Chapter 831: Hard Restraint

Editor: Henyee Translations

Under the hazy moonlight, veiled as if by a thin layer of mist, a desolate chill spread across the ground, bringing waves of icy coldness.

Li Zhangjie tightened his thick cotton jacket, hurrying along the road home.

The flat cobblestone path reflected the moonlight, resembling a long silver ribbon, beautifully and carelessly strewn across the earth.

The Li family still lived in the small courtyard rented by Li Zhangjie. Li’s father, wearing a coat, hands tucked in his sleeves, paced back and forth at the doorway, waiting for his son’s return.

Each time he paced by the door, he would glance out, his worry evident. It was dark already, yet his son had not returned.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the darkness. On closer inspection, it was indeed his son. Li’s father quickly stepped forward and handed Li Zhangjie a warm handwarmer, “Warm your hands.”

The warmth from the handwarmer was like fatherly love, making Li Zhangjie smile, “Thank you, Dad.”

As Li’s father closed the door, he mentioned, “Your mother made sweet dumplings for you, they’re in the kitchen, go eat.”

Sweet dumplings, once considered a luxury for the Li family, were now a regular treat thanks to their improved financial situation. The sticky, sweet delicacy was particularly delicious.

Feeling warm inside, Li Zhangjie cheerfully agreed, “Then I’ll go now.”

“Go ahead,” Li’s father said, turning to wave his hand.

Entering the house, Li Zhangjie made his way to the kitchen. Passing by Li Ziyun’s room, he heard soft crying. He stopped, “Sister, what’s wrong?”

Li Ziyun quickly wiped her tears, took a deep breath trying to calm down, then replied, “Big brother, I’m fine.”

Her voice was filled with tears, clearly indicating something was wrong. Li Zhangjie, concerned, said, “Put on your clothes and come to the kitchen. I have something to tell you.”

Li Ziyun didn’t want to go but couldn’t disobey her brother, “Okay, I’ll be right there.”

Li Zhangjie went to the kitchen, where his mother was heating bathwater for him. “Zhangjie, you’re back.”

“Back, Mom.” Li Zhangjie helped his mother up, “You should go to sleep.”

Pointing at a small jar filled with sweet dumplings, his mother instructed, “Eat the sweet dumplings and rest early.”

LiZhangjie nodded, “Okay.”

After his mother left for her room, Li Zhangjie divided the sweet dumplings into two bowls, placing spoons on each, and set them on the table. Just as he finished, Li Ziyun arrived, “Bigbrother.”

“Sit, let’s eat sweet dumplings together.”

Li Ziyun shook her head, “I’m not eating, big brother, you’ve worked hard, you eat.”

Li Zhangjie beckoned Li Ziyun, “Listen to your brother, come eat.”

The two slowly ate the sweet dumplings, feeling sweeter and warmer, lifting their spirits.

Li Zhangjie, with concern, asked, “Has someone bullied you?”

Li Ziyun lowered her head, eyes reddening, shook her head, “No.”

Li Zhangjie softly said, “Can you deceive your brother’s eyes?”

“No.” Li Ziyun felt truly fortunate to have her brother, her defenses slowly dropping as she recounted her experiences at the medicine shop.

After listening, Li Zhangjie gently patted her head, “It’s okay, life is full of setbacks. Consider Sun Xialan a twist in life; solving it will make things right.” Li Ziyun looked up at Li Zhangjie, full of trust, “Big brother, how do we solve it?”

Li Zhangjie encouraged her, “She said you can’t do anything, right? Let’s secretly learn everything and surpass her, making her regret her actions today.”

Li Ziyun lacked confidence, “Can I learn? I feel so dumb. Today, during her free time, Sister Qingning taught me ten characters, and it took me three tries to learn.”

Li Zhangjie exaggerated, “That’s dumb? I took ten tries to learn when I was your age.”

Li Ziyun blinked in surprise, “Really?”

“Yes, your learning ability is already very good. Be confident, understand?”

Li Ziyun felt a bit more confident, “Big brother, can you teach me some more? I want to learn quickly. Oh, I borrowed a ‘Complete Book of Herbs’ from Qingning sister, can you teach me the names of the herbs? That way, I can fetch the medicine myself without help.”

Li Zhangjie readily agreed, “Sure, I’ll teach you right now.”

The two moved to a smaller room, lit a fire for warmth, turned on two oil lamps, and Li Ziyun began her learning journey…

As Li Ziyun immersed herself in learning, she continued until late into the night, finally succumbing to overwhelming sleepiness.

That night, she learned thirty herb names…

In Wan City, Tang Jinghong, escorting grain seeds, arrived in Wan City after a day’s journey, settling in an inn.

They disguised themselves as a merchant convoy, not alerting the local authorities.

This was according to Chu Qingzhi’s advice. Alerting the authorities would ruin their plan, preventing their adversary from acting again.

Chu Qingzhi needed them to act, only then could she capture this person!

Under the cover of night, a swift shadow darted into the distance, leaving behind a trail of afterimages.

Tang Jinghong opened the window, hands behind his back, glanced at the grain seeds in the courtyard, then looked towards the horizon, his brow furrowed in concern, yet his eyes filled with anticipation.

Soon, Chu Qingzhi appeared. He slightly shifted aside, just standing still, Chu Qingzhi was already before him.

With a motion, he pulled Chu Qingzhi into his embrace, “Qingzhi, a day apart feels like three autumns!”

“I felt it was quite long too.” Chu Qingzhi patted Tang Jinghong’s back, “I brought you something to eat.”

Tang Jinghong released Chu Qingzhi, looking down eagerly, “What’s delicious?”

Chu Qingzhi placed the food box on the table, revealing its contents, lifting her chin at Tang Jinghong, “How about it, isn’t it creative?”

She turned milk cookies into individual characters, malting them sandwich­style. To Tang Jinghong, they were fascinating, “Making cookies so exquisite, it’s almost a pity to eat.”

He selected eight cookies, spellingout, “Tang Jinghong likes Chu Qingzhi.”

“Eat, it’s okay, I’ll bake more next time.” Tang Jinghong sat down, Chu Qingzhi leaned gently on his shoulder, whispering in his ear.

Tang Jinghong, stirred by her words, struggled to control himself. He had never wanted a girl so much in his life.

Chu Qingzhi, nestled in Tang Jinghong’s embrace, sensed his rapid heartbeat and his struggle, daring not to move.

If it were another man, she would have been taken to bed already, but Jinghong had always maintained etiquette, never doing more than kissing her, even then, his hands never wandered.

Such restraint in a man was rare.