Xie Yuduo had returned from the shop a while ago. Seeing Shen Qi sleeping soundly, he didn’t wake her. Instead, he sat by the bed and watched her quietly for a long time.
Early this morning, as soon as he arrived at the front shop, he was surrounded by the shop assistants, all teasing him in unison.
“Second Master, why are you here so early today? Could it be you didn’t sleep a wink last night?”
“Oh ho, that’s quite the physical exertion! You should rest today and recover your energy!”
“Maybe you made the new mistress angry last night and got kicked out to come here!”
Everyone burst into laughter. Xie Yuduo smiled faintly, raised his long leg, and pretended to kick the junior shop assistant standing closest to him.
“Xiao Wu, what mischief did you get up to yesterday? Think I’ll let you off?”
The assistant being kicked was quick-witted and dodged with a grin.
“I just urged you to drink a few more cups—is that worth a kick? When it was almost time to leave, I covered for you and drank several cups on your behalf. Have you forgotten?”
“I’ll remember this. I’ll settle the score with you another day.”
Xie Yuduo walked over to the counter and said to the accountant with a smile, “I didn’t get to drink properly with everyone yesterday. Take some money from the accounts and give each person a string of cash. Put it on my tab.”
The shop assistants cheered in unison. Their monthly wages were only about one and a half strings of cash, so this reward was equivalent to more than half a month’s pay. It seemed Second Master Xie was in an excellent mood today.
“Look, our Second Master married a fairy-like Second Mistress—no wonder he’s so happy!”
“Exactly! He was smiling all day yesterday. I’ve never seen Second Master smile like that before!”
“When you marry such a good wife in the future, you’ll wake up laughing from your dreams too, haha!”
As everyone was chatting and laughing, an older supervisor came over and said a few words. The assistants quieted down and went back to their respective tasks.
Xie Yuduo called out to the senior supervisor who had just arrived.
“Uncle Tang, with all the busy preparations for the betrothal gifts and wedding banquet at home recently, you’ve had to worry about the shop’s affairs. I’ll treat you to a proper drink another day.”
“You’re too kind, Second Master. This is all part of my duties. You’ve only been back for a few months—take your time to rest. I can handle things up front. As for our Eldest Young Master, though he’s always at home, he rarely comes to the front. If anything comes up, I’ll just go to the study to find him. It’s all the same.”
Xie Yuduo looked at the honest-faced Supervisor Tang before him, smiled, and patted his shoulder.
“No trouble at all.”
This supervisor, named Tang Mingchang, had a father who had worked as a shop assistant in the Yinshi Street Herbal Medicine Shop since childhood. He was the most trusted person under Xie Yuduo’s grandfather and became a supervisor in his thirties, witnessing the Xie family expand from a small shop to a five-storefront herbal medicine business.
When his own son grew into his teens, he brought him to the shop to run errands and handle tasks.
About seven or eight years ago, Old Man Tang passed away, and Xie Yan let Tang Mingchang take over as the shop’s supervisor.
Now, Supervisor Tang was in his forties and had purchased a two-courtyard house in the county town.
Because he was of the same generation as Xie Yuduo’s father, Xie Yan, and his second uncle, Xie Ang, and was thoroughly familiar with the herbal medicine shop’s business, Xie Yuming and Xie Yuduo respectfully addressed him as Uncle Tang.
“Second Master, there is one matter I’d like to discuss with you. A few days ago, two merchants from Huaiyang came with a large quantity of fine goods they wanted to sell off. For just a hundred taels of silver, we could take all of it.”
Xie Yuduo asked, “Did they mention holding the goods as collateral?”
Typically, medicinal goods traders would first leave the goods as collateral, receive half the payment in silver, and collect the remaining silver three to five months later.
“Oh, they said they were in a hurry to return home and wouldn’t be coming back.”
"What specific goods are available?"
Supervisor Tang was taken aback, not expecting the Second Master to follow up with questions—usually if it were the Eldest Young Master of the Second Branch, he wouldn’t even look up before instructing the accountant to hand over the silver.
"Mostly astragalus and atractylodes, with some ligusticum and gastrodia, though not much. I examined them carefully—they truly are fine goods, worth more than their price."
"Then have someone bring the goods over. Let Eldest Brother take a look before approving the documents."
Supervisor Tang smiled faintly.
"Eldest Young Master likely won’t be home this morning; he’ll only come by around lunchtime. You may not know, but he never inspects these things—he just listens to a brief report and has them recorded in the shop’s ledger. I’ve also suggested they bring the goods here for inspection, but they said they live on Handkerchief Lane in Back Street, where carts can’t easily enter. They insisted I personally visit to examine the goods before they’d feel at ease."
Xie Yuduo pondered briefly.
"In that case, have Xiao Wu accompany me to take a look. If the goods are truly fine, we’ll pay for them and take them."
Tang Mingchang flustered slightly but quickly composed himself to reply.
"Why trouble the Second Master to go personally? This humble servant can handle it."
"It’s been a while since I’ve strolled around the city. I recall there’s a shop near Handkerchief Lane that makes the best hawthorn cakes—I’m rather craving some now."
Seeing Xie Yuduo’s resolve to go, Tang Mingchang had no choice but to write down the address and name on paper. He indeed called for Xiao Wu, who then accompanied him on the trip.
The two rode over on horseback and, upon arrival, found the fine materials to be exceptionally good quality.
The two Huaiyang merchants were staying in a small inn at the head of Handkerchief Lane. Dressed in brocade robes with full beards, they couldn’t speak the official language, their speech thick with Huaiyang accents.
Eager to have Xie Yuduo take the goods and pay on the spot, the Huaiyang merchants pulled him aside, chattering a stream of praises.
Xie Yuduo observed their demeanor without showing any reaction, merely excusing himself by saying the shop had ample stock and didn’t need these goods. He immediately called for Xiao Wu and rode back.
Upon returning to the shop and finding Tang Mingchang absent, Xie Yuduo took the freshly bought pastries and headed to the rear courtyard first.
In the East Wing, Shen Qi had just woken up, her hair disheveled and eyes still drowsy.
In her groggy state, she saw Xie Yuduo sitting by the bed and felt her heart tighten again.
"Is it lunchtime already? Have I overslept again?"
Xie Yuduo smiled, gently pressing the just-awakened beauty back onto the pillow.
"There’s still a good while before lunch. Rest assured and sleep a little longer."
Shen Qi refused to sleep any more.
"If it’s not time yet, why have you returned early? Is something the matter?"
Xie Yuduo tidied the strands of hair that had fallen across her face, his gaze tender.
"Nothing’s the matter. I was just worried about you and kept thinking of coming back to check on you."
Shen Qi laughed softly. "I’m not a child anymore—it’s not like I’ll wander off. What is there to worry about?"
Now that the two were close and the room was bright, Shen Qi found the courage to study him properly.
Broad shoulders, a slender waist, elegant brows and eyes, a tall nose bridge—and the way he looked at her always carried an unmistakable warmth.
It seemed… he probably liked her, didn’t he?
"I’ve been here for a while, watching you sleep so soundly. Are you still in pain?"
Truthfully, she could still feel his presence within her.
Even though it was something they’d done together, Shen Qi still felt too shy to mention it.
"I… I’m really not in pain anymore. It’s probably because I slept too little last night, and after breakfast, I took a long walk around the estate—I must have been too exhausted."
"Then sleep a little more."
How could Shen Qi possibly fall back asleep? As she tidied her disheveled dark tresses, she prepared to get up.
"People would laugh if they saw me like this."
Xie Yuduo instead held her down and lay down himself as well.
"Let me see who dares to laugh."
Shen Qi had no choice but to lean against him, both of them resting against the pillows for a while longer.
"Have you seen everything around the house?"
"I've walked around everywhere except the shop at the front."
"Mm, the shop is busy with people lately, and it's been hectic. I'll take you around there another time."
"Alright."
"At noon, business is brisk, so we don't come back for lunch. Meals are prepared at home and sent to the shop, where we eat with the shop assistants."
"Mm."
"After my mother passed away, Second Aunt has been taking care of the meals at the shop. I’ve heard that in recent years, she’s been complaining that Eldest Sister-in-law has been unwell and she has no one to help her. In our courtyard, Eldest Sister will return to the provincial capital in a few days, and Yujing is still too young. In a while, you might have to help take care of things."
Hearing this, Shen Qi quickly sat up and nodded.
"That’s perfect. I’ve noticed there are servants cooking and doing laundry at home, so I haven’t been able to help much. With this task in the future, at least I’ll have something to do."
Xie Yuduo pulled her back into his arms.
"There’s no rush for this. Just keep it in mind for now. If you find it too troublesome later, I’ll figure something out. It’s not something you absolutely have to do."
"Alright."
Shen Qi asked again, "Then will you come back for dinner tonight?"
A slight smile lifted the corners of Xie Yuduo’s mouth, a flicker of amusement in his eyes as he met the gaze of the person in his arms.
"What, missing me already?"