Qi Jiao looked up, half puzzled. Her eyes were misty with moisture, and her beauty was breathtaking.
Pei Xia swallowed hard secretly. "Stop doing this. It's bad for your eyes."
Qi Jiao smiled faintly. "All right then. I'll do it tomorrow."
She took back the needle and thread from his hand and put them in the bamboo basket.
Suddenly, he grabbed her fair wrists and pressed her under him. His hot breath fanned against her hair, making it tickle. "Guess what I was thinking just now?"
She let out a soft cry and grabbed a handkerchief to cover her eyes, revealing her charming lips. Her coquettish look made his heart race.
He kissed the side of her fair collarbone. "I was trying to name the baby. I was just scratching my head when a little fairy came to steal my soul."
"Tsk. You're just weak - willed. Don't blame me."
She pushed his handsome face. "So, have you come up with a name?"
He stared at her intently, his lips curving up. "There's plenty of time to name the baby. There's something more important to do now. Jiao Niang, the three - month period is long over..."
Qi Jiao never expected him to be so naughty. A blush crept up her cheeks, like a drop of rich rouge melting into mutton - fat jade, so beautiful that one couldn't take their eyes off her.
Pei Xia's breathing became noticeably heavier.
His hand lifted the hem of her skirt and caressed her plump buttocks.
After all, Jiao Niang seemed to have truly turned into a water - made doll during pregnancy.
Her fair skin trembled like white jade and soft cheese.
From top to bottom, he began to kiss her patiently, finding every part of her adorable.
She looked shy on the surface, but her eyes were bright and fiery. One hand wrapped around his neck, and the other reached down into his inner robe.
He murmured against her lips. "I'll be very careful. Slowly..."
Slowly...
Men really couldn't be trusted.
Later, Jiao Niang just wanted to kick Pei Xia out of the bed.
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The production lines of Tang Han Weaving were all set up, but the export points hadn't been decided yet.
Qi Jiao was too tired to handle it personally, so she entrusted the task of finding shops to Third Sister Hua.
Qi Jiao trusted Third Sister Hua's work and just needed to pay her.
Third Sister Hua tried her best to find good shops as Qi Jiao asked.
Unfortunately, she had been targeted since she was out and about every day.
One afternoon, Qi Jiao was basking in the sun under the wisteria trellis in the yard when she suddenly heard a flurry of footsteps.
Yin Die ran in, out of breath. "Boss, it's bad. You'd better go and have a look."
Qi Jiao was startled and stood up. "What's going on?"
Yin Die's eyes were red. "Third Sister was beaten..."
Qi Jiao didn't care about her increasingly heavy body and rushed to the front like the wind.
She saw Third Sister Hua being carried back. The once - healthy woman was lying limp on the ground, with not a single uninjured part on her body.
Ye Pa was busy going to call the doctor. Hua Shuangshuang hugged Third Sister and cried loudly.
Qi Jiao's nose twitched, but she forced herself to calm down. "Quickly carry Third Sister to the room. Be careful not to bump her."
Ge Fan, A Le and others carefully carried Third Sister Hua in. The doctor arrived soon after.
While the doctor was treating her, Qi Jiao thanked the idle men who had brought Third Sister Hua back. "Thank you so much, gentlemen. May I ask where you found Third Sister and who beat her?"
These men were all fishmongers from nearby and were quite familiar with the people in Jiao Niang's Wine Shop.
The leading man recalled, "At noon, we were about to pack up and go home when we suddenly heard the sound of a man and a woman arguing in the two empty rooms in the vegetable market. We thought it was just someone passing by to take a rest, so we didn't pay much attention. But after about a quarter of an hour, the noise inside got louder and louder, as if someone was being beaten. So we rushed in with our tools. But that man was very alert and jumped out of the window and ran away when he heard us coming.
By that time, Third Sister was already lying on the ground. Since saving her was urgent, we brought her back first."
Qi Jiao had a premonition. She clenched her fists and asked calmly as much as possible, "I wonder what that man looked like. Did you see him?"
Another short - statured fishmonger said, "I only saw his side - face. He had a hooked nose and a fair complexion. He was tall... Oh, he was wearing a half - worn dark blue robe."
Qi Jiao said okay and bowed deeply to the fishmongers. "Thank you for saving Third Sister. I can't express my gratitude enough. Please accept this silver as a token of my appreciation."
Yin Die distributed the silver ingots to the fishmongers, each worth ten taels.
The fishmongers kept refusing, saying it was just a small favor, but Qi Jiao didn't allow them to decline. She asked Yin Die to see them off properly and then went back to the backyard to check on Third Sister's condition.
The doctor had already treated Third Sister's wounds and felt her pulse. "Fortunately, her internal organs weren't damaged. This lady was extremely angry, which affected her heart. I'll prescribe two kinds of medicine, one for internal conditioning and the other for external healing."
Qi Jiao quickly said, "Please write the prescription, doctor."
She looked back at Third Sister, who was lying weakly on the bed, and felt a surge of hatred. She walked over and stroked Shuangshuang's hair to comfort her. "Shuangshuang, you take good care of your mother here. I'm going out for a while."
Shuangshuang had stopped crying and was using a hot handkerchief to wipe Third Sister's face.
Third Sister's right eye was swollen, a large area of bruise. The injury to her right eye also affected her left eye, which could only be opened slightly.
Qi Jiao was about to leave when Third Sister Hua grabbed her hand. "Boss... I'm useless. He even robbed me of the silver..."
Qi Jiao closed her eyes and turned around to comfort her. "It doesn't matter. The silver is not important. I just want you to be safe. Third Sister, I'm going to the yamen now. Just tell me one thing. Is it him?"
Tears streamed down Third Sister Hua's temples. She nodded vigorously, her voice choked with sobs. "It's him. That brute."
Qi Jiao said she understood and turned around to ask A Le to prepare the carriage. "Go to the county yamen."
When commoners wanted to file a complaint, they had to follow the proper procedure and beat the drum in front of the county yamen to voice their grievances.
Filled with anger, Qi Jiao knocked on the door of the county yamen.
Coincidentally, Hui Zhenyu hadn't gone out. Qi Jiao was quickly invited in. She told the whole story of Third Sister Hua being robbed and beaten, and also repeated the testimonies of the fishmongers.
Qi Jiao still felt it wasn't enough and added, "This man is Third Sister's ex - husband, Shi Liang. Shi Liang abandoned her and Shuangshuang. I guess he ran out of money and came to ask Third Sister for it. The silver Third Sister had was for renting a shop for the store. When she refused, he got angry and beat her up, and even robbed all her belongings, not even sparing her hairpins and rings."
Lord Hui sighed and summoned his subordinates. "Did you all hear that? The case of Third Sister Hua being attacked and robbed will be handled by the head constable of the yamen runners. By the way, see if Pei Xia is around and ask him to go too. Send another team of people, pretending to be commoners, to secretly investigate the brothels and gambling houses in the county to see if there's a man named Shi Liang. If found, arrest him immediately."
After giving the orders, Qi Jiao breathed a sigh of relief. She bowed to Hui Zhenyu. "Thank you, my lord."
Hui Zhenyu waved his hand. "It's my dereliction of duty that such a thing happened under my jurisdiction."
After that, worried about Third Sister Hua's injury, Qi Jiao took her leave.