After leaving the Registry Office, Qinghe looked down at the marriage certificate in her hands. The gilded official seal shimmered brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
Her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled, a trace of moisture gathering at the corners.
On the registration document, the five characters “Qin Family’s Su Qinghe” followed directly behind Qin Xiao’s name.
The blue stamp bearing the character “Liang” seemed to press itself not onto the paper, but onto her heart.
After hearing about her past life, Qin Xiao finally understood why she had been so happy to marry him.
The misfortune that had befallen her former master’s household had instead become a turning point in her own life.
Who could say it was not a blessing in disguise?
Carefully folding the marriage certificate, Qinghe took a deep breath before turning toward Qin Xiao. Her bright eyes gazed at him tenderly.
“Husband~”
The soft, lingering note at the end of her voice slipped straight into his heart, making it skip a beat.
“Wife.”
He lowered his gaze to her face and smiled in response.
Leaning close to her ear, he whispered meaningfully,
“Call me that more often tonight. I like hearing it.”
Qinghe was speechless.
“Come on, let’s go buy what we need. Aunt Qiao is still waiting.”
At present, Qin Xiao did not have much silver on him. Besides the four taels left over from buying Qinghe, along with the money he had saved previously, he only had enough to buy two more Qinghes.
They needed fabric for the wedding clothes, as well as everyday clothing. Autumn had arrived, and mornings and evenings were growing chilly. It was time to make some thicker garments.
When Qin Xiao had lived alone, he had still been using a military blanket he had brought back from the army camp.
Now that the nights were colder, he himself did not mind because of his naturally warm constitution. Qinghe, however, would shiver every night and burrow into his arms, her hands and feet icy cold.
They also needed new bedding.
Ready-made clothing cost thirty percent more than buying fabric and sewing it yourself. Since Qinghe knew how to make clothes, she naturally preferred the cheaper option.
The wedding outfits for the two of them had to be made from fine cotton cloth. They also needed to buy decent clothing for Qin Xiao’s parents so they could wear them when receiving the couple’s formal bows during the wedding ceremony.
While selecting fabric, Aunt Qiao casually asked,
“What about Qin Yue? Should we buy something for him too?”
Without even thinking, Qin Xiao immediately replied,
“No need.”
He himself could only wear such fine fabrics because he was getting married, while his younger brother got to wear good clothes all the time.
The thought instantly soured his mood. He pulled a bolt of cotton cloth from Aunt Qiao’s hands.
“Use silk gauze for Qinghe’s wedding skirt.”
Qinghe stared at him in surprise.
“Silk gauze? That’s two qian per foot. A skirt needs at least six feet of fabric. Forget it.”
Skirts required a lot of material, and silk gauze looked strange when made into trousers, so it could only be used for skirts.
“No.”
Stubborn as ever, Qin Xiao called over the shopkeeper.
“Madam, bring me the red silk gauze used for wedding clothes.”
The shopkeeper promptly brought over a wooden display board covered with strips of red silk gauze samples. The shades ranged from light to dark, and the silk content varied as well.
The finest piece gleamed with the unique soft luster of pure silk beneath its vivid red color.
Qinghe immediately pointed to one with a lower silk content.
“This one. I like this one.”
Qin Xiao knew little about fabrics, but even he could tell at a glance which samples were superior.
Just as he was about to choose the best one, Qinghe pulled him aside and stood on tiptoe to whisper something into his ear.
By the time she finished speaking, her own cheeks had turned red.
A gleam flashed through Qin Xiao’s eyes.
“Really? Then I’ll listen to you.”
He chuckled inwardly.
His wife was right. Why spend so much on clothes that would only be worn for a single day? Being happy every day was far more important.
At that moment, Qin Xiao listened to everything Qinghe said. He followed behind her obediently, agreeing with every choice she made.
“Let’s buy two bolts of coarse hemp cloth too. We can make work clothes for you to wear when you go into the mountains, okay?”
“Okay. Coarse hemp is good, it’s durable.”
“And two bolts of kudzu cloth. I’ll make sleeping clothes for you, alright?”
“Alright. Kudzu cloth is nice, cool and comfortable for sleeping.”
Watching from the side, Aunt Qiao’s smile deepened, adding even more wrinkles to her face.
A good crop depends half on the seedlings, and a good life depends half on the wife.
Over these past days, she had come to understand Qin Xiao’s personality. Once he became stubborn, not even ten oxen could pull him back.
Take the first time he brought her a mountain pheasant. They were neither relatives nor close acquaintances, yet he insisted on giving it to her. Refusing only made him angry.
The next day, when she delivered a pair of shoes, Qin Xiao insisted on paying her. He even escorted her home despite her repeated refusals.
And just now, seeing how stubborn he had been about buying expensive fabric, Aunt Qiao had already given up trying to persuade him. Yet Qinghe only needed a single sentence to smooth his ruffled feathers.
Who knew how much money that alone would save?
People always said Qin Xiao was capable and good at earning money.
But who understood the hardship of venturing alone into the deep mountains?
Sometimes he stayed there for days.
There were snakes, insects, rats, mosquitoes, and wild beasts.
It was dangerous work.
Saving more silver meant fewer trips into the mountains.
After buying the fabric, Aunt Qiao led Qinghe into an inner room.
It was where women selected undergarments and chest wraps.
It was not appropriate for Qin Xiao to enter, so he waited outside.
At that moment, an older woman entered the shop. One glance was enough to tell she was a servant from a wealthy household.
The shopkeeper immediately took out a prepared box and opened it for her inspection.
The old woman nodded in satisfaction.
Qin Xiao glanced over and recognized the item inside. It looked exactly like the cloth belt Qinghe used, a long strip with a layered compartment.
There even appeared to be bloodstains that could not be washed out.
Curious about its purpose, he pretended to examine some silk flowers while quietly moving closer and listening.
The shopkeeper asked,
“Nanny Zhang, would you like to take a look at the new cotton pads we’ve made?”
Nanny Zhang asked,
“What cotton pads?”
The shopkeeper held up a soft cotton pad.
“Look. The cotton is steamed and sterilized, then dried and pressed into pads before being sewn with cotton thread. They’re meant to replace stove ash and are specially made for women to use during those uncomfortable days every month.”
“This method was recently brought from the capital. It’s brand new. A delicate young lady like Miss Lin shouldn’t be using ash. Cotton is much more comfortable.”
“Your Lin Residence can certainly afford it.”
After paying for the menstrual belt, Nanny Zhang said she would return and ask her mistress about it.
Cotton was expensive, and women needed such items every month. It was not a decision a servant could make on her own.
But Qin Xiao’s interest was piqued.
The shopkeeper’s words instantly helped him understand what those cloth belts were used for.
The thought that Qinghe also had to use stove ash during those days every month made him deeply uncomfortable.
Qinghe was delicate too.
Only soft, pure white cotton was worthy of her.
“Madam, how much does one of these cotton pads cost?”
The shopkeeper was in her forties. Hearing his question, she blushed slightly.
“Fifty copper coins each.”
The price was not cheap.
She assumed he was only asking casually, but he continued.
“Then… how many would someone need in a month?”
The shopkeeper hesitated.
“Probably… at least twenty.”
At least twenty.
Why at least?
Were women supposed to save money on something like this?
Absolutely not.
“Give me thirty.”
Qin Xiao thought he would buy enough for one month first.
After his next trip into the mountains, he would come back and stockpile an entire chest for Qinghe.
The shopkeeper froze.
After sizing him up, she kindly leaned closer and lowered her voice.
“Young master, I know you love your wife, but thirty pieces cost one and a half taels of silver. There’s really no need to spoil a woman this much.”
That was as far as she could go.
He certainly did not look like a wealthy man. Why force himself to keep up appearances?
Her words immediately annoyed Qin Xiao.
She was a woman herself, yet she was telling him not to pamper his wife.
Perhaps no one had ever pampered her before.
But his Qinghe was different.
She had come from a royal estate.
Even if she had only been a servant, she had seen countless fine things.
There was no reason for her standard of living to decline simply because she had married Qin Xiao.
“Enough talk. Give me thirty.”
“Thirty of what?”
The moment Qinghe stepped out of the inner room, she saw Qin Xiao standing there with his neck stiff, speaking to the shopkeeper in an unusually blunt tone.