Qin Fang raised an eyebrow: “Do we still need to name it? What should we call it? Erdan? Donkey Egg? Iron Egg?”

When he was in his hometown, names like these were common in the village, so when Yang Haiyan asked, he instinctively thought of those names.

“You should name it instead,” he thought he wouldn’t come up with a good name.

Even his two younger brothers’ names took him a long time to think of.

Yang Haiyan pondered for a moment: “Let’s call it Wu Shuai.” The more she thought about Wu Shuai, the more she liked the name.

Granny Lian was curious: “Why call it Wu Shuai?”

Yang Haiyan explained, “Wu means black, and since it’s completely black, I chose Wu. Shuai means commander or marshal. So, Wu Shuai means the commander among horses.”

Generally speaking, ancient names had their origins or deeper meanings.

Her name was chosen by her grandmother without any poetic origin or deeper meaning.

Thinking back, ever since she came here, she hadn’t thought about her grandmother at all.

Instead, when she was at home in the modern world, she thought about her grandmother almost every day, feeling a pang of nostalgia and wanting to cry.

After all, she had somewhat achieved success during that time, but her grandmother had been gone for over ten years.

Qin Fang reflected on the meaning: “Wu Shuai is a good name; you’re quite clever, Wife.”

Yang Haiyan snapped back to attention and playfully bowed to Qin Fang, saying, “Thank you for the compliment, Husband.”

Everyone admired Wu Shuai’s handsome appearance before returning to their own activities.

Yang Haiyan went back to her room and opened the box sent by the heir’s wife.

To her surprise, inside was a set of ruby hair accessories.

It was not just a single hairpin; it included a ruby hairpin and a pair of ruby earrings.

Here, rubies were also known as red jade.

Red jade was hard to come by, scarce in quantity, making it impossible to create larger items, so only small pieces like hairpins and earrings could be made, and they were very exquisite.

Although these accessories weren’t particularly expensive—worth about a hundred taels of silver—they were significant because they were hard to obtain.

But why did the heir’s wife give this to her?

The heir’s wife’s maid didn’t understand the reason either. “Miss, why did you gift this red jade accessory to Madam Qin?”

It should be known that originally, the lady had not chosen this set but had secretly swapped it later. “This is the new arrival from the Treasure Pavilion, which you were quite fond of when you first saw it.”

It was newly purchased, intended to be worn during the New Year celebrations, but because of the young master’s situation, the heir’s wife did not want to appear overly flashy and had not worn it since.

The heir’s wife said, “I noticed that Madam Qin has a fair complexion and is at a tender age; this vibrant color suits her very well.”

The maid chuckled: “You speak rightly.”

The heir’s wife asked, “Nurse, how do you view Madam Qin and Madam Yang?”

The maid candidly replied, “Madam Qin is cleverer, while Madam Yang is more practical, but both have clear insights and do not appear to have ill intentions.”

The heir’s wife nodded: “I think so too.”

The gift she had sent to Yang Dahua was also excellent.

Meanwhile, Yang Dahua was also examining the gift from the heir’s wife.

Like Yang Haiyan, she received a hairpin and a pair of earrings, but hers were made of pearls.

For Yang Dahua, simple accessories suited her better; overly complicated designs would overwhelm her.

So, it was clear that the heir’s wife had put some thought into her selection.

The pearls were neither large nor small, fitting well among the wives of officials below the fifth rank.

For those above the fifth rank, they wouldn’t make the cut, but neither would they appear shabby.

The heir’s wife could certainly afford to send larger pearls, but anything larger would not be suitable for Yang Dahua’s status.

Sometimes, unsuitable accessories could overshadow one’s presence.

Yang Dahua looked at Han Zhen: “This is a gift from the heir’s wife; isn’t this… too precious?”

Han Zhen, unfamiliar with the value of women’s items, reassured Yang Dahua, “We saved the young master; this is the heir’s wife’s goodwill. Just accept it. If you don’t, it will seem like they still owe us this favor.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Dahua accepted the gift without further hesitation.

However, she felt she wouldn’t have the opportunity to wear it. “By the way, while chatting with Haiyan earlier, she mentioned that in March, Lord Qin’s military service will be completed, and they plan to return home. Is that something you’ve thought about?”

Han Zhen had never discussed his family situation with Yang Dahua.

Initially, he thought it unnecessary, but now that their relationship had grown more stable and they had a child together, he naturally wanted to share. “No, let’s just say I died outside. My family is different from the Qin family…”

Hearing this, Yang Dahua couldn’t help but feel heartache for him: “Husband, you still have me and our child. We are a family now.”

Han Zhen hugged her: “Yeah.”

He, too, had a family now and wouldn’t think about that unwelcoming home anymore.

After dinner, Qin Fang was reading in his study while Yang Haiyan was embroidering.

The doll from earlier had sparked some thoughts in her.

In ancient times, embroidery was cheap, but once placed on a platform, its price soared.

Although their family was not short on money, no one would ever dislike having more.

So, she planned to sell her embroidery.

Qin Fang said, “Yanyan, I’m going to the military camp tomorrow, and I won’t be back for the next few days.”

He had had five days off, which was quite a lot.

Yang Haiyan was taken aback: “Is it your turn to be on duty again at night?” Over time, she had forgotten the schedule for his duties.

Qin Fang replied, “No. It’s about the barbarians. The heir is preparing to attack them.”

He didn’t elaborate since it involved military matters.

Yang Haiyan didn’t ask further but expressed her concern: “You must take care of yourself. Be cautious; don’t recklessly charge forward. Remember me, your father and mother, and that we don’t have children yet.”

Qin Fang was moved by her words: “Yeah, we still need to have children.”

When it came to the topic of children, considering the ancient preference for sons over daughters, Yang Haiyan decided to test him a little: “Husband, do you prefer a son or a daughter?”

Thinking about how women in the countryside favored sons over daughters and worrying that she might fear this, he quickly replied, “I prefer daughters.”

In fact, he genuinely liked daughters.

Yang Haiyan was somewhat surprised that a man in ancient times could prefer girls.

Seeing that her expression was fine, he felt relieved. “What about you? Do you prefer a son or a daughter?”

Yang Haiyan replied, “Both. As long as they’re our children.”

However, she didn’t envision living with several generations in a big house as was common in ancient times.

If they had a daughter, that was fine; once she got married, they obviously wouldn’t live together.

If it were a son, they’d prepare a house for him before his marriage, and after he got married, they would live separately.

As for how their son would live, he’d have to manage on his own after marriage.

When her health declined in the future, she would make a will to divide the inheritance equally if they had multiple children.

But she was merely thinking about it temporarily; who knew if her ideas would change in the future?

The next day, Qin Fang had breakfast early with Kunshi and went to the military camp. On the way, he ran into Han Zhen, and the three went together.

It must be said that both Qin Fang and Han Zhen’s horses were quite striking.

When Han Zhen saw Qin Fang, he said, “I finally have a horse; I won’t need you to carry me anymore.”

Before Kunshi came along, it had always been Qin Fang who carried Han Zhen.

After Kunshi arrived, that task was handed over to Kunshi.

Qin Fang glanced at him: “Does your horse have a name?”

Han Zhen was taken aback: “We still need to name it? That seems a bit too fancy. Did you name yours? Qin Fang, this isn’t your usual style.”

Qin Fang patted Wu Shuai: “My wife named it; it’s called Wu Shuai.”

When Wu Shuai heard Qin Fang call it, it responded excitedly a few times.

Qin Fang was astonished: “It actually knows I’m calling it?”

Kun Shi explained, “The sir has been training it for a long time, using food to lure it while calling it Wu Shuai.”

Han Zhen exclaimed, “That’s too clever.”

Qin Fang asked, “Do you know what Wu Shuai means?”

Han Zhen replied, “Isn’t it like Iron Egg and Donkey Egg? Is there any deeper meaning?”

Han Zhen was even more illiterate than Qin Fang.

Qin Fang spoke with a hint of pride: “Of course, Wu means black, and Shuai means marshal. Wu Shuai is the marshal among horses.”

Upon hearing this, Han Zhen exclaimed, “I know what to name my horse now!”

Qin Fang immediately asked, “Iron Egg?”

Han Zhen scoffed: “No, it’s called Wu Jiang. These two horses are of the same breed; I won’t compete for the title of marshal with you. I’ll settle for a general. How about Wu Jiang?”

Qin Fang replied, “Not good.”

This guy was too shameless; Wu Shuai was the name given by his wife; how could Han Zhen just copy it?

Han Zhen didn’t care and addressed Wu Jiang: “From now on, you’ll be Wu Jiang. Wu Jiang, charge! Go…”

“Go…” Qin Fang also sped up.

When Qin Fang arrived at the military camp, he rested for a while before someone came to summon him to General Ao.

Upon arriving at the heir’s tent, aside from the heir and General Ao, there was also a captain under General Ao.

After a while, three more captains arrived, and the heir finally spoke: “The purpose of calling you here today is regarding the previous incident with the barbarians. Last time, they attempted to threaten our camp using despicable means and tried to seize Yongzhou.

This time, I’ve decided to retaliate. Our Yong Army has a total of fifty thousand men, with General Ao leading five thousand of you to infiltrate the barbarian side. The remaining forty-five thousand soldiers will create a diversion from the front…”