The bright red banner fluttered in the wind, standing out conspicuously among a row of quaint shops.
At first, a few scholars entered with skepticism, but upon inquiring about the prices, they found them to be truly cheap!
"Let's buy it!"
Soon, word spread like wildfire, and students from nearby academies flocked to the shop.
Once inside, they discovered that the books in this store were not only of good quality and inexpensive but also incredibly comprehensive. There were even medical texts...
Shortly after, doctors who received the news hurried over as well...
Meanwhile, the system began its melodious prompts once again.
"Good deed +1, Points +10,000."
"Good deed +1, Points +10,000."
...
Qi Huan was stunned for a moment: "System, are you being this generous now? You're starting with five-digit point additions!"
"Host, for every medical book that has never existed in Li Country before, you can earn 10,000 points."
"Are there any more medical books in the delivery storage?!"
Qi Huan rubbed her hands together, her eyes sparkling: "As long as copying doesn't kill me, I can copy till I drop!"
"Host, although this system would love for you to copy countless medical books and earn countless points, unfortunately, there are only so many medical books in the delivery storage, and you've already taken them all out. ...This time, you've contributed nine medical books, earning 90,000 points. Your current total is 160,000 points!"
"Are there any other useful books in the delivery storage?"
"There are some they can't understand, and the ones they can understand are gone. Much knowledge requires a certain accumulation before it can be applied. Among the remaining books in the delivery storage, the useful ones are too profound. Even if you copy them, they won't be able to utilize them, so you still won't earn points."
"However, host, you now have 160,000 points. Would you like to spend 100,000 points to upgrade?"
"Yes!"
In an instant, the system completed the upgrade, and didn't forget to download a male god voice for itself, sounding extremely pleasing to the ear:
"Dear host, you are now being served by a level six system. Your current point balance is 60,000, and the newly unlocked feature is the necklace invisibility function."
Qi Huan looked down and saw that the necklace was still there.
"Host, of course you can see it, but others can't."
"So, does that mean Shu can't see it either?"
"...Li Shuchen isn't just anyone, you know~" the system immediately fawned, "He's your family member~ This system has reluctantly granted him permission~"
The combination of the system's coquettish tone and the male god voice made Qi Huan shudder.
"Be normal!"
"Okay~" The system switched to a loli voice.
"I'm tired, just mute it."
Qi Huan ended her conversation with the system and found Song You'an sitting obediently beside her, waiting for her to come back to her senses.
Her soft appearance made one really want to pinch her cheeks.
She shook her head, shaking away these strange thoughts, and said to Song You'an, "An'an, there are too many people at the entrance of this bookstore, and there are no other women in line. If we go over, it might attract too much attention. Why don't we let the guards buy for us, and we'll go to a restaurant to eat?"
"...Okay."
"What kind of book does An'an want to buy?"
"...I want to buy a travelogue."
Qi Huan nodded and gave instructions.
After giving the orders, the carriage turned around. In the moment before she lowered the window curtain, she took another deep look at the characters on the signboard.
These were Shu's handwriting.
They were also the bookstore's talisman.
As the sunlight fell on the bold and powerful characters, Qi Huan seemed to see the man sitting upright at his desk, wielding his brush to write with unparalleled grace.
A smile of happiness lingered on her lips, not fading even after she finished lunch.
On the way back to the mansion, when she lifted the curtain for some air, she accidentally discovered that Zhu Yan was carrying two baskets of pastries on a shoulder pole, coming out of a pastry shop.
Behind him, Ximen Ye was holding an empty purse, his long eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking displeased.
Qi Huan sighed quietly, "What a big eater," but didn't dwell on it.
However, when she woke up from her afternoon nap, she surprisingly saw these two baskets of pastries again in Qinghuan Court.
She asked in surprise, "What's going on?"
Tao Su's cheeks were flushed red as she asked for a private word: "Miss, these are the betrothal gifts Zhu Yan sent me."
Qi Huan: ?
Tao Su's betrothal gift is Tao Su (almond cookies)?
Soon, Tao Su took out a thick stack of banknotes from the red cloth at her waist: "Zhu Yan said this is all his savings."
Qi Huan estimated the amount and thought to herself: Zhu Yan is quite sincere.
But she still asked Tao Su, "What do you think?"
"I... I ask for your blessing, Miss."
"Is it because of the money, or because of him as a person?"
Tao Su answered with a grin, "I like both the money... and him."
Her mother had told her that in life, one shouldn't be timid. Don't be like her, regretting only after losing something. When you meet someone who truly cares for you, you can be brave and throw caution to the wind once.
No matter the outcome, at least you'll have no regrets in this life.
Seeing that she truly liked him, Qi Huan had no choice but to give her blessing.
Although Zhu Yan talks a lot, his martial arts skills are good, and he can protect Tao Su.
Moreover, such a generous betrothal gift also indicates from the side that he values Tao Su greatly.
It's not to say that a large betrothal gift necessarily means great love, or a small one means lack of love, but if a person truly values another, they will definitely give everything they can within their means, giving them enough security.
Just like Zhu Yan to Tao Su.
Qi Huan turned back to her room, took out Tao Su's deed of sale, and handed it to her, saying, "Back then, I bought you for five taels and five mace of silver. You washed dishes for a while, worked as a cook for a time, then helped take care of the children at the orphanage. You also nobly informed me of your father and stepmother's scheme, and by chance, you uncovered shopkeeper Chen's poisonous plot..."
"You've done a lot over these past two years, and I've kept it all in mind. So, I'm returning your deed of sale to you."
Qi Huan blinked and added, "When you get married, I'll add to your dowry."
After she finished speaking, Tao Su put her small hands behind her back and shook her head, "I don't want the deed of sale. I want to stay with you forever."
"Zhu Yan also said he would always follow his master. He said that when you marry his master, we'll all follow you together!"
"Although I know you like Young Master Li, I keep my mouth shut tight. I didn't tell Zhu Yan. I only told him to tell his master not to think about a toad eating a swan. But his master is just too handsome, so I had to change it to say that even a swan can't eat another swan!"
Tao Su, bursting with the desire to share, continued:
"Zhu Yan also told me that besides his savings, some of this money was borrowed from his master because he wanted to gather exactly 9,999 taels, for longevity."
"I asked him if servants' monthly wages were that high?"
"He said he has a side job as an assassin. ...Miss, from this we can deduce that the Second Young Master is also an assassin! And the head of assassins!"
In Tao Su's heart, her mother came first, the Miss second, and Zhu Yan third...
So she didn't hesitate to tell Qi Huan all the information she had inadvertently learned.
"Zhu Yan also said that the money to buy me came from his master. Because when his master learned about Miss You'an's situation, he got a list of people who had insulted her from his spies and took Zhu Yan to settle accounts with them."
"For those who had insulted Miss You'an, his master insulted them all back."
"Not only that, but he also gave them a slap as a bonus. The master used his mouth, Zhu Yan used his hands, and Zhu Yan took the opportunity to ask his master for a fee, which he used to buy me."
"Zhu Yan said that if it weren't for fear of making a big fuss and implicating Miss You'an, given his master's way of handling things, these people would have had their tongues cut out if not killed."
"Miss, this master is too cruel. Young Master Li is much better!"
"I support you becoming Mrs. Li Qi!"
Hearing this, the corners of Qi Huan's lips twitched uncontrollably.
Fortunately, her surname wasn't Pu, otherwise wouldn't it be "Li Pu" (ridiculous)?
Shaking off the thoughts in her mind, she said seriously, "If you don't remove your slave status, what about your children in the future?"
"...They haven't been born yet, have they?"
Tao Su said cheerfully, "How can a maid get married before her mistress? After you get married and life settles down, then I can peacefully live my own little life..."
There were only eight more months until the Miss's mourning period ended, she could wait a bit.
Based on her observation, Young Master Li could hardly wait to marry the County Princess and bring her home, so he definitely wouldn't wait too long...
As she had predicted.
Li Shuchen was already looking at auspicious dates on the calendar.
Considering that the series of procedures such as sacrificing to heaven and earth, issuing the imperial edict, presenting betrothal gifts, asking for the bride's name, presenting auspicious gifts, presenting wedding gifts, and announcing good fortune would take quite some time, Li Shuchen's brows furrowed deeply. He called out to Yan Wu, a cold light flashing in his deep phoenix-like eyes.
"Start the preparations earlier."
