The sounds coming from the east wing made Pei Li and Pei Jin look at each other, both of them chuckling.
Suddenly, Tang Guiniang led a group of aunts, women and children from the village back.
Pei Jin quickly went to the window of the east wing, coughed twice and said loudly, "Mother's back! Oh, the aunts are here too. Come in and take a seat quickly."
Qi Jiao was startled and quickly got up from the couch.
Pei Xia grabbed Qi Jiao's hand and stared firmly at her. "Promise me. Otherwise, I won't let you out."
Qi Jiao burst out laughing. "I promise you, but you have to promise me one thing too."
Pei Xia was overjoyed. His eyes sparkled. "Just say it. I'll agree to anything."
Qi Jiao turned around, cupped his face. "If you want to marry me, you have to abide by male virtue for all your lives."
Pei Xia was speechless. His obsidian-like eyes were full of question marks. "What is male virtue?"
Qi Jiao laughed out loud. "Male virtue is just the opposite of female virtue. It's the virtue that a man should abide by as a husband, such as being faithful to one's wife for life."
Hearing this, Pei Xia let out a sigh of relief. "I thought it was some tricky condition."
He chuckled softly, holding her hand, his voice firm. "If I, Pei Xia, can marry Jiao Niang as my wife, I'll never go west if she points east. I'll never kill a chicken if she beats a dog. Even if she calls a deer a horse, I won't dare to disobey the slightest bit. I'll keep my body and mind pure for all my lives and dedicate them all to my beloved wife, Jiao Niang."
Hearing his solemn yet playful words, Qi Jiao's face blushed even more. She scraped his good-looking lips with her finger. "You're so glib-tongued. Did you learn from a storyteller?"
Pei Xia just smiled. "Since I said it, I'll do it."
He knew that although Jiao Niang seemed easy-tempered, she had a very upright mind and was extremely determined.
How could he dare to do anything to make her sad?
He wished he could hold her in his mouth, but was afraid she would melt.
Qi Jiao nodded, quite satisfied. Then she kissed his chin. "Stop being so clingy. There must be something going on outside. A Jin is calling me."
The corners of Pei Xia's lips curled up slightly. He stroked Qi Jiao's skirt and tidied her hair, then took her hand. "Okay, let's go out."
The women in the village explained their purpose.
Qi Jiao originally thought the snacks weren't worth much. They were all villagers, so she could just give them away.
But people had different levels of closeness, and the pastries were limited. If she gave them to one family and then had none left for another, wouldn't she just invite complaints for no reason?
So she quickly calculated the cost of the ingredients in her mind and set a price.
"A salted egg yolk pastry costs 6 wen each. The ox tongue cookies and hawthorn pastries cost 5 wen each. As for the milk fans, since I got a small amount today, I won't sell them. Next time when I make more, I'll definitely let everyone know in advance."
"Okay, okay. No matter what, my son has been clamoring to eat. Jiao Niang, give me two pieces of each of the three kinds."
"I want some too. I'll take them back for my granddaughter as snacks."
"I don't have any grandchildren. Wrap two salted egg yolk pastries for me. I'll eat them myself."
...
For a moment, it seemed as if the things were free. Everyone was afraid they wouldn't be able to grab any.
In less than two quarters of an hour, all the snacks Qi Jiao had set aside were sold out.
She secretly thought it was a good thing she had packed the snacks for Miss Guo in advance.
It seemed that these pastries were quite popular in Baiyun Village.
By analogy, if she took them to the county town to sell, would the business be good?
Realizing this, Qi Jiao immediately decided to work overtime and make another batch during the night.
Tang Guiniang wanted to help her, but Qi Jiao insisted on persuading her to go to sleep. "Mother, you've worked hard in the fields during the day. You can't stay up late anymore."
As for Pei Li and Pei Jin, Qi Jiao refused their help as well. "You two are still growing. Lack of sleep at night will make you not grow tall."
Pei Li immediately went back to his room and turned off the light.
Pei Jin laughed. She thoughtfully made two bowls of vinegar noodle soup and told Pei Xia to help Qi Jiao well.
Pei Xia couldn't have asked for more.
After getting along for these days, Pei Xia had figured out Qi Jiao's general way of doing things, so they cooperated quite tacitly.
Before they knew it, it was the third watch. Another fifty salted egg yolk pastries were made.
Qi Jiao was so sleepy that she kept yawning and there were tears in her eyes.
The two returned to the east wing and naturally slept in the same bed.
Qi Jiao was in a daze. She only felt that Pei Xia beside her was warm, so she turned over and hugged him tightly.
The next day, both of them got up late.
When Qi Jiao woke up, she found herself hanging on Pei Xia like an octopus. She blushed deeply.
As usual, Pei Xia was shameless. He pulled her and kissed her affectionately again.
After that, Qi Jiao hurriedly washed and dressed up. She deliberately changed into new clothes and even put on the Xiuyu bracelet that Tang Guiniang had given her.
Pei Xia knew that she was going to visit Miss Guo in the Guo Mansion. He didn't touch any of the seafood they had caught yesterday and asked Qi Jiao to take it all to the Guo Mansion.
If Miss Guo hadn't let Jiao Niang out of the mansion, there wouldn't have been their subsequent encounter.
Speaking of which, Pei Xia felt a little nervous. By accident, they had achieved the best result.
Pei Xia sent Qi Jiao to the west corner gate of the Guo Mansion and stuffed two pieces of silver into her hand. "Go by yourself. If it's not easy to see Miss Guo, just give some bribes. I'll wait for you in the teahouse opposite."
Qi Jiao smiled at him. "I know. I'll come out soon."
Only then did Pei Xia let go of her hand and watched Qi Jiao lift her skirt and enter the corner gate.
Since Qi Jiao had been in Miss Guo's favor in the past and was the top-ranking maid beside the young lady, most of the stewards and servants in the mansion recognized her.
Qi Jiao successfully met the stewardess at the corner gate. She chatted with her for a few words and said that she had come to visit Miss Guo.
She also put a piece of silver in the stewardess's palm and presented two silver pomfrets to her.
"I really appreciate your steward for helping me prove my innocence last time. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome."
"What's the big deal! You're an old servant in the mansion and used to be the young lady's confidant. How could we just watch you being bullied by outsiders?"
The stewardess had also heard about Qi Jiao's matter and had sighed for her for a while.
Unexpectedly, when they met today, Jiao Niang's beautiful eyes were bright and her skin was moist. She looked in excellent spirits.
Although her clothes were ordinary, it could be seen that she was living a good life in her husband's family.
The stewardess, like the steward, was highly trusted by the Guo family. She was always very dignified and had seen countless gold and silver in her hands. How could she accept her money?
Seeing that Qi Jiao was sincere, she only kept the silver pomfrets and said happily, "The young lady and her husband arrived this morning. They're talking to the madam in her room now. You go to her courtyard and wait. I'm sure the young lady will be back in her courtyard soon."
Qi Jiao said okay and simply handed all the seafood in her hand to the stewardess and asked her to transfer them to the kitchen.
The stewardess was even more certain that Jiao Niang was living a good life. She told the servant boy to send the seafood to the kitchen properly. "Tell the cook that it's from Jiao Niang beside the young lady and her husband. Ask the kitchen to cook them today to show respect to the masters."
Then she called over a little maid. "Take your Sister Jiao Niang to Shutong Courtyard."
The little maid should have just entered the Guo Mansion not long ago. Her smile was shy and awkward. "Sister Jiao Niang, come with me."
Qi Jiao thanked the stewardess with a smile and followed the little maid to the inner courtyard.
On the covered corridor, Guo Lingjia was strolling around boredly, followed by six or seven maids and servants.
When his elder sister returned to her natal home, he was confined at home and couldn't go out.
It was so boring!
Counting the days, he hadn't been to Madam Fu's place for half a month. He really missed her.
While Guo Lingjia was daydreaming, a beautiful young woman suddenly appeared in his sight.
Guo Lingjia was so stunned that he couldn't take his eyes off the young woman. He stared at her until she disappeared. Only when the people around him called him several times did he withdraw his gaze.