"I can only feel at ease when I come back to see my master and mistress and know that you are doing well."

Ye glanced at the neighboring courtyard and thought, "I'm afraid they're not just coming back to see us."

Gu Qian smiled and said, "Master's wife, I've been traveling for a day and a night, and I'm exhausted and hungry..."

Ye gave Gu Qian a disapproving look; was he just playing the victim? "Come and eat with us."

"Yes, thank you, Master's wife." Gu Qian smiled and quickly washed his hands before sitting down beside the two of them.

"Master, I brought you a bow and arrow this time."

Li Zheng picked up a piece of food and said, "No need."

"Uh..." Gu Qian changed the subject, "Master's wife, where are Qiu Yan and Xiao Ran?"

Whenever Qiu Yan and Gu Xiaoran were mentioned, Ye Shi was full of complaints.

"Xiao Ran went to Baiyang with Qiu Yan. You really are something. How could you leave the child with Qiu Yan and not care about her at all? Qiu Yan is still a young woman, and she'll be of marriageable age soon. She spends all her time with a child. What will outsiders think of her? And where is the child's mother?"

Gu Qian paused slightly. "It was my oversight... Master's wife's cooking still tastes the same."

Ye felt a pang of sadness at Gu Qian's words. Seeing Ye's expression change, Li Zheng said in a deep voice, "One should not talk while eating," thus silencing Gu Qian.

The meal wasn't exactly harmonious, but Gu Qian found it heartwarming. At least they were able to eat together again.

After finishing his meal, Gu Qian went next door.

Recently, because of Qiu Yan's family building a house, Zhang the matchmaker has been coming to Qiu Dafu almost every day to arrange marriages for him, introducing different women each time.

Widowed women with children or no children, unattractive women no one wants, divorced women, women with various illnesses, women with physical disabilities...

Then there's Wang, who, under Zhao Shan's instructions, also introduced women to Qiu Dafu from time to time.

But these weren't the things that bothered Qiu Dafu the most.

What he couldn't stand the most was that Widow Lian harassed him all day long.

Sure enough, they've only just finished lunch and they're here again.

"Brother Dafu, I brought some pastries that I made myself. Would you like to try them? Do you like them?"

Qiu Dafu helped the workers load bricks while shooing them away. "Take it away!"

"Brother Dafu, don't be so fierce all the time. She genuinely likes you."

"Enough!" This was the first time Qiu Dafu had encountered such a shameless woman.

The craftsmen around Lian were already used to her shameless behavior.

Widow Lian would often chat with them, and some of them would respond, while others would ignore her.

When Gu Qian first arrived, he saw the widow Lian fawning over Qiu Dafu and couldn't help but laugh.

My second uncle is a man of principle: better to have nothing than something bad.

"Second Uncle."

"Gu Qian, it's you." Qiu Dafu really didn't expect Gu Qian to come back at this time. He left in a hurry and came back suddenly.

"Hey, whose man is this? You look so familiar." Seeing that Qiu Dafu was ignoring her, Widow Lian turned to Gu Qian and approached him.

Gu Qian stepped back and dodged away, nearly causing Widow Lian to fall, which drew a burst of laughter.

Widow Lian, feeling utterly humiliated, gave Gu Qian a thorough once-over. "What a handsome man. He doesn't seem to be from the village."

"If you don't leave, don't blame me for getting rough!" Qiu Dafu really couldn't stand this woman.

These past few days, he'd said a lot of harsh things, but this woman's skin was thick with shame. In less than a day, she came again. This time, she really had her eye on Qiu Dafu, which disgusted Qiu Dafu for quite a while.

Widow Lian still had those alluring eyes, "Brother Dafu..."

"Widow Lian, that rich man doesn't want you. Stop making a fool of yourself all day. Go away!" As soon as Wang came up, she started scolding Widow Lian.

How do you know he definitely wouldn't like me?

One of the craftsmen chimed in, "Isn't it obvious?"

Widow Lian stamped her foot and walked away sheepishly.

Seeing that Widow Lian had finally left, Wang hurriedly approached Qiu Dafu and whispered to him, "Brother Dafu, my cousin's daughter is twenty-eight years old this year. I will bring her to you tomorrow so you can take a look at her. If you like her, the marriage can be arranged."

Qiu Dafu had a headache. He rubbed his temples and said, "Sister-in-law, I don't want to get married."

“How can this be? Brother Dafu, listen to your sister-in-law’s advice. No matter how good Xiaoyan’s third daughter is, she’s not her biological daughter after all.”

Qiu Dafu: "..."

"Second Uncle, you go ahead with your work." Seeing that Madam Wang was so enthusiastic about arranging a marriage for his second uncle, Gu Qian realized he couldn't get a word in edgewise, so he took his leave and rode off to Baiyang.

Because Jiang Liu's clothing store opened today, Qiu Yan is currently at the clothing store with Gu Xiaoran.

Inside the clothing shop, everyone was ready and waiting, and the shop was filled with all kinds of ready-made clothes. She had spent almost all of her two hundred taels of silver.

The clothing store opened for the first time and the prices weren't high, so business was pretty good.

Jiang Liu knew she wasn't good at business, so she personally selected the managers and accountants she hired, trusting them completely.

At noon, there weren't many customers, so Jiang Liu sent someone to order a side dish and meat pie from Xingyuelou for each worker as a reward for their busy morning.

She, Qiu Yan, and Gu Xiaoran were having a meal in the backyard of the shop.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with a goatee. After lunch, he sat behind the counter, rested his chin on his hands, and began to snore.

Qiu Yan was eating with her head down when Gu Xiaoran disappeared in the blink of an eye.

She rushed into the clothing store and found that Gu Xiaoran had found a chicken feather somewhere and was poking the shopkeeper's nose.

Before she could stop her, the clothing manager sneezed loudly, startling everyone else.

The shopkeeper stopped snoring and opened his eyes to find Gu Xiaoran grinning at him. "You little rascal, you're making fun of me."

After he finished speaking, he laughed twice and lifted Gu Xiaoran high in the air. "Let's see if you dare to do it again."

"Grandpa, you were drooling just now. Did you dream about something delicious?"

Qiu Yan tried to suppress her laughter, but Jiang Liu and the shop workers were already laughing.

Jiang Liu exclaimed sincerely, "It's been so long since I've felt this relaxed."

She does business to keep herself occupied.

In the late afternoon, Jiang Liu handed over all the matters in the shop to her manager, "Qiu Yan, I still have some garment patterns left at home. Can you help me see which one looks good?"

Qiu Yan nodded in agreement and went to the Tang residence with Jiang Liu.

As soon as they arrived at the Tang residence, they ran into Tang Yi, who was rushing out of the gate.

Tang Yi's feelings for Qiu Yan were neither good nor bad.

He acted superior to everyone, and left the hospital without even glancing at Qiu Yan.

Tang Yi and Jiang Liu looked at each other coldly.

Ever since their last meal under the stars and moon, Tang Yi has been avoiding her.

Jiang Liu's heart was no longer turbulent as before; it was now as calm as still water.

There's one thing troubling her: this man doesn't agree, and she doesn't know how to get out of this situation.

Thinking of this, she caught up with Tang Yi. "Stop!"

"My lord, wait for me..." Hu Ying followed closely behind, but Tang Yi clearly had no intention of taking her with him.