Qin Fang listened, feeling somewhat helpless.

He squatted down and took out a wooden box from his arms, then handed it to Yang Haiyan. “May 18th is your birthday. I couldn’t come back to celebrate it with you while I was in the military, so here’s my belated gift. Yanyan, happy birthday.”

He felt a bit nervous when presenting it, worried that she might not like it.

He had seen an old man buying wooden hairpins at the market, which inspired him to carve one as a gift for her.

However, using ordinary wood wouldn’t be suitable.

He heard about a type of wood that had a pleasant fragrance, so he asked General Ao to help him look for some in the county.

General Ao delegated the task to Ao Yiren, and it took over a month before they found it.

During that month, whenever he had free time, Qin Fang practiced making wooden hairpins, and he finally managed to learn how.

Fortunately, Qin Fang was already skilled with a knife, which made carving the hairpin less difficult.

However, the past month had been quite a challenge for him.

Yang Haiyan stared at the wooden box, somewhat dazed; it had been a long time since she received a birthday gift.

Noticing her lost expression, Qin Fang asked, “What’s wrong? If you don’t like it, it’s fine; I can choose something else next time.”

Yang Haiyan shook her head, managing a somewhat forced smile, yet that forced smile also carried her happiness and gratitude.

Since arriving in this world, she hadn’t paid attention to the original owner’s birthday and hadn’t celebrated it.

In her previous life, she didn’t even know when her birthday was.

Her great-grandmother would celebrate her birthday every year, but that date was when her great-grandmother found her, not her true birthday.

After all, who could know the real birthday of a discarded child?

So, after her great-grandmother passed away, she hadn’t celebrated her birthday again because it wasn’t her true birthday, and she felt it wasn’t meaningful to celebrate.

Perhaps there was also an element of stubbornness; she simply didn’t want to celebrate her birthday.

Yet she hadn’t expected that Qin Fang would prepare a gift.

She opened the wooden box, and a faint fragrance wafted out, not like sandalwood, but with a sense of timelessness.

Yang Haiyan took out the hairpin, which was black, understated yet mysterious. It was carved with a flying swallow.

As she ran her fingers over it, it felt incredibly smooth, showing how well Qin Fang had polished it. “Husband, help me put it on,” she said, handing the hairpin to Qin Fang.

Qin Fang’s heart finally relaxed.

He inserted the hairpin into Yang Haiyan’s hair bun.

Initially, her hair bun had nothing in it, but with the addition of the wooden hairpin, it looked distinct.

Qin Fang said, “Done.”

Yang Haiyan reached up to touch it. “Go get a mirror; I want to check how it looks.”

Qin Fang went to her vanity and brought back a mirror.

The copper mirror wasn’t as blurry as people thought; it reflected a clear image, just not as bright as modern mirrors.

Qin Fang nervously asked, “How does it look?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “It looks great; thank you, husband.” With the hairpin, she appeared gentler and more refined, and she liked it very much. “I’ll wear it every day from now on.”

Qin Fang’s lips slowly curled into a smile. “Good.”

Granny Lian called from the doorway, “Madam, shall we start the meal?”

Yang Haiyan slipped on her slippers. “Let’s eat.”

Her ankle still hurt a bit, and as she walked, she felt as if the snake’s saliva was coursing through her body, leaving a lingering aftereffect.

---

Han Family

Yang Dahua was seven months pregnant, entering her eighth month.

Thanks to the nourishing effects of goat milk and eggs, she was doing quite well; her belly was larger than that of other women also seven months pregnant, but it wasn’t particularly big.

At the beginning of the pregnancy, everything was fine, but now that she was further along, Han Zhen was running back and forth between the military camp and their family residence, worried something might happen to Yang Dahua.

Today, Han Zhen finished his night shift early and returned home early in the morning.

After catching up on some sleep, the couple had lunch together.

Han Zhen said, “I have some free time these days, and your belly is getting bigger; let’s hire someone to take care of you for the next six months until your postpartum period is over.”

Yang Dahua hesitated. “Doesn’t that cost money?”

After giving birth, she would also need someone to help with the baby, and for the coming year, she wouldn’t be able to earn any money.

So for her now, she wouldn’t even want to spend a single copper coin.

Han Zhen said, “Money can be earned back, but what if something happens to you? When I’m on duty during the day and come home at night, you’re safer. But if I’m on duty at night and you’re alone, what will you do? Let’s hire someone to help.”

Yang Dahua understood this reasoning, so she only murmured a bit and didn’t refuse because she cared deeply for her children. “Well, I have an idea.”

Han Zhen asked, “What idea?”

Yang Dahua replied, “Hiring someone is troublesome. Why not ask the neighbor’s wife to help us? We can pay her monthly. We trust someone familiar much more than a stranger.”

Han Zhen thought this made sense.

After lunch, the couple went to talk to the neighbor’s captain’s wife about this arrangement.

The neighbor’s captain’s wife was happy to help since she could take care of Yang Dahua while still managing her own household.

They agreed on a price: two hundred wen a month for taking care of Yang Dahua’s meals, buying groceries, washing clothes, and cooking.

Yang Haiyan quickly learned about this.

The next day, Qin Fang took Kun Shi and the other guards to the mountains.

With a debt of six taels of silver, he felt a lot of pressure and worked hard to earn money, even on his day off.

The only way Qin Fang made money was through hunting.

However, the guards’ families were pleased because when the adults went hunting, it meant they would have meat to eat.

Other captains occasionally took their guards to hunt as well, but no one was as enthusiastic as Qin Fang.

Qin Fang left early, and when Yang Haiyan woke up, he was already gone.

“Madam…” Aunt Fan rushed in after bringing Yang Dahua sheep’s milk.

Seeing Yang Haiyan eating breakfast and drinking wonton soup, she bowed. “Madam, today when I delivered the sheep’s milk to Mrs. Han, I saw that she’s hiring someone.”

Yang Haiyan was puzzled. “Hiring someone?”

Aunt Fan explained, “Isn’t that right? Mrs. Han is pregnant and will soon give birth, so it’s inconvenient for her to do everything by herself. She hired the neighbor’s captain’s wife to help her for two hundred wen a month.”

Yang Haiyan said, “That’s understandable; giving birth is a big deal, and she needs to be careful as her belly grows.”

“Exactly,” Aunt Fan agreed.

Aunt Fan and Granny Lian both knew that Yang Haiyan and Qin Fang had not consummated their marriage.

Since they were bought, the couple had never shared a bed. As experienced women, they could tell.

Aunt Fan wondered why Yang Haiyan and Qin Fang hadn’t been intimate, but Granny Lian understood that getting pregnant too early was not good for women.

Still, many women rushed to have children after marriage to win their husband’s heart and secure their position in the family.

Granny Lian thought that Yang Haiyan was living a better life without jealousy.

Although a captain’s position was low, in Yongzhou and in the family housing, it was still a respectable status, and no one looked down on her.

Moreover, the Qin family was from the countryside and of humble origin, so the elders didn’t pressure Yang Haiyan.

Additionally, she had her own means and could earn money.

Granny Lian believed that life was good. For more than half a year, living with Yang Haiyan, who didn’t engage in scheming, made her happy.

At noon, after finishing his meal, Qin Shoucheng looked at Yang Haiyan, wanting to say something but feeling shy.

Seeing this, Yang Haiyan asked curiously, “Shoucheng, do you have something to say?”

Qin Shoucheng said, “Sister-in-law, the day after tomorrow is my classmate Wei Yanglin’s birthday, and he invited me to his house to play.”

Wei Yanglin was the grandson of a landlord in town and was eight years old.

Qin Shoucheng’s classmates were younger than him because he started school later.

The Wei family didn’t run a business; they owned a lot of land and were quite well-known in town.

Yang Haiyan was very happy to hear this. “Of course you should go! It’s great that you can make friends.”

She was pleased that Qin Shoucheng was so well-behaved and required no worry from her.

Whether studying in school or training with the guards, he was very serious.

Yang Haiyan only had to take care of the daily meals; otherwise, she didn’t need to interfere.

“Should I prepare a gift?” This was Qin Shoucheng’s first invitation, and he felt nervous and concerned.

Back home, he didn’t need to prepare anything when invited to play, but he knew that it was different among classmates.

Yang Haiyan replied, “Of course you should prepare something. Do you have any ideas?”

Qin Shoucheng said, “I plan to give him a pen. I checked the study room when I came back from school today.”

Yang Haiyan said, “Then let Granny Lian give you the money to buy the pen later.”

Qin Shoucheng quickly shook his head. “No need, sister-in-law. I have my own money; I haven’t spent the allowance you give me yet.” Yang Haiyan gave him fifty wen every month as pocket money.

Qin Siya didn’t know this; she gave Qin Shoucheng the allowance because he was well-behaved.

Sometimes, he needed money to buy food when socializing with classmates at school.

If he didn’t have money, it wouldn’t be good for his interactions.

As for Qin Siya, she rewarded her for recognizing characters, so she didn’t receive a monthly allowance.

In a way, it was a different form of allowance, just under a different name.

After all, Qin Shoucheng didn’t receive rewards for recognizing characters—different people had different methods.

Yang Haiyan smiled. “That’s fine; you can prepare it yourself. If you run out of money, just tell your sister-in-law.” She didn’t force him.

Seeing that Yang Haiyan didn’t object, Qin Shoucheng happily said, “Okay, I’ll go back to my room now.”

Yang Haiyan nodded. “Go ahead.”

After Qin Shoucheng left, Yang Haiyan said to Granny Lian, “It’s rare for Shoucheng’s classmate to have a birthday; we can’t let him down. We should prepare a gift as well. What do you think would be good?”