Gu Lejia was in no mood to listen to any of this. "Just tell me, will you help or not? This is a human life we’re talking about!"

Jin Qianqian stared at him as if he were an idiot. ’We fled from famine all this way and watched so many people die right before our eyes. Why wasn’t this kid so compassionate back then?’

"Is it because Seventh Aunt won’t let you help? Seventh Uncle, you’re a grown man, the head of this household! How can you listen to some woman?" Gu Lejia suddenly shouted, pointing at Jin Qianqian.

Jin Qianqian, caught in the crossfire for no reason, was speechless. ’...’ ’What does this have to do with me? I was just an innocent bystander. How did I get dragged into this?’

’They always say a wife married into a family is an outsider. It seems that idea has existed from ancient times to the present. In any case, it’s always the outsider who’s at fault.’

"You bastard!" Ancient Wen Heng slammed his teacup down, splashing tea all over the table. "Don’t drag your Seventh Aunt into everything. From beginning to end, has she said a single word?

"This is all my decision. If you really want a good life for yourself in the future, then stay far away from that family.

"That girl may be a widow, but she’s not as harmless as you think. You should think it over carefully!"

From the moment Gu Lejia mentioned her, Ancient Wen Heng had already sent Mrs. Huang to make specific inquiries. This Xiuxiang was not at all as harmless as she appeared. Otherwise, she couldn’t have protected her younger brother and fought against her stepmother for so many years.

When she married that sickly man back then, it wasn’t out of the question that she had taken advantage of the situation.

If it were just these little schemes, it would be understandable. After all, one had to be clever to survive.

But she shouldn’t be stringing Gu Lejia along while also exchanging flirtatious glances with several other men. That was a matter of morals.

"Is it just because she’s a widow?" Gu Lejia said with disdain. "That sickly fellow was already on his deathbed back then; he couldn’t even get out of bed. You can’t just blame everything on her.

"Besides..."

At this, Gu Lejia paused, a smug look spreading across his face.

Ancient Wen Heng was speechless. ’...’ ’He’s truly been blinded by a woman.’

Jin Qianqian couldn’t stand to listen anymore. She turned and walked out. ’You can’t wake someone who’s pretending to be asleep, so why waste time here?’

Ancient Wen Heng was speechless again. ’...’ ’My wife, you’re leaving me in the lurch! I want to leave too.’

Unfortunately, that was only a thought. With a THUD, Gu Lejia dropped to his knees right in front of him. "Seventh Uncle, if you don’t help me, I won’t get up."

"Young Master Le, please don’t make things difficult for our master." Hong Tianbao reached out to help him up, only to have his hand slapped away.

Gu Lejia said, "What kind of young master am I? My own uncle, sitting on such a massive fortune, won’t even lend me a little silver to get married. I’m worse off than the beggars at the gate."

Ancient Wen Heng looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Our only connection is that of uncle and nephew. Besides, your parents are still alive and well. It’s not my place as your uncle to manage your marriage.

"However, if you’re willing to write a statement for me, I might consider lending you the silver."

"What statement?" Gu Lejia almost shot to his feet, but remembering he was the one asking for a favor, he settled back onto his knees and looked up at Ancient Wen Heng.

Ancient Wen Heng said, "You need to find a witness and clearly state the cause and effect of this whole affair. You also need to add a line specifying that your marriage has absolutely nothing to do with my wife and me."

Having come from a later era, Ancient Wen Heng didn’t believe in verbal promises. Having it in black and white was much more reliable.

It wasn’t that he was afraid Gu Lejia would renege on the debt—he didn’t care about that small amount of silver. He just didn’t want to clash with his older brother and sister-in-law later on and have them push all the blame and responsibility onto him and his wife.

"Isn’t that too much trouble?" The thought of putting all this down in black and white made Gu Lejia feel a little embarrassed.

Ancient Wen Heng said, "This is the only way. It’s up to you!"

With that, he stood up and started to walk out. After being busy for half the day, his stomach was already growling. It was a rare day off, and he wanted to take his wife for a stroll through the streets and buy her some jewelry.

"I’ll write it," Gu Lejia said through gritted teeth. "But I’m illiterate."

Ancient Wen Heng said, "You can find someone to come over yourself, but it will have to be tonight."

"Why?"

Without looking back, Ancient Wen Heng flicked his sleeves and left. "Because I’m taking your aunt shopping. If you have any sense, you won’t bother us again."

Gu Lejia was speechless. ’...’

"Aren’t you afraid of the trouble?" Jin Qianqian couldn’t help but tease when she saw Gu Lejia hurrying out.

"What’s the point in being afraid? The kid’s being bullheaded right now. You have to let him hit a wall to learn his lesson." Ancient Wen Heng was unconcerned. "Many people are like that—once an idea gets into their head, they’d throw all caution to the wind."

He had originally wanted to try and straighten him out, but after seeing his attitude toward Qianqian, Ancient Wen Heng immediately changed his mind.

Jin Qianqian saw him clutching his stomach a few times. "Mrs. Huang has already prepared the meal. Should we have it served now?"

Ancient Wen Heng nodded instantly and said to Hong Tianbao, who was standing by not far away, "Serve the meal."

He had been at the docks since early this morning and had no time or inclination to think about filling his stomach. Now that he had relaxed, he felt like his stomach was about to start drumming.

"Let’s eat first. After we eat, we’ll go for a walk. We’ve been here so long, and I haven’t made time to properly accompany you," Ancient Wen Heng said apologetically.

Jin Qianqian’s face lit up with excitement. "Really? I’ve been out a few times with Little Hua and the others, but it’s just not the same. Are you sure you don’t have anything else to do?"

Ancient Wen Heng said, "From now on, I’ll do my best to make more time for you."

He had previously thought about having Jin Qianqian socialize more with the families of his fellow apprentices, but it was as if they had all agreed to avoid her, so he gave up on the idea.

Later, he was constantly busy with miscellaneous matters concerning soap and glass, and the two of them indeed had much less time together.

After the initial excitement, Jin Qianqian calmed down. "It’s alright, you don’t have to. With so much to manage both inside and outside the home, we don’t have that much free time.

"The end of the year is approaching, and there are many things we need to start preparing."

Ancient Wen Heng led Jin Qianqian to the dining table. "You still have too few servants. When the right opportunity comes, we should hire more."

In this place, women faced many restrictions. Ancient Wen Heng hoped Jin Qianqian could have more people to talk to, and a few more personal attendants to look after her, so she wouldn’t be so lonely when she was bored.

Jin Qianqian glanced at the nervous-looking Liu Xiaohua standing nearby. "We should find a few more people. Preferably ones who can read, do accounts, and help share some of the burden."

This Liu Xiaohua was good at everything else, but she was completely hopeless when it came to academics. Jin Qianqian had taught her some arithmetic, but she would forget it all within a couple of days. She wasn’t nearly as low-maintenance as Xiao Dongzi.

But the girl did have one good quality: she was an open book and couldn’t hide her feelings. Just look at her—the moment there was talk of hiring more people, her face looked like she was about to cry from anxiety.