Chapter 647: Chapter 634 Innocence

Isn’t it naive?

Chu Jinzhou glanced at Banqing and blinked.

He would have dared to say that Chu Jinnian would surely visit him first when he returned in the past.

But now…

He still had self-awareness.

Since Banqing overlooked this, Chu Jinzhou did not deliberately elaborate. He just said, “I also wish to see my elder brother sooner.”

Banqing nodded in agreement.

For Chu Jinzhou, in the entire family, only Chu Jinnian treated him the best, and he naturally considered Chu Jinnian as his only family.

Chu Jinnian had been in the capital city for months. It was only natural for Chu Jinzhou to long for him.

So Banqing chose not to persuade him any further and waited with Chu Jinzhou.

They kept waiting, from dawn till noon.

When they were both hungry as if their stomachs were beating drums, they faintly heard the sound of hoofbeats from a distance.

Then they saw two large horses approaching from afar, and they gradually made out the figures of the riders.

It was none other than Chu Jinnian and Jing Zhao.

“It’s my elder brother,” Chu Jinzhou stood in the carriage, waving excitedly at Chu Jinnian. “Elder brother, I am here…”

Just as his voice dropped, they heard a horse neigh. Jing Zhao’s horse stopped in front of Chu Jinzhou, while Chu Jinnian’s horse did not slow down at all. Instead, it moved faster and swept past Chu Jinzhou like the wind.

Leaving only an afterimage.

Chu Jinzhou closed his mouth, watched Chu Jinnian and his horse disappear from his sight, sighed helplessly, and then looked at Banqing bleakly.

See, what did he say?

He had said long ago that his brother had always been single-minded. His focus used to be on him, but now it has shifted to someone else.

Banqing touched his nose and avoided Chu Jinzhou’s gaze. He looked at Jing Zhao instead, trying to break the awkward silence. “Brother Jing Zhao is back…”

“Yeah.” Jing Zhao also looked somewhat awkward, and he forced a smile on his face. “Third Young Master, the elder master said he had something to attend to, so he asked me to send you back first.”

“All right then.” Chu Jinzhou nodded. “It’s good enough that my elder brother returned safely.”

With Chu Jinnian back, there would inevitably be more interactions between Qingzhuyuan and Zhuang Qingning. Wouldn’t that mean more chances to eat good food?

Thinking of this, Chu Jinzhou broke into a grin, revealing a row of white teeth. “Let’s go, let’s go back to Qingzhuyuan.”

“Yes.” Jing Zhao and Banqing exchanged glances, touched their ears, and escorted Chu Jinzhou back to Qingzhuyuan.

Meanwhile, Chu Jinnian hurried to Zhuang Qingning’s house.

As he got off his horse and reached the entrance, he paused before knocking on the door.

It was about lunchtime, and he wondered whether Zhuang Qingning might be taking a siesta or perhaps she might not be home at all?

Just as Chu Jinnian was hesitating, the door was suddenly pulled open, revealing Zhuang Qingning’s extraordinary beauty.

Zhuang Qingning was a little stunned when she saw Chu Jinnian standing in front of her. Then she couldn’t help but grin. “I knew it would be you.”

“How so?” Chu Jinnian replied with a smile.

“I felt a little sleepy after lunch and decided to take a nap. I heard the neighing of a horse in my dream, or perhaps while I was half asleep, and thought you might be back. So, I decided to come out and check,” Zhuang Qingning replied.

Chu Jinnian’s smile deepened. His gaze traveled from Zhuang Qingning’s smiling face down to the ground.

Zhuang Qingning was not wearing any shoes, she was barefooted.

Her tender little feet on the blue bricks appeared reddish due to the cold autumn breeze.

No need to say, she must have hurried out to check if he had returned, forgetting even to put on her shoes.

But the sound of horse neighs was not exclusive to his return.

Zhuang Qingning’s workshops had been doing well, with countless bullock carts and carriages coming in and out every day for deliveries. Such sounds were quite common.

And Zhuang Qingning might have rushed out barefoot, hoping he was back each time, only to end up being disappointed.

Chu Jinnian suddenly felt as if he had been stabbed in the heart, the pain was unbearable.

He reached out and pulled Zhuang Qingning into his arms. He lifted her horizontally and carried her into the house.

“Hey, what are you doing…” Zhuang Qingning exclaimed in surprise.

“Stay still.”

Chu Jinnian’s voice was deep and magnetic, causing a strange sensation in Zhuang Qingning’s heart. She obediently wound her arms around Chu Jinnian’s neck and let him carry her into the house.

When he placed Zhuang Qingning on the bed and let her sit down, Chu Jinnian fetched some socks and put them on Zhuang Qingning’s feet.

His movements were gentle and meticulous.

Smiling at the sight, Zhuang Qingning brushed the stray locks of hair away from Chu Jinnian’s forehead. “Your eyes look a little dark. Have you been traveling day and night without rest?”

“I wasn’t tired in the first place.” Chu Jinnian smiled and poured two cups of tea from the table nearby. He drank one cup and handed the other to Zhuang Qingning.

“I’ve pretty much taken care of everything in the capital, and the matters that needed to be settled have been dealt with. So, I hurried back.”

Chu Jinnian spoke lightly, as though he was discussing the fine weather.

But political struggles were fraught with dangers. His time in the capital must have been extremely challenging, requiring tremendous effort and energy.

However, Chu Jinnian had always been the kind to share the good news and not the bad. Even in the letters he sent to her, he would only mention that he had resolved a problem, never detailing how he had done it.

Clearly, he did not want her to worry.

Zhuang Qingning pursed her lips and smiled. “You must not have had lunch yet. Do you want me to make you some noodles?”

Reminded by Zhuang Qingning, Chu Jinnian now felt the emptiness in his stomach and nodded. “Sure.”

He then stood up. “I’ll go with you.”

He had barely returned, and he wanted to spend as much time as possible with Zhuang Qingning. Naturally, he couldn’t let her work alone.

Zhuang Qingning nodded, and they both headed to the kitchen.

The dried noodles were ready-made. She added a sprinkle of green onions and two eggs to the boiling water, and soon a bowl of delicious clear soup noodles was ready.

The egg was tender and yellow, the green onions bright green, and the noodles snow-white. The heavenly aroma wafted into Chu Jinnian’s nostrils. Unable to resist, Chu Jinnian finished the bowl of noodles right down to the last drop of soup.

Not a drop of soup was left.