Chapter 35: Selling the Shop to Save Her

Pei Yuantang was not a frivolous or wayward man. Since he had become her husband, he would never again entangle himself with other women.

"I had a betrothal with her in the past, but it was annulled before I married you. There is no other relationship between us."

Qin Hanxiao arched her brows slightly. Was he explaining himself to her? She had not failed to notice the changes in him over these past few days, so he must be slowly starting to trust her. To Qin Hanxiao, this was surely a cause for celebration. In this way, her position in this household would become even more secure. It was not that she could not live on her own, but the Pei family treated her well, and she wished to remain with them. As for her and Pei Yuantang, without love, they could coexist as family.

She said, "I know, I don't mind."

Seeing that Pei Yuantang was still looking at her, she walked over. She crouched down before him, took the hands he had resting on his knees, and looked up at him with deep affection.

"Just as Erlang unconditionally tolerates and trusts me, I also trust Erlang. I know your character, and I believe that even if you were in the same room as Miss Wu, you would never do anything inappropriate. My heart is with yours, and I will not be provoked by the words of outsiders."

Pei Yuantang’s hands, cold at first, were slowly warmed by her touch. His hands were well-shaped but calloused—some from writing, others from labor. Qin Hanxiao’s hands, by contrast, were soft and delicate, free of calluses, though they were currently stained with dirt from weeding.

Pei Yuantang felt a stirring in his heart. Even though he knew she might just be putting on a performance to deceive him, he found himself wanting to try, wanting to believe her. Just as his other hand came up to wrap around her slightly smaller ones, he heard her speak again.

"Let us stop dwelling on the past and look forward together. I will do everything in my power to treat you, Erlang. Trust me, I will cure you. You will surely be able to stand again."

If she had said this before, he would have doubted it, but now he truly believed her, for he had already begun to feel sensation in his legs; he trusted her medical skills. Yet, even if he could stand, he still could not be a true husband to her. Could she really accept that? By then, even if she regretted it and wanted to leave, he would not let her go.

He pulled her up. "I trust you. Let us build a good life together."

Just as she had said.

However, in her vision for the future, she had omitted herself. He would treat her well so that she would not regret staying.

Qin Hanxiao nodded heavily, satisfied. "Yes, we certainly will. Keep looking over the accounts; I am going to wash my hands and prepare dinner, and I still need to get things ready for tomorrow."

With that, she withdrew her hands and left, leaving Pei Yuantang to stare at his own hands for quite a while. Her hands were soft and delicate, meant for holding books, pens, needles, and playing the zither—they were never meant for manual labor.

After dinner, as they cleaned up, Qin Hanxiao added a few drops of spiritual spring water to the basin where the chicks drank. She hoped every one of them would grow up healthy; she was still looking forward to eggs and meat.

During the night, the sound of chirping chicks and rustling came from the courtyard. Qin Hanxiao was startled. Could a weasel have come for the chickens? She sat up abruptly, waking Pei Yuantang as well.

"What is it?"

He then heard the commotion and grabbed her wrist. "Do not go out. Let Sanlang handle it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Yuanxing’s door opened. Without lighting a lamp, he felt his way into the courtyard, stick in hand, to investigate. He vaguely saw a shadow near the chicken coop—it was small, like a weasel. The creature was highly alert and fled before he could get close. It did not run under the door gap but scaled the wall, its movements light and swift. In any case, Pei Yuanxing could not see exactly what it was.

"That thing was fast."

Hearing him speak, Pei Yuantang asked, "Sanlang, what happened?"

"It looked like a weasel, but the chickens are fine."

He lit a candle and counted; not a single one was missing, and there were no signs of the coop being gnawed or clawed. However, the water basin was empty. Had it come specifically to drink?

"If all is well, go back to sleep."

*Knock, knock, knock.*

The front gate was suddenly struck. "Erlang’s wife, please, save my little Bao'er!"

Chang Dazhou shouted urgently, fearing that if he were late, his son would not survive. Upon hearing the name Bao'er, Qin Hanxiao immediately got up to dress.

"The child must have been frightened and caught a chill, leading to a fever. I will go and take a look; you go back to sleep, don't wait for me."

Pei Yuantang sat up and lit the candle. "Don't rush, be careful on the road, and take a lantern." He then called out to his brother, "Sanlang, take a lantern and escort your second sister-in-law."

"Coming."

Pei Yuanxing opened the door and grabbed the lantern. By now, the whole family had been stirred awake. Chang Dazhou explained the situation just as Qin Hanxiao had guessed. "He wasn't very energetic this afternoon, and then in the middle of the night, he suddenly developed a high fever. We had no other choice but to come and ask for your help."

Before leaving, Qin Hanxiao urged Lady Bai repeatedly, "Mother, go back to sleep quickly, don't catch a cold. I won't be back tonight, make sure the doors are locked." Lady Bai’s condition was more severe than Pei Yuantang’s, and given her age, she could not withstand the chill.

Throughout the night, using warm water and spirits, they tended to the child until dawn, when Bao'er’s fever finally broke. She wrote out a prescription for them to get medicine, and then Qin Hanxiao was finally able to return home to catch a nap. She still had much to do today; she could not afford not to rest.

When she woke up after sunrise, she saw the Chang family helping out. Apart from Chang’s wife, who was looking after the child, everyone else had come. Soon after, Jiang Sheng and the others arrived as well, setting up a table in the courtyard to talk. Qin Hanxiao sent Pei Yuanxing to invite the uncle from the day before, as well as the villager who said he had seen her return.

In the middle of everything, Qin Hanxiao stepped out to use the latrine and overheard Jiang Sheng speaking with someone outside. At first, she paid no mind, until she heard him say, "Second Brother gave it to you, so just keep it."

What had Pei Yuantang given?

The man sounded rather conflicted. "The brothers just put in a little effort, how could we let Second Brother spend so much? Especially with Second Brother's current situation, we truly cannot take this money."

Jiang Sheng replied, "Everyone has families to feed; I cannot let the brothers help for nothing. Those men didn't even have a chance to eat a meal; the money must be accepted."

The man continued, "This money came from Second Brother selling his shop. He gave away more than half of the total sum—how is his family supposed to live? There is no rush; the brothers aren't at the point of starving yet. We'll wait until Second Brother is better."

So the shop really was related to Pei Yuantang.

Jiang Sheng patted the man on the shoulder and smiled. "To Second Brother, his wife is worth far more than this money. You saved her, and to him, that is a great debt of gratitude. You must take the money."

So it was indeed a great favor owed from last time. Did Pei Yuantang sell the shop to save her? Or was he planning to deal with the old family house anyway? He could have kept the shop and rented it out, yet he sold it and used most of the silver to settle a debt of gratitude.