Chapter 862 A Sense of Ritual

"We've just gotten married, and you're already not hiding your secret stash of money?"

Lin Yuesha grabbed Qi Heng's sleeve and asked him fiercely, "Tell me honestly, how much more are you hiding?"

When his wife questioned him in the street, a crowd of onlookers immediately gathered.

"Young man, the traditional way of life is for men to manage external affairs and women to manage internal affairs. You have to hand over all your money so that your wife will feel at ease living with you."

An elderly woman buying pork nearby earnestly advised, "I've been through this myself, and I understand women's feelings best."

Her husband had a habit of hiding money and using it to buy alcohol.

Traces of his hiding money could be found under the bed frame and in mouse holes, deeper than the mice themselves.

For so many years, the elderly couple had been locked in a battle of wits, with the old woman believing she was the victor. Until a few years ago, when the old man passed away, and the old woman was cleaning the house, she found a porcelain jar on the roof beam containing several copper coins. She had lost after all!

"Auntie, you're wrong. A man should keep some money on hand for emergencies; he can't hand it all over!"

The man standing nearby, who was also hiding money, strongly objected.

When you're out and about, it gets cold and you want to have a couple of drinks, but then you realize you have no money in your pocket—how embarrassing!

He handed over all the money he earned, and even had to ask his wife for permission to buy wine. It was just like asking his mother for candy when he was a child. It was as if he had found himself another mother.

Women who are too stingy are not popular, and they are not generous to their husbands.

"What do you mean by being stingy and unlikable? It's just that if a man doesn't earn much, how can he survive if he's not frugal?"

You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. There's a fixed amount of food to eat each month, and money is needed for social obligations, weddings, and funerals.

The wives were disgusted by what the man said and couldn't help but retort.

Lin Yuesha and Qi Heng looked at each other and shrugged. They meant it as a joke, but it unexpectedly sparked a war of words.

"what do I do?"

Lin Yuesha covered her face. Regarding the secret stash of money, everyone has their own reasons. When a couple lives together, they need to be considerate of each other. Only when they work together can they live a good life.

Meanwhile, the verbal battle officially escalated, with the old lady engaging in a war of words with the crowd.

“Once a woman marries, she becomes like water spilled from a cup. If she wants to go back to her parents’ home, she can’t just leave whenever she wants; she has to ask her parents-in-law for permission first.”

Women give birth to children and lose their own surnames, contributing to the husband's family, managing the household, and taking care of the elderly and children. How can a man have the audacity to hide money? He only thinks about his own pleasure and doesn't know how hard his wife's life is!

"That's how other families live too!"

The man couldn't argue with the old woman, so in the end, they had to shout to see who could shout the loudest.

"Walk!"

Make a quick getaway while you're not being noticed, and whatever you do, don't get involved in anything that could cause conflict between men and women.

Qi Heng grabbed Lin Yuesha's wrist and avoided the center of the vortex; the two of them shamelessly slipped away.

"This is not my hidden stash of money; I smuggled it from Helian's residence."

Qi Heng lowered his eyes. Taking advantage of the chaos, he went to Helian Cheng's inner room and swiped Helian Cheng's purse.

"I was just joking, who knew..."

Lin Yuesha felt very uncomfortable. Whether a man needs to have his own money depends on how that money is defined.

However, when traveling, one should always carry some money with them, even if it means being poor at home.

"The old lady said that a woman's sense of security comes from money, is that right?"

Qi Heng didn't understand what it meant to live a simple life together. His aunt meant that husband and wife should be completely open with each other. He wondered if he could treat Lin Yuesha that way, at least for now, he was hiding his identity.

"No, it's unrealistic to be completely open-minded."

Lin Yuesha believes that everyone has secrets, and they should be treated with appropriate tolerance.

For example, there's no way to say whether she's from another time.

Even if you bring it up, you won't get any understanding, since you're not from the same world.

She didn't want to know about things like Qi Heng's bedwetting at a young age or his embarrassing moments; there was no need for her to. Lin Yuesha wasn't the type to pry into other people's privacy for amusement.

"very good."

Qi Heng's expression relaxed a bit. He could tell from Lin Yuesha's words that if his identity was revealed, she would understand his actions and good intentions. He only hoped that Lin Yuesha would remember what he had said.

After discussing it for a while, the two arrived at a jewelry store.

"Let's go, let's buy jewelry first. After we buy the jewelry, there's a fabric shop next door. We can buy fabric there to make you new clothes."

Jewelry shops in Northwest Daqi all sell a type of natural chalcedony, and it is said that the purple variety is the most translucent and beautiful.

Unlike the capital, there are no very expensive jewelry here.

“I have plenty of jewelry and clothes to wear.”

Lin Yuesha hesitated for a moment, not wanting to spend the money.

"How can you ever have too much jewelry and clothing?"

Buying something doesn't necessarily mean you lack it.

During the Spring Festival, all the girls in the village have to buy a pair of red hair ties to mark the occasion. Qi Heng did this to make the Spring Festival more ceremonial.

Eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) during the Dragon Boat Festival and tangyuan (sweet rice balls) during the Lantern Festival may not necessarily be a sign of great fondness, but rather an expression of respect for the festival.

Lin Yuesha was quickly persuaded by Qi Heng and followed him into the shop with a smile.

Since she herself has a sense of ritual, Lin Yuesha does not forget the people around her and buys them New Year's gifts, more or less.

"My lord."

After Qi Heng and Lin Yuesha finished shopping, they returned to the carriage shop and happened to see Wang Jinhu, who was working as a coachman.

Wang Jinhu put both hands in one sleeve, smiled憨厚ly, and said with a blushing face, "Young...Young Madam."

"Brother Wang."

Lin Yuesha greeted him with a smile. If, as Qi Heng guessed, the deeply hidden spy was Wang Jinhu, then this person would definitely try to get close to Qi Heng to inquire about information.

The other party is good at pretending, but Lin Yuesha is not stupid either.

Upon receiving Helian Cheng's message, Wang Jinhu sensed something was terribly wrong. The fact that there were spies from other ethnic groups in the Qi army could no longer be concealed. Following his agreement with Helian Cheng, Wang Jinhu planned to send his subordinates to take the blame in order to alleviate Qi Heng's suspicions.

Having followed Qi Heng for many years, Wang Jinhu knew Qi Heng's deep thoughts. Hiding by Qi Heng's side, if he were to accidentally reveal a flaw, he would lose everything.

"Brother Qi, Sister-in-law Qi."

The carriage door opened, and Wang Binglan poked her head out to greet them, her attitude towards Lin Yuesha not as cold as before.

Wang Binglan only learned a few days ago that her elder brother was an undercover agent.

Her elder brother sent someone to Qincheng to find her and tell her the truth: she and her elder brother were of a different race, and their parents were generals of that race who were killed on the battlefield by the people of the Protectorate General's Mansion.

It turns out that the brother and sister had been relying on their own enemy, with whom they had a blood feud.

The older brother said that because he knew she was in love with Qi Heng, he never dared to tell her. But now his identity was on the verge of being exposed, so he could only ask Wang Binglan to help cover for him.

The person she had longed for for so many years was actually quite unbearable. After Wang Binglan was accused of being precocious, she gave up on Qi Heng.

In her heart, her older brother was still the most important, after all, the two siblings were blood relatives and had depended on each other for many years.