Chapter 19: Nighttime Waves Wife-Master, You, You Can’t Leave Jiu Jiu…

Nestled against her neck, Meng Jun heard this and lifted his eyelids slightly in confusion.

Li Ruantang didn’t continue speaking. She just gently patted the little husband in her arms, humming a nursery rhyme her father used to sing to her when she was young.

The soft, melodious tune slowly drifted through the quiet night, finally settling into a pool of dim yellow light.

The young man had originally been on high alert, fearing she might overstep her bounds. But her embrace was fragrant and soft, and her black hair fell smoothly past his ears.

Meng Jun sniffed lightly and secretly sighed in his heart.

Indeed, even after soaking in a flower petal bath for so long, Li Ruantang still smelled sweeter. The young man was very curious and wanted to carefully discern exactly what fragrance she wore. He lifted his chin, inadvertently touching his nose to the exposed part of her snow-white neck.

The sudden heat that came from his ears burned the young man, leaving him stunned in place. He dared not move or breathe, fearing Li Ruantang would discover he was pretending to sleep.

Fortunately, this subtle touch did not attract her attention. Meng Jun had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Li Ruantang sigh and say, “My Jiu Jiu is so silly, if only…”

She didn’t finish what came after “if only.” But the faint sadness in her tone made the young man’s heart suddenly tremble, and his slender fingers unconsciously grasped her sleeve.

He, he wasn’t silly. After all, they had made a pinky promise, sworn an oath. Now, wherever she went, he would follow. Unless they returned to the capital, then he would stay far away from her.

Yes, unless they returned to the capital. Then this oath would no longer be valid, and he could go find Wei elder sister.

Right now they were still in Hu Village, so…

The young man tightly gripped the bit of sleeve in his palm, pretending to call out to her in his sleep.

“Wife-master.”

Afraid Li Ruantang couldn’t hear clearly, Meng Jun lifted his chin and moved closer to her ear. He pressed his lips together, suppressing the faint blush on his cheekbones, “You, you can’t leave Jiu Jiu.”

The clear, cool voice carried a hint of confusion, creating little ripples across Li Ruantang’s heart.

She couldn’t help but curve her lips, lowering her gaze to look at the little husband sleeping in her arms. After a while, she responded softly and gently.

“Mm.”

The moonlight was cool, casting a faint light through the thick clouds. The small mountain village was completely silent.

Hu Youning, who should have been fast asleep by now, couldn’t fall asleep no matter what. He tossed and turned several times, not only becoming more and more awake, but also increasingly anxious and confused.

What he was anxious about, he didn’t know; what he was confused about, he dared not think too deeply.

By his pillow, that small red flower lay silently.

Hu Youning glanced at it a few times, then suddenly sat up. Although he had taken something that didn’t belong to him, it was also something that Jiu Jiu didn’t like and didn’t want.

He had only picked it because it seemed a shame to waste, as if possessed by some spirit.

Just one flower, it really didn’t amount to much.

He nodded to himself, reaching out to push open the window and look outside. In the lit window, a figure was dimly reflected.

Perhaps because of the drowsy candlelight inside, her figure looked larger than usual, sitting there as if lost in thought.

Hu Youning watched quietly for a while, his smiling eyes curving like the crescent moon in the sky. His outstretched fingers traced her outline in the air.

Such a sickly woman, yet she managed to teach Fu Lanxian a lesson, leaving her to recover at home.

It was also thanks to her help that he hadn’t become another wronged ghost under Fu Lanxian’s hands.

To him, she was his life-saving benefactor. Plays often say that a life-saving debt should be repaid with one’s body.

Hu Youning silently mouthed the last four words several times, feeling his face burn as if on fire. He picked up his cup and took a few sips of cold tea, finally calming down.

But she was a woman with a husband. Although wealthy women often had three or five confidants and four or six male attendants, Jiu Jiu was his friend.

Hu Youning frowned slightly. He still had a sense of shame and knew the meaning of friendship.

Fortunately, Jiu Jiu had also said he had someone else in his heart.

His brow gradually smoothed. That’s right, Jiu Jiu would eventually separate from Lady Li. Hu Youning’s face lit up with a smile. He just needed to wait a little longer.

Come to think of it, at noon today, he had noticed that Lady Li’s skirt hem had been caught on a tree branch, leaving a small hole. When she left the main hall just now, that small hole was still there.

It seems Jiu Jiu hadn’t noticed yet.

But this wasn’t surprising. For someone you don’t like, you naturally wouldn’t pay much attention.

Hu Youning sighed softly. At most, he could remind Jiu Jiu tomorrow morning. If Jiu Jiu didn’t know how to sew—

Hu Youning’s face reddened. He took out the sewing basket and carefully selected some items. Her clothes were luxurious; the torn hole couldn’t be directly mended. Not only would it look bad, but it would also make the skirt hem uneven.

The most secure way would be to embroider a flower on it, which would be both beautiful and thoughtful.

He raised his eyes slightly, looking outside for just a moment, when the smile on his face suddenly froze.

On that paper window, the figure that had just been reflected split in two, slowly and intimately leaning together, inch by inch moving downward.

Hu Youning felt as if he had been plunged into a well of endless winter chill. He didn’t even notice when the ball of thread in his hand rolled to the ground, knocking over the small red flower that had been placed carefully on his pillow.

He stared blankly at the figures that were about to merge into one again, until that room turned pitch black, and he finally came back to his senses.

That’s right, they were wife and husband after all; such intimacy was normal. Hu Youning barely managed to suppress the bitterness in his heart, reaching out to close the window.

The mountain wind picked up at night, blowing through the half-open window, suddenly extinguishing the already dim candlelight.

Li Ruantang was carefully supporting Jiu Jiu’s neck, intending to place him gently on the buckwheat pillow.

The sudden darkness, while robbing them of sight, made their sense of touch all the more acute.

Her arm, and that softness that inadvertently brushed against him, were like a fire, slowly burning from his toes upward, causing the young man’s face to flush.

He bit his lower lip hard.

It was fortunate that there was no light at the moment, otherwise Li Ruantang would certainly have noticed something amiss.

Although her embrace was very warm, he wasn’t just any ordinary man. He absolutely couldn’t let her sleep while holding him.

Seven out of ten chances, no matter how you looked at it, seemed somewhat…

The young man had only pondered for a moment before feeling his body heat up several degrees. He didn’t know what Li Ruantang was thinking, how could she speak so openly about such matters to others.

At one moment he was annoyed at Li Ruantang’s lack of discretion, the next he was worried she might really embrace him.

His thick lashes trembled back and forth, just about to open his eyes and reason with her, explaining that such matters shouldn’t be rushed, and that it wouldn’t be too late to wait until her body was healthy.

The arm supporting his waist withdrew, and Li Ruantang turned to lie down properly.

Eh?

The young man had prepared a belly full of arguments, but now not only did he have no chance to use them, he was suddenly filled with confusion.

Could it be that Li Ruantang, who had spoken so confidently, didn’t actually know how to perform the duties of marriage?

It wasn’t surprising that Meng Jun would think this way. Li Ruantang had studied at Qingshan Academy since childhood, and after passing the exam to become an inner court student, she went straight to the frontier.

Everyone knew the frontier was harsh and cold. They were busy with drills, surely had no time to read the novels that men liked, nor to listen to plays.

Moreover, the young man secretly opened his eyes a crack to look at Li Ruantang lying beside him with closed eyes. She had lost her parents at a young age, so presumably, no one had taken care of these matters for her.

Thinking of this, Meng Jun couldn’t help but let out a long sigh in his heart.

Never mind, at worst, he could find some novels to send her after they returned to the capital. It would also prevent her from being looked down upon when she really took a husband.

Outside the window, the pouring rain sounded like a full plate of jade beads being scattered by the heavens, pattering incessantly.

He was in a daze, thinking only of Li Ruantang, and hadn’t heard a thing, already deep in dreams.

Until a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder illuminated the entire room.

“Jiu Jiu!”

This voice, coming from who knows where, was so desperate it startled the sleeping young man, sending a chill down his back. He suddenly opened his eyes.

The tables and chairs were all in place, and he was still sleeping on Li Ruantang’s pillow.

But the young man felt that something wasn’t right.

He looked dazedly at the piece of mutton-fat jade tucked in his palm, then thought of Li Ruantang’s tone when she spoke during the night. His heart, which had just been confused, suddenly sank.