Jiang Ning didn’t notice his awkwardness. “Why do you need silver needles? You know medicine?”
“Hmm, I know a little,” Lu Huai’an replied.
Hearing him say that, Jiang Ning didn’t find anything unusual. She had heard that some scholars in ancient times dabbled in medicine, astrology, and similar subjects.
As an accomplished scholar, it was normal for Lu Huai’an to know some of these things.
She took the pouch of money, emptied it, and counted: there were three taels of silver and some copper coins.
“Don’t scholars get subsidies and earn money copying books? Shouldn’t you be richer?” Jiang Ning asked, puzzled.
Lu Huai’an shot her a glance and muttered, “Do you think that crazy woman would let me live peacefully?”
Xue Qingling had sent people to warn the bookshops in the county not to give him any copying work.
Moreover, the monthly scholar subsidy was only six dou of rice, which was only given to the top five scholars in the exam. It was just enough to keep them from starving.
So, he could only rely on a middleman to help him take on jobs, and the middleman would take a 40% commission, leaving him with very little.
“Okay, I forgot,” Jiang Ning sighed, rubbing her forehead.
People who lived in peaceful times really found it hard to understand the concept of enemies.
Lu Huai’an: “…”
“But now that you’re mine, you shouldn’t worry about that woman anymore. You just need to focus on healing your wounds, and we’ll deal with her together later…”
Before Jiang Ning could finish, Lu Huai’an interrupted, “The Xue family has a powerful backing in the capital, even the governor bows down to the head of the Xue family. That’s why Xue Qingling looks down on his son. You just focus on protecting yourself. If you get caught by her, don’t expect me to save you.”
“Tch, in that case, I won’t save you either. Let’s just keep you limping around forever, so you don’t attract trouble,” Jiang Ning said, irritated.
“You…” Lu Huai’an took a deep breath. He felt like this woman would eventually drive him crazy.
From now on, he wouldn’t worry about her or think about her!
He comforted himself with the thought that with her medicine, his recovery was much faster. He estimated that it would only take a month or so to fully heal.
He decided to hold back his anger and not say anything more.
After all, he had killed the Xue family once before; he could do it again. Once his injuries were healed, everything could be dealt with.
However, the unknown enemy lurking in the shadows still worried him. He didn’t even know why they wanted to kill him. Was it related to his background?
He recalled what his parents had told him: when they found him, he was wrapped in a piece of rag, which didn’t seem to indicate that he had any powerful enemies.
That was also why he had never tried to investigate his background. Of course, with just a rag, there was nothing to investigate.
Not being able to figure it out, he decided to stop thinking about it for now. Lu Huai’an put his thoughts aside and, remembering Jiang Ning’s mention of copying books earlier, changed the topic. “If it’s convenient for you, could you help me take on some book-copying work? I can pay you a commission!”
Lu Huai’an thought that it would be better to earn money by giving the work to Jiang Ning instead of to someone else.
Jiang Ning was stunned and suspicious. “How much commission did you pay others before?”
“Forty percent.”
“Who’s that greedy?” Jiang Ning couldn’t believe it. “Just a change of hands, and they take advantage of you?”
“That’s pretty normal,” Lu Huai’an said nonchalantly. “It’s human nature to step on others to rise.”
He’d been targeted for two years, and almost everyone in the county knew about it. It was a good thing that nobody had come to take advantage of him.
The middleman who helped him take on jobs was also taking a risk. He didn’t feel there was anything wrong with it.
Jiang Ning glanced at him with sympathy and sighed. “Alright, I’ll help you find something. You don’t need to pay me a commission—it’s no trouble at all.”
“By the way, how long would it take you to copy a book?”
“Usually, with small characters, I can do around ten thousand words a day. If it’s urgent, I can do fifteen thousand, but it’ll consume a lot of oil.”
Jiang Ning understood that meant burning the oil lamp late into the night. That wasn’t necessary, though, because the patient’s health should come first.
“Then, how much would it cost to copy a book?”
Lu Huai’an thought for a moment. In his previous life, people usually charged around two hundred wen per ten thousand words. With his improved writing skills, it might be a bit more expensive now.
He replied, “It depends on the handwriting and the length of the book. I’ll write a sample, and you can take it to ask around.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Ning went to the study and brought back some paper, ink, and brushes. She set them up on the low table next to the bed, then moved the table to the side of Lu Huai’an’s bed so that he could write easily.
Lu Huai’an picked up the brush and began writing. Jiang Ning glanced at it, impressed by his neat handwriting. It was definitely better than hers. After high school, her studies had been so busy that her calligraphy had gotten a bit neglected. Calligraphy and painting required daily practice to develop depth and charm.
When Lu Huai’an finished writing, he blew on the paper and handed it to her. “Copying books requires a deposit, in case the price isn’t enough…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Ning interrupted, “How rare! My husband is trying to earn money for the family. The deposit will definitely be enough…”
Jiang Ning suddenly leaned in close and whispered, “Of course, if you want to eat soft rice, that’s fine too. I can support you.”
Lu Huai’an: “…”
This woman was being improper again. Lu Huai’an turned away, not wanting to deal with her.
Seeing him angry, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but laugh. She took the paper and the table and walked out.
“Rest well. I’ll go make you some clothes.”
She quickly left the room, heading straight for the back courtyard to enter the space.
Making scholar’s clothes was a piece of cake for her, and she didn’t plan to embroider anything fancy. Simple would do.
She roughly estimated the measurements, and it didn’t need to be as precise as modern clothes.
In less than two hours, the clothes were finished.
She took them outside to wash and hang them to dry.
Then, she returned to the space and continued working on her painting from last night. Since the paint needed to dry completely before she could add more layers, she carefully applied color, bit by bit.
However, what surprised Jiang Ning was that as the colors built up, the painting became more vibrant and beautiful, no longer just a typical gongbi style.
More incredibly, the painting started to resemble a modern computer-generated image, making the lady in the painting look even more lifelike and vivid.
She hadn’t expected the spiritual spring water to have such a marvelous effect.
This was an unexpected delight for Jiang Ning. After finishing the lady’s figure, she began designing the garment details.
This time, she chose to incorporate peony patterns, placing them on the top, skirt hem, and sleeves.
But the design wasn’t something that could be completed in a day. She would need to take her time. Once the details were finished, Jiang Ning took out the scraps of cloth the shopkeeper had given her when she bought fabric.
She selected a larger piece of light green cotton and decided to embroider a matching peony scarf. She quickly sketched out the design in her mind and began outlining the pattern with white thread.