“Zhaoge’er, rest for a while!”
Madam Shi Zhangshi watched helplessly as Yuan Zhao kept hauling buckets of water to irrigate the fields. He had been at it since midday without rest.
Yuan Zhao ignored her completely, continuing tirelessly. In truth, he felt guilty about what happened earlier and wanted to make up for it through hard work.
Seeing this, Madam Shi Zhangshi suspected he might have done something wrong.
She called out, “Ah Yue, go call your sister-in-law.”
Yuan Zhao soon ran over, sweat dripping from his face.
“What is it, Mother?”
She patted the seat beside her. “Sit. I need to ask you something.”
“Alright.”
After hearing the explanation, Yuan Zhao looked confused. “I didn’t go with anyone. I came back alone.”
Madam Shi Zhangshi immediately understood—it wasn’t that at all.
So it was something else bothering him.
After a bit of questioning, Yuan Zhao finally confessed what happened in town.
“It just slipped out… I didn’t mean to say it,” he said anxiously. “Will he be angry?”
Of course he wouldn’t be.
Madam Shi Zhangshi knew her son well. He wasn’t someone who got angry easily at family matters. Still, she didn’t want to tell Yuan Zhao the truth outright.
“Then just coax him a little,” she said instead. “Men don’t stay angry at smiling faces. If you treat him well, he won’t mind.”
“Really?” Yuan Zhao perked up.
After dinner, he immediately went to the fields again, full of energy, as if he had endless strength.
Later, on the way down the mountain, they met Village Chief Niu driving a cart with two battered figures on it.
“Uncle Niu!” Yuan Zhao called out. “What happened to them?! Are they—”
“They were beaten with boards by order of the magistrate,” Village Chief Niu sighed. “Luckily it was only punishment by beating. But now our village is on the magistrate’s radar.”
Having Shi Wuxiang in the village was both blessing and pressure.
“Oh…” Yuan Zhao exhaled in relief.
He had been afraid they were dead.
When they returned home, Yuan Zhao immediately fetched warm water and went inside to wash himself thoroughly.
After dinner, he headed to the village entrance early.
And there he stood, waving a torch through the night air.
“Ah Xiang!”
He ran forward eagerly. “I came to pick you up.”
“Didn’t I already tell you not to come out to pick me up?” Shi Wuxiang took the torch from him and lifted it to look him over. Wherever his clothing didn’t fully cover, there were mosquito bites everywhere.
Yuan Zhao smiled ingratiatingly. “I wanted to come get you. It’s pitch-dark at night—I was afraid you wouldn’t be safe!”
Shi Wuxiang gave a casual response. It was clearly the same as always, but because Yuan Zhao felt guilty, it struck him as especially cold, as if Shi Wuxiang already knew he had been talking nonsense outside.
Thinking of this, Yuan Zhao cleared his throat and said attentively, “Did everything go smoothly today? Were you very tired? Let’s eat as soon as we get home, alright? I already boiled hot water—you can bathe and soak your feet. I can wash your feet for you too! I’m really good at massaging feet!”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Shi Wuxiang frowned. “I’m not Yuan Yuan. I can wash my own feet.”
“I want to wash them for you! Just let me wash them!” Yuan Zhao clung to him as they walked home.
Once inside, Yuan Zhao quickly carried all the dishes into the main room and even prepared a wooden tub of hot water for him. After finishing, he stood beside Shi Wuxiang and served him while he ate.
Shi Wuxiang glanced at him. “You’re being unusually attentive today. What bad thing did you do?”
“I didn’t!” Yuan Zhao shouted in alarm.
“Keep your voice down at night,” Shi Wuxiang said. Seeing his flustered reaction amused him, and a mischievous thought arose. “Today I ran into Cui Xiuxiu. She told me a lot of things. Do you want to know what she said?”
Yuan Zhao repeated blankly, “What did she say?”
“She said, you—”
“I don’t want to hear it! I don’t want to hear it!” Yuan Zhao screamed before he could finish.
Shi Wuxiang’s eyes widened as he stared at him, his chest rising and falling. “You scared me to death! Why are you shouting all of a sudden?”
Yuan Zhao pouted. “Sorry, but I don’t want to hear it. Why should I care what she said? Is what she said important to you? How can you be like this? I’m not washing your feet anymore!”
“I never planned on letting you wash them anyway,” Shi Wuxiang sighed. “We haven’t even finished eating and you’re already talking about foot-washing. You sure are fixated on a lot of things.”
Yuan Zhao didn’t know what to say. He felt Shi Wuxiang shouldn’t be like this—he was already married to him, so how could he still talk to other girls?
Did he still like Cui Xiuxiu? If that was the case, there was no need to wait three years—he might as well move aside right now!
Yuan Zhao was sulking. After Shi Wuxiang finished eating, he immediately took the bowls and chopsticks away and didn’t say a single word.
Shi Wuxiang found it amusing. A cold face washing dishes…?
Yuan Zhao came back carrying a wooden basin of warm water. Since he had said he wouldn’t wash Shi Wuxiang’s feet, he absolutely would not.
Even though he had never washed them in the first place, his principles had to be firm!
“Aren’t you trying to please me anymore? Getting angry all of a sudden?” Shi Wuxiang said teasingly. “I don’t want you going to bed upset. Everything I said earlier was just teasing you.”
“Which parts? You said so many things!” Yuan Zhao crossed his arms and looked at him from the side, though his emotions were already wavering.
“All of it,” Shi Wuxiang said. “Cui Xiuxiu did talk to me, but I never meant to blame you. Our marriage is real. Even if you go around shouting about it, I won’t be angry.”
“She… you and her—” Yuan Zhao wanted to ask if there had ever been anything between them, but felt he had no right to ask.
Asking would just seem like he was throwing a tantrum. He didn’t want Shi Wuxiang to think he was petty.
“I have no relationship with her, nor have I ever liked her,” Shi Wuxiang explained. “Her father was once my teacher, so I merely took care of her out of respect. Nothing ever crossed the line.”
“Then what about your injury?” Yuan Zhao believed him and pressed for details.
Shi Wuxiang sighed lightly. “It’s a bit embarrassing. It was Li Qing’s doing. I wasn’t on guard and got injured. He later spread rumors to save his own reputation. And since I left the academy afterward, I couldn’t clarify things, so the rumors only grew more exaggerated.”
“Oh…” Yuan Zhao grinned immediately after hearing this. “You should’ve said so earlier! I was worried for so long!”
Although Shi Wuxiang didn’t like him, he also didn’t like Cui Xiuxiu or anyone else. That was enough for him to straighten his chest a little.
Shi Wuxiang, taking on a slightly authoritative tone, said, “Go pour out the water. I still have something to tell you.”
“Yes sir!”
Yuan Zhao quickly returned. He took off his shoes and outer clothes and dove straight into the bed, patting the spot beside him to signal Shi Wuxiang to lie down as well.
Now it was time for their pre-sleep routine—talking quietly.
Shi Wuxiang lay down as well and said softly, “I read some books today and found a simple dish idea. I already asked a craftsman to make a pot for you. When the time comes, you’ll need to run your business properly and honestly.”
“What kind of dish? Steamed buns or noodles?” Yuan Zhao asked quietly. “That doesn’t sound good. Everyone would be selling the same thing—it would be like stealing business…”
“It’s not that. It’s a very thin kind of flatbread. You can spread sauces on it, add vegetables and meat, then roll it up into a large wrap. I’ll explain it in detail when I have time to rest. The pot should be ready by then,” Shi Wuxiang said.
“That sounds really good. You can put anything inside? Eggs too?” Yuan Zhao asked curiously. Then, remembering something, he hurriedly added, “Also, don’t forget—you promised to teach me how to write my name!”
“I remember,” Shi Wuxiang said with a smile. “You’re quite smart.”
“Tomorrow when you go to the fields, remember to wear a hat. Your face is starting to peel from the sun,” Shi Wuxiang reminded him.
“I know,” Yuan Zhao replied obediently.
“Thanks to you putting silver in my money pouch, I was able to pay the craftsman today. You really are more thoughtful,” Shi Wuxiang said, recalling it.
For someone their age, Yuan Zhao truly was rare in his attentiveness and care.
In the night light, Yuan Zhao couldn’t help but curve his lips. “Men who go out to work need money on them. Your silver probably isn’t enough to buy a pot—I’ll add more later.”
“Do we still have spare money at home?” Shi Wuxiang asked.
“There’s still some. Your monthly allowance hasn’t been spent yet,” Yuan Zhao said.
In truth, he still had some silver of his own—what he had saved before, plus the bride price from Shi Zhangshi. Although some had been spent, there was still some left.
People in the village didn’t care much about bride price once it was given. When there was no money, who would even think about such things?
“Go to sleep.”
“I already am…”
Shi Wuxiang curved his lips slightly and said no more.
Suddenly, a rumble sounded. In the next instant, the ink-black night was lit up by a flash of lightning.
“Great, it’s going to rain!”