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Qi Chen was, of course, teasing Xu Yanqing, but the child had chubby cheeks and was especially close to Xu Yanqing, making them look quite similar when together.
Xu Yanqing kneaded the child’s rosy cheeks. “He’s Uncle Yuan’s child. There was no one home because of the ancestral worship today, so my elder brother brought him here.”
Lunch was almost ready. Ah Ning heard Xu Yanqing speak but didn’t react much; his mind was completely filled with sweet peach jam.
“Oh!” Qi Chen nodded in understanding. He put down the small basket on his back, which contained some herbs he had gathered. Then he asked, “What delicious food did Auntie Li make for lunch today? It smells so fragrant and sweet, really good.”
Xu Yanqing didn’t pay much attention, but the child beside him nervously said, “She didn’t make anything good; you smelled it wrong.”
Seeing the child’s possessive look, Xu Yanqing couldn’t help but smile. Qi Chen washed his hands by the water vat, then walked over to Ah Ning and poked the child’s cheek. “Little one, that’s called ‘no silver in this place, only three hundred taels.’ Now I’m even more curious.”
Ah Ning thought he had said the wrong thing and only made this stranger covet his peach jam more, so his big round eyes widened in anger.
“Young Doctor Qi is back!” Mu Yu had been busy with Auntie Li in the kitchen for a while. After lunch was ready, he brought each dish out to the courtyard. “Just one more dish, stewed chicken with mushrooms, and we’re all set. Young Doctor Qi can change his clothes and come eat.”
“Alright.” After a morning of work, Qi Chen’s clothes were soaked with sweat and stained with dirt. He sniffed the fragrance of the food in the courtyard and quickly ran back to his room to change.
Ah Ning stared at Qi Chen, who had darted into the room, and leaned closer to Xu Yanqing, whispering, “Little Uncle, who was that big brother just now?”
“He’s a doctor, but it’s better for you to call him Uncle Qi.” Otherwise, he would be taking advantage of Qi Chen. Xu Yanqing pinched the child’s small hand. “Let’s go wash your dirty hands, and then we can eat.”
It was clear that Qi Chen had been running around all morning and was very hungry. He held a corn pancake and happily ate it with the stewed chicken and mushrooms.
Mu Yu finally finished his work. He brought a small bowl out from the kitchen and placed it in front of Ah Ning. “Try this; it was chilled in cold water just now. It should taste very good.”
“What is it?” Qi Chen had finally put something in his shriveled, hungry stomach. Seeing Mu Yu’s actions, he couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Little guy, you’re pretty good, actually getting your own special dish!”
Ah Ning saw this and quickly covered the small bowl Mu Yu had placed in front of him, guarding it tightly. “This is mine; don’t even think about stealing it.”
“No, I’m starving right now. I want to eat what’s in your bowl.” Qi Chen asserted, his gaze fixed on the bowl covered by Ah Ning’s chubby hand.
Ah Ning looked at Qi Chen, then lifted his hand to peek at the jam in his bowl. After a long hesitation, he picked up a clean, small spoon and gave Qi Chen a little bit. “I’ll share some with you, but you can’t make me eat bitter medicine in the future.”
He had just heard his little uncle say that this Uncle Qi was a doctor. He knew about doctors; every time he got sick, doctors would make him eat bitter medicine, and his parents would give the doctor copper coins. The child tried to curry favor with Qi Chen, hoping that Qi Chen would be kinder to him in the future so he wouldn’t have to take bitter medicine.
So that was the little guy’s plan. Qi Chen deliberately teased him, “Well, this little bit of food won’t appease me. At the very least, you have to share half of the food in your bowl with me.”
Ah Ning widened his eyes at the serious-faced Uncle Qi. It turned out that Uncle Qi, despite being an adult, also liked sweet jam. But he looked at the little bit of jam left in the bowl and was a bit reluctant. Finally, he gritted his teeth and shared half with Qi Chen. “Then it’s a deal; Uncle Qi can’t make me eat bitter medicine in the future.”
This little guy truly detested bitter medicine. Qi Chen took the opportunity to feel Ah Ning’s pulse. This little fellow was as strong as a piglet; a little cold wouldn’t require any medicine. Most likely, his family was overly anxious. He unceremoniously ate the jam Ah Ning shared with him. “Alright, it’s a deal then. If you catch a cold next time, I definitely won’t make you take bitter medicine.” As for other situations, they need to be considered.
Although the child was heartbroken about losing half of his fragrant and sweet peach jam, he became happy again at the thought of not having to take bitter medicine in the future.
After the meal, Xu Yanqing had Mu Yu mix some cold tea with peach jam and place it on the table for everyone to quench their thirst. So, Ah Ning, who had lost half of his peach jam, hugged a teacup and drank continuously by the table. Eventually, Mu Yu, seeing his bulging little belly, couldn’t help but laugh as he took him out for a walk to aid digestion.
By the time they returned, the little fellow was already quite listless. Mu Yu took him to the latrine, then brought him back to the room and coaxed him to sleep.
Qi Chen sat by the water vat, cleaning the herbs he had gathered during the day. The weather was about to get hot, and insects would become more prevalent. He had picked some insect-repelling herbs today, which he could make into incense later.
After eating, Xu Yanqing lazily strolled around the courtyard twice, then sat in a reclining chair to read a storybook. Not long after, the book fell to the ground, and he fell asleep.
Qi Chen walked over, picked up the storybook, carefully brushed off the dust, and then returned to his room to get a thick blanket to cover Xu Yanqing.
Life in the countryside was so leisurely and pleasant compared to the hustle and bustle of the capital. After the ancestral worship, Xu Xianzhi stayed with his younger brother in the Xu family village for more than ten days. Finally, his special ancestral worship leave, which he had requested from his superior, was about to end. He could only give countless instructions to the servants in the courtyard, and after a long stream of nagging in Xu Yanqing’s ear, he reluctantly rushed back to the capital.
When Xu Yanqing was four months pregnant, his morning sickness had significantly lessened, and his abdomen began to show a slight bump. Fortunately, the clothes Lady Su had prepared for him this time were all quite loose, so his unusual condition wasn’t noticeable.
Before Xu Xianzhi left, little Ah Ning actually preferred to wander around with his Uncle Xianzhi, as he was a boy and naturally a bit more active.
However, ever since Xu Xianzhi left, the little fellow would approach Xu Yanqing every few days, staring at him continuously.
Xu Yanqing hooked the chubby little child over with a finger. “Tell me, did your Uncle Xianzhi say anything strange to you before he left?”
“Ah Ning can’t say.” The little fellow raised his hand to cover his mouth, looking a bit guilty.
A child who was adept at “no silver in this place, only three hundred taels” could have his thoughts easily seen through. Xu Yanqing swayed leisurely in his reclining chair, knowing without a doubt that his elder brother, fearing he wouldn’t stay put, had planted a little spy by his side to constantly supervise his actions.
By the end of April, summer had arrived. The weather was erratic, often being cold one day and hot the next. One morning, Xu Yanqing woke up in a daze, drenched in sweat and feeling uncomfortably sticky.
A familiar tingling and swelling sensation came from the back of his neck, so he called Qi Chen, who was feeding the chicks in the courtyard. “Can you take a look? The back of my neck feels so uncomfortable.”
Qi Chen felt a slight shock upon hearing this. He quickly walked over, raised his hand, and touched the back of Xu Yanqing’s neck, feeling an unusual heat.
After Qi Chen touched the back of his neck, Xu Yanqing felt an inexplicably strong sense of repulsion and aversion. This made him frown. Qi Chen was like a friend to him; he shouldn’t have such strange feelings of repulsion.
Fortunately, Qi Chen only touched the back of Xu Yanqing’s neck briefly before withdrawing his hand. He then sat by the bed to take Xu Yanqing’s pulse.
“Young Master’s pulse is very normal. Aside from a slight cold, there doesn’t seem to be any major issue.” Qi Chen withdrew his hand and instructed Mu Yu to make some ginger tea for Xu Yanqing. “Let’s wait and see. If Young Master still feels uncomfortable later, I’ll administer acupuncture.”
Xu Yanqing lay wearily on the bed without getting up. His entire body, starting from the back of his neck, was unbearably hot, yet Qi Chen had diagnosed him with a slight cold, which made him feel a bit irritable.
Fearing he might take his temper out on others, Xu Yanqing drank the ginger tea, ate a little something to line his stomach, then turned and shooed everyone out of the room before curling up in bed again to sleep.
However, his body was filled with an inexplicable sense of agitation, and he couldn’t sleep at all. So, with a sudden thought, he took out the small bundle he had stuffed under the wardrobe.
After all this time, the scent on Taoist Xuanchen’s cloak had faded considerably. Xu Yanqing clutched the cloak, feeling a little wronged, and his mind drifted to all sorts of random thoughts.
The last time he had mentioned the ABO world and the characteristics of omegas to Qi Chen, it was just a joke. But now, whenever he felt wronged, he tended to overthink things.
According to his understanding, after an omega differentiates, they enter an uncontrollable heat period at irregular times each year. During this heat, omegas emit unique pheromones.
As for the specific duration of the heat period, it would vary depending on each omega’s physical condition. Some omegas’ heat periods only lasted two or three days, while others could last seven or eight days or even longer.
However, Xu Yanqing had counted the duration of his neck discomfort. It had been three or four months since the last time his neck started feeling hot, so Xu Yanqing himself was a bit confused.
Mainly, he felt that these speculations about omegas were simply too incredulous. Transmigrating into a book had already almost made his jaw drop, and now an omega physique appeared. Xu Yanqing even suspected that one day, flying superheroes might appear in his life.
Clutching Taoist Xuanchen’s cloak, Xu Yanqing fell into a hazy sleep. Just before drifting off, he vaguely thought of something else, but his body was too tired to process it at the moment, so he turned over and fell asleep.
In the county town, Yin Yanjun, dressed in a Taoist robe, sat at his desk, closed the memorial in his hand, and handed it to Wen Jing, who was waiting by his side.
Wen Jing bowed and took the memorial, slowly exiting the room. Just then, Yin Yuancheng knocked and entered.
“Your Majesty, the apothecaries have all been arranged.”
“Mm,” Yin Yanjun responded indifferently. He raised his hand and opened a slip of paper. A fleeting, complex expression crossed his clear, cold brows, and then he tucked the slip into a book on his desk.
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