Qin Lie finished breakfast and headed into town to sell the wild boar he had hunted.
After tidying the house, Arui sat back down and continued embroidering her handkerchiefs.
She had accepted an order of ten from Shopkeeper Su. If she worked quickly, she could finish them in two and a half days.
Just thinking about the copper coins she would soon earn filled her with hope.
For the first time in a long while, life seemed full of promise.
The days passed peacefully.
Wang family’s little nephew had caught a chill and developed a fever, so Cui Zhu had to stay home to care for him and couldn’t accompany her into town.
This time, Arui made the trip alone.
Since it wasn’t market day, there were only a handful of people on the road. The few villagers she met simply smiled, exchanged greetings, and continued on their way.
The previous night, Zhu Shi had gotten up in the dark to use the latrine and accidentally fallen into the manure pit. She had floundered inside for quite some time before finally climbing out.
Her husband had been so disgusted by the smell that he simply stood there watching without offering any help.
Zhu Shi had cried and wailed ever since, insisting that Qin Lie had kicked her into the pit.
But without any proof, no one believed her story.
The women who had joined her in spreading rumors about Arui, however, couldn’t help feeling guilty.
Whenever they saw Arui now, they hurriedly took another route.
What if Qin Lie really had done it?
None of them wanted to end up in the manure pit themselves.
With no one coming to stir up trouble, Arui enjoyed the rare peace.
She arrived at the embroidery shop, handed over the finished handkerchiefs, and received one hundred and sixty copper coins.
Holding the heavy string of coins in her hands, her breathing grew noticeably quicker.
All this money…
It belonged to her.
Shopkeeper Su chuckled at the stunned look on her face.
“Your embroidery is wasted on handkerchiefs.”
“Things like embroidered pouches or decorative screens are where the real money is.”
“An ordinary pouch can sell for fifty copper coins.”
“If it’s especially beautiful, I’d gladly pay a hundred.”
“As for embroidered screens… those are priceless. People are always looking for them.”
Arui pressed her lips together.
“I’ve never made anything like that.”
Her mother had only ever allowed her to embroider handkerchiefs.
She had never even touched a pouch before.
“That’s easy enough.”
“I’ll lend you a couple. Take them home and copy the designs.”
Shopkeeper Su genuinely admired Arui’s talent.
She had wanted to make this suggestion years ago.
Unfortunately, Zhou Mother and the young woman who always accompanied her had seemed difficult to deal with, and Shopkeeper Su had no interest in creating unnecessary trouble for herself.
Now that she had finally met Arui face-to-face, she found the young woman far more agreeable.
“But…”
“What if I ruin them?”
Arui was tempted, but she couldn’t help worrying that she would waste such expensive fabric.
“That is a fair concern.”
After all, Shopkeeper Su was running a business, not a charity.
“How about this?”
“You buy the fabric and thread yourself.”
“When you finish a pouch and bring it to me, I’ll pay you an extra five copper coins on top of the regular price.”
“What do you think?”
There was no reason for Arui to refuse.
“That sounds perfect.”
Making pouches required only a small amount of fabric.
Shopkeeper Su selected four pieces of fine satin scraps for her.
Only high-quality fabric could produce pouches worthy of higher prices.
The fabric and sewing supplies came to a total of twenty copper coins.
With the remaining one hundred and forty, Arui bought two chi of thick dark-blue cotton cloth, along with a piece of soft green fabric.
The thick cotton was for making Qin Lie a new set of clothes.
The weather was growing colder, and he would soon need warmer clothing.
The finer green fabric, meanwhile, was for making herself undergarments and underpants.
Qin Lie was a man.
Even though he was considerate, it would never occur to him to buy such intimate clothing for a young woman.
And Arui was far too embarrassed to ask him.
A few days earlier, when her monthly bleeding had come, she had endured the discomfort as best she could.
Now that she finally had money of her own, she no longer wanted to neglect herself.
After purchasing everything she needed, Arui left town without lingering.
Just as she rounded a street corner, Zhou Mother, Liu Shi, and her eldest daughter, Zhou Qi, entered the street behind her.
Zhou Qi caught sight of a familiar figure disappearing around the bend.
“Mother… doesn’t that person look a little like Arui?”
Liu Shi hadn’t noticed.
By the time she turned to look, the corner was already empty.
“How could it be your sister?”
“She’s a widow. She has no reason to be wandering around outside.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Zhou Qi curled her lip.
The woman’s build had looked remarkably similar to Arui’s.
But she had been wearing new clothes.
A widow with no dowry certainly couldn’t afford something like that.
Putting the thought aside, the mother and daughter entered the embroidery shop.
Shopkeeper Su was sitting behind the counter.
Seeing them arrive, she greeted them with her usual smile.
“You’ve come two days later than usual.”
“Has something happened at home?”
She had deliberately asked the question, expecting Liu Shi to mention Arui’s recent marriage.
That would have given her a natural opportunity to bring up meeting Arui herself.
Instead, Liu Shi merely forced a smile.
“Qin caught a chill a few days ago, so the handkerchiefs took longer to finish.”
“I see…”
The warmth faded from Shopkeeper Su’s smile.
She wasn’t a fool.
By now, she could clearly see how differently Liu Shi treated her two daughters.
She had hidden Arui’s marriage completely.
Yet every time Zhou Qi came into town, she was brought along proudly.
Shopkeeper Su had always disliked parents who played favorites.
Her enthusiasm disappeared.
She accepted the handkerchiefs and examined them one by one.
Normally, Liu Shi delivered embroidery every five days.
Each time, she brought twenty handkerchiefs.
Today’s bundle contained the usual twenty pieces.
But the quality was completely different.
The stitching was rough.
Loose threads stuck out everywhere.
Even the edges hadn’t been properly finished.
Shopkeeper Su frowned.
“I’m afraid these won’t sell for much.”
“If you’re willing, I’ll buy them for five copper coins each.”
“Five?”
“That’s far too little!”
Zhou Qi cried out in disbelief.
She had pricked her fingers with needles countless times while making these handkerchiefs.
Now she was being told they weren’t worth anything.
Liu Shi’s expression darkened as well.
The handkerchiefs she had delivered in the past had all been embroidered by Arui.
Now that Arui was married, the work had fallen to Zhou Qi.
Neither mother nor daughter had handled embroidery seriously in a long time.
Their skills had become rusty.
“Couldn’t you raise the price a little?”
“I don’t need fifteen copper coins each.”
“Thirteen would be enough.”
Shopkeeper Su smiled and calmly pushed the bundle back toward them.
“If you don’t mind the trouble, you’re welcome to try selling them in the county.”
“My little shop can’t pay that much.”
She wasn’t foolish enough to lose money.
Even offering five copper coins was only out of consideration for Arui.
Liu Shi clenched her jaw.
“Fine.”
“Five it is.”
Traveling all the way to the county would take most of the day, and there was no guarantee the handkerchiefs would even sell.
Money already in hand was far more reliable.
After collecting the payment, she accepted another order of twenty handkerchiefs.
The mother and daughter left the shop together.
Zhou Qi still looked indignant.
“Mother, that shopkeeper is unbelievable.”
“Only five copper coins for each handkerchief.”
“She actually has the nerve.”
“What choice do we have?”
Liu Shi sighed bitterly.
“She’s the only embroidery shop in town.”
“We don’t even have another place to compare prices.”
She felt miserable herself.
In the past, twenty handkerchiefs had earned her three hundred copper coins.
Today, she had received only one hundred.
With two hundred coins gone, there wasn’t even enough money to buy rice for the household.
Zhou Qi frowned.
“We shouldn’t have let Arui get married.”
Without Arui, all the household chores now fell on her shoulders.
Embroidering handkerchiefs already consumed enough time and energy.
Adding laundry and cooking on top of that was driving her to the brink of exhaustion.
Liu Shi remained silent.
Back then, she had tried to persuade Scholar Zhou not to marry Arui into the Qin Family as a widow.
But Scholar Zhou had made up his mind.
As a wife, how could she possibly go against his decision?
Now it was too late.
They certainly couldn’t march over to the Qin Family and ask Arui to continue embroidering for them.
A married daughter was considered part of her husband’s family.
If the Qin clan discovered such a thing, they would become the laughingstock of the village.
“You just focus on embroidering these next few days.”
“I’ll have Third Girl take care of the housework.”
“…All right.”
Completely unaware of the conversation that had taken place behind her, Arui returned home and immediately began sewing her new undergarments.
For the past several days, Qin Lie hadn’t returned until evening.
She planned to take advantage of the warm afternoon sunlight to wash herself properly.