Leaving them behind in the back mountain like that—wasn't it a bit inappropriate?
But one glance at Shi Yeshan's tightly pressed lips, and Su Zhai didn't dare say anything more.
By the time they got home, the stars were sparse and few, deep into the latter half of the night. The darkness was heavy, and all was silent.
Su Zhai yawned. "Get some sleep early. Are you going to Ziqian Hall tomorrow?"
Her eyelids were already threatening to close the moment she stepped through the door. Su Zhai gently shook off Shi Yeshan's hand, but he stubbornly took it back again, his thin lips silent, his eyes quiet and deep, watching her without a word.
Only then did Su Zhai remember—she seemed to have promised something before leaving.
…But it was too late now.
And besides, she wasn't really in the mood.
Seeing her hesitant expression, Shi Yeshan said in a low voice, "I'm not going to Ziqian Hall tomorrow."
"But I'm so sleepy." Su Zhai spoke slowly. "I want to sleep first. It's almost dawn."
The man didn't insist after all. He silently let go of her hand and allowed her to go inside.
Though her body was tired, too much had happened today, and her mind was still active. After lying down for a while without being able to fall asleep, Su Zhai suddenly turned over and got out of bed, feeling her way in the dark toward the kitchen to get some water.
Afraid of waking Shi Yeshan, Su Zhai moved very quietly. Rubbing her dry, aching eyes, she pushed open the door—and abruptly saw a figure standing silently in the moonlight.
…Scared her half to death.
Shi Yeshan gazed at her quietly. "Where are you going?"
Su Zhai looked at him helplessly.
…How long is he going to keep this up?
She didn't answer. Instead, she took two steps back and silently retreated into the house.
But she didn't return to her own bedroom. Instead, she turned and went to the study across the way—the place where Shi Yeshan usually slept.
By the dappled starlight filtering through the window, Su Zhai took a look at Shi Yeshan's bamboo bed. It was much smaller than the one in her bedroom, and the mattress was thinner too.
She stepped forward, picked up the pillow from Shi Yeshan's bed, held it against her chest with both arms, and walked out slowly, passing through the main hall all the way to the door of her own room.
Her footsteps were heavy.
The man had already come inside, leaning half against the doorframe, his gaze following Su Zhai's every move.
Su Zhai turned around. The two exchanged a silent look, neither making a sound. Both pairs of eyes were immersed in the darkness, glinting with faint starlight.
She slowly raised Shi Yeshan's pillow, using it to cover most of her face. Her eyelids drooped as she stared only at the shadow beneath her feet, like a mouse stealing lamp oil—silent and stealthy, step by step retreating back into her room.
She had just set down Shi Yeshan's pillow when the man followed, pushing aside the cloth curtain and stepping inside. He came to her side and pressed down on her hand.
"I'll sleep on the outside."
Shi Yeshan adjusted the pillow's position, then hesitated before asking, "Or… do you want to use my pillow?"
Su Zhai shook her head. She crawled to the inner side, using both hands and feet, then patted the blanket and shared half of it with Shi Yeshan before peacefully closing her eyes.
Finally, she could sleep in peace.
The other side of the bed sank slightly as Shi Yeshan silently lay down as well. Both of their movements were gentle. After only a few seconds of silence, a faint rustling sound arose again.
Shi Yeshan propped himself up on one side and leaned over to kiss her—shallow and restrained—then gently bit her earlobe. "I'll drive her away tomorrow."
"Don't."
Su Zhai knew he was talking about Chu Yi. She opened her eyes nervously. "Didn't you say she got it wrong herself? She's so skilled in martial arts—let's just leave her alone."
"And besides, it turns out there really is danger in the back mountain. How did that Fifth Young Miss end up with the Snake Demon?" Su Zhai muttered. "Having a powerful cultivator living nearby is actually a good thing. I'll just keep my distance from her from now on. She's not a bad person."
Shi Yeshan said nothing, seemingly displeased again.
Su Zhai gave him a push, and he lazily lay back down, saying he understood.
But Su Zhai kept pushing.
"What's wrong?"
"I was just about to go get some water." Su Zhai said, sounding conflicted. "You scared me so much I forgot what I was doing. I never even got my water."
After a moment of stillness, Shi Yeshan turned over and got up. He went to the kitchen, poured a cup of warm water, and came back. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he watched Su Zhai drink it all, took the cup back, and only then lay down again.
A thin purple mist began to churn at the edge of the sky. A gentle breeze seeped through the window paper, carrying a few wisps of fresh air from the mountain stream.
Soft, gentle wind, tapping against the window with a light, rhythmic sound.
Su Zhai pushed him again. "The window in your room doesn't seem to be closed."
This time, the man didn't move, pretending not to hear.
After waiting a while longer, Su Zhai had no choice but to get up quickly herself—only to be pulled back down by Shi Yeshan, who took the opportunity to hold her in his arms, just as she had held his pillow earlier.
"Leave it." Shi Yeshan tucked the blanket around Su Zhai, one hand resting lightly on the back of her head. "Go to sleep."
"I can't quite fall asleep."
Her heart was beating fast, and yet it was so quiet here. Everything was hidden in silence, allowing a true heart to reveal itself.
Shi Yeshan listened for a while before deliberately asking her: "What's wrong?"
"…You're here, so I can't fall asleep," Su Zhai said, a bit annoyed, because she could hear the smile in Shi Yeshan's voice. She reached out in the dark and poked his cheek. "Go back to your own bed."
"Mm…" Shi Yeshan glanced at her hand, which was clinging to his arm without letting go. "No."
Shi Yeshan turned serious, kissing the top of her fuzzy head. "Between husband and wife, there's nothing to be shy about."
His arm suddenly tightened, squeezing Su Zhai in his embrace until she let out a soft whimper, and she angrily thumped his shoulder before he behaved himself. He wanted to say more, but Su Zhai had already fallen asleep.
Her breath was warm and soft, gently brushing across his chest, so impossibly tender it seemed to melt the very spot it touched.
Her face was especially flushed, pressed against his body, radiating a heat that couldn't be ignored.
Shi Yeshan let out a soft sigh.
A dreamless night.
Su Zhai woke up very late. When she opened her eyes, her head was still a bit foggy. She sat in bed for a while, then touched the pillow beside her where Shi Yeshan had been.
Didn't he say he wasn't going to Ziqian Hall today?
But Shi Yeshan walked into the room at that moment, holding a tray, and set it gently by the bedside. "Drink some water."
The water tasted sweet, as if honey had been added. Probably another good thing Shi Yeshan had brought back from the Sect.
The perks of working at a big organization were really something.
The sun was already nearing noon. Su Zhai slowly got out of bed and instinctively went to glance into Shi Yeshan's study. She let out a surprised "Huh?" and ran out to find Shi Yeshan. "Where's your bed?"
The man was in the kitchen. The couple's cooking skills were equally matched—neither was any good—but they could still manage to make something edible.
"Don't need it anymore. It was just taking up space." He stood by the stove, glanced at Su Zhai, and said lightly, "So I chopped it up for firewood."
Su Zhai stared at him, speechless.
What a spendthrift.
That was at least a bed a carpenter had been paid to make.
Besides, the house didn't even need firewood.
After the two finished lunch, while Shi Yeshan was cleaning up the dishes, Su Zhai went behind the bamboo fence and stood on her tiptoes to peek at the back. She caught a distant glimpse of Chu Yi pacing back and forth with a murderous air, and only then felt a bit relieved.
As long as he was fine.
Also, it seemed Chu Yi had brought Fifth Young Miss back with him. She didn't know what he was planning, or whether it would be dangerous.
Su Zhai leaned against the top of the wall, momentarily lost in thought.
Shi Yeshan called her from inside the house in a calm voice. "Zhai Niang."
Su Zhai quickly pulled back. "You called me?"
He was in the study, ink and brush already laid out. "Come here. I'll teach you to write."
Her handwriting was crooked beyond recognition, but Shi Yeshan remembered that a few times he'd seen Su Zhai tracing characters from storybooks on her own, probably wanting to improve her writing.
But Su Zhai hesitated at the door. "…This is your Chengxin Paper. It's expensive. Save it for yourself."
The paper and brushes at home were things Su Zhai had bought for him. Shi Yeshan had never paid much attention before, and he was slightly surprised. "Chengxin Paper?"
Even wealthy households were reluctant to use paper this good—one bundle cost a string of cash.
Why would Su Zhai buy this?
Su Zhai nodded. "Put the paper away. I'll grab some rough paper instead. It's just for practice, after all."
This was, after all, for Shi Yeshan. Occasionally he'd write something to bring to Ziqian Hall, and Su Zhai didn't want him to look shabby and be laughed at by his colleagues.
She'd practiced calligraphy a bit as a child too. Back then, the trend was to use quick-drying water cloth—a brush dipped in water was convenient for practice, and she'd treated it like a toy.
Not anymore, though.
But Shi Yeshan called her back in a low voice. "Try this brush first."
Su Zhai didn't care much either way, holding the brush in her hand without feeling anything special. Seeing that her grip was wrong, Shi Yeshan reached over to adjust it for her.
He was a good teacher—spoke little, but every word hit the mark, and his movements were precise. In less than half an hour, he had Su Zhai gripping the brush correctly, then laid out the paper for her. "Go on."
It was rare to see him so serious, and Su Zhai felt a little nervous. She wrote her own name neatly on the paper, then quickly realized, "Oh no, I wasted the paper."
But since she'd already written, Shi Yeshan let her finish using the whole sheet. Su Zhai knew he didn't want her using rough paper, and sighed inwardly.
"Focus."
Shi Yeshan suddenly pinched her waist. "If you're not serious, I'll make you copy it ten times."
Su Zhai was actually quite good at writing. In no time at all, she was producing neat characters.
Because she simply wasn't used to writing with a soft brush—she wasn't illiterate by any means.
As the sheet of paper was nearly used up, Su Zhai set down the brush. "Let's stop here for today. I'll practice again tomorrow."
The man was clearly displeased. Su Zhai didn't want him to argue, so she rattled on herself. "Once I get my handwriting good, I can take on some copying work, and then I can save up to buy you a carriage sooner."
Her embroidery project had been shelved, because getting pricked by the needle last time had hurt quite a bit.
Shi Yeshan was silent for a moment. "I don't mind walking a few extra steps."
"It's not about walking," Su Zhai said slowly, putting away the paper and brush. "Not having a carriage at home is really inconvenient. Look at those Sect disciples—who among them doesn't have a carriage at home?"
Shi Yeshan nodded, drawing his own conclusion. "So buying me Chengxin Paper was also because you were afraid others would look down on me."
No wonder Su Zhai had also bought him an expensive belt last month, while she herself always wore plain cloth clothes.
And she never seemed to wear jewelry either.
Shi Yeshan studied Su Zhai carefully, suddenly realizing that she was seriously trying to be a virtuous wife to him.
She had no family of her own, was all alone, and was often bullied, yet she was trying her best to take care of him.
Clumsy and cautious at the same time.
Once he realized this, Shi Yeshan felt a strange sensation—he couldn't quite name the emotion. It wasn't happiness, but rather something tugging at his organs, his heart growing heavy and swollen, a faint bitterness spreading in his mouth.
That was indeed the case.
Su Zhai looked up at his inscrutable expression. "I can't say others would necessarily look down on you because of it. But sometimes… people's hearts are hard to fathom. Kicking those who are down and flattering those who are up is only human nature. And since you serve in a major Sect, we still need to be careful."
Shi Yeshan gave a faint smile.
That tone.
She was coaxing him like a child.
"Why are you flustered?" Shi Yeshan leaned down instead, trapping Su Zhai between himself and the desk, looking at her expression. His sharp mind understood everything with a single hint.
Su Zhai was still explaining slowly, "I'm not flustered—"
"Are you afraid of offending me?" Shi Yeshan's lips curved slightly as he spoke to her unprompted. "Since you said people would look down on me for being poor, are you afraid I'd think about my impotence and feel inferior and upset about it?"
Su Zhai froze.
He was so quick.
She herself hadn't thought it through that clearly—she just subconsciously protected Shi Yeshan's pride.
After all, this kind of thing seemed quite important to men.
Although he didn't seem to take it to heart, a faint smile on his lips now, his eyes bright as he gazed at her intently.
Su Zhai pushed at him awkwardly. "Where did you get off to? I just wanted to practice calligraphy, and you've spun it into all this."
The man didn't budge. Instead, when she pushed him, he took the opportunity to pull her into his embrace, resting his chin gently on her shoulder.
He seemed to let out a sigh. "Zhai-niang."
His voice was soft, and sticky.
Tangled with countless threads, carrying a hint of helplessness.
Su Zhai was startled, realizing it a beat too late.
How strange. The atmosphere felt so off. He wasn't about to confess, was he?
She grew a little nervous, instinctively holding her breath, not daring to move.
Shi Yeshan gently stroked the top of her head and asked slowly, "Are you an orphan?"