CHAPTER 325: CHAPTER 325: LET’S GET MARRIED

Pei Shu’er went back and saw Tang Zan standing at the gate of Desolate Mountain City waiting for her; at this moment, he looked like a creditor about to interrogate her.

To avoid suspicion, as they approached the Desolate Mountain, Pei Shu’er had chosen to sit outside to direct the carriage.

When they arrived at the Desolate Mountain, the carriage stopped, and Tang Zan lifted Pei Shu’er horizontally, touching her somewhat cold face, and then adjusted her fox fur cloak.

"Why weren’t you sitting inside the carriage?"

Pei Shu’er replied, "I wanted to get some fresh air."

Just then, Tang Zan saw Yan Huan Yu, pale-faced, emerging from the carriage cabin.

He weakly said, "Greetings, General."

Tang Zan’s face turned cold, and he glanced at Pei Shu’er, who looked back at him openly.

Tang Zan snorted coldly and walked away with Pei Shu’er in his arms.

Only heaven knows how he got through the past few days. Without being able to sleep with the fragrant and soft Pei Shu’er in his arms at night, he found it hard to sleep.

When he managed to fall asleep, he dreamt of being intimately close to Pei Shu’er, and by the next morning, he was covered in sweat.

He missed Pei Shu’er immensely, so he took some time amidst his busy schedule to come back and see her, only to find out she was not at the Desolate Mountain but had gone to Su County.

Fortunately, he was finally able to see her on this trip back.

As he looked at Pei Shu’er’s red and tender lips, Tang Zan captured her lips, caressing her ear.

At first, she resisted a little because Yan Huan Yu was watching.

But Tang Zan was relentless, and this kiss also had a sense of claiming ownership.

Yes, he did it on purpose.

He would rather everyone knew Pei Shu’er was his.

Thinking of Tang Zan’s sensitive and suspicious nature, she gently hooked Tang Zan’s little finger with her pinky.

Tang Zan’s heart softened, and before letting go of Pei Shu’er, he lightly bit her lip.

Seeing Pei Shu’er’s lip become even more alluring because of his bite, his mouth curled up involuntarily.

Tang Qingning chuckled, "Zan’er, even after being married for so long, you still act like a young lad."

Tang Zan did not say anything; in some ways, wasn’t he just a young lad?

After being married for so long, and still not having consummated the marriage, he was probably the only one.

Pei Shu’er cleared her throat to change the topic.

"I’m a bit hungry."

Tang Zan put Pei Shu’er down, and Yan Huan Yu also entered the stone house.

Along with them, the coachmen also went to eat.

After everyone had finished eating, Tang Zan held Pei Shu’er, reluctant to let go.

"Let’s get married."

Pei Shu’er was surprised; hadn’t they already gotten married?

Tang Zan continued, "The ceremony wasn’t completed before, so it doesn’t count as a marriage. Pei Shu’er, you shouldn’t have anything less than others."

He couldn’t let Pei Shu’er continue with such an unclear status by his side.

Pei Shu’er nodded, "Then when shall we get married?"

Tang Zan said, "In a month. This month, I will have my mother prepare everything."

Pei Shu’er nodded; in ancient times, before getting married, women had to prepare a white sheet and embroider a purse themselves.

The white sheet was for proving virginity, and the purse showed a woman’s needlework skills. If well done, the in-laws would feel very proud.

Pei Shu’er was somewhat touched. While she wasn’t particularly sentimental about ceremonies, no girl doesn’t want to be cherished.

Tang Zan valued her so much, wanting no regrets in their marriage, which was indeed wonderful.

Moreover, in a month, she would turn eighteen, and it would be spring, the time when everything comes back to life, making it perfect for a wedding.

That night, Tang Zan held Pei Shu’er, but Tang Zan still did not go all the way.

Pei Shu’er felt moved; in such moments, most people would lose control, but even though Tang Zan was driven by desire, he still restrained himself.

It was nothing but his tenderness for her.

When she woke, Tang Zan had already left.

As she walked out, she saw Yan Huan Yu heading to the canteen.

He greeted her with a smile, walking over to accompany her.

After eating, Pei Shu’er saw several maids washing clothes, all of whom now received wages monthly and were washing clothes for the third household.

One maid scrubbed vigorously at the stains on Tang Shuo’s clothes, occasionally adding some soapberry. It worked to an extent but was not very effective; the stains were quite stubborn.

Pei Shu’er’s eyes lit up.

Indeed, soap was not invented yet, and if she could develop soap, the efficiency of washing would undoubtedly improve.

Soap could be made from lard or soybean oil.

If using lard, there wasn’t much available in the Desolate Mountain, but soybean oil was plentiful.

The Desolate Mountain had previously harvested many soybeans.

Aside from making soy products, they turned the soybeans into soybean oil, using the same pressing machines as those for canola oil and tea oil.

Pei Shu’er prepared gloves, various protective gear, glass rods, containers, and soybean oil, along with lye. She also experimented by adding some fragrances and other additives.

Pei Shu’er followed the formula strictly, ensuring not a gram more, nor less.

The molds were oval, floral, or rectangular in shape, but all had lovely patterns and the word "Pei’s" carved on them.

She made several of each design.

Once the soap was made, it did not have an unpleasant smell but retained a subtle floral scent.

Pei Shu’er left the soap to dry so the alkalinity would lessen.

When the soap had dried and she unmolded it, she gave it to the maids doing the laundry.

"This is soap, very effective for cleaning clothes."

The maid looked at the oval, patterned, pale yellow soap and found it quite novel, something she had never seen before.

As for the convenience in cleaning as described by the Young Madam, she wasn’t expecting much, thinking it might just be marginally better than before, with stains slightly fading.

According to Pei Shu’er’s instructions, she applied the soap to the clothes.

Soon, the clothes started to lather, and the previously difficult-to-clean clothes, with a few simple scrubs, were cleaned easily.

Thinking it was a coincidence, she tried washing Tang Shuo’s clothes again. The child was young and playful, making his clothes difficult to wash, and she’d never managed to get them truly clean before.

Fortunately, the third household people were not harsh and hadn’t scolded her for this.

However, the difficult-to-wash clothes of Tang Shuo, after applying the soap and scrubbing a bit, had their stains vanished; the process was unbelievably easy.

Moreover, the cleaned clothes looked as if they were new.

The maid’s eyes lit up with joy, "Young Madam, what you’ve made is indeed practical."

Receiving this validation, Pei Shu’er then went to find Liu Xu for advice.

After all, Liu Xu’s family were wealthy merchants from Jiangnan, and he had been exposed to such things since childhood.

Liu Xu said, "This soap is good, but what price will you set per piece?"

Pei Shu’er replied, "Ten coins per piece."

Soap only appeared in the Qing Dynasty, so it naturally wasn’t available now. Moreover, soap, being durable and more cost-effective than soapberry, was much more practical.

Liu Xu shook his head, "The price is too low. Set it at twenty coins per piece, and there will still be many buyers."