The people of the Zhao Village worked through the night making incense, not resting until nearly midnight.

Chen Wanqing felt bad that everyone had to work so hard through the night. She paid them for a full day’s labor and gave each person an additional two *wen* as a bonus.

She also planned to buy some malt sugar on her way back from the county seat the next day, giving everyone a sweet treat to enjoy while they worked.

It wasn’t that Chen Wanqing was unwilling to buy them snacks; she just believed that it’s easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but hard to go back. If she started with such lavish treatment, she worried their expectations would become impossible to satisfy later on.

Of course, Chen Wanqing kept these thoughts to herself.

She rose bright and early that day, climbing aboard Dashan’s ox-cart and hurrying toward the county seat.

She had booked Dashan’s ox-cart for the next half-month.

Compared to hiring another cart, riding with Dashan was far more convenient and much safer.

After careful consideration, Chen Wanqing had settled the arrangement to hire his cart with Dashan the previous evening without a second thought.

Having a private ride saved both time and effort.

Dashan could take her directly to the shop’s entrance—but today, Chen Wanqing wasn’t heading straight there. She asked Dashan to take her to her parents’ home first.

Her early return to the county seat wasn’t because she was in a rush to open the shop. She only had a dozen or so boxes of incense, which would likely sell out soon after she opened her doors.

She had come back so early because Jing and De’an were attending a banquet at the county government today.

The Lord County Magistrate was hosting a banquet today to personally receive the local scholars. She wouldn’t feel at ease until she saw them off with her own eyes.

The ox-cart moved swiftly, arriving at the Chen family residence by the Weaving Workshop while it was still very early. Many of the early morning workers were just starting to emerge from the alleys.

When Chen Wanqing knocked on the main gate, her father, Chen Song, was in the middle of breakfast. He was planning to eat quickly and then head to the county government.

When the County Magistrate held a banquet, constables like him were required to be on duty throughout the event. Their presence served to display the magistrate’s authority and to maintain order, preventing any troublemakers from causing a scene.

When he heard the knock, Chen Song assumed it was a colleague who lived nearby, calling for him to head to the government office together. But then, he heard his daughter’s voice.

’Am I hearing things?’

’Qing’er went back to the village yesterday. How could she be back so soon?’

But when he opened the door, there she was—his daughter, bundled up from head to toe.

But it was no use, no matter how tightly she was wrapped. The spring wind was bone-chilling, and it had left his daughter’s cheeks ghastly pale. The tip of her nose, however, was bright red, and her eyes were watery. The sight made Chen Song’s heart ache with pity.

"What’s wrong? Why are you back so early in the morning? Were you mistreated over there? Tell me, and I’ll go set things right for you."

Dashan let out a chuckle from his seat on the ox-cart. Only then, hearing the sound, did Chen Song notice the cart parked behind his daughter.

After a brief explanation from Chen Wanqing, Chen Song realized it was just a misunderstanding. He stopped fussing over his daughter and instead gestured for Dashan to come in while taking hold of the ox’s reins, urging them into the courtyard.

In that short span of time, the commotion had woken up the rest of the household.

Zhao Jing lived in the rear courtyard, yet he was the very first person to appear.

Chen Wanqing wondered if it was her imagination, but she could have sworn Jing’s eyes brightened the moment he saw her, like the sun bursting through the clouds. All his previous listlessness vanished, and he suddenly looked radiant.

He strode quickly toward her and reached for her hand, but Chen Wanqing pulled back slightly, her eyes silently reminding him that her father and Dashan were still present.

Sanity returned to Zhao Jing. He quickly greeted both men before taking the reins from Chen Song.

The ox-cart would be needed again shortly, so there was no point in taking it to the rear courtyard.

He tethered the ox to the cherry tree in the courtyard. Seeing Xu Su Ying and De’an emerge from the house, he said, "Wanqing looks tired from her trip. I’ll take her to the rear courtyard so she can wash up and change."

Xu Su Ying waved them off. "Go on, go on."

’Jing’s eyes are practically glowing. To put it bluntly, he looks at my daughter the way a dog looks at a juicy bone. This is definitely not the Zhao Jing I know. But this just proves my earlier suspicions were right. Jing has had feelings for my daughter for a long time, and they run deep.’

Her loving mother’s heart thoroughly satisfied, Xu Su Ying beamed and waved her hand, shooing them away.

De’an, however, just rolled his eyes.

’I can’t even watch this.’ 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

’Jing isn’t the same Jing anymore.’

’He’s completely wrapped around my sister’s little finger. So much for being a real man.’

Just as his thoughts began to wander, a slap landed on the back of his head. De’an, fuming but not daring to talk back, turned around with another eye roll. "Ma! What’d you hit me for again?"