Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 560 Assassination Turns Into an Open and Legitimate Assassination (5)
Qiqi and Yueyue, upon hearing that Daddy and Mommy were planning to take them out, excitedly went back to their own rooms to change their clothes. They came down beaming with joy, "Daddy, Mommy, we’re all ready."
The couple looked at them together, then exchanged a glance, each seeing the message in the other’s eyes. Soon, they lifted a child each and began working on their little faces. Within a short span of time, two ordinary-looking children appeared before the parents, "Alright, not bad."
Dugu Chen looked at Yueyue and Qiqi, nodding, "Yes, these are indeed our children."
"What do you mean ’these are indeed our children’? Are you saying they weren’t before?" Feng Xuxu narrowed her eyes dangerously at Dugu Chen.
"Hehehe, my dear wife, I meant that, with our ’ordinary’ faces, how could we have such beautiful children? It’d be instantly suspicious. But look at them now, this is indeed what you’d expect from a blending of our features."
"Stop with the nonsense, let’s hurry up and go out," Feng Xuxu said with a light laugh, chiding him with a smile.
The family of four stepped out of their dilapidated courtyard and walked down the street. Although Feng Xuxu still drew some attention from passersby, after a look at her then at the man beside her, they would sadly shake their heads, as if they felt sorry for him, wondering how he came to marry such an unattractive wife.
Throughout the walk, Feng Xuxu silently endured the peculiar glances from everyone, cursing someone in her heart, and looked at the man beside her with a very unfriendly gaze.
Dugu Chen also grimly tolerated the murderous glances his wife shot at him, his heart quivering with fear, but he did not regret the disguise he had crafted for her. His wife’s beauty was a treasure for him alone to appreciate.
Eventually, the four found a relatively large inn, took a top-tier room, and after setting down their belongings, they came downstairs and ordered some local specialties. Once the dishes were served, they ate with rice.
After the meal, Dugu Chen and Feng Xuxu took the two children to start searching for the whereabouts of the grain. An hour went by, but they were still clueless. Seeing how tired the children were, Feng Xuxu found a shady spot for them to rest awhile.
"Husband, this isn’t going anywhere. We’ve checked both estates of the Prince Residence, and found nothing. We can’t possibly search through all the major residences in Yezhou. It would be time-consuming and exhausting, and we still might not find it." Sitting on a stone, she wiped the sweat off her daughter’s face and looked at her son’s flushed face. Feng Xuxu reluctantly persuaded, "If it’s too much, you two can go play in the space. You can come out when we’re back at the inn."
"Mommy, we can hold on," Qiqi said.
"Yes, I can too," Yueyue chimed in after hearing her brother’s determined reply.
"Where could that old fox have hidden the grain?" With such a large quantity of grain, it couldn’t possibly be in the Prince Residence. So where could it be? Somewhere that could withstand water and humidity and also keep rodents at bay. Where could that place be?
Feng Xuxu shook her head, her mind wracked, unable to conceive of such a place. After all, poorly stored grain could spoil.
"My dear, where does your brother usually store his grain?" Dugu Chen had not seen any grain in the villa, so he surmised the grain must be stored somewhere particular. Maybe if they followed that line of thought, they might find it.
"When the villa was first built, a cave was dug into the mountain behind it. As the grain supply grew, the cave was expanded. Later, to prevent moisture, large green bricks were used to line the cave, and straw was woven into large granaries to store the grain. This way, it wouldn’t fear humidity. Every place where we farm has such caves."
"My dear, is it possible...?"
"Are you talking about the mountain outside?" Feng Xuxu’s eyes widened as she looked at Dugu Chen.
"Yes." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go check it out and see," Feng Xuxu said, feeling as though she had grass growing under her seat, impatient to head to the mountain.
Dugu Chen grabbed the excited her, "Hold on, you wait here with the kids, I’ll be right back."
Before Feng Xuxu could respond, he was already drifting away. Feng Xuxu had no choice but to take out a small basket of fruit from the space, eating slowly with the two children to quench their thirst.
When they were almost done with the fruit, they saw a carriage approaching from the distance, with none other than Dugu Chen holding the reins.
"Get in."
Feng Xuxu lifted Yueyue from the ground, letting her get on the carriage first, followed by Qiqi. After the two children were aboard, Feng Xuxu climbed into the carriage herself. Once Dugu Chen saw they were settled, he drove the carriage straight out of the city towards the countryside.
In the carriage, Feng Xuxu saw four small baskets, four small hoes, and a large bamboo basket, seemingly prepared for gathering herbs in the mountains.
"Mommy, are we pretending to be herb gatherers?" Qiqi looked at the items on the ground, reminiscent of what Yueyue used in the space for gathering herbs.
"Silly, that’s a given. Otherwise, what do you think we got these hoes for? To farm in the mountains?" Yueyue rolled her eyes, shaking her head at her brother.
Qiqi pouted and returned the eye roll to his sister, muttering, "Like you’re the smart one—you’ve done plenty dumb things."
"What did you say, big brother?"
"Good words don’t bear repeating," he coolly turned his head to gaze out the window.
Yueyue puffed her cheeks, disdainfully glancing at her older brother.
Every day, Feng Xuxu watched their unending bickering without getting tired of it; they would argue and then soon be fine again.
Outside, in the driver’s seat, Dugu Chen heard their banter and simply pressed his lips together in amusement. Observing their playful squabbles was a delight.
Soon after, the carriage exited Yezhou Prefecture. Before long, they reached Desolate Mountain. Dugu Chen found a secluded spot to park the carriage, unhitched the horses, and lifted the screen: "Yueyue, come here, let Daddy help you down."
Yueyue obediently went over to the carriage’s edge and was lifted down by her father. Then it was Qiqi’s turn, and lastly... a bamboo basket. Inside the basket were the small baskets and unused hoes, which he handed to Dugu Chen. After seeing Dugu Chen bend over to place the things down, Feng Xuxu finally jumped down from the carriage.
Dugu Chen distributed the tools from the bamboo basket so that each person had one. Only he had an additional bamboo basket slung over his back. The family of four then headed towards the mountain.
