I bring bad luck to my husband, you bring bad luck to your wife.

On the night that Constable Xiao and his men left, people entered the Yang family's courtyard.

The first to discover it was Yang Tongchuan, who was still fast asleep. Upon hearing the noise, they immediately drew their knives and rushed out, only to see a dark figure leap out of the courtyard and disappear without a trace.

Then the eldest brother, Yang Tongshan, also rushed out.

"Is it still them?"

"Look, brother."

Yang Tongchuan pointed to the money bag that had suddenly appeared on the table in the main hall and showed it to his elder brother.

The two brothers opened the money bag and found it full of small pieces of silver.

Yang Tongshan weighed it and said it was a full twenty taels.

"These small pieces of silver circulate frequently, unlike regular official silver, and their origin is impossible to trace." Yang Tongshan, the eldest brother who works at the pawnshop, is very familiar with these common small pieces of silver on the market.

"Is this hush money?" Yang Tongshan felt particularly stingy with the small amount of silver in his hand.

"Regardless of what it means, this matter ends here." Yang Tongchuan stared at the courtyard gate, lost in thought.

Upon hearing the noise, Mr. and Mrs. Yang also got up.

Yang Tongchuan divided the broken pieces of silver into two portions, giving half to his mother for household expenses.

He also reminded his mother to save the silver for later and not use it, so that his eldest brother could find an opportunity to take it to the shop and exchange it for silver ingots along with the other loose silver pieces in the house.

Yang Tongchuan kept the other half for himself and didn't plan to touch it anytime soon.

But Yang's mother refused to accept the money, insisting that her son keep it all himself, as Xiangxi was about to give birth and the second wife needed money for many things.

Xiangxi saw Yang Tongtongchuan return to the house and hurriedly inquired about the situation outside.

"It's alright, it's all taken care of. Don't worry."

Yang Tongchuan put the broken pieces of silver into the deepest money box.

Back in bed, I lay down with Xiangxi.

But they both knew the other was not asleep.

"Don't you think I'm useless, unlike the characters in the books who are brilliant detectives, uphold justice, and rid the people of evil?" Yang Tongchuan spoke first.

"No, I know my husband is doing this for the family, to keep everyone safe." Xiangxi had witnessed the most real hell on earth when she was a child.

When the epidemic got out of control, the fires in the city never stopped.

Those who were still alive after contracting the disease were thrown into the fire along with the corpses that had just died.

Thick, choking black smoke shrouded the entire town in a hazy mist.

Xiangxi could no longer remember what his father looked like, nor could he remember how his mother led the two brothers to escape.

All I remember is that before my mother was taken away by the slave trader, she repeatedly told my brother and Xiangxi that they must live, no matter what happens.

To live, for the whole family to live well. That is Xiangxi's greatest wish.

"Xiangxi, I used to think that this world was black and white, and that all people were equal before the law. But that's not actually the case. I'm just an incompetent little constable, and there are many things I can't do. Don't look down on me."

Yang Tongchuan buried his head in Xiangxi's arms. For the past few nights, he had been having nightmares. As soon as he fell into a deep sleep, he dreamed that the rotting head was whispering in his ear: coward, good-for-nothing...

"I understand, I understand everything. My husband, you are the best husband, Xiangxi believes in you." Xiangxi hugged him tenderly, comforting him again and again, kissing the top of his head repeatedly.

It was quite a struggle to finally coax Yang Tongchuan to sleep.

The next day, Yang Tongchuan happened to be off work and didn't have to go to the yamen.

Xiangxi suggested that he go out for a walk with him to clear his mind.

Seeing that the weather was nice, Yang's mother urged them to go out for a stroll.

The two strolled over to the River God Temple outside the county town.

People in Changxing County like to come here to pray for peace, so the incense at the River God Temple is particularly strong.

Because Xiang Xiangxi was pregnant at the time and it was inconvenient for her to enter the temple to worship, he gave Yang Tongchuan a 10-tael silver ingot and two 5-tael silver ingots, totaling 20 taels, and asked him to go in and donate incense for him.

"Take it in and donate it."

"Where did you get so much money?"

"Fifteen taels were the betrothal gift you gave me, and another five taels were secretly given to me by my brother when I got married. Take them all and donate them, whether it's for peace of mind or to ease your conscience, just consider it adding a little incense offering to that poor, nameless person. I'll wait for you outside."

"Xiang happy..."

"You don't need to say anything, I understand. Go."

Yang Tongchuan hesitated for a moment, then found a pavilion and had Xiangxi sit and wait for him.

He entered the River God Temple, found the temple keeper, explained his purpose, and asked for 10 taels of silver to perform a small-scale Buddhist ritual for the unidentified female corpse found at the dock some time ago.

The temple keeper, nearly seventy years old, was quite respected in the town, and he was required to participate in the annual river god worship ceremonies.

There are 10 taels left; I need to ask the temple keeper for a favor.

The head of the unidentified woman is still in the mortuary. Once the heat of this case has died down, they plan to ask the temple keeper to find a reason to bury the head of the unidentified woman.

The temple keeper was clearly taken aback. A deal worth twenty taels of silver! An ordinary family might not earn that much money in a year.

Temple keepers are not meddlesome people; there's no need for them to refuse to help with such virtuous deeds, nor is there any need to ask too many questions.

After discussing the details of the ritual with Yang Tongchuan, the temple keeper accepted the money and took the job.

Yang Tongchuan was worried that Xiangxi was still outside, so he left after giving his instructions.

"They're out so quickly." Yang Tongchuan's actions were much faster than Xiang Xi had expected.

"Okay, everything's been explained. Let's go back."

Back home, Yang Tongchuan took out two ten-tael silver ingots from the bottom of the box and made up for the shortfall in Xiangxi's dowry.

In respectable families, no one would covet the bride's dowry.

"I don't need the money. Didn't you say this money would be very useful?" Xiangxi naively felt that the couple didn't need to be so meticulous about money.

"Here you go, just take it."

Yang Tongchuan helped Xiangxi put away the silver.

"I have something to discuss with you, which is about hiring a wet nurse."

"My mother-in-law told me that I don't think it's necessary to hire a wet nurse. I can just buy a ewe and take care of the child myself."

"I'm too tired. Should we hire someone?"

"Don't forget, I raised Bao'er myself. I know how to take care of children. Besides, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law help me, and with you too, there's really no need to hire a wet nurse."

"Don't worry about the money..."

"I'm worried about the money, worried about spending it unnecessarily. It's such a waste. You don't earn money easily, there's no need to waste it like this." Every word Xiangxi said was sincere.

Let me think about it some more.

"Alright, there's still plenty of time, take your time to think it over." Xiangxi was really looking forward to the arrival of this child and also hoped to raise him herself.

This afternoon, Yang's father sought out Yang Tongchuan to discuss something.

"During the day, you and Dalang aren't home, so if anything happens, we won't hear a sound. I was thinking, why don't you ask around the government office if they know anyone who knows a good dog? We can buy one, preferably one that can guard the house, and most importantly, one that can make a sound if anything happens."

"Okay, I'll discuss it with my older brother."