Upon hearing this, Qi Chengshuo frowned immediately: "What do you want with Miss Jiang? Do you think she's pretty and want to trick her into coming back to your mansion?"
"According to the rules of your Pei family, you are not allowed to take a concubine before you get married. Miss Jiang was born in the countryside. If she goes back with you, she can only be a concubine. But look at her temperament. Do you think she will go back with you? Do you think she will be your concubine?"
Qi Chengshuo shook his head as he spoke: "Besides, her mother is now married to Ninth Uncle. Do you think Ninth Uncle would let his stepdaughter become your concubine? Doesn't he have any shame?"
“No, no, no…” Pei Junqi shook his head repeatedly: “You misunderstood. That’s not what I meant. I never thought of having Miss Jiang as my concubine. I just wanted her to do a divination for me to see which day would be more appropriate for me to set off.”
Qi Chengshuo had already told him about the bronze mask. In Pei Junqi's eyes, Jiang Xianya was no longer a mysterious or somewhat eccentric girl, but a powerful sorcerer.
How could someone like that possibly become a concubine?
Even if you gave him ten lives, he wouldn't dare to think that way.
Although the girl was very beautiful and capable, he really didn't dare to have any designs on her.
After hearing Pei Junqi's words, Qi Chengshuo breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Then you should prepare the money first. Cultivators believe in cause and effect, and fortune telling requires money."
“No matter how much silver it is, it’s just a drop in the ocean for me. Besides, Miss Jiang isn’t some kind of shady character. She doesn’t ask for much silver. I can do a divination every day without worrying about the cost. But… she definitely wouldn’t want to do a divination for me every day,” Pei Junqi said with a grin.
Qi Chengshuo was speechless upon hearing this.
Unless the girl is extremely free, how could she possibly tell his fortune every day?
Even if you offer them money, they might not be happy to accept it.
...
Inside the carriage, Ye Miaoyun was sizing up Qi Jiu, who was sitting opposite her.
Although they already have a marriage certificate and are legally married, Ye Miaoyun still doesn't know how to get along with Qi Jiu.
Qi Jiu felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze, cleared his throat, and spoke in a low voice: "Is there something you need, Madam?"
"I'm just a country woman, and you call me 'Madam'?" Ye Miaoyun coughed lightly.
"Then...my wife...is there something you need, my wife?" Qi Jiu recalled how Ye Xianwen and Ye Xianzhang addressed their wives and quickly changed his address.
"It's nothing." Ye Miaoyun shook her head: "I heard you were exiled from the capital, and that you were implicated by your family. What did you do in the capital?"
Her words stumped Qi Jiu.
What did he do when he was in the capital?
Unlike his elder brothers, who all held official positions and handled many important matters for their father, he was just a carefree prince who had nothing to do but eat, drink, and have fun every day.
Qi Jiu's favorite things are poetry and songs, so he specially set up a large shop in the capital and opened a teahouse. Only literati frequented it; ordinary people couldn't even get in.
Besides that, he also enjoyed cockfighting and cricket fighting, but he wasn't interested in women.
In addition, his queen was a shrew who controlled him very well, so he had no concubines and only a few maids in the harem. When he fell on hard times, his queen was unwilling to be exiled with him and, after listening to her family, divorced him. The maids, because of their lowly background, ran away with their valuables.
His only daughter, Qi Xuan, had been raised by her mother since she entered the palace to study at the age of six. After his accident, in order to prevent Xuan from being exiled with him, the emperor gave Xuan to his eighth brother as his daughter.
Recalling the past, Qi Jiu didn't know how to answer Ye Miaoyun. After a long while, he said, "Just think of me as a businessman. I used to run a teahouse in the capital. Business was good, but I hardly made any money."
Because he enjoyed writing and painting, he often held poetry gatherings in teahouses. Whoever won first place would receive a prize, and almost all the money earned by the teahouses was spent on this.
He is now well-read and knowledgeable, and he considers himself no less accomplished than those who passed the imperial examinations. But what does it matter?
How could a convicted criminal in exile possibly participate in the imperial examinations?
Hearing him say that, Ye Miaoyun didn't ask any more questions.
No matter how glamorous Qi Jiu was in the capital before, he is now a penniless and destitute man who has nothing.
A true hero doesn't dwell on past glories.
"What are your plans for the future? My father said that our Ye family's school probably won't be able to continue operating, and he wants to move away from here," Ye Miaoyun sighed.
“Then I will go with you. Even if I can’t be a teacher, I can go out and write and read letters home for people. I can earn some money for writing and printing so that I won’t starve.” Qi Jiu said, looking at Ye Miaoyun and Jiang Xianya. “I will do my best to support you, but… I don’t know how much silver I can earn each day. I’m sure I won’t go hungry.”
This was a business idea he came up with after spending the entire night chatting with Ye Qingze, without sleeping a wink.
Aside from that, he really didn't know what else he could do.
His previous experience as a helper was still vivid in his mind; he really couldn't do those jobs.
His only skill was reading and writing, and that was all he could do to make a living.
Ye Miaoyun and Jiang Xianya looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing this.
This man, who couldn't even kill a chicken, actually said he would support them.
Although they came to the Ye family to live off their wives, they didn't lose their backbone.
"Are you really planning to earn money to support us?" Ye Miaoyun looked at him, somewhat incredulous.
"Of course, now that I've married you, I'll definitely have to support you. Even if I'm still eating and living at the Ye family's house, it doesn't mean it will always be like this. Before, I was just desperate and didn't know what I could do. Now it's different..." Qi Jiu said eloquently.
Ye Miaoyun's feelings were somewhat complicated upon hearing this.
She could tell that Qi Jiu didn't actually want to marry her, but since he had already married her, he was still willing to take responsibility.
This alone proves that the man in front of you is a decent person.
Although Ye Miaoyun felt that Qi Jiu couldn't earn much money by writing letters for people, she didn't discourage him. As long as he had the ambition, that was enough.
What people fear most is having no direction and no goals.
As for making money, her daughter had already given her an idea: make lard soap. She had calculated that if everything went smoothly, she could support not only Qi Jiu, but the entire Ye family without any problem.
Not to mention she also has a remarkable daughter.
The three chatted in hushed tones and soon arrived at the county government office.
Qi Jiu went to court to testify for Ye Qingze, proving that they had been chatting together since before midnight the previous night, and that they had not parted ways until dawn.
Huang Wenjian naturally believed Qi Jiu's words.
A prince wouldn't lie about something like this.
However, Xu the tailor and Aunt Li didn't believe it, thinking that Qi Jiu was Ye Qingze's uncle, so of course he would help his own family.
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