Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

Chapter 55

Originally they had planned for the whole family to gather together, but this was temporarily postponed because the three Qi brothers suddenly became busy. They only had one meal together before Qi Ming left home, which was harmonious enough.

After Qi Ming left, Qi Zhao and Qi Yun always went out and returned together. When they came back, they would go to the small room to discuss matters, talking for an entire day.

What they were planning was naturally related to the Cai family.

Qi Zhao had people at his estate, and when it came to passing messages, these tenant farmers were often the fastest.

Qi Yun had Manager Sun's help, directly participating in the business of several restaurants that had dealings with the Cai family, but without making a big show of it, proceeding quietly.

In the blink of an eye, they were about to leave the first month.

"Are you still going out today?" After finishing breakfast, Ye Jiao asked while adjusting Qi Yun's belt.

Qi Yun nodded: "Yes, things are at a critical moment. We can't slack off."

Ye Jiao didn't ask many questions, just pulled at his collar and said: "Then you must be careful not to catch cold. You must return before dark. It's very cold, and you're not allowed to take off your fur coat."

Perhaps for others, it was already the transition from winter to spring, but for Qi Yun it was still cold weather, so extra care was needed.

Qi Yun smiled and clasped Ye Jiao's hand: "Alright, I'll remember."

Ye Jiao felt the silk pouch tied to his belt and recognized at a glance that this was the one she had given him, containing a strand of her hair.

Whether carrying her hair with him was useful or not, Ye Jiao didn't know. Until now, the two had never really been separated, so naturally there was no way to verify it.

But seeing this pouch, Ye Jiao remembered something and said to Qi Yun: "Wait a moment, I have something for you." She turned and went into the inner room.

Soon she came out with a protective amulet in her hand.

She untied the pouch from Qi Yun's waist and said while opening it: "I requested this before New Year but kept forgetting to have you wear it. Putting it on now is the same."

Qi Yun couldn't help asking: "What did you pray for?"

Ye Jiao was carefully placing the protective amulet inside without disturbing the hair within. Hearing this, she instinctively answered: "I prayed for your peace and health, and for us to live together until we're 100 years old."

Qi Yun couldn't see what was inside. He just stared at the top of Ye Jiao's head, slightly pursing his lips.

When Ye Jiao stood on her tiptoes and planted a light kiss on his cheek, Qi Yun finally found his voice again and said softly: "I'll come home early tonight." Only then did he leave.

Little Ginseng didn't understand what he meant by coming home early. She just thought that if her husband came home early, they could eat dinner early, which made her happy.

After Qi Yun left, Ye Jiao picked up Stone Sprout Grass and went out to sun it.

This was her daily routine, and today was no exception.

Little Su followed beside Ye Jiao, accompanying her on the stroll: "Second Young Mistress, it's cold, and this flower pot is also very cold. Why don't I hold it for you?"

Ye Jiao smiled and shook her head: "Only when I hold it does it have an effect."

Stone Sprout Grass needed ginseng nourishment to grow well. If someone else held it, it probably couldn't survive even one winter.

Little Su followed her around the courtyard and suddenly seemed to remember something: "Second Young Mistress, you haven't had your monthly bleeding this month yet, have you?"

At this mention, Ye Jiao unconsciously pursed her lips.

If asked about the benefits of being human, Little Ginseng could list 180 different ones without repetition.

But if asked about the disadvantages of being human, this monthly bleeding would be the first, making Ye Jiao's head ache just hearing about it.

Because her body had been poorly nourished at the Ye family with inadequate food and clothing, her monthly cycle had been irregular, sometimes coming and sometimes not. But after proper care, it became steady, never missing its monthly visit.

The menstrual bands she used were much better than those of ordinary families, made of silk, light and thin, not too uncomfortable, but having this extra thing for no reason always felt awkward.

Even at night she didn't dare turn over, afraid that when she woke up she'd see a bed of bright red.

Now hearing Little Su mention it, Ye Jiao said: "It's just a few days late, nothing serious. Don't worry."

Ye Jiao's cycle had been irregular before for a period, so Little Su didn't think much of it and just said: "Second Young Mistress, I've prepared menstrual bands for you and put them in the cabinet in the inner room."

Ye Jiao nodded to show she understood, then turned away and completely forgot about it.

When evening came and the sky had just darkened, Qi Yun returned home. After the two finished dinner, Qi Yun didn't go look at account books but pulled Ye Jiao to sit together on the soft couch.

Little Ginseng could tell he had something to say to her, so she didn't speak first and just waited for him to start.

Qi Yun first handed her a piece of osmanthus cake, then said: "These few days, Jiao Niang, don't go out first."

Ye Jiao took the osmanthus cake but didn't eat it immediately. Instead, she held it and asked him: "What's happened?"

Qi Yun looked at her, his voice calm: "The Cai family wine shop is about to reach its end, but they have quite a few thugs and scoundrels under them. It will take some time to deal with them all properly."

Those people seemed like nothing much when you talked about them, but they were experts at causing disgusting trouble.

When the Cai family fell, they would scatter too, but in these few days the Cai family would probably have them come out to cause some trouble.

But Ye Jiao couldn't be bothered to eat. She threw the osmanthus cake aside and stared straight at Qi Yun: "What about you? Will you be in danger?"

Qi Yun couldn't help curving his lips and pulled her into his arms: "It's fine, Jiao Niang, don't worry. I still need to be very careful with myself and work hard to earn more money to bring back to my wife."

But this time, Ye Jiao didn't smile along with him. Instead, she tightly hugged Qi Yun's waist and said softly: "It doesn't matter if you can't earn money, as long as you're safe."

Hearing this, the smile on Qi Yun's face didn't fade. Instead, he pulled Ye Jiao closer into his arms.

Perhaps to put Ye Jiao's mind at ease, Qi Yun simply told Ye Jiao about everything he had been doing recently: "The trouble the Cai family has caused our family isn't limited to what's visible on the surface. They're determined to squeeze me out of town. If we don't deal with it now, it will be even harder to handle later."

Ye Jiao looked up at him: "They did bad things?"

"Yes, the Cai family was the first to try to kill Third Brother, so they can't blame me."

As a merchant, being kind to others was true, but Qi Yun wasn't the type to swallow insults and bear grievances.

On the contrary, from childhood to adulthood, Second Young Master Qi had always been someone who repaid every grudge and wouldn't tolerate even the slightest affront.

Some things required either enduring to the end or peaceful coexistence for mutual profit. There was no third path to walk.

Little Ginseng tugged at his sleeve: "So this time you must deal with them, right?"

Qi Yun hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

His hesitation wasn't because he felt uncertain. On the contrary, he was completely confident this time.

People like these who could cause trouble for no reason couldn't possibly have a pure and spotless past. Finding evidence against them was too simple. He could just go to the yamen, and what Qi Yun needed to do was just squeeze them out of town so they could never get back up.

What really made Qi Yun hesitate was that he was afraid Ye Jiao would be afraid of him.

Second Young Master Qi had actually never changed. He was still the same person: deep-minded, someone who repaid every grudge. Ye Jiao was the light of his life, and he gave all his warmth to Jiao Niang.

Similarly, Qi Yun hid all his deep thoughts very well, never letting Ye Jiao see them.

His Jiao Niang was so good that she would be afraid if she saw them.

This time he didn't want to hide from Ye Jiao, but after speaking he felt somewhat regretful. His eyes didn't dare look at her, afraid of seeing fear or alienation in them.

If others looked at him that way, Qi Yun wouldn't have any reaction. After all, in his past life, almost everyone would look at him like they were seeing a ghost.

But Qi Yun didn't want to see that kind of expression in Ye Jiao's eyes. He was also afraid, terribly afraid.

But soon, Qi Yun heard Ye Jiao's soft voice: "Yes, if my husband has thought it through, then go do it, but you must be careful."

...Hm?

This calm reaction surprised Qi Yun somewhat as he looked at her: "Jiao Niang, aren't you afraid?"

Little Ginseng blinked: "Afraid of what?"

"Afraid that... I'm too ruthless."

Hearing this, Little Ginseng showed a soft smile.

Ye Jiao was kind-hearted, true, but she had once lived deep in mountains and forests, eating heaven and earth's spiritual energy. In 1,000 years, she had seen many things.

Little Ginseng understood this matter very clearly: "With snakes, you strike at the seven-inch mark because that's where the heart is. If you miss with one strike, you'll be bitten instead, and that's particularly hard to treat."

The little fox had almost been bitten to death by a snake. She was Little Ginseng's only friend, so Ye Jiao naturally remembered clearly. At that time, the scholar had struck the snake's seven-inch mark and saved the little fox, which made the little fox secretly give her heart to him.

Now, what her husband was doing was striking at snakes. In Ye Jiao's view, naturally he needed to hit accurately with one strike. Being wishy-washy would actually be strange.

Qi Yun stared at her for a long time.

Ye Jiao didn't quite understand what he was looking at and couldn't help asking softly: "Husband, did I say something wrong?"

Qi Yun smiled at her, his tone gentle: "No, Jiao Niang is absolutely right, completely right."

This smile, perhaps because the candlelight made everything look especially warm, seemed like spring flowers blooming.

Ye Jiao also curved her lips and got up to go to the bronze mirror to take down her hair, saying: "Then get me another osmanthus cake. I want to eat one."

But after saying this, she didn't hear Qi Yun's response.

This made Ye Jiao somewhat puzzled. When she looked up, she was met with a warm embrace.

Qi Yun's chest was always warmed by a hand warmer, and he wore a fur coat indoors, so naturally he was toasty warm. When he pulled Ye Jiao into his arms now, she only felt warmth.

But when the man's face came close, she could still feel his skin was somewhat cool.

Qi Yun's weak constitution meant his body temperature was lower than normal people, which was natural. Ye Jiao stood on her tiptoes and reached out with both hands, pressing her palms against the man's cheeks to warm him.

But Qi Yun's embrace wasn't for warming his hands.

Before Ye Jiao could cup his face, Qi Yun lowered his head and gently held Ye Jiao's lips.

Ye Jiao was slightly startled and momentarily forgot to react.

When she came to her senses, her hands that had intended to warm his face were now clinging tightly to his neck, and Qi Yun was holding Ye Jiao's waist, keeping her pressed in his arms.

Little Ginseng pushed him, and when they separated, she was breathing slightly, her eyes misty, looking at him with some displeasure: "Husband, I haven't finished eating the osmanthus cake yet."

Yes, the osmanthus cake wasn't finished yet. No wonder his wife's mouth still had the sweet fragrance of osmanthus.

Little Ginseng was still on her tiptoes and somewhat unsteady, only able to brace herself against the table behind her with both hands.

When the candle was blown out, Ye Jiao smelled a fragrance.

This was... Auspicious Flowers, right? The scent was quite pleasant.

Qi Yun reached out and gently pulled out Ye Jiao's jade hairpin.

When her long hair fell loose, the man tucked the woman's stray hair behind her ear and whispered by her ear: "The osmanthus cake can wait until tomorrow. Today, eat something else."

Hearing Qi Yun's words, Ye Jiao instinctively looked toward the table outside: "Eat what?" Could it be that her husband had brought back some other pastries today?

Qi Yun answered slowly: "Eat you."

"...Husband, I'm human, I can't be eaten."

This time, Qi Yun didn't answer her, and Ye Jiao had no time to demand his answer.

When passion reached its peak, Ye Jiao, pressed between the man and the soft couch, murmured something. Qi Yun leaned close to hear clearly:

"This is much more tiring than eating osmanthus cake."

"Then shall we stop?"

"If you dare stop... I'll bite you..."

The rest was fragmented and unclear.

The next day, Ye Jiao first ate the osmanthus cake she had been thinking about, then carefully peeled two hard-boiled eggs for him, saying seriously: "Husband, eat."

Little Su was somewhat puzzled why Second Young Master needed to eat two today when he usually only ate one.

And why did his ears turn red while eating...