The woman named Ling'er shot a sideways glance at Chu Zhan, then coldly shifted her gaze to Chu Qing and her companions.
However, when she clearly saw Qing's appearance, her originally indifferent expression instantly melted like a glacier. With a beaming smile, she quickly walked to Chu Qing's side, took her hand, and said in a very gentle tone, "You're Qing'er, right?"
Chu Qing was startled by her sudden change in attitude, but quickly recovered and returned a smile.
She freed her hand from the other's and instead gently patted the woman's hand.
"I presume you're Sister Ling'er... I've heard my elder brother mention you." Chu Qing said with a beaming smile.
However... she felt quite uncomfortable inside.
"Don't call me sister. It makes me sound old. My full name is Qu Ling. You can just call me Ling'er." Qu Ling withdrew her hand from Chu Qing's and then placed it on hers again.
"Sure." Chu Qing replied with a squinted - eyed smile.
This girl really suited her taste.
"Qingqing, you need to take good care of your body now!" Qu Ling suddenly changed the topic and brought up Chu Qing's health.
Chu Qing was taken aback.
Qu Ling continued with a beaming smile, "Aren't you pregnant? You must take good care of yourself now!"
"How did you know, Ling'er?" Chu Qing asked in surprise.
Qu Ling raised her eyebrows and replied, "I just sensed it."
"Ling'er knows some medical skills." Chu Zhan interjected at this moment.
"I see." Chu Qing then smiled.
Remembering what had happened at the gate just now, Chu Zhan asked, "Has anyone else come to the mountain villa recently?"
Hearing Chu Zhan's words, the smiling Qu Ling shot him a cold sideways glance and said irritably, "What's it to you?"
Chu Zhan: "..."
Seeing Chu Zhan being rebuffed, even though Chu Qing had a good impression of Qu Ling, her protective instinct for her elder brother kicked in and she no longer showed the previous enthusiasm.
So when Chu Qing spoke again, her tone was cold, "Just now at the gate, we were stopped by the gatekeeper. He said something like how all sorts of riff - raff were coming. If it weren't for my elder brother, we... might have been considered riff - raff."
"What! Did the gatekeeper really say that?" Qu Ling exclaimed angrily.
Chu Qing nodded as if she were wronged.
Seeing Qu Ling looking serious and about to send someone to call the gatekeeper, Chu Qing continued, "There's no need to go to so much trouble. I'm just curious. Have there been a lot of people coming to the mountain villa recently?"
Since it was Chu Qing asking, Qu Ling answered with more patience, "Indeed, there have been quite a few people coming to the mountain villa recently. No one knows what happened in Qingzhou City. The city gates were closed for a few days and no one was allowed to enter or leave. So some refugees who fled from Chuanzhou came here. I felt sorry for them, so I took them in for a few days. Yesterday, the city gates of Qingzhou City finally opened. I sent someone to investigate and found that nothing serious had happened. After I told the refugees, they left this morning."
In times of war, it's the common people who suffer the most.
With the flames of war raging, the lower - class people are the most displaced.
Chu Qing's expression became solemn.
Seeing this, Qu Ling didn't continue on this topic. Instead, she said with a beaming smile, "By the way, although the refugees have all left, I still have a few here. They're also... refugees. But... I somehow find this person quite interesting."
"Oh?" Chu Qing's heart skipped a beat.
"He's a wealthy young master from Chuanzhou City. He brought a few servants with him and came here after the city was breached." Qu Ling continued.
"So... what makes him interesting?" Chu Qing asked.
At this point, Qu Ling leaned closer to Chu Qing and whispered, "He's a homosexual."
"???" Chu Qing looked surprised.
"How did you know he's a homosexual, Ling'er?"
"He said it himself!" Qu Ling replied seriously.
"Um..." Chu Qing was speechless for a moment.
It wasn't that she looked down on homosexuals. It was just that she had never really come into contact with them in her life. Qu Ling's words made her also curious to see what kind of person would fall in love with someone of the same sex.
Seeing the curiosity on Chu Qing's face, Qu Ling continued, "That's not the main thing. The most important thing is that although he said he's a homosexual, he's very glib when he sees good - looking women. If it weren't for his extremely weak body and his servants having to boil several bowls of medicine for him every day, I would have suspected that he's just using homosexuality as a guise to deceive innocent young girls. But... if it's true, tsk tsk tsk, I wonder if he's the dominant one or the submissive one. So I've been keeping an eye on him and find it quite interesting."
Um... was this some kind of special hobby?
As Qu Ling's words became more and more explicit, everyone present except Lvluo was a highly skilled person with excellent hearing.
So...
Naturally, they heard every word Qu Ling said clearly.
Wu Ya, Wei Zhi, and Chu Zhan all looked embarrassed.
Especially Chu Zhan.
His expression changed several times.
Wei Sheng, on the other hand, his eyes lighting up, leaned over to Chu Qing and Qu Ling and excitedly interjected, "Why don't we go and meet him?"
Chu Qing gave him a sidelong glance and said calmly, "What, are you one too? Do you need me to introduce him to you?"
Wei Sheng grinned and waved his hands hurriedly, "No, no. I still like girls. But... I'm just somehow curious about this kind of thing."
Chu Qing: "..."
Curious?
Chu Qing didn't believe it!
"Little sister, you must be tired from today's journey. Why don't you rest earlier? If you want to meet that young master, Ling'er can take you to meet him tomorrow."
Seeing Chu Qing, Qu Ling, and Wei Sheng huddled together with a strange yet harmonious atmosphere, Chu Zhan felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. So he could only quickly think of a way to pull Chu Qing away.
Hearing this, the tiredness that Chu Qing had previously ignored swept over her again.
Although Qu Ling ignored Chu Zhan, she was very concerned about Chu Qing. She said, "It's my negligence. I'll take you to have something to eat first, and then you can rest early."
"Then I'll have to trouble you for a few days."
"You're welcome."
...
After traveling for several days in a row, Chu Qing finally had a good sleep.
Except for the one time when she vomited after crying hard when she met Chu Zhan, her stomach had been quiet since then, and her body hadn't had any major reactions.
When Chu Qing woke up, she didn't call Lvluo. Instead, she sat on the edge of the bed and gently placed her hand on her still - flat stomach.
This child seemed to be quite well - behaved.
It was just because she had cried so hard that day that she had a reaction.
Chu Qing sighed softly.
Thinking of that day, she felt a bit embarrassed.
But... crying like that without any restraint had actually calmed her mind a lot.
When the boat reaches the bridge, it will go straight.
For some things, she'd deal with them when they came.
...
When Chu Qing and the others met the rather interesting man Qu Ling had mentioned, they were a bit stunned.
He was wearing a bright red robe. Even with his eyes closed, one could still see his good - looking features.
Even though his face was pale, he still looked quite... gorgeous.
His servants were massaging his legs and shoulders.
He had been enjoying with his eyes closed. When he felt Chu Qing and the others approaching, he opened his eyes lazily.
Then, this man actually stood up in shock.