return gift
Ever since Xie Chengnan personally did some hard labor for the girl from the enemy family that day, he realized that this person was truly different.
That might sound presumptuous, but the change actually started with the bride's return visit to her parents' home.
Even on their wedding day, he noticed that Qiu Qing was quite different from when they first met, and after this homecoming visit, she seemed to have changed again. When the two of them met at the Xie residence, there was always a faint air of hostility about her, as if she was dissatisfied and resentful about something.
Now it seems like I've just accepted it calmly.
Looking at the tightly closed door, Xie Chengnan thought to himself, "Not only has he accepted it, but he's even become enlightened."
That day, he, the young marquis of the Yong'an Marquis's mansion, and his personal guard carried a cart full of books for her. Even though both of them were skilled in martial arts, they still made three trips to carry them.
Xie Chengnan originally thought that her statement about wanting to study medicine was just an act in front of Qiu Baiji, and that the books would be returned to Qiu's residence intact when the time came.
Qiu Qingye's behavior was unusually strange. Apart from insisting on eating at the same table with him and Cang Xie, she kept herself locked in her room the rest of the time, and the candle in the room was not extinguished until midnight.
He was curious about what kind of trouble this young lady was up to now, so he secretly came to check on her once during the day. Through the crack in the raised window, he saw Qiu Qing sitting on a stool in a rather unrestrained posture. The reason he described it as unrestrained was that the stool not only supported the weight of her bottom, but also one of her legs.
There was a thick stack of books in front of her, and her little face was buried in the books, with only half of her forehead showing.
The book obscured his view, so he couldn't see what the person behind it was doing.
Suddenly she slammed something heavily on the table, and Xie Chengnan quickly concealed himself.
But then she let out a long sigh, "Ahhh—it's so hard!" She slumped onto the table, completely deflated, and muttered, "Classical Chinese is just too hard to read."
Strangely enough, she was actually reading.
Qiu Qing also got up early to study hard, but he was still disappointed and sighed because he couldn't understand it. This could be considered a great strange thing in Mingzhou.
Since Lin Yi returned to the Xie residence, she has been studying day and night. One reason is that she promised her mother Qiu that she would go home to visit her as soon as possible, and she planned to take these books back with her, and borrow some new ones as well. Another reason is that the system has released its first story mission.
The system's first task wasn't actually difficult, but she wasn't sure how many goodwill points would be deducted after completing this unethical task. The system, being inhuman, wouldn't tell her.
All she knew was that her countdown to her own crisis was getting closer and closer.
She has read a lot of medical books these past few days. Although the books are obscure and difficult to understand, she has managed to understand them to some extent thanks to her poor knowledge of classical Chinese from her student days and by referring to various sources. She has gained quite a bit from them.
She planned to go out and buy some medicinal herbs to try to prepare her own prescription, and also to inquire about some clues.
Summer has arrived, and the weather is starting to get hot and humid. She deliberately chose a sunny and breezy day to go out, so she wouldn't have to worry about getting soaked in the summer rain and would feel the cool breeze, which would prevent her from getting too hot.
Xueya followed behind her. This girl didn't often have time to wander around, so everything was new and interesting to her. Fortunately, Lin Yi had almost finished reading those books, so he strolled around with her. The two of them walked slowly along West Long Street.
"Miss! Osmanthus sugar cake!"
"Okay, I'll buy it for you." Lin Yi handed a few copper coins to the vendor. "Take one."
"Thank you, Miss!" Xueya smiled and took the rice cake covered in osmanthus syrup, then asked in confusion, "Miss, aren't you going to eat some?"
Lin Yi casually replied, "I don't like sweets."
"Hmm? I remember that Miss likes sweets just like me."
Lin Yixin realized something was wrong. He had gotten too relaxed shopping with this carefree girl and had been careless for a moment. "I haven't been eating much sweets lately. You should eat less too, it's bad for your teeth."
"Oh." Luckily, Xueya was easygoing and didn't pay attention to such trivial details. She saw a group of girls gathered around a stall, guessing it was selling cosmetics and jewelry. So she pulled Lin Yi over, "Miss, let's go take a look. You haven't bought any new jewelry in a long time."
Fearing he might give himself away again, Lin had no choice but to keep up.
The stall owner was a young woman who greeted onlookers with a smile. Her hair was adorned with various hair accessories, among which a braided strand shimmered and looked quite novel.
The girl looked up, her eyes meeting Lin Yi's, and her gaze suddenly lit up. Having spent years mingling in the streets selling goods, she was very good at judging the wealth and status of passersby, and she could tell at a glance that this must be a young lady from a wealthy family.
With a big smile, she greeted her warmly, "Sister, would you like to buy some hair accessories?"
Lin Yi pointed to the braided ribbon in her hair, "What's this?"
"Sister has a good eye! This is a glass ribbon from the southern border. It is said that if an unmarried girl uses it to braid her hair and insert it into a rope, her sweetheart will soon come to propose to her. It is very effective!"
It was indeed beautiful, but Lin Yichao smiled regretfully and said, "I'm already married."
"Ah, I really didn't realize that." The girl realized she had misspoke and that the item probably wouldn't sell. "Then why don't you choose a sachet for your husband? With your beauty, my husband must be handsome and a perfect match for you."
The sachet looked ordinary, but the pendant hanging from it looked crystal clear, unlike ordinary jade.
"This is..." Lin Yi reached out and touched it. It was slightly cool to the touch, but quickly warmed up as he got warmer.
"This is fired glass."
Colored glass, isn't that just stained glass? It's beautiful, but Xie Chengnan probably won't like it.
I'm afraid no matter what she gives him, Xie Chengnan won't like it. His mansion lacks everything, but he himself doesn't seem to lack anything.
Lin Yi thought about it and decided against it. She did want to thank him, but giving each other sachets would seem too intimate between them.
"And what about this glass jade pendant?"
Lin Yi shook his head again.
The jade was of mediocre quality; as a token of gratitude, the gift was too insignificant and seemed perfunctory.
Although Xie Chengnan treated her badly at first and deliberately made things difficult for her, Lin Yi just thought it was to repay the debt of Qiu Qing for forcing her into marriage.
Besides that, at least in front of outsiders, Xie Chengnan always protected her, and when she returned to her parents' home, he gave her and the Qiu family plenty of face.
We should express our gratitude properly.
She carefully considered her words before asking, "If someone, though they don't like you, has helped you several times and given you generous gifts, how should you repay that person?"
“He doesn’t like me but helps me repeatedly and even gives me generous gifts. Where can you find such a person?” The girl smiled knowingly. “I’m afraid it’s just that ‘I’m’ the one who thinks he doesn’t like me.”
Could it be? Is Xie Chengnan actually not as unfriendly to her as she thinks?
"If you want to show your feelings, sister, why not take a look at this?"
The girl took a slender wooden box from under the display case, opened it, and found a pair of exquisite silver chopsticks.
"Chopsticks are used at every meal, so giving chopsticks as a gift is a way of sending blessings and also represents the care and concern of the person giving the chopsticks."
The chopsticks had delicate cloud patterns carved on the handles, and a red jade stone was inlaid at the tips, making them look quite presentable.
Lin Yi didn't recall any taboos about men and women giving chopsticks as gifts. This gift was much better than sachets or pendants, and besides, wasn't it said that silver chopsticks could detect poison?
Lin Yi had studied science and knew that silver was extremely limited in detecting poisons, only able to detect substances like arsenic containing sulfide impurities. However, in ancient times, it should have been sufficient.
Although Lin Yi didn't know how well Xie Chengnan was treated, after spending a few days with him, he found that Xie Chengnan was not afraid of offending people, just like Qiu Qing. It was easy for him to make enemies, so it was good to have an extra layer of protection.
They're in the same boat now; not just Xie Chengnan, but everyone in the household needs a pair.
"This one is fine, but please get me a few more pairs."
Xueya, carrying seven or eight pairs of silver chopsticks, asked with great confusion, "Miss, why are we buying so many chopsticks?"
"Chopsticks are, of course, used for eating."
"That's not necessary, is it?"
"Is it a lot? It was bought per person."
Do I have one too?
Lin Yi smiled and ruffled her hair: "Of course."
Upon hearing this, the little maid gripped her chopsticks tighter and exclaimed excitedly, "Miss is so kind! I've never used silver chopsticks before!"
The two walked on for a while and suddenly saw a noisy wonton stall ahead, with colorful skirts mingling together, and it seemed as if someone was surrounding it.
"Isn't this General Zhan's daughter, Zhan Xian? When did she return?"
"What are you saying? He's no longer a great general. Be careful, or you'll lose your head."
Lin Yi was passing by the stall with no intention of stopping, but upon hearing these words, he immediately stopped in his tracks.
Immediately afterwards, the system's mechanical voice sounded in my ear: [Mission point reached. Please complete the first story mission as soon as possible: Publicly embarrass the female lead and make her feel awkward.]
Lin Yi took a light breath, then retreated back to the side of that lush, vibrant cluster of trees and wedged herself in.
The group was filled with young ladies from prominent families, dressed in elegant and luxurious clothes, their presence like a hundred flowers blooming in competition. But Lin Yi didn't recognize any of them, so she pretended to be aloof, crossing her arms and waiting for someone to approach her.
A woman dressed in a bright yellow dress recognized her and asked, "When did Qingye arrive?"
Lin Yi replied calmly, "Just arrived."
Many of the noble ladies present recognized her and turned to look at her upon hearing the name "Qingye." Even those who didn't know her personally had heard of Qiu Qingye's reputation and were aware of her unrequited love for the Crown Prince. Therefore, they made way for her with a hint of amusement in their eyes.
Lin Yi finally met Zhan Xian, the female lead in "The Mountains and Rivers with You" and the prince's sweetheart.
Zhan Xian, dressed in a black men's outfit, with a dignified and imposing face, looked out of place surrounded by a group of heavily made-up noble ladies.
Despite being surrounded and mocked by these people, she seemed completely unconcerned, sitting upright and simply eating the bowl of wontons in front of her that was no longer steaming.
Lin Yi sat down opposite her and quietly observed her. Zhan Xian, however, kept her eyes closed and chewed intently, not giving her a single glance.
"You're back." Lin Yi's tone was complicated.
Zhan Xian finally raised her striking eyes and stared at her for a long while before asking, "Who are you?"
Those around them gasped in unison.
How dare she speak to Qiu Qing like that! Does she have a death wish? Qiu Qing won't let a rival who provokes her get away with it!
Lin Yi smiled; this female lead was quite to her liking.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com