Chen Qiuyue was awakened by the crowing of a rooster. The moment she became fully conscious, she felt the person behind her holding her tightly.
Having slept alone since she was seven or eight years old, Chen Qiuyue was initially a bit unaccustomed to it.
Carefully removing Zhao Huaiyu's hand from around her waist, Chen Qiuyue propped herself up with both hands and slowly sat up.
Throughout the whole process, she felt sore and weak all over, with waves of discomfort coming from below.
Recalling the scenes from the previous night, she unconsciously glanced sideways at Zhao Huaiyu, who was still sleeping, then carefully got out of bed and began to dress.
Zhao Huaiyu woke up amid a rustling sound. Opening his eyes, he saw Chen Qiuyue arranging her clothes.
Looking at the empty bedding beside him, Zhao Huaiyu cleared his throat, sat up, and said gently, "Wife, you're up so early—why didn't you wake me?"
Hearing the movement, Chen Qiuyue looked up. The moment their eyes met, they both looked away simultaneously.
Chen Qiuyue lowered her slightly flushed face. "Today is my first day in the family after marrying in. I need to get up early to make breakfast for everyone. Husband, you can get up a little later."
"You've just entered the family, Wife, and you're unfamiliar with many things. Wait for me." As Zhao Huaiyu spoke, he had already gotten out of bed and started dressing.
The two quickly finished getting ready and pushed open the door to come out.
Mother Zhao was already up at this point, washing up in the courtyard. Seeing Zhao Huaiyu and his wife, she quickly called them over to wash up.
"Thank you, Mother!" Chen Qiuyue said softly to Mother Zhao in gratitude.
Yesterday she had been wearing a veil, so today Mother Zhao carefully sized up Chen Qiuyue—she was truly a delicate and beautiful young woman. Unconsciously, even her manner of speaking to Chen Qiuyue became gentler.
After washing up, Chen Qiuyue went into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast for the family. Mother Zhao briefly explained to Chen Qiuyue where things were kept in the kitchen, then went to the courtyard to busy herself with other things.
Zhao Huaiyu didn't go into the kitchen often either and couldn't help much, so he could only sit on a stool and tend the fire for Chen Qiuyue.
Breakfast for farming families was relatively simple—steaming some corn buns, cooking a pot of vegetable porridge, and simply reheating some leftover dishes from yesterday was about enough.
After a while, the Zhao family members got up one after another, and the courtyard became lively.
Zhao Huaiyu's eldest brother, Zhao Huaiqing, had two children. The elder was a boy named Zhao Shan, nicknamed Huzi, seven years old this year. The second was a girl named Zhao Miao, nicknamed Miaomiao, only four years old this year.
At this point both children were already up. After washing up in the courtyard, they headed straight into the kitchen.
Chen Qiuyue was busy with the work in her hands when she felt someone secretly watching her. Turning around, she saw two children leaning at the doorway, looking at her curiously.
Guessing they were Zhao Huaiyu's nephew and niece, she smiled at them.
Before she could say anything, the two children turned and ran off like the wind.
Over here, Huzi pulled his little sister's hand and ran to Zhao Huaiyu's eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Zhang, saying excitedly, "Second Aunt is really beautiful, like a fairy in a painting!"
Miaomiao nodded in agreement with a red face.
Mrs. Zhang looked at her two children speechlessly and waved them off to wait outside for breakfast.
At the hour of Chen, the whole family was already seated around a large round table in the main hall, ready to eat.
Zhao Huaiyu brought Chen Qiuyue to offer tea to Father Chen and Mother Chen. Chen Qiuyue handed the needlework she had prepared to Mother Zhao.
Afterward, she also gave the small pouches she had prepared to Zhao Huaiyu's eldest brother's family. The Zhao family members were all very happy to receive Chen Qiuyue's gifts.
Chen Qiuyue's embroidery was already considered very good by farming standards.
Father Zhao looked at Chen Qiuyue with great satisfaction and said, "Once Qiuyue marries into the Zhao Family, she'll be one of us. If anything comes up, just tell your mother."
"Yes, Father!" Chen Qiuyue responded promptly, and Zhao Huaiyu nodded along as well.
After that, the whole family sat down to breakfast. Once breakfast was finished, Chen Qiuyue and her eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Zhang, cleared away the dishes together.
Mrs. Zhang had an oval face with fair skin and seemed rather quiet and reserved. Chen Qiuyue wasn't very familiar with Mrs. Zhang, so she only exchanged a few words about Mrs. Zhang's two children.
She had been exhausted from the previous day, gone to bed late, and then gotten up early this morning to prepare breakfast for the whole family.
When she returned to the room, Chen Qiuyue felt as though all the strength had drained from her body. Her waist ached so much she could barely stand. She meant to rest against the bedpost for a moment, but before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
When Zhao Huaiyu entered the room and saw Chen Qiuyue's awkward sleeping posture, he knew she was utterly worn out.
His heart filled with both tenderness and regret. If only he hadn't been so demanding last night.
Zhao Huaiyu walked softly to Chen Qiuyue's side, gathered her in his arms, and laid her down on the bed. He bent down to remove her shoes, then tucked her fully under the quilt. Throughout the entire process, Chen Qiuyue never woke up.
Zhao Huaiyu quietly watched his sleeping wife, and soon drowsiness crept over him as well.
Since there was nothing pressing today, Zhao Huaiyu slipped off his shoes and outer robe, lay down on the bed, and wrapped his arms around Chen Qiuyue as the two of them sank into a deep sleep.
When the two of them woke again, it was already close to noon.
Chen Qiuyue looked at Zhao Huaiyu with some embarrassment and said, "We stayed in the room all morning. Won't Mother and the others say something?"
Zhao Huaiyu pulled Chen Qiuyue close, looked into her eyes, and said, "We're newlyweds—Mother and the others understand. You've just married into the family and don't know everyone's personalities yet. When there's nothing to do tonight, I'll tell you all about them in detail."
Zhao Huaiyu was so considerate of her that Chen Qiuyue felt deeply content. She nodded in agreement.
In the afternoon, Chen Qiuyue followed Mother Chen to take care of household chores.
The Zhao Family currently owned twelve mu of farmland. Father Zhao had two younger brothers, and as the eldest, he had received five mu of good fields when the family divided their property. The remaining seven mu had been accumulated bit by bit by Father Zhao and Mother Zhao over the years.
Father Zhao was an expert at tending the fields, and his harvests were among the best in the entire village.
Mother Zhao was a shrewd and capable woman who managed the household frugally. She was not one to fuss over trifles, but she never yielded on matters that required attention, and she knew when to turn a blind eye. As a result, the Zhao Family's fortunes continued to improve.
When Zhao Huaiyu was young, the family's circumstances hadn't been this good.
Back then, Father Zhao and Mother Zhao had to support three children as two working adults, and they also had to send their two sons to school. Money was tight, and the eldest Zhao brother had only studied at the clan school for two years—just enough to learn a few characters—before he stopped.
In any case, the eldest Zhao brother had never had much interest in studying. He took after Father Zhao, preferring to work the land, and now he spent his days busy with farm work alongside his father.
Zhao Huaiyu, on the other hand, had started his studies at the age of twelve. He treasured the opportunity to learn and spent three years at the clan school.
Because the Imperial Examination was so difficult, Father Zhao and Mother Zhao didn't hold high expectations for Zhao Huaiyu. They only hoped he could learn enough to support himself and gain a useful skill for the future.
Fortunately, although Zhao Huaiyu had no great talent for the Four Books and Five Classics, he excelled in mathematics.
So later, after he stopped studying, he found work as an accountant in town, which could be considered putting his learning to use and not wasting all those years of study.