Chapter 15: You Are Responsible for Being Beautiful

In his past life, Xiao Hanheng had reached a high position and had encountered and studied many people.

Because of this, through only two conversations with Shi Qingluo, he had gained a general understanding of her personality.

Generous, frank, and straightforward; her character was indeed somewhat assertive, but she was even more efficient and decisive in her actions.

This was actually a personality type he quite admired.

Perhaps due to his own experiences, while he didn't find women who were weak, obedient, indecisive, or who lived solely for their husbands repulsive, he couldn't bring himself to like them.

Therefore, in his past life, it wasn't that no one wanted to marry him; on the contrary, many families wanted to marry their daughters to him, and there were even women who actively admired him and sought to marry him, but he had rejected them all.

What he wanted was a wife who could stand by his side or understand him, but he never met such a person before he died.

He asked with a smile, "So, you've never even seen me, and you married in solely for the sake of my family?"

"If I hadn't woken up and died, wouldn't you have become a widow?"

"What if I were an ugly monster, or if my personality was bad after waking up, or even worse, if I beat my wife—what would you have done then?"

He was somewhat curious about this; he could tell that Shi Qingluo did not seem like the type of person to wrong herself.

Shi Qingluo laughed, "I'm not stupid. Before marrying in, of course, I had to see what you looked like first."

"That day I delivered medicine to your mother, I took the opportunity to catch a glimpse of your appearance."

"If you had been too hideous, I definitely wouldn't have considered marrying into your family."

Xiao Hanheng: "..." It turned out that his face had played an important role in her marrying him.

Shi Qingluo continued, "And as I said just now, I came for your family, so naturally, your mother and your younger siblings were reasons as well."

"Looking at their temperaments, it seems they would get along well with me, so I'm not afraid of being a widow. Even without you, I could lead them and make a life for us."

Xiao Hanheng: "..." So she had even factored in what would happen after his death if he failed to wake up.

He thanked her...

Shi Qingluo raised her small fist and shook it, adding, "As for if you wake up and have a bad temperament, or if you dare to hit me, then I will absolutely make you cry for your parents and then divorce you."

"Of course, before I married in, I also heard the villagers mention you."

"Choosing not to follow a wealthy father in favor of a poor mother—from this perspective, you are someone I admire."

"If one wants something, one should strive for it themselves. If you were to abandon your biological mother and siblings for the sake of power, then what would be the difference between you and that scumbag father of yours?"

"Furthermore, looking at the temperaments of your mother and siblings, it's clear that you have protected them very well. At the very least, when it comes to treating your kin, you are not a bad person."

"Taking everything into account, you should be a person with a sense of responsibility and ambition."

"That is why I took the initiative to come and bring you good luck through marriage."

Although Shi Qingluo was born into a wealthy family, she was an expert in agricultural science research, so in her dealings with people, she preferred being direct and straightforward rather than being circuitous or calculating.

Xiao Hanheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry; it turned out his little wife had considered so much before marrying him.

Not only did she have a frank and decisive personality, but she was also a very clever girl.

In his past life, dealing with intrigue, mutual calculation, and mind games had actually made him quite exhausted.

Seeing his little wife acting so bluntly now, he felt it was quite good; at least it wasn't exhausting to be with her, and it was quite interesting.

Since his little wife was being so candid and direct, he didn't beat around the bush either. "I have no sweetheart, and I will not fall for anyone else in the future, so you don't need to worry about divorce."

Shi Qingluo glanced at him. "What if our personalities don't match, or we don't get along well? In that case, I will definitely still want a divorce."

"I believe that for a husband and wife to truly be together, even if they don't necessarily have to be perfectly in sync, they must at least have an emotional foundation."

Xiao Hanheng: "..."

What kind of wife talks about divorce so righteously on her very first day of marriage?

"Fine, I won't force this on you."

"You saved my siblings and sent me medicine to lower my fever so I could wake up; I will remember this great kindness."

"As long as you are my wife for one day, I will not fail you, and I will treat you well." This was his promise.

Shi Qingluo raised an eyebrow. "Do you mean, as long as I don't divorce, you won't divorce?"

Xiao Hanheng nodded. "Yes, you are my wife for this lifetime."

Shi Qingluo thought for a moment. "Alright then, let's just have a trial marriage."

"If we fit, we stay; if we don't, we part."

After waking up, Xiao Hanheng's looks and temperament were exactly to her aesthetic taste, and most importantly, he was a smart person who was easy to communicate with.

Mother Xiao and the two younger siblings were also easy to get along with.

This was something that wouldn't even be easy to find in modern times.

Since she had already married in, and in this ancient environment where being single was not popular, not divorcing was naturally the best option.

Moreover, having suddenly arrived here, the Shi family relatives were all "top-tier" troublemakers; being all alone, she wouldn't have much energy to pursue her career.

In this strange world, she actually hoped to have someone to work hard and live life with.

Although Xiao Hanheng had never heard of the term "trial marriage," he understood the meaning from the words.

A faint smile touched his eyes. "Fine, let's do as you say."

Shi Qingluo thought for a moment and asked, "You intend to continue taking the imperial examinations, right?"

Xiao Hanheng nodded confidently. "I will, and I will work hard to rise rapidly through the ranks."

The vengeance from his past life had been too tragic; in this life, he would try a different way of playing the game.

Additionally, since his family members were still alive, it was very necessary to enter officialdom through the formal imperial examinations.

Shi Qingluo nodded. "That's good."

She was high-spirited and smiled with equal confidence. "Then in the future, I will be responsible for earning money to support the family, and you will be responsible for being beautiful as a flower, while also taking the exams and becoming an official to be our backbone."

This was ancient times; if one had no power or influence, whatever they wanted to do could be targeted or snatched away by others.

Another thing she valued in Xiao Hanheng was his potential.

Therefore, if he focused on the examinations and became an official in the future, she could just "cling to his thigh." Her earning money to support the family was equivalent to an early-stage investment.

Xiao Hanheng's face couldn't help but darken slightly. "Beautiful as a flower?" What was that supposed to mean?

Shi Qingluo blinked. "It means you should take good care of your face, so that I can enjoy the view when I look at you frequently."

What could she do, she was a sucker for good looks.

Xiao Hanheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How did this little wife have so many strange and peculiar ideas in a single day?

"Fine, I'll listen to you," he said with full helplessness.

Shi Qingluo extended her small fist in front of Xiao Hanheng. "Then it's a deal."

Seeing her like this, Xiao Hanheng was momentarily stunned, but he quickly realized that this was likely the equivalent of a handshake or a pinky swear.

He laboriously raised his hand, curled it into a fist, and bumped it against hers. "It's a deal."

After a while, Xiao Bai-li brought in a bowl of porridge.

She handed it to Shi Qingluo with a smile. "Sister-in-law, I'll have to trouble you to help feed Brother his porridge."

She was already twelve years old and it wasn't appropriate for her to do such things.

Having the sister-in-law feed the brother porridge could also allow the two of them to grow closer.

Shi Qingluo generously took the bowl. "Alright."

Sitting by the bed, she scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it, and held it to Xiao Hanheng's lips. "Eat."

This was the first time Xiao Hanheng had been fed porridge like this, and he felt somewhat awkward and uneasy.

If it weren't for the fact that he truly had no strength, he would have preferred to eat by himself.

But looking at Shi Qingluo's clear eyes and her generous gesture, he pushed aside his awkwardness, opened his mouth, and swallowed the porridge.