The Overachieving Little Husband of the Top Scholar’s Household - Chapter 12: I’ll Take Care of You

Before sunset, after a busy day in town, Qiu Huanian finally boarded the mule cart back to Du Family Village.

The ritual papers he had drawn sold even better than Wang Cheng had initially expected, making Wang Cheng overjoyed. He rushed to find Qiu Huanian and added another order of three hundred sheets.

After weighing his options, Qiu Huanian decided to leave the sorghum candy at the tofu shop for the next two days and asked Meng Yuanling to sell it on his behalf. Meanwhile, he would stay at the stationery shop to focus on drawing.

Tomorrow was Qingming Festival. With today’s final two hundred sheets completed, all orders were now fulfilled.

Over the past three days, Qiu Huanian had drawn a total of six hundred ritual papers, earning four taels and eight qian(30gm) of silver. Combined with the money from selling candy and his household savings, he was now very close to affording a tall, strong blue-flowered mule.

He felt embarrassed to trouble Baoren and Meng Fuyue to pick him up from town so late, so he offered to pay for the cart fare. However, neither of them would accept his money. In the end, Qiu Huanian bought a pound of pork, planning to cook a proper meal for them after Qingming Festival as thanks.

As the mule cart jolted along, Qiu Huanian was contemplating what dishes to prepare, who to invite, and what household items to purchase with his earnings when he suddenly heard Meng Fuyue exclaim in surprise.

“What is it?”

“Look over there.” Meng Fuyue pointed to a path diagonally behind them, which they had just passed. “Is that a horse?”

Qiu Huanian focused his gaze and indeed saw two sleek, well-groomed horses galloping along a country road. The distance was too far for him to make out the riders’ appearances, but he could roughly discern that they were two young men.

Baoren steered the mule cart to the roadside and stopped, turning back to look as well. “That road only leads to our village. No one in the village can afford horses. What are these two here for?”

As the eldest son of the village chief’s family, Baoren had been exposed to more knowledge than the average villager. After some thought, he decided to wait and observe the newcomers in case of any unexpected trouble.

Horses were much faster than mules, and before long, the two riders had caught up.

The young man on the second horse called out to the one in front, “Yunse, slow down a bit! How is the horse you borrowed running even faster than my prized steed?”

“The traffickers have already been caught; nothing will go wrong. Are we nearing Du Family Village?”

Yunse? Baoren squinted at the approaching figures, then stepped forward to block their way. Seeing this, the two riders pulled on their reins and dismounted one after the other.

“Aren’t you… Baoyan’s son, Dalang Yunse?” Baoren hesitated to confirm his guess. Du Yunse had left home at the age of ten, only returning briefly for a little over a month when Du Baoyan passed away. Apart from that, the villagers had never seen him again.

The young man before him had sharp, handsome features and a jade-like complexion. Though he stood amidst the fields wearing simple cloth garments, he carried an air of refined dignity that made Baoren instinctively lower his voice, as if addressing a nobleman.

The young man nodded slightly and bowed in greeting. “Junior Du Yunse greets Uncle and Aunt.”

“It really is you! Good lad, you still remember me.” After that bow, Baoren finally regained his usual tone, laughing as he patted Du Yunse’s arm. “You’ve finally come back! My father has been talking about you for years, hoping you’d return and pass the imperial exam to bring honor to our Du Family Village.”

But Du Yunse was in no mood for pleasantries. He asked urgently, “Uncle Baoren, where is my family now?”

Baoren was puzzled. Jiujiu, Chunsheng, and Hua Ge’er were all fine—why was Yunse so anxious?

The young man behind Yunse, Wu Shen, laughed and seized the chance to tease, “Uncle, he means his husband. He’s asking where his husband is!”

“…”

Du Yunse initially wanted to rebuke Wu Shen, but upon realizing that he was indeed inquiring about his childhood betrothed, he refrained from arguing over words and remained silent.

Baoren and Meng Fuyue exchanged glances before looking toward someone standing slightly behind them.

Already having stepped off the mule cart, Qiu Huanian felt his lips twitch. At this moment, he neither wanted to step forward nor retreat.

Following their gazes, Du Yunse saw a fair-skinned young man dressed in plain robes with a wooden hairpin.

The young man had delicate, refined features, a straight nose, and slightly upturned red lips. His eyes were bright and lively, resembling dewdrops on morning grass. Standing there, he looked like a painting.

Du Yunse was momentarily caught off guard and ended up staring at him for longer than was appropriate. Only when Wu Shen nudged him did he snap out of it, while Meng Fuyue, observing everything, could barely hold back her laughter.

She had initially worried that Hua Ge’er and Yunse, having never met, might not get along. Now, it seemed those concerns were entirely unnecessary.

“You are…” Du Yunse, unusually flustered, spoke with hesitation.

Qiu Huanian hadn’t thought much of the situation before, but now he too felt somewhat awkward. His gaze flickered as he responded, “I am Qiu Huanian.”

Wu Shen, though fond of teasing, knew proper etiquette. Upon hearing Qiu Huanian’s name, he stopped joking and greeted him respectfully, “Sister-in-law, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

This, however, made Qiu Huanian even more at a loss, his ears burning with heat.

By all logic, he had long been prepared to meet Du Dalang, but he had never imagined that Du Yunse would be this handsome. Beyond his sharp features, he carried an air of composed elegance—the exact type Qiu Huanian found most attractive, like a real-life, gender-swapped Little Dragon Lord(Xiao Longye). The sight of him left Qiu Huanian too embarrassed to even look directly.

Seeing the younger generation standing awkwardly, Baoren took on the role of the elder and called out, “Alright, alright. You two husbands are meeting for the first time. Whatever you need to say, you can talk about it tonight at home.”

“Yunse, your friend has come from far away, and your house is too small to host guests. Why don’t you both come to my place? I’ll make a few dishes, and we can have a proper chat.”

Wu Shen thanked him but politely declined. “Thank you, Uncle Baoren, but I have royal orders to follow and must travel through the night. If it weren’t for Yunse’s impatience, I wouldn’t have come along.”

Royal orders? Baoren was startled and took a second look at this imposing young man.

Du Yunse explained, “His name is Wu Shen, from the capital. His Majesty has appointed him as a Zongqi in the border army, and he must report within fifteen days. There’s no time to delay.”

He left out deeper details, as the villagers had no exposure to such matters. Knowing too much might bring unnecessary trouble.

Zongqi? That was a seventh-rank military officer! It seemed Yunse had built quite the network over the years. Baoren’s respect for him grew even more.

“Even so, you should at least have a meal before setting off. You can’t ride on an empty stomach! Let’s hurry back. The stove is still warm, so cooking won’t take too much time.”

Meng Fuyue didn’t understand how high a Zongqi ranked, but since it was a position granted by the emperor, it had to be significant. She felt genuinely happy for Hua Ge’er. With Yunse’s connections, Hua Ge’er would surely benefit.

“She’s right. At the very least, have a meal before you leave. Otherwise, people will laugh at our poor hospitality.”

Wu Shen hesitated before smiling. “In that case, I’ll impose upon you.”

Before departing, his father specifically instructed him not to sever ties with Du Yunse. Although Wu Shen did not understand the reason, he did not mind. He was quite curious about the family that had raised someone as exceptional as Du Yunse.

Baoren drove the mule cart back to the center of the road to lead the way. Qiu Huanian wanted to get on the cart, but Meng Fuyue pushed him directly toward Du Yunse.

The two of them made brief eye contact before quickly looking away. Du Yunse mounted his horse and extended a hand toward Qiu Huanian. With a single strong pull of his long, slender arm, he lifted the slender young ge’er onto the horse.

Qiu Huanian tensed up for a moment but soon found himself sitting steadily in the young man’s arms. The sudden height gave him a fresh perspective, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit excited, his eyes unconsciously lighting up.

“Don’t fidget, sit tight,” Du Yunse’s clear voice sounded beside his ear, his warm breath brushing against Qiu Huanian’s skin, bringing a slight tickling sensation.

Qiu Huanian gripped the saddle tightly, feeling the strong and lean body embracing him from behind. He carefully pondered and analyzed in his mind.

He had assumed that Du Yunse was just a frail scholar, but not only could the man ride a horse, he also had considerable strength. Lifting a person onto the horse with one hand seemed effortless for him. His physique must be…

Qiu Huanian shuddered, immediately straightening his posture and suppressing his thoughts, afraid to continue his train of thought.

Thinking about such things while sitting in someone’s arms was far too indecent. How could he defile his “Little Dragon Lord” like this!

The two fine horses were an unusual sight in Du Family Village. In no time, news of Du Bao Yan’s eldest son, Yunse, returning spread throughout the village.

The group split up at the village entrance. Baoren and his wife returned home to prepare a meal, while Du Yunse, Qiu Huanian, and Wu Shen headed to Du Yunse’s house first.

Looking at the thatched cottage, which had remained almost unchanged from six years ago, Du Yunse let out an almost imperceptible sigh before dismounting and walking to the front door.

Wu Shen wanted to say something, but after rubbing his nose, he ultimately chose to keep quiet. He truly hadn’t expected Du Yunse’s family to be this poor. Forget a brick house—there were only three thatched rooms.

Back when the Grand General’s residence hadn’t been confiscated, even the lowest-ranked servants there had lived in better quarters than this!

Qiu Huanian took out a key to unlock the courtyard gate and invited them in. Wu Shen tied his horse to a tree outside the yard and followed them inside, finding that the interior was better than he had expected.

The thatched cottage was old and worn, but the windows had been freshly covered with clean, bright paper, decorated with ink paintings of plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums, giving it a unique charm.

Though the yard was small, it was meticulously maintained. The large pear tree in the southeast corner was in full bloom, its white blossoms gleaming like snow in the setting sun. Beneath it, a small vegetable garden had neat furrows, with two rows of vibrant green chives and spring onions growing vigorously.

Against the wall, several large round sieves were filled with drying tofu and chili peppers. In the chicken coop, the hens clucked from time to time. On the stove, a basket of leftover wild greens was placed.

Qiu Huanian stood proudly, letting them take in the results of his labor. He unlocked the main house and invited them inside without the slightest hint of unease or embarrassment.

“I thought you’d be back in a few days, so I haven’t tidied up the main room. Just bear with it for now.”

As he spoke, Qiu Huanian found two mismatched teacups and poured them some plain boiled water—there was no tea to offer.

Wu Shen accepted the cup, finally snapping out of his thoughts.

This “sister-in-law” was far more beautiful and extraordinary than he had imagined. However, he seemed rather distant from Du Yunse, more like an ordinary acquaintance than a married couple.

Could it be that he resented Yunse for not sending money home all these years? Given the state of this household, it would be understandable…

Wu Shen pondered for a moment, believing he had figured it out. Feeling the need to speak up for his friend, he said, “Sister-in-law, Yunse’s mentor, Master Wen, is an honest and upright official. He never had much money. Yunse lived a very frugal life under him, unwilling to even use a folding fan. If he wanted a book, he had to copy texts to save up for it. There was one time—”

Before he could continue, Du Yunse silenced him with a cold glare.

Qiu Huanian watched the scene unfold and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I…” Du Yunse wanted to say something, but he didn’t know where to begin. The truth was, he hadn’t sent a single coin home all these years.

Qiu Huanian waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t overthink it. You were just a child back then. The fact that you managed to support yourself without taking money from home is already impressive.”

Traveling required money, and scholars had even greater expenses. Ever since Du Yunse had followed his teacher at the age of ten, he had never asked for a cent from home—that was already commendable. Widow Li had never blamed him for it, either.

If this were the modern era, how many university students still couldn’t support themselves and had to rely on monthly allowances from their families?

Du Yunse hadn’t expected Qiu Huanian to say such things. He was momentarily stunned, and a wave of inexplicable warmth surged in his chest. Looking at the ge’er before him, he found him even more radiant than before.

His mind heated up, and he blurted out a sentence he had never imagined he would say in his lifetime:

“From now on, I will provide for you and this household.”