A pouch?

The smile at the corner of Qiao Zhao’s mouth immediately vanished.

Was this man blind? Although her craftsmanship wasn’t good, this was a sachet!

Shao Mingyuan opened the sachet with a smile at the corner of his mouth, only to find it empty inside. Puzzled, he turned it over and over, then met Miss Qiao’s stern expression and suddenly understood.

“Uh, this sachet is nice. The design is simple and elegant, very much to my liking.”

Careless of him!

His previous sachets had all been purchased by his guards, and he had never paid close attention to them. He only remembered that each one was exquisite, all stored in small pouches…

Mistaking the sachet his future wife had sewn by hand for a pouch, he was doomed!

“Very much to your liking?” Qiao Zhao raised an eyebrow.

Shao Mingyuan laughed dryly as he hung the sachet at his waist: “Of course! I just love this simple style. Those gaudy sachets are hardly something for a man to wear!”

Strange, the sachet Zhaozhao usually wore wasn’t like this at all—the little ducks embroidered on it were adorable…

Qiao Zhao reached out and snatched the sachet away, reproaching him: “Don’t hang that pouch on yourself—people will laugh at you!”

Shao Mingyuan immediately embraced her and begged for forgiveness: “Zhaozhao, I was wrong. Everyone has moments of poor judgment—”

“Shao Mingyuan, shut up!”

The man blinked.

Oh no, he seemed to be making things worse.

“Zhaozhao, would you like to know how the Zhenniang sisters are doing?” Shao Mingyuan decisively changed the subject.

Qiao Zhao immediately forgot about pursuing the sachet matter and asked about the Zhenniang sisters’ situation.

Ever since the Xing Wuyang case was resolved, Censor Xing had directly leaped from his original position as Supervisory Censor to Assistant Censor-in-Chief, rising several ranks in succession to the attention of the entire court. His two daughters, meanwhile, were sent back to live with their clan.

With Censor Xing’s previous attempt to force his two daughters to death, Qiao Zhao was quite worried about the Zhenniang sisters’ subsequent circumstances.

“After the Zhenniang sisters returned to their clan, the clan leader and others wanted to send them to the family temple because both sisters had lost their chastity. Zhenniang clutched the jade ruyi bestowed by His Majesty and directly made them abandon that idea. Now the two sisters have established separate lodgings where they read books and play the qin. Their days are quite comfortable.”

Qiao Zhao showed genuine delight: “That’s good. The key is that they were willing to stand up.”

If they had first accepted their fate and believed that losing their chastity meant they should enter the family temple, then however many jade ruyi couldn’t have saved them.

What Qiao Zhao had worried about was that the Zhenniang sisters would follow Censor Xing’s pedantry, but unexpectedly, Zhenniang had impressed her.

Seeing Qiao Zhao smile, Shao Mingyuan grasped her hand.

The young woman’s ten fingers were slender, but her fingertips bore many needle marks.

Shao Mingyuan’s gaze tightened. He lowered his head to kiss her fingers, saying with heartache: “It’s my fault for not knowing you couldn’t do needlework.”

Qiao Zhao curled her fingers slightly, saying lightly: “What I can’t do, I can learn.”

Who said she couldn’t do it? Wasn’t this pouch… no, wait, wasn’t this sachet made by her? This fool didn’t know how to sweet-talk girls!

Shao Mingyuan held Qiao Zhao as they sat down. Gazing intently into her eyes, he said earnestly, “Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Silly girl, don’t force yourself to do things you’re not good at. Small items like sachets—I can perfectly well buy them or have the sewing room make them.”

Hmm, once Zhaozhao married over, he would need to establish a proper sewing room.

Who knew that after saying this, he would receive a roll of the eyes from the person in his arms: “Sachets can be made by the sewing room, but will you have them make your undergarments in the future too?”

Shao Mingyuan was stunned, then his ears gradually reddened.

Previously, he had never thought about this issue, but hearing Zhaozhao put it this way, he immediately felt something was wrong. It was as if the undergarments he was currently wearing could bite, making him uncomfortable all over.

Qiao Zhao lowered her eyelids, her long, thick lashes concealing the shyness in her eyes: “I don’t care what you wore before, but in the future… those intimate items naturally shouldn’t be made by others… Hey, what are you doing?”

Her remaining words dissolved in the man’s descending kiss.

“Shao Mingyuan… I told you not to fool around…” Qiao Zhao’s words came in fragments.

Shao Mingyuan suddenly released her, his eyes burning bright, his heart seemingly struck again and again by waves of heat.

Only a wife would care whether her husband’s intimate garments came from other women’s hands, and this feeling of having someone manage everything for him was truly wonderful—it let him know what the feeling of home was like.

“Zhaozhao, then from now on, let me have you make all my undergarments.” Shao Mingyuan nuzzled Qiao Zhao’s beautiful hair. Thinking of that sachet, his tone paused as he hastily added: “You can make them slowly—there’s no rush.”

He felt sorry for the hardship Zhaozhao endured doing needlework, yet greedily wanted the intimate garments she sewed by hand.

Qiao Zhao smiled with pursed lips: “One sachet made you lose confidence in me like this? Don’t worry—although I can’t embroider well, simple cutting and sewing is no problem. Besides, in this world there are only things people don’t want to learn, not things that can’t be learned.”

She would go back and learn from A’Zhu how to make undergarments!

Though she also didn’t know his measurements—

Miss Qiao’s gaze unconsciously drifted downward.

In this moment, perhaps the two shared a spiritual connection, as Shao Mingyuan suddenly understood what Qiao Zhao was thinking.

To make clothing required to take measurements. This was the most normal thing, but what Zhaozhao wanted to make for him were undergarments, which meant—

General Shao’s face immediately reddened like a cooked shrimp.

With his face red, Qiao Zhao also became embarrassed. She reached out to pinch him, reproaching: “What are you thinking about?”

“I wasn’t thinking anything—” Shao Mingyuan grabbed Qiao Zhao’s hand. Seeing her pure, doe-like eyes gazing at him, he hastily stood up and blurted out: “Why don’t you take my measurements?”

Take measurements—

Qiao Zhao’s gaze moved downward.

The man wore form-fitting black robes that made his legs appear even straighter and slender. Even standing motionless, one could sense through his clothes and trousers that taut strength.

Looking upward, there was the narrow waist cinched by a white jade belt, and his firm, rounded buttocks…

Qiao Zhao jerked her gaze away as if electrocuted, her heart beginning to pound rapidly.

They had been discussing such serious matters as the Zhenniang sisters—how had the conversation veered elsewhere?

For a moment, both fell silent, yet the ambiguous atmosphere was like invisible sparks, gradually igniting the heat surrounding both young people.

“Zhaozhao, I… I’ll escort you back.” Shao Mingyuan struggled to regain his reason.

Previously, they had been strangers with a complicated relationship. He could only approach her again and again to feel her acceptance of him, allowing his tormented heart to find peace.

But now they were already an engaged couple. Without worldly constraints, what he needed to do was restrain himself so that the girl he loved wouldn’t be harmed.

“Mm.” Qiao Zhao nodded lightly.

The two walked to the doorway, where Qiao Zhao stopped: “No need to escort me—I’ll go back myself.”

Shao Mingyuan felt reluctant in his heart, yet also secretly relieved: “Mm, I’ll come to pay New Year’s respects on the second day.”

And incidentally probe his father-in-law’s attitude to see when he could marry Zhaozhao home.

As he was thinking this, he suddenly felt a familiar presence rapidly approaching.

“Shao Tingquan, Happy New Year in advance.” Qiao Zhao stood on her toes and planted a kiss on Shao Mingyuan’s cheek, then hurried away.