After seeing off Zhao Youcai and the others, Zhao Ce let out a sigh of relief. The mess left behind by the previous owner was one problem after another, and it had exhausted him by the end of the day. Now his mind was in a jumble, thinking only of the glorious past of the previous owner.

Rubbing his forehead, he remembered that there was a poor girl waiting for him. Zhao Ce closed the front door and walked towards the backyard. There was already a pile of dirty clothes in the wooden basin in the courtyard, and his bedspread was still hanging outside.

But he didn't see the girl anywhere. He heard some small sounds coming from inside the room, so he headed straight there. The door was wide open, and he scared the timid girl again. He knocked on the door before entering.

The room had been tidied up. The girl was standing in front of the clothes trunk, folding his clothes neatly. On one of the stools was a shabby little bundle. It was probably the one he had seen the girl carrying on their way back yesterday. Zhao Ce suspected it contained only old clothes for changing.

Su Caier heard the knock and turned to see Zhao Ce. She was about to call him 'husband', but then remembered that she would have to leave sooner or later. Her big eyes grew a little sad, and she lowered her eyelids.

Zhao Ce sat at his desk in the room, tapping it lightly, and asked, "Your name is Su Caier?" She gave a small nod, and silently finished folding the clothes in her hand. She closed the clothes trunk gently and walked slowly towards him.

The girl was almost sixteen years old but was short due to poor development. Standing in front of him, she was about the same height as he was sitting on the stool. Only her two small ears stood out.

Zhao Ce took a glance at her and quickly looked away. "I'm going to ask you some questions, and you have to answer truthfully, okay?" Su Caier nodded her head, without any objection.

Zhao Ce asked, "Will your eyes affect your ability to see things?" She shook her head, and seemed a little disappointed, whispering, "No, it won't."

Zhao Ce pointed to the long robe he was wearing and asked, "What color is this?" Su Caier lifted her eyelids and took a look, not understanding why he was suddenly asking about the color of his clothes. "Is it... Blue?"

Zhao Ce also looked down at his robe. It looked new, probably bought specifically for his visit to the brothel. It was a common type of robe worn by scholars in the Ming Dynasty, known as Mingqing. It could also be considered a shade of blue. Zhao Ce said, "Not bad."

It seemed that her vision was not affected after all, which was a relief to Zhao Ce. He had not meant to discriminate against her. At least her legs were okay, which would not affect her daily life. If her vision was also poor, it would be too much for her.

After hearing Zhao Ce's words, Su Caier blinked her eyes in confusion. But then she felt embarrassed about her eyes again and lowered her head. She murmured softly, "The clothes are all folded."

"There are no more clean ones left, and husband will need this one tonight. I'll take it off for you tomorrow morning and wash it with the dirty clothes. Then..."

Su Caier took a deep breath and smiled at Zhao Ce.

"After I finish washing tomorrow, I will leave."

Zhao Ce looked at her sad face with the words "I don't want to leave" written all over it, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Leave? Where are you going?"

"You're leaving, do you still have to finish the work for me before you go?"

Su Caier thought to herself that her husband knew she was leaving and was so happy about it. It seemed that her decision was correct.

Her husband was a scholar and it wasn't easy for him to lower his face and let her go. But he was also a good person, and she couldn't let him suffer any consequences because of her.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Yesterday when I came back, I saw a mountain nearby."

"I'll go live in a cave in the deep mountains."

At this moment, Zhao Ce, who had already silently swallowed a "good person card," raised his eyebrows.

"A cave?"

"There are not only wolves but also big insects in the mountains."

"With your small body, the big insects can eat you in one bite."

"Aren't you afraid?"

After Zhao Ce finished speaking, the little girl trembled in fear.

"I, I don't have any meat, I'm not tasty."

"Big insects..."

"Big insects can eat animals with meat!"

Zhao Ce couldn't help but laugh again.

Just now in the hall, he had been talking with Zhao Youcai and others for so long that he was really tired. But now that he had teased this little girl, he felt much more relaxed.

However, this little girl had too small of a courage, and it wasn't good to tease her too much.

Zhao Ce said, "Since that's the case, don't leave."

"I spent money to marry you back, although we haven't gotten the marriage certificate yet, we are already husband and wife."

"Since we are husband and wife, this is also your home."

"Just stay here with peace of mind."

After Zhao Ce finished speaking, the little girl suddenly raised her head.

Her eyes were shining as she looked at him.

"Can I really stay?"

"But my eyes..."

Zhao Ce said, "Of course, you can stay."

"Your eyes are just sick."

"It doesn't affect your life, so don't worry about it."

Su Caier murmured, "Sick?"

So her husband had asked her if she could see earlier to diagnose her condition.

Her husband even knew how to diagnose and treat her illness!

No wonder her husband saw her eyes without any surprise or saying anything about her being a monster or a calamity.

Zhao Ce continued, "I almost ruined the house before and there isn't much money left."

"If you stay, we can only go through hardships together."

Su Caier quickly said, "I'm not afraid of hardships!"

"I can take care of myself at home, doing laundry, cooking, and tending to the fields. I can even chop firewood in the mountains."

"I can do everything!"

"As long as I work harder, I will definitely not let my husband go hungry!"

Hearing this little girl's strong words, Zhao Ce couldn't help but smile and say, "Okay."

"Then I'll have to trouble you from now on."

"I'm not good at cleaning the house."

"You can start by cleaning up here, and I'll go organize the study."

Su Cai’er nodded heavily and her voice suddenly became cheerful.

"I'll work hard!"

Leaving the happy girl to continue tidying up in the room, Zhao Ce walked out of the door.

Looking at the setting sun, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, everything had been resolved for the day.

As for other problems, he could deal with them later.

The most important thing now was to figure out a way to make some money, because the moldy rice in the rice jar wouldn't last for long.

He couldn't rely on the young girl to support him.

As he walked, he thought to himself, "How can I make money?"

"I'm good at calligraphy, so why not take on some copywriting jobs in the city?"

"I remember that copying a book could earn me sixty or seventy coins, and with my good calligraphy skills, I could probably charge even more."

"But I think you need a deposit to take on copywriting jobs."

He had seen in the morning that the original owner had spent almost all his money on a courtesan the day before, leaving himself very poor.

He had no capital to start with, which made things difficult.

As he looked at the distant mountains, he wondered if he should go hunting up there.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard knocking on the door again.

Zhao Ce was already getting a headache from the sound of knocking.

He walked over to open the door and saw Zhao Youcai, who had returned with a small cloth bag in hand.

When he saw Zhao Ce, he gave him a silly grin and handed over the bag, saying, "Ce'er just got married, so we need to have a good meal tonight."

"My house doesn't have anything prepared, so use these for now."

"You don't look too good today."

"Drink some sugar water to give yourself some energy."

Zhao Ce was confused by this.

What did he need energy for?

Uncle, your smile is a little ambiguous!

Before he could think further, Zhao Youcai said, "If you hear anything from your aunt in the next few days, don't pay attention to her."

"That woman can't keep her mouth shut."

Without waiting for Zhao Ce to refuse, he turned and left.

Zhao Ce held the small cloth bag in his hand and looked at Zhao Youcai's slightly hunched back.

He couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"I said so many hurtful words before, but I still receive such sincere treatment."

"It's not right to live just to please those who don't matter."

"It's better to live well and fight for those who care about you."