Chapter 67: Qingzi
"Qingzi, what are you doing out here?"
Hu Huairen was no exception. Whenever he saw this woman, his heart would flare with heat, stirring further reactions in his body. But with outsiders present and in broad daylight besides, he had to maintain the dignity of a county magistrate. "This is not a place for a woman to show herself. Get back to your room!"
"My lord, the Stone Grotto matter is no trifling affair. The two of them have usually done their utmost; an occasional mistake is understandable. You should not be so harsh with them. When setting out for battle, encouragement is fitting, not rebuke—isn't that what you always say?"
"Y-Yes, is that so..." Put that way by her, Hu Huairen found it difficult to scold them further.
"Though this is not a battlefield, a little more encouragement does no harm." She slowly walked before the two men, held out the wooden tray levelly, and bent her knees slightly. "This is rice wine I just brewed. It may not be as fragrant or fiery as white liquor, but it is still better than tea. I hope you two will give it your all and guard the secret of the Stone Grotto for my lord."
Du Mingjin and Du Mingyin exchanged a glance, then hurriedly lifted the porcelain bowls from the tray and drained them in one gulp. "Thank you, Madam, for the wine."
Though she called herself a lowly concubine, they did not dare look down on her. She was not the magistrate's wife, yet she was favored a hundred times more than the wife. Especially after Master Hu had sent his wife and children back to their hometown a year ago, he had kept this woman by his side nearly every day.
And there was