Lu Liu acted on impulse—there was no real punishment in mind.
He whimpered and mumbled absentmindedly, then suddenly had an idea.
“I’m going to eat your ears! That way you won’t hear me, and you can focus on your books—become a scholar with true discipline!”
He opened his mouth wide and nibbled lightly on Li Feng’s ear. The gentle pressure made Li Feng shiver.
Lu Liu only “ate” one ear, then leaned back on his shoulder. “Dafeng, your ear’s all red and warm.”
Li Feng grabbed his hands, pulled him onto his lap, and kissed him fiercely.
“If I eat you, there won’t be any more tests.”
Wow—so domineering. When the problem couldn’t be solved, he dealt with the problem-raiser instead.
Lu Liu deliberately dodged, squealing “No, no!” while acting out a little.
“Without me, who will play this game with you? Look how happy you are!”
He admitted it was all just play.
Li Feng kissed him for a while, tugging his clothing halfway off.
Their size difference was obvious—Li Feng far stronger—but Lu Liu could still struggle back enough to make it a fair tussle, thanks to his nimble upbringing.
Li Feng carried him to the kang, where he finally noticed the two little ones asleep. He froze for a moment. Although he didn’t know if the children would wake in the night or even remember anything at that age, he prudently set Lu Liu under the covers first, then carried the two little ones out.
It was late; all the lights in the main house had gone out. Li Feng wandered a bit and, seeing Shun Ge’er’s room still lit, delivered the children there.
Shun Ge’er, seeming to understand something, muttered: “……”
Li Feng ignored him and returned inside to experiment with a hundred ways to cook chicken, testing Lu Liu’s culinary skills.
That night was lively, yet Li Feng still had energy the next morning to escort Li Fei to school.
Xie Yan, noticing this, suddenly praised, “Li Feng, you’re so good with children. Why don’t you teach me?”
His remark followed a three-part rhythm: a call, a compliment, then revealing his intent. By form, it resembled casual conversation, but it was far too blunt.
Li Feng still considered letting Xie Yan raise the children. But now that Xie Yan had shown up, he could only be speechless.
“Why can’t you teach my two kids?” he asked.
Xie Yan: “……”
The children were too small to clearly understand speech; teaching them was impossible.
Thus, the day began with bickering.
Xie Yan busied himself going from house to house. At home, Lu Yang had made pastries with pork and cabbage filling—palm-sized, crispy on the outside, soft inside. The filling was pre-cooked and well-seasoned; each bite melded soft dough with fragrant meat perfectly.
Xie Yan carried a small bamboo basket, delivering them door to door, stopping longer at the homes of their godfather and elder brothers to check if anything was amiss or needed.
Once that was done, he returned home for breakfast, then prepared to visit Ji Mingzhu and Sheng Daxian, accompanied by Lu Yang.
Lu Liu had woken late; his brother had already left.
“How can you go visiting everywhere? Why not be more careful?”
Shun Ge’er glanced at him, face flushing slightly. After a moment, he casually remarked, “You even visited the county before—nothing wrong with that.”
Lu Liu looked back, puzzled by Shun Ge’er’s red face, and touched him. “So warm… are you not feeling well?”
Shun Ge’er: “……”
Why could everyone act so naturally, as if nothing had happened?
He was still too inexperienced.
They didn’t speak further, heading to the little shop to help out early.
Business was good that morning. Many customers noticed the sign and, having sampled the honey before, inquired about its quality. Only seeing its clear, untainted color did they purchase a bit to taste.
Gifts were appealing but not essential—one candle wouldn’t last long; taste mattered most.
Lu Liu hadn’t realized students were fond of drinking honey water, which helped digestion after long hours of sitting.
By chance, the shop had a gift, attracting them. Upon learning this, Lu Liu sent two jin of honey to his brother’s house.
He thought, even a thick-skinned brother-in-law wouldn’t inquire about bowel issues, so it was best for the younger brother to act wisely and deliver the gift himself.
With Li Fei now among them, Lu Liu, concerned the boy might feel embarrassed asking, prepared two jin of honey for him as well.
When Li Fei returned home asking about it, Lu Liu explained smoothly: “This honey was collected from Western Mountain—taste of home. If you miss it, just take a sip.”
Li Fei was moved to tears.
Shun Ge’er, knowing the truth, muttered: “……”
He vaguely felt that his elder sister-in-law had awakened some inner spirit, growing more like Brother Yang.
Lu Liu didn’t reveal the full truth to Li Fei, but whispered to Li Feng. That day, the couple brought honey again to their two fathers and Master Lu, because Li Feng insisted, “Older age, sluggish intestines—need to keep them moving.”
The mother stayed home, free to eat as she pleased. They also gave one jar to Aunt Zhao, who secretly enjoyed it.
All of this was quiet; bowel matters weren’t discussed at the table. Xie Yan lacked such tacit understanding and, thinking it a treat, praised Lu Yang, saying the younger brothers were so considerate.
Zhao Peilan hesitated but, seeing Xie Yan cheerful, didn’t want to upset her son and kept silent.
The next day, Xie Yan went out and saw Lu Liu and Li Feng smiling. Before leaving, he praised them for being “considerate and filial.”
Lu Liu and Li Feng: “……”
Had he really just… done that much with bowel care?
This was the first little secret of Sanshui Lane; even Lu Yang was kept in the dark.
Seeing everyone enjoying honey, he spent silver to buy honey for his two elder brothers.
Lu Liu, conspiratorial, asked: “Do Brother Luo want honey too?”
Lu Yang teased, “Do you think men shouldn’t like sweet things?”
“Your Dafeng loves sweets too—the expensive dragon beard candy, remember?” Lu Yang added.
Lu Liu: “……”
He couldn’t believe such a clever elder brother didn’t know honey’s secret popularity.
He whispered to Lu Yang, concluding: “Brother-in-law needn’t say—no problem. Next time you’re out, I’ll deliver honey if you run out.”
Lu Yang: “……”
Was their top scholar really like this? How had he never realized?
Looking down at the two jars in his hands, his eyes went blank.
What now—could he still deliver the honey?
Lu Liu encouraged him: “Moving to a new place, you might get an upset stomach. Not many people move without discomfort—can’t eat, can’t go, belly burning like fire. Honey helps smooth things out.”
Lu Yang covered his ears.
“Lu Ge’er, don’t follow Li Feng’s habits—he’s rough, let him deal with his own bowel issues.”
Lu Liu flushed, “It’s nothing… I even went to pick manure before. I even talked to Dafeng about stealing fertilizer.”
Lu Yang: “……”
What kind of hard life had Lu Ge’er lived before?
Lu Yang delivered the honey, playing at his two elder brothers’ homes for a while.
Having no experience as an elder brother, he learned how to handle Lu Liu from Brother Luo. When he had called out “brother” as a child, they treated him with care. Lu Liu calling him “brother” now, he followed suit.
