Yuxi made crystal dumplings and watched Yun Qing eat them with great joy and some fret. Previously, she had explicitly asked to inquire about Yun Qing’s preferences, such as what he liked to eat. As a result, Han Jianye told him that Yun Qing was not a picky eater. His preference for dumplings was only relative.

After Yun Qing had eaten the large bowl of dumplings, Yuxi asked, “Does Husband like this kind of crystal dumpling or mutton dumpling?”

Yun Qing put down his chopsticks and answered, “I like both.” This was really not a perfunctory statement. Compared to the food in the military camp, the food here was much better.

Yuxi let out a cry of ‘Oh!’. She thought that it was genuinely easy to raise this guy!

Looking at the half bowl of fish porridge left in Yuxi’s bowl, Yun Qing urged, “Eat quickly! This porridge will smell fishy when it turns cold.” Yun Qing was very appreciative that Yuxi would eat at night. Eating a lot was good for the body! Mmm, and it would make one’s body very meaty.

After eating, Yuxi retreated to the cleanroom to take a bath. Before entering their room, Yuxi couldn’t help but blush at the thought of yesterday night’s events. But when she got inside, she found that Yun Qing was reading her book.

Yun Qing closed the book in his hand and asked Yuxi, “You’ve been reading this book?” When he looked at the thick book on the table, he picked it up and tried to read it. He didn’t expect it to be «Zizhi Tongjian», which was rarely read by men, let alone women.

Yuxi answered with a smile, “Not always, occasionally. It was a way to pass my time. Does Husband like to read these kinds of books?”

A smile appeared on Yun Qing’s face as he replied, “I actually don’t like to read, but my grandfather said I can’t just be blind all my life, so I still had to do it even when I didn’t want to.” Thinking of his dead grandfather, Yun Qing’s heart was clogged again. But looking at Yuxi with her interested look, he suppressed this affliction of his.

How could Yuxi not see the difference in Yun Qing? There were some things that the more you didn’t let go and suppress in your heart, the more significant the repercussions would be. It would be just like her, where she never forgot the pain of her previous life and buried it deep inside her. Yesterday, Yun Qing had drawn out the aggression in her heart that caused her to lose control. But after crying and venting out the pain in her heart, she felt a lot more relaxed.

Yuxi said with some astonishment. “Do you know, to motivate my Er Ge, my Dage would use you as an example? He said you were good at your study and martial arts and rebuked my Er Ge for being too lazy. If my Er Ge heard this, I’m certain he would have been very depressed.” T

/C

Yun Qing listened to this with some curiosity. “Your Dage used me to motivate your Er Ge? How did you know about this?”

Yuxi grunted. “Don’t you remember? The first time you saw me, you pinched my cheeks. At that time, it scared the hell out of me. I had never been pinched before in my life!”

Yun Qing remembered the incident and also found it fascinating. “I thought you had already forgotten? Then, surely you didn’t forget that we happened to meet twice in one day on the day of the Lantern Festival, right?” He could clearly remember the events of that day because Yuxi’s behaviour was too unique. At first, she treated him like a tiger, and her whole body would shake; the second time, she returned to her normal self; the third time, she treated him as if he was nothing. Her attitude changed so fast that it was hard for him to forget her!

Yuxi laughed. “Sometimes, I wonder if this is our destiny!” Everyone liked to hear good words! She believed Yun Qing was no exception.

Yun Qing also thought these meetings between them were their destiny!

With a good start, the conversation went smoothly. Still, Yuxi felt it was already late and hurriedly said, “I reckon the time has reached zishi. It’s about time we go to sleep!” It didn’t matter to her since she still could catch up on her sleep if she slept late, but Yun Qing had to work in the morning!

Half-past maoshi, Yuxi woke up without being called. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the person lying next to her. Last night, she could not see him much, but now, she could see his body clearly. There were several interlocking hideous wounds, which looked particularly horrible. As she gazed at these many wounds, she felt a little distressed as she didn’t know how many times he had been injured.

As soon as Yuxi’s hand touched the scar on Yun Qing’s chest, it was grabbed by a large hand. Yun Qing smiled and asked, “Awake?”

“Mhmm, let’s get up and practice, okay?”

Zijin chatted with Mama Qu about some family matters, “Mama, do you think we should learn to speak in Yu City dialect?” They could only understand the official language, but there were not too few people who actually knew how to speak it here. She couldn’t even understand what the group of guards whom Xu Wu brought were talking about!

Mama Qu smilingly said, “If you are willing to learn, of course, it would be best.” She had gotten older, and her memory was not as good as before. Plus, she wouldn’t go out much and mostly stay around in the inner courtyard. Thus, she didn’t need to learn the dialect spoken here, unlike Zijin, who had to deal with people outside more.

Zijin actually had nothing meaningful to say. Hence, she just chatted casually with Mama Qu. After talking for a little while, she finally heard someone inside the room calling for water to be prepared.

It was effortless for Yun Qing to take a bath. He just needed to rinse himself with cool water a few times, and he was done. While on Yuxi’s side, she had to soak herself in a medicinal bath for two-quarters of an hour. The first time, she was inexperienced and unprepared. Yesterday, she had prepared the medicinal herbs beforehand and passed them to Mama Qu. She then watched Mama Qu decoct them.

The sun was hanging high when Yuxi came out of her bath. When she realised Yun Qing had not eaten his breakfast and was waiting for her, Yuxi complained, “Didn’t I tell you not to wait? So why are you still waiting? What if you get hungry?” Yuxi told Zijin to let Yun Qing eat first when she was bathing just now.

Yun Qing laughed and said, “If I couldn’t even wait for you this much, I would have been starving outside all the time. Okay, let’s not talk about it. Let’s hurry up and eat!”

After finishing breakfast, Yun Qing said to Yuxi, “You have not been out in Yu City yet, right? I’ll take you out for a walk and have a look at this city.”

Yuxi’s eyes lit up. “Alright, then I’ll go change my clothes.” She didn’t expect Yun Qing to take her out shopping, which was a pleasant surprise.

Because they were newlyweds, Yuxi wore a red jacket embroidered in kesi technique, with a silver silk pleated skirt underneath. Her hair was combed as smooth as mist. It was then attached with a slanting magnolia flowers jade hairpin, making her look delicate and charming.

Yun Qing did not pay any particular attention to how he dressed. He just put on a sky blue form-fitted garment with fortune bat patterns and a long sword tied to his waist, making him look extraordinarily heroic.

As they emerged from the courtyard, Yun Qing naturally took Yuxi’s hand. Yuxi was a little embarrassed that she tried to pull her hand out. Unfortunately, the strength of her hand was not as strong as Yun Qing’s. She whispered, “Everyone is all watching us!”

With a smile at the corner of his mouth, Yun Qing said, “Just let them.” He was holding his own wife’s hand, not someone else’s. If they wanted to watch, then just let them be!

Zijin, Yu Zhi and the others acted like they were blind when they saw their behaviour.

Although Yuxi felt very awkward and embarrassed, she wouldn’t sweep Yun Qing’s face in front of everyone. However, when she got to the gate and didn’t see the carriage, Yuxi couldn’t stop herself and asked Zijin, “Didn’t I ask you to tell others to prepare the carriage?”

Yun Qing said, “I told them not to.”

Yuxi was dumbfounded. “How can we go out without a carriage?” Could it be that they were going to walk? But Yu City was not too big, nor was it too small. She didn’t know if she could walk to every nook and cranny of the city in one day!

Seeing Yuxi’s confused look, Yun Qing was in an excellent mood. He responded, “Naturally, we’ll be riding on the horse.” Xu Wu had already told the other person to bring Yun Qing’s horse over.

A woman on a horseback wearing a weimao.

Image Credit | The rightful image owner via NewHanfu (Introduce of Hanfu Face Veil: Mili & Weimao, Oct 13th, 2020)

How could Yuxi not know that Yun Qing was planning to take her on a horseback ride around Yu City with him? It was already her limit to go out without wearing a weimao to cover her face. There was no way she would be riding on a horse with someone outside, even if that person was her husband. It was true that the people of Yu City were open-minded, but not to this extent, and they would undoubtedly be criticised at that time.

Yun Qing did not expect such a strong reaction from Yuxi. Still, he had to compromise when he thought about the difference between life in the capital and the northwest. “Then, how about you and Zijin share a horse?”

Yuxi did not want to spoil the fun. It was already rare for Yun Qing to be willing to take her out. If she did not go this time, and in case Yun Qing did not take her out in the future, it would be her loss. “Okay.”

Yu Zhi asked, “Miss Han, you can’t let Zijin take you every time, can you?” Yu Zhi blurted out ‘Miss Han’ when he should have changed how he addressed her.

Yuxi answered without thinking, “No, I’ll learn to ride a horse in a couple of days.” Riding a horse was much faster than riding in a carriage. If there was an emergency, she could ride a horse to escape.

When Yun Qing heard this, he inserted, “Then I will teach you.” It was naturally good that Yuxi was willing to learn how to ride a horse. It was fortunate that he had nothing to do these few days, so he could give her some guidance.

Yuxi smiled happily. “Okay!” Although it was said that Yun Qing’s situation was extremely unsafe, it was worth the danger to have such a loving husband.