Chapter 1 Marriage
March, Jinqiu County.

After a spring rain, the apricot blossoms that were in full bloom fell to the ground.

The slight chill in the air made Xia Mingyue shrink her neck unconsciously.

Mrs. Lu, who was applying powder to Xia Mingyue's face, paused for a moment, but the smile on her face did not diminish at all, "Madam Xia... No, from now on I should call you my sister-in-law."

"My brother is good-looking, young, and well-behaved. Although he doesn't come back often because he's in the army, you're definitely there for him to eat and drink. He's made some military achievements recently and has been promoted to captain. His monthly salary will be much higher. You can just wait to enjoy the good life after you marry him."

Upon hearing this, Xia Mingyue lowered her eyes and remained silent.

Xia Mingyue was originally from Chuzhou. While fleeing the war, she was separated from her family and fell into the hands of human traffickers. After many twists and turns, she finally arrived here.

Xia Mingyue was depressed all day long because she was worried that she would be sold to a dirty place and live a life worse than death. She caught a cold and passed away.

She was originally Xia Mingyue from modern China. With her superb cooking skills, she became a leader in Chinese catering and had a high reputation both domestically and internationally. However, when she was diving with her friends, an accident occurred and her oxygen tank fell off...

After opening her eyes, before she had time to digest the few memories inherited from the original owner, Xia Mingyue was bought by Lu for ten taels of silver, brought home, washed and dressed, in preparation for their marriage that evening.

Compared to being displaced and most likely being sold to a brothel, being bought as a soldier's wife who would never have to worry about food and drink was indeed a good destination in the eyes of everyone.

but……

Xia Mingyue pursed her lips.

Seeing that Xia Mingyue didn't say much from beginning to end, Mrs. Lu let out a light breath and pinned the gorgeous peony flower to her temples, "Sister-in-law, please wait patiently for a while, Qi Yan will be here soon."

Lu Qiyan is the brother with excellent character mentioned by Lu.

To celebrate Lu Qiyan's wedding today, Mrs. Lu killed a chicken, bought two pounds of top-quality pork belly, cooked two main dishes, and asked her own Zhao Youcai to accompany Lu Qiyan for a couple of drinks.

It’s almost time.

As soon as Mrs. Lu finished speaking, Lu Qiyan walked across the yard and entered the main room.

"Thank you, sister-in-law, for helping me with my wedding." Lu Qiyan immediately thanked her.

"You are being so polite again." Mrs. Lu said with a smile, "You and Youcai have a life-long friendship. As your sister-in-law, isn't it my duty to help you?"

"My sister-in-law is a little shy and doesn't like to talk much, but she is really pretty. I have asked around for you. She has read a few books and can write a few words. She is exactly the type you said you liked."

After deliberately lowering her voice, Mrs. Lu raised her voice again with a smile on her face, "Okay, it's getting late now, and I won't disturb you. You should go to bed quickly."

"Sister-in-law, take care." After Lu Qiyan sent Lu out, he closed the gate.

After returning to the main room, Lu Qiyan sat on the bench.

In the light of the oil lamp burning on the table, Xia Mingyue took the opportunity to look at Lu Qiyan.

He has a tall and straight figure, a handsome appearance, regular facial features, especially a straight and high nose bridge, and a pair of eyes as deep as pools. He can be called a handsome man.

Moreover, his every move revealed a sense of gentleness and elegance. Even though he was wearing armor and reeked of alcohol, it was still difficult to conceal Lu Qiyan's steadiness and composure.

A graceful gentleman.

This was Xia Mingyue’s first impression of Lu Qiyan.

Is such a person really a military leader?
Xia Mingyue couldn't imagine what it would be like for such a person to take up a sword and kill the enemy.

Ignoring Xia Mingyue's suspicious and probing gaze, Lu Qiyan coughed lightly, "I heard from Sister Lu that your name is Xia Mingyue, and you are originally from Chuzhou."

"Yes." Xia Mingyue nodded.

"Who else is home?"

"There are also parents, brothers, younger brothers and sisters."

"Can we still find them?"

"It's hard to say." Xia Mingyue answered truthfully according to the memory received from the original owner, "My father originally planned to go to Yuezhou to seek refuge with distant relatives, but he didn't expect that Yuezhou was already in chaos before he arrived. My father decided to go southwest to see if he could find a place to stay. As a result, he encountered robbers on the way, and we got separated..."

In other words, her family was hard to find, and she had nowhere to go. Lu Qiyan was silent for a moment, then stood up and said, "It's getting late, go to bed early."

sleep?
Xia Mingyue's eyelids twitched.

This Lu Qiyan was indeed born with a good appearance and his personality didn't seem to be unpleasant, but she...

I'm not really ready to enter the bridal chamber with him.

Xia Mingyue tugged at a corner of the wide garment given to her by Lu, wondering whether she should use her menstruation as an excuse to decline the offer.

But Lu Qiyan stretched out his hand, picked up the two benches in the main room and placed them side by side. He didn't even take off his armor and lay down directly with his clothes on.

With his back to the inner room.

Xia Mingyue was stunned when she saw this.

Lu Qiyan doesn't plan to sleep with her?
Is there even an intention to avoid suspicion?

But...what is the reason?
He was dissatisfied with this marriage, but because Lu took the initiative to arrange it, he couldn't refuse, so he could only keep her at home for the time being, but he didn't plan to live with her on an equal footing?
Or does he simply not want to get close to women, worrying that women will only slow down his speed in drawing his sword and killing the enemy?

Or maybe he felt sorry for her and couldn't bear to do it right now, so he wanted to wait for a while...

But no matter what the reason, this situation is beneficial to her. At least she doesn't have to worry tonight.

Xia Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief, blew out the oil lamp, and lay down on the earthen kang in the inner room with her clothes on.

The earthen kang had been cleaned by Mrs. Lu and covered with a mattress made of reed fluff. Even the quilt was the wedding quilt that Mrs. Lu brought as a dowry, so it was quite warm.

Although she was extremely sleepy, Xia Mingyue couldn't fall asleep.

One reason is that he has not yet fully recovered from the shock of traveling through time.

Second, she couldn't accept living with a strange man for the time being.

Especially now that I can’t see Lu Qiyan’s intentions clearly…

Xia Mingyue pursed her lips and went to look at Lu Qiyan who was "lying" in the main room.

The night sky was clear, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The moonlight shining through the door and windows made the main room clearly visible. Xia Mingyue could even see the armor plates on Lu Qiyan's body clearly.

At this time, Lu Qiyan's body rose and fell very regularly due to his breathing, and he was obviously asleep.

Xia Mingyue felt inexplicably at peace and closed her sore eyes.

The next day, the rooster crowed three times.

Xia Mingyue opened her eyes.

Lu Qiyan was no longer in the main room, and the bench was put back to its original place.

Xia Mingyue stood up hurriedly.

The sky in the east was already turning pale, and Lu Qiyan was in the yard at this time.

In practice.

I don’t know how long Lu Qiyan had been practicing, I only saw a layer of fine sweat on his forehead, sparkling in the morning light.

Xia Mingyue thought about it and found a proper name, "Brother Lu."
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Read the guide:

1. I've started a new book. It's still a farming and business novel. It focuses on food and daily life, sweet pets and warmth. There are occasional top-notch works but not many. I hope to get the continued support of the little cuties~
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3. This article is completely fictional, and the setting background is similar to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms and the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, a semi-turbulent era with constant small wars. The official positions are set with reference to the Tang and Song dynasties and are slightly modified by the author. The price setting will be higher than the author's previous farming articles with a prosperous background, and will be converted according to the current price ratio. There will be occasional bugs, so please don't worry about it.

4. Most of the food articles are about local specialties. There are no particularly high-end dishes. In addition, the time when the ingredients were actually introduced and cultivated is not taken into consideration. Seasonings such as chili, pepper, bay leaves, cinnamon, etc. are also set to be very common, so please don’t argue with me (thank you).

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(End of this chapter)