Eldest Young Master Wu immediately walked into the hall.

He looked at Mo Qingling and bowed. “My lord, they have wronged me.”

Shi Qingluo sneered. “There are so many of us, how could all of us wronged you?

“Let me ask you, did you say that you would wait and see and wouldn’t let the matter rest?

“And did you or did you not, insist on buying our formula?”

Eldest Young Master Wu choked. “I did say that, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to do anything to you!”

Shi Qingluo retorted, “So you did say it. It means that you intend to threaten us.”

She emphasised, “Anyway, if something happens to my husband and I, it’s definitely because of your Wu family.”

Eldest Young Master Wu was speechless. How could this woman be so unreasonable?

He had come back with a bellyful of anger and was still thinking of abducting this wretched lass in two days’ time.

If he were to do that now, forget about the other people in the county, even Magistrate Mo would probably keep an eye on their Wu family.

Aggrieved, too aggrieved.

He took a deep breath and said, “I was just asking politely if you were selling the formula. What’s wrong with that?”

Shi Qingluo said, “Are you trying to treat everyone as fools?”

She snorted coldly and said, “Everyone heard what you threatened me yesterday and today. Stop trying to explain. You are explaining things just to cover the matters up.”

The villagers who came along continued, “Yes, we all heard it.”

“We didn’t lie.”

“We dare to swear that Eldest Young Master Wu really said those words.” They had really heard this.

Eldest Young Master Wu was speechless. These idiots, why did they only listen to half of what he said.

He quickly realised why Shi Qingluo would suddenly say those inexplicable words yesterday.

So she was digging a hole for him.

He explained, “I didn’t know that you wanted to release the formula to the public for free. Otherwise, I wouldn’t want to buy it.”

If he had known earlier that this was meant for the public free of charge, he would have let someone abduct her first.

Right now, he wasn’t even getting the slightest bit of benefits, and still attracted a lot of attention.

Shi Qingluo raised her eyebrows. “You’re treating everyone as fools again.

“Almost everyone in the county knows about this. How could you not know?”

When the onlookers heard this, they felt that Eldest Young Master Wu was really going overboard. They weren’t idiots.

“Right, we’ve known for a long time. How could you not know? Stop pretending.

“Although your Wu family is a tyrant in Nanxi county, don’t be arrogant in front of the lord.”

“Stop quibbling. Quibbling means you are covering matters up.”

There were many people here with the new county magistrate, so everyone was not afraid of the Wu family. They continued one after another.

Eldest Young Master Wu remained silent. He was so aggrieved that he was going crazy.

Now he really had an explanation but couldn’t say it out loud. The more he tried to explain, the more complicated the matters got.

That wretched girl was simply not a human to use such shameless tactics.

Mo Qingling waited for everyone to finish speaking before looking at Eldest Young Master Wu and said, “You threatened Elementary Scholar Xiao’s wife first. It’s also true that you wanted to forcefully buy the formula.

“So, if anything bad happens to Elementary Scholar Xiao and his wife these days, I’ll hold your Wu family responsible.”

Such verbal threats, the so-called unsuccessful forced purchase of the formula. It was insufficient to bring the people of the Wu family to justice.

Mo Qingling also warned the Wu family from causing other trouble.

As for punishing the Wu family, he definitely needed to gather evidence from other sources.

Now that the Wu family’s reputation was tarnished in Nanxi county, it was more convenient for him to do so in the future.

The more he looked at Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo, the more he liked the couple.

Eldest Young Master Wu wasn’t stupid. He knew that they were given a warning.

Commoners shouldn’t fight with the officials. Although they had a magistrate backing them up, the person in charge of Nanxi county was still Mo Qingling.

Hence, he could only nod his head sullenly. “Yes.”

He could not do anything to the wretched girl in the next couple of days.

He still had to think of a way to deal with their current bad situation. His head hurt.

Next, Xiao Hanzheng continued to teach everyone how to make ice while the villagers who followed Shi Qingluo left first.

In the afternoon, Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo returned to the village together.

There weren’t many people on the road, so Xiao Hanzheng didn’t mind the heat and held Shi Qingluo’s hand.

He said, “The Wu family’s troubles have temporarily come to an end.”

Shi Qingluo nodded. “Mmm, let’s focus on our career next.”

She asked, “When are you going to the county school for lessons?”

Xiao Hanzheng thought for a moment. “After we build those workshops.”

Doing so would make him worry less at the county town, and his little wife wouldn’t have to work so hard to keep an eye on things.

Shi Qingluo smiled. “That’s fine too. Then, while you’re here, let’s go to the county town and hire people to rebuild the Taoist temple together.

“Oh right, you can invite the chief over the next two days. Invite the chiefs and their assistants in the nearby villages over for a chat. Let’s spread the news that there’s a saltpetre mine near the Taoist temple.

“Then, get the villages to mine the saltpetre together. Big merchants or aristocratic families aren’t allowed to join in.

“As long as we stay united, we can do it.”

In order to make the market more lively, they had to improve everyone’s living conditions first.

Only when they had some money in their pockets would they be willing to buy things.

Moreover, this could also unite the people among the few villages.

Xiao Hanzheng nodded. “Alright, I’ll do it.”

Shi Qingluo held Xiao Hanzheng’s hand tightly. It was really nice to have a young husband who would help out with everything.

As they walked, Shi Qingluo yawned repeatedly.

Xiao Hanzheng asked, “Are you sleepy?”

Shi Qingluo nodded. “I’m a little sleepy. I didn’t take an afternoon nap today.”

She had already formed the habit of taking an afternoon nap.

Xiao Hanzheng let go of her hand and walked in front of her, half-squatting down. “Come, I’ll carry you home. You can sleep on my back.”

Shi Qingluo was shocked. She didn’t expect her young husband to carry her home.

However, she wouldn’t reject his offer. With a small bounce off her toes, she pounced onto his back. “Alright, you carry me.”

Xiao Hanzheng caught her and carried her on his back and return to the village along the minor road.

He didn’t mind, but he was afraid that other people would see it and would gossip about his little wife.

Shi Qingluo guessed his thoughts as soon as she saw him walking along the minor road.

She put her arm around his neck and stretched out her head to kiss his face. “Zhengzheng, why are you so good!”

This kind of man was hard to find even in modern times, but she actually met one in ancient times.

“If you continue to be like this, I’m really going to like you more and more.”

She did not deny that she was really moved by her little husband and was starting to like him.

Xiao Hanzheng’s brows were filled with a smile, and the corners of his lips curled up. “Then, like me more!”

Shi Qingluo did not mind the heat and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Alright!”

She nudged him and said, “Then you also have to begin liking me more.”

Xiao Hanzheng smiled lightly and said, “Alright, I will like you even more.”

He had already begun to like his little wife since the beginning.

“It’s good that I have you, Zhengzheng.” Shi Qingluo leaned on his not-so-wide shoulders, but felt very at ease.

Xiao Hanzheng also said, “It’s good to have you too.”

With his little wife around, his days were always filled with joy.

Shi Qingluo smiled proudly and said, “That’s right. I’m a good wife that’s hard to come by in a thousand years. Since you’ve met me, you can secretly be joyful about it.”

Crossing over a thousand years to be your wife.

Xiao Hanzheng felt helpless and doted on her. “Yes, I’m secretly happy every day.”

His little wife was never shy nor embarrassed when she spoke, but he liked it.

As the two of them were talking, Shi Qingluo fell asleep on Xiao Hanzheng’s back.