Next, the scene shifts to the Li family mansion in the capital. Ever since Li Hao went to chase after his wife and never returned, poor Si Yiyuan, who had been acting as a substitute, has been left in the cold. Although he managed to get through the homecoming visit peacefully, life in the Li family mansion was not so easy.
Besides facing his mother’s constant nagging, which felt like a tight headband, and having to pretend to be aloof like Li Hao, what tormented him the most was his wife!
That heartless little woman kicked him out of the house on the fifth day of their marriage, claiming that he shouldn’t sacrifice the greater good for his own family, that marriage shouldn’t interfere with his work, and that earning money to support the family was what a real man should do, forcing him to go to court!
Heaven have mercy! He’s just a stand-in, what right does he have to attend court! Besides, Li Hao is a Hanlin Academy scholar of the Great Emperor, while he’s not a member of the Great Emperor’s court. His identity is sensitive; going to court would be betraying his brother’s trust!
Fortunately, that rascal Li Hao finally acted reliably for once and arranged for someone to go to court in his place. But this meant Si Yiyuan had no excuse to stay home!
So, poor young master Si had no choice but to get up on time every day, leave the Li family, and then go to the residence of the second stand-in, who would take his place. He would then wait in that boring house for the second stand-in to return from court, only then could he return to the Li family in a dignified manner!
This boring period lasted less than three days before Si Yiyuan couldn’t take it anymore. He sent a message to Li Hao via carrier pigeon, asking him in an extremely frantic tone what he was doing and why he hadn’t brought his runaway wife back yet! He wanted to go back and hug his wife, buy her delicious food and pretty clothes, and go shopping with her!
Unfortunately, Young Master Li Hao, who was traveling around the Great Palace with his young wife, was completely oblivious to Young Master Si’s emptiness and loneliness. He simply said that he was still on his way to win back his wife and that his return was far off. He told Young Master Si to hold on a little longer.
When Si Yiyuan received the reply, he had already gritted his teeth and persevered for five days. He thought that hope was just ahead, but when he opened the letter, he felt dizzy and almost died of anger. It was clear that Li Hao was the one who couldn’t stand seeing other people’s wives being intimate because he hadn’t managed to win over his wife!
Hua Yaoyao was completely unaware of the man’s “pain.” The reason she urged Si Yiyuan to go to court was because the man’s desire was simply too strong! In the five days since their marriage, he had sex at least twice every night, and he only did so because he was mindful that she had to get up early the next day. Otherwise, he would not stop until he had exhausted her!
Hua Yaoyao didn’t deny that she enjoyed it too, but to prevent both of them from dying prematurely from exhaustion, the little woman still felt it was better to find something else for the man to do so that he wouldn’t be so obsessed with this kind of thing.
Unfortunately, the little woman had planned everything, but she hadn’t considered that the man was also a substitute. Moreover, the substitute, who was cooped up at home, was even more bored and lonely. All he thought about every day was doing this and that with his wife and making her do that. So, every night, the man would put his daytime thoughts into practice on his wife!
The clueless young woman was on the verge of tears. How could her husband, who went to work, be harder to please than her husband who stayed at home? What on earth were those scholars from the Hanlin Academy researching every day?
Meanwhile, seeing that Li Hao was no longer a reliable option, Si Yiyuan decided that it was better to rely on himself than others, and began to seriously consider how to legitimately avoid attending court.
Think about my own back home, those old fogies always claim illness and skip court whenever something doesn’t go their way. Does that mean if they’re sick, they don’t have to attend court at all?!
So, the man, who had a burst of inspiration, deliberately coughed loudly a few times as soon as he woke up the next morning. When Hua Yaoyao heard the man cough, she sat up on her side and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Did you choke on your water?”
Then, glancing at the teacup on the bedside table, she gently patted the man’s back while saying with a hint of reproach, “How could you be so careless? You even choked on water!”
Si Yiyuan was speechless: “Wife, can’t you tell that your husband is sick?”
Hua Yaoyao looked at him in confusion: “Huh? Sick? What does it feel like?”
Si Yiyuan coughed a few more times and said, “It’s nothing, I just feel a tightness in my throat and it’s a bit dry.”
Hua Yaoyao nodded, thinking that the teapot was full of cold tea, and called out to her maid Lan’er to pour some warm water, saying, “It must be because the weather is dry and you slept too hot at night. Drinking a cup of water will soothe your throat.”
Huh? Huh? Huh? Si Yiyuan was a little confused. Shouldn’t his wife immediately fuss over him and then instruct the servants to go to court to ask for leave? Wasn’t Lord Li going to court today? What did it mean to drink plain water!
Seeing that he was staring blankly at the water but not drinking it, Hua Yaoyao assumed that he did not like plain water, so she gently advised, “It is not advisable to drink tea before breakfast. Just drink a few sips to moisten your throat.”
Si Yiyuan was greatly disappointed. He said “Oh” and drank the water in one gulp. He changed into his court robes, ate breakfast, and went out with a dejected look on his face, which made his mother, Li, very curious: “What’s wrong with him?”
Hua Yaoyao said dismissively, “Oh, perhaps it’s because the weather has been dry lately. My throat was uncomfortable when I woke up this morning, and I coughed a few times. I’ve already given my husband some water, and he’s fine now.”
Mother Li understood and said “Oh,” before beginning her earnest motherly admonition: “The weather has been changing a lot lately; it’s cool in the mornings and evenings and hot at midday. Please be careful, and don’t go to bed without a blanket…”
Hua Yaoyao smiled and readily agreed, but inwardly she just wanted to kick herself a few times. Serves you right for being so talkative! She can chatter on for an hour even when there’s nothing wrong with her; who knows how long this will take!
As the saying goes, a couple should share joys and sorrows, and go through thick and thin together. So, while Young Master Si endures boredom and loneliness in his dull mansion, Young Lady Hua should obediently put up with her mother’s nagging in the Li residence. That’s only fair!
Of course, Young Master Si Yiyuan would not easily give in to a single defeat! So, in the days that followed, the servants in charge of the young master Li’s courtyard began to gossip: “I wonder what’s wrong with the young mistress these past few days; she asks for a pot of warm water every morning!”
“Besides, I clearly put a full pot of tea in the pot the night before!”
“What does the young mistress want for plain water?”
“Drink it, what else can we do?”
Meanwhile, in a room far away, the two people being discussed were repeating similar conversations every day.
“My wife, my stomach hurts terribly. I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend court today!”
“I told you not to eat spicy food yesterday, but you insisted on eating it. Here, just drink some plain water!”
……
“My wife, my stomach hurts so much, I can’t go to court!”
“Did you eat too many cold dishes last night? Quick, drink some water to replenish your energy!”
……
“My wife, my head is throbbing terribly. Can I skip court today?” Si Yiyuan finally couldn’t take it anymore. How could this plain water be so effective? It’s everywhere! I refuse to believe it can even cure a headache!
After all this commotion, Hua Yaoyao finally understood what the man meant. However, he was unwilling to say it outright and insisted on finding excuses. So she couldn’t be blamed. He had his clever plans, and she had her own ways to get around them, but things just didn’t go as he wished!
Si Yiyuan hadn’t noticed that the little woman he was slowly getting to know had begun to show her sharp teeth and claws!
So, the young woman spoke softly, “Does my husband have a headache? Then let me massage it for you. After all, plain water isn’t a cure-all!”
Si Yiyuan sensed a hint of murderous intent in the woman’s gentle tone, and couldn’t help but lick his lips, forcing a dry laugh: “What do you mean by that, my wife?”
Hua Yaoyao narrowed her eyes and looked at the man with an innocent expression: “It doesn’t mean anything!” But her hands showed no mercy and started rubbing the man’s face.
Caught off guard, Si Yiyuan was rubbed and kneaded all over by the young woman. Although it didn’t hurt, he felt uncomfortable all over his face and features. He quickly said, “Okay, okay, it doesn’t hurt anymore! Wife, please stop!”
The young woman didn’t intend to go too far, so she stopped torturing the man and gently placed her hands on Si Yiyuan’s waist: “Is it alright, my husband?”
Si Yiyuan let out a long breath, still shaken: “Alright, alright.”
“Then can my husband go to court?”
Seeing that his plan had been exposed, the man pitifully hugged the little woman: “My wife, we have only just gotten married, and I want to stay home and spend more time with you!”
Hua Yaoyao was amused by the man’s coquettish tone: “It’s not impossible, but what reason can my husband give for not going to court? He can’t really claim to be sick, can he? His mother will worry about him.”
Si Yiyuan immediately perked up: “Just say I ate something bad last night, and I’ll rest for a day. There’s no need to call a doctor!”
Seeing that her husband was so unwilling to attend court and looked as pitiful as a little cabbage, Hua Yaoyao had no choice but to nod and accept it. After all, by using her husband’s illness as an excuse, she could also listen to less of her mother-in-law’s nagging!
So that morning, the servants in the young master’s courtyard discovered that the young mistress’s habit of asking for plain water had stopped again. The uninformed onlookers were talking about what the plain water had been used for in the past few days.
Unaware of the servants’ gossip, Hua Yaoyao and Si Yiyuan spent a leisurely and pleasant day at home! But afterwards, Hua Yaoyao completely regretted agreeing to the man’s request to not attend court!
Ever since he discovered that acting cute worked, Si Yiyuan would act cute and stubborn every morning to avoid going to court, and then drag Hua Yaoyao to his room to indulge in unrestrained debauchery during the day!
He even held a grudge and lectured his wife: “Do you still dare to give your husband plain water? Do you still dare to torment your husband’s face? Don’t you know that your husband is your heaven!”
The woman was exhausted and whimpered and uttered a whole string of sweet words before the man finally took pity on her and let her go!
Hua Yaoyao could no longer bear it. After her husband once again declared that he would not attend court, the young woman resolutely refused: “No! My husband has not attended court for several days. What if the Emperor blames us? Besides, my in-laws will misunderstand and think that I am spending my days having fun with my husband and neglecting my duties!”
Si Yiyuan didn’t want to pay attention to these things: “My wife, there’s no need to worry. It’s just a few days without attending court, it’s alright!”
The young woman said righteously, “Since that’s the case, I dare not stop you. However, I cannot indulge in pleasure with you, my husband. You can either stay home and chat with your mother-in-law or go to court. Please do as you please!”