Xie Wuling carried Wan Ji’s roast duck home. Before he even entered, he heard the clear laughter of children in the courtyard.
He recognized the voices, it was Xiuxiu and Gouwazi from the Liu family next door.
He had never cared much for children before, finding them noisy. But today, when he pushed open the gate, he saw the once quiet and cold little courtyard now lively: the delicate young lady stitching with needle and thread, Aunt Liu beside her picking vegetables, the two chatting idly, while the pair of children bounced about in play. The waning afternoon sun bathed the yard in gentle light, warm and bustling…
It was as if he suddenly understood what a home should look like.
A wife, children, the warmth of the hearth… It was a pity his own mother had died too early. If she had lived until now, this home would have been even more complete.
“Ah Ling, you’re back? Why are you standing at the door and not coming in?”
Aunt Liu’s voice called out. Two children ran up to Xie Wuling, their voices crisp and bright as they cried, “Uncle Xie! You’re back!”
Xie Wuling rubbed their heads. Seeing the greedy look in their eyes at the oil-paper packet in his hand, he curved his lips into a smile. “Uncle bought roast duck. Want some?”
What child wouldn’t be greedy? The moment they heard “roast duck,” their eyes lit up. “We want it!”
Aunt Liu quickly came over with her vegetable basket. “Aiyo, Ah Ling, don’t give us any more! Save that roast duck to eat with your wife, we’ll be going!”
As if afraid he’d insist on giving them some, she grabbed one child with one hand and briskly walked off. “Jiaoniang, we’re heading back first, ”
Even when their figures were gone, her scolding voice still carried back: “Eat, eat, eat, that’s all you know! If you want to eat, let your father and mother buy it for you…”
Xie Wuling stepped forward to close the courtyard gate. When he turned around, he saw Shen Yujiao had already put down her needlework and was quietly looking his way.
“What are you embroidering?” He carried the oil-paper packet over.
Shen Yujiao instinctively stood up, her soft voice tinged with restraint. “This morning I saw the quilt cover had two holes, so I borrowed needle and thread from Aunt Liu to mend them. Later I found some clothes in the wardrobe were torn too, so I took it upon myself to mend those as well…”
She paused, then looked at him. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“What’s there to mind? You’re going to marry me. What’s mine isn’t it yours too? Never mind touching a few torn garments, even if you touched me, ”
Shen Yujiao’s apricot eyes widened slightly.
Xie Wuling: “…”
Alright then, the little lady was thin-skinned.
He swallowed the rest back, but couldn’t resist muttering under his breath, “It’ll happen sooner or later anyway.”
Shen Yujiao caught the shape of his lips, her cheeks warming. She pretended not to have heard and lowered her head.
“Enough, stop busying yourself. Come eat roast duck!”
Xie Wuling strode into the main room, asking as he went, “So you’ve been sewing all day? What did you eat for lunch? Did Ping’an eat?”
Shen Yujiao carefully put away the needlework, went to the kitchen to wash her hands, then came forward to answer one by one. “I sewed some clothes. For lunch, Aunt Liu taught me how to light the stove, I made a bowl of noodles. Before you came back, I just nursed Ping’an, he’s sleeping in the room now.”
Xie Wuling glanced back at her. “So you know how to light a fire now?”
Catching the teasing in his eyes, she remembered this morning’s embarrassment. Feeling both awkward and a little unwilling, she muttered, “I do.”
“Buzzing like a mosquito again?”
“…”
She pinched her fingertips, raised her voice, and enunciated clearly, “I learned it.”
After a pause, she looked at him earnestly. “Xie Wuling, I’m not stupid. I just never had to do these things before. Give me some time, I’ll learn… I can learn everything.”
She was, after all, the legitimate daughter of the Shen family of Qingyang. Her grandfather, Shen Wenxing, had once been Imperial Tutor, a great Confucian scholar. Her father, Shen Hui, had passed both examinations, ranking second among the top scholars. Her elder brother Shen Guangting became a licentiate at fifteen, and at eighteen took the third place in the palace examination…
The Shen family was steeped in learning and tradition. As their daughter, she had studied with her father and brother from a young age. How could she be dull-witted?
It was just that she had suddenly been thrust into a life entirely unlike her first seventeen years, encountering people and things she had rarely dealt with before. She simply wasn’t used to it yet.
Looking at her serious little face, Xie Wuling arched a brow, then lazily lowered his head to open the oil-paper packet. “Did I say you were stupid? I just asked casually.”
“I know you didn’t mean it that way.”
Shen Yujiao’s voice was soft. “I only wanted to say it, so you’ll know, marrying me isn’t only a burden. I can help you too.”
Xie Wuling’s hands stilled as he unwrapped the packet. He glanced sideways at her.
Under the weight of his suddenly solemn gaze, Shen Yujiao felt uneasy. Had she said something wrong?
No, it should be fine. She had only meant to say she wasn’t someone who lived off others.
“Is there something dirty on my face?” she asked softly.
“No.”
“Then why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh, I was just thinking, you’ve got a clever face, but a block of wood for a head when it comes to romance.”
He said it offhandedly, then quickly unwrapped the roast duck. “Sit down, eat.”
Before she could think too deeply about his “insult,” the mouthwatering aroma of roast duck drew all her attention.
On a dark green lotus leaf lay a chopped roast duck, its skin glistening in golden red, thin sheets of duck fat baked crisp. One look was enough to imagine the crackling bite. Beneath the skin, the meat was firm and tender, full of juices. Just the sight made one’s mouth water.
“Eat.” Xie Wuling handed her a duck leg directly.
Shen Yujiao looked at his hand. “…”
He hadn’t washed it.
But the duck leg was already before her, and not taking it would seem impolite.
After a moment of hesitation, she tore off a corner of lotus leaf to wrap it before accepting. “Than, ”
The “thank you” reached her lips, but his gaze cut it off. Forcing out a sheepish smile, she said instead, “Mm, you eat too.”
Seeing that this time she didn’t say “thank you,” Xie Wuling’s lips curved. He lifted his robe and sat down, reaching straight out to grab a duck head and gnaw on it.
Shen Yujiao watched his rough way of eating, wanting to remind him to wash his hands before meals, yet fearing he’d find her nagging.
She knew small households didn’t have the same rules and etiquette as noble families, but eating so crudely… it really was unseemly.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Xie Wuling looked up, seeing she hadn’t taken a single bite of the duck leg, his thick brows furrowing. “Don’t tell me you also want to gnaw on the duck head?”
“Ah?” Shen Yujiao was startled, then quickly said, “N-no, I don’t.”
“Then why are you staring at me?”
You didn’t wash your hands.
She said it silently in her heart, but only replied aloud, “It’s nothing, I’ll eat now.”
Lowering her head, she carefully avoided the part of the duck leg his fingers had touched and slowly bit into the meat.
The instant the meat entered her mouth, her eyes lit up.
The duck skin was crisp and fragrant with oil; as her teeth sank in, the tender juices of the meat burst across her tongue, gratifying every taste bud, far more delicious than she had imagined.
“How is it?” Xie Wuling studied her expression, the corners of his mouth lifting. “Tastes good, doesn’t it?”
Shen Yujiao slowly swallowed, still holding her composure, but the bright sparkle in her eyes gave her away. “Mm, it’s delicious.”
“Of course. When it comes to food and drink, play and pleasure, in Jinling City there’s no one better than me, Xie Wuling.”
Saying this, he handed her another duck leg from the lotus-leaf bundle. “If you like it, eat more.”
She looked at the duck leg, dazed for a moment. “You eat it, I haven’t finished this one yet.”
“When I tell you to eat, eat.”
Without letting her refuse, he stuffed the duck leg into her hand. “I don’t like legs, I only like gnawing duck heads, necks, wings. They’ve got the best flavor.”
Looking at the two large duck legs in her hands, then at the man still gnawing on a duck head, an indescribable feeling suddenly welled up inside her.
This man might be coarse and overbearing, but just as Aunt Liu said, he was generous by nature, and not of bad character…
It was only because of his upbringing, lacking parents and elders to guide him, that he didn’t know rules or manners.
Since she was soon to be his wife, it was her duty to encourage and advise her husband,
But since they weren’t close yet, if she managed him too much, he might resent it. Better to get along first, and only later try to correct his bad habits.
As she was recalling the lessons from her mother and nanny on how to be a wife, Xie Wuling, gnawing the duck head, glanced at her. “Got something on your mind? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Startled, Shen Yujiao set down the duck leg and softly said, “One shouldn’t speak while eating, nor while in bed.”
Xie Wuling frowned, muttering, “So many rules.”
She didn’t answer. Just as she was about to lower her head again, he said, “Why aren’t you wearing the new dress I bought you?”
She was still wearing the goose-yellow dress borrowed from Aunt Liu’s daughter-in-law, wide and ill-fitting.
At this, Shen Yujiao blushed, hesitated, then murmured, “I haven’t bathed yet. I was afraid of dirtying the new clothes.”
“Didn’t Aunt Liu wipe you down a few days ago?” Xie Wuling said, “She used up two whole vats of water on you!”
At his words, Shen Yujiao could well imagine how much effort Aunt Liu had spent scrubbing her that night. Her snow-white cheeks flushed red, and she lowered her head even more. “Before, I always bathed every day…”
When fleeing famine, not bathing was a matter of necessity. But now that she no longer needed to flee, living in peace, naturally she wanted to remain clean.
“Every day?” Xie Wuling’s gaze swept over her twice. “You don’t do any heavy work at home, how dirty can you get?”
Shen Yujiao: “…”
She didn’t know how to reply, and fell silent.
Seeing her sit there quietly, as if resigned, for some reason Xie Wuling felt stifled. After a moment, he tossed aside the duck bone. “So you insist on bathing every day?”
His loud voice startled her, making her lashes tremble. She lifted her eyes, her tone very soft. “If it’s too much trouble… every two days is fine.”
After a pause, her voice grew even lower. “If it’s cold, then every three or four days will do.”
She was already compromising. If he still refused…
“Fine, then it’s settled.”
Xie Wuling agreed, picking a duck wing from the lotus leaf and biting into it. “But there’s no bath barrel at home. I usually just wash with a basin.”
“Ah? With a basin?” How could one bathe like that?
“A grown man’s bath is just scrubbing a bit. Who soaks in a barrel like a woman, half the day? Hauling water, burning firewood, washing the tub, don’t you think that’s troublesome?”
“…”
These were things Shen Yujiao had never considered. Before, if she wished to bathe, she only had to give an order, and the servants would soon carry in hot water.
As she knitted her brows, worrying over how to bathe with a basin, Xie Wuling said, “Alright, no need to fret over such a small thing. Aunt Liu’s house has many women, they’re bound to have a bath barrel. I’ll go borrow one later.”
Shen Yujiao’s eyes lit up, looking at him with delight. “Really?”
Xie Wuling: “What would I lie to you for?”
Tonight she could bathe!
Her brows and eyes softened, and for the first time today she showed him a genuine smile. “Xie Wuling, thank y, mmph!”
Her forehead was tapped again, by his greasy hand!
Shen Yujiao covered her forehead, eyes widening: “You!”
“I already said, every time you thank me, I’ll knock you once.”
Xie Wuling drawled lazily. Seeing her round eyes staring at him, startled yet unwilling to concede, the corner of his mouth tugged upward: “If you still can’t remember, we’ll change the punishment. Every time you thank me, I’ll kiss you once instead?”
This shameless scoundrel!
Shen Yujiao’s cheeks burned in an instant. She hurriedly stood up: “I’ll go check if Ping’an has woken.”
She had only taken two steps when she suddenly turned back, grabbed those two duck legs.
“I already bit this one, it can’t… food can’t be wasted.”
Watching the petite figure fleeing as though escaping, Xie Wuling couldn’t help but laugh.
This little lady, truly couldn’t stand a tease.
—
Dusk deepened, and the courtyard at night was quiet and still.
Xie Wuling sat cooling off in the yard with the child in his arms, but the corner of his eye kept straying toward the bedchamber lit by hazy candlelight.
Just taking a bath, how could it take this long?
Could she have dozed off in the tub?
He wanted to ask, but remembering how her pretty face had flushed red before going in, and how she had especially “warned” him not to peek,
Fine, he wouldn’t look. He, Xie Wuling, was a man who stood tall under heaven, not some lecher who spied on women bathing.
Even so, hearing the occasional sound of water splashing from within, his mind seemed to ripple along with it, restless, smoldering, unable to settle.
Xie Wuling closed his eyes, muttering inwardly that it must be this late-summer heat. Already almost the eighth month, yet still so hot it stirred the blood.
“Come on, little Ping’an, Daddy will take you to the back to see the sheep.”
He lifted the baby in his arms, but just as he stood up, he saw a graceful silhouette cast upon the bedchamber window.
Framed against the warm, hazy glow of lamplight, those supple curves were outlined in full, slender arms, a narrow waist, seeming to be in the midst of dressing…
His throat suddenly felt parched.
“A-woo~~” The baby in his arms gave a lazy yawn.
Xie Wuling snapped back to himself. Meeting the child’s big black-and-white eyes, he coughed awkwardly: “Daddy wasn’t peeking. Daddy was just… tch, what am I explaining to a little brat like you for.”
Carrying the child, he strode quickly toward the back courtyard.
Said he was going to see the sheep, but in his head was nothing but that shadow on the window.
How strange. Back when he went to the pleasure quarters to collect debts, those courtesans dressed in gauzy silks, bosoms half-exposed, hadn’t stirred him in the least.
Yet now, just a glimpse of her silhouette, and he was as restless as a green youth.
“What are you doing out here?”
The quiet night was suddenly broken by a woman’s gentle voice.
Xie Wuling paused. Lifting his eyes, his breath caught.
Beneath the dark eaves, the little lady who had just bathed stood holding an oil lamp.
She was no longer in that ill-fitting goose-yellow dress, but had changed into a brand-new gown of rosy-pink, a flowered sash cinching her willow waist even finer. Her thick, cloud-like hair was still damp, loosely pinned back with a wooden hairpin, a stray lock falling beside her ear, setting off the small, round, snowy lobe beneath.
The dusky lamplight wrapped her delicate face, reflecting in her clear black eyes, their shimmering waves lovelier than even the night over Qinhuai.
Xie Wuling knew she was pretty, but he hadn’t expected her, in fresh robes, to be this charming, this captivating.
If before, dressed in goose-yellow, she was like a spring blossom, then now, under the lamp, she was like a rare and splendid begonia in full bloom.
“Xie Wuling?”
His bright, unblinking gaze made Shen Yujiao’s heart flutter with unease. Her hand tightened around the lamp. “It’s already late. Give me the child, I’ll take him in to rest.”
Xie Wuling’s eyes darkened slightly, his voice lowering: “You hold the lamp, I’ll carry him.”
Remembering she’d also need him to haul out the tub, Shen Yujiao softly answered, “Alright.”
She walked ahead, lamp in hand, Xie Wuling following behind with the child.
Perhaps it was only her imagination, but she could almost feel that gaze burning on her back, scorching, heavy,
Her steps grew unsteady, as if she barely knew how to walk.
At last they reached the bedchamber. With the light brighter inside, she set the lamp down and turned to him. “Give me the child.”
Xie Wuling handed him over. At this nearness, he caught the faint, clean fragrance of her fresh from the bath.
His gaze dipped, her small face, white with a rosy glow, smooth as milk curd, made him suddenly want to… bite.
“Don’t… don’t look at me like that.”
Unable to withstand such direct, scorching eyes, Shen Yujiao backed away two steps with the child, her voice trembling: “Quickly carry the tub out, it needs to be returned to Aunt Liu in the morning.”
Xie Wuling realized his loss of composure, rubbed his nose.
But seeing her shy, flustered look, he couldn’t resist clearing his throat: “You’re my wife, what’s wrong with me looking?”
Shen Yujiao was speechless.
“And anyway, I was just checking if that dress fits you…”
He even pretended to size her up carefully. “This one looks much better than what you wore earlier. I’ll buy you more new ones, so you can change often.”
Shen Yujiao lowered her gaze, blushing: “Just go move the tub.”
Seeing her so eager to send him away, Xie Wuling didn’t linger further.
After all, this little room seemed filled with her scent, fanning the restless heat in his chest. If he stayed longer, who knew whether he’d lose his head and do something wrong.
—-
By the time everything was tidied up, the sky was completely dark.
Standing by the door, Shen Yujiao peeked through the crack and only after seeing Xie Wuling return to the main hall did she relax, quietly bolting the door from inside.
Back on the bed, thinking of that scorching gaze of his just now, as if he wanted to devour her, her heart still beat in uneasy flutters.
The young gentlemen she had known in Chang’an were all refined, courteous, proper. Someone like Xie Wuling,
In her whole life, she had never come into contact with such a man!
If it were before, a ruffian like this, she would surely have ordered her servants to beat him out with clubs.
Yet now, it was precisely this ruffian who gave her food, gave her clothes, gave her shelter…
With a soft sigh, she raised her hand to undress, lay down on the bed, and consoled herself: she would adapt, little by little.
Had she not also needed time to adapt when she first married Pei Xia, before she figured out a way to get along with him?
Now she simply hadn’t been with this Xie Wuling long enough. Given time, things would surely be fine.
Wrapped in that self-consolation, Shen Yujiao sank into sleep.
At dawn the next morning, she lingered by the door for quite a while before forcing herself to appear calm as she pushed it open.
She had not expected the courtyard to be empty, the bedding in the main hall cleared away, and the tub by the water vat gone.
Thinking it over, Shen Yujiao went to knock on Aunt Liu’s door.
Only then did she learn that Xie Wuling had returned the tub at daybreak. As for where he himself had gone, Aunt Liu guessed, “Most likely went out on some errand? Don’t worry, Ah Ling was never one to stay home much before. He should be back later.”
Then, with warmth, she asked Shen Yujiao: “Have you had breakfast yet? If not, come eat at my place.”
Remembering the steamed cakes Xie Wuling had left on the stove, Shen Yujiao politely declined and returned to her own courtyard.
Just as she was about to close the door, she noticed at the end of the lane a man in gray clothes loitering furtively, glancing her way again and again.
Her brows furrowed.
The days of fleeing had left her ever watchful. With Xie Wuling not at home, and herself just a woman with a child, caution was safest. She quickly bolted the courtyard gate from inside.
But not long after, bang, bang, bang!
A series of urgent knocks shattered the quiet, startling her as she soothed Ping’an to sleep in the bedchamber.
Before she could rise from the couch, a rough unfamiliar voice came from outside: “Anyone home?”
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