Su Liyan was utterly confused.
'What?'
'Why... why would he want to see something like that?'
'There's... there's nothing good to see... It's so scary, isn't it?'
Su Liyan stared blankly at her husband. But when she saw the look of immense anticipation in his eyes, she inexplicably grew shy.
'Before, I just thought my husband didn't mind my atavism...'
'But now it seems... not only does he not mind it, he... he actually likes it?'
'Does anyone really like something so frightening?'
After a moment of shy contemplation, Su Liyan decided to indulge her husband...
'After all, now that I'm married, I should naturally listen to whatever my husband says...'
Su Liyan shyly took off her pants, afraid her atavism would stretch and ruin the new pair.
Just as Su Liyan revealed a pair of incredibly long, shapely, and pale legs...
Before Lu Yuan could get a good look, there was a flash of white light, and a large snake tail appeared.
It was just as Lu Yuan had imagined.
And just like in the various movies, anime, and games he had seen back on Earth.
From her slender waist down, Su Liyan's body had completely transformed into a snake's, which glowed with a faint white light.
Its white, jade-like scales shimmered in the light of the red candles.
The tip of her tail flicked back and forth restlessly on the floor, a clear sign of her nervousness.
But Su Liyan's atavism wasn't actually limited to her lower body.
Other parts of her had changed slightly as well. Su Liyan's ears had become a little pointed.
Her previously large, beautiful eyes were now considerably narrower and more slender.
Her eyelashes, in particular, had grown much longer.
It was as if she were naturally wearing eyeliner and eyeshadow.
Su Liyan's entire aura had changed dramatically. She went from being demure, one might even say a little cute...
...to possessing the complete air of a queen.
Especially with those slender, beautiful eyes gazing coolly at you.
However, the shyness within those cold, vertical pupils and the blush on her stunningly beautiful face...
...made her all the more irresistible.
'Conquering a queen?'
'This is just too perfect.'
Finally, Lu Yuan couldn't hold back any longer. With a roar, he pounced, eliciting a soft cry from Su Liyan.
What a night it was—like a spring breeze that came and went, leaving a thousand pear trees in full bloom.
...
「The next day, around four or five in the morning.」
Su Liyan was the first to wake, nestled in Lu Yuan's arms.
She looked up at her husband, who was still sleeping soundly, and the love in her eyes nearly overflowed.
Unable to resist, she leaned in and kissed her husband's cheek before quietly and happily climbing out of bed.
She got dressed, then went to prepare the firewood and boil water to help her husband wash up later.
'I thought my husband merely didn't mind my atavism.'
'I never imagined he would actually like it so much...'
Last night, he had held her snake body, kissing and nibbling it, which had made Su Liyan terribly embarrassed.
Her face beaming with happiness, Su Liyan returned after boiling the water just in time to see Lu Yuan stretching languidly on the bed.
Out here, they went to bed early and woke up early.
It seemed like they had been at it for half the night, but since they had gone to bed around seven or eight and likely finished by eleven or midnight, they still woke up early.
Seeing her husband was awake, Su Liyan immediately set aside her task and hurried over to help him get dressed.
Lu Yuan looked at his sweet, dutiful wife and, unable to contain his affection, gently pinched her stunningly beautiful cheek.
"Hubby, what would you like for breakfast~?"
Su Liyan asked sweetly, letting her husband pinch her cheek.
Lu Yuan, however, waved his hand and said:
"I won't eat at home this morning. I'm making a trip into the city today, so I'll just grab a bite on the way. I'll leave early so I can get back early tonight."
Su Liyan blinked, a little curious why her husband suddenly had to go to the city.
Lu Yuan grinned at Su Liyan and said:
"I'm going to see if there are any shops for sale. I'm thinking of buying a couple."
The system had given him one hundred thousand taels of silver. Lu Yuan figured the safest bet was to buy a few shops and rent them out.
There's a saying that goes, when your wisdom doesn't match your wealth, your wealth will soon find other ways to disappear.
Before transmigrating, Lu Yuan had been just an ordinary person.
Here, even with so much money, asking him to go into business?
That was just asking to lose it all.
It was like a rich heir who spends his days in clubs with young models; he could party his whole life away and probably not go bankrupt.
But if he suddenly got the whim to start a business or make investments, that's when disaster would strike.
Therefore, Lu Yuan had no intention of thinking about starting a business or anything of the sort.
Besides, with the system in place, he probably wouldn't be short on money in the future anyway.
Lu Yuan wasn't particularly interested in making money; he just wanted a respectable status.
'That way, when I go out, I can say, that's right, I'm a Shopkeeper with properties in the city.'
Otherwise, if people asked what he did for a living...
'A good-for-nothing scholar?'
It just didn't sound good.
Su Liyan listened to Lu Yuan's words and nodded earnestly.
Lu Yuan smiled at Su Liyan and said:
"You just tidy up the house today. Make yourself something nice for lunch, and put some more meat on your bones."
Feeling her husband's affection, Su Liyan was filled with happiness and nodded sweetly.
After getting dressed and washing up, Lu Yuan headed out of the village, facing the rising sun.
Mmm... he made sure to walk around that stone bridge.
Lu Yuan was going to the city this time for one reason: to buy a shop.
But there was another, more important matter that he hadn't mentioned to Su Liyan.
'What Lu Yuan was really thinking was...'
'I'll go to the city, see what's what, and find out if I can secure an official post.'
'In a world like this, just having money is useless.'
'No matter how rich you are, you're still a commoner. If the war effort gets tight, they can just conscript you on the spot.'
'Besides, once you have an official post...'
'...you're considered to be blessed by the Empire's fortune.'
'Forget becoming an Official; even an ordinary blacksmith with an official appointment wouldn't be troubled by common evil spirits.'
'Since I'm so afraid of evil spirits, if I get an official post, what evil spirit would be foolish enough to come looking for trouble with me?'
Su Liyan stood at their gate, watching her husband until he was out of sight before turning back into the courtyard.
Looking at the courtyard, a smile couldn't help but form on her lips.
She rolled up her sleeves, full of motivation, ready to give the house a good cleaning.
However, just as she lifted her foot to step inside, a little girl of about five or six with pigtails suddenly peeked her head out from the room.
The little girl was very cute, like a porcelain doll.
Leaning on the doorframe, she looked at Su Liyan and said in a small, muffled voice:
"The master likes you a lot, Big Sister~"
Seeing the little girl, Su Liyan was startled for a moment, then her expression turned to pleasant surprise.
"Eh?
How did you get here...
Did my mother send you?"
The little girl nodded repeatedly, then came out from behind the door. Or, to be more precise...
...she floated out.
Seeing this, Su Liyan's pleasantly surprised expression instantly vanished. Her face darkened, and she frowned, chiding in a low voice:
"No floating!! Get down and walk!!"