It was late autumn, just as winter was beginning. The sky was a dull, withered gray, and cold rain fell like a curtain.
Li Yaoniang had risen early and was sitting by the stove in the kitchen, staring blankly into space.
The glow of the fire reflected against her cheeks, casting shadows beneath her lowered lashes. Listening to the “whoosh” of the cold wind sweeping across the roof, Li Yaoniang suddenly let out a heavy sigh.
Yesterday, just before nightfall, the Pei clan chief had suddenly come over and told her that her long-lost younger brother-in-law had finally been found and would be moving back to live with her from then on.
A reunion between relatives should have been a great occasion for celebration, but Li Yaoniang simply could not bring herself to be happy about it. Her parents-in-law and her husband were all gone, and now there was only her, a widow living alone in the family home. What was she supposed to make of a younger brother-in-law she had never even met suddenly moving in?
Moreover, her reputation had never been particularly good during all these years of widowhood. If she now lived under the same roof as her younger brother-in-law, any little disturbance in her household would likely be exaggerated and twisted by those sharp-tongued women into all sorts of rumors, making her already poor reputation even worse.
Li Yaoniang had intended to refuse, but when she saw the clan chief’s smile that did not reach his eyes, she silently shut her mouth.
She was merely a childless widow, and the only reason she was still allowed to live here was because the clan chief had been kind enough not to send her back to her maiden family. If she dared to say no at that moment, she would surely be driven out immediately.
The night was dark and gloomy. Cold rain fell onto Li Yaoniang’s face, and she instinctively turned her gaze toward the man standing behind the curtain of rain.
The man held an old paper umbrella. He was tall and slender, and the sleeves of his clothes were a little too short, revealing his lean wrist and strong-looking bones.
Most of his face was hidden beneath the umbrella. He did not seem to notice her gaze, standing there like a silent puppet, apparently seeing nothing wrong with living together with his widowed sister-in-law.
In the end, seeing that she had remained silent for so long, the clan chief spoke up to reassure her, but his words only made Li Yaoniang’s heart sink even further.
“Pei Jue has lost both his parents and his elder brother. You’re the only family he has left now. An elder sister-in-law is like a mother. Take good care of him, and help him establish a household and make a living in the future. I want to see who would dare say a single bad word about you.”
With just one sentence, the clan chief placed such a heavy burden on Li Yaoniang’s shoulders.
At the time, she had stared blankly at the figure beneath the paper umbrella, the man a full head taller than her, unable to utter a single word. In the end, she simply nodded woodenly and led him into the courtyard.
What happened afterward felt almost like a dream. She hurriedly prepared a room for him and then returned to her own room, only to spend the entire night tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
“Sigh.”
Li Yaoniang sighed again. Reputation aside, making a living by herself had already been difficult enough all these years. Now she also had to worry about this younger brother-in-law. The clan chief was practically making things deliberately difficult for a widow like her.
Seeing that the fire beneath the stove was growing stronger and stronger, Li Yaoniang quickly smothered it with ash before ladling the porridge from the pot.
After filling two bowls, she looked toward the room next to hers. She hesitated for a moment before quietly walking over and knocking on the door.
“Second Brother, breakfast is ready. Would you like to come out and have some?”
The room was completely silent. No one answered. Through the narrow gap around the thin door, she could only see darkness inside. It seemed the person within had not yet gotten up.
Li Yaoniang stood awkwardly beneath the eaves for a while before returning to the kitchen.
She and this younger brother-in-law were complete strangers. In any case, she had already delivered the message. Whether Pei Jue came out or not was his own business.
After finishing breakfast alone, Li Yaoniang remembered that the clan chief had said yesterday that Pei Jue had been wandering from place to place since childhood and was physically weak, so she should make more meat dishes for him to build up his strength.
Li Yaoniang was displeased by this. Although she had only briefly met him yesterday, she had not seen anything weak about Pei Jue at all. Not only was he tall, but he also looked solid and well-built. He was clearly an extremely healthy man.
Unlike her. She was just a poor widow who had to live frugally every day. Unless it was a festival or some other special occasion, she would never willingly spend even a single copper coin more than necessary.
Li Yaoniang indulged in another bout of self-pity, but in the end she obediently took some money and went out. Otherwise, if the clan chief came over to check and discovered that she had been neglecting Pei Jue, she would surely have to endure a round of criticism, whether openly or behind her back.
The weather that day was as gloomy as her mood. Holding an umbrella, Li Yaoniang slowly made her way to the butcher’s shop. She picked out a piece of pork belly with an even balance of fat and lean meat, telling the butcher to cut off only half of it. Then she chose a small section of ribs and had the butcher chop them into small pieces.
Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned around and saw a young married woman in her early twenties smiling at her.
It was rare for Madam Zhou to see Li Yaoniang out of the house. She had been about to tell her some interesting gossip, but when she saw how pale Li Yaoniang’s little face was, she immediately stopped smiling.
“Why do you look so pale? Did something happen?”
Madam Zhou was the only person in the neighborhood willing to speak to Li Yaoniang. Everyone else believed that Li Yaoniang had a hard fate and had brought death upon her husband’s entire family. After becoming a widow, they also thought she was not behaving properly, so they avoided her as much as possible.
Li Yaoniang briefly told her what had happened the day before, then lowered her eyes and fell silent, her face filled with sorrow.
After listening, Madam Zhou pondered for a moment, her gaze settling on Li Yaoniang’s face.
Although Li Yaoniang was a widow, she was an exceptionally beautiful one. Even her plain, dusty clothing could not conceal her striking beauty. Her eyes were like spring water, her lips seemed touched with vermilion, and even her skin was delicate and smooth, without a trace of blemish. Years of widowhood had only added a certain mature charm to her appearance.
Even Madam Zhou, another woman herself, would sometimes find herself staring at her.
There had always been countless men who coveted Li Yaoniang. Now that a younger brother-in-law who was practically a stranger would suddenly be living under the same roof, it was only natural that she would be worried.
Madam Zhou offered her some advice. “If it really doesn’t work, you should talk things over with the clan chief again. A widowed sister-in-law living together with her younger brother-in-law really doesn’t sound very proper when people hear about it.”
Li Yaoniang’s eyes were filled with worry.
“That isn’t even the most important thing anymore. No matter what happens, my reputation can’t be salvaged. What’s important is that the clan chief wants me to help him establish a family and make a living. You know that I’ve been a widow for so many years, and I have no support from my maiden family. I survive entirely by embroidering handkerchiefs and selling them for money. What could I possibly use to help him?”
The cold rain chilled them to the bone. Li Yaoniang placed the wrapped pork and ribs into her basket, and the two women walked home side by side.
“It’s nothing serious,” Madam Zhou said with a smile. “What does your younger brother-in-law look like?”
Li Yaoniang was somewhat puzzled, but she still thought carefully about it. Her mind had been in a daze yesterday. All she remembered was that Pei Jue was tall and looked solid, although he seemed somewhat unsteady and unbalanced when he walked, much like the men on the streets who spent their days drinking and playing cards and had grown soft around the middle.
Still, when she remembered that her late husband had been rather handsome and refined, the two brothers could hardly look completely different.
“He should be decent-looking enough,” Li Yaoniang said.
“Then it’s easy,” Madam Zhou lowered her voice. “Your younger brother-in-law has been missing for so long, and neither your parents-in-law nor your husband are around anymore. He probably doesn’t have much attachment to the family. I’ve heard that there are several families in our town who have only daughters and no sons, and they’re all planning to take in a son-in-law.”
Li Yaoniang’s eyes lit up. She immediately understood what Madam Zhou meant.
“You mean we should have him marry into another family as their live-in son-in-law? That’s actually a good idea. But what if he refuses?”
Madam Zhou said, “Your family is so poor that there’s practically nothing left but a few bare walls. If he marries into another family as a live-in son-in-law, he won’t have to worry about food or clothing. Just persuade him properly and let him think it over. I’m sure he’ll agree. Besides, he has only just returned and is completely dependent on you for now. If he later marries into a wealthy family, he certainly won’t forget you.”
The gloom in Li Yaoniang’s heart instantly vanished. She gratefully clasped Madam Zhou’s hand.
“You really are the clever one.”
When she smiled, her brows and eyes curved beautifully, making it difficult to look away. Madam Zhou smiled along with her, but inwardly she felt sorry that such a young woman had been left all alone and had barely experienced any affection from her husband.
“Tell me honestly. Have you never thought about marrying again?” Madam Zhou nudged her with her elbow. “You’re still so young and beautiful. If you want to remarry, there are plenty of men who would want you. Besides, with the weather so cold, can you really sleep alone at night? Doesn’t it feel a little empty?”
Married women could sometimes be quite uninhibited when talking about such things. The tips of Li Yaoniang’s ears grew hot, and she answered perfunctorily, “We’ll see. I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
Her late husband had been dead for five years. Even when he had still been alive, the two of them had shared very little physical intimacy. She had long since forgotten what it was like to be with a man… Whether she had a man or not was no longer important to her.
Madam Zhou felt both pity and sadness for her, but having a man in the household was still useful. Not to mention anything else, just carrying water and chopping firewood would already save her a great deal of effort.
She wanted to persuade Li Yaoniang further, but they had already reached the entrance of the alley, so she said no more. She merely made a quiet note to herself that when she got the chance, she would find a good man for Li Yaoniang to remarry.
The two women parted at the entrance of the alley.
Li Yaoniang returned home and discovered that the door to Pei Jue’s room was still tightly closed. She went to the kitchen and lifted the lid of the pot, only to find that the porridge inside remained completely untouched.
After all, there was a distinction between a sister-in-law and her younger brother-in-law, so she did not feel comfortable saying anything. She blanched the ribs she had bought and put them on the stove to simmer. Then she returned to her room, took out her embroidery frame, and sat beside the stove to warm herself while silently calculating whether it would be feasible to marry Pei Jue off as a live-in son-in-law.
Every sound in the courtyard carried clearly into the room where Pei Jue was staying.
The room was dimly lit and filled with a strong smell of blood.
After treating the wounds on his body, Pei Jue opened the small window. The daylight that filtered in was not particularly bright, and a pile of bloodstained strips of cloth lay scattered on the floor.
The room was simply furnished, containing only a bed of indeterminate age and a small chest for storing clothes.
Pei Jue gathered up the bloodstained cloth strips. Only after the cold breeze had dispersed the smell of blood in the room did he push open the door and step outside.
Lunch was already prepared. Li Yaoniang was wondering whether she should go call Pei Jue when she heard the sound of a door opening.
She startled and hurried outside, but the cold rain had left the ground slippery, and she lost her footing and fell.
A dull pain shot through her knee, and Li Yaoniang let out a soft cry.
When she looked up, she saw a pair of black cloth shoes belonging to a man stopped right in front of her. The shoes were made of exquisite material, and even the embroidered patterns on them were unlike anything she had ever seen.
Before Li Yaoniang could think any further, the man’s voice came from above her, clear and melodious like flowing spring water and jade striking jade.
“Sister-in-law?”
For a moment, it was as though a feather had brushed past Li Yaoniang’s ear. Her entire body trembled, and she looked up.
Pei Jue was still wearing yesterday’s green robe, its sleeves slightly too short. A matching cloth belt was tied around his waist, accentuating his unusually long legs and lean, straight waist. Above that was the broad expanse of the man’s chest.
Sunlight emerged from behind the clouds, breaking through the gloom and spilling softly across his shoulders.
Pei Jue lowered his head slightly, revealing his exceptionally handsome features in full—refined and elegant, like a jade tree in a beautiful grove beneath a clear moon and gentle breeze.
At that moment, his phoenix-shaped eyes turned toward her, carrying a faint chill, along with an air of casual disdain and sharpness.
The drizzle had stopped. A cold breeze swept across the hem of his robe, fluttering it lightly past the tip of Li Yaoniang’s nose, carrying with it a faint, austere chill.
Li Yaoniang had been a widow for many years, and her long-silent heart suddenly gave a heavy beat inside her chest.