Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 676: On the Eve of the Grand Wedding (1)

In the scorching heat of July, not even a whisper of a breeze stirred, and a few white clouds drifted across azure skies—a perfect clear day. Feng Xuxu withdrew her gaze, sighed, and since the turn of the year, rain had only fallen once. Spring, which is usually a rainy season, was exceptionally dry this time. By the time the rains came, it was already summer, and thereafter, the temperatures rose even more. Even the birds in the trees became too lethargic to move, lying still on the branches to cool down, the only exception being the cicadas that clung to the trees and cried ceaselessly.

Seeing his wife leaning against the doorframe of the palace, looking up at the sky once more, Dugu Chen approached and gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders, "Wife, stop looking. Let’s go inside."

Feng Xuxu turned to him, her voice filled with worry and urgency, "Husband, look at the sky, there’s no sign of rain, and this year it’s noticeably hotter than the previous ones. I’m afraid..."

"Don’t worry, we now have a reservoir, and the reservoir is connected to a river that runs through it. From what we can see at the moment, the crops should be fine and the people won’t have to starve." Dugu Chen too was filled with concern watching the weather, but even more so with relief. If he hadn’t heeded his wife’s advice to build the reservoir, the consequences would have been too dreadful to contemplate, and the thought alone made him shudder with fear.

"Right, if the heavens won’t send rain, there’s nothing anyone can do. Let’s go inside." He glanced back once more, shaking his head in resignation.

"Slow down, you’re close to delivery, take smaller steps." Dugu Chen was startled to see his wife striding towards the palace; he broke out in a cold sweat as he snapped back to attention.

Feng Xuxu glanced at him, feeling like a coddled panda over the past few months. She wasn’t allowed to walk too fast, eat anything cold, stand for too long—she was tightly controlled in every aspect. Looking down at her belly, she pointed and said, "Which of your eyes sees me about to give birth? I am only eight months along, you know."

Dugu Chen saw his wife’s temper flare up and quickly nodded like a pecking chicken, "Yes, yes, yes, you’re not about to give birth, eight months, eight months, there’s still time." Despite his words, he cautiously supported her as they slowly walked inside.

Feng Xuxu watched him acting the obedient husband, admitting his mistakes as soon as she pointed them out, leaving her no chance to argue. She rolled her eyes, sat down in a chair, and took a cup of tepid boiled water, drinking it down in one gulp to quench her thirst a little.

Dugu Chen watched anxiously from the side, terrified that his wife might choke, but he dared not say anything for fear of provoking her temper again; damn, it wasn’t a joke to suffer her wrath, he thought in desperation. Only when she put her cup down did he feel relieved.

Feng Xuxu looked at him suspiciously, seeing the pain on his face, and asked, "What’s wrong with your face? Why does it look like all your face muscles are squeezed together?"

"Is that so? No, nothing, I’m just exercising my muscles," he said, guiltily looking down and picking up the teapot to pour her a small cup of water and sliding it toward her.

"Exercising your muscles? Do you have muscles in your face?" She widened her eyes in astonishment, unaware that there were muscles on the face. She touched her own face; there was so little flesh that could barely qualify as plump, let alone muscular. Could it be that the ancient understanding of muscles was different from what she had learned?

Dugu Chen forcefully twitched his mouth, even his cheeks shaking, cursing his luck for mentioning muscle training. His reaction convinced Feng Xuxu all the more that there indeed were muscles on the face. She reached out to touch his face, imagining symmetrical strips of muscle on either side of her husband’s face... Uh, it didn’t seem very appealing. She looked at him with concern, "Husband, maybe you shouldn’t work on your facial muscles, just thinking about it seems bizarre."