Chapter 43: He also wanted to try trusting her

Xiao Hanzheng felt that his wife wasn’t just eloquent, but also very smart.

If this situation happened to any other woman, she would either be bullied to death or would raise her fist and worsen the tensions between her and people from the old residence, just like how that woman at the capital had wished the situation had evolved.

But Shi Qingluo did the opposite.

She stood up for these villains and felt wronged for them.

Then, she helped them by giving advice and encouraging them to go to the capital to stir trouble.

His little wife was really amazing!

Mother Xiao brought Xiao Baili and Xiao Baili back to the backyard to feed the chickens and ducks.

Shi Qingluo pulled Xiao Hanzheng’s sleeve and appeared to be asking for compliments.

“Old Xiao, I played beautifully just now, didn’t I?”

The smile in Xiao Hanzheng’s eyes intensified as he praised generously, “You played beautifully. You’re very fantastic.”

Shi Qingluo raised her chin proudly. “That’s right. I’ll take care of you guys from now on.”

Xiao Hanzheng raised his eyebrows. “Aren’t you going to hug my thigh?”

Shi Qingluo held his arm. “I have to!”

She looked at him with watery eyes and chuckled. “Brother Zheng, from now on, our family will still have to rely on you.”

As he looked at her, the coldness in his heart melted.

He used his other hand that wasn’t being hugged to gently tap Shi Qingluo’s forehead.

“I’ll take care of the outside and you’ll take care of our family. I will also let you hug my thigh as much as you want.”

Shi Qingluo leaned her head against Xiao Hanzheng’s arm and rubbed it. “Brother Zheng is the best!”

In the past, when she saw her best friend rubbing against her boyfriend, she was like a dog whose food had been eaten by others.

As a dog who was still single, she was actually a little envious.

It was a pity that she had never found a suitable boyfriend, and hadn’t been so intimate with anyone before.

Now that her marriage with Xiao Hanzheng was on trial, he was her boyfriend.

If the marriage was successful, he would be her husband.

So, she was using him legally.

As expected, it felt pretty good.

Xiao Hanzheng’s body stiffened when she rubbed his arm, and his heartbeat sped up.

He lowered his head to look at Shi Qingluo with a gentle and doting gaze that he wasn’t aware of himself.

It seemed that his little wife really liked him.

If she wanted to rub against him, he would let her be.

He asked, “Did you guys’ visit to Doctor Shi went on smoothly today?”

Shi Qingluo raised her head. “Very smoothly. The new magistrate seems to be quite righteous.”

Xiao Hanzheng was stunned. “The new magistrate?”

Shi Qingluo nodded. “That’s right. He just took up this post two days ago. I heard that this new magistrate has an excellent background. He is the empress’ biological nephew and the heir to the Hou Mansion.

“I wonder why such someone from a noble family would want to become a county magistrate in a small place like ours.”

Xiao Hanzheng thought to himself, Mo Qingling came to Nanxi county so early in the morning?

In his previous life, after he woke up, his body was severely injured by the medicine prescribed by Doctor Shi during the coma.

He rested for more than a month before going to the county town.

At that time, Mo Qingling was already a magistrate.

He thought that he had just arrived.

Seeing Shi Qingluo’s confused face, he said, “Our Nanxi county might have an iron mine. He took the initiative to apply to be the county magistrate to confirm this matter.”

Her young husband was too well-informed.

The Bai family and the Wu family probably didn’t know about this yet.

Shi Qingluo was stunned for a moment. “If that’s the case, then it makes sense. I don’t see why he would want to torture himself.

“Otherwise, with his status, there’s no need for him to come here and be a small county magistrate and slowly work his way up through the ranks.

“If he discovers and confirms that there’s an iron mine, all he has to do is report it to the emperor. Then, stay behind to supervise the mining, and even take over the job of crafting weapons and so on.

“Mozhi county will also receive a great share of the credit.”

Xiao Hanzheng was shocked after listening to her analysis.

His little wife was not only smart, but also insightful.

Even if the young ladies of the aristocratic families in the capital knew about this, many would not have linked it with this.

His little wife hit the main point again.

Not long later, Mo Qingling indeed made meritorious contributions in mining and weapons development.

In addition, the emperor looked highly on him and directly conferred him as a crown prince.

After staying in Nanxi county for a year, he was transferred to Nanguang Prefecture and became a fifth-grade tongzhi (同知: an appointment in the civil service).

After staying for another two years, he had more contributions and became the right hand man of a fourth-grade Minister of War after returning to the capital.

He also ruthlessly slapped the faces of those people in the Hou Mansion.

This was because Mo Qingling’s situation was similar to his.

Although they were on different paths and did not know each other well, they still admired each other.

He didn’t pretend that he did not know.

Instead, he said truthfully, “He really came to Nanxi county for his meritorious service.”

His little wife wasn’t simple, but she didn’t deliberately hide anything from him.

Since she trusted him so much, he also wanted to try trusting her.

He had enough of living alone in his previous life.

In this life, he suddenly had a little wife.

He hoped that they would be able to understand each other and help each other until they grew old.

Shi Qingluo sensed that her young husband seemed to know a lot about the new magistrate.

She asked, “Is his life in the Hou Mansion difficult?”

That was why he had to come out and rise to the top with his own effort.

Xiao Hanzheng nodded. “His mother passed away after giving birth to him.

“Not long after that, his father began looking for someone to take care of him and marry his cousin who he truly liked into the family.

“Then his stepmother got pregnant the moment she entered the family and gave birth to a younger brother who was not less than two years younger than him.

“Because his mother’s family and the empress were looking after him, his stepmother did not dare to treat him harshly.

“On the surface, she was still a good wife and mother who took good care of him, and dotted him as if he was a star in the sky.”

Shi Qingluo understood immediately. “His stepmother must be flattering him.”

Xiao Zhenghan found that his little wife reacted quickly. “Yes, before he was 16, he was already a playboy in the capital.

“He was famous for being unbearably mischievous, while his younger brother had a good reputation for being diligent and well-mannered.

“Some things might have happened after that. He found out the true face of his stepmother and stopped being mischievous. He started to study hard to prepare for the imperial examinations.

“His grandfather was once the top scorer and is now a first-grade official.

“Under his personal guidance, he clinched a tanhua (探花: awarded to the candidate who came in 3rd place in scholar examinations) in the examination last year.

“This year, I heard from his wet nurse’s son that he accidentally discovered an iron mine in Nanxi county, so he personally came to be the county magistrate.

“However, not many people know about this. Apart from his people in Nanxi county, there shouldn’t be anyone else who knows about it, including those in the capital.

“It’s good that you know about this in your heart. Let’s pretend that we don’t know about it to the outside world.”

Shi Qingluo was very surprised after hearing this.

However, what was surprising wasn’t Mo Qingling’s background, but her little husband who knew so much.

He had already said that apart from Mo Qingling and his people, no one else in the capital and Nanxi county should know about it.

Then how did he know about it?

Shi Qingluo had always felt that her little husband was not simple and knew a lot of things.

Recalling the hostility he had shown when he had just woken up, as well as the things that had been exposed during their recent interactions, she suddenly had a guess.

However, she did not expose him.

He did not probe into her secret, and she would not stare at him to probe further.

It was very fair and good for them to keep a little secret from each other.

She asked meaningfully, “Mozhi county will have great achievements in the future, right?”

Xiao Hanzheng had a deeper understanding about his wife’s cleverness.

She might have guessed his matter, that’s why she asked this.

Otherwise, how could he know Mo Qingling’s future?

Footnote:

tong zhi 同知 – a title for a civil servant in the Qing, Ming and Song dynasties.

tan hua 探花 – In ancient China, tan hua 探花 refers to the candidate who emerged 3rd in the scholar examinations, while zhuang yuan 状元 and bang shou 榜首 refer to candidates who emerged 1st and 2nd place respectively.