Looking at Lin Kangping's injured back, Zi Qing also lost her mind and sat down on the grass, initially thinking that she hadn't provoked him in the past few years, how could she have unknowingly hurt him. Suddenly, she thought of Liu Cen from her previous life, who abandoned her for the sake of her career and future, and even made excuses saying he didn't want to let her suffer. What is the point of a man marrying a woman? Lin Kangping also said that he would give her the life she wanted, but the problem was that Zi Qing's own future was still unclear, and it was already pressing down on her, was she willing to accept it? In her previous life, she had seen so many stories about rebirth, where the female lead always ended up with a wealthy and powerful man, at least a high-ranking official or a general, someone who would make the female lead drool. But Zi Qing didn't have that kind of taste, Wen San and her own brothers were all Korean-style pretty boys, while Lin Kangping was tall, with narrow eyes and double eyelids, a straight nose bridge, and a cold expression, which made him look very masculine. After a few years of interaction, she found him to be considerate and thoughtful, but she had been stuck in this small village for 7 or 8 years, and didn't know what path to take in the future. Zi Qing was now feeling a bit lost.

  After a while, Zi Qing also didn't know what she was thinking about, nor did she know how long it had been, until she heard the sound of horseshoes and realized that Lin Kangping had returned. Lin Kangping dismounted his horse, closed the gate, walked to Zi Qing's side, pursed his lips without saying a word, bent down and picked up Zi Qing. Zi Qing was startled, struggled free from his grasp, jumped down to the ground, shook her numb legs and said: "My legs seem to be numb." After speaking, she herself bent down and patted them several times.

  Lin Kangping immediately squatted down to help her massage the muscles of her calf, stopping only after Zi Qing had calmed down. Zi Qing was taken aback and asked: "Why are you so good to me?"

  "No reason, I just want to be good to you." After finishing speaking, he stood up and held Zi Qing's hand, walking home.

  "I asked you, Wen San's father Ding You should have ended his mourning period long ago, why hasn't he returned to his official duties?"

  "He was the Salt Inspector for several years. It was a lucrative position, and there were rumors circulating outside that the higher-ups wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of these corrupt officials. However, they had been holding back due to the face of Master's grandfather. The old master also wanted to find an excuse to resign. Coincidentally, Master's grandfather passed away, and after three years of mourning, the old master felt that life was now comfortable, and if he were to re-enter officialdom, he might not have such a good opportunity to resign again. These things you don't understand, and even I don't fully comprehend them - the affairs of the Wen family are too complicated. The old master's position in the Wen family is actually relatively minor, and Master's marriage was personally arranged by Old Madame - no one can interfere with that."

  Zi Qing was a science student, and wasn't very clear about the size of the official position of Xun Yan Yu Shi, only knowing that it was a fat job that everyone coveted. In the literary family, it wasn't the biggest official position, but what did that have to do with him?

  "That's also true, those are all too far away from us. Seriously, you really don't want to take my 1,000 taels of silver? Although we haven't become a family yet. But, we should also plan for the future, use this silver as capital and do business for a year. The silver you earn, you can buy a deserted mountain or a large piece of wasteland, I'll cultivate some fruit saplings here, how does that sound?"

  "Alright, I'll listen to you. However, the silver earned will be yours, and as for buying land, I have my own way of dealing with it. You can keep your silver for personal use, isn't it that you love buying strange and unusual things? It's more convenient if you keep it in hand. In the future, there's no need to rush around doing needlework either, it's not good for your eyes. I'll take care of external matters."

  "What does it mean? Are you going to keep your silver for yourself and not give it to me? Let me tell you, my silver is mine, your silver is also mine, and even you are mine."

  "Pfft." Lin Kangping finally couldn't help but laugh, and reached out to rub Zi Qing's hair, chuckling: "Not even embarrassed, where did you learn that?"

  Ziying pinched his hand, and Lin Kangping said happily: "Okay, don't be angry, I'm yours, all yours. If not, you can take me now."

  "It's really hard to make you smile, I thought you wouldn't laugh at all. As soon as you came in, your face was stern, and I thought I had made some big mistake. But look, you're smiling so beautifully, just like a ray of sunshine on a winter day, it's very warm." Zi Qing looked into his eyes, the amber-colored pupils only reflected her shadow, without any impurities. His hair was tied back with a jade pin, wearing a pale blue cotton-padded jacket and a black horsehide jacket, he could be considered elegant and refined. He was probably more than 20 centimeters taller than Zi Qing, because she wasn't even up to his shoulder.

  "Zi Qing, as long as you feel warm, that's all I need. I'll just be your sunshine." Lin Kangping said seriously, holding Zi Qing's hand and interrupting her daydream.

  Ziying didn't expect Lin Kangping to say something so artistic, the two were staring at each other, when Ziyu came out and called Ziying to go open the door, saying the doorbell rang.

  Tian's eyes were red as she stood at the door. Zi Qing was startled and quickly pulled her into the house, asking: "Auntie, what happened?"

  "Your mother is not here, go pick up the basket of eggs. Your second aunt has come and fallen ill, I took the eggs at home to exchange for money."

  "Alright, wait a minute, what's wrong with my aunt?" Zi Qing asked.

  Tian's family started crying when they mentioned this. It turned out that Er Guo had a sudden craving for meat a few days ago, but there was no fresh meat at home, so she steamed some cured meat and ate a few slices. She usually eats lightly salted food, but after eating the cured meat, her body felt uncomfortable, so she lay down. However, during the busy spring plowing season, everyone in the family was busy, except for her lying in bed all day. Her mother-in-law was very dissatisfied and quarreled with her every day, finding fault with everything. Er Guo was so angry that she had a heart attack, vomiting uncontrollably, and now even drinking water makes her want to vomit. Er Guo's father found a doctor to examine her, and after taking a few doses of medicine, she stabilized slightly. Then, Er Guo asked to return to her natal home.

  "This is not, your aunt's brother-in-law just sent it over last night, and Doctor Zhou checked it today, saying that the nutrition is a bit poor, need to supplement well. That child too, thin and small, one look is that they didn't eat well usually, I came here to find a few eggs."

  "Kangping, go catch two hens and take them with you to visit your second aunt. She has always doted on Ziyin, let her see you too."

  Lin Kangping looked at Ziying, and Ziying nodded. At this critical moment, what else could be counted on? If it were someone else, Ziying would definitely not care, but Er Gu was still one of the people in the Zeng family who had given her the most warmth besides her father. How could she just let go?

  Zi Qing had been ill for some time, and Xia Yu was lying in bed with a waxy yellow complexion, her face thin as a skeleton, her eyes sunken, and her cheekbones protruding. Her two-year-old son Xiao Wen was sitting beside the bed, not understanding what was happening but knowing that his mother was sick, quietly leaning against the headboard. Second Uncle Zhou Tianqing came in with a bowl of medicinal soup.

  Ziying felt a pang in her heart, tears welling up in her eyes. She thought that Ergu was truly pitiful, having dragged on with an ill body for so many years, and just when she had finally recovered somewhat, giving birth to a child had injured her vital energy again. From now on, it would be impossible for her to have another child. The doctor said that with her physical condition, she shouldn't have given birth to a child at all.

  Although her second uncle treated her well, the family's condition was not good, and she had to squeeze in with a large group of people at her husband's house. With her personality, she was not much different from her father, Zeng Rui Xiang, and it was hard for her not to feel resentful. Therefore, at any time, a woman should have money in her hands, only then can she truly feel secure. If not, families with conditions would desperately prepare dowry for their daughters, because only dowry could serve as private funds by their side.

  Zi Qing knew that her mother had always been very fond of Er Gu, so she thought for a moment and walked to the bedside to say: "Er Gu, don't be sad anymore, take good care of your illness, if you need anything just buy it, I'll bring some money back for you later. My mother is not at home, she's accompanying my second brother to take an exam, you know that my mother has always valued you, if she knew you were ill like this, who knows how heartbroken she would be? Also, I'll bring twenty taels of silver to Gu Fu later, and you can build a separate house with a courtyard, plant some fruit trees, and have some spending money every year. You can live alone as a family, eat what you want, sleep in whenever you want, no one will bother you, how does that sound?"

  Xia Yu listened and just shook her head, tears streaming down. Zi Qing didn't know what she meant either, so she teased: "Oh, I get it! Auntie is saying that twenty taels of silver isn't enough to build a house? Alright, alright, I'll send thirty taels next time. We can use it to build a house for Little Wen's future wedding too. Let's buy a bigger courtyard and make them all jealous!"

  "No need, I've already spent too much of your family's money. If it weren't for your father, I would have been gone long ago. My existence is just a burden." Xia Yu slowly squeezed out a few words, and Tian Shi burst into tears upon hearing them, while Zhou Tianqing's eyes also turned red.

  "You're thinking too much, Second Aunt. Who is my father? He's your mother's own brother, and he cares about you deeply. You're doing well, better than anything else." After finishing speaking, he asked Zhou Tianqing, "Aunt's husband, are there any good plots of land for building a house in your village? Thirty taels of silver should be enough to build a brick house. My Second Aunt is recuperating here, and the spring plowing will end soon, so it's just right to go back and find someone to build a house."

  "It's such a big thing, you're taking charge of it yourself. If your mother finds out later, don't blame me. Let's wait until your mother comes back to talk about it again. I also don't know when we can pay it back." Xia Yu said slowly.

  "Second aunt, don't worry, my mother will definitely praise me when she finds out. Later, when you move into the new house, we can go there too and have a place to stay. Besides, living a secluded life behind closed doors reduces a lot of unnecessary trouble. And this silver, no need to return it."

  "That's right, Ziqing is right. If it weren't for your mother-in-law, you would have suffered less gossip. Let the son-in-law hurry back home to build a house, and when they move into their new home, you can go back then." Tian Shi heard that Ziqing was willing to give silver to her daughter to build a new house, and she immediately became excited, not even noticing her second son-in-law standing beside her.

  Xia Yu suddenly caught sight of Zi Qing's dragon and phoenix bangle and asked: "How did you come to wear the dragon and phoenix bangle, are you engaged?"

  Tian's family hastily explained that it was just a few days ago and hadn't had time to say, the new son-in-law was still standing outside.

  Xia Yu listened and struggled to sit up and see, Zi Qing hurriedly called Lin Kangping in, and then supported Xia Yu to lean back. Lin Kangping asked how she was doing, and Xia Yu said: "I didn't know my niece got engaged from afar, and I didn't have time to prepare a gift for the meeting, I'll make it up next time." Then he asked about some family situations and current conditions.

  Zi Qing saw that it was almost time, and Xia Yu was also a bit tired, so they bid farewell to Lin Kangping.