Yang Haiyan decided not to concern herself with the matters of Ding Sanjiu and his son.

When Qin Fang returned that day and learned about the situation, he didn’t pay it much mind. “Let Mother handle the Ding family affairs,” he said.

Just before finishing, he added, “As for the Qin family matters, let Father take care of them; we don’t need to interfere.” He had arranged everything clearly at home.

Although the Qin family was trending toward him being the head, it was still better for the elders to take the lead in matters, after all, he was just a younger generation.

Yang Haiyan could naturally hear the implications in his words.

Neither of them was foolish; if they could steal some free time, who would want to go looking for trouble?

Yang Haiyan said, “Tao Shan hasn’t returned yet, and we don’t know how things are with the emperor. Do you think the emperor will agree? If the emperor agrees, will Ren Prefecture be handed over to us to manage?”

Qin Fang thought for a moment, “It’s hard to say. But even if the emperor agrees, he won’t hand Ren Prefecture over to us.

Your plan includes one governor and one agent per prefecture, and there are six prefectures in total in Ren Prefecture.

Yunxiang County belongs to Hedong Prefecture. At most, we could act as agents for Hedong Prefecture.

If Hedong Prefecture is handed over to us for management, we might be exempt from the joining fee.”

Yang Haiyan wasn’t greedy; she said, “Having one Hedong Prefecture is enough. We really can’t manage all of Ren Prefecture.

If we’re in charge of Hedong Prefecture, I want to open a flour mill in Yunxiang County. That way, the women in Yunxiang County will have work.”

If the women had work and could earn money, their status would rise.

Moreover, with the emperor backing them, others wouldn’t dare to privately trade in potato flour and sweet potato flour.

This way, she could generously hire workers without fearing that others would learn the process of making the flour.

It must be said that whether it was the ancient laws or modern laws, they were not as useful as having the emperor’s backing.

Having the emperor’s name was more effective than a midnight scare from Zhong Kui.

Seeing her so happy, Qin Fang thought that sometimes she was very steady, but other times she acted like a little girl.

But after all, she was only eighteen.

Yang Haiyan, who looked eighteen but was already thirty in essence, was completely unaware that in her husband’s eyes, she was still a little girl.

When she noticed Qin Fang staring at her, she couldn’t help but smile and asked, “What are you looking at me for?”

Qin Fang was not shy around Yang Haiyan. After two years of marriage, he had grown bolder, so he honestly said, “I’m just admiring how beautiful my wife is.”

Yang Haiyan’s heart skipped a beat at his sudden compliment.

She pouted but couldn’t suppress the corners of her mouth from turning up, then proudly said, “Of course.”

Speaking of which, her features were indeed decent; in ancient times, she could be considered beautiful, though she couldn’t compare to those stunning beauties.

However, in modern times, she stood out remarkably.

Having lived in ancient times for two years, Yang Haiyan had to admit that there were indeed more beauties than in modern times.

Perhaps because she had become accustomed to seeing all kinds of stars in modern times, she felt that beauties were fewer.

Or maybe there were too many plastic faces in modern times, all of one type.

So, finding beautiful women in ancient times gave her a refreshing feeling.

Yang Haiyan knew from the memories of the original owner that the capital was full of beautiful women.

Among the ones she had seen in person, the son’s wife was one of the most beautiful.

Qin Fang thought that his wife looked best when she was proud; if she had a tail, it would probably be wagging.

In the past, he had wanted a child, especially when he saw Han Zhen’s proud demeanor.

He desperately wanted to have children, but now, he didn’t feel the same way.

Perhaps it was because several children were suddenly living in their home that he had less desire for children.

At worst, he could treat his wife like a child, which was also quite nice.

Qin Fang smiled and said, “Yes, you’re the most beautiful.”

Yang Haiyan lifted her chin, “You’re especially good with words today; did you do something bad?”

Qin Fang wouldn’t delay matters of innocence even for a moment.

He immediately replied, “No, how could I do something bad?” His voice was heavy.

Qin Fang remembered what Yang Haiyan had said to Grandma Lian before—that if he dared to cheat, she wouldn’t want him anymore.

Therefore, he valued such matters highly.

In Qin Fang’s mind, Yang Haiyan’s idea of “bad things” meant finding another woman; he couldn’t think of anything else. “Yanyan, I swear to the heavens, I’m absolutely loyal to you—body and heart, I’m loyal to you. So, don’t doubt me.”

Yang Haiyan huffed, “They say every man says this when marrying a woman, but after a few years, many men have succeeded and taken multiple wives.”

Qin Fang immediately said, “Those people are unreliable; I never tell lies.”

Yang Haiyan replied, “But even if you lie, I have no way to deal with you, right?”

Qin Fang clenched his teeth, “What do you want then?”

Yang Haiyan smiled slightly, “How about this? You tell me some of your embarrassing stories. If you don’t keep your vow in the future, I’ll expose these embarrassing stories. How does that sound?”

Qin Fang thought it might be better to just faint in place, like a tadpole who had starved to death.

Yang Haiyan looked at his conflicted expression and didn’t push him.

She sighed, disappointment evident in her voice: “I knew you were lying to me. I’ve never taken any of your oaths seriously. Where in this world can you find such a good man?”

Qin Fang felt truly conflicted.

He looked at Yang Haiyan, and even though he knew she was pretending, he couldn’t help but wonder if she really didn’t believe in him.

For this reason, Qin Fang could only grit his teeth and say, “Actually, I haven’t done anything shameful.”

Yang Haiyan raised her eyebrows, quietly watching him.

Qin Fang realized she was unsatisfied and gritted his teeth again: “Then… does bedwetting count?”

Yang Haiyan blinked, a little incredulous.

Qin Fang looked at her and saw her expression change, causing his face to flush. “So… does that count as a shameful act?”

He hadn’t really done anything shameful apart from bedwetting as a child.

If that didn’t count, he probably couldn’t find any other shameful acts.

Yang Haiyan calmly asked, “How old were you when you wet the bed?” Bedwetting wasn’t necessarily a shameful act; which child hadn’t done it? It depended on the age.

Qin Fang thought for a moment: “I was eight years old. That day, I clearly went to the toilet, but somehow, when I woke up, I had wet the bed. It was winter, and I was worried my grandmother and mother would find out, so I just lay in bed all day.

Because the mattress was wet, I put a piece of clothing on it. I lay in bed all day, and eventually, it dried out.

After the mattress dried, I brought my younger brother, Shouye, to sleep with me.

He was only two years old at the time and didn’t remember anything.

The next day, when I got up, my grandmother and mother found the smell in the bed and thought it was Shouye’s. I remember my mother gave Shouye a spanking.”

It seemed like he had opened up, so his following words came more easily, but his dark face was still red.

Back when he was eight, Qin Shouye was only two.

He felt no guilt for such actions and thought he was clever.

Now, looking back, he felt a bit embarrassed.

But what were younger brothers for?

Aren’t they just for taking the blame?

Yang Haiyan hadn’t expected Qin Fang to have done such a thing; bedwetting was one thing, but he even thought of lying in bed to warm the mattress before shifting the blame to two-year-old Qin Shouye.

This person seemed honest, yet deep down, he was quite cunning.

Yang Haiyan thought carefully about him. When they first met, how did she not notice he was shrewd?

She always thought he was attentive and sincere.

From his appearance to his physique and character, everything was to her liking, so she patiently got to know him.

Little did she know that everything about him was a facade.

But had he seen through her?

Thinking of this, Yang Haiyan asked, “Husband, when we first met, what kind of person did you think I was?”

Without hesitation, Qin Fang replied, “A very beautiful person.”

He would never forget when he came out of the military camp and saw the woman standing there in thin clothes.

Although she looked frail, unable to carry even a bucket of water, he had initially found her quite unappealing.

Yet, he couldn’t take his eyes off her because she was so beautiful.

Qin Fang felt that he had seen women more beautiful than her, but he just couldn’t look away.

This must be… fate. “That day, you were wearing a light blue long dress.”

When Yang Haiyan heard him mention it, she knew which day he was talking about.

She said, “I’m not talking about that day; I mean the first day we met, the day I came to the military camp.”

Qin Fang thought carefully but couldn’t remember how that day looked. “That day, several of us captains were waiting for the bride in the military camp, and everyone was holding placards to identify them.

I had the number four placard, and then I saw a bride wearing a veil who also had the number four placard, so I came to get you. I took you, and then we got on the carriage and went to the family quarters.”

At that time, they hadn’t held a wedding ceremony, yet they had become husband and wife. “When we arrived at the family quarters, I lifted your veil, and I was a bit surprised and pleased, thinking how lucky I was to have such a beautiful bride.”

Regardless of their feelings about getting married, men always have expectations for their future wives.

Among those expectations, whether it’s about virtuous character or other qualities, appearance indeed plays a significant role.

At least at first glance, when they didn’t know each other well, they could only see the appearance.

As he spoke, Qin Fang suddenly found it a bit amusing: “After I lifted your veil, I went to boil water, intending to give you a bath, but when I returned to the room, you were lying on the bed. I was startled and hurriedly called the doctor.”

There was quite a commotion, and that led to the original character’s suicide on their wedding night. “The doctor said you probably took some wrong medicine, and I thought you were unhappy about marrying me, so…”

Thinking back, when he lifted the veil, he could see her disappointment, dissatisfaction, and disdain in her eyes.

But now, looking back, he guessed he had misunderstood; his wife was not that kind of person.