Chapter 68

Chapter 68

After the tea ceremony and the presentation of the tea ceremony gifts.

Han's mother and the others kept Shen Qinglan to chat for a while, advising him on family dynamics, and insisted he finish the nourishing turtle soup before finally letting the young couple go.

Back in their room.

Shen Qinglan, both embarrassed and angry, pushed Han Zhang away again, practically fuming.

"This is all your fault, all your fault... Who was it who said we'd be fine if we kept our voices down? Last night, Father and Mother probably didn't hear the commotion in our room, but having Qiao Dong and Qiao Xi boil water and run around was just like burying our heads in the sand!"

"Now look... boohoo... I'm too ashamed to show my face... I should never have listened to your nonsense."

The young lad had never heard of social death, but right now he just wanted to crawl into a hole.

He covered his face, shedding crocodile tears to show Han Zhang how wronged he felt and to make him hurry up and comfort him.

Han Zhang of course noticed; what else could he do?

He could only honestly admit his mistake, holding him and covering his face with kisses for a long while before soothing his shy, wronged young husband.

Once he stopped fake-crying.

Han Zhang took out a wooden box and offered it to him, coaxing: "Husband, stop being mad at me, okay? This is my secret stash, and now it's all yours to manage."

"Really? Then you're giving this to me of your own accord, not because I asked for it. Don't later complain that I'm bossing you around or that I'm a tyrannical husband..."

Since his husband voluntarily handed over his private money, Shen Qinglan accepted it without any hesitation!

His (Shen Qinglan's) mother used to say that men with money go bad, so he had to keep a close watch on his husband's personal funds.

He opened the box delightedly to count the cash, then was shocked: "Husband, you've got over 600 taels stashed away?"

That sum might be no big deal to him, but for Han Zhang, it was pretty impressive.

Wasn't his husband supposed to be broke? How'd he secretly save up so much?

Han Zhang explained: "Remember I know how to grow flowers? To breed those top-quality flowers I sent to your house earlier requires a ton of effort and luck, but ordinary plants are a piece of cake."

"Ever since I mastered flower cultivation, I've been regularly growing plants and selling them to flower shops, for anywhere from a few dozen coins to a few taels—it slowly added up."

"After that, I also got some royalties from 'A Tale of Two Souls'. And that 'Thousand-hand Guanyin' orchid you helped me sell made over a thousand taels..."

"After I deducted what I spent on books, stationery, helping the family, and organizing our wedding... this is all that's left."

As they say, knowledge is power, and knowledge is wealth.

The more skills and broader vision you have, the more ways you have to get resources.

So for Han Zhang, when it came to earning money or making political achievements to get promoted, the issue wasn't whether he could succeed, but what consequences his ideas and the things he presented would bring.

That's why it's not surprising that many time travelers feel a sense of superiority in ancient times.

Because time travelers truly stand on the shoulders of giants and know too much!

But Shen Qinglan didn't know all this, so he only thought Han Zhang was incredibly talented.

"Truly worthy of being the husband I chose. Husband, you are just too... too... too amazing!"

Shen Qinglan threw himself onto Han Zhang and gave him several exaggerated kisses on the face as praise.

Han Zhang was very pleased with his husband's affection and continued: "Husband, I know this money might be just a drop in the bucket for you, but between a married couple, honesty and mutual support are precious."

"Although I can't contribute much right now, I feel that I shouldn't really do nothing and leave the burden of supporting the family on you. That wouldn't be the act of a true gentleman, and it would weigh heavily on my conscience."

"So I was thinking, after our return visit, of using 100 taels of this money to rent a house near the academy, another 100 taels for daily household expenses... and the remaining 400 taels to open a flower shop and a tea house."

Seeing his husband's ambition and his desire to plan for their small future, Shen Qinglan was naturally happy to support him.

He quickly nodded in encouragement: "Husband, you're skilled in flower cultivation. There are many nobles in the capital who host banquets all the time, so opening a flower shop could indeed be very profitable!"

"But as for the tea house... there are already too many tea houses in the capital. Without a unique feature, it might be hard to make a good profit."

The more common a business is, the harder it is to succeed because the market profits have already been carved up by predecessors.

Han Zhang nodded: "I understand your concern, Husband. So, the tea house we want to open, besides offering what others have—like music, storytelling, acrobatics, and the usual pastimes for scholars—will focus on the content of the storybooks and the tea snacks."

"For tea snacks, I'll use those cream cakes, mille-feuille cakes, pork floss buns, snow-skin mochi I made before..."

"As for the storybook content... I have quite a few new ideas for storybooks, like: 'The Domineering Husband Falls in Love with Me', 'The 108 Treasures of Me and the Childless Prince', 'The Evil Prime Minister Pinches My Waist with Red Eyes', 'I, Break the Sky with One Sword', 'Starting with Breaking Off the Engagement, Civil Service Exam and Promotion'..."

"I can't write all of these myself, so we'll hire some scholars good at writing storybooks to flesh them out. What do you think, Husband? Is our tea house feasible?"

Han Zhang briefly outlined his ideas.

Shen Qinglan's eyes widened, and he became so excited his face turned red:

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Husband, you're a genius at writing storybooks. Based on my eighteen years of experience reading storybooks, just the titles alone are enough to make people unable to resist!"

What domineering husband falling in love with me, what pinching the waist with red eyes... just thinking about it got him excited.

"Husband, what on earth is in that head of yours? How do you come up with so many brilliant ideas? Unlike other scholars, who only obsess over noble ladies and poor scholars, the same old story!"

Shen Qinglan's look of admiration for Han Zhang was truly overwhelming.

How could his Brother Han be so amazing?

Han Zhang was also charmed by his husband's adoring gaze, couldn't help straightening his back, and showed off with a cocky, youthful arrogance:

"I hold the sun and moon, pluck the stars; there is no one like me in this world. I tread on yin and yang, stabilize the universe; today, I alone reign supreme in literature... Husband, you should know that people are different from each other. Your husband was born a celestial genius."

He looked as if he were immensely awesome.

That made Shen Qinglan burst into laughter, holding his stomach and tilting his head back: "Hahaha, husband, I only now realize you are even more narcissistic than I am."

"I am just so talented. Watch, Husband, in the future, I will surely earn you a splendid future."

Han Zhang hugged his laughing husband and gave him a kiss as a promise.

Shen Qinglan also reached out to wrap his arms around his neck, his eyebrows curved like crescent moons as he nodded: "Husband, I believe you."

No matter what others thought, in his eyes, his husband was a dragon among men.

He believed his husband would one day soar high like a dragon.

...

The entire Han family treated Shen Qinglan like a golden child. For the sake of their son and grandson's future, Han's mother and Grandma Han were too busy caring for him to impose any rules on him like other mothers-in-law did.

Han Zhang was now in a honeymoon phase with him, always feeling that no matter how much he spoiled his husband, it was never enough.

So after their marriage, Shen Qinglan was truly living in bliss. During the day, he was joyfully cherished by the Han family, and at night, he was comfortably attended to by Han Zhang. He was absolutely radiant.

On the third day, the day for the newlywed to return to his mother's home,

Madam Shen saw her son, who was obviously glowing with happiness. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but in the end, she sighed with relief and smiled.

"What have they been feeding you over at the Han's? How come you've put on weight in just three days?"

In fact, he hadn't gained weight; it was just that he was in such a good mood that his face was rosy and he looked fuller.

Hearing this, Shen Qinglan was a bit embarrassed. He quickly touched his waist and, just because he was thinking about it, felt that he really had gained weight. He couldn't help complaining, with a mix of sweetness and worry:

"Mother, have I really gained a ring? Ah, it's all my husband's fault!"

"I told him we shouldn't just eat and sleep, eat and sleep, but he just wouldn't listen. Since we got married, we haven't left the house at all. How could I not gain weight? What should I do with my new clothes?"

What? They hadn't left the house since getting married?

Madam Shen's face turned red: "... Son, you really don't see your mother as an outsider."

Then it hit her. Madam Shen was both angry and worried: "You haven't left the house since marriage? Lan Geer, how could you forget what I told you before you left? How could you let that Han kid carry on like that?"

"And that Han kid, too—he looks like such a proper gentleman, so how could he be so rough? Doesn't he know how to take care of his husband at all? He's only thinking about his own pleasure, not caring about your health..."

As she spoke, she called to the nanny beside her and ordered: "Nanny Zhang, quickly find a medical woman to examine Lan Geer down there."

"This... How on earth would that be examined?"

Shen Qinglan, who had just become sexually active and understood such matters, blushed deeply: "No need, mother! I'm fine, I don't need to see a medical woman."

Saying that, he quickly stood up and jumped a few times to prove himself: "Mother, look, I can run and jump. If you don't believe me, I can even crack a whip for you!"

It was too embarrassing to see a medical woman for that matter.

He hopped around without any difficulty, so he did seem very healthy.

But Madam Shen was still worried: "Then let a doctor take your pulse."

Her son was too naive; she wouldn't feel at ease without a doctor's check.

Shen Qinglan had no choice but to blush and let his mother call a doctor to take his pulse. Only after the doctor said, "The young master is as healthy as a horse," did Madam Shen relent.

Then she kept prying indirectly to find out how her son was doing in his husband's household.

After all, Lan Geer was young; sometimes he wouldn't even realize if he was being bullied. It took her, the old ginger, to set things straight!