Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Early the next morning, Yun Zhangxie set off alone for the neighboring town, intending to sell the ginseng he possessed.

Upon hearing he was venturing out by himself, both Su Qingruo and Aunt Liang expressed concern. To ease their worries, Yun Zhangxie brought Fu Wang along.

Fu Wang had grown considerably large by now; he could at least intimidate some timid folk.

The neighboring town was a little farther than Xunxiang Village.

Unfamiliar with the route, Yun Zhangxie stopped frequently along the way, not arriving in town until noon.

By then, he felt a bit tired and decided not to rush to the apothecary to sell the ginseng.

He first had lunch and rested briefly before heading to the town’s apothecary.

The ginseng Yun Zhangxie carried was of excellent quality, and the physician at the first clinic immediately took a liking to it. Unfortunately, the offered price was rather low—only a hundred taels of silver.

For ordinary ginseng, a hundred taels would have been acceptable.

But Yun Zhangxie’s ginseng was exceptional; it had been nourished with Spirit Spring water, making its medicinal properties far more potent than regular ginseng. Selling it for merely a hundred taels seemed too low, so he went to another clinic to inquire.

Given the town’s small size, there were only two apothecaries. The first hadn't offered a high price, and the second wasn't much better.

Yun Zhangxie wasn't feeling well enough to travel to the county to sell it. In the end, he sold the ginseng to the second apothecary for one hundred and thirty taels.

Previously, Yun Zhangxie had nearly sixty taels of silver on hand. With this additional one hundred and thirty taels, he now possessed close to two hundred taels, which immediately put his mind at ease.

In ancient times, two hundred taels of silver was no small sum; it could support an average family for a considerable period.

Feeling financially secure, Yun Zhangxie purchased quite a few items before heading back.

He bought several reams of paper, two boxes of ink sticks, five lengths of fabric, six pounds of pork, and two pounds of beef.

Ordinary people in ancient times were not permitted to slaughter cattle privately, but that didn't mean beef was unavailable.

If an ox was nearing the end of its life or had been injured and could no longer plow, it could be butchered with government approval.

Yun Zhangxie was fortunate; he chanced upon someone in town selling beef from an ox that had died in an accident.

Since it wasn't a sick or old ox, the meat was very fresh, though the price was relatively high.

Now that he had some money and was generous with himself, Yun Zhangxie bought two pounds to sample.

He had sold one ginseng this time, but he couldn’t rely on selling ginseng for money again anytime soon.

Even though he had traveled to a neighboring town to sell it, such a transaction still drew attention.

The first time he sold ginseng, people might not think much of it—they would simply assume he was lucky to have stumbled upon such a treasure.

One hundred taels of silver might seem like a large sum, but in the stable and prosperous Great Zhou dynasty, no one would target him for that amount.

However, while he might not be targeted this time, the next time could be different.

If he were to sell another valuable medicinal herb like ginseng, even if criminals didn't take notice, people from the apothecaries certainly would.

Thus, selling ginseng was not a sustainable way to earn money; doing it once in a particular place was already pushing it. If Yun Zhangxie wanted a consistent income, he would need to find a way to promote the Beauty Cream.

By evening, Yun Zhangxie leisurely returned to the village.

The villagers, no longer working at this hour, saw the many goods piled on his cart and couldn’t resist gathering around out of curiosity.

An older woman, seeing the lengths of fabric on the cart, couldn’t help but feel envious of Su Qingruo.

She recalled that not long ago, this young master of the Yun family had already purchased cloth and even new clothes for his husband.

Su Qingruo’s father, Chen Shi, had even caused a scene over those new clothes. Yet, just a few days later, Young Master Yun had gone to town to buy more cloth. It seemed that even if this young master wasn't favored, he was still wealthier than common folk like them.

Yin Qiuhua stood in the crowd, pursing her lips and furrowing her brows as she stared at the goods on the cart, her heart seething with envy.

She truly couldn’t understand why someone of Yun Zhangxie’s noble status, who could easily find a better husband, hadn’t divorced that mute.

Hadn't everyone said that Young Master Yun was forced into marrying that mute? When his grandmother had visited, why hadn't he seized the opportunity to divorce him? And now, he was treating that mute so well?

He was bringing home fine fabrics as if they cost nothing and had even bought the mute’s younger siblings.

Amid Yin Qiuhua’s bewilderment, Yun Zhangxie guided the cart loaded with goods toward his courtyard.

Su Qingruo had been worried about him all afternoon and had been waiting at the gate. Seeing Yun Zhangxie return, he immediately hurried over with concern.

Noticing Yun Zhangxie’s drawn face, Su Qingruo helped him down from the cart and ensured he didn’t lift a hand afterward.

Once back in the courtyard, Yun Zhangxie found a daybed and lay down.

He was truly exhausted; he was still new to driving a cart and wasn’t very skilled yet.

Fortunately, their horse was quite well-behaved and had drunk the Spirit Spring water Yun Zhangxie had given it, so it remained docile under his control.

Though the horse was gentle, the uneven roads made for a jolting ride, and sitting in the cart was uncomfortable.

As he lay down, Yun Zhangxie said to the others in the courtyard, “There’s paper beneath the fabric—please be careful with it.”

Tian Sang nodded. “Understood, Young Master. I’ll take the paper to your room right away.”

Efficient as ever, Tian Sang carried the paper and the box of ink sticks to Yun Zhangxie’s room.

By the time he returned, Aunt Liang had already taken the pork and beef to the kitchen.

Seeing the five lengths of fabric left—most of them vibrant hues—Tian Sang knew the young master had bought them for them again.

Happily, he stepped forward and began unloading them, asking, “Young Master, why did you buy so much cloth again?”

The cool evening breeze was a bit chilly, and Yun Zhangxie coughed lightly before answering.

“The household has two extra people now. I was worried the previous cloth wouldn’t be enough.”

As Yun Zhangxie spoke, Su Qingruo went inside to fetch him a wrap.

Tian Sang hid a smile—he had also heard the young master cough.

He had considered fetching clothes himself, but when he saw the master heading inside, he knew his help wasn't needed.

Now, watching the master wrap the cloak around the young master, Tian Sang thought the master treated the young master quite well. He wondered when the master would have a child.

Tian Sang was observant and attentive to the young master’s needs. If the master noticed something, he wouldn’t jump in to do it himself. Only if the master overlooked something would he step in to care for the young master.

Shanli, noticing the abundance of fabric at home, quietly approached Su Qingruo—she wanted some fabric to learn needlework.

When she lived with the Sus, they had been too poor, and even if there was cloth, she never got to handle any.

Now that they were here, and Yun Zhangxie seemed to care a lot about Elder Brother, she wanted him to give her some fabric.

She wanted to learn embroidery, to be as skilled as Tian Sang.

That way, she could make clothes for her Elder Brother and third brother in the future.

And when her Elder Brother had children, she could even make clothes for her future nieces/nephews.

Su Qingruo nodded upon hearing this. Aunt Liang was currently teaching him how to manage the household, so many things were now under his care.

When Su Qingruo married into the family, he had only brought the clothes on his back—he didn’t even have his own trunk.

Before, it didn't matter; he had nothing anyway.

But now, things were different. His clothes and belongings were gradually increasing, and he needed a trunk of his own.

Yun Zhangxie cleared out one of his own trunks for Su Qingruo to use, promising to get him a new wooden trunk later.

The newly purchased fabric today was handed over to Su Qingruo.

There were five lengths of cotton fabric.

Only one was sky-blue, while the other four were brightly colored.

One was a pale yellow with faint honey-colored patterns; it cost twenty coins more than the others.

Great Zhou was quite progressive. In Yun Zhangxie’s impression, yellow had always been a symbol of royalty and power, forbidden to commoners.

But in Great Zhou, it was permitted. Even in this small, remote town, pale yellow fabric could be seen for sale. He wondered just how extravagant the cities must be.

Su Qingruo didn’t want to waste good fabric on his fourth sister's practice, so he went to Aunt Liang and asked for some fabric scraps.

Once she got the fabric, Shanli began earnestly learning embroidery.

When it came to embroidery, Su Qingruo, being the eldest brother, had nothing to teach her. If Shanli wanted to learn, she could only turn to Tian Sang.

Fortunately, Tian Sang was naturally warm and cheerful. If Shanli wanted to learn from him, he was happy to teach her.

That evening, they had beef for dinner. Su Qingruo had never eaten beef before, and he couldn’t help but eat too much.

When he lay down to rest at night, his overfull stomach made it hard to sleep.

He tossed and turned for a long time, surreptitiously massaging his stomach.

Hearing the movement, Yun Zhangxie opened his eyes, worried Su Qingruo was in pain from overeating, and leaned over to ask softly,

"What’s wrong? Stomach ache?"

Su Qingruo shook his head and turned to face Yun Zhangxie, wanting to explain that he was just too full.

But when he turned, he saw Yun Zhangxie with his long hair loose, looking at him with concern.

Su Qingruo had to admit—Yun Zhangxie was quite handsome. Not in a bold, striking way, but with a cool, refined elegance.

He gazed blankly at Yun Zhangxie, thinking that this man was his husband, and somehow, he felt like laughing.

Seeing his blank look, Yun Zhangxie thought he really was unwell.

Yun Zhangxie whispered, "Are you feeling very uncomfortable? Do you want me to massage your stomach for you?"

Su Qingruo initially wanted to refuse—he wasn’t a child like his third brother or fourth sister. If his stomach hurt, he could rub it himself.

But he had never been cared for like this before, never had someone speak to him so gently as Yun Zhangxie did now.

His father and mother had always resented him for being a male bearer, had never paid him much mind since childhood.

As the eldest, he had to be sensible, obedient, and always look after his younger siblings—but he was rarely the one being cared for.

Su Qingruo didn’t know what came over him, but hearing Yun Zhangxie’s tender tone, he nodded before he could stop himself.

What did it feel like to be cherished and cared for?

Yun Zhangxie was surprised when Su Qingruo agreed. The moment he asked, he already regretted it.

He had assumed Su Qingruo would refuse, and if he did, Yun Zhangxie could pretend nothing had happened.

But… Su Qingruo nodded.

Yun Zhangxie took a quiet breath and braced himself, extending his hand.

Alright, alright. He was just going to rub his stomach—as long as he kept his hands from wandering, it should be… should be alright, right?