Chapter 39: Li Qian

Hearing her dear little wife say this, Su Jingxuan was stunned for a moment, but with his clear and perceptive mind, he quickly understood why she would say such a thing.

However, her caring words made his heart instantly warm up.

"Alright. From now on, I will have a wife who cherishes and loves me!" Su Jingxuan replied with a smile.

Hearing the word "love," Luo Yunhe could not help but blush brightly, her heartbeat inexplicably speeding up a bit.

Yet, her own words truly prompted her to start reflecting on the nature of her feelings for Su Jingxuan.

With a bowl of rice finished, Su Jingxuan ate everything cleanly without a single grain wasted. Meanwhile, Luo Yunhe sat quietly to the side, enjoying watching him eat. For some reason, she felt that watching him eat had a uniquely pleasing quality that lifted one's spirits.

Seeing that he had finished his meal, Luo Yunhe stood up, ready to tidy up and leave.

"Husband, I still have work to do in the fields. Remember to come home early this evening," Luo Yunhe gently instructed.

"Alright!" Su Jingxuan nodded softly, his eyes filled with doting affection.

The two of them walked toward the door together. Just as they stepped into the courtyard, they happened to run into the academy students. The students widened their eyes, staring curiously at Luo Yunhe as if they had encountered some rare and precious treasure.

This was the first time they had ever laid eyes on Tutor Su's wife, and every single one of their faces was full of curiosity.

"Tutor Su's wife looks so young..."

"Indeed! And she's quite pretty, too!"

"Watching Tutor Su and his wife walk together, they are simply a match made in heaven!"

The students gathered together, discussing in hushed whispers.

"What are you all doing? Instead of studying honestly, all you know how to do is huddle together and gossip!" A crisp yet stern voice rang out from behind them.

"Oh no..."

Startled by the voice, the students didn't even dare to raise their heads before scattering like startled birds.

Seeing them disperse, the young woman finally raised her gaze toward the doorway. Sure enough, she spotted Su Jingxuan accompanied by another woman, the two of them chatting and smiling as they walked toward the exit.

Catching sight of someone by his side for the very first time, the young woman felt a wave of confusion.

She quickly grabbed a passing student and asked who that woman actually was.

"Tell me, who was the woman with Tutor Su just now?"

"Tutor Li, I think she's Tutor Su's wife. She, she's actually quite pretty..." The student added that last bit cautiously, casting a wary glance at the female tutor before him.

Upon hearing this, Li Qian knitted her brows tightly. A trace of helplessness washed over her heart as she abruptly released the student and turned away.

She headed straight for the main entrance. By the time she arrived, Luo Yunhe had already left with her basket, leaving only Su Jingxuan standing by the doorway, gazing at the retreating figure.

"Jingxuan, what are you doing here?" Li Qian asked, her previous overbearing attitude replaced by a hint of bashfulness as she stepped to his side. Though she had also caught sight of that distant figure, she still couldn't resist asking.

"Tutor Li, what brings you here?" Su Jingxuan asked politely.

"I... I saw you standing here and wasn't sure what you were doing, so I came over. Well, was that someone important?"

"Mm, my wife!" With that, Su Jingxuan turned and walked away.

Hearing this, Li Qian's expression darkened, and her mood instantly plummeted to the bottom.

She possessed a very lively personality and was not the gentle, docile type of young lady. Moreover, coming from a wealthy family and being well-read, she had caught sight of Su Jingxuan by chance one day.

After having someone look into him, she discovered that Su Jingxuan taught at this very academy, which led her to join the institution herself as a female tutor.

Although he had lost the use of one hand, his good character, upright nature, and extraordinary kindness—along with numerous other shining traits—completely overshadowed his minor physical flaw.

In Li Qian's eyes, Su Jingxuan was simply the best. She had also thoroughly familiarized herself with his family background.

Knowing his current situation, she figured no other woman would be willing to marry a disabled man, so she had comfortably taken her time growing closer to him at the academy, hoping to win his affection and eventually forge a matrimonial bond.

Yet, she never imagined that after guarding him for so long, everything would vanish into thin air.

He actually had a wife...

Just when had that woman popped up out of nowhere? Why hadn't she known?

Li Qian felt a surge of intense fury. How could someone else have snatched away the person she had guarded for so long? It must have happened during the period when she was away.

No, she had to find out what kind of background that woman had.

Luo Yunhe returned to the fields and resumed clearing away the weeds.

Having worked for several days, she had already trained herself to move at a rapid pace. Seeing that she was about to clear all four mu of land, she could not contain her excitement.

Another three days passed.

Luo Yunhe finally finished clearing all the weeds from the four mu of land, and by this time, the barren plot had taken on a completely new look.

All the uprooted grass had been hauled outside the plot.

With the weeds cleared from the four mu, what remained were grapevines of varying sizes, growing quite unevenly. Fortunately, the saplings were still alive.

To Luo Yunhe's pleasant surprise, an S-shaped ditch ran along the edge of the four mu plot, while a small earthen slope sat on the other side.

With a water ditch nearby, watering the land would prove much easier.

Luo Yunhe surveyed the entire plot. Since she intended to build trellises for the grapes, she would need a large quantity of timber.

Therefore, after measuring the four mu of land, she marked out various spots within the field.

As villagers passed by and saw that the wasteland had become so remarkably clean, they were quite astonished. Catching sight of the young girl pottering about in the fields, they wondered what she was up to.

Everyone in the village knew very well that this barren plot could yield nothing. Yet, seeing it cleared out still stirred a bit of envy; but the thought that nothing would grow there also filled them with a schadenfreude urge to watch a spectacle unfold.

Consequently, throughout the day, passersby would pause in their tracks to see what Luo Yunhe was attempting to do.

"What are you all looking at?" Su Jingxing asked as he walked over and happened to spot the villagers.

"Naturally, we're just seeing what she's busy with, considering not a single thing can grow in these four mu of wasteland. When her efforts all come to nothing, it will simply be a waste of time!"

Su Jingxing had been back for a few days. During this time, aside from the village gossips green with envy as they disparaged his eldest sister-in-law, she herself never said much at home, almost as if everything his mother and younger sister claimed was purely meant to slander her.

Today, feeling curious as well, he had come over to see what his eldest sister-in-law was up to in the fields.