Because the door was open, Granny Lian walked in.

When she saw the scene inside, she was taken aback. “Oh my, my lady, what kind of hairstyle is this?”

Looking at the light green dress that the lady was wearing, it looked very beautiful, but the hairstyle… for some reason, Granny Lian found it too familiar.

Yang Haiyan smiled slightly and then asked, “Granny, is this hairstyle not pretty?”

Just as Granny Lian was about to answer, she felt the piercing gaze of someone next to her.

Turning her head, she saw the general looking at her with a threatening glare.

Granny Lian was startled.

No wonder she found the hairstyle familiar; it resembled the general’s hairstyle or rather, a man’s hairstyle.

When it was on a man, it didn’t seem strange, but on a woman, it felt very uncomfortable.

Granny Lian wanted to say it didn’t look good, but she changed her words: “My lady, what made you think of styling your hair like a man’s?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “This was styled by the general; he ruined my hairstyle and compensated me with this one. By the way, Granny, the general mentioned that he wants to learn how to style women’s hair from you. You must teach him well!”

Granny Lian felt as if she had just heard a thunderclap.

Deeply influenced by ancient ideas, Granny Lian could hardly imagine such things.

She looked at Qin Fang, and her expression was indescribably shocked.

Qin Fang also felt a bit awkward; mainly, he thought Granny Lian was being overly dramatic.

Did she really need to look at him like that?

Yang Haiyan couldn’t help but laugh.

To ease the tension, she asked, “Granny, what are we having for breakfast today?”

Upon hearing this, Granny Lian hurriedly replied, “I made chicken soup this morning, using a chicken that was freshly killed early today. I used some shredded chicken to make soup for you and the general, and the rest will be cooked as braised chicken pieces for lunch.”

Yang Haiyan said, “Later, the general and I will be going out, so we won’t be back for lunch. You can cook it for dinner instead.”

Granny Lian replied, “Then I’ll freeze it to prevent it from spoiling in this hot weather.”

The shredded chicken soup that Granny Lian made was not greasy at all, and the chicken was simmered for a long time, making it very flavorful.

After drinking the chicken soup, Yang Haiyan and Qin Fang went out without anyone following them.

As they stepped out of the general’s residence, Yang Haiyan felt as if she were breathing fresh air.

Qin Fang looked at her and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you enjoy going out this much?”

He knew she had a lively personality, but he didn’t usually restrict her.

Yang Haiyan shook her head: “It’s not so much about enjoying going out, but rather who I’m with when I do.”

This was interesting. Qin Fang immediately understood. “From now on, I’ll accompany you every month on my days off.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “Then you should take me hunting.”

Qin Fang thought for a moment: “Let’s wait until autumn for that; it’s too hot now, and there are many bugs in the mountains. Your skin is so fair; it wouldn’t look good if a bug bit you.”

Yang Haiyan giggled and linked her arm with his: “I’ll listen to you.”

The greatest asset of the original owner’s body was its skin; it was genuinely nice.

The original owner had lived near Miss Yang and had eaten plenty of what Miss Yang couldn’t finish, which meant she had been raised to be fair and tender.

With someone of Miss Yang’s status, she ate very carefully, which benefited the original owner and now benefited Yang Haiyan.

As they walked along the road, several women and men passed by and noticed Yang Haiyan and Qin Fang.

Some looked curiously, while others whispered among themselves.

It must be said that the clothes and hairstyle Yang Haiyan wore didn’t quite match, and it was too affectionate for a woman to link arms with a man in public according to ancient customs, which made them uncomfortable.

However, Yang Haiyan didn’t mind these opinions. “Husband, let’s go to the ready-made clothing store first; I want to buy a set of men’s clothing to change into.”

Yang Haiyan didn’t care what others thought, and Qin Fang cared even less.

He hoped that others wouldn’t notice how wonderful his wife was and wouldn’t see her beauty. “Alright.”

They headed to the ready-made clothing store, which Yang Haiyan was very familiar with.

Previously, when the Qin family came, this was the store that brought ready-made clothes and materials to their door.

When the female shopkeeper saw Yang Haiyan, she was momentarily taken aback: “I’ve met the lady before; lady, what’s going on?”

She then glanced at the tall man beside Yang Haiyan, thinking he was too striking.

After some thought, the shopkeeper said, “I’ve seen the general.” The only man who could make the lady behave so affectionately on the street was none other than General Qin.

It was her first time seeing General Qin, and it was also the first time she saw such a tall man.

Not to mention General Qin’s imposing physique, even his cold expression intimidated her, making her hesitate to look at him too much.

Yang Haiyan said, “Shopkeeper, I want a full set of men’s clothing; please help me choose.”

She then turned to Qin Fang and said, “Husband, you wait outside. Otherwise, other ladies might feel embarrassed coming in.”

Qin Fang nodded and turned to leave.

The female shopkeeper selected two sets of youth outfits for Yang Haiyan—one in sky blue and the other in white, both favored by the students at the academy.

“Young Master, how do you find these two sets? There aren’t many ready-made clothes, mainly suitable for this body type,” she explained, indicating that they were specifically made for students.

Yang Haiyan was 163 cm tall, which was not short among women, but in men’s clothing, it gave her the stature of a young boy.

Therefore, if she were to wear ready-made clothes, it would have to be those made for young scholars, or else she would have to have something custom-made.

Yang Haiyan looked at the two colors and favored the sky blue: “I’ll try this one on.”

The shopkeeper led Yang Haiyan into the fitting room and waited by the door.

Yang Haiyan quickly emerged wearing the sky blue youth outfit, and with her hairstyle styled like a boy’s, she looked just like a delicate young lad.

Moreover, with her tender and fair complexion, anyone who didn’t know her would think she was some young master out to have fun.

The clothing store didn’t have a full-length mirror; only a bronze mirror was available, which was just a half-body one, about the size of a regular makeup mirror.

Yang Haiyan gazed at herself in the bronze mirror for a while before stepping to the door: “Mr.Qin, how does this outfit look?”

Qin Fang turned when he heard footsteps and saw a graceful young boy approaching him.

Then, he heard her deliberately lowered voice; though she tried to suppress it, her tone was still somewhat soft, and one could barely categorize it as neutral.

But more importantly, what did she just call him? “Mr.Qin?” Qin Fang’s expression stiffened.

Yang Haiyan waved her hand: “So, how does it look? Is this outfit good?”

Qin Fang opened his mouth to say something but ended up only saying two words: “Looks good.”

In fact, he felt a bit strange. It was possibly because he was used to her feminine attire; seeing her in masculine clothing evoked an indescribable feeling.

However, it definitely looked good; her delicate, tender appearance clearly resembled a handsome youth.

If Qin Fang were a modern person, he would have certainly described her as a pretty boy.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t, so with his limited vocabulary, he could only think of describing her as a beautiful young lad.

Yang Haiyan replied, “I think it looks good too. Dressed like this, I look even more like your little brother.”

Saying that, she turned to the shopkeeper and said, “I’ll take this one, and I want the white one too. I’ll also custom order a light purple and a pale yellow set.”

The shopkeeper quickly responded, “Then let me take your measurements, and I can send the clothes to your residence along with the ones you’re buying.”

Yang Haiyan nodded, “Okay.”

After measuring her size, Yang Haiyan left with Qin Fang.

She linked her arm with his and said, “Qin Fang gege, now no one will think I’m being rude.”

Qin Fang raised an eyebrow.

Yang Haiyan explained, “Earlier, everyone looked at me as if they wanted to throw me into the pond. I guess in their eyes, I looked undignified and unvirtuous.”

In ancient times, it seemed rare to see a woman linking arms with a man and striding down the street.

Qin Fang said, “We go our way; they say theirs. It doesn’t affect me.”

Yang Haiyan nodded, “It doesn’t affect me either.” If she cared, she wouldn’t have dressed this way.

Qin Fang lowered his gaze and looked at her.

Today, when she went out, she hadn’t applied any rouge or lip color.

With her linked arm, she resembled a younger brother.

She was right; in this appearance, she looked like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy.

“Mr.Qin?” Yang Haiyan called out.

Qin Fang’s lips moved slightly: “Call me gege.” Hearing her call him “Qin Fang gege” made him feel a stir of excitement, especially since she was dressed as a boy and calling him that, which felt somewhat thrilling.

Yang Haiyan naturally complied: “Qin Fang gege… Qin Fang gege…”

Qin Fang ruffled her hair: “Alright, alright…” If she kept calling him that, he felt he wouldn’t be able to move. “Where do you want to go?”

Yang Haiyan said, “There are many food stalls at the academy gate. Let’s go buy some snacks.”

Qin Fang immediately replied, “What if Shoucheng sees us?”

Yang Haiyan retorted, “So what if he sees us? We’re not doing anything bad, so why should we be afraid of being seen?”

Qin Fang sighed, “Fine, I’ll go along with you.”

Seeing that he agreed, Yang Haiyan pulled him toward the academy gate.

Since it wasn’t dismissal time, there were naturally no students at the gate, but the air was filled with the aroma of various snacks from the stalls.

Yang Haiyan stopped at a bun stall: “Auntie, how much are these buns?”

The woman briskly opened the steamer, letting Yang Haiyan take a sniff of the aroma: “This young master…”

The woman paused, casually glancing at her earlobes, then said, “This young master, we have buns with egg, meat, pickled vegetables, and tofu. The egg and meat buns are two wen each, while the pickled vegetable and tofu ones are one wen each. Don’t underestimate our buns; they’re small, but the skin is thin and the filling is generous.”

She hurriedly explained, fearing Yang Haiyan might think the buns were small.