Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Inquiry

Qin Hui Yin tried to persuade Third Master Tang to stay for a meal, but he refused. He only complained that his old arms and legs ached and said he would go home to rest. Then he left.

After he was gone, the family tidied the house and put away what they’d brought back. Only when everything was settled did they sit and go over the past few days as a whole.

Qin Hui Yin recounted what had happened in the county seat, then laid the silver they’d earned out in the open.

“Here’s the account book,” she said, placing it on the table and turning it so Tang Yi Chen could see. “I recorded what we earned and spent each day. Do you want to look?”

Tang Yi Chen reached out, touched the cover, then set it aside without opening it.

“They can’t read it, and I don’t need to,” he said. His voice was still weak, but his gaze was steady. “Every coin in this household is your work. It’s only right that it belongs to you.”

Tang Lu Wu and Tang Yi Xiao had helped, but what they brought in wasn’t enough to cover Tang Yi Xiao’s monthly medicine and the food for everyone. Tang Yi Chen wasn’t blind. He knew who was holding the household up now, and he knew Qin Hui Yin and her mother had given the most.

Seeing the children so united, Tang Da Fu’s eyes grew damp.

Li Tao Hua was famous for doting on her child. If Qin Hui Yin kept treating Tang Lu Wu and Tang Yi Xiao like real siblings, this family wouldn’t fall apart.

Even though no one asked, Qin Hui Yin still explained everything clearly. She flipped to the last page of the account book and tapped it.

“Right now, our family has nine taels and 450 coins left. Now that the outside debt is gone, this will last us for a while.” She looked around the table, meeting each pair of eyes. “But I don’t think any of us want to stay where we are forever. Elder Brother needs to earn his degree, and there will be many places to spend money. Younger Brother needs a better physician. Only if we earn enough silver can we afford a famous doctor. And Sister Lu Wu and I are young ladies too—we need to prepare dowries…”

Li Tao Hua cleared her throat loudly. “Aren’t you ashamed? Who talks about that in front of others?”

“Are you ‘others’?” Qin Hui Yin asked, utterly serious. “Everyone should have a plan. If you have a plan, you have a goal. If you have a goal, you know what to do.”

Li Tao Hua’s mouth twitched. “Fine. Then tell us—what’s your plan?”

“My plan is for Elder Brother to focus on preparing for the exams.” Qin Hui Yin turned and smiled brightly at Tang Yi Chen. “Whether our family rises depends on you, our golden phoenix.”

Tang Yi Chen stared at her.

[Golden phoenix?]

No one had ever called him that in his life.

“And there’s something I don’t understand,” Qin Hui Yin continued, turning to Tang Yi Xiao. “Why isn’t Younger Brother studying too? We should be able to support two scholars now.”

Tang Yi Xiao scratched his head, looking genuinely pained. “At first my health was bad. Studying drains qi and blood. For the sake of living longer, I avoided things that wore out my mind.” He sighed. “Now I’ve figured it out. Not everyone’s suited for studying. When I listen to my brother read those long essays, I start nodding off. I really don’t want to go.”

“Even if you don’t earn a degree, literacy is still necessary,” Qin Hui Yin said, not letting him escape. “And you need to learn accounting, too.” She looked back to Tang Yi Chen. “Elder Brother, while you’re recovering at home, could you set aside one hour a day to teach Sister Lu Wu and Younger Brother to read?”

“I can,” Tang Yi Chen said.

Tang Lu Wu blinked in alarm. “Me too? I have to learn?”

“Of course.” Qin Hui Yin didn’t hesitate. “If our business grows, one day you might have to sign documents. If you can’t read, how will you know whether a contract hides a trap?” She softened slightly. “And if you can read, you can buy books you actually like. Not every book in the world is stiff eight-legged essays. There are interesting ones, too.”

Tang Da Fu raised a timid hand. “Does that mean the whole family will be able to read except me?”

Qin Hui Yin turned to him at once. “Uncle Tang, you should learn with them too. If everyone can read and you’re the only one who can’t, won’t you feel left out?”

“At my age…” Tang Da Fu’s face tightened. The thought of learning under his own son made him uneasy. If he struggled and got scolded, he’d have no face at all.

His eldest son had never spared him dignity. For years, Tang Yi Chen’s contempt had been plain as day. If they weren’t father and son, Tang Yi Chen likely wouldn’t glance at him twice.

Qin Hui Yin leaned in, eyes bright, and dropped her “kindness” like a stone. “If you can’t read, one day my mother could hand you a divorce letter and trick you into signing it. You wouldn’t even notice. You’d just obediently press your fingerprint.”

Tang Da Fu went rigid. “…Tao Hua wouldn’t do that to me.”

Qin Hui Yin looked unconvinced. “What couldn’t my mother do? She’s beautiful. She must face temptation every day. Those men are handsome and can read and write—who knows? One day my mother might just…”

Li Tao Hua went still.

[Was she really that unreliable?]

[And you, my own daughter—your mother’s already been married three times. Aren’t you afraid one shove will turn your mother into a discarded woman?]

Qin Hui Yin blinked at her—an innocent, quick little signal: Stay calm. I’m doing this for the household.

Tang Da Fu looked from Qin Hui Yin to Li Tao Hua. Something in him snapped, not with anger, but with fear. He ground his teeth. “Fine. I’ll learn.”

If nothing else… he needed to recognize the words “divorce letter.”

Tang Lu Wu and Tang Yi Xiao exchanged a look, speechless.

They’d always found their father’s lovesick devotion embarrassing. Now they suddenly realized it could be turned into a blade if wielded properly.

Qin Hui Yin continued, as if she hadn’t just set off a bomb. “This is all the silver we have right now. Next, we’ll keep earning in the county seat. But it’s far. Going every day isn’t realistic, so I suggest we go once every three days. One day to prepare ingredients and tend the fields. One day to go into the city for business—we’ll leave early and return late, and it’ll be exhausting. The day after that should be for rest.”

She spoke calmly, like a seasoned head of household. “You can’t earn silver endlessly. While we’re doing business, we also have to live well. Being happy in body and mind matters, too.”

Li Tao Hua smiled, pride flickering on her face. “My daughter is looking more and more like the one in charge. The business was your idea. We’ll do whatever you arrange.”

Tang Da Fu stared at Li Tao Hua as if she were the sun. “I’ll listen to Tao Hua.”

No one even reacted. They were used to him.

Tang Yi Chen spoke last. “My focus is the Imperial Exam. I can only trouble you, Little Sister, to handle the household matters. However you arrange it, we’ll cooperate.”

Qin Hui Yin’s heart jumped.

[Little Sister?]

[So the male lead recognized her?]

[Looks like her life was safe.]

“Now that the household’s mostly arranged,” Li Tao Hua said, swinging her gaze toward the bed, “it’s time for Brother Chen to explain this injury. Who stabbed you—Chen Zhong Yi?”

Tang Yi Chen answered evenly, as if describing the weather. “Mm. I took the physician to confront him. When his scheme was exposed, he flew into a rage. In the struggle, he pulled a dagger and stabbed me once.”

The room erupted in curses—furious, heartfelt, endless.

At the same time, relief threaded through the anger. It was over. The villain was gone. Tang Yi Chen was alive.

No one asked for more details, and Tang Yi Chen offered none.

Only Qin Hui Yin still felt a faint unease, a pebble she couldn’t quite dislodge. But she didn’t voice it.

As long as the outcome was good, she told herself, there was no need to pry into every step that led there.