The Temperature of Happiness!

"Brother Gao, y-you know this lord?"

The young woman, who had been so arrogant and overbearing just moments ago, now slipped behind Gao Chang in a flash, clutching his arm nervously as she asked in a trembling voice.

This woman was not stupid.

She knew perfectly well that Gao Chang only looked as though he were facing a great enemy when he encountered someone obviously stronger than himself.

If the other party were merely his equal in strength, Lord Gao would not have lost his composure like this.

All he would need to do was call it a misunderstanding and laugh it off, and the matter would be over.

But now...

"You bitch!"

As Gao Chang cursed, he raised his hand and delivered a resounding slap, sending the young woman sprawling to the ground.

"Xu Xiaocui, how many days have you been in the Gao family? Your eyes are already growing on top of your head?

"If I don't teach you a proper lesson today, you won't know why flowers are so red!"

With that, Gao Chang began kicking and punching Xu Xiaocui.

Though he did not hit her with enough force to kill her, for a woman with no cultivation, such blows were more than enough for her to bear.

Qin Yao knew that Gao Chang was really putting on this show for him, hoping to soothe his anger.

"Ah! This servant did not know this lord's identity—it was all a misunderstanding, this servant... Ah!

"Master, spare my life! Master, spare my life! This servant will never dare again!"

Xu Xiaocui knelt on the ground and took the beating, pitiful and miserable.

"Hmph, 'a misunderstanding'? The deed is already done. What use is it to merely call it a 'misunderstanding'?"

"They say, 'A virtuous wife brings her husband fewer misfortunes.' Yet you, you bitch, have none of a virtuous woman's bearing—bringing trouble upon me at every turn. Do you think one word of 'misunderstanding' means you can escape punishment?!"

Gao Chang deliberately stressed the words "misunderstanding" several times.

His purpose, naturally, was to hope Qin Yao would spare her when he could.

Seeing that the woman had been beaten enough, Qin Yao finally said, "That's enough, Brother Gao. Beating a woman is unsightly enough, let alone beating your own woman."

"This stinking bitch is far too ignorant of her place. I have to teach her a few more lessons!"

Gao Chang said theatrically.

In truth, he was waiting for Qin Yao to urge him once more, so that he could take the offered slope and step down.

Who would have thought that Qin Yao merely narrowed his eyes and said in a seemingly joking tone, "Hey, Sister-in-law is so delicate and tender. If you keep teaching her a lesson, won't you beat something wrong with her?

"As they say, 'A wife's debt is repaid by her husband.' I say you should simply give me some silver—consider it compensation for buying me new clothes!"

Now that Qin Yao had put it so plainly, what else could Gao Chang say?

He could only force a smile and nod. "Of course, of course."

As he spoke, he took several taels of loose silver from his sleeve pouch and presented them with cupped hands.

Qin Yao happily tucked them away.

Adding the seven or eight taels this fellow had compensated him earlier, and subtracting what he had spent on meat, he still had eleven or twelve taels left!

Together with the twenty taels he had brought out before leaving, he now had a full thirty taels of silver. In Tang Village, that absolutely counted as leaping into modest prosperity overnight.

To test whether Qin Yao's anger had faded after taking the money, Gao Chang could only make idle conversation, pointing at the large sack Qin Yao carried over his shoulder. "Brother Xiao, this is?"

"Oh, meat I bought from the old hunter."

Qin Yao chuckled. "Carry this meat around the mountains and forests, and it's sure to draw in plenty of wild beasts!"

"Gasp, carrying so much meat—is this bastard planning to fish for tigers, leopards, and black bears deep in the mountains?!"

Thinking again of their conversation when they had last met, Gao Chang became even more convinced that this man was a lunatic.

Spending money to ward off disaster this time had absolutely been a wise move...

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Gao Chang led his wife away as though fleeing for his life.

No sooner had they left than the owner of the clothing shop, along with the two shop assistants, all dropped to their knees with a thump. "Mercy, my lord! Mercy, my lord!"

"We were blind as dogs and looked down on others, offending you, my lord."

"If my lord would be so magnanimous as to spare this humble shop, we would be endlessly grateful. We are willing to offer five taels of silver with both hands, inviting my lord to drink a cup of apology tea.

"Once our proprietor learns of this afterward, he will surely approve of this humble one's decision to offer compensation on his own initiative..."

It had to be said that the clothing shop owner had some skill.

In just a few words, he not only offered Qin Yao a compensation plan, but also subtly made it clear: this shop had a proprietor backing it!

Let us settle this well between us, and do not go too far.

Since Qin Yao was operating under a disguise, he naturally did not wish to draw too much attention either.

Thus, with a cold expression, he said, "Ten taels of silver, plus three sets of clothes."

"Th-this..."

The shopkeeper hesitated.

Three sets of ready-made clothes were one thing. The fabrics in his shop were fairly ordinary, and all three sets together would not cost more than two taels of silver.

But the other party had doubled the five-tael compensation he himself had offered. That was a real headache.

"Heh. It doesn't matter if you're unwilling to pay. Whenever I have time in the future, I'll be sure to visit often."

With a cold laugh, Qin Yao turned and started to leave.

The shopkeeper thought it over. This man before him was a ruthless figure who had made Guard Officer Gao rather slap his own wife than refuse to bow his head and yield.

What if he became dissatisfied and kept coming by the shop to haunt the place like a lingering ghost? Was he supposed to keep doing business or not?

Thus, the shopkeeper could only grit his teeth and agree. "Then we'll do as you say, sir. Here are ten taels. Please take them."

Qin Yao weighed them in his hand. The amount was spot-on, so he promptly tucked them away.

Then, as though nothing had happened, he began strolling around the shop.

"Mm, this brightly colored jacket and skirt would suit Lan'er quite well."

"And this blue-gray set—the size and style would both suit Grandpa."

Qin Yao looked from left to right, agonizing over it for quite a while. In the end, he still forced himself not to buy anything for his little sister or grandfather, choosing only three sets of ready-made clothes for himself.

After all, his public identity was that of a criminal mine slave serving out his sentence.

Under normal circumstances, how could a mine slave's family possibly afford such gorgeous new clothes?

If he truly brought those two new outfits home, not only would they fail to become gifts that made Grandpa and his sister happy—they might very well bring disaster upon them instead!

"I need to grow stronger quickly. Only then can I take Grandpa and Lan'er away from this place, so they can enjoy life without a single worry."

After leaving the clothing shop, Qin Yao deliberately went outside the village and circled around twice.

Only after confirming that no one was following him did he climb over the village wall, which stood a full man-and-a-half tall, and slip back home without anyone noticing.

"Grandpa, Lan'er, wake up."

"Hm? What is it, Brother?"

The little girl sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes. Pouting her soft pink lips, she said, "I was dreaming about gnawing on a chicken leg, and you went and ruined my beautiful dream!"

"What's the fun in gnawing chicken legs in a dream? I'll let you eat real meat the moment you open your eyes!"

As he spoke, Qin Yao opened an oil-paper parcel, revealing a chunk of fragrant, tender braised roe deer meat.

"W-wow... mmph?"

Qin Lan had barely begun to exclaim when Old Master Qin clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Hmph, I knew you'd start shouting and making a fuss."

The old man rolled his eyes. "Keep it quiet, understand?"

"Mhm, mhm, mhm..."

Qin Lan nodded like a pecking chicken, her watery eyes fixed firmly on the meat Qin Yao held in his hands.

"All right, hurry and eat! This is all for you and Grandpa. I already ate my fill before coming back!"

After saying that, Qin Yao pointed at the large vat nearby. "I put the rest of the meat in the rice jar. There's plenty more."

When Grandpa lifted the lid of the rice jar and looked inside, his old eyes went wide. "Th-this much?!

"Oh my, oh my. Although it's chilly in the northern lands this time of year, cooked meat still won't keep for more than a few days!"

"Exactly. So you and Lanlan absolutely mustn't be reluctant to eat it. Better to eat it than let it spoil, right?"

Qin Yao understood his grandfather well.

Anything with even a little grease or flavor to it—if you did not use the excuse of "it'll spoil if you don't eat it soon" to press him...

The old man would surely be too reluctant to put even the tiniest shred into his own mouth!

In the end, all the delicious food would be saved and stuffed into his grandson's and granddaughter's bellies.

At last, Old Master Qin truly had no choice but to join his granddaughter in eating.

The moment he bit down, the meat juices burst across his tongue. One word: fragrant!

Grandpa and his little sister had both gone far, far too long without tasting the aroma of meat.

As they ate, tears welled up in both their eyes.

Perhaps the warmth hidden in their eyes at that moment was the temperature of happiness.