Chapter Three: Busy Day's

On the land that Bai Chun owns there is ten men sweating in the sun building a home for him. Standing not too far away is the village head yelling directions at the men as they work.

 "No! No! No! We are building out! Not around it's a more elegant look for a future official! Also, my daughter will be living here don't mess up or be lazy!" He yelled angrily. The men glance at each other before rolling their eyes looking annoyed.

 In the forest near the village Bai Chun walks out dragging a deer behind him. He quickly heads to the city and sells the deer making twenty copper from the sell not counting the butcher's cost. After selling the last of the deer Bai Chun checks his animal skin bag and counts his savings he's had since he was nine all together, he has two silver. With a sigh he enters the cloth store.

 There is a middle-aged lady standing behind a wooden counter, she glances at Bai Chun and frowns when she saw his cheap cloth before ignoring him.

 Bai Chun looks around looking confused, before he can start wandering a young lady approaches him with a light blush on her face. She has long black hair and a thin body her brown eyes glittering as she looks at Bai Chun thinking about how handsome he is.

 " Welcome to our cloth store my name is Li Bai and I will help you today." She did a light bow making sure to look up at him through her eyelashes and as she did so her hair fell a bit framing her cute face even more. Bai Chun narrows his eyes looking at her but doesn't react.

 "I'm looking for some red cloth for my upcoming wedding." He said Li Bai's eyes seem to dim at his words. Bai Chun suddenly though of how then men in the village always have a woman outside and though to get one as well to seem more like an adult since he is to marry anyway. With a flash in his eyes he looks at the girl deeply.

 "Oh you are to marry, well come this way." She keeps her head low and takes him to the side of the store behind a shelf that covers most of her body but only reaches Bai Chun's shoulders.

 "This is our family's sold red cloth. I recommend this rough cloth or decoration and this hemp cloth for clothing." Li Bai said as she pulls some cloth on the shelf and bring it out for Bai Chun to touch. Bai Chun purposely touches her hands as he feels the fabric.

 "Hmm if you say it's good them I like it how much? I will need enough for a small three bedroom home with a small court yard." He said looking up. Li Bai's face if flushed as she looks down humming.

 "Well if I have the right idea going off what you say it should cost about one silver." She said. Bai Chun nods and suddenly reaches out touching her lower back after making sure nobody was around or looking at them too hardly. Li Bai jumps and looks up at him with big eyes.

 "One silver sounds like a good deal for all that cloth." He said calmly without a hint showing of what's going on.

 "Ah." Was all Li Bai could say her face blushing brightly and started to wonder what he wanted since he is an engaged man. Bai Chun slides his hand down and touches her bum giving it a light squeeze before letting go. By this point Li Bai's face is flushed brightly and she is looking up at Bai Chun.

 "Well I will take it." Bai Chun said giving her a slightly playful look. Blushing Li Bai nods and takes him up to pay. Handing over the silver he looks at Li Bai once more before leaving the store. Inside the store Li Bai is still blushing unable to calm down her whole body trembling as she though about what happened to her as an unmarried girl. The middle-aged lady saw her acting like this and frowned.

 "Li Bai what happened? Why are you acting like a new bride who just had her first night?" This woman is Li Bai's mother Li Wei. Blushing Li Bai shook her head.

 "Wait did that poorly dressed man do something to you? I will get him to face the consequences if he did." Standing in anger Li Wei looked to be getting ready to rush out and find Bai Chun. Li Bai clung to her mother's arm.

 "No! Muqin please." With a panicked face her begged her. Li Wei frowned when she saw her daughter like this.

 "You fell for him didn't you?" She asked knowing that look. Blushing Li Bai looked down.

 "Muqin he seems so scholarly." She said with a dreamy expression. "I knew I should have listened to your father and married you to that old noble as a concubine as soon as you turned fourteen a few months ago." She said angrily with disgust on her face. Li Bai's face suddenly fell and she seemed to be about to cry.

 "No I won't allow you to marry a poor man as a qizi. Not even that since he is buying red cloth he is to marry soon most likely you would be a concubine I won't allow it. I will talk to your father to find some rich man to take you in." With that Li Wei shuts the store down and drags Li Bai home roughly leaving bruises on her arm while beating her.

 Back at the Village

Bai Chun approaches the land to check on the progress of the home being made with a flushed face wondering what got into him at the store with Li Bai. He though that maybe it was her body shape for her sweet aura. Shaking his head he approached Village Head.

 "Hey Bai Chun!" Happy Village head smiles as he saw him. Bai Chun give a slight bow forcing himself to not think about Li Bai.

 "No need to be so formal we are soon to be family." With a smile he waves the bow away.

 "How soon till the house is done?" Bai Chun quickly asked. Village head glances back at the house.

 "It's halfway done so give it three more days and it's good for you to move in and start preparing." Bai Chun nods. He stays to chat with the village head before leaving to the orphanage. 

Once there he quickly heads to the muqin's room. The muqin is an middle aged widow who's husband had died before the wedding when she was just fifteen. She was still forced to go through the wedding since it was so close to the wedding. But after the wedding it was said all over the village that the family she joined beat her and forced her to do all the chores. When she turned twenty she ended up leaving and taking over the orphanage becoming the muqin.

 Entering the room Bai Chun saw muqin in thin clothes covering her body. He gave her a quick glance noticing how thin she is before he got distracted.

 "Bai Chun!" She stands up and rushes over crying and hugging him. She pulls back and looks at his young face that is showing a hint of adulthood coming in.

 "Your growing up so quickly with the wedding and all." Her face is flushed with happiness as she looks at him. 

 "Well since your wedding is coming soon I wanted to tell you to remember to visit me the next morning during the walk." She says with a smile. Bai Chun looks at her confused.

 "What is the walk?" He asked. Muqin looks at him shocked before smiling.

 "Do the boy's at the school not talk about the wedding night at all?" She asked before speaking Bai Chun nods his head looking at her realizing it's about to get embarrassing.

 "Well put your things over there and sit on my bed." She says pointing to the other side of the room. Bai Chun places the things over there but instead of sitting down he stands while looking at her.

 "Why won't you sit?" Muqin asks looking confused.

 "Although you raised me we are not related and I am already fifteen about to be married so it's inappropriate for someone I respect." He says trying to show how much her respects her. She smiles before waving her hand.

 "In this orphanage you all are my children that I've raised mostly since you all were babies so I don't care about all of that. Now sit down so we can have this conversation." She pats the bed next to her. Bai Chun looks uncomfortable but still sits down. 

 "Now I'm sure you know what is needed to happen during the wedding night right?" She asks looking slightly uncomfortable. Bai Chun nods his face slightly red.

 "I learned from the older boys at school and from the hunters when I was younger and learning to hunt." Bai Chun explains to muqin who nods.

 "Good well after the wedding night the next morning you must walk your qizi around the village to show that you actually did the wedding night if you refuse to complete the wedding night then you will embarrass your qizi. That means that you dislike your qizi and that she is bad at gaining her husbands favor." She explains Bai Chun nods listening.

 "I just wish to see you during the walk to make sure you actually completed the walk and the wedding night." She says with a smile Bai Chun nods again. 

 "Now you better do the wedding night so I can hear news of a child in six months of the wedding. Also remember to keep your qizi somewhat happy to make life easy on you but if you don't care for that make sure to use a heavy hand to keep her quiet and obedient." Muqin starts to ramble giving bad and good advice on how to keep his qizi happy and in her place. After listening to her for about and hour the conversation finally ends with Bai Chun walking out blushing heavily and muqin smiling while waving at him as he rushes away.