Chapter 21.1

After finishing the meal, Shen Qingyun immediately ran back to the room and took out all his money.

In addition to more than twenty yuan in cash and a pile of tickets, there was also a savings book with three hundred yuan in it.

“This is all my savings over the years. You take good care of it.” He happily pushed the money and savings book toward Yin Xiaoman.

Yin Xiaoman furrowed her brows and didn’t extend her hand to take it.

“You only need to give me this month’s living expenses. The rest you can keep for yourself.”

“That won’t do.”

Shen Qingyun shook his head vigorously. “The money in the house must be managed by the woman. I used to handle it, but that was because you weren’t here. Now that you’re here, how can I still hold onto it?”

Seeing Yin Xiaoman’s furrowed brows and the continued refusal on her face, he simply shoved the money into her hands.

In a very serious tone, he threatened, “You’d better take it! If I don’t hand it over to you, the instructor will find out and he’ll definitely lecture me again. Maybe I’ll even have to make a self-criticism in front of the whole team. 

You don’t know how much influence the instructor has in the Military Unit. If I keep getting criticized by him, and get labeled as someone who doesn’t strive for progress, my future prospects will be uncertain.”

Yin Xiaoman was stunned by his words and blinked, unable to respond for a long time.

She didn’t know exactly what kind of position this instructor held, but judging by the man’s tone, it seemed to be a higher rank than his.

As the saying goes, “A higher official suppresses a lower one.” Although she couldn’t understand why officials in the Military Unit had so much free time to meddle in other people’s family matters, she did know that being lectured in front of the whole team by a leader was a serious matter.

The two Educated Youths had once used similar threats to scare Liu Chunxia.

That unreasonable person had immediately backed down when told they would be criticized in front of the whole village meeting.

For a moment, Yin Xiaoman hesitated and no longer refused as firmly as she had at the beginning.

“Quickly put it away, I’ll go check the patrol. We can talk more at noon when we come back.”

Shen Qingyun could tell that his little wife had been scared into submission, at least the money he shoved into her hand was not pushed back, and he felt a sense of joy in his heart.

Taking advantage of the fact that his wife hadn’t reacted yet, Shen Qingyun hurriedly stood up and walked toward the door, his steps fast as though someone was chasing him.

He thought of the words Qi Feng had said before when he mocked him for being under his wife’s control and having no money of his own.

Qi Feng had said that the man should take care of external matters while the woman took care of the home. The woman should be the one in charge of the household. If she was willing to handle the money and manage the household, it at least proved that she was of one mind with him.

If she didn’t even manage the home, then the family would be finished.

Although he had promised to support her in pursuing a new life and would not stop her, who didn’t want a wife and a family?

Especially the feeling of being surrounded by family as soon as he came home, along with the warm meal…

Each part of it was something that Shen Qingyun, who had been alone outside for a long time, couldn’t resist.

So from the moment he heard Yin Xiaoman ask for the living expenses, Shen Qingyun had been so excited that he felt like he was walking on air.

Although he tried his best to control himself, he was also afraid that staying in the house any longer might reveal his excitement to his little wife.

He was a big master, after all. It wouldn’t be very dignified if his excitement was noticed.

Yin Xiaoman couldn’t help but feel that the man seemed a bit overly excited, although she didn’t know exactly what he was so excited about.

She wanted to remind him that she didn’t even know who this instructor was, so she wouldn’t speak to him. As long as Shen Qingyun was careful, no one would find out who managed the money in the house.

But before she could speak, he had already run out.

Yin Xiaoman organized the money and tickets on the table.

She left twenty yuan and the current month’s receipts, then neatly folded the rest and placed it, along with the savings book, into Shen Qingyun’s bedroom.

She put it in the drawer in the middle of the desk by his bedside.

Her intention to manage the household wasn’t for any other reason but to oversee the family’s meals, as she needed to eat there too.

She had no ulterior motive.

While she was at the table earlier, Yin Xiaoman remembered the agreement between the original owner and Shen Qingyun, then heard his promises. She thought about it and decided that continuing to follow this arrangement might not be such a bad idea after all.

Although she had told herself to accept everything since she had arrived, the truth was that Yin Xiaoman was not accustomed to suddenly becoming a man’s wife, and it was difficult for her to accept.

She had grown up in the palace, and the only men she interacted with, aside from the eunuchs, were the royal family members.

Their outward politeness but hidden cruelty, coldness, and fickleness—holding multiple lovers, switching allegiances at will—these traits were ingrained in her, and Yin Xiaoman deeply despised them.

She had endured the life there with great difficulty, and she wanted to leave the palace because she loathed that kind of life and those people.

Before leaving the palace, she had made up her mind that she would never marry, choosing instead to live alone and die in solitude.

When she crossed over into this world and became Shen Qingyun’s wife, Yin Xiaoman, no matter how reluctant, could only resign herself to fate.

If, before this morning, this man had truly asked her to do anything, she wouldn’t have resisted.

But the words he spoke just now seemed to open a new door for her—

She realized that she could, just like the original owner, maintain a purely cooperative relationship with this man.

She would help him raise the children, take care of the household with all her effort, and he, as her employer, simply needed to do his part.

She would still try to find a way to save his life, and when the right woman came along, she would leave and make space for his new wife.

With these thoughts in mind, Yin Xiaoman suddenly felt a sense of relief, and even the air around her seemed fresher.

She sent the two children out to play in the yard and began to tidy up.

As she organized the food, Yin Xiaoman thought for a moment and decided to move some of it back to the room in the palace.

There was a saying: “Don’t show your wealth.”

She still didn’t fully understand what the environment here was like, and leaving so much food out in the open would always make her uneasy.

As for whether that man would be suspicious?

She had figured it out by now—he didn’t care about household matters.

Even though it was him who carried the bundles in yesterday, he probably didn’t even know what he had brought.

Finding a random excuse, Yin Xiaoman entered the bedroom, locked the door from the inside, and then entered the space.

She had planned to take advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention to bring in the food and tidy up the things in her palace room at the same time.

However, just as she stood still, she suddenly heard the voices of two women talking outside.

Yin Xiaoman was startled!

She had always thought that this space existed independently, existing only in her consciousness and for her alone.

After all, she had tried to walk out several times but had only seen a foggy, soundless world.

Hearing voices suddenly made her feel a chill run down her spine.

Instinctively, Yin Xiaoman hid in the corner, not daring to make a sound.

With her mind calming down, she could hear their conversation more clearly.

“Hey, did your Imperial Kitchen catch that cat? I heard that Master Wei was really angry yesterday.”

“Isn’t that right? The things in the small warehouse have been going missing for days, and they couldn’t figure out what was going on. How could Master Wei not be mad? I heard that even Aunt Li Chun was fined a month’s wages!”

“What? How could they blame Aunt Li Chun for what the cat took? That’s totally unfair to her! Ever since Aunt Yin disappeared, Aunt Li Chun has been so busy, she’s practically been splitting herself in half. How could she have time to manage the small warehouse?”

“Exactly! They could have just punished the warehouse keeper, but dragging Aunt Li Chun into it too—she really has bad luck. Oh, but I heard someone say it wasn’t a cat that was stealing, it was the Yellow Immortal!”

“Shh! Don’t say that out loud!”

“I know, I know. But it might not just be wild guessing. After all, how could a cat carry so much food? And I’ll tell you something secret—Aunt Li Chun thinks so too! I heard they even bought incense and candles and plan to pray to the Great Immortal at the small warehouse tonight!” 

…

The voices grew fainter and gradually disappeared.

Yin Xiaoman sat in the corner, her mind in utter chaos.

She knew who Aunt Li Chun was from what the Little Palace Maids had said. She was someone Yin Xiaoman had taken in as a disciple while she was in the palace. From what the women had said, it seemed that after her death, Li Chun had taken over as the person in charge of the Imperial Kitchen.

That was fine. Yin Xiaoman had always thought that Li Chun was the best person to take over for her.

But what Yin Xiaoman didn’t know was that her unintentional actions had caused so much trouble for Li Chun!

She had always believed that this room and the small warehouse belonged solely to her space, never once considering that they were still connected to her previous world.

It turned out that the things she had taken from the small warehouse really did disappear in that world!

Yin Xiaoman sat there in a daze, her mind more conflicted than ever.

According to her nature, she definitely couldn’t let Li Chun take the blame for her. She had taken things before because she hadn’t known, but now that she understood, she naturally wouldn’t take another thing from the small warehouse.

In fact, she should return what she had already taken.

But just thinking about not being able to take anything more… Yin Xiaoman felt like her heart was bleeding.

And thinking about returning the things she had taken, she instinctively hugged the pouch of millet beside her, wishing she could pretend to be dead, as though she hadn’t heard what had just been said.

The thought of having to go back to a life of rough food and pickled vegetables made Yin Xiaoman feel that it would have been better to have died when she had the chance.

No, she couldn’t return them!

She gritted her teeth and silently told herself.

But still, she felt incredibly sorry for Li Chun and the warehouse keeper who had been punished because of her.

Yin Xiaoman felt a wave of despair wash over her and unconsciously leaned back.

Then, her gaze inadvertently landed on the small wooden box by her bedside where she kept her silver.

Her eyes immediately lit up!

In the palace, food was never in short supply. What was the shortage of a few bags of rice or flour in the Imperial Kitchen?

As long as she paid the money, it could be considered that they were helping her buy it, and that would be fine.

Although Yin Xiaoman also felt that this idea was a bit too much, after thinking it over carefully, it didn’t seem impossible.

Didn’t they plan to worship the God of Wealth in the small warehouse tonight?

She could leave a note or something, explain it to her, and conveniently leave some silver as well.

That girl was always quite clever and brave.

Upon seeing the note, she would most likely think that the God of Wealth was showing his spirit. It shouldn’t cause any problems, right?

It… probably wouldn’t, right?

“Mother! Mother!”

Just as Yin Xiaoman was still pondering, a sudden shout from Erniu came from outside.

She quickly came out of the space and opened the bedroom door.

At that moment, Erniu ran up to her.

“Mother, Aunt Cui is here! Mother.”

When she saw Yin Xiaoman open the door, Erniu immediately threw herself into her arms and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the door.

Aunt Cui?

Yin Xiaoman had never heard the children use that name before.

But seeing Erniu’s actions, it seemed they were quite familiar with this person, and their relationship seemed to be good.

She wondered who it could be.

Thinking this, Yin Xiaoman didn’t resist and allowed Erniu to pull her into the yard.