Unable to bear seeing the light that had just kindled in his eyes extinguished, Qi Huan temporarily brought him back to her home.
Zhao Man was diligent and willing to work hard. After finishing his meal, he rushed to wash the dishes, sweeping the courtyard until not a speck of dust remained, even scrubbing Heizi's dog bowl until it gleamed.
What delighted Qi Huan the most was his astonishing talent for languages. When she was teaching Li Shuchen English in the courtyard, Zhao Man happened to overhear.
As he swept, he began humming the Alphabet Song: "ABCDEFG..."
While washing dishes, he would silently recite the 48 phonetic symbols.
Upon seeing a tree, he would say "tree."
Upon seeing a bowl, he would say "bowl."
Upon seeing Heizi, he would say "You are a dog."
He learned quickly and earnestly wanted to learn, so Qi Huan allowed him to study together with Li Shuchen.
After teaching them the little English she knew, she declared, "The master guides you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual. Study on your own!"
The two obediently nodded.
Li Shuchen would first pronounce words based on the phonetic symbols, then have Zhao Man read and memorize them together, learning the spellings and meanings. Since Zhao Man was illiterate, he taught him Chinese and English together. Fortunately, Zhao Man had a strong aptitude for learning and could barely keep up.
However, with Zhao Man busy studying, the dishes after meals were left for Yan Wu to wash, and the vast courtyard for Yan Wu to sweep.
Even Heizi would occasionally pick up his dog bowl in his mouth and gently set it in front of Zhao Man, waiting for him to take it and wash it.
Yan Wu sorely missed the time when Zhao Man had first arrived.
Little did he know that an even greater nightmare awaited.
Li Shuchen compiled a list of common words and had Zhao Man practice teaching them to Yan Wu, honing his skills at instructing English.
Li Shuchen planned that once Zhao Man became proficient, he would have him travel with the Yunying Caravan, staying at each contact point for a period to teach the local trusted Elite Guards some common words.
Sensitive names could also be replaced with letters, such as using S for his second imperial uncle and B for his third.
That way, even if coded messages were intercepted, no one would understand their meaning.
Thinking of this, Li Shuchen leisurely sipped his tea, pleased to see Zhao Man bobbing his head and muttering non-stop as he followed Yan Wu.
Yan Wu: "Don't come over here!"
Zhao Man: "This is per Brother Li's instructions." He turned to look pleadingly at Li Shuchen.
"Learn one word, earn one hundred wen."
Upon hearing "one hundred wen," Yan Wu immediately lowered the broom he had held up defensively and turned excitedly toward Zhao Man, shouting, "Bring it on!"
One word for one hundred wen, and he could drain the prince's purse.
Li Shuchen cast him a casual glance, estimating that even a full ingot of silver would not be enough.
Watching is easy, but embroidering is difficult. Yan Wu thought it would be simple after seeing how quickly Zhao Man could memorize, but when he tried, he was dumbfounded.
The jumbled letters bounced around in his mind, making his eyes blur and ache at the sight of those words.
Qi Huan smiled as she watched him scratching his head in bewilderment, concealing her role.
After a thought, she leaned close to Li Shuchen's ear and softly said, "Shuchen, you mustn't tell the Elite Guards that learning English was my idea."
She feared the Elite Guards would gang up and beat her.
Tickled by the faint breath on his cheek, Li Shuchen glanced at her and nodded.
Qi Huan's smile widened.
Taking advantage of Yan Wu being chased out of the courtyard by Zhao Man, she swiftly pecked Li Shuchen's cheek, rewarding him for being obedient. Afterward, she smiled mischievously like a cat that got the cream.
Li Shuchen turned his face, presenting his other cheek. "This side too."
Qi Huan gave it another kiss.
He then pointed to his lips. "And here too."
Seeing his greed, Qi Huan's eyes twinkled as she smiled faintly. "Close your eyes."
Li Shuchen obediently closed his eyes, awaiting a kiss.
But instead, he heard Qi Huan's footsteps as she quietly slipped away.
Qi Huan returned to her room and noticed the spaghetti strap dress hanging on a rope by the window. She went over and felt it - it was dry.
She folded it neatly, wrapping it in a festive red cloth.
Yue Ming's wedding to Xiu Wen was only a few days away. In addition to the bride price, Qi Huan wanted to gift her this sexy black spaghetti strap dress...
But then she remembered that although Yue Ming was of marriageable age, she had just turned nineteen. In her past life, Qi Huan had seen a video on TikTok explaining that girls who have children too early not only risk harming their uterine health but also accelerate calcification of their bones.
For her friend's wellbeing, she summoned the System: "Dear System, I've given you nearly ten thousand points over time. According to the principle of reciprocity, shouldn't you grant me a few search functions in return?"
"...What does the host wish to search for?"
Taking advantage of the System's generosity after receiving the host's points, it was only fair to offer something in return.
Seeing it agree, Qi Huan lowered her voice and whispered, "Has anyone ever purchased a 'raincoat'?"
"Yes. What brand does the host need?"
Qi Huan was unaware there were so many kinds.
After pondering for a moment, she said uncertainly, "You choose."
System: "This question is beyond the scope of my knowledge. I don't know either, so I will provide a random drop for the host."
Swish—
A small box fell to the ground.
Qi Huan picked it up and opened it, but then she thought of another issue. Yue Ming didn't seem to know that Xiu Wen was a fake eunuch, so she couldn't just give the gift to her - she likely wouldn't accept it.
So how could she give it to Xiu Wen?
After mulling it over, she went back to the courtyard and tugged on Li Shuchen's sleeve.
Li Shuchen looked up at her reproachfully. "Little liar."
Qi Huan smiled ingratiatingly and took his hand, leading him into the room and closing the doors and windows.
The room immediately darkened.
Li Shuchen's gaze grew heavier too as he lowered his head and licked his lips.
He was ready!
But instead of a kiss, Qi Huan handed him a stiff paper box.
"What's this?"
Qi Huan fidgeted with her hands, avoiding his gaze. "It's...for contraception."
"Yue Ming and Xiu Wen are getting married soon, but it's not good for a woman's health to have children too early. So I wanted to give this to Xiu Wen. They can choose to use it or not."
After all, the ancient mindset valued having children early and viewed having many children as a blessing. The wife's physical wellbeing was not a consideration.
Their only desire was to spread their branches and bear fruit as soon as possible, without any thought to the potential harm of premature childbearing on the wife.
After Qi Huan earnestly explained, she said, "Xiu Wen truly cares for Yue Ming, so perhaps he would be willing to wait two more years before having children. Pass this along to him and explain the details."
Examining the ordinary-looking small box in her hand, Li Shuchen asked in confusion, "How does this work?"
"......"
Qi Huan's face turned red as she handed him the instructions, "Read it yourself."
He shook his head. "I can't understand it."
"......"
Qi Huan fell silent again.
......After explaining, she instructed him, "Remember to tell Xiu Wen to hide this item well. After using it, wrap it in cloth and burn it immediately, lest others discover it."
Xiu Wen had trusted the explanations about these modern items without question initially, but if others found them, they would undoubtedly become curious, so she had to remind him to conceal them.
After saying this, she noticed Li Shuchen's odd expression and glanced at his restrained eyes.
"Are you going to take a cold shower again?"
