Chapter 71 [V] Spend more time with your wife...
Xue Yi hadn't expected Li Shi to react so strongly. He had seen horses suddenly get startled many times before, so he wasn't surprised at all.
Just now, I was about to try and calm this wild horse down. But before I could even do that, something soft snuggled into my arms.
His hand, which he had just raised, froze in mid-air.
Li Yan instinctively hugged his waist, but after calming down, she felt embarrassed. So she quickly let go and moved away from him.
Since they were able to come together to buy horses, even if they weren't husband and wife, their relationship must have been quite close. Therefore, the owner of the carriage and horse shop wasn't surprised by this.
He felt a little awkward and didn't dare to look at the two of them, wishing he could dig a hole and crawl into it.
Although Xue Yi remained expressionless, he was actually quite flustered inside, having never experienced anything like this before.
Despite feeling flustered, she forced herself to remain calm and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Although Li Yan was somewhat embarrassed, she was, after all, a woman of the 21st century, and this situation was not enough to make her feel that she had lost face.
So, with her cheeks slightly flushed, she shook her head and said "It's nothing," then smiled and explained, "It's really impolite to do this in front of outsiders."
The carriage shop owner could only say that the horse was no good, saying, "I just said this beast has a fiery temper, and it got upset." He then put on a smiling face, "I've frightened the lady; it's my fault."
Li Yan shook her head generously: "I've never seen a scene like this before, so I got nervous. It's not your fault, boss."
Originally, Xue Yi had only accompanied Li Yan to buy horses and hadn't intended to tame a wild horse himself. But now, having witnessed its fierce nature, Xue Yi was determined to subdue it.
Those who have fought on the battlefield, if they didn't have a competitive spirit, would probably be long gone without a trace.
Although Xue Yi is steady and composed, he still has a fierce spirit at heart.
Besides, the spirited horse has frightened the beauty; if he were to give up now, it would be a loss of face for him.
So, after some thought, Xue Yi said to the boss, "Bring this beast out so I can take a look."
The shopkeeper immediately asked, "Young master, would you like to buy it?"
Xue Yi had no intention of buying it, so he first explained to the boss: "I just feel that it has a strong personality and seems to be defiant, and it just scared my wife... so I want to teach it a lesson."
The horse seemed to be extremely intelligent, as if it understood Xue Yi's words and knew that someone wanted to subdue it... It even became temperamental, raising its head and neighing several times, then its movements became more and more exaggerated, as if it wanted to break free of its restraints and gallop away.
The shopkeeper said, "If you can really tame this beast, I will be grateful to you even if you don't buy it." Then he also told the truth, "I won't hide it from you, this horse was pawned here by a merchant from the Western Regions a few days ago. Because it is too fierce, it has been a long time since it was sold. If you can really tame it and are willing to buy it, I can sell it to you at the lowest price."
Xue Yi remained silent.
The owner led the horse out of the stable and handed the reins to Xue Yi.
Xue Yi held the reins with one hand and gently stroked the horse's neck with the other.
With just this one action, the wild horse, which had been neighing restlessly with its head raised, suddenly calmed down.
The horse shop owner was quite surprised to see this: "Is this young master a skilled horse trainer? I've never seen this beast so well-behaved before." But then he added, "This beast won't let anyone ride it, young master, would you mind giving it a try?"
Xue Yi calmed the horse down, then leaped up and sat on its back.
At first, the horse was stubborn and refused to be ridden. But after Xue Yi kept patting its neck, it gradually calmed down and became docile.
Finally, after riding it around the stable a few times, Xue Yi jumped off the horse.
The owner of the carriage shop greeted him warmly: "Young master, you are truly an extraordinary person."
Xue Yi stood beside the horse, also showing great affection for this intelligent and docile horse.
Li Yan noticed this and asked, "Boss, how much is this horse?"
As if the horse could understand Li Yan's words, it let out a soft hum and then gently nuzzled her with its mouth.
Li Yan was still scared, and her instinctive reaction was to back away.
The horse blinked its two innocent big eyes and gave Li Yan a soft neigh.
The horse shop owner said, "This was given to me by a merchant from the Western Regions as payment for a debt of thirty taels of silver. I don't want more; just give me the principal."
"Thirty taels?" This price is indeed low, but it would be better if it were even lower.
So, Li Yan bargained with the shopkeeper: "We weren't originally planning to buy this horse, but now that we've found it, we'd like to take it. However, thirty taels seems a bit too expensive to us." Li Yan knew that this horse was hard to sell because of its spirited nature. If they missed out on buyers like them, she doubted she would be able to sell it later.
If it can't be sold, it's stuck with you. Putting yourself in her shoes, if you were the owner of this horse trading company, you'd rather lose a little money and get rid of it quickly than have it sit there unsold.
Sure enough, the carriage shop owner hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "How much silver does the lady wish to pay?"
Of course, you can lower the price, but you can't offer it too low. If you offer too low, the seller will probably rather have the item stuck with it than sell it.
So Li Yan tentatively said, "We can give you a maximum of twenty-four taels." But then she added, "We originally came to buy a carriage, and besides this horse, we also need to buy another one."
Upon hearing this, the boss beamed with joy.
After a moment's hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I think you two are destined to be together. I'll sell this horse to you cheaply. Twenty-four taels it is. I'll take the loss as a way of making friends."
When the shopkeeper told Xue Yi that the horse was only thirty taels of silver, he almost immediately agreed. Such a fine horse would cost at least fifty taels of silver in the capital.
Unexpectedly, this Li woman was able to return another six taels.
While Xue Yi was surprised, he couldn't help but cast a curious and inquisitive glance at her.
Now, his curiosity about her is growing stronger.
"Boss, I'm buying two horses from you today. You'll have to give me a discount on the other one too," Li Yan continued to haggle.
The horse trading company owner was generous: "Don't worry, my lady, I'll give you a fair price."
She negotiated the price, but he still had to choose the horse.
So, seeing that the price was being negotiated smoothly, Li Yan looked at Xue Yi beside her and said, "Husband, hurry up and choose a horse." She then said some nice things to make the horse shop owner happy, "The horse shop owner is happy now, so we have to close the deal quickly, otherwise he will be unhappy later and we will regret it."
The horse trading company owner immediately replied, "Don't worry, I will definitely keep my word."
So Xue Yi chose another horse with a gentle temperament.
The two horses cost a total of sixty-four taels of silver, plus an additional six taels for the carriage.
Since Xue Yi had accompanied someone to buy horses, he was prepared to pay for them. Although they bought one more horse than budgeted, fortunately they had enough money with them.
After leaving the stable, Xue Yi sent Li Yan away, asking her to check if there was anything wrong with the carriage, while he went directly to the counter and paid the seventy taels of silver.
When Li Yan finished inspecting the carriage and found everything to be in good condition, she came to settle the bill, only to be told that the money had already been paid.
Li Yan was slightly surprised, but she didn't show it openly. She thanked the horse shop owner again and then looked towards Xue Yi.
When the couple were alone, she quietly asked Xue Yi, "Didn't we agree that I would buy it myself? Why did you pay for it too?"
Xue Yi had his own explanation for this. He continued to gently stroke the horse's neck while turning his dark eyes to Li Yan, saying, "Since we are already husband and wife in front of outsiders, if we were to distinguish between 'you' and 'me,' it would inevitably arouse suspicion from others."
After thinking about it, Li Yan agreed with his statement.
“Then I’ll go back and give you the money,” she said.
Xue Yi said, "We'll talk about this later."
When Li Yan came to the brokerage to buy maids and servants again, she paid special attention. Xue Yi no longer had the chance to pay the money privately.
Xue Yi bought a nanny for his mother, while Li Yan only bought a maid.
The young maid was twelve years old and came from a poor family. Li Yan found her pretty and somewhat pleasing to the eye, so she decided to keep her.
Another nanny originally worked for a wealthy family in Jiangning Prefecture, but because the family had fallen on hard times and no longer needed so many people, they dismissed some of them. Li Yan and Xue Yi both thought this nanny was reliable, so they bought her as well.
The young maid received twenty taels of silver, and the nanny received twenty-two taels, totaling forty-two taels. Li Yan thought that even if Xue Yi refused to take her money back after they returned, forty-two taels would be enough for her.
Thinking about the price of the horses, I couldn't help but sigh. Two horses cost over sixty taels, and one of them was only half the price after haggling. These two people only cost forty taels…
Upon returning, the two women took a maid and a nanny directly to Old Madam Xue. Li Yan led the nanny to the old lady's side and introduced her, "Nanny Qiu, you used to work for a wealthy family. You will stay and serve her from now on."
Looking at her, Old Madam Xue noticed that her skin and flesh seemed even more delicate than her own, and that she had a good temperament... Then she looked at herself, a typical peasant woman, and couldn't help but laugh and say, "I'm just a peasant woman. I used to serve a whole family. Now I'm already very fortunate not to have to serve anyone. I don't need any nannies to serve me. Two maids by my side are enough."
Li Yan said, "Now that you are the old lady of the General's Mansion, you may be granted an imperial title in the future. How can you expect just two maids to serve you? Your entourage reflects the grandeur of the General's Mansion. Let alone one nanny now, it wouldn't be excessive to have three or five nannies serving you in your courtyard in the future."
Although Madam Xue was illiterate, she was able to raise her children and grandchildren well, which showed that she was insightful. Just Li Yan's reminder made her weigh the pros and cons.
"Since it is your filial piety, I will keep you here." Madam Xue looked at the perfect couple with a smile in her eyes, feeling extremely happy. She couldn't help but remind them, "You are off today, why don't you accompany your wife to the city for a stroll? You will be living here from now on, so you should get familiar with the environment first."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com