Chapter 4

Brother, are you even capable?

"…………"

Thinking of the scene of him beating up a group of people all by himself during the day, Lu Qin felt a cold sweat break out. She smiled ingratiatingly, her legs went weak, and she collapsed into his arms.

"Okay, I won't talk nonsense anymore. Husband, you can't leave me alone at home anymore. I'm so scared."

"..."

Hao Jingshi was clearly taken aback by her actions. After a moment of stunned silence, he pushed her away haphazardly.

He awkwardly said, "Sit down, sit down, I'll take your pulse."

After saying that, he sat down by the bed and deftly opened the medicine box.

Lu Qin dared not offend him, so she could only obediently sit down, after all, her life was in his hands.

After sitting down, Hao Jingshi flicked his sleeve and, without any hesitation, took her hand and took her pulse.

Lu Qin felt a warmth on her wrist and secretly glanced over, seeing half of his arm peeking out from under his sleeve.

Wow.

Those slender fingers, with distinct knuckles and faintly visible veins; those arms, with smooth and graceful lines; those muscles, firm and full, looking very strong... No wonder they could take down so many servants.

If his arms are this attractive, then he must have eight-pack abs...

Actually, this husband isn't bad either; at least he's a handsome young man with a high nose and big eyes, a good match for a beautiful young woman like her...

"You wicked aunt, you deserve to be cut into pieces."

As Lu Qin stared, lost in her fantasies, Hao Jingshi finished taking her pulse, withdrew his hand, and clicked his tongue.

Lu Qin looked regretfully at the tempting arm hidden by the sleeve, and then at the fair hand taking out several silver needles from the medicine box...

"Ouch!" Before she could react, Hao Jingshi had already inserted the needle into her needle in no time. She was in so much pain that tears were about to fall. "Big brother! Be gentle! Are you even capable of this?!"

Hao Jingshi lazily opened his mouth: "If it hurts, just bear it. You dare to question my medical skills? Do you have a death wish?"

"..." Lu Qin was speechless. The goodwill she had just felt vanished completely, and she could no longer pretend to be weak. "Hey, I'm still your wife. Can you please stop being so heartless?"

"Hmph! Heartless?" These words successfully made Hao Jingshi's face turn cold again. "They took it upon themselves to arrange a marriage for me. Did they even ask for my opinion? And they still say I have no conscience?"

Lu Qin rolled her eyes: "If you have a problem with it, go tell the person who arranged the marriage for you. If that doesn't work, just divorce me. What's wrong with stabbing me a couple of times? You're just angry but incompetent, aren't you?"

Upon hearing this, Hao Jingshi was also enraged. He was furious and removed the silver needles from her hands. He put away his medicine box and stood up.

"I'm doing you a favor by treating your illness, and you're still being picky. If it weren't for the fear of making the Hao family a laughingstock, do you think I would have come back?" he said through gritted teeth. "Since you're going to refuse a polite offer and then drink a forfeit, then I have nothing more to say. From now on, let's draw a clear line between us, and neither of us should provoke the other, understand?"

Not having to share a room? What a great thing!

Lu Qin quickly nodded in agreement, afraid that he might change his mind at any moment: "Sure, no problem!"

Seeing her reveal her true nature, nodding vigorously as if she couldn't wait for him to get lost, Hao Jingshi became even angrier.

He grabbed the medicine box and stormed out the door in a huff, then paused as if remembering something.

"I'm warning you, put on a good show in front of outsiders, and don't give yourself away." He added without turning his head, "Remember to come to the next room to see me every morning, so we can go and pay our respects to Father and Mother together, or I'll poison you in no time."

After uttering these harsh words, Hao Jingshi picked up his medicine box and left without waiting for her response.

Loading cargo.

As Lu Qin watched his retreating figure, she couldn't help but twist her facial features and mentally scoff a thousand times.

If she weren't afraid of dying from the poison, she would have already started using the Eighteen Subduing Dragons technique.

After angering Hao Jingshi and making him leave, Lu Qin felt that her breasts were normal, so she immediately covered herself with a blanket and went to sleep. She slept soundly and peacefully that night.

The next morning, under bright sunshine, she went to the door of the side room as promised to wait for Hao Jingshi, and together they went to pay their respects to her parents-in-law.

When Hao Jingshi saw her, he still looked rather unhappy, it seemed he was really quite angry yesterday.

Lu Qin gloated and, in order to cooperate with his act of affection, deliberately took his arm in public and did so with extra force.

Hao Jingshi hesitated for a moment, but didn't push her away, letting her do as she pleased.

The two walked in silence, with Zhilan following obediently behind. Also accompanying them was Xuanlan, Hao Jingshi's trusted bodyguard who had grown up with him.

As dawn broke, many servants were sweeping and cleaning in the large courtyard. When they saw the young master and young mistress arrive, they all made way and bowed.

"Husband~" Lu Qin seized the opportunity and called out to him in a cheeky voice, "Why do you look a little unhappy, husband?"

"..." Seeing all the servants looking over, Hao Jingshi's displeasure was practically written all over his face.

But out of pride, he could only swallow his words and force a crooked smile under the gaze of the many servants: "No."

Seeing this, Lu Qin was overjoyed.

Serves you right. You think you're so high and mighty. I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget.

The provocative struggle ended after the greetings. After leaving the hall, the two went their separate ways. Hao Jingshi went to the clinic, while Lu Qin returned to her room alone to continue secretly studying her shop.

She sat at her desk, putting Hao Jingshi, that despicable man, out of her mind, and earnestly picked up her pen to write and draw, recording her grand ideas.

After racking her brains all night, she had a preliminary plan and couldn't wait to roll up her sleeves and get to work.

She decided to name the clothing store "Little Deer Clothing Store," decorate the interior with warm colors, and put up a sign at the entrance that reads "I miss you so much at Little Deer Clothing Store."

Next, she will design her own logo—embroidering deer antlers on every piece of clothing to increase its recognizability.

As for the size design of the clothes, she decided to first make a one-size-fits-all ruler, dividing the shoulder width, bust and waist into nine grids to measure the approximate body shape of the customers.

Then, by using elastic fabric, hidden straps, and pleats, the same garment can be adapted to different body types, minimizing errors.

As for selling... Hmph, that's her specialty. As long as she opens her mouth, she can sell a hundred units in no time. It's a piece of cake!

Lu Qin wrote furiously, completely immersed in her own beautiful fantasy, but as she thought about it, she began to worry again.

She doesn't have any start-up capital, which is a huge problem.

Without money, no matter how wonderful her ideas were, they would be nipped in the bud.

What should we do...?

If only someone could lend her some money...

I've got it! Why don't we go to the street and see if there's a money exchange there, and just pawn a few coins?

At worst, she could go to the streets to perform and entertain the crowd.

Having made up her mind, Lu Qin immediately put down her pen and lay down on the bed with a satisfied expression.

"Everything is ready, except for the final touch. Lu Xiaoqin, you are truly a genius!"

...

Lu Qin didn't expect the east wind to blow over so quickly.

At midday that day, the sun was even more intense, and it felt as if a heat wave was sweeping through the air. It was stiflingly hot, and the sunlight gradually became scorching, making it difficult to open one's eyes.

Before lunch, Hao Jingshi sent Xuan Lan back to deliver a message, saying that it was too hot to come back. Upon hearing this, Lu Qin immediately suggested to her parents-in-law that she send food to her husband.

Considering her poor health and the unbearable heat, Master Hao said he would send a servant to her.

But Lu Qin was not about to miss such a perfect opportunity to go out. She insisted on going herself and shamelessly said that she missed her husband terribly and couldn't eat. She wanted to take her share and eat with her husband.

After hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Hao were quite helpless, but in the end they agreed and even asked Xuanlan and Zhilan to accompany her.

Although Lu Qin didn't want to have two burdens, she couldn't refuse her in-laws' kindness and had no choice but to agree.

Zhilan held an umbrella for Luqin from behind, while Xuanlan, on the master's orders, took a large palm-leaf fan and followed behind to fan the young mistress to cool her off.

Under the blazing sun, people on the street, unable to bear the sweltering heat, gradually dispersed. The surrounding vendors packed up their stalls one after another, and the bustling market gradually quieted down, with only a few restaurants remaining as customers.

Lu Qin looked around and, after crossing two streets, finally spotted a money exchange.

She said she was delivering food to Hao Jingshi, but in reality, she wanted to take the opportunity to go out and find a money exchange to borrow some money so she could rent a shop.

Once she rents the shop, she's confident she can run it well, get rich, and crush all those gossipy people who bullied her. And that shill Hao Jingshi, heh heh heh heh...

Lu Qin felt happier the more she thought about it. As she walked, a smile unconsciously spread across her face. She felt full of energy, and even her frail and sickly body seemed to have become much stronger.

She walked briskly, for with each step she took, she was one step closer to her great cause.

Completely forgotten, Xuan Lan and Zhi Lan quickened their pace to follow, afraid that she would faint from the heat.

They stared at Lu Qin, whose mouth was practically stretched to her ears, puzzled. They exchanged glances and asked in unison, "What good news is there for the young mistress (or young lady)?"

"Ah, oh." Lu Qin finally snapped out of her smugness and coughed lightly. "It's a happy occasion, of course it's a happy occasion. You two single dogs don't understand. When you see... the person you love, you can't help but be happy."

After she finished her rambling, she continued walking briskly forward.

It's amazing, the last time she went out, she was so tired that she almost collapsed after walking only a few steps, but this time she walked for so long and she wasn't tired at all. It seems that the medicine Hao Jingshi prescribed was working.

Her husband wasn't a quack doctor; he actually had some skills.

Lu Qin became more and more excited as she walked, completely absorbed in her own ideas, oblivious to the world around her.

Xuanlan and Zhilan could only hurry after them. Zhilan was worried about her young mistress's health and advised, "Miss, slow down, be careful not to catch a heatstroke."

"No, my body has been healed by my husband, and I'm not that fragile anymore."

As she spoke, Lu Qin gracefully twirled around to prove that she was alright.

She was only gloating for a couple of seconds when her legs gave way and she almost collapsed to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, she saw a golden star swaying before her eyes, then instantly multiplying into countless stars, which exploded with a crackling sound, displaying a dazzling array of colors.

Lu Qin could barely see the road. In a daze, she heard Xuan Lan and Zhi Lan exclaim. She waved her hands in confusion, trying to grab something around her, but she couldn't catch anything.

A sharp ringing sounded in her ears, and then she felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground unconscious.