White Daydreaming

Young men were full of vigor and fire. Going three or five rounds a day was the norm.

When Qin Bi'er took the initiative to come calling, Su Mo was naturally thrilled.

Dian Dian, who was usually inseparable from her, had not come along. She must have entrusted her to the neighbors.

How could Su Mo not understand what was going on?

The little widow had acquired a taste for it, and so had he.

After more than twenty years as a shut-in, he was overflowing with theoretical knowledge but had zero practical experience!

Now that he had finally gotten some hands-on experience, how could one time possibly be enough?

"Why did you leave this morning without saying a word?"

Lowering his voice, Su Mo reached out to catch the little widow's delicate hand.

Qin Bi'er instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but it was already too late. Su Mo had seized it in a death grip.

Her entire hand felt as though it had been wrapped in Su Mo's broad, solid palm.

How are Su-lang's hands so big?

Qin Bi'er's pretty face flushed crimson. She tried hard to pull back her little hand and said in a low voice, "Langjun, don't... don't do this. If someone sees us, people will gossip."

Su Mo held on to Qin Bi'er's hand and grinned. "What's there to be afraid of?"

"I refuse to believe anyone would dare wag their tongue about me!"

"Once things settle down, I'll pick an auspicious day, set out a few banquet tables, and take you into my household!"

Qin Bi'er's pretty face grew so red it looked as though blood might drip from it!

Seeing her shy expression and delicate figure, beautiful beyond compare, Su Mo could not help recalling last night's events. His heart burned hotter and hotter!

Still, he had not been blinded by lust. With a trace of regret, he said, "Bi'er, things are a little inconvenient right now. We'll... do it tonight."

Before he could finish, Qin Bi'er was startled and hurriedly said, "Su-lang!"

"I didn't come here for that!"

"And how could we... do that in broad daylight!"

Conservative by nature, Qin Bi'er refused to share intimacy with Su Mo in broad daylight. Wouldn't that amount to indulging in debauchery under the sun?

After saying this, Qin Bi'er feared that Su Mo might grow angry. She could only grit her teeth and whisper, "Tonight... I'll come find you again, all right?"

Su Mo said, "All right!"

Then he grew suspicious. "Why have you come, then?"

Qin Bi'er hesitated, her cherry lips opening and closing several times as she struggled to speak.

Su Mo smiled. "Between us, what is there to be cautious about? Just say what you have to say."

Only then did Qin Bi'er grit her teeth and say, "Su-lang, your miscellaneous servant position... could you reserve one for me?"

The moment he heard this, Su Mo was utterly stunned.

In the Great Wu Dynasty, the Empress sat upon the throne and held the nation's authority in her hands.

Women could even become officials, so serving as subordinate clerks or miscellaneous servants was no issue at all.

For instance, Heroine Chen had obtained an assistant servant position.

However, female constables and yamen runners were still exceedingly rare—so rare that their numbers did not even compare with female officials, let alone female miscellaneous servants.

Su Mo had never imagined that Qin Bi'er would make such a bizarre request.

He frowned. "What do you want an assistant servant position for?"

Qin Bi'er hurriedly said, "No, not an assistant servant position!"

"Just a white servant position will do!"

Su Mo was caught between laughter and tears. "This isn't about whether it's an assistant servant or a white servant."

"If you truly want to serve, what harm would there be in arranging a regular servant position for you?"

"I'm asking why you want to become a miscellaneous servant."

Qin Bi'er immediately realized that Su Mo had misunderstood. She explained, "It isn't that I want to become a miscellaneous servant."

"It's my... younger male cousin."

"It's like this..."

Qin Bi'er then told Su Mo the whole story.

After her husband died, her husband's relatives had bullied her for being a childless widow, using all sorts of excuses to seize the shops, farmland, goods, and other property that rightfully belonged to her.

They had even gone so far as to try to leave her without the last large residence where she could shelter herself!

Qin Rui, the son of her maternal uncle's cousin, had been very close to her since childhood and naturally could not stand by and watch.

He had secretly come over and hidden nearby, then given the men who came to her door to pressure their cousin a thorough beating.

Unfortunately, he was young and hot-blooded. Having practiced martial arts at a martial academy for several years, he had no sense of restraint and beat one of them until he vomited blood on the spot.

The other party reported him to the authorities and had him arrested.

Qin Rui had no choice but to flee.

His family had spent more than twenty taels of silver from beginning to end, bribing constables and making other arrangements, before the other party finally agreed to drop the matter.

However, the authorities had only withdrawn the wanted notice; the case itself had never been cleared.

Qin Rui had never dared return to the city.

Of course, once the matter became serious, her husband's relatives ultimately did not dare go too far, and Qin Bi'er managed to keep her residence.

Yesterday, the strange case involving Su Mo and Leper Zhou spread throughout the city.

Everyone believed that Qin Bi'er had been unable to endure her loneliness and had already begun an illicit affair with Su Mo.

Leper Zhou, blind to the danger, had tried to snatch Su Mo's woman. Who could have known that Su Mo had such powerful backing? The man had been beaten to death right there in the courtroom!

Her elder uncle's family had arrived at the Qin residence first thing that morning after hearing the news.

They begged Qin Bi'er to ask Su Mo for help—to have her cousin's case cleared and, preferably, to secure him a miscellaneous servant position at the yamen so that he would not be bullied by others in the future.

The matter had originally arisen because of Qin Bi'er. How could she refuse? She had no choice but to come find Su Mo.

After listening, Su Mo could not help laughing. "I thought you wanted to become a miscellaneous servant!"

"Clearing his case is a trivial matter."

"I can even arrange a miscellaneous servant position for him, but..."

Qin Bi'er brightened at his words. She looked up at Su Mo, unable to hide the excitement in her lovely eyes. "But what?"

Su Mo looked at the little widow with a beaming smile. "But whether he gets an assistant servant position or a white servant position depends on how you perform tonight!"

"If you perform well, he'll naturally get an assistant servant position."

"If you perform poorly, even a white servant position will be hard to say!"

Qin Bi'er's face flushed again at his words. How could she dare say anything?

Su Mo secretly found it amusing, but stopped teasing her. His expression turned serious as he got to the real matter. "Actually, I was planning to look for you."

"We need to return gifts for yesterday's guests and their congratulatory offerings."

"As these are household affairs, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to handle them personally."

"I've already memorized the list. Go and return the gifts one by one for me."

Qin Bi'er froze. She stared at Su Mo with wide eyes, her expression somewhat complicated. "I... am to return the gifts for Langjun?"

Su Mo spoke as though it were only natural. "Who doesn't know that you're my woman? Naturally, you're the one who should handle this sort of thing!"

Qin Bi'er stood there dumbfounded...

Su Mo added, "You don't have to go, either."

"As for Qin Rui's matter..."

Qin Bi'er was not actually shy or introverted by nature.

It was only that Su Mo had been truly outrageous the previous night—worse than a beast—and had made all sorts of shameful demands, which she had been forced to obey.

When she saw Su Mo again, she feared that he would think her a wanton woman. Her unease made it difficult for her to act naturally.

A pretty widow who supported herself and her daughter by making and selling pancakes at a street stall—and who even dared to swing a knife at someone.

How introverted and bashful could she possibly be?

She snorted and surprisingly did not blush again. "Su-lang only likes bullying me!"

"If that's the case, then I'll return the gifts for you!"

Su Mo smiled. "That's more like it!"

"Mm..."

"A guest came to the residence today. She's disguised as a man and needs to stay for several days."

"You can pretend not to know. Later, tidy up a side room and let her stay there, then go buy two sets of scholar's robes."

Qin Bi'er did not ask any questions. She merely nodded. "I understand."

"I'll go back and tell my elder uncle, then come over to tidy up. Would that be all right?"

Su Mo smiled. "Go ahead. It will keep them from worrying."

"If no one is looking after Dian Dian, bring her along too."

Only then did Qin Bi'er leave happily.

But before Su Mo could close the door and return inside,

another carriage came driving toward him.

It was Chen Bao and his daughter.

Officer Su let out a gloomy sigh.

He practically had no private space at all.

Still, since he had chosen the path of becoming an official and wielding power, he could not avoid this sort of receiving and seeing off guests.

He also needed to take Qin Bi'er into his household as soon as possible, then hire a steward and a gatekeeper.

He could not possibly go out to greet every visitor who knocked on the door.

How undignified would that be!

Chen Bao had arrived at just the right time.

Su Mo had been wanting to discuss the illicit salt trade with him.

No matter the era, money was always tremendously important—even for the Empress!

If he wanted a promotion, shouldn't he pave the way with money first?

Power unused was power wasted. Naturally, he had to seize the opportunity to rake in wealth—and the more, the better. It would be immensely useful when he rose through the ranks in the future!