Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 20

Qi Yun's body was always cold, but Ye Jiao was different, always warm and cozy at any time.

The moment her lips touched the man's cheek, there was some heat, hot enough to make Qi Yun inexplicably feel restless.

But Ye Jiao wasn't really looking for him for something important. Before Qi Yun could react, Ye Jiao seemed to have completed some task, hugging her hand warmer and running back with quick tapping steps.

Coming quickly, leaving quickly, like a gust of wind.

Although Little Su wasn't seeing these two being affectionate for the first time, she was still overwhelmed by the display of love.

Seeing Qi Yun neither speak nor move, Little Su also didn't stand there awkwardly, picking up her broom and running off.

Qi Yun touched the place on his face that was still warm, thinking for a while before realizing this was something he had taught her.

The so-called little thing that spouses should do when parting. Jiao Niang always kept his words in her heart.

Qi Yun felt his head was split in two halves: one half was self-loathing for deceiving his wife with made-up stories, while the other half was as sweet as being drowned in honey.

With the corners of his mouth turning up, Qi Yun looked at the flower beds inside the courtyard gate. There were indeed several plants he liked, enjoying their vibrant energy that could bloom even when it was cold.

But now times had changed. What he liked was still vitality, but he was no longer the sickly person who could only look at flowers and plants.

What did it matter if the flowers were purple and red? For Jiao Niang's kiss, everything was worth it.

Inside the courtyard, Ye Jiao sincerely sighed to Lady Dong: "Marriage is quite good, but there are so many things to remember. It's not only taxing on the brain but also on the mouth."

Lady Dong looked completely baffled, but fortunately the two quickly resumed talking about medicinal herbs, and the atmosphere became lively again.

That night, the first snow of the year fell, officially marking the start of winter.

As the weather grew colder, the charcoal braziers in the room increased from one to two, and the window curtains were replaced with heavier fabric.

Ye Jiao replanted the flowers, and Lady Dong came frequently to help her. Coming and going, the two became familiar.

The Stone Sprout Grass was also doing well. As the only one pampered in a flowerpot, it spent the most time being carried by Ye Jiao to bask in the sun each day. Those few small flowers remained constantly blooming without wilting, amazing even Lady Dong.

Qi Yun was much busier than before. Besides discussing wine shop matters with Manager Song, he often went to see Father Qi, talking for entire days.

Ye Jiao also got used to sleeping while holding Qi Yun's hand at night. Previously, she was afraid of over-supplementing him, but now it was because they spent much less time together during the day, so she could only make up for it at night.

Qi Yun welcomed this and even enjoyed it.

After the second snowfall of winter stopped, Qi Yun finally had some free time.

During dinner that evening, Qi Yun told Ye Jiao: "The wine shop will open in town in a couple of days."

This was what he had been discussing with Father Qi recently.

The three Qi brothers each had their own work: Qi Zhao managed the estates, Qi Yun handled the shops, and Qi Ming focused on his studies.

While parents were alive and the family hadn't split was tradition, but Father Qi had established rules early on. Whatever the three brothers earned, they gave a fixed amount to the family. Beyond this fixed amount, everything else was their own.

Currently, only Qi Ming had no income, but Qi Ming studied well with a bright future, so the family was happy to support him.

This new shop in town was Qi Yun's proposal, approved by Father Qi, and Manager Song had secured the shop they had long been eyeing.

Ye Jiao had also heard about this. She set down her soup spoon and said with a smile: "Spring Orchid told me about it. She even invited me to see the excitement."

Qi Yun remembered Spring Orchid was Lady Dong. He served Ye Jiao some magnolia slices, his mouth corners slightly upturned: "It seems you two get along well."

Ye Jiao nodded. Lady Dong was straightforward and generous, and quite accomplished in medicinal herbs. Ye Jiao wanted to learn things from her, so their personalities meshed well and they got along very harmoniously.

Her husband no longer looked like the constantly weak and sickly person from before, but relying solely on her supplementation was always slow. If he fell ill in the future, medicine would still be needed. Ye Jiao was thinking of preventing problems before they occurred.

Lost in thought, Ye Jiao somewhat absentmindedly put the magnolia slices in her mouth.

With one bite, Ye Jiao's eyes widened.

So delicious...

Qi Yun served her another helping and said slowly: "These are fresh winter bamboo shoots, sliced thin and roasted with honey. It's a seasonal dish for this time of year, eaten for freshness. Do you like it?"

Ye Jiao nodded repeatedly but couldn't speak, her mouth bulging like a little hamster.

After swallowing what was in her mouth, Ye Jiao sighed sincerely: "Husband, you know so much."

Qi Yun smiled faintly. He could now calmly accept Ye Jiao's praise.

He served her another helping, saying: "It's cold outside, so I won't go when the shop opens. But that day will be lively with quite a crowd. Since Lady Dong invited you, it's perfect for her to accompany you for a stroll. Just tell Mother tomorrow."

Ye Jiao wasn't really someone who enjoyed excitement, so going or not going didn't matter much to her.

But before she could speak, she heard Qi Yun say: "I haven't visited the medicine shop in a long time. You can go take a look for me."

The medicine shop?

She should indeed go see it. These past days she had only heard Lady Dong talk about it, but hadn't seen the real thing yet.

The refusal on the tip of her tongue made a circle and was swallowed back. Ye Jiao happily agreed.

This meal was delicious, and she slept sweetly that night. The next day, Ye Jiao went to Liu Shi's courtyard early in the morning.

Liu Shi was getting older and slept less at night. When Ye Jiao came, she had already finished reciting sutras once.

Hearing her second daughter-in-law's purpose, Liu Shi nodded and said gently: "Since you married into my family, except for that return home visit, I haven't seen you go out much. Going out to see things now is good. I've met Manager Dong's daughter too. She's straightforward, so I'm at ease having her accompany you. When you go out, dress warmly. Use all the rouge and lip balm I gave you, dress up a bit, don't be too plain."

Ye Jiao agreed and chatted with Liu Shi a bit more before leaving.

But she didn't go out immediately. Instead, she returned to the courtyard and sat in front of the bronze mirror, propping her chin and thinking about how to dress up.

The little ginseng had been human for about a month now. She didn't lack food or drink and could distinguish which clothes to wear in which season, what to wear inside and what outside.

But she had never applied powder or rouge, always going bare-faced every day.

She was naturally beautiful with fine features, and her skin remained white no matter how much sun she got. This was good natural foundation. Plus, the little ginseng had a healthy body with good blood circulation, making her face white as snow and lips naturally red. Even bare-faced, she was beautiful.

But Liu Shi had told her to dress up, which made Ye Jiao troubled.

The little ginseng stared at the somewhat blurry figure in the bronze mirror for a long time, then began rummaging through the dressing table drawers.

Since she had brought nothing when she married except the gold bracelet on her wrist, most things here were provided by Liu Shi. Since Ye Jiao rarely used them, she hadn't looked carefully.

Now she took out all the bottles and jars from the drawers. She picked up a celadon rouge box and opened it. Before she could see clearly what was inside, she was hit by the scent and sneezed.

Fortunately, the little ginseng remembered to close and set down the box before sneezing, avoiding spilling it.

Rubbing her nose, Ye Jiao picked up the box again to look.

Inside was pomegranate-red rouge with a strong floral fragrance that became quite pleasant after getting used to it.

Ye Jiao didn't know how to use it. She just recalled the few people she knew: Liu Shi, Fang Shi, and Lady Dong, who all used some powder and rouge. Following her memory, Ye Jiao dipped her finger in some. Looking at the blurry figure in the bronze mirror and blinking, she applied it to her face.

The figure in the bronze mirror wasn't very clear, only showing a general outline, and colors weren't distinct enough. The little ginseng didn't know which areas were too light or too faint.

Later she seemed to find it interesting. She set this box aside and picked up one in a wooden case, feeling the color inside was more vivid. She used her finger to pick out some and patted it on her face.

When Qi Yun returned to his room after reviewing recent account books, he immediately smelled a strong fragrance upon opening the door.

It wasn't the sweet scent his Jiao Niang usually carried, nor the herbal medicine smell Qi Yun inevitably picked up, but a relatively intense fragrance.

Like floral scent, yet he couldn't distinguish what kind of flowers.

Qi Yun thought Ye Jiao had brought flowers inside again. He closed the door and walked toward the inner room.

Seeing Ye Jiao's back, Qi Yun took off his robe and hung it on the rack, walking and saying: "Jiao Niang, there's pigeon soup simmering in the small kitchen. You..."

His voice stopped abruptly the moment the woman turned around.

Ye Jiao had never had pigeon soup. She blinked and was about to speak when Qi Yun stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.

Then she heard Qi Yun's somewhat urgent voice: "Jiao Niang, were you smoked by charcoal or scalded by water? Does it hurt?"