“What’s wrong with you?” Li Chen frowned when he noticed something unusual in her expression.
“This servant wife… this servant wife will listen to whatever Husband says,” Yu Qingwan murmured, lowering her head and pretending to drink her soup.
Li Chen had no idea what was on her mind. He simply picked up more chicken drumsticks and wings and piled them into her bowl. “You’re too thin. You need proper nourishment.”
“Ah? Husband, you mustn’t…”
“Eat,” Li Chen ordered again.
Yu Qingwan took a bite of the drumstick. The rich aroma filled her senses at once, warming her stomach and, somehow, her heart as well. Her eyes reddened, and two clear streams of tears fell into the bowl, rippling the oily broth.
“Why are you crying again?” Li Chen asked, already feeling a headache coming on.
“This servant wife… I’m just happy. So very happy! Husband is so good to me! Wuu…” Yu Qingwan said she was happy, yet she sobbed even harder.
“Husband and wife are one body. We should look after each other. Stop crying and eat,” Li Chen said, placing another drumstick into her bowl.
“Husband, don’t…” Yu Qingwan hurriedly shook her head.
“Hm?” Li Chen’s brows drew together.
“Ah, no… Husband, I want it…” she corrected herself tearfully.
That soft, trembling “Husband, I want it” made Li Chen’s heart pound. It seemed he truly needed to restore his body as quickly as possible.
Under the lamplight, her beauty appeared especially delicate and refined. The more Li Chen looked at her, the more he felt that although the previous owner of this body had been lacking in many ways, his taste in women had been astonishingly sharp. Out of countless refugees, he had somehow found such a treasure of a girl.
Yu Qingwan grew shy under his gaze. She lowered her lovely head further and further, almost burying her face in the bowl.
“Earlier, I heard you recite a verse by the famous Great Kang poet An Wuji… Have you studied before?” Li Chen asked after steadying himself.
When he had shot down that small bird in the courtyard, the line she had blurted out, “I will draw the carved bow like a full moon,” had truly astonished him. This little girl clearly had some learning.
“When I was young, my father once hired a tutor for me,” Yu Qingwan replied in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum.
That reminded Li Chen of something she had mentioned before. Her family had once been a prominent household in Liang Capital. After the northern nomads breached the city walls, the entire family fled in chaos. But at the same time, western tribes rose in rebellion, cutting off their route southward across the Central Plains. They had no choice but to head north instead, eventually entering Beiyan Pass.
Along the road of escape, the old and young in her family either starved to death or were captured by the northern forces. By the time they reached Beiyan Pass, she was the only one left.
If this were an age of peace, she would likely still be in a study room in Liang Capital, burning incense and reading quietly.
“That’s rare indeed. Yu Qingwan… Qingwan. Hm, even your name carries an ancient elegance. If I remember correctly, it comes from a poem in the Book of Songs, doesn’t it?” Li Chen said thoughtfully.
“Husband has studied too?” Yu Qingwan looked up in surprise, her eyes bright with delight. She had never expected him to know the origin of her name.
“I attended a private school for a few years,” Li Chen coughed lightly and answered vaguely. The knowledge he had just displayed came from his previous life, not from the original owner of this body.
“This name… I chose it myself after searching through poetry and books,” Yu Qingwan said softly, biting her lip.
“Oh?” Li Chen raised his eyebrows.
“My father once named me Jiao’er, but I did not like it…” Yu Qingwan’s gaze drifted as memories surfaced.
“Jade is already fragile. Pairing it with ‘Jiao’ makes it even more delicate. From the perspective of fate, such a name suggests hardship and wandering. It’s not ideal,” Li Chen nodded unconsciously. His cheap father-in-law might have loved his daughter dearly, but his naming skills were indeed ordinary.
“So Jiao’er became my childhood name. After I came of age, I chose another name from books,” Yu Qingwan continued softly.
“There is a beautiful lady, pure and graceful. When I meet her by chance, it fulfills my wish,” Li Chen recited aloud, feeling something stir in his heart.
“There is a beautiful lady, graceful and clear. When I meet you by chance, I wish to walk with you,” Yu Qingwan continued naturally.
She looked up at Li Chen, and the smooth, jade-like curve of her brows could not hide her delight. Husband could read, and quite well at that.
“It’s a pity there’s no wine. Otherwise, husband and wife drinking together while reciting poetry would be most satisfying,” Li Chen said with a trace of regret.
“Let the heart be the goblet and poetry the wine. Laughter can dispel sorrow,” Yu Qingwan replied softly.
“The husband is heaven, the wife is earth. Beneath one great quilt, we share the same bed,” Li Chen teased, unable to resist.
Yu Qingwan’s beautiful eyes widened for a moment before she quickly lowered her head, her face flushing bright red.
Li Chen burst into laughter. In such harsh times, when people could only pity themselves, even laughter was precious.
Looking at Yu Qingwan beneath the lamplight, nineteen-year-old Li Chen felt a surge of heat within him. Suddenly, he stood up. With one long stride and an outstretched arm, he lifted her entirely into his embrace.
With full stomachs come thoughts of desire. The ambition of a bold man must be proven.
The mood was right, and the timing perfect.
“Ah… Husband, the lamp… it hasn’t been extinguished…” Yu Qingwan covered her face with one hand, her body trembling, while the other hand pointed at the still-burning lamp.
“In the dark, we wouldn’t see clearly,” Li Chen laughed heartily as he carried her onto the heated brick bed.
Outside the window, butterflies lingered among flowers, and fading red blossoms cast their glow upon the curtain. It was a full and vibrant scene of spring within the bridal chamber.
It was Ma Lian, the curvaceous woman from the village entrance at dusk.
Ma Lian’s husband had been conscripted to Beiyan Pass for corvée labor, and his fate was still unknown. With her husband gone, she had long endured lonely nights. Then came this chaotic year of war and famine. She still had a hungry child at home. Life had been unbearably difficult.
The game Li Chen had brought back earlier that day had deeply stirred her. Some households still had adult men and had arranged to go hunting in the mountains together the next day, but her husband, serving forced labor, might never return.
That night, lying in bed, she thought of the chicken again and again. Hunger twisted inside her.
A greedy thought took root.
Under the cover of darkness, she sneaked to Li Chen’s courtyard, planning to climb over the wall once they were asleep and steal some of the game to ease her family’s hunger.
But just as she cautiously lifted her head above the broken wall and looked toward the house, she suddenly covered her mouth.
Though she was some distance away, through the shadow cast on the paper window by the lamplight, she saw something she never should have seen.
She had never imagined anyone could be so imposing.
“Oh heavens…” That was Yu Qingwan’s startled cry, which only confirmed what Ma Lian was witnessing.
And then…
Good heavens, how fierce! Whose general was that?
Weren’t people saying he couldn’t? Yet now he was not only capable, but extraordinarily so.
Ma Lian remained there, watching the silhouettes on the paper window for nearly half an hour. Her heart trembled. Her body trembled too. She bit her lip, her legs pressing tightly together.
Inside the room, Li Chen suddenly lifted his head alertly and frowned toward the courtyard. Why did it feel as though someone was outside?
Ma Lian was startled and hurriedly slipped away into the darkness.
Li Chen’s vigilance slowly faded. He glanced outside once more before continuing what he had been doing.
Back at home, Ma Lian’s heart was still in turmoil. The memory of that astonishing scene made her blush, her heart race, her limbs tremble. Even her palms were damp with sweat.
She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
When she finally drifted off, she had a dream so intense it felt like life and death.
“Li family’s eldest son… Brother Li… truly amazing…” Ma Lian murmured in her sleep.