Shen Yun gazed at the woman who had lived with him for over two months.
For the first three days after marrying into his family, she acted like a madwoman.
She cursed at anyone and everyone, forbidding his entire family from approaching her.
But after the visit back to her maiden home, and following that calamity, she transformed into someone completely different.
Not just a change in demeanor, but by his judgment, she had truly become a different person.
She was intelligent and gentle, understanding and considerate.
She took excellent care of his family and always offered him help at crucial moments.
More importantly, when he was with her, his mind possessed an indescribable clarity.
Reading and writing felt as if divinely aided.
He sometimes wondered if she was a celestial fairy sent by heaven to assist him.
The thought was so absurd that even he couldn't help but chuckle at it sometimes.
With so many thoughts swirling, he had only one: why would she still consider a divorce now?
He strode forward, ascending the steps, closing in on Su Xiaoqi. His sharp eyes locked onto hers, and he cupped her chin, stating with utmost seriousness:
"Remember this, you are my lawfully wedded wife, married through proper procedures. Don't speak of divorce again."
Su Xiaoqi stared blankly at Shen Yun.
His face loomed larger before her, then he leaned in and covered her lips.
It was merely a fleeting touch, a light brush, like a feather grazing her skin, before he released her.
A ticklish sensation.
She couldn't help but gently purse her lips, her clear eyes sparkling.
Shen Yun chuckled at her slightly foolish action.
His deep voice brushed against Su Xiaoqi's eardrum, causing her heart to flutter. She pointed at the beggars inside who were happily eating, saying:
"Don't you want to know why I know them?"
Shen Yun immediately placed his hand on her shoulder, drawing her into his embrace.
"If you want to say it, say it. If not, then don't."
Su Xiaoqi breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against Shen Yun's chest.
She didn't want to say anything, not a single word!
Shen Yun appeared lean, but due to years of training,
his body was actually quite strong beneath his clothes.
Leaning against his chest, listening to his powerful heartbeat, Su Xiaoqi closed her eyes, feeling a sense of dependence.
Before the plot device could alter her fate, she needed to upgrade her space.
She wasn't there yet; she needed to speed up.
After finishing their meal, Su Xiaoqi learned their address: Chenghuang Temple in the east of the city.
They agreed to meet again in a few days.
"Sister Xiaoqi, you... you will come look for us?
Waaah, I miss Sister Xiaoqi so much, and I miss Brother Xiao Ze too."
With oil still smudged around her mouth, Little Xique cried like a puddle of tears while hugging Su Xiaoqi.
Su Xiaoqi wiped the oil from her face and stroked her hair, saying, "I will, you wait for me."
Looking at those expectant and pitiful faces, she steeled her heart and made a silent resolution.
She kept Little Yi behind to instruct him to collect rice from Chen Ji Grain Shop in the west of the city in the next couple of days.
He was to take only what they needed to eat each day, no more.
Little Yi didn't believe her. Su Xiaoqi looked at herself, finding no jewelry she could use as collateral for the crops.
She asked Shen Yun for a piece of paper, wrote a message known only to her and Chen Jinniang, and handed it to Little Yi.
She told him to present this paper.
"No way, I won't be fooled by you like Brother Ze," Little Yi refused with the characteristic awkwardness of a young boy.
"You're really timid, how can you compare to Xiao Ze?" Su Xiaoqi provoked him.
Little Yi's hot-bloodedness was ignited.
Gritting his teeth, he glared at Su Xiaoqi and then signaled for everyone else to follow him.
Little Xique kept looking back at Su Xiaoqi as they walked away, showing great reluctance.
Su Xiaoqi waved vigorously at her.
She remained standing there, watching their figures disappear around the corner of the street.
Once they were completely out of sight, she turned her gaze towards the ready-made clothing shop not far away.
She had asked Shen Yun and Zhao Liushun to wait for her there.
She planned to buy a few outfits and also some items to make menstrual pads.
She simply couldn't bear the combination of cotton cloth and ash any longer.
The shopkeeper recognized her the moment she entered, remembering her as the customer who had exchanged white rice for clothes last time.
His face broke into a wide smile, and he greeted her warmly.
Su Xiaoqi selected two sets of fine cotton undergarments for herself.
She also bought two sets of fine cotton outer shirts for each of the eight people in her household.
In total, she purchased twenty outfits, totaling three strings and eight hundred coins.
The shopkeeper, with a squinting smile, suggested she use white rice for the exchange again.
This posed no difficulty for Su Xiaoqi.
She circled the entrance once, and before anyone noticed, a bag of rice appeared in her hand.
She still had plenty of rice in her space.
The price of rice had risen slightly; it was now thirteen hundred coins per dou.
Su Xiaoqi gave him three dou, with a hundred coins remaining.
She didn't ask for change and instead requested some scraps of fine cotton cloth and some cotton from the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper was delighted and even offered her two scholar's hats.
He remarked that her family was truly impressive to have two scholars.
Su Xiaoqi smiled. Whether Zhao Liushun was truly remarkable, she wasn't sure.
But Shen Yun was indeed a man of substance.
The two were chatting when Shen Yun, not seeing her emerge for a while, and fearing something might happen to her like last time, had come looking for her.
The shopkeeper recognized Shen Yun as the top scholar from the recent court examination.
He immediately came forward to pay his respects: "So, this capable young lady belongs to Master Shen's household. My respects, my respects."
Shen Yun, being well-mannered, did not judge people by their status or profession and treated him with great courtesy.
Su Xiaoqi had finished what she needed to do, and Shen Yun's timely arrival was opportune.
He could serve as a free porter.
Zhao Liushun saw them from a distance and quickly hailed a mule cart.
As they passed a pharmacy, Su Xiaoqi remembered Zhao Ye's hand and needed to buy a few hard-to-find herbs, so she got off the cart to make the purchase.
When she got back into the cart, Zhao Liushun suddenly said, "Xiaoqi, I heard you have good medical skills."
Su Xiaoqi raised an eyebrow. How was she supposed to answer this question?
She looked inquiringly at Shen Yun.
She assumed that they must have discussed something in the cart while she was away.
Shen Yun nodded.
Just as Su Xiaoqi had alighted to buy medicine, he had explained to Zhao Liushun in detail how she had healed his mother's injury.
And how she had cured Shen Erdan's muteness, and was now treating Zhao Ye's hand.
"Can you take a look at my uncle's leg? Can you cure it?" Shen Yun knew his uncle wouldn't be able to ask himself, so he asked on his behalf.
Su Xiaoqi's heart stirred.
In fact, she had considered this from the moment she learned Zhao Liushun was lame.
If nothing else, just considering this matter,
if she could cure him, it would be a tremendous benefit, and her space might even upgrade again.
However, she had observed Zhao Liushun closely these past few days.
She found that while he was generally easygoing,
his lame leg was his sensitive point, something that could not be touched.
Therefore, she had not dared to mention it in front of him.
Now that Shen Yun had brought it up, she nodded and said she could try.
After all, his leg injury was quite old; whether it could be healed was still uncertain.
Upon arriving home, they unloaded the belongings from the mule cart.
Su Xiaoqi handed them over to Shen Xiaomei. After briefly explaining the principles of distribution, she took Zhao Liushun's pulse and examined his leg in the main hall.
"This must be ten-odd years ago," Su Xiaoqi said, feeling Zhao Liushun's leg through his trousers.
Looking at the severely atrophied muscles in his lower leg, she felt a pang of apprehension.
"My uncle broke his leg when he was ten years old," Shen Yun explained from the side.
Zhao Liushun was already twenty-four years old now.
"It's been too long; I can't be certain if I can heal it, but I will do my best." Su Xiaoqi had some ideas but dared not speak too definitively.
She was afraid of giving Zhao Liushun false hope, only to disappoint him and be unable to bear it.