, with a very narrow slit for water to pass through, and a lid to prevent the spread of odor.
“Good morning, Sir.”
“Ah… err, morning.”
Xu Ping’an looked at Xiao Jing with a slight awkwardness.
Xiao Jing was still groggy.
Hearing Xu Ping’an’s somewhat embarrassed reply, her face flushed slightly, and she quickly hid the chamber pot behind her back, her voice stammering.
“Sir… Sir is up so early. You’re up at Mao Chu already?”
Mao Shi is between 5 AM and 7 AM.
To easily distinguish between segments of a two-hour period, the ancients divided each two-hour period into two parts: ‘Chu’ (初) and ‘Zheng’ (正). From 6 AM to 7 AM is Mao Zheng, while 5 AM to 6 AM is Mao Chu. Basically, each represented an hour.
“Yes, I’m up. Err… you’re busy, I’m going to check the medicine garden.”
This situation was genuinely a bit awkward.
In this era, there were strict distinctions between men and women, and scenes like this were almost impossible to encounter.
But there was no helping it; this was the environment of the courtyard now.
He figured such awkward situations would probably happen frequently in the future, so it was better to get used to it.
He hurriedly walked out the main gate, took a deep breath, and then headed straight for the medicine garden.
He knelt in the garden, examining each flower, and after more than an hour, he had identified which herbs were close to maturing.
“Sir is truly an early riser. I just got up and saw you were already tidying the medicine garden. Sir truly has a calm and refined mind. A rough fellow like me wouldn’t have such patience.”
Zhao Pingzhi, who had arrived at the medicine garden at some unknown time, was chatting with Xu Ping’an.
“It’s nothing, just a habit. Besides, these herbs are quite precious, so I have to be a bit more attentive.”
“I see. Please don’t mind me, Sir. Old Zhao here has spent most of his life in that kind of environment, so I don’t know much about this. Sir, what kind of herbs are these that you’re growing? I heard that most herbs need to be found in the mountains. Why are you growing them yourself?”
Zhao Pingzhi walked over with a bucket, scooped out some water, and sprinkled it into the garden.
Xu Ping’an looked at the water droplets on the tender green leaves, quite satisfied.
“The herbs in my garden cannot be found outside.”
Of course they couldn’t.
His medicine garden was also provided by the system.
This garden allowed herbs to grow and mature normally, regardless of their properties.
For instance, there were a few Qilin Fruits there.
Normally, they would require the fresh blood of a Qilin and prolonged exposure to the aura of the divine beast to grow properly.
Similarly, the Dragon Saliva Trees also needed prolonged exposure to dragon energy to mature.
There were also Phoenix Flowers, Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, and a series of other rare heavenly treasures.
Just by their names, one could imagine how difficult these items were to find outside.
One such item appearing would be enough to cause countless people to fight over it.
“I see.”
Zhao Pingzhi didn’t understand these things.
After all, he wasn’t keen on growing flowers and plants, though he often helped with farming and growing grains at home when he was a child.
“Then the herbs you’re growing, Sir, must all be precious varieties?”
“Something like that.”
Zhao Pingzhi immediately patted his chest, making a slapping sound.
“Since that’s the case, I understand. Sir, rest assured, I, Old Zhao, guarantee I’ll take good care of these herbs for you!”
“Then I’ll trouble you.”
Regarding the small incident that happened last night, although he was a bit angry at the time, it was only momentary anger, and he didn’t hold a grudge.
Furthermore, he had never treated Zhao Pingzhi as a servant.
If the other party wanted to work, he would just water the plants; nothing else was needed. After all, this garden didn’t require fertilization.
“Sir, I need to go to the county town today. Please take care of my young lady.” Zhao Pingzhi changed the subject, bringing this matter up.
Hearing that, Xu Ping’an simply nodded. “It’s nothing, rest assured.”
He turned and went to the east wing room alone, took out a few pieces of jade from the medicine cabinet, wrapped them in silk cloth, and then came to the courtyard.
Standing in the center of the courtyard, he looked left and right.
Slowly, he closed his eyes.
Instantly, the overall appearance of the small courtyard appeared in his mind: a two-entrance courtyard, with two wing rooms in the front and a three-room back wing room in the rear.
The outer perimeter was enclosed by waist-high wooden stakes, and the front courtyard had a fence.
Directly opposite the courtyard gate, on the right was a fish pond, and on the left was the medicine garden.
He secretly made his decision, then busied himself for a while with the wrapped jade stones, reassembling the array.
After all, the original array had been destroyed when the house was built.
Finally, he returned to the main hall, casually adjusted the position of the decorations on the central table, signifying the official activation of the array.
Xu Ping’an looked at the mist gradually swirling around using his Chaos Golden Eyes, a satisfied smile on his face.
This mist was the product of the surrounding spiritual energy and earth energy moving after the array was activated.
This situation wouldn’t last long; it would gradually dissipate once the array completely stabilized.
“Hmm, that’s about it for this morning. I’ll go make breakfast first. My wife will be hungry when she wakes up.” Xu Ping’an thought of his wife, and with a happy smile, he entered the kitchen.
But just as he picked up the cleaver to prepare today’s breakfast, the sound of horse bells came from outside the courtyard.
“Xu Ping’an!”
Hearing this voice, Xu Ping’an’s heart skipped a beat.
Through the window lattice, he saw a young woman standing at the door, dressed in a lotus-purple long dress, with a beige lotus brocade sash tied around her waist.
Today, Liu Yingying seemed to have carefully dressed up.
Her figure was graceful, even more commanding than Pei Qingxuan’s, and she stood there delicately.
Her beautiful eyes shimmered, seemingly with affection, and also shyness.
Her long hair cascaded behind her, and the ends of her dark locks were tied with a silk bow.
Her slender hands were elegantly clasped, her ten fingers like white jade, flawless and pleasing to the eye.
She gently brushed her hair with her fingertips, like a captivating young woman in the throes of first love, awaiting her lover.
Her charming smile and beautiful eyes made her a truly exquisite woman, naturally endowed with beauty. What a lovely, pure young woman, waiting for her lover.
Then, a sudden chill washed over him, making Xu Ping’an shiver and tremble.
The window lattice of the west wing room was pushed open at some point, with the prop stick resting against it.
A delicate wrist reached out of the window, the light green wide sleeve pulled back to the middle of her lotus-like arm, revealing her fair, soft skin.
A pair of foxy eyes, with three parts sharpness and seven parts resentment, stared at him.
His scalp instantly tingled.
Yes, secretly watching him from beneath this window lattice was… that young lady who lived in the west wing room.
Xu Ping’an sighed and walked out of the kitchen in the east wing room, entering the courtyard.
As his front foot stepped out of the kitchen door, a seven-tenths joyous expression instantly surfaced in the shimmering eyes of the young lady from the Liu family.
The remaining three-tenths was a hint of shyness.
Liu Yingying stood at the courtyard gate, not stepping inside, but bowed her head slightly, though her imposing figure was still hard to conceal.
Her voice was slightly shy, but even more so, it was filled with cheerful anticipation.
“Ping’an~ I, I’m here…”