Chapter 575
On Dan Ding Peak, everyone leaned back slightly.
Was that gentle demeanor really the same person from just moments ago?
“How do you feel?”
“I guess I won’t be so haughty when I speak anymore.”
Li Mo supported her with a look that was both proud and affectionate.
“Let’s go home,” Ying Bing said, noticing his radiant expression, which made her relax a bit, though her tone carried a hint of fatigue.
She didn’t insist on Li Mo letting her go; instead, she allowed him to carry her.
“Alright, I’ll carry you.”
Li Mo simply lifted her long legs and hoisted her onto his back, thinking to himself that the old saying was indeed true: behind every successful man, there’s a soft and gentle woman.
He could feel that Ying Bing wasn’t as light as she appeared.
Li Mo had seen her in weak moments many times before. Back then, she suffered daily from the biting cold, always frowning. Several times, he wanted to ask her how she was doing, but whenever he met her icy gaze, he found himself at a loss for words.
But now, she lay softly against his back, her arms wrapped around his neck, lazily like a cat.
“Bing Tuozi, how did you find so many martial arts techniques that suit me?”
Ying Bing rested her cheek on his shoulder and replied casually, “I created them during my free time. I just picked out a few that would be perfect for you.”
Li Mo’s lips twitched. Was that even human language?
For a moment, he couldn’t tell who was the real fool here.
“No wonder I’ve never heard of those martial arts before…”
“It’s fine. I’ll teach you bit by bit; you’ll catch up in no time.” Teacher Bing Tuozi was ready with her lessons.
Li Mo felt something was off again. “Hey, how did you know those techniques would suit me?”
“When I was watching animations in the inner world.”
“No wonder you always stare at the sky for so long after watching an animation. You’ve worked hard; you should take a bath tonight.”
“Okay…”
Ying Bing nodded instinctively, only to suddenly remember something.
Tonight was the time for the system rankings.
But he couldn’t possibly know about the system, nor could he predict the results in advance. It must be a coincidence…
She lifted her face to look at him, but just then, she heard the sound of the wind, and Li Mo began humming a little tune.
It sounded a bit strange.
“What song is that?”
“Zhu Bajie Carries...”
“Carries what?”
“Uh, I can’t quite remember. I heard a monk sing it.”
A festive tune from the Buddhist realm?
But seeing his earnest expression, Ying Bing tightened her grip around him, and in a daze, she was carried back to Qiu Shui Pavilion.
Li Mo had just returned, but the pavilion was already filled with the fragrant smoke of cooking. Gu Xueqin was bustling about in the kitchen, while Li Dalong helped out.
Although Li Mo’s cooking skills had improved tremendously, his mother’s flavors were irreplaceable.
He didn’t even need to step into the kitchen to guess that dinner would definitely include baby bok choy.
In the courtyard, besides the people living in Qiu Shui Pavilion, even the King of Zhen Nan was there, fiddling with an abacus, seemingly calculating something.
“Uncle Zhong, are you calculating military expenses?”
Li Mo had just sent Bing Tuozi upstairs to rest and casually asked if there were any investment opportunities.
Zhong Qin cleared his throat lightly. “With your help, the southern border won’t fall into chaos, and I won’t have to worry. But I don’t have much personal property, so I can’t give you too little for your share.”
“Share?”
“Right. The imperial decree has been issued. Once the date is set, I’ll return to the capital to report. The emperor will help you with the arrangements. By the way, when did you fill in the auspicious date?”
“…”
Li Mo thought to himself, how would he know?
The imperial decree was with Bing Tuozi; he had no idea if it had been filled out or when.
“Uncle Zhong, you and the emperor have both put in effort. It’s too polite to give a gift.”
Glancing at Bing Tuozi’s room upstairs, Li Mo asked, “How do royal families handle marriages?”
Zhong Qin relaxed his brow. “Aside from the higher standards, royal weddings aren’t too different from those of ordinary families.”
Li Mo imagined himself in a suit, Bing Tuozi in a wedding dress, exchanging rings after the officiant asked, “Do you wish to spend the rest of your life together?”
Uh, the heavenly realms probably didn’t follow that exact process.
He had seen it in a dream, but unfortunately, it wasn’t reality, and the details were quite fuzzy.
“How do ordinary families do it?”
Just then, Bing Tuozi, who had gone upstairs, came back down, her face serene and beautiful in the night.
She walked into the kitchen to serve dishes, seemingly unaware of the conversation between the two.
“For major life events, even ordinary families have their customs. For example, the groom must personally go to the bride’s home to carry her…”
Li Mo nodded, committing what he heard to memory, planning to ask the merchant leader later, and casually took a piece of baby bok choy from the plate Bing Tuozi brought.
Every time Zhong Qin reached a key point, Bing Tuozi would return just in time, holding a plate of food.
“Bing Tuozi, if you’re curious…”
“Curious about what?”
Ying Bing tilted her head, looking as if she didn’t quite understand what they were talking about.
“…”
At that moment, Li Dalong and Gu Xueqin emerged from the kitchen, Li Da’s face beaming with joy.
“I heard everything just now. Your mother and I have been through this, so we know it inside and out. Want me to demonstrate for you?”
Old Li hadn’t been able to help his son much, often feeling that his son had grown up and surpassed him in capability.
Now, he finally found a chance to assert his authority as a father.
---
Chapter 665: Bing Tuozi’s Schemes Run Deeper!
The evening breeze was gentle, and the summer dusk stretched everything long and far, making time in Qiu Shui Pavilion seem to slow down.
Once upon a time in Qinghe County, there had been countless summer nights like this.
Gu Xueqin served everyone rice, glancing at Li Mo and Ying Bing not far away.
Her son’s features still held the innocence and liveliness of his childhood as he listened to Li Dalong recounting stories of his wedding to her. Sometimes, he would playfully nudge the leg of the person next to him.
Little Bing, with her bare face, still looked dignified and graceful, but she was secretly stepping on Li Mo’s foot.
The two children had grown up, yet it felt like they hadn’t changed at all.
“How many years ago was it when I first brought Dalong home to meet my parents? It feels like just yesterday.”
Gu Xueqin momentarily lost herself in thought.
Suddenly, she heard Li Dalong, holding a cup of wine, his cheeks flushed, saying, “The first time I met my father-in-law was also during a meal. I had just injured my head and shaved all my hair off.”
“That didn’t look very respectable,” the King of Zhen Nan remarked with a click of his tongue.
Li Dalong nodded. “Yeah, I had no choice but to glue some yellow mane from a horse onto my head.”
“…”
Li Mo leaned back slightly, feeling a sense of relief as if he had survived a disaster, grateful that his grandfather hadn’t killed him.
“What happened next?”
Ying Bing rested her chin on her hand, listening to her parents’ love story for the first time.
“When your grandfather saw me, he got so angry that he slammed his bowl on the table.”
“Ah?”
“Don’t worry, you’re standing here just fine. When I told him I was a disciple of Qingyuan Sect, he pushed the food back to the table.” Li Dalong reminisced about his father-in-law’s reaction, chuckling.
“Hey, Dad, weren’t you injured and had left Qingyuan Sect?”
Li Mo suddenly realized something was off.
“Right, so when your grandfather heard that, he slammed the bowl down again.”
Li Dalong sighed. “He was just hot-tempered. He never let me finish my sentences. Once I told him I was returning home to take up the position of county lieutenant, he finally pushed the food back, and in the end, I was the one who ate that bowl of rice.”
He lowered his voice and chuckled, “Actually, I hadn’t even taken up the position yet. That idea was your mother’s; I acted like it was real. Later, after a few drinks with your grandfather, he even wanted to be sworn brothers with me.”
The King of Zhen Nan: “…”
Now he understood where Li Mo’s brilliant thinking and performative personality came from.
It turned out he had inherited the best traits from both parents!
“You still have the nerve to tease my dad? He already knew everything.”
Gu Xueqin shot her husband a glance. “We’re getting off track; weren’t we talking about the wedding?”
“The wedding… where were we?”
Li Dalong scratched the back of his head.
Li Mo reminded him, “The heaven and earth ceremony; we were talking about that.”
“Oh right, right, right! I should demonstrate this for you; there are many customs involved.”
With that, Li Dalong took Gu Xueqin’s hand.
“First bow to heaven and earth.” The King of Zhen Nan blurted out without thinking.
Great, now he was the officiant.
Since he was already in the role, he might as well go all the way.
“Second bow to the parents!”
Li Dalong held his wife’s hand, and at this moment, he felt a rush of joy, as if he were young again, filled with the excitement of marrying his beloved.
He was feeling younger by the day…
With that thought, he laughed heartily and bowed with his wife.
“I approve of this marriage!”
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