Lu Youqing looked at him. His expression was gentle yet resolute.
It wasn't as if they hadn't slept together before. If he wanted to stay here, then he could—just like before. But could it really be the same? Lu Youqing lowered her eyes, feeling her ears grow warm.
Only after she lay down did Qin Ke squeeze in beside her. He rubbed his palms together to warm them, then lay behind her and pulled her into his arms. Lu Youqing hadn't expected him to hold her and stiffened for a brief moment.
In the past, when they slept together, they had always kept a proper distance. This was the first time he had crossed that line and made intimate contact.
Qin Ke placed his warmed palm over her lower abdomen, slipped his other arm beneath her pillow, and tucked his feet beneath hers. Only then did Lu Youqing realize his intention.
His warm body pressed closely against her, and before long, she felt heat spreading through her entire body.
She gradually relaxed and leaned back against him, feeling his care and tenderness. Closing her eyes, she said softly, "You're quite different from the other men I've met."
She had seen noble young masters from great families and also encountered illiterate farmers, but Qin Ke was completely different from all of them—almost as if he came from another world.
"Then do you think that difference is good or bad?" Qin Ke asked with a smile, rubbing his chin lightly against her soft hair.
Lu Youqing didn't answer, but beneath the covers, the small hand resting on his told him everything.
Qin Ke turned his hand over and enclosed her delicate, boneless fingers in his palm. Her body carried a light, fresh fragrance. He smiled silently.
"What were you drawing this afternoon?" Lu Youqing asked with her eyes closed.
After lunch, Qin Ke had asked her to lie in the courtyard and bask in the sun while he sat nearby, sketching with a charcoal pencil on paper. That charcoal pencil had been made before the house was built—Qin Ke simply couldn't get used to using a brush, as ink always turned into a messy blot. Although he practiced calligraphy under Lu Youqing's guidance when he had time, brushwork wasn't something that could be mastered overnight.
So he had gathered willow branches, coated them in mud, and tossed them into the fire, burning them for the time it took an incense stick to burn, making simple charcoal sticks.
Lu Youqing had been quite curious when she saw this and had tried writing with the charcoal herself.
Hearing her question, Qin Ke felt a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat and explained, "Well… I noticed that the menstrual cloth you use is very narrow—long and thin—and not very convenient."
The cloth strips were sewn with cotton and plant ash inside. They wrinkled easily and were too narrow, making leakage very likely. Even in modern times, people still dealt with leaks at night—let alone in ancient times.
This was something Qin Ke understood all too well.
"So I was thinking… maybe I could try improving it."
Lu Youqing's face instantly flushed as red as if it might bleed. Fortunately, she was facing away from him, sparing him the sight of her embarrassment. She didn't know how to respond to this.
He was a full-grown man, and not only did he take care of her openly during her menstrual period without any awkwardness—he was even thinking about improving her menstrual cloth. If word of this got out, he'd be ridiculed to death.
Yet alongside her embarrassment, she also felt deeply moved and strangely happy. Her emotions were tangled and complex.
"But I haven't found any fabric that's waterproof yet, so I was wondering whether I could try using animal skins…" Qin Ke continued murmuring near her ear. Lu Youqing, completely flustered, buried her face into the pillow.
"Oh, right—my dear, I want to buy a few people," Qin Ke suddenly said when she didn't respond.
Hearing him shift to a serious topic, Lu Youqing tried to calm her racing heart and asked, "Why do you think so?"
Qin Ke had thought about this for a long time before making the decision. He had many plans ahead, and since Li Nanqiao was ultimately of a different gender, it made sense for her to stay by Lu Youqing's side.
"It's about the rice-threshing machine I mentioned before. Even though you said it wasn't the right time yet, I thought I should at least experiment and see how it works. I'm not skilled at woodworking, and if I leave it to outsiders, I'm afraid word might leak. So instead…"
Lu Youqing understood his meaning. After some thought, she said, "Finding someone skilled in carpentry won't be easy either."
After the house was built, Qin Ke began planning for the autumn harvest. From Li Nanqiao, he learned that harvesting rice was entirely manual, and even the tools used for threshing were extremely primitive. He had gone to see them himself—bulky, labor-intensive, and inefficient.
That was when the idea of improving the threshing machine took root. At the same time, he discovered designs for harvesting machines in the system's marketplace.
When he shared this idea with Lu Youqing, she stared at him in astonishment for a long time and asked whether he was confident.
He had conservatively said there was an eighty percent chance.
But after pondering for a long while, Lu Youqing shook her head. "This isn't something we should bring out. Without backing, even if you succeed, you'll only be paving the way for others. Let's wait—when the time is right."
Agricultural machinery wasn't the court's main concern, and the Ministry of Works was the most low-profile of the Six Ministries. Even without seeing the harvester Qin Ke described, she knew that once such a machine appeared, it would cause a stir and attract unwanted attention.
Qin Ke smacked his forehead in frustration. Too often, his thinking and behavior still clashed with this era. Fortunately, he had someone beside him to discuss matters with and help him plan.
"Then we'll ask around first. And the watermelons will be ripe soon. If people start paying attention to our fields, we should take precautions."
He remembered hearing in modern times that families who grew watermelons would camp in their fields during harvest season to prevent theft—how much more so in ancient times.
He didn't need to explain further. Lu Youqing understood immediately. She was more adapted to this era than he was. Though it wasn't very humane, holding someone's indenture contract made them more trustworthy.
"Then let's choose one person first. Life has been hard for common folk these past few years—wars are frequent. Many families who can't survive end up selling themselves. It shouldn't be hard to find someone. As for a carpenter, we can look slowly."
Her tone was calm, but when she spoke of the times, it carried a hint of helplessness and sorrow.
Qin Ke tightened his embrace slightly. He knew she was compassionate at heart, someone who cared deeply about the people—but they were just ordinary folk now. Matters of the state were beyond their power.
"Alright. I'll go choose someone next time I go to town."
"Mm."
The two of them grew sleepy as they talked, and before long, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
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Currently at chapter 130 for advance chapters
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