Yuhan nodded and said, "Thank you for your concern, Miss Yaelle. But right now, I have no money and don't know where to go." He had hidden what little money he had.
Yaelle felt moved and said, "If you don't mind, you can stay at my place for now. You can leave once you find a better place."
Yuhan looked at Yaelle gratefully and said, "That would be very kind of you, Miss Yaelle."
Yaelle smiled and shook her head. "No need to be polite. Since we met by fate, we should help each other."
So Yuhan stayed at the pharmacy to recover. After he could move, he planned to go to Yaelle's home.
They talked happily and the atmosphere was very pleasant. But Xavier was not like that. Seeing them get along well made him feel uneasy.
He thought he was really falling for her and needed to find a chance to make her accept him. Otherwise, he would not even have a second husband chance. After meeting such a special woman, others no longer caught his eye.
He thought secretly about how to get her to accept him. He remembered what Kevin said earlier and frowned. Kevin clearly wanted her to take Yuhan in and made it sound pitiful. But she did not notice.
Could she be so dull about these things? Or did she not realize what it meant? Thinking this, he felt helpless.
Looking at himself, he felt he had already shown his feelings clearly. He always wanted to be close to her and cared about everything. He kept trying to be near her.
But she seemed not to notice his feelings. Maybe because she had no interest in him, she acted so calmly around him, without any shyness.
He sighed. It seemed the road to winning her heart would be very long.
Yaelle was about to go home when Xavier suddenly stepped forward and said he would escort her. At first, she politely refused, not wanting to trouble him.
Xavier insisted there was something he wanted to talk about, so she reluctantly agreed.
Because she went out by carriage today, they walked side by side. After some time, Xavier felt it was inconvenient to talk on the road and suggested having tea.
Hearing "tea," Yaelle thought of something. Usually, men and women chose to drink tea in a teahouse to meet and get to know each other.
She looked up and met Xavier's deep eyes. He was staring at her. Her heart was tangled, not sure if she should refuse. Facing such a loving gaze was hard to resist.
In the end, she nodded and accepted his invitation. Seeing her agree, Xavier secretly relaxed. He had worried she would refuse firmly.
Now, as long as she didn't reject him completely, he still had a chance.
They found a nearby teahouse and went in. They did not choose his home because it was too far and they were lazy to walk.
Looking closely, the teahouse was nice and had a good atmosphere. They ordered a private room and sat down.
They sat quietly for a while, neither of them speaking, making the atmosphere a bit awkward.
Xavier thought for a moment, then finally spoke: "Miss Yaelle, what do you think of me?"
Huh? What kind of question was that? "Mr. Xavier, of course, you are very outstanding." Yaelle answered this awkward question with some hesitation.
"I'm asking if you think I have the honor to become your husband?" Xavier threw out a direct question, leaving Yaelle a little stunned.
She blinked, showing surprise and confusion on her face. "Mr. Xavier, what do you mean by this?"
Xavier smiled slightly, his eyes showing determination. "I mean I admire you deeply and hope to be your partner. Would you be willing to give me this chance?"
Yaelle widened her eyes, not knowing how to answer at first. She never thought about such feelings, and her heart stirred with waves.
"Mr. Xavier, I am already engaged. Also, someone as excellent as you probably does not lack admirers. Why choose me?" Yaelle asked with confusion.
Xavier sighed softly and said, "When I first saw you, I thought you were special. After getting to know you, your character, temper, and talent attracted me. Even though I know you are engaged, I cannot forget you. That's why I boldly confess to you. I only ask for the position of a secondary husband. Please consider carefully."
Yaelle's face flushed slightly. She lowered her head and softly said, "Mr. Xavier, I understand your feelings. But marriage is not a game and needs time to think."
Xavier nodded, showing understanding. "I understand. A lifetime decision needs time. I do not ask for an answer now, just hope you will think about me seriously."
He paused, then added, "If you finally choose me, I will do my best to make you happy."
Yaelle looked at Xavier seriously and said, "Your sincerity moves me. No matter the result, I will think seriously about your proposal."
Xavier smiled and nodded, then stood up to leave. Watching his departing figure, Yaelle felt conflicted and confused. She felt lost about her future love life.
Since she had to marry three husbands anyway, marrying someone she knew was better than a blind marriage.
In this old world, carriages moved slowly, and there were few gatherings. Women rarely went out and had little chance to meet men. Everything depended on matchmakers. This one she had met many times and knew well. His character was good. Maybe she should try to get closer?
Sigh, since she was in this world, she had to follow local customs. She would marry them, not be married off. She would not lose out. After thinking this through, Yaelle stopped worrying and left the teahouse with Attendant Sam.
After arriving home, Yaelle began to think about this matter. In modern society, she might choose love freely, but here in the old times, many customs were different. Since she was here, she had to adapt.
Also, marrying three husbands was a strict rule of this dynasty. If she could find suitable partners to live with, it might not be bad.
Thinking this through, Yaelle decided not to worry about this anymore and accept reality naturally. Life is always full of surprises. Maybe here, she could find her own happiness.
Yaelle told her brother Michael about her engagement to Maxim and asked him to help with the preparations. With only one sister, Michael felt it was his duty to assist.
"I will help you organize everything," Michael said.
"Thank you, brother!" Yaelle said gratefully.
In the following days, Michael became busy. He carefully arranged for servants to buy wedding supplies like candy, red envelopes, and decorations.
He also picked out some fine gifts to give to friends and family. Meanwhile, he had the chefs prepare tasty dishes to taste-test for the wedding.
He wanted to make sure the guests would enjoy the best food on the big day.
Days passed, and Michael's preparations went smoothly. Finally, there was just over a month left until the wedding.
That day, Michael came to Yaelle's room and told her the preparations were almost done.
"Yaelle, everything for the wedding is nearly ready. Don't worry," he said.
"Thank you, brother," Yaelle said with emotion.
"It's my duty. After all, you're my sister," Michael said with a smile.
...
September 17 finally came. It was their father's memorial day and the day to end their mourning period. In ancient China, after three years of mourning, the family held ceremonies to mark the end.
The usual steps were cleaning the house and preparing items for the ceremony. Then on the day, they held a solemn memorial to honor and say goodbye to the deceased.
They would burn incense, offer flowers, and present food.
During mourning, family members wore plain or rough clothes. At the end, they changed back to regular clothes, symbolizing a return to normal life.
Some families also visited the ancestors' graves or temples to inform them the mourning period was over and ask for blessings.
After the ceremony, families might invite friends to celebrate, but they did not do this because they had few relatives left.
Only a few family members performed the memorial rites. It was a bit complicated and took half a day, which was quite tiring.
After finishing the mourning rituals, the brother and sister felt they had settled an important matter. Their hearts finally felt lighter, and they could live like normal people. As for the imperial exams, Michael had no plans to enter officialdom, and Yaelle only wanted to live a wealthy, leisurely life.
But for now, that was just a thought. Once everything was back on track, she could relax.
Time passed quickly. It was already late September, and the sweet potatoes planted at home were finally ready for harvest. Everyone was excited and eager to start picking.
Entering the sweet potato field, people immediately got busy. Some cut the vines, while others carefully dug out the full sweet potatoes with hoes.
Then, they put the sweet potatoes into baskets, weighing and recording them. Each person had a task, working smoothly together.
In less than half a day, all the sweet potatoes were harvested.
After hard work, they calculated the total weight. When they saw the surprising number, everyone was overjoyed. This year's harvest was very abundant.
From just a quarter of an acre, they gathered over sixteen hundred jin of sweet potatoes. Although slightly less than the early sweet potatoes, the yield per acre showed promise to exceed four thousand jin in the future.
After harvesting, everyone dried the sweet potatoes simply. Then they carefully stored them in the cellar.
All the sweet potatoes this year were saved as seeds for next year. They dared not eat them casually.
These sweet potatoes represented a year's hard work and symbolized future hope.
This result also made Michael and Elder Xiao very happy.
...
During this time, Yuhan's injuries improved slightly. He came to Yaelle's home to recover for a few days. Now, he could freely move in the fields.
He did not talk much, often had a blank expression, and disliked going out to socialize. His presence was very low.
Basically, except for a few close people, no one knew such a person lived in the house.
On another sunny afternoon, she guessed the things on the mountain were ready to be harvested again, so she prepared to go up the mountain once more.
This time, she brought more people. Besides the previous guards, she also took Helper Beau and several skilled farm workers. Even Yuhan went because she did not trust going alone.
Since the group was larger, they needed two horse-drawn carts.
They headed straight to the mountain entrance from last time, familiar with the route. They parked the carts in the same place and left two stable hands to watch and take care of the horses.
The group surrounded Yaelle, forming a protective circle as they quickly reached the spot where they had previously found the Sichuan pepper plants.
As she approached, she confirmed that the plants were indeed Sichuan pepper.
Looking around, the area was filled with bright red clusters, which made everyone happy.
But on closer inspection, some of the peppercorns were already fully ripe and some had even split open.
She realized they should have come earlier to pick them, since the picking season usually runs from early August to late September.
Now it was already late October, more than half a month late.
However, fortunately, there had been little rain recently. Since the lunar September, there was only one light rain, and it was not heavy.
So the pepper plants did not suffer much damage.
Yaelle was very pleased and quickly arranged for everyone to start picking.
Picking Sichuan pepper is a delicate and patient process. They had brought tools prepared beforehand: each person had small scissors and a small basket or bag.
The baskets were not easy to carry, so only a few people used them. Most used bags instead.
The best time to pick Sichuan pepper is after the morning dew has dried, when the aroma is strongest.
They arrived at just the right time. They left early this morning and hurried, so it was around nine o'clock, just before ten.