As Tang Ming hurried away as if someone was chasing him, Zhu Changle covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.
Turning to see Qiuli, she bounced over to him and said in a singsong voice, "Qiuli, I've discovered a big secret."
Qiuli leaned against a pillar with a faint smile. "How did you figure it out?"
"It was his hands. For a man with a full beard, his hands were surprisingly smooth without a single wrinkle. Even the stains from medicinal herbs couldn't hide how delicate they were. My father takes good care of himself, but you can still see some signs of age on his hands."
Zhu Changle's eyes darted to Qiuli's hands. If Qiuli really practiced some longevity technique, he might have preserved his face, but his hands...
"Smack!"
Zhu Changle clutched her head and jumped back three paces in embarrassed anger. "Why did you hit me again?"
"Stop imagining things."
"I... I wasn't imagining anything!" Zhu Changle couldn't admit it, of course. She moved to the other side and hugged another pillar, keeping one pillar's distance from Qiuli in case she needed to escape another smack.
Amusement flickered in Qiuli's eyes. He remained silent, waiting for her impatience to get the better of her.
Sure enough, Zhu Changle couldn't hold back for long. She proudly continued sharing her new discovery, "When I was standing close to Tang Ming earlier, I took a good look at his neck. Older people usually have those circular wrinkles here."
Zhu Changle traced circles around her own neck. "Even my mother has them despite her excellent skincare. How could Tang Ming's neck be so smooth? If he had the ability to remove those, he wouldn't be stuck here in Yunbei. All the wealthy ladies and gentlemen in the Capital City would be fighting to hire him at any cost."
Although her reasoning was subjective and not entirely logical, she had hit upon something. Some things were beyond human control, like the passage of time.
Qiuli thought of his own mother, once hailed as the greatest beauty of her time. Even now, her beauty remained unparalleled, yet the traces of time were still visible.
"Tang Ming might fool others, but he can't fool me," Zhu Changle said smugly, chin lifted as she hugged the pillar. "So..."
Remembering she should lower her voice for the next part, Zhu Changle forgot she had just been hit and moved closer to Qiuli, whispering as if sharing a secret, "So I asked Aunt Feng to keep an eye on him."
"Are you worried?"
"Well, I just want to confirm what his relationship is with this place. If he's just a doctor, I'll leave him alone. Whatever he's hiding is his business. Everyone has a past, right Qiuli?"
Qiuli looked at her, his eyes containing just enough mirth to betray his good mood.
"After all..." Zhu Changle thought of something and stepped back a bit. "After all, I haven't pried into your past either, right?"
"Twenty-one years old."
"Huh? Oh! Haha, twenty-one, huh? Haha, Qiuli, you're so young!" Zhu Changle looked everywhere but at him, laughing awkwardly. Twenty-one! Only five years older than her. No wonder he was so much more capable. Maybe when she turned twenty-one, she'd be even more impressive than Qiuli!
Qiuli showed no intention of letting her off the hook, playing with his fan as he waited for her to dig herself out.
"Um... Oh right, we should go get the crabs now. Let's go, let's go get the crabs. I almost forgot." Zhu Changle's eyes lit up as she bounced off the corridor, inwardly congratulating herself on her quick thinking.
Qiuli swiftly covered his face with his fan, lowering it by the time Zhu Changle looked back.
"Hurry up."
Qiuli followed with his hands behind his back. The person in front walked without any proper form, while the one behind matched each step as if measuring the distance.
When they reached the main street, Qiuli immediately sensed a difference. Yesterday, no one would have given them a second glance, and even if they met face to face, people would have lowered their heads to avoid them, clearly expressing their desire to stay out of trouble.
But now, everyone was openly or discreetly observing them.
"Is it because I look especially beautiful today?"
Zhu Changle pretended to adjust her clothes and changed her big strides into small steps. She looked left and winked, looked right and winked, not caring what others thought, thoroughly enjoying herself. So what if they knew she was the county magistrate's daughter? She hadn't put on airs when she was the Grand Censor's daughter, so there was even less reason to do so now.
The slight wariness that had risen in Qiuli's heart instantly vanished. Watching her amuse herself, his expression softened.
Indeed, in a small place like Yunbei, what was there to fear even if the world turned upside down?
Zhu Changle couldn't keep up the act for long. She soon resumed her bouncing gait, turning back to whisper to Qiuli whenever she discovered something interesting.
"I can't believe even the main street in Yunbei is just gravel mixed with mud. It might be okay on dry days, but wouldn't it be a muddy mess with every step when it rains? The towns we passed through before all had brick roads!"
"It doesn't need to rain." Qiuli pointed to an area in front of a shop. Someone had done something to make a large wet patch, and everyone who walked through it had mud on their feet.
Zhu Changle's cheerful steps became less bouncy, but she said, "I trust my brother and father. They chose this place, so they must have done their research."
"What if they miscalculated?"
After some thought, Zhu Changle nodded. "Then we'll start over based on that miscalculation. At worst, I'll just have to stay here a bit longer!"
It was indeed something Zhu Changle would say, and it matched what he knew of the character of her father and brother. The current emperor might not have many other achievements to speak of yet, but his wise use of Zhu Maonian was certainly worth mentioning.
The saying goes that a good match between ruler and minister is ideal. For now, it seemed to fit, but who knew if issues like a minister becoming too powerful might arise between this pair when they truly shared in prosperity and power.
"Qiuli, let me tell you, don't underestimate my father and brother. They're super capable! Except for fighting, they're better than me at everything!"
Qiuli's silence made Zhu Changle misunderstand. She stopped walking and very solemnly began to tell him about her family's capabilities, her expression unusually serious, completely different from her usual playful demeanor.
"Even if you're my friend, or if you have some connection with my family, I'll still be upset if you look down on my father and brother." Zhu Changle's gaze was unwavering. "They are excellent officials with great ideas, and they'll always work hard towards their goals. They're exactly the kind of good officials my master said can determine whether ordinary people outside the Capital City live well or not. My father..."
"Your father is." Qiuli interrupted her, his tone softer than usual to soothe her agitation. "Lord Zhu has always been that way, from his youth until now, never changing."
"So you do know my father."
"This is my mother's assessment of Lord Zhu."
Zhu Changle scratched her head. What exactly was the relationship between Qiuli's mother and her father? How did she know him so well?
"It's not that I won't tell you, but it's better not to know." Qiuli seemed to know what she was thinking. "Some things are better left unknown."
Zhu Changle thought for a moment. She still really wanted to know, her curiosity was intense. But, "Would knowing affect me or my father?"
"Lord Zhu."
"Then you absolutely must not tell anyone!"
Qiuli wasn't surprised at all by Zhu Changle's reaction. Her fierce protectiveness of her family was something he had rarely seen in others.
