Qiu Hong had cleaned up everything, packed up her stuff and prepared to leave. Seeing Su Zhi supporting herself with her head, looking like she had a headache, she guessed most of it.
"Boss, we've been targeted by the vicious dogs. Seeing how the other side is now, if they don't let even a little bit of blood flow out, they won't let go."
Su Zhi rubbed her throbbing temples as her chest tightened. Those words weren't wrong. They knew that the other party was here to extort them, so they couldn't give any reasons to reject.
"Boss, how about we go to the government? Shopkeeper Li was a bit impatient, but it wasn't our fault that the Hundred Flavors Clear Joyous were the first to go."
"How can it be that easy to get into the government? Not to mention the culprits, even if we go to the government, with the Yu family's power, how can we defeat them?"
Qiu Hong was unwilling. Was she simply letting others bully her and doing nothing at all?
"Boss, don't you know the officials in the capital? Shang Jing, go find someone to help you! "
Su Zhi rejected him without thinking. After Xiao Qian's confession last night, she could not defend the defense in her heart and agreed to it without thinking.
She had already determined that their relationship wouldn't be as casual as it was before. Besides, this was her own affair and she should think of a way to resolve it herself. Unless it was a last resort, she didn't want to trouble him.
"I will take care of it. It's getting late, you can go back first."
After Qiu Hong left, Su Zhi mustered her strength to finish looking through the final accounts. Seeing that it was already very late, she called the coachman back.
It was already dark outside, and the weather was getting colder.
Winter mist soaked in the night sky, the night sky did not see the moon and stars, Spring Leaf Alley in the winter more quiet.
After the carriage slowly drew near, Su Zhi adjusted her mood and lifted the curtain. Seeing that her mother was waiting at the door, and that she had come back, she went up to welcome her.
"Aiyo, that's so pitiful. Madam has finally returned, and it's already so late. Even the watchdog has returned to its nest."
Seeing that her hands were clasped together and her body was covered in a thin layer of frost, Su Zhi knew that she must have waited for a long time. Warmth filled her heart as she hurriedly stepped forward to support her mother.
"I've made you wait for a long time. There will be many more of these in the future. Just rest and don't wait for me."
Mrs Ding invited her into the house, closed the door, and once again asked warmly, "Madam, you still haven't had your meal, right? I'll go heat up the prepared food."
"No need, I've already eaten. I just need to wash up. Mommy Ding, go rest."
"Yo, I was just warming up the hot water, I'll bring it to you right away."
Su Zhi was indeed very tired and didn't want to shirk the kindness of her mother.
It was cold outside, and her body was already frozen by the time she got back. She was afraid that she would not be able to handle the cold in the shop, so she hurried back to her room to get some winter clothes to prepare.
Not long later, the bucket behind the screen was filled with hot water.
Under the dense fog, Su Zhi felt even more sleepy.
She quickly took off her clothes and entered the hot water, closing her eyes in comfort.
"Madam, this old woman is outside. If you have any orders, just say it."
Su Zhi acknowledged softly and replied, "Mom Ding, you can go down to rest. I don't need to wait on you. I just need to wash myself and go to sleep."
She yawned, closed her eyes, and leaned against the wall of the bucket. She wanted to take a nap, but her eyelids grew heavier and heavier as she slept.
She felt that the water's temperature had turned cold, but she did not want to get up with her eyes closed.
Someone pushed the door open and walked over to the screen. After pausing for a long time, he lightly approached her.
A shadow passed over his eyes, and the wide towel on the wooden mat was taken off.
Su Zhi sensed that someone was wiping her body. She thought that it was her mother who came in to serve her, so she struggled to open her eyes.
This glance frightened her quite a bit. Su Zhi saw that the man holding the long sword and steel knife was doing his best to soften his movements and wipe her hair. He moved cautiously, afraid that he would disturb her.
"General? "Why are you here?"
Su Zhi jumped in fright. Half of her sleepiness was gone, and she immediately took the towel from Xiao Qian's hands to cover herself.
Although they had confirmed their relationship as lovers, she had not reached the point where she could let the other party see her naked body.
Seeing that she had woken up, the man lightly coughed to hide his awkwardness. "I came to see you. Mommy Ding said that you have been here for a long time. I was worried that you would come in to take a look."
After being bathed in the warm water, the woman's body became even more delicate and pretty. Crimson spots appeared on her skin, and her skin was as smooth as creamy white porcelain.
Xiao Qian rolled his Adam's apple and his body suddenly burst into flames.
He quickly turned his back, suppressing the dryness in his mouth and the burning in his ears.
Su Zhi's face was also extremely red. She must have seen everything from Xiao Gan just now.
When she thought about it, she felt slightly angry. She complained about why he didn't knock on the door. It was really disrespectful to barge in just like that.
"General, I'm afraid you've forgotten the difference between men and women. Your reputation as a commoner who barged in like this has been ruined."
Xiao Qian suddenly remembered what Tan Qing had told him: If your woman is still innocent even after meeting you, she must be prepared to leave.
His heart skipped a beat and he started to feel sad for no reason.
"We... Aren't we already together? "
Su Zhi did not know what it meant that she had promised Xiao Qian last night. The men of this era must have been prepared for a woman to agree to marry him, especially since he was a martial general and did not have the red tape of a scholar. All they knew was that she had agreed to it and that it could be considered to be a lifetime.
Now that Su Zhi had reacted, Xiao Qian mistakenly thought that she had changed her mind.
"If you don't want to follow me anymore, I won't blame you."
Su Zhi covered her body and stood to the side, not knowing how to reply.
How did it become her fault?
"However, our Xiao family has an ancestor's teachings. Since we have already decided on that girl, we must treat her well and not let her down. If you think that something that I have done is not right, then tell me, and I will change it. " As long as you don't regret agreeing to it.
Su Zhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry and rolled her eyes at the screen.
Didn't they say that since ancient times, it was taboo for both men and women to cross the line before marriage? That doesn't count? Not only that, it had become her fault?
"I didn't mean that, I'm just not used to being like this …" She got up and dried herself and changed her clothes and came out.
Outside the window, Xiao Qian stood under the solitary lamp with a look of worry on his face. He was speechless.
At first glance, it seemed that she was the one who had wrongly lifted her pants and didn't recognize him. Xiao Qian was the one who had been abandoned.
"I want to see you. I heard some news about the store that day, so I was worried that you didn't come to greet me."
When have you come to say hello?
Su Zhi wrapped up in a robe and sat in front of the dowry to wipe her hair, accidentally sneezing.
Seeing this, Xiao Qian didn't bother to be polite. He took the white towel from her hand and carefully wiped her hair.
"I'll send someone to help out with the shop matters. You can just stay at home and embroider flowers. If you have nothing to do, you can just go out with the kids."
The meaning behind his words was for her to be more relaxed and become a person who didn't know what to do.
Su Zhi understood his good intentions and was definitely worried that she would not be able to hold on. However, she did not want to be a canary that kept living like a prince. She wanted to rely on herself to do everything and support her children.
"Thank you for your kind intentions, General. I can still deal with the matters in the shop."
Xiao Qian stopped moving and bent down to hug her. He rubbed her temples and moved intimately, extremely gentle.
"If you follow me, I won't let you suffer. If you can't stay idle, then when the marriage is in the future, I'll let you rule."
Su Zhi's heart was pounding and her ears were slightly burning.
Knowing that she was shy, Xiao Qian smirked as he bit her earlobe and licked her lips.
Her delicate body couldn't help but tremble. She tried to push him away but discovered that she was completely powerless.