Chapter 36: Serving the Wife

Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Serving the Wife

Que Hongjin reached out and gently took them. His movements were incredibly light and careful, as if he cherished these books dearly. Flipping through the pages with the utmost caution, a flickering, radiant light danced in the depths of his eyes. He looked at Qiao Suluo just like that, a gentle aura softening his features.

"What happened in the past was not my wife’s fault.

"You really didn’t have to do all this, wife."

As he spoke, the look in Que Hongjin’s eyes grew even deeper, laced with profound meaning.

Qiao Suluo simply asked earnestly, "But do you like them?"

With a smile in his eyes, Que Hongjin replied with elegant grace, "Yes, I like them."

Qiao Suluo also broke into a smile. "As long as you like them. If you ever get bored, you can read them." She paused for a moment before adding, "Once I redeem the other three, I’ll send you to the academy to study."

In their Da Jing Dynasty, one could enter the bureaucracy through the imperial examinations. Both female beastmen and male beastmen could serve as officials. However, most female beastmen were unwilling to endure the grueling effort of studying for the exams; they merely needed to marry a Beast Husband who was an official to enjoy a life of privilege. Therefore, the vast majority of officials were male beastmen.

Since Que Hongjin loved books, he would likely enjoy studying at the academy. Furthermore, Nanlu Academy in their county was renowned throughout the Da Jing Dynasty and boasted a vast collection of literature.

Listening to her words and observing Qiao Suluo’s expression, Que Hongjin knew his wife was completely serious. The amusement in his eyes deepened. "There’s no need. I’m fine staying at home."

The cost of education was exorbitant, though he deeply appreciated her kindness. He was no longer the Young Master of the Peacock Family. She worked tirelessly every day setting up her stall to earn money, and he had long stopped harboring unrealistic dreams.

Sensing his concerns, Qiao Suluo reassured him earnestly, "You don’t need to worry about the tuition fees. Leave that to me."

Upon hearing this, Que Hongjin restrained his expression. His usually calm and indifferent eyes now swirled with dark, tumultuous emotions. He set down the brush in his hand, slowly stood up, and stopped right in front of Qiao Suluo. "What a silly girl," he murmured softly.

He truly didn’t know what to do with her.

"Why is my wife treating me so well?" He had never encountered a female beast like her. She was like the sun, illuminating his dead, freezing heart, stirring ripples across the calm lake of his mind that refused to settle.

"No wife is willing to fund her Beast Husband’s studies."

Female beastmen would never do something so foolish. If male beastmen wanted to study, they either relied on their own families or, after marriage, their own dowries. Yet for many male beastmen, their dowries belonged to their wives after marriage, leaving them with no right to make their own decisions. If a female beastman wanted to study, it was entirely normal for her male beastmen to support her, but almost no female beastman would exert such effort for a man.

Thus, for Qiao Suluo to say such a thing was utterly inconceivable to him. He gazed down at her with a profound look, desperately wanting to ask where she came from and why she was so incredibly good to him.

Qiao Suluo’s eyelashes fluttered as she replied, "They are them, and I am me. Rest assured, I will send you to the academy to study."

Que Hongjin leaned in slightly, lowering his head to whisper in her ear. "Then, what does my wife want?

"In exchange, does my wife want this?"

With a subtle movement of his fingers, Que Hongjin stepped forward and gently pulled her into his arms, making her lean against his chest. He lowered his head, his lips hovering near hers as his presence entirely enveloped her.

An enchanting voice immediately echoed in her ear. "Does my wife need me to serve her?"

After all, as a Beast Husband, this was also his responsibility and duty.

Qiao Suluo was completely stunned. They had just been talking about studying at the academy—how had the topic suddenly veered in this direction?

She hurriedly pushed Que Hongjin away. "No, I don’t want to be served! There are no conditions.

"I just hope that once you earn merit and become an official, you can offer me a bit of protection.

"Doing business is too eye-catching. Without the backing of power, it’s easy to be bullied by others.

"So just consider it as me wanting to enjoy the shade under a big tree. I want you to become that sturdy tree and watch over me."

Qiao Suluo thought to herself, "If I tell him there are no conditions, Que Hongjin will never trust me. It’s better to state a few conditions. That way, he’ll actually believe me. Otherwise, he might think I have some ulterior motives toward him."

"Looking the way I do, I’m well aware of my own limits," she added aloud. "Don’t worry, I absolutely don’t have any other intentions toward you."

This was the honest truth.

"Well, I’ll be heading back now." Terrified of what might happen if she stayed any longer, Qiao Suluo hastily fled from Que Hongjin’s room.

Watching her panic-stricken retreat, a faint, almost imperceptible smile played at the corners of Que Hongjin’s lips. He rubbed his fingers together, murmuring thoughtfully, "She really has lost quite a bit of weight and become much fairer."

The sensation of holding her just now had made that obvious. Moreover, her aura was completely different from before. He could never misjudge something like that.

He sat back down at the desk and picked up the five books to examine them.

"What a silly girl," he thought. "She probably doesn’t realize that the books I owned previously all had annotations I made while studying.

"Yet these five books are completely clean."

They were the exact same titles, but they were definitely not his original five books. He couldn’t help but wonder, "So... how in the world did she do it?"

Que Hongjin picked up one of the books, handling it as if it were a precious treasure. However, after reading a few pages, he discovered that the contents of this book were actually much more comprehensive than his previous copy.

The rare volumes he had brought out from his family were handwritten manuscripts. The original editions had long been lost to time, and all the surviving copies were transcriptions. Some of the content in his copies had been incomplete, and despite later efforts by scholars to mend them, there were still missing sections.

But the book before his eyes was entirely whole.

He could no longer maintain his composure. Raging waves surged within his heart. He almost couldn’t resist the urge to storm into her room and demand to know what was going on. But then he helplessly pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing full well that she probably wouldn’t tell him.

After returning to her room, Qiao Suluo steadied her racing heart. "This Que Hongjin might seem gentle, but he’s actually incredibly beguiling," she thought.

Over the next three days, a continuous drizzle fell. Unable to set up her stall in the county town, Qiao Suluo stayed home and made extra batches of Konjac. She took the opportunity to prepare some malt sugar as well. As for the Peach Blossom Brew, it had finished fermenting perfectly. Once the rain stopped, she could resume her business in the county town.

However, that night while sleeping, Qiao Suluo suddenly dreamt of her Dog Night Beastman, Yue Hanzheng.

After he had been sold to Medicine King Valley, the people there used his blood for medicinal research. Treating him as a medicine man, they drained his blood daily while force-feeding him a vast assortment of experimental drugs, all of which he was compelled to swallow.

Yue Hanzheng’s expression grew increasingly numb and despairing. He didn’t even put up a fight. His body withered away, becoming terribly emaciated.

One day, someone handed him a bowl of medicine. Upon drinking it, he violently vomited blood, and his breathing soon ceased completely.

"He’s dead."

"Creating a medicine man has failed yet again."

"We thought he was strong enough, but he still couldn’t withstand the drug’s toxicity."

"Dead is dead. At least he won’t have to drink these concoctions anymore. This is a release for him. Just bury him in the back mountain."

"What a pity for such a breathtakingly beautiful face. To think his wife was cruel enough to sell him to Medicine King Valley as a medicine man."