Coroner Qian raised his arm and was about to take off his clothes.

Chi Can’s delicate eyebrows furrowed: “You’re going to undress right here?”

“If not here, then where?” Coroner Qian pointed toward the stream not far from the thatched hut. “If I undress inside the house, don’t I still have to come out?”

Unlike the capital, where early autumn already carried a chill, Taishan still clung to summer’s tail, so bathing in the stream wasn’t unreasonable.

“Shixi, please take Miss Li for a walk over there. I’ll call you both when Coroner Qian finishes washing.”

Chi Can naturally didn’t want Qiao Zhao’s eyes to be sullied, so he turned his head and said, “Let’s go over there.”

“Mm.”

Not far away, rolling hills rose and fell, not particularly high. The two climbed a small hillock and walked down the other side to find a thicket of shrubs. The bushes bore many crystal-clear red fruits that looked as beautiful as agates.

“These are edible,” Chi Can suddenly said.

Qiao Zhao couldn’t help but look at him.

Chi Can smiled: “I ate them when I was young.”

Once trapped on Lingtai Mountain, he had eaten this type of wild fruit.

“They taste quite good.” Chi Can walked over and picked several red wild fruits. He bent down to wash them clean in the stream water, but remembering that someone was bathing in this very stream not far away, he immediately felt nauseated. Straightening up, he took out a handkerchief from his robes and carefully wiped the wild fruits clean before offering them to Qiao Zhao. “Would you like to try some?”

The red wild fruits against his white, jade-like, slender fingers looked particularly attractive.

Qiao Zhao had also eaten this type of wild fruit before. They were slightly sweet at first, followed by an astringent taste – the texture was quite ordinary.

She smiled as she accepted them, thanking him, then picked up a fruit and ate it.

“How is it?” Chi Can’s glass-like eyes widened slightly, full of anticipation.

“Not bad.”

Chi Can’s eyes curved in a smile as he put a wild fruit in his mouth, then suddenly froze.

He forced himself to swallow the fruit, full of confusion, murmuring: “It doesn’t taste the same as I remember.”

Qiao Zhao played with the several wild fruits in her hand and smiled: “Perhaps the wild fruits’ taste hasn’t changed, but Brother Chi’s state of mind is different from back then.”

Chi Can was stunned for a moment, then nodded: “You’re right.”

He pointed to two stones on the grass: “Let’s sit for a while. That old coroner was so dirty you couldn’t make out his appearance – it’ll take him quite some time to get clean.”

The two sat down.

The stones held a bit of warmth, and the fresh scent unique to green grass enveloped them both.

Qiao Zhao didn’t speak, and Chi Can didn’t speak either.

He secretly watched her profile and suddenly felt very content.

This was the girl he liked.

Qiao Zhao sensed Chi Can’s gaze and openly met his eyes.

She could never give him what he wanted, so she wouldn’t let the atmosphere between them alone become filled with ambiguity.

“Brother Chi, we might stay in Jia Feng for a very long time, and afterward we’ll need to go to the southern coast. Most likely, we won’t be able to return to the capital for the New Year.”

“It’s fine, celebrating New Year outside is the same.”

Chi Can couldn’t help but think of New Year scenes at the Eldest Princess’s residence.

The liveliness and celebration were all superficial. In that vast hall, he and his mother sat at opposite ends of the dining table, with a full table of dishes barely touched, tasteless as chewing wax.

He didn’t like the New Year, but perhaps this year he could look forward to it. By then, he’d have Li San make him char siu venison to eat.

Thinking this way, Chi Can’s heart softened, his eyebrows and eyes full of smiles.

Time passed unknowingly, and Shao Mingyuan’s voice called from the hillside: “Shixi, you can come over now.”

Chi Can suppressed the reluctance in his heart and stood up, saying quietly: “That Coroner Qian will probably give you a hard time. I’m worried—”

“It’s fine.” Qiao Zhao interrupted Chi Can’s words. “I’m not afraid of being given a hard time. At least he’s willing to be difficult rather than refuse outright.”

Chi Can gazed deeply at Qiao Zhao.

“What’s wrong?”

Chi Can smiled: “Nothing, let’s go.”

He took the lead walking forward, but his heart felt quite unsettled.

Shao Mingyuan wanted to clear his father-in-law’s family of injustice – why was Li San so dedicated to helping?

From the beginning, Li San’s attitude toward Shao Mingyuan had been different.

“In any case, you still need to be careful. Don’t be stubborn.”

The two returned to the original spot, only seeing Shao Mingyuan alone.

“Where’s Coroner Qian?” Chi Can asked.

Shao Mingyuan pointed to the thatched hut: “He went inside to sleep.”

“He made us wait until afternoon while he went inside to sleep?” Chi Can’s lips tightened.

Shao Mingyuan smiled helplessly: “It seems he can’t do otherwise. Coroner Qian said he only has one set of clothes, and he’ll come out again when they dry.”

Qiao Zhao looked around and indeed saw clothes spread flat on stones not far away.

“I just finished washing the clothes. Fortunately, the sun is strong right now, so they should dry quickly.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to go buy him a set of clothes from the families at the foot of the mountain?” Chi Can said.

“He said new clothes don’t feel right to wear.”

Chi Can sneered: “The old bastard is just toying with people.”

“You two sit first. I’ll go catch a few wild rabbits – Coroner Qian said he wants to eat roasted rabbit meat.”

“Does he also want a pot of liquor?” Chi Can laughed in annoyance.

The old fellow was taking advantage of Shao Mingyuan’s good temper.

Shao Mingyuan glanced at Qiao Zhao and stood up: “He didn’t mention that. This afternoon, he still needs to test Miss Li, so perhaps he can’t drink and make mistakes. Shixi, you gather some dry firewood – I’ll be back soon.”

After giving instructions, Shao Mingyuan quickly disappeared into the forest. Less than half an hour later, he returned carrying three wild rabbits and a wild chicken in one hand, with a beehive balanced on the other.

“What’s that?” Chi Can stared at the beehive and asked.

“A honeycomb – there’s honey inside.”

Chi Can reached over to take the beehive: “So this is how the honey we eat comes from.”

He curiously leaned in to look closely when suddenly a bee emerged and quickly landed on his eyelid.

Quick as lightning, Shao Mingyuan reached out and pinched the bee away with his fingers.

Chi Can cried out softly and covered his left eye, not moving.

“Did it sting you?” Shao Mingyuan asked.

Chi Can’s left eye area had swollen high, and the eyelid could no longer open, but he didn’t put his hand down.

He must look very ugly like this!

“General Shao, you handle the rabbit meat first. I’ll take a look at Brother Chi.”

“Alright.” Shao Mingyuan nodded. Miss Li would naturally be more skilled at handling these things than he was.

Qiao Zhao moved closer: “Brother Chi, take your hand away so I can see the situation.”

Chi Can covered his eye and didn’t move.

Qiao Zhao’s face darkened: “If Brother Chi doesn’t want me to look, then you should go down the mountain first to find a doctor.”

Was she going to send him away?

Chi Can steeled his heart and put his hand down.

His left eye was swollen very high, looking particularly comical. Just as he felt extremely embarrassed, he saw that the young woman opposite showed no unusual expression, and her gaze examining him was extraordinarily serious.

In that instant, Chi Can thought: Getting stung by a bee was quite worth it.

Perhaps it was the girl’s serious gaze tinged with some worry that gave Chi Can inspiration. A flash of insight struck him, and he said pitifully: “It hurts—”

Shao Mingyuan couldn’t help but glance at Chi Can and smiled as he lowered his head.

Though Shixi had a somewhat contrary nature, he was someone with strong self-respect. If not for Miss Li, he would never whimper pitifully about pain.

His friend was going all out for the girl he liked.