Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After the Lantern Festival, business at the Shen Family Pharmacy improved along with the weather.

Because of the Almond Paste Shen Qinghe made for me, I gave a box to my qin teacher, Aunt Mei. Unexpectedly, many young ladies began inquiring about it.

Even the aunties and grandmothers who visited the pharmacy noticed my healthy complexion. As a result, even the Medicinal Drinks meant for my own nourishment were snatched up and sold out.

One ordinary afternoon, after Aunt Mei finished her lesson, she set down an exquisite small box and a letter, saying a student had asked her to deliver them.

When I opened the envelope, there was no letter inside, only a stack of banknotes-a full thousand taels.

There was also a small box of ashes, though I couldn’t tell what they used to be.

It didn’t really matter; those were all things of the past.

What mattered now was the life Shen Qinghe and I shared.

The early spring air was chilly. In the evening, we closed the shop to balance the accounts.

Shen Qinghe looked at the ledger by my hand and counted the money we had earned, looking rather unhappy.

“Xiaoyu, we’ve made a lot of money.”

I nodded while clicking away at the abacus.

I understood why Shen Qinghe was unhappy. For a pharmacy, making money wasn’t necessarily a good thing; it meant many people were falling ill.

“But we’re making money from Almond Paste and Medicinal Drinks. This is money earned from a time of peace and wellness.”

Shen Qinghe still hesitated, stammering, “…That’s not what I meant.

“What I mean is, do we… do we still need to save so much money?”

I didn’t understand what he was trying to say, nor could I tell if he was happy or troubled.

“Of course we have to save. Life must be planned carefully; we need to live like a steady, long-flowing stream.”

Shen Qinghe asked hurriedly, “Really?

“Then we still need to save on charcoal money, right? Does that mean you still have to sleep in my room?”

So that was it.

My face flushed red as I nodded.

However, that night after the lamps were blown out, I listened to the rustling of the rain outside and the rumble of spring thunder.

Shen Qinghe, lying on the floor, grew restless again. He wrapped himself tight in his quilt and whispered to me, “Xiaoyu, Xiaoyu, I’m cold.”

Huh? I had just added the final plum blossom to the Nine Cold Chart yesterday. How could it be cold?

But I couldn’t wrongly accuse him; a rainy spring day was indeed quite chilly.

If two people squeezed together on the bed, it would save on firewood and the hot water bottle.

Besides, if he caught a cold and fell ill, buying medicine would be another expense.

“Then you…”

Before I could finish, Shen Qinghe suddenly thought of something and stopped complaining about the cold.

He scrambled up from the floor, lit a lamp, and prepared to head out.

It turned out he was afraid that as the weather warmed, the accounts he had recorded in the snow would melt away.

But once he stepped outside, he was dazed. The grass in the courtyard was already a faint, shallow green.

Recording on paper was a waste of money, but recording in the snow meant facing the spring.

Where could he record them so Xiaoyu could eat her meals in peace?

I thought Shen Qinghe was so silly. Just record them in your heart!

Record a lifetime of staying together, like a long-flowing stream, lasting forever.

Matchmaker Liu’s Side Story:

As the saying goes: “What one house lacks, another has in excess; in a matchmaker’s eyes, both sides are a perfect fit.”

Back then, Cui Ning’s mother had grabbed Old Matchmaker Liu, demanding she find a match for that eyesore, Xiaoyu.

Cui Ning’s mother curled her lip, her eyes full of disdain. “She’s like a blood-sucking leech, clinging to my son and refusing to let go, staying at the Cui Family home and refusing to leave.

“She’s made it impossible for us to find a respectable wife for our Ning’er.”

Old Matchmaker Liu looked at the heavy three taels of silver in her hand and didn’t have the heart to bring up the past.

Back when Cui Ning had been kidnapped, Cui Ning’s parents had cried until their hearts broke. She had even helped them ask around everywhere.

But that was all in the past.

Best not to mention it. Who would turn away silver?

But who should she match Xiaoyu with?

Matchmaker Liu suddenly remembered a favor she owed.

Not just her, but every family in this area who had survived the plague owed the Shen family a favor.

Shen Qinghe scratched his head, not saying a single word to praise himself. “I know her; she’s come to my shop to buy medicine before!

“But I only have the pharmacy my parents left me and fifty-some taels of silver.

“A girl as good as her… I’m only afraid she’ll be wronged by marrying me.”

Old Matchmaker Liu nodded. “Oh, fifty taels. Rounding up, isn’t that practically a mountain of gold and silver?”

Zhao Xiaoyu wiped her tears, also afraid the matchmaker would look down on her. “Cui Ning kept a ledger for me; I still owe him some money.

“Matchmaker Liu, I’m only worth fifteen taels of silver. I’m afraid people will despise me.”

Old Matchmaker Liu nodded. “Oh, she learned bookkeeping from Eldest Young Master Cui and even has her own ledger. How impressive!”

Seeing the young couple’s life flourishing, the people seeking Matchmaker Liu to arrange marriages nearly broke down her doorstep.

If you went out and asked around, who in Gusu City didn’t praise her as a living matchmaker?

This marriage was a source of great pride for Matchmaker Liu; she would savor the thought of it every night before bed.

But there was one marriage in Gusu City that not even Matchmaker Liu dared to take on. Even if the true God of Marriage descended, he would be at a loss.

It was the marriage of Young Master Cui, Cui Ning.

Setting aside the fact that he had quarreled with his parents and sworn a solemn oath never to marry-nearly driving his parents to their deaths from anger-even if he were willing to find a match, any family with even a bit of status would hold their daughters close and hesitate.

The Cui Family was ungrateful and turned their backs on kindness. Who knew if their daughter would end up as a discarded wife once she married in?

No one knew why Young Master Cui had suddenly regretted his actions, or why he swore never to marry.

Matchmaker Liu didn’t know, but she never dwelled on things she couldn’t change.

Regardless, the whole of Gusu City could guess all they wanted, but no one knew the truth.

The moon hung cold and clear in the sky, as bright as it had been six years ago.

Did the moon know?

The moon knew.