People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 414, Zi Nu pours out her heart, and Hu Meiren eavesdrops.
In the town at the foot of Mount Taiyi.

After escorting Xu Qing to Hu Meiren's villa, the Tianzong disciples left.

"Bang bang~"

After Xu Qing knocked on the courtyard gate, footsteps sounded inside. Soon after, the gate was opened from the inside, and looking up, Zi Nu's graceful figure came into Xu Qing's view.

Because she had attended the ceremony of the Covenant between Heaven and Man during the day, Zi Nu was dressed in a very formal long dress. The slightly conservative white and blue dress could not hide her slender and graceful figure, but instead brought out her charming yet dignified temperament to the fullest.

Her fair and smooth shoulders were faintly visible beneath the black lace mesh, and the dark corset clung tightly to her slender waist, creating an exaggerated curve in the white dress.

The dim, yellowish light shone on Zi Nu, turning her half-loose purple hair blue, making her less mysterious and alluring, but more sexy and dignified.

Her lightly made-up face showed a hint of surprise, her rosy lips trembled slightly, and her charming, narrow eyes held a trace of helplessness.

"How did you get so drunk?"

Zi Nu looked at the drunken Xu Qing outside the door. After her initial surprise, her pretty face was filled with worry, and she spoke with her rosy lips slightly moving.

Although Zi Nu's words carried a hint of reproach, she still quickly stepped forward to support the unsteady Xu Qing, like a wife who was both concerned and slightly resentful of her drunken husband returning home.

"I had a few too many drinks today, and before I knew it, I was like this."

Xu Qing chuckled as he looked at Zi Nu, then leaned against her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his head in her shoulder.

A faint fragrance wafted into Xu Qing's nostrils, making her greedily inhale a few more breaths.

"Hey, it's not right for you to be hugging and cuddling outside. Come inside with me first."

Zi Nu gently patted Xu Qing's back, her voice charming yet tinged with affection, like a caring older sister.

She also understood that Xu Qing's drinking was not due to alcoholism. Today, her man had won the battle of the Heavenly Man Pact. Xu Qing, who was already in the limelight, had become an even more sought-after figure, and naturally, he would receive toasts from many people to build relationships.

Xu Qing nodded slightly, reluctantly releasing the soft, fragrant Zi Nu, and walked into the courtyard with her help.

“Nongyu is having dinner at Madam Hu’s place. The beauty must be very tired from going up and down Mount Taiyi. She should be resting by now. Come to my room. You didn’t even tell me you were coming.”

Zi Nu helped Xu Qing to her room, which was also in the attic, separated from Hu Meiren's room by only one wall.

Zi Nu placed Xu Qing on the soft couch and looked at the drunken Xu Qing with a helpless expression. She then reached out and tied up her half-disheveled hair.

"Wait for me first."

After Zi Nu finished speaking, she turned around and fetched a basin of clean water for Xu Qing. She placed the basin on the table and then knelt down on the soft couch with a towel in her hand.

The blue skirt was slightly lifted by Zi Nu, revealing her beautiful legs covered in black stockings. Her delicate little feet came out of her purple high heels and stepped onto the seat before kneeling down in front of the table.

Zi Nu threw the towel into the basin of water, crossed her kneeling legs, leaned her slender waist slightly forward, and pressed her full, upturned buttocks against her thighs.

Her toes, encased in stockings, pressed slightly against the floor, their rosy toes curling up like ripe black grapes, tempting and juicy.

"You should have sent someone to tell me sooner, so I could have given it to you."

Zi Nu was speaking with her back to Xu Qing, but before she could finish speaking, Xu Qing hugged her from behind.

Xu Qing held Zi Nu in his arms, resting his head on her shoulder and placing one hand on her slightly fleshy belly.

Noticing Xu Qing's mischief, Zi Nu paused in wringing the towel, turned to look at Xu Qing, and gave him a speechless glare.

"Stop fooling around~" Zi Nu hummed softly.

"No, I've been thinking about you so much these past few days that I'm afraid to sleep, afraid that I'll meet you in my dreams, only to wake up and find you're not there, leaving me disappointed."

Xu Qing whispered in Zi Nu's ear, his restless hands becoming increasingly mischievous, his voice slightly drunk as he spoke.

Zi Nu's ears twitched slightly, a hint of shyness flashed in her charming, narrow eyes, and a blush rose on her pretty face.

"Then why didn't you write to me when you insisted on leaving?"

Zi Nu slightly raised her hand and climbed up a peach-colored neck, pursed her rosy lips, and said in a slightly reproachful voice.

How could she not miss Xu Qing these days? She usually wrote to Xu Qing, but the journey was long and half a month would pass by in a row. Moreover, that jerk Xu Qing would often reply to her very late after receiving her letters.

This left her sitting alone by the window, waiting for Xu Qing's reply like a resentful woman.

"It feels like we've been apart for three autumns. The feelings of three autumns cannot be expressed in just a few words. Every time I pick up my pen to reply to you, I have a thousand words to say, but I can't say them when they come to my lips."

Xu Qing's voice suddenly stopped, and after a few seconds, she murmured...

"I also don't want you to worry about me."

It's said that people speak the truth when they're drunk. Hearing Xu Qing's sweet words, all of Zi Nu's resentment turned into heartache for him. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she withdrew her hand from the basin of water. Qin was not comparable to Han; its internal struggles were far more complex, and Xu Qing was an outsider. It would certainly be extremely difficult for him to gain a foothold in Qin.

The scene of Zhangtai Palace angrily rebuking Marquis Changxin, Lao Ai, sounds thrilling, but the dangers involved are unknown to others.

"Thanks a lot."

Zi Nu held Xu Qing's hand, turned to look at Xu Qing, and said softly.

Xu Qing also looked up at Zi Nu. Their eyes met, and their warm breaths brushed against each other's faces, creating a somewhat romantic atmosphere.

Seeing the affection in each other's eyes, Xu Qing and Zi Nu's gazes became unfocused.

Zi Nu held Xu Qing's hand, her rosy lips slightly parted, her wandering eyes narrowed slightly.

Xu Qing leaned closer and gently moved towards Zi Nu's intoxicatingly warm red lips. The tenderness and excitement he felt at that moment were something no one else could understand.

After sensing Xu Qing's longing, Zi Nu also began to express her own longing.

Gradually, Zi Nu lost her strength in Xu Qing's arms.

The two of them fell to the floor.

The blue skirt lay flat on the floor, and Zi Nu's delicate little feet gently stepped on Xu Qing's calves, her smooth calves sliding up and down.

"Phew~ Stop fooling around~ Beauty Hu is still next door~"

Zi Nu slightly turned her head and broke free from Xu Qing. Like a drowning fish, she breathed heavily, her face flushed red, and she whispered, somewhat embarrassed, "I can't speak."

"Keep your voice down."

After Zi Nu finished speaking, her face turned as red as a red apple. She didn't dare to look at Xu Qing at all, but she held Xu Qing's neck tightly with both hands and refused to let go.

Are you kidding me? They've been separated for almost a month. For a couple deeply in love, a month would be enough to kill her.

"Then make it as quiet as possible."

Xu Qing looked at the woman with rosy skin and lowered his voice.

Even though the two were openly dating, Xu Qing somehow felt like they were having an affair.
Zi Nu pursed her lips and didn't speak, but her soft humming still expressed her true thoughts.

Xu Qing, upon returning to her rural hometown, encountered her first love and expressed her longing for him through her actions.
A pair of delicate hands gripped the soft cushions on the seat, and the clear water in the yellow copper basin on the table rippled slightly from time to time, while a melodious tune echoed in the room.

Just as Xu Qing and Zi Nu were pouring their hearts out to each other, little did they know that Hu Meiren next door was not resting at all.

Hu Meiren leaned against the wall, her delicate hands slightly clutching the hem of her dress. Her charming and pretty face was flushed, her narrow eyes lowered shyly, her bare feet on the floor, slightly curled up, her heart pounding.

"Those two are really something."

Hearing the noise around her, Hu Meiren couldn't help but glance at it, but then quickly looked away as if she had done something wrong.

She had originally planned to rest early, but before she could fall asleep, she heard the sound of people coming upstairs, followed by the sound of Zi Nu and Xu Qing talking quietly, which immediately made it impossible for her to fall asleep again.

Originally, she planned to go out and see Xu Qing, but when she thought about how Zi Nu and Nong Yu had come to Taiyi Mountain to meet Xu Qing, and how she had comforted Xu Qing these past few days, she felt that she shouldn't disturb Zi Nu and Xu Qing's time together.

She didn't know what she was thinking; in a daze, she got off the bed and came to the wall.

"Oh dear, what am I doing? You're my elder! How could you eavesdrop like that?"

Hu Meiren blushed even more with shame. Although eavesdropping was indeed inappropriate, she didn't know what she was thinking.

The thought of what she had done made Hu Meiren's pretty cheeks burn, her wine-red hair steamed slightly, and her fox-tailed eyes became unfocused.

"That jerk~ Can't he be a little gentler?"

Hearing the sounds around her, Hu Meiren opened her small mouth slightly and breathed in small gasps, trying to dissipate the heat from her head.

"Bang~"

Because of the dizziness, Hu Meiren's legs went weak, and she slid down the wall and sat directly on the floor, her plump, upturned buttocks pressing against the floor, causing a slight aftershock.

Hu Meiren's breathing was a little rough, and her delicate little hands gently touched her cheeks. Underneath her white bodice, her skin, as white as snow, gradually gained a halo.

Her smooth, beautiful legs were slightly straightened, and her delicate little feet were curled up, like a little hamster stealing food.

As the movement changed in pace, Hu Meiren's hands became somewhat flustered. Her sharp nails traced the brown rope around her waist, and the delicate knot was untied.
For a moment, Hu Meiren felt as if she had returned to the Han King's Palace and the time when Xu Qing gave her her first massage.

That feeling lingered around her, but those two items no longer seemed so easy to give away.

(End of this chapter)