Chapter 61

Chapter 61

After more than two months of recovering, Xie Zhiyu was getting better and better.

With the Shen family sending over fresh vegetables every day, he could finally get food down and had put on some weight, no longer scarily skinny like before.

A few days after the Chen family and the others in Yunan Prefecture had their property seized and were exiled, Xie Zhiyu was just about fully healed.

Shen Song went by the Qi place every day to check on Xie Zhiyu.

One day, the two of them were sitting in the bamboo grove, fruits, pastries, and iced drinks spread out on the wooden table.

Shen Song sat in a chair with a back, nibbling on a pastry. Bamboo leaves rustled, a gentle breeze drifted over the ice basin, cool and pleasant.

Xie Zhiyu sat next to him, not interested in any of the food and unable to eat a bite.

He turned a page in the newest volume of *The Travels of Lancheng* and said, like it was nothing, "I'm heading back to the Xie house tomorrow. You can keep coming by every day to learn characters with me."

Shen Song figured the characters he knew now were enough for everyday use, and his fifth brother and third brother-in-law had said the same thing.

He didn't really want to keep going.

"I don't think I need to keep studying. What I know now is enough for everyday stuff."

Seeing Shen Song didn't want to keep learning to read and write with him, Xie Zhiyu was annoyed.

"If you're not studying with me, who are you gonna study with?" He frowned. "Chi Jiu?"

Shen Song looked confused. "What does Xiao Jiu have to do with anything?"

Xie Zhiyu said, "At the start, weren't you the one who wanted him to teach you to read?"

"So what?" Shen Song remained puzzled.

He didn't get what wanting to learn from Chi Jiu before had to do with him not wanting to study now.

Xie Zhiyu took a deep breath and pressed his hand over his lower left abdomen.

His wound hurt from getting pissed off.

Worried, Shen Song set his pastry down on the table. "What's wrong, Xie Zhiyu?"

Xie Zhiyu leaned back in his chair and said coldly, "Even if I died, it wouldn't matter to you anyway."

Shen Song frowned, upset. "How could it not matter? I'd be really sad if you got hurt. If you died, I'd be so sad I'd die too."

Xie Zhiyu's heart jolted, like something had hit him square in the chest.

His throat bobbed as he watched Shen Song crouch beside him, trying to get a look at the wound on his side.

Xie Zhiyu's fingers twitched, then he pressed down on Shen Song's wrist where it rested on his waist. "Shen Song, this isn't proper."

"What's proper? I don't get it." Shen Song's eyes were full of worry. "I'm worried about your injury."

Xie Zhiyu wouldn't let Shen Song look, holding his wrist down so he couldn't move. He leaned in a little closer to Shen Song and asked quietly, "Forget what I said before. Shen Song, I'll ask you again—will you come every day and learn characters with me?"

Shen Song looked torn.

"Not willing?" Xie Zhiyu's voice turned dangerous.

Shen Song, wrist still held by Xie Zhiyu, was getting tired crouching by his leg.

He tried to stand, but Xie Zhiyu pressed down, not letting him up.

Shen Song just sat down on the ground. He didn't look at Xie Zhiyu, instead turning to stare at a bamboo stalk nearby, tracing its shape with his eyes, and said, "You said my characters were ugly before. That made me upset."

That was not what he expected. Xie Zhiyu paused.

"But Shen Song, they really are ugly." Xie Zhiyu stressed. "That's why you need to practice every day. I'll teach you."

Shen Song huffed and said nothing.

"Are you mad?" Xie Zhiyu pressed.

Shen Song still didn't speak.

"Is it because I said your characters were ugly? Or because you don't want to keep practicing?" Xie Zhiyu asked again.

Shen Song couldn't put into words what he was feeling. All he knew was that when Xie Zhiyu said his characters were ugly, his face got hot, his heart pounded, and it felt uncomfortable.

He didn't want Xie Zhiyu to see his characters, and he didn't really want to look at Xie Zhiyu either.

He really hated Xie Zhiyu saying his characters were ugly.

"I hate you, Xie Zhiyu."

If he didn't like it, then that meant hate.

The second he said it, Xie Zhiyu grabbed his chin.

The spot where his chin was held felt a little cold.

Shen Song was forced to meet Xie Zhiyu's eyes.

Xie Zhiyu leaned in and said coldly, "You hate me?"

Shen Song instinctively shrank back. "I don't like that you said my characters were ugly, and you kept saying it. I hate you."

He said it again.

Xie Zhiyu let go of Shen Song's chin, leaned back, and turned his head away, annoyed. "I won't say it again."

Hearing that, Shen Song leaned in, tilting his head to try and catch Xie Zhiyu's eyes. "Really?"

Xie Zhiyu wouldn't let him look, covering Shen Song's eyes with his hand. But Shen Song lost his balance and started tipping sideways. The hand that had been blocking his eyes shot out to catch him, grabbing his arm tightly and steadying him.

"Can you stop squirming?"

Shen Song sat back down cross-legged and wiggled the wrist Xie Zhiyu was still holding. "Why are you so mean? You're holding me, so I can't fall."

Xie Zhiyu's expression stiffened, his brows drawing together slightly as he let go of Shen Song's wrist.

"Too healthy for your own good? Go sit in the chair."

Shen Song thought about it seriously for a moment. "I really am in good health. I haven't been sick in a long time."

Xie Zhiyu's expression was calm, his tone flat, giving nothing away.

He said, "Shen Song, are you trying to piss me off on purpose?"

“Huh? No.” Shen Song was a bit confused—hadn’t he just been seriously answering Xie Zhiyu’s question?

Xie Zhiyu just pulled Shen Song up and made him sit back down in the chair.

“Go to the Xie estate tomorrow, you hear me?”

Shen Song took a bite of his pastry and stayed quiet.

Xie Zhiyu frowned and said, sounding reluctant, “Your handwriting... it’s nice.”

Shen Song’s eyes lit up, and he snuck a glance at Xie Zhiyu, barely holding back his excitement. “Really?”

“Really.”

“What’s pretty about it?” Shen Song asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Xie Zhiyu looked down at his book, but couldn’t focus on the words, his ears turning a little red. “They’re round and cute.”

Shen Song chuckled, happy. “Then I’ll come over tomorrow and write you a few characters to hang up!”

Xie Zhiyu gave a small “mm” in acknowledgment. “Suit yourself.”

With the Chen family no longer pulling shady tricks behind the scenes, the Shen family’s business was back on track.

-

Life in Shen Family Gully was also improving more and more.

Now it was autumn harvest time again, and the yields in Shen Family Gully’s fields were still as high as ever.

With the summer harvest and this autumn harvest combined, the villagers of Shen Family Gully had managed to put aside a little savings.

As they processed the rice during the autumn harvest and looked at the plentiful grain, they couldn’t help but think back to the summer harvest. Naturally, they were reminded of that terrifying robbery attempt that had ended without any real harm—they still felt a lingering fear.

Back then, they had fled up the mountain, only to find out the bandits were after Shen Dashu’s family. The villagers had chased after them, but a group of masked men blocked their path and told them to head back down the mountain.

Those men all carried knives, their faces hidden, blocking the way. Shen Gaoshan had talked with them and learned they were protecting Shen Dashu’s family. If the villagers went up, they’d only cause trouble and make things worse, so Shen Gaoshan organized the villagers to head back down.

After coming down, they grabbed their farming tools and guarded the Shen family’s vegetable plots, fields, and fenced yard, not leaving until the Shen family returned.

Even though the summer harvest had been disrupted by the bandit incident, the villagers of Shen Family Gully weren’t too worried about the autumn harvest.

Earlier, the county office had sent Blade Constables to search Tiger Head Mountain, and they completely wiped out the bandit den there.

After the autumn harvest, every household was busy processing their grain, getting ready to sell it in the county seat.

But before the villagers could even finish threshing their rice, people from the county grain store showed up.

The grain store’s steward and clerks hadn’t planned to reveal who they were, but the villagers of Shen Family Gully were now very wary of strangers. When they saw unfamiliar faces, they went up and grilled them for their names and what they wanted.

With no choice, the steward and clerks stated their identities. Some villagers said they looked familiar, remembering they were from the Sun Family Grain Store in the county. Since the store did send people to the village to buy grain at low prices every summer and autumn harvest, the villagers stopped being suspicious.

It was just that they had come way too early this time.

Once they knew the newcomers were from the grain store and had come to check out the grain in Shen Family Gully, the villagers let them into the village.

As Steward Sun entered the village, he told the villagers that if he found grain he liked, he’d buy it on the spot and give them a good price.

Hearing this, the villagers eagerly invited them to come look at their grain.

Steward Sun stopped wondering why the villagers had been so guarded earlier and followed them door to door to inspect the grain.

After checking a dozen or so households, the rice was all plump, translucent, and gave off a rich, fragrant white aroma.

Good rice!

Steward Sun held back his excitement.

During the summer harvest, their store had taken in wheat sold by the villagers of Shen Family Gully.

The wheat kernels were a bright, excellent yellow, and the flour ground from them was rich with wheat aroma.

More importantly, the food made from that flour tasted amazing. Every customer who bought it came back to buy more.

At first, the store hadn’t realized what made this flour so different.

It was only when more and more customers asked about it that they learned the flour from Shen Family Gully’s wheat made food that tasted completely different from flour made from other wheat.

The flour from Shen Family Gully’s wheat sold the fastest.

Even when they raised the price, it still sold fast.

This autumn harvest, since they rotated crops and it was rice season, the Boss said to go check out Shen Family Gully. If the rice was as good as the wheat, they should buy it at a premium before other grain stores caught on. They could buy as much as they possibly could.

Steward Sun came with the Boss’s orders and inspected the rice very carefully.

That was why he was certain the rice from Shen Family Gully wouldn’t be any worse than the wheat.

The villagers followed Steward Sun the whole way, eagerly waiting for his verdict.

Steward Sun grabbed a small handful of rice and said to the villagers with a smile, “As long as the rice is this quality, our Sun Family Grain Store will not only cover transport but also buy it at 20% above market price!”

Whoa! Free transport and 20% above market price!

The villagers of Shen Family Gully were stunned, thinking they must have heard wrong.

Twenty percent higher—how much more money would they make!

They couldn’t even imagine it. They were so happy they couldn’t contain it, and they all pulled at Steward Sun and the store clerks, urging them to come look at their grain first.

The Sun Family Grain Store was a big store in the county, capable of taking in an entire village’s harvest.

Steward Sun had come prepared. He calmed everyone down, told them not to rush, and sent a clerk back to pass the word and bring more people.

He also told the villagers that once the store’s loading crew arrived, he would go door to door to collect the grain.

The villagers did their best to stay patient, waiting for the store to come weigh and buy their grain.

Steward Sun stayed in Shen Family Gully, which put both him and the villagers at ease.

He had lunch at Shen Gaoshan’s house, with rice as the main course.

Originally, Shen Family Gully didn’t have the habit of eating lunch—common folks ate two meals a day.

It was after the summer harvest that they picked it up from Shen Dashu’s family.

Now, except for those who were really struggling, every household in Shen Family Gully ate three meals a day.

That midday meal wasn't much food.

When Shen Gaoshan hosted Steward Sun at his home, the portions were definitely bigger than what the family usually ate at lunch.

The rice was freshly hulled, all just so Steward Sun could get a taste of the new grain.

One bite of that new rice, and Steward Sun knew this trip hadn't been a waste at all.

That rice was seriously good—fragrant, soft, and sticky.

Even with no side dishes, he could easily put away several bowls of plain white rice.

After eating, Steward Sun was even more sure that buying rice from Shen Family Village was the right move.

After the meal, while waiting for the grain store's crew to come haul the grain away, Steward Sun went to Shen Dashu's house.

He knew the Shen family's vegetable plots supplied restaurants and taverns, and he also knew about their wheat business.

His boss thought so highly of Shen Family Village's grain partly because he'd had steamed buns at a restaurant in Yunxi County.

Those buns tasted even better than the ones made from flour ground from wheat they'd bought from Shen Family Village folks.

After asking around, he found out where that flour came from.

Steward Sun came to talk about buying the Shen family's rice.

That morning, he'd visited all the other households, but after asking around, he found out nobody from Shen Dashu's family had shown up.

Steward Sun had come over with Shen Gaoshan.

Shen Jing was home, leaning on his crutch as he came out to greet the guest and lead him inside.

Shen Sanqiu quickly brought out some tea.

Only Shen Chong in the family liked tea; the others weren't big on it. The tea leaves were mostly for guests, and whatever they didn't drink was saved for Shen Chong.

When he heard why Steward Sun was there, Shen Jing honestly said the family's rice wasn't for sale.

The rice had already been pre-ordered by the restaurants and taverns that bought their veggies, even while it was still growing in the fields.

The flour from the summer wheat harvest was amazing, and the noodles and buns made from it sold like crazy.

They'd made a good chunk of money.

Now that the rice was ready, those restaurants and taverns they'd worked with weren't about to let the chance slip by.

With no more hassle from the Yunan Prefecture folks, the restaurants and taverns that used to order from the Shen family had already gotten back into business with them.

They'd even tripled the penalty for breaking the contract.

If the Shen family backed out, they'd pay the original agreed amount. If the other side backed out, they'd pay three times the penalty.

They were genuinely eager to work together again, and since the whole mess had been forced on them, the Shen family saw no reason to turn down good business—so they signed new contracts.

When they signed the new agreements, everyone stressed that they wanted this year's new rice.

The Shen family's rice was still in the granary, but besides what they'd keep for themselves and some for gifts, just about all of it was already claimed, just waiting for buyers to come pick it up.

There really wasn't any extra rice to sell to the grain store.

Shen Jing explained the situation and turned Steward Sun down.

After that, he kept a close eye on Steward Sun's face.

He'd been burned before, so he couldn't help but be on guard.

He was afraid Steward Sun might be like the Chen family—where a failed deal meant no more goodwill.

Shen Gaoshan was watching Steward Sun just as closely.

He'd learned that having good stuff at home wasn't always a good thing; it made people jealous and caused trouble.

Steward Sun, who ran the grain store and had dealt with all kinds of people, immediately picked up on the tension and wariness from Shen Jing and Shen Gaoshan.

Figuring out why, he gave a helpless smile and said, "The emperor just issued a new decree banning people from stealing others' secret recipes or messing with their businesses. The Sun family is a proper, honest merchant family—even before this decree came out, we'd never have done anything like that, let alone now that it's clearly against the law."

In a calm, friendly tone, Steward Sun went on, "It's just that we came a step too late and missed out on working together. That happens all the time in business. Don't worry, the Sun family won't do anything bad to you over this."

His attitude was good and he sounded sincere, so Shen Jing and Shen Gaoshan decided to trust him.

Seeing everyone loosen up, Steward Sun asked, "So when might the Shen family expand their land to grow more grain?"

Shen Jing said the family had no plans for that right now.

They originally had sixty mu of fields, and the whole family was busy working them, picking up odd jobs during the slow season.

Then they added thirty-eight mu of vegetable plots, so on top of the fields, they had to take care of the vegetable plots too—no more slow season, and the whole family was buried in their own land.

With that much land, they already had plenty to keep them busy.

Any more, and they wouldn't have enough hands.

Since the Shen family really had no plans to expand, Steward Sun didn't push it.

He just said that if the Shen family ever expanded and had grain to sell, he hoped they'd think of the Sun Family Grain Store first, and promised a price they wouldn't be disappointed with.

Shen Jing said he'd keep it in mind, "When the family gets back, I'll pass it along."

Just then, a villager came with one of the grain store's workers to fetch Steward Sun, saying the ox carts for hauling grain had arrived and he needed to go keep the books.

The Sun Family Grain Store spent two days in Shen Family Village, from morning till night, hauling load after load of grain. They'd borrowed a bunch of ox carts, making a long hauling train.

People from several nearby villages came out to stand by the main road and watch. Some found out Shen Family Village's grain was selling for more than they'd get at the grain store themselves, and they were green with envy.

Quite a few people even blocked the Sun family's carts, saying their grain was just as good and demanding the Sun family buy theirs too.

Of course, the Sun Family Grain Store's workers refused, and worried about delays, they got rough, telling people to get out of the way fast—if they held things up and something went wrong, they'd be held responsible.

Scared off by the harsh looks and cold words, the villagers didn't dare rush up to block the carts or beg them to buy their grain anymore.

All they could do was envy Shen Family Village's grain deal something fierce.

Back at the summer harvest, word got around that Shen Family Village was blessed by the Land God, and all the villagers had burned incense and made offerings, which was why the harvest was so big.

You can't fake grain yields.

Several villages had intermarried, with lots of connections between them, so there was no hiding stuff like that even if they tried.

After the summer harvest, they also thought about going to the land temple built at the foot of the mountain in Shenjiagou to burn incense and make offerings, praying to the Land God to bless them with a bountiful harvest too.

But the people of Shenjiagou watched them and wouldn't let them come worship.

What if too many people came to worship, and the Land God got too busy, and stopped blessing Shenjiagou like before?

The villagers of Shenjiagou had just gotten a taste of the benefits and weren't willing to share them now.

And after this autumn harvest, many people saw the Sun Family Grain Store coming to Shenjiagou to haul away grain, and the exact price they were selling at couldn't be kept a secret.

When the daughters and husbands who'd married into other villages went back to visit their families, word spread through all the nearby villages in just a few days.

Not only did the grain store come to pick it up itself, so they didn't have to haul it themselves, but they also bought at a price 20% higher than the market rate. Not only did they get more money, but almost every household in Shenjiagou had yields 20–30% higher than usual.

They must be raking in a fortune!

No matter how many guards Shenjiagou posted now, they couldn't stop outsiders from coming to the land temple to burn incense.

But out of respect for the deity, even with the crowds, there was no chaos.

From the start, when they realized they couldn't stop them, Shen Gaoshan, fearing trouble, had someone announce that anyone who was disrespectful or caused trouble would have a bad harvest next year.

After that, everyone burned incense respectfully.

Besides the incense crowds, plenty of people were also coming to Shenjiagou to propose marriages.

The girls, young men, and boys of Shenjiagou were all hot commodities.

Matchmakers from all the nearby villages had been swarming into Shenjiagou for the past two days.

The matchmakers' first stop was Shen Song's house.

His house was one of a kind in the surrounding villages, standing out like a sore thumb, and everyone wanted to be the one to arrange a match for this family.

If they pulled it off, the matchmaking fee would be hefty!

The matchmakers also had plenty of clients asking them to propose to the Shen family. Besides Shen Jue, Shen Lin, Shen Song, and Chi Jiu, who were all well past marriageable age, even fourteen-year-old Yi'an, twelve-year-old Erkang, and twelve-year-old San Qiu were getting marriage proposals.

The matchmakers who came knew exactly how the Shen family was set up.

They all knew Chi Jiu's background, but none of them treated him like a slave.

They'd already found out how the Shen family treated Chi Jiu—they raised him like their own son. They wouldn't dare look down on Chi Jiu—that would just piss off the Shen family.

Among those asking to marry Chi Jiu, some even had decent backgrounds.

One of them was even someone they knew.

Qin Silang of the Qin family's restaurant.

And the matchmaker who showed up was familiar too.

It was Sun Fulang, the one who'd suddenly vanished before.

Liu Chunxia ignored the other matchmakers and only called Sun Fulang inside to talk.

Sun Fulang didn't look too happy about it; he just sighed and followed her in.

"Sun Fulang, what exactly is going on here?" Liu Chunxia's expression was grim, and her tone turned cold. "Are you making fun of my boy, or is the Qin family doing it? What exactly are you people trying to pull?"

Sun Fulang let out an "aiyo" and muttered that it was a sin.

He slapped his thigh and apologized to Liu Chunxia, "Auntie, you've really got the wrong idea about me. I'm just a matchmaker who gets paid to set up marriages. Why would I mess with your boy like that?"

Liu Chunxia snorted coldly, "So the Qin family's up to no good then?"

Sun Fulang looked troubled, sighed again, and furrowed his brows like he didn't know where to start.

Liu Chunxia could tell there was a reason, but she didn't give him an out and stayed quiet.

Sun Fulang coughed to break the silence, then let out an "ai" and said, "As for the Qin family, this one's on them."

Once he got going, it was easier. Thinking about that fat matchmaking fee, Sun Fulang found his words flowing, "That day, Qin Silang happened to catch a glimpse of your Jiu Geer and fell for him at first sight—not Song Geer. The Qin elders thought he'd taken a liking to Song Geer, so they got an official matchmaker to propose. Later, when Qin Silang realized the mix-up, he asked his parents to fix it.

But the elders liked Song Geer better and didn't change it. Qin Silang was usually an obedient son, but on this, he dug his heels in and refused. On the day of the arranged meeting, he just took off. His parents couldn't find him, and they couldn't just send someone else in his place. And they didn't want to ruin the business between the two families, so they just pretended nothing happened."

When Sun Fulang finished, Liu Chunxia's face relaxed a bit, but she wasn't really satisfied.

She asked, "We never had any agreement with the Qin family about the kids. If they couldn't come forward themselves, why didn't you say something then? Isn't it the matchmaker's job to pass messages along in cases like this? And then you vanished without a word."

Sun Fulang was stuck; this was something he really couldn't explain.

He couldn't say that he had been taken away by carriage that day, given a large sum of money, and told not to broker any marriage for Shen Song Geer, nor to approach the Shen family without permission.

Otherwise, his life would be in danger!

This was something he would take to his grave; he knew that careless talk could bring disaster.

"It's truly my fault, my mistake. That day, something urgent came up at home, and I left early. Later, I was invited to neighboring towns to arrange marriages, one after another, and in the busyness, I completely forgot about this matter."

Sun Fulang felt guilty; he hadn't forgotten from being busy—he had run off to hide from the Shen family.

That mysterious person had given him so much silver, and Sun Fulang had accepted it in fear and trembling. He didn't dare disobey what that person said.

Liu Chunxia could tell Sun Fulang was making excuses; an official matchmaker would never forget something so important.

But at least today, the matter with the Qin family was finally clarified.

As for why Sun Fulang had suddenly disappeared, since he wasn't willing to say, Liu Chunxia didn't want to press further.

"I'll ask my Xiao Jiu about this. If there's nothing else, Sun Fulang, you should head back."

Sun Fulang hadn't expected Liu Chunxia to give him a warm reception or an answer that day. When she dismissed him, he promptly stood up and took his leave politely.

The matchmakers outside were all waiting. When they saw Sun Fulang come out, they quickly asked which member of the Shen family he had proposed for and how it went.

Sun Fulang ignored them and pushed through the crowd to leave.

Back in the county town, Sun Fulang was stopped by a plain-looking man. He recognized him and followed him into a small alley.

"How did it go?"

Sun Fulang nodded cautiously, "I made the proposal. But the Shen family probably won't agree. From what Auntie Liu meant, it seems Jiu Geer has to agree first."

"That's none of your concern," the man said, then handed Sun Fulang a silver ingot.

Sun Fulang's eyes lit up, and he quickly tucked it away.

"Don't talk about what you shouldn't," the man warned.

Sun Fulang nodded repeatedly, "Certainly, certainly—even if it kills me, I won't breathe a word."

That evening, Chi Jiu returned home from the shop with Shen Yian and the others.

Previously, Shen Song would go to pick them up, but now the family had bought another donkey cart, driven by Shen Yian, to shuttle people back and forth.

At the dinner table, Liu Chunxia announced to the whole family about the Qin family's marriage proposal.

She also asked Chi Jiu directly whether he was willing.

Shen Song, listening nearby, thought first of that initial meal at the restaurant—the food hadn't been particularly good.

Not as good as the cooking from Xie Zhiyu's household.

It took him another moment to remember who Qin Silang was.

He was the son of the old proprietor of the Qin family restaurant. Shen Song had never met him, and only knew him by the name Qin Silang.

Chi Jiu glanced at Shen Song, but Shen Song gave no reaction.

Chi Jiu said, "The family's accounts need attention. I don't want to think about such things right now."

Liu Chunxia didn't quite approve. "You're nearly twenty now. If there's someone suitable, you should go ahead and marry if you find someone suitable. We can't let our family stand in the way of your marriage. Besides, it's not like you can't keep managing the accounts after you marry."

Chi Jiu could sense the deep trust in Liu Chunxia's words.

He was touched, but he still shook his head.

Seeing that Chi Jiu genuinely didn't want to marry, Liu Chunxia didn't push the matter.

The family could afford another mouth to feed.

She then asked Shen Song, "Xiao Ba, what do you think now?"

Shen Song said in a somewhat bitter tone, "Mother, do I really have to talk about marriage?"

Liu Chunxia wanted to say something, but suddenly recalled the scene at the edge of the cliff at Hutou Mountain.

That nobleman in red, to keep her Xiao Ba from getting hurt, had leapt straight off the cliff.

And her Xiao Ba, without a moment's hesitation, had wrenched himself free and flung himself toward the cliff's edge.

That scene had haunted her nightmares for nearly a month afterward.

Even now, she still sometimes dreamed of it.

Her Xiao Ba and that person, dying together at the bottom of the cliff.

Liu Chunxia let out a sigh. "Suit yourself."

Shen Song immediately broke into a smile. "Then I don't want to get married either."

If he didn't want to, then he didn't want to. Liu Chunxia didn't dare dwell on the matter between her Xiao Ba and that nobleman—it left her feeling anxious and unsettled.

Then she asked Shen Jue and Shen Lin whether they wanted to consider potential matches, thinking the brothers would agree, since they were both nearly twenty.

Previously, they hadn't discussed marriage because the family had no money. But now was the time.

But those two boys also said no.

Liu Chunxia shot them a glare. "You two want to be bachelors for life? How old are you two now, and you're still not married?"

Shen Jue's face turned red, and he said he didn't want to be set up.

Shen Lin, on the other hand, didn't blush but looked a bit taken aback, yet he also shook his head firmly.

Liu Chunxia's eyes swept over her two sons.

These two were twins and always did everything together.

A mother knows her children best. After watching them for a moment, Liu Chunxia was certain something was up with them.

"Fine, if you don't want to, then don't." Liu Chunxia agreed for now, planning to catch them in the act once the two boys let their guard down.

She'd get to the bottom of why they wouldn't even talk about wives or husbands.

After dinner, Liu Chunxia called Shen Song aside and carefully instructed him, "Xiao Ba, remember this well—a gē'er must never have any intimate contact with a man."

Having been here for nearly two years, Shen Song had a rough understanding that his identity as a gē'er was different from that of a man.

But intimate contact...

He wasn't quite sure where the line was, so he asked, "What counts as intimate contact, Mother?"

Seeing that Shen Song didn't understand, his mother explained in detail, "You can't hold hands, can't embrace, and definitely can't kiss or sleep in the same bed. None of these are allowed. If you do any of these things, you'd have to marry that person."

Shen Song was stunned. It was that strict?

He thought about how he'd interacted with Xie Zhiyu and Qi Yuanjing. He'd thought of them as friends. Although he knew he was a gē'er, he'd only been one for less than two years, so he instinctively still interacted with them as one man to another.

It seemed there hadn't been anything too intimate.

Then again, that wasn't quite right either—at the foot of the cliff, he had embraced Xie Zhiyu.

But that should be fine, right?

Shen Song wasn't sure. Before asking his mother, he asked a question first, "If you marry, do you have to have children?"

Liu Chunxia said firmly, "Of course you do."

Shen Song was immediately too scared to tell the truth.

He thought of his fourth sister, heavily pregnant, and the day she had Zhao Bao.

He was a bit scared.

Even though his little nephew was adorable, he was still pretty afraid.

Shen Song kept his thoughts to himself, deciding to be careful from now on and make sure none of the things his mother mentioned happened again. After all, what happened before was when he didn't know any better, so it could be forgiven.

Shen Song made that decision for himself.

Xie Zhiyu noticed that Shen Song had been acting a bit strange lately.

-

It seemed like he was avoiding him.

When Shen Song was writing, he no longer leaned his arm against Xie Zhiyu the way he used to.

After finishing writing, he no longer grabbed Shen Song's arm to show him the characters.

Xie Zhiyu frowned slightly.

He took out a piece of calligraphy Shen Song had written two days ago, which he'd just had framed. He asked Shen Song, "Should we hang it up?"

Shen Song looked at the piece—it was the four characters he'd written: "Su You Pao Luo" (crispy butter snails).

Shen Song said it should be hung up.

Then he looked up, scanning Xie Zhiyu's study for a spot to hang it.

Over the past few days, almost every empty spot in Xie Zhiyu's study had been filled with Shen Song's calligraphy masterpieces.

They were all names of his favorite foods.

Every time he came here, he'd take a lap to admire them, then listen to Xie Zhiyu praise the characters as cute, nod in satisfaction, and go back to writing.

Shen Song finally found an empty spot—above the bookshelf. It was a bit high and would need a ladder.

Xie Zhiyu had someone bring a small ladder, and as usual, he reached out to steady Shen Song as he climbed up.

Shen Song liked to hang them himself, and Xie Zhiyu couldn't talk him out of it, so he let him be.

But this time, Shen Song pulled away from Xie Zhiyu's hand.

Xie Zhiyu couldn't help but press down on Shen Song's shoulder, forcing him to look at him. "What have you been avoiding these past few days?"

Shen Song looked away, staring at Xie Zhiyu's hand on his shoulder—this wasn't something his mother had mentioned, so it was fine.

He let out a sigh of relief and said to Xie Zhiyu, "I'm not avoiding you."

Xie Zhiyu clearly didn't believe him. "You flinch every time I touch you, and you're telling me you're not avoiding me?"

Shen Song said seriously, "I'm a boy, and you're not—so we can't have too much contact."

"Why haven't you cared about this before?" Xie Zhiyu asked, sounding displeased.

"Because I didn't really understand before."

Xie Zhiyu looked at Shen Song, then suddenly asked, "Is it because there's someone you like?"

Shen Song let out a soft "ah." "What do you mean, someone I like?"

Xie Zhiyu didn't speak.

But from that day on, Xie Zhiyu also started keeping some distance from Shen Song.

However, he started sending Shen Song gifts.

Hairbands, accessories—those went without saying—he even sent clothes and shoes.

He even had them delivered to the Shen family's house by carriage.

At first, he only sent things for Shen Song, but later, it was for the entire Shen family—head-to-toe clothes and shoes, all delivered.

The big wardrobe at home couldn't hold them all, so the old Shen couple finally caught the delivery person one day and asked him to take everything back.

The delivery person bowed politely and said with a smile, "If you don't want them, you can just throw them away."

Throw them away?

These clothes, shoes, and socks—whether in material or craftsmanship—were all top-notch. Wouldn't throwing them away be a waste?

The old Shen couple hesitated for a while but ultimately accepted them.

The weather was getting cold now, too.

The cotton clothes they'd made at home were wearable, but they weren't as warm or as light as the winter clothes Xie Zhiyu had sent.

The old Shen couple also felt bad for Shen Song having to go out in the cold.

Even though the carriage he rode in was very warm, even more comfortable than the house, it didn't stop his parents from thinking he was cold.

So they told Shen Song to wear the winter clothes and shoes that Xie Zhiyu had sent.

Besides those, there were hats, hand warmers, and other cold-weather gear.

After getting Shen Song fully dressed, Liu Chunxia almost didn't recognize the child in front of her.

He wore a red brocade winter coat with a warm white fur collar, and a hat made of thick fur with light-colored fur around the edges, smooth and shiny.

He looked like a fair-skinned, rosy-lipped young noble, with not a trace of a country kid.

Liu Chunxia stared at Shen Song for a long while, vaguely understanding why Lord Xie had sent so many clothes, shoes, and all kinds of accessories.

He'd even prepared hairbands and hair crowns for tying back his hair.

She opened her mouth and said softly, "It really suits you."