Chapter 26

“Of course not! She’s my mother, how could it be meddling?” Taohua initially spoke with some agitation, but soon her voice softened. “I know that what I’m saying now may seem out of place.

I’m fully aware that the only reason I was able to leave the Chen family is because you, Qin Gege, were there for me. Without you, I might still be stuck with Chen Dashan, who would probably be plotting against me.

But precisely because of that, I want even more to help my mother escape from this misery, and I want her to live a better life. But Qin Gege…”

Taohua bit her lip, paused, then said, “I am your wife now, part of the Qin family. If it bothers you, I’ll try to hold back.

But I can’t ignore my mother completely. Qin Gege, maybe you should let me down, I can walk on my own.”

“Why?” Qin Feng felt Taohua’s struggle on his back and tightened his hold. “Why would you want to get down? Do you think I’ll stop you?”

Suddenly asked like this, Taohua fell silent, but her silence could be taken as an agreement.

Seeing she wouldn’t speak, Qin Feng continued, “You and your mother really are alike. She said the same thing to me earlier.

She called me aside to ask me not to get involved with the Chen family.”

“My mother… said that?”

“Yes, she doesn’t want to drag us down. All she hopes for is that I treat you well and that we have a harmonious married life. She’s a good mother.”

“Then…” Taohua raised her eyes, nervously staring at Qin Feng’s back, and asked, “Qin Gege, did you agree?”

Feeling Taohua tense up, her back straightening in anxiety, Qin Feng couldn’t help but tease her: “What do you think?”

“What do I think?” Taohua, unable to handle the teasing, replied quickly, “How would I know? I wasn’t there when you two were talking behind my back!”

Qin Feng realized that Taohua was genuinely upset, which made her slip and say “behind my back” without thinking.

He sighed lightly, tightening his hold on her legs as he jostled her slightly. “I didn’t agree. I told her that I need to listen to Taohua.”

“Really?” Taohua was surprised and pleased. “You told my mother you’d listen to me?”

Qin Feng nodded. “She’s your mother. Why should I make decisions for you? My own mother has suffered a lot too, and putting myself in her shoes, I believe children should show filial piety. After all, it’s our mothers who carried us for ten months and raised us with such effort.”

“Mm!” Taohua thought of what Zhou had endured all these years and couldn’t help but feel tears welling up in her eyes.

Hearing the slight quiver in Taohua’s voice, Qin Feng’s tone softened. “From now on, your mother is my mother too. You can show her all the filial piety you want, and I’ll be here to support you. You don’t have to worry about whether she’s from the Qin family or the Chen family.”

In truth, Qin Feng had only revealed half of what had happened tonight to Taohua; there was still another part he hadn’t shared.

The reason Taohua had gone to the Chen family today was that she was worried about her mother being beaten by Chen Dashan.

Although Zhou Shi said that Chen Dashan hadn’t done anything to her, when she served tea to Qin Feng today, he noticed bruises on her arms.

Qin Feng had always despised men who beat or scolded their wives and children, especially someone like Chen Dashan, who dared to lay hands on his own mother-in-law.

His voice grew cold. “Don’t worry. I won’t let this slide.”

But Taohua couldn’t completely relax. “What do you plan to do about it?”

Qin Feng replied calmly, “I’ll use his own methods to deal with him. But you don’t need to worry about it. I checked on your mother earlier, and she’s fine. You should be happy about that.”

“That’s true,” Taohua quickly agreed, feeling reassured.

Thinking of how good Qin Feng was to her, she couldn’t help but wrap her arms tightly around his neck and kiss his cheek, pressing her lips firmly against his.

Before Qin Feng could react, she kissed him again, making a loud “smack” sound.

Realizing what she had done, Taohua grew shy, burying her face in Qin Feng’s shoulder and refusing to move.

After they finished freshening up, Taohua lit the oil lamp in the room.

Before going to bed, she wanted to go over the leftover money from selling the leather with her husband.

But no matter how she calculated, something didn’t add up.

“Qin Gege, did you lose some money? There are only ten coins left. Look, we spent nearly five hundred coins on fabric, and the bulk of the expenses was for firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, tea, chicken, and fish. Those two big expenses alone should add up to about a tael of silver. We also spent on wontons and tea, but that’s not a lot.

We made over two taels from selling the leather, so how could there only be ten coins left? Could it have been lost at the market, or maybe dropped in the basket? I need to check again.”

She started to get off the bed to look for it.

But Qin Feng quickly grabbed her arm. “Don’t look for it. It’s here.”

“Where?”

Taohua asked, watching as Qin Feng pulled a copper mirror from under the pillow and handed it to her.

The mirror was even bigger than the one she had seen at Xiao Lan’s house—about the size of two of Qin Feng’s hands put together! And the reflection it gave was much clearer!

Such a fine thing! Taohua was stunned. “Is this for me?”

“Mm,” Qin Feng said, placing her hand in his and gently putting the mirror into her palm. “You married me without any proper wedding or gifts, and you don’t have any clothes or jewelry. When I saw this mirror today, I thought of you and bought it. Do you like it?”