The sky was turning dim as the sun sank in the west.
Weeds grew all around the old temple. A gust of wind blew, causing the flowers and grass in front of the door to sway.
Su Xiaoliu carried a food steamer and stepped over the threshold into the temple. As she looked up, she saw Situ Qianyue in white clothes taking a short rest against the wall. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through a hole in the roof, right on his face.
His long eyelashes cast shadows on both sides of his high - bridged nose. His fair face was peaceful with his inky eyes gently closed.
Su Xiaoliu accidentally stepped on a pile of weeds, making a soft rustling sound. The next second, those beautiful inky eyes slowly opened.
Situ Qianyue turned his head blankly at first. After seeing Su Xiaoliu, the look of confusion on his face disappeared.
"My lady, you're back," he said as he stood up and walked towards her.
Su Xiaoliu nodded. She glanced around the place, then looked at him and asked, "Has anyone come?" The place was in a mess, with straw everywhere. Everything in this old temple looked shabbier the more she looked at it.
Situ Qianyue nodded and smiled. "The debt collectors came. I gave them the gold as promised, and they said they won't come again."
"I hope they won't," Su Xiaoliu murmured. She put the food steamer on the dowry table. "Let's have dinner first."
Situ Qianyue nodded with a smile. He brushed off the weeds on his clothes and walked over.
Su Xiaoliu laid out the food, handed him a pair of chopsticks, and then sat down.
Su Xiaoliu looked up at the hole in the roof, then looked down at him and asked, "How long have you been living here?"
Situ Qianyue swapped the roast chicken in front of him with the steamed lotus root in front of Su Xiaoliu. Picking up his chopsticks, he said, "For half a year. I've been living here all the time. I used to live in Donglin Town, but I spent all my money paying off the debts my parents left before they died."
The old temple was at the foot of the mountain outside the capital. Donglin Town wasn't far from the capital.
Su Xiaoliu thought for a while and then said, "Are there any usable things left there?"
There wasn't even a bed in this old temple. It was so poor that there was nothing but four walls and a big hole in the roof.
Situ Qianyue nodded. "All the things are still there."
"Later, we'll go to Donglin Town and move all the things here. We should save wherever we can. My father didn't give me much money. We need to find a way to earn money as soon as possible. We can't keep relying on my father," Su Xiaoliu looked at him and pursed her lips.
Although she was the daughter of the Su family, she never wasted money. She lived frugally and tried to save every bit she could, like the money for the spilled tea...
"Okay," Situ Qianyue nodded.
The sky was full of stars, and all was silent.
Su Xiaoliu sat by the carriage window, staring out intently. Her delicate face became a bit blurred in the darkness.
"My lady, am I very poor?" Situ Qianyue, sitting opposite her, looked at her and asked softly.
Without turning her head, Su Xiaoliu replied, "Yes, you are. Compared to my first husband, maybe the two of us working for a lifetime couldn't earn as much money as he had."
Situ Qianyue lowered his eyes, then looked up at her again and said, "Do you like him?"
Su Xiaoliu shook her head. Still looking out of the window with her chin in her hand, she replied, "He's decades older than me. If I liked him, I'd be crazy."
"My lady, do you like me?" Situ Qianyue asked again, his inky eyes filled with a smile.
Su Xiaoliu turned around and looked at him. Meeting his smiling inky eyes, she said seriously, "If you become rich, I'll dare to like you. If you stay like this, I'll suffer a lot following you. So you must strive for success, okay?"
Situ Qianyue nodded and smiled. "I surely will."
Su Xiaoliu looked at him and slightly curled her lips. Just as she was about to speak, the carriage suddenly jolted violently.
Su Xiaoliu turned to look ahead and shouted at the coachman, "What's going on?"
There was no answer from the coachman, but instead, a powerful roar came: "Leave all the things on the carriage!"
Things on the carriage?
Su Xiaoliu was stunned for a moment. She exchanged a blank look with Situ Qianyue.
The coachman's trembling voice came from outside. "Gentlemen, there are really no treasures on my carriage. Please let me go on my way..."
A series of footsteps approached from afar.
"I don't believe there isn't a single tael!" A rough voice sounded. At the same time, the carriage curtain was suddenly lifted.
In an instant, when facing two pairs of eyes, the cloth - clad man with a big knife on his hand and a thick rope around his waist was stunned on the spot.
Su Xiaoliu twitched the corner of her mouth and whispered, "There really isn't a single tael..." The only remaining silver had been given to the coachman as travel expenses.
Situ Qianyue nodded in agreement.
"Both of you, get out of the carriage!" The cloth - clad man with the big knife frowned and said menacingly.
Knowing they were robbers, Su Xiaoliu didn't dare to disobey. She quickly pulled Situ Qianyue out of the carriage, and they stood aside.
The carriage stopped in the wilderness. The bright moonlight shone on the ground, making it seem cold and clear.
Besides the cloth - clad man with the big knife, there were three or four strong men with big knives. Each of them looked fierce.
"Hand over all the money on you!" The cloth - clad man paced back and forth in front of them. Seeing the coachman looking at him, he suddenly waved his big knife threateningly and roared, scaring the coachman's legs into trembling.
Su Xiaoliu forced a smile and whispered, "Uncle, we really have no money."
The cloth - clad man stopped and looked at her carefully. Then he said, "No money? Then you come with us!"
"He has money. He still has a horse," Situ Qianyue suddenly pointed at the coachman who was about to run away.
The cloth - clad man turned around, grabbed the coachman by the collar, and threw him to one of his subordinates. "Watch him closely!"
The coachman looked at the middle - aged man waving the knife in panic, then looked at Situ Qianyue in despair.
Situ Qianyue still smiled innocently.
Su Xiaoliu looked up at him,欲言又止。
"Are you really out of money?" The cloth - clad man turned around and looked at Su Xiaoliu intimidatingly.
Su Xiaoliu quickly shook her head and waved her hand. "Really no more. We're just on our way back to our hometown to get money."
The cloth - clad man looked at them suspiciously. Under their serious gazes, he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he turned around, grabbed the coachman by the collar, and said to his subordinates, "Take him away. Take the horse too!"
One of them grabbed the horse's reins, and they all turned around and walked forward.
Situ Qianyue bent down, picked up a pebble, and gently clenched it in his hand.
Su Xiaoliu looked at the coachman's back being taken away with a bit of guilt. Suddenly, Situ Qianyue curled his lips.
With a "thud", the cloth - clad man holding the coachman's collar fell to the ground without warning and lay there motionless.
The other robbers were all startled. The coachman took the opportunity to hide aside.
"Boss, what's wrong with the boss?" They all squatted down and surrounded the fallen cloth - clad man.
Suddenly, one of them shouted, "The boss has been hit with the acupuncture point to make him unconscious!"
"Who!" The others quickly stood up and looked around.
Their eyes fell on Su Xiaoliu. She was stunned for a moment and quickly shook her head. Then their eyes turned to Situ Qianyue. Seeing Situ Qianyue's gentle smile, they all took a few steps back in fear.
"Who, who are you?" They had hardly seen anything, yet the boss's acupuncture point had been hit. Even if he wasn't a great master, he was at least a master.
Su Xiaoliu looked up at Situ Qianyue. She saw Situ Qianyue reaching out his hand as if he was about to do something else. At the same time, the robbers picked up the cloth - clad man in panic and ran away without looking back.
"It's okay. Let's go," Situ Qianyue turned to look at Su Xiaoliu and smiled.
Su Xiaoliu was stunned. She knew Situ Qianyue knew martial arts, but she didn't know he was so powerful.
The coachman was still a bit scared. He looked up at Situ Qianyue, wanted to say something but didn't dare, then lowered his head and led the horse.
Coming back to her senses, Su Xiaoliu pulled Situ Qianyue into the carriage.
"Let's go."
The carriage slowly moved forward, leaving the cold moonlight on the ground as if nothing had happened before.