Qi He finished speaking, slightly afraid to meet his wife's eyes, fearing she might be angry.
Fu Xin Ci, however, understood his feelings. After all, she considered herself an unofficial warrior of Ying Zui Cliff.
Even General Liu often spoke of her, Miss Fu, as one of the fierce generals in the Northern Frontier army.
"Wife, aren't you angry?"
"Why would I be angry?"
"Then, then I'll go take a look at the seaside and come right back, okay?"
"Of course." Fu Xin Ci also knew that without letting Qi He see the sea, his heart would always linger, and he wouldn't be at ease for the entire day. It was better to fulfill his wish.
Once he had seen it and was reassured, he would be able to stay put for the next couple of days.
"Ah, wife, you're so good. I'll be back soon."
Having received his wife's permission, Qi He went to their horse stable, fetched his mount, and sped off to the seaside.
Fu Xin Ci watched his receding figure, then glanced at the somewhat disheveled courtyard, and prepared to personally direct Mother Yang and the others to tidy it up.
However, they were all women, and some heavy objects couldn't be moved, such as the water缸 and wooden frames.
Fu Xin Ci could move them with her special abilities, but as a newlywed wife, it wasn't appropriate to do anything too out of the ordinary.
This was not like traveling, where she could appear ethereal.
Moving heavy objects was always associated with strong men.
For now, she would act like a lady, directing Mother Yang and the others to move what they could. The rest would wait for Qi He's return.
Seeing that the young mistress was also helping, Mother Yang cried out in alarm, "Mercy me! How can someone as noble and precious as the young mistress do such dirty and tiring work? What would be left for us servants to do?"
Fu Xin Ci intended to say it was nothing, that a little work was no big deal.
But Mother Yang absolutely refused to let her lift a finger, so she had to give up and stand aside, acting as a hands-off supervisor.
Seeing that the young mistress was no longer snatching their work, Mother Yang's heart finally settled a bit.
Fu Xin Ci didn't want to be a foreman, so she wandered around the courtyard leisurely.
She had been to this courtyard before, more than once, but today it felt different.
She looked up at the distant mountain scenery, bursting with spring vitality, then at her own somewhat empty courtyard. She began to ponder how to plan this courtyard well, planting a few trees or shrubs that were easy to admire.
She thought of crabapple, wisteria, magnolia, pomegranate, cherry, rose, and ginkgo.
"Hmm, outside the wall, we could also plant a few lilacs and winter jasmine."
As Fu Xin Ci was murmuring to herself, she heard the sound of the gate and then Ning'er and Xiao Niu's calls.
"Sister, brother-in-law, open the door! Ning'er is here!"
"Miss, young master Qi..."
Hearing the chirpy voices of these two little ones, Fu Xin Ci's face lit up, revealing her pearly white teeth. She activated her special ability and instantly appeared at the courtyard gate.
"Sister, brother-in-law."
Ning'er's small hands were already red from knocking. Seeing that his sister and brother-in-law hadn't come out to open the door for him, he was about to pout and get angry.
At this crucial moment, the sound of a creak echoed as the sturdy wooden door swung open from the inside.
"Ning'er is here?"
Seeing his sister smiling with her eyes curved, Ning'er's chubby little face was too busy nodding and smiling at his sister to remember his earlier intention to get angry.
Fu Xin Ci, however, remembered something. "Ning'er, you're not at school today?"
"No, because of sister's wedding, Dad gave all the students at school a holiday." The little one faithfully relayed his father's decision to his sister.
Fu Xin Ci knew about this, but she was a bit confused. "Didn't the school only get a one-day holiday?"
"Because of the Japanese pirates incident, Dad gave them two more days off."
"The Japanese pirates were all eliminated, so why are they still having a holiday?"
"It's because the townspeople went to fight the Japanese pirates, and their household chores were delayed. Also, many classmates were scared. So, Dad gave all the students two extra days off. One is for them to help their families with chores, and the other is to calm their nerves so they don't have nightmares."
"Oh, and you?"
"I just heard Mom and Dad talking about not being sure if sister was alright, so Xiao Niu and I ran over to see you."
After speaking, Ning'er thought for a moment and added, "I just brought Xiao Niu to take a look. If sister is okay, we'll go back."
"Ning'er, why don't you stay for lunch before you go back?"
"..." Ning'er wanted to stay, but he remembered what his mother had said. His sister hadn't returned to her family's home yet. As a younger brother-in-law, he shouldn't accept a meal at the Qi family's home, or people would surely laugh at him.
He was a little man, and he couldn't be laughed at. So he shook his head vigorously and then ran back with Xiao Niu.
"Ning'er, Xiao Niu, run slowly!"
"Sis, we know." Ning'er ran a few steps further before slowing down, and he even turned back to wave at his sister, indicating that she should go inside.
Fu Xin Ci wasn't reassured about them. She wouldn't enter the courtyard and close the gate until she saw them safely inside the back door.
Fortunately, the two little ones were reliable. They didn't stop to play along the way and ran home, chasing each other playfully.
From a distance, seeing Ning'er wave as he entered the back door, she finally withdrew her gaze and entered the courtyard.
When Qi He returned, he saw his wife directing Mother Yang and the others in tidying the courtyard. He immediately felt distressed.
"Wife, you just sit and watch. I'll handle this work."
After speaking, Qi He took the cleaned water缸 back to the kitchen and stacked the wooden frames by the wall.
The temporarily erected stove and shed were quickly dismantled, and the courtyard immediately became much more spacious.
Mother Yang straightened her tired back, wiped the sweat from her temples, and secretly glanced at the young master.
She silently praised, "Only the young master has such strength and can do such work. If we were to do it, it would be midnight and we still wouldn't know where to start."
After placing the heavy items and washing his hands, Qi He led his wife to sunbathe in the courtyard.
"Wife, tomorrow we should also buy a few people."
Fu Xin Ci had the same thought, so she nodded in agreement.
"Father and I are often away. You are all women, and I worry about you."
At this moment, Qi He completely forgot his wife's fighting prowess; even three men like him couldn't defeat her.
Fu Xin Ci, however, played along, showing an expression that clearly conveyed her agreement.
Encouraged by his wife, Qi He's eight front teeth were once again visible.
Just as Fu Xin Ci was about to discuss buying some people with Qi He, they heard the sound of approaching horse hooves.
"It's Father returning," Qi He said, then quickly ran to open the courtyard gate.
Fu Xin Ci also followed closely. By the time she reached the courtyard entrance, she saw Qi Yuan Shan, wearing a helmet and armor, a long saber in hand, approaching on horseback.
"Father."
"Father."
"Yes, yes."
Seeing the young couple salute him together, Qi Yuan Shan recalled that he hadn't had time to witness their wedding yesterday, and a deep sense of guilt welled up in his heart.