Chapter 348 - Happenings in Shangjing (5)

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Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Xu Ke was speechless, as if he had never thought of such an incident before. He wanted to say that was what husband and wife relationship was like, but the words just floated in his mouth, and he could not say them.

“Did you not bring any money? Did all of it go into paying taxes?” Jiang Pengji asked.

“Of course I brought some.” To prove his point, Xu Ke reached for the money pouch at his waist and asked doubtfully, “Do I have to surrender all of it?”

Jiang Pengji did not understand and said, “When I was at Langye, I met a woodcutter. He cuts wood for fifteen days a month. He sells biscuits that his wife bakes on a cart for the remaining days. I conversed with him light-heartedly and found out he thought the highest denomination of money is a copper coin...”

Xu Ke was doubtful, and did not understand. “The simple commoners have a hard time working. The most common form of money they have is copper coins. There is nothing strange about this.”

Jiang Pengji shook her head. “It isn’t that. After I continued to probe, I discovered the woodcutter was not poor... He could earn up to four or five taels of silver. After slogging for so many years, he could have even prepared 20 dowries for his daughter. The woodcutter could only recognize copper coins because he gave all his money to his wife to manage every day, but his wife feared he was spendthrift, so she only gave him three copper coins a day...”

Xu Ke was speechless.

Jiang Pengji had said all she could. If he still did not understand, then his brain must not work properly.

“Xunmei is not such a person...” Even though Xu Ke always felt women should focus on internal affairs and the men on external, he never thought he would only carry three copper coins a day. That was too pathetic.

“Yes. Since you have money, why not buy some small items?”

Xu Ke was put on the spot again. His whole expression was conflicted. “I will buy then.”

If he didn’t buy anything, wasn’t he admitting that he was the woodcutter in the story that received only three copper coins a day? As a man, how could he be under his wife’s control?

Thus, there appeared two rich men before a few stores, buying things that women would have loved to use.

Xu Ke looked on with confusion. Jiang Pengji was beside him, focused on choosing blusher and face powder. She looked like she had done her research.

That was not right... Since when did Langjun have such a weird hobby?

“Not all blushers are suitable. If you gave Xunmei the box of blusher you chose just now, she would have pimples all over her face on the second day of using it...” Jiang Pengji rolled her eyes. “If it’s serious, you may have to find yourself another wife.”

Xunmei had some allergies. The color of the blusher that Xu Ke chose was nice, but there was an ingredient within it that Xunmei was allergic to. Xu Ke did not think it was a big issue, but after hearing what she said, he quickly put the box he chose back down. “How does Langjun know her so well?”

Granted, Xunmei was once Jiang Pengji’s personal maid, and they had a close relationship that surpassed that of siblings. However, as Xunmei’s husband, Xu Ke was faced with “a male” who knew his wife well. If he said he did not mind at all, he was lying.

“As for this, you know that I was frequently sick when I was young and had to drink medicine to boost my immune system. In order to please the two attendants that guarded the door, I had to rack my brain to figure out what they liked.” Jiang Pengji sensed the jealousy in Xu Ke’s tone, acted ignorant, and explained in an indirect manner. After all, they were newly-weds; she did not want to cause trouble. “But there was a near miss incident––that is, I gave the wrong gift. Later I realized that Xunmei could not touch such things. Thus, I learned...”

Xu Ke heard her words and the grudge in his heart vanished. Instead, he was filled with interest. Learning about Xunmei through Jiang Pengji felt like he was pleasing the younger brother-in-law; he wanted to know what his wife was like.

“I didn’t know about that incident. I never heard it from Xunmei...” Upon saying that, Xu Ke paused.

He was clueless about Xunmei’s past before they met––even their understanding of each other was not deep. If they wanted their marriage to last, he had to understand her more... At least he had to not make the mistake of giving the wrong gift.

Jiang Pengji said, “There’s still a lot of time ahead to understand each other better.”

The conversation between Xu Ke and her was aired before the audience in the live streaming room. Many of them started to understand her intentions.

Toudu Feiqiu: “#propscheek. It’s been years, and I still feel that the streamer is very gentle. Xunmei and Xu Ke did not have an arranged marriage, but they don’t seem to understand each other well. Moreover, they spend more time apart than together, so I feel like many dangers lie ahead. Even for loving couples, many cannot withstand such an ordeal. The streamer patiently guiding Xu Ke to understand Xunmei, in a broad sense, prevents a lot of trouble.”

Woyou Yishuang Huabanxie: “It was gentle, but do you not feel that as a female, the streamer being with a man who just got married... is inappropriate? Especially since Xunmei knows the streamer’s gender... Wouldn’t she mind?”

The bullet screen above was said in such an obscure way, but there were people who understood. They were afraid the streamer would be the third party in their marriage.

Bingtang Ningmeng: “Please. The streamer is young Xu Ke’s master, all right? They have a master and servant relationship. You’ve never heard of a female boss not talking to a man who just married... Otherwise, males who just got married would never be hired. On the outside, the streamer still appears to be a man. Both also do not speak affectionately or flirtatiously; they feel like normal friends. You are worrying too much.”

Regardless of what the audience in the live streaming room thought, Xu Ke, who was an intelligent man, was slowly able to understand Jiang Pengji’s good intentions.

The master and servant talked continuously. Their conversations revolved around work related and personal topics; not much was about Xunmei, and they mostly spoke of trivial matters. Unknowingly, they shopped more than half of the night market, and Xu Ke had walked until his legs were sore.

Seeing his feeble state, Jiang Pengji pointed to the teahouse beside them. “Why don’t we go up to rest for a while?”

Xu Ke did not reject; he nodded in response. But, if he knew what was going to happen when he went up, even if he walked until his legs broke, he would have never gone up.

The place was not a teahouse; rather, it was a place where the scholars and noble guests congregated for literary pursuits.

They walked into the main hall, and the air was strongly fragrant. Music played softly in the background.

“The owner of this teahouse is very smart. He even invited a musical ensemble to liven up the atmosphere. It looks very refined.”

Jiang Pengji observed her surroundings and discovered that the doorway to the private rooms had calligraphy and paintings hung on it. They were not arranged according to any sort of standard, but were interesting when placed together. It was not important, however; what was important was that the books were made of expensive bamboo paper.

Bamboo paper was insignificant to the Liu manor, but the outside world claimed it was worth as much as gold. Only the rich could afford it.

“These calligraphies and paintings... seemed to be left by the scholars who came to drink tea here...” Xu Ke looked at the inscriptions. “The owners of these pieces are mostly noble scholars and descendants of feudal aristocrats. Regardless of standard, they mostly have a resounding reputation... This tea house is indeed interesting.”