Early the next morning, Shen Zhuxi left the Li family’s small courtyard in Li Kun’s company.

The previous night, Li Wu and Li Que had settled down in the main hall to sleep, and had left before dawn — she had no idea where they had gone.

Shen Zhuxi tried asking Li Kun, “Do you know where Li Wu went?”

Li Kun scratched the back of his head and said, “He went to earn money.”

“What kind of work does he do to earn it?”

Li Kun said, “Earn silver. Earn copper coins. Earn money, then buy meat.”

Shen Zhuxi tried a different approach: “When the two of you earn money, what do you usually do?”

Li Kun grinned. “When we get to town, buy me taro cake.”

After going around in circles, she’d learned nothing. Li Kun had left her more confused than before. What livelihood was Li Wu running? When he didn’t go out, he could stay home for several days without leaving; when he did go out, he slipped away quietly in the dead of night.

Li Kun walked faster than Li Wu, and Shen Zhuxi hadn’t gone far before she was breaking out in a light sweat trying to keep up. She couldn’t help complaining: “Can you walk a bit slower?”

Li Kun stopped his swinging stride and only then noticed there was quite a gap between them.

He chuckled sheepishly and said, “Big Brother is fast. You’re too slow.”

This time Shen Zhuxi understood him. “Li Wu walks nowhere near as fast as you!”

“That’s not right…” Li Kun shook his head back and forth and said slowly, “Big Brother is fast. I’m slow. Little Brother is slowest.”

Shen Zhuxi didn’t bother arguing with him. Li Kun muttered to himself: “…Now you’re the slowest.”

Li Kun was like a child who never quite grew up — he had only slowed down for a moment before his pace picked up again. Shen Zhuxi had to keep reminding him to walk more slowly.

The two of them, one stopping and one starting, both dissatisfied, somehow managed to reach the main street of Yutou Town before their grievances boiled over.

Li Kun grumbled, “So slow. So slow. Buy me taro cake.”

Shen Zhuxi knew full well what those young imperial princes back in the palace were like when they threw a tantrum, so she placated him with gentle words: “I know, I know. As soon as I see the shop, I’ll buy you some.”

Li Kun wasn’t appeased. “Buy first. Won’t go otherwise. Little Brother always tricks me — what if you trick me too?”

Shen Zhuxi had no choice but to let him lead the way to the taro cake seller first. Li Kun, upon hearing this, immediately took the lead — looking back every few steps to check that she was still following — leaving Shen Zhuxi both amused and exasperated.

When they reached Ding’s Pastry Shop, there was already a crowd stretching out the door. Shen Zhuxi had just moved to join the end of the queue when Li Kun grabbed her sleeve and pushed her toward the front.

With Li Kun’s sheer size, who could hold their ground against him? In no time at all, Shen Zhuxi found herself at the steaming counter at the very front.

“Li Kun, you can’t do this…” With everyone staring at her, Shen Zhuxi’s face went from white to red, her heart burning with embarrassment.

Li Kun ignored her and told the proprietress directly: “Taro cakes — three… four, five!”

The proprietress showed no signs of irritation — she looked entirely used to this.

“How many do you want?”

“Five. Five,” Li Kun said happily.

The proprietress worked quickly, wrapping five piping hot taro cakes in a large lotus leaf and tying it up. Shen Zhuxi paid with the money Li Wu had given her, and turned around to find Li Kun already puffing away at half a cake.

“Can you come with me to shop now?” Shen Zhuxi said.

“Let’s go!” Li Kun strode forward as if he were the one who had been waiting.

There were many things to buy — household supplies and things to furnish the new room — but Li Wu had only given her one string of copper coins, for food and daily necessities. His exact words had been: “Just tell any shop to put it on Li Wu’s tab.”

It was the first time Shen Zhuxi had ever shopped this way, and she was rather uncertain about it. After looking around, she picked a fruit and vegetable stall and went in. Li Kun had no interest in fruit, and stayed outside to play with a little yellow dog tied to a stone pillar.

The stall was small, but clean and bright — clearly well-maintained. At the back of the shop, a woman in a plain cloth skirt was using her fingers to sprinkle water over the produce in each bamboo basket.

“Young miss, what can I get you?” the woman said warmly, setting down her water bowl.

“How much are the loquats?” Shen Zhuxi asked.

“Forty coins a jin. Would you like some? All freshly picked this morning — still have the dew on them,” the woman said.

Shen Zhuxi suspected what was on them was less dew and more water from the woman’s bowl, but that hardly mattered right now. She hesitated briefly and said, “…Could I put it on Li Wu’s tab?”

The woman blinked, looked her over from head to toe, and said, “Of course. What else would you like? I’ll wrap everything together.”

Shen Zhuxi breathed a quiet sigh of relief, looked over the other fruit in the stall, and said, “Some mulberries as well. How much are they?”

“Mulberries are cheaper than loquats — fifteen coins a jin.”

Thinking about how much the three brothers ate, Shen Zhuxi said, “One jin of each should do.”

The woman pulled out a broad lotus leaf from beneath the counter and swiftly wrapped both kinds of fruit, then bound everything securely with twine and handed it to Shen Zhuxi.

Shen Zhuxi carried the two knotted lotus-leaf parcels out of the stall and handed them to Li Kun, saying, “There’s fruit inside — don’t swing them around or you’ll bruise it.”

“Piggy, such a nag…” Li Kun shoved the last bite of his taro cake into his mouth, mumbling through a full cheek. The little yellow dog wagged its tail at his feet, its dark little nose dusted with a smear of pale purple taro filling.

Shen Zhuxi sighed and bent to pick up the empty lotus leaf Li Kun had dropped on the ground.

Li Kun neither spoke nor stopped her, watching her with curious eyes.

“You shouldn’t throw rubbish anywhere you like. If everyone did as you did, what would the streets look like?” Shen Zhuxi said.

“Like what?” Li Kun asked.

“Too filthy to set foot in,” Shen Zhuxi said. “Would you want to step into a pile of ox dung on your way to buy a taro cake?”

Li Kun wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Of course not.”

Shen Zhuxi reasoned gently, “And would you want someone else’s sunflower seed shells flying into your shoe while you walk down the street?”

“…No.”

“And would you want to slip and fall on a lotus leaf someone else had thrown down?”

Li Kun shook his head again. “No, no… hate falling down. Hurts my bottom.”

“Other people don’t want that either. So next time, don’t litter. Besides, if you were in the capital and threw rubbish on the street like that, you’d be hauled off and have your hand cut off,” Shen Zhuxi said. “When you need to throw something away, hold onto it until you find a public waste spot. If you do as I say, I’ll keep buying you taro cakes.”

Li Kun’s eyes immediately lit up. “Really?!”

“Really — but only if you listen to me,” Shen Zhuxi said.

“I’ll listen. I’ll listen to everything…” Li Kun mumbled. “Big Brother also said to listen to you… But — what’s a public waste spot?”

“A public privy,” Shen Zhuxi said. “Does Yutou County not have one?”

“Oh, the big dung vat,” Li Kun said. “Up ahead. At the end.”

Shen Zhuxi wrinkled her nose, already imagining an aroma a hundred times more overpowering than the one from Li Wu’s outhouse.

“Let’s go — there’s still a lot to buy,” she said, and tucked the lotus leaf into Li Kun’s hand. Li Kun obediently took it.

With the method tested and proven, everything became simpler. Shen Zhuxi browsed and strolled, looking and buying as she went. Before long, Li Kun’s hands were full of lotus-leaf parcels of all sizes. In the countryside, unlike the capital where paper was used to wrap things, everything here — food and goods alike — was wrapped in lotus leaves. Large and sturdy with a fresh fragrance, and best of all, free of charge, the lotus leaf was the packaging material of choice for every merchant in town.

The more Shen Zhuxi bought, the less she bothered asking prices. If she liked something, she bought it — and since it was all going on Li Wu’s tab, she had no idea how much she was spending.

Every shop owner, upon hearing Li Wu’s name, lit up with a beaming smile and agreed to everything she asked without the slightest hesitation, as though it never crossed their minds that she might not be able to pay.

Shen Zhuxi couldn’t help but wonder — Li Wu held no official post and didn’t appear to be a merchant, so how was it that he commanded such trust throughout Yutou County?

Jinyin Tower was the destination Shen Zhuxi had most looked forward to on this outing.

She had been wearing the same clothes for several days now. Heaven knew what she wanted most in the world was to buy a few sets to rotate through. As for the most important purchase of the day — the wedding dress — Shen Zhuxi actually gave it far less thought.

Jinyin Tower was by far the tallest and most eye-catching building on the entire street. The moment Shen Zhuxi stepped through the door, two pretty shop boys descended on her from either side.

“Miss, please come in! A great deal of new merchandise came in just today — clothing is upstairs, jewelry is downstairs. Which would you like to see first?”

Li Kun, who had been waiting outside, suddenly barged in. He grabbed a shop boy by the collar in each hand and hoisted them clean off the ground.

Unmoved by their startled cries, Li Kun growled, “Stay away from her!”

Shen Zhuxi rushed over and pulled Li Kun back, repeatedly clarifying that the boys had done nothing to harm her, until Li Kun finally let the two of them drop back to the floor. He stood with both eyes wide and glaring at the pair, who were still catching their breath. “Big Brother said… nobody touches a single hair on her head!”

The older of the two shop boys managed a rueful smile. “A misunderstanding — a simple misunderstanding. Now that we know she belongs to Li Wu, we’d never dare overstep. Li Second Brother, please do set your mind at ease.”

Li Kun let out a heavy snort through his nose and planted himself at Shen Zhuxi’s side, unmovable.

The younger shop boy put his smile back in place and came to rescue Shen Zhuxi from her awkward situation: “Why don’t you have a look at the clothing upstairs first, Miss? Then you can come down to find accessories to match — wouldn’t that be ideal?”

“…That sounds fine.”

Shen Zhuxi smiled and followed him upstairs. Li Kun followed too, each step making the wooden staircase of Jinyin Tower groan and creak.

The shop boy left her at the second floor, where she was received by a young woman. The woman enthusiastically extolled Jinyin Tower’s various styles, but Shen Zhuxi could see at a glance that these supposedly fashionable pieces had already fallen out of favor among the noble ladies of the capital long ago.

In the end, she disregarded the woman’s suggestions and selected over a dozen ready-made garments — all in classic, timeless cuts.

Buying so much put a wide smile on the woman’s face. She gathered all the chosen items from the clothing rack and offered a well-meaning word: “Miss, you’ve picked colors that are all quite subdued. You’re young, and your looks are striking — wouldn’t a few brighter pieces be better for going out?”

Shen Zhuxi’s gaze had been lingering on a rack of vibrant dresses and skirts for quite some time, but she shook her head and declined: “No need — this is fine.”

“Then please ask this young gentleman to step aside for a moment, Miss. I’ll take your measurements, and we’ll have everything altered and delivered to your home.”

Shen Zhuxi stood without moving, visibly hesitant. The woman misread her reluctance and reassured her: “There’s no need to worry, Miss — the seamstresses at Jinyin Tower are the finest in town. We’ll alter everything so perfectly that no one will be able to tell.”

Shen Zhuxi had no choice but to speak: “I… I’d also like to look at a wedding dress.”

“A wedding dress?” The woman’s eyes went wide. “When do you need it for?”

“The fifth of next month.”

“There’s no time for a custom order then. We do have a few ready-made here — please, have a look.” The woman led her to the far end of the floor and pulled out a rack hung with red bridal gowns.

Shen Zhuxi felt a reluctance she couldn’t quite explain. She glanced over them briefly and pointed to one at random: “That one will do.”

With the wedding dress settled, she sent Li Kun downstairs to wait, let the woman take her measurements, and was just about to give the Li family’s address when the woman smiled and said, “No need — everyone in town knows where Li Wu lives.”

“…Is he well-known here?” Shen Zhuxi ventured.

“Since you’re marrying him, you’ll naturally find out for yourself in time,” the woman said with a smile. “My name is Sang Niang. The seamstress Jinyin Tower employs is my mother. If there’s anything you’re not satisfied with once you receive your clothes, just come find me.”

Shen Zhuxi quickly said, “My name is Shen Zhuxi.”

Sang Niang smiled. “I happen to have no other customers at the moment — let me see you downstairs. I know which pieces in the jewelry section are truly new stock.”

After Shen Zhuxi thanked her, the two walked downstairs together. Halfway down, Shen Zhuxi heard a voice rise from below — a young woman’s voice, sharp with anger:

“You big oaf — you again?!”