A small candle flickered, its dim light casting a glow over a face as delicate as spring peach blossoms.
Zhao Mingyan sat with her head lowered, carefully stitching a new garment for herself, one thread at a time. In just a day’s work, she had already finished a set of underclothes. Now she was adding a small embroidered pomegranate flower patch to it.
“My lord, you’re back.” Zhao Mingyan immediately put down her needle and thread when she heard the sound of his arrival.
Nan Yan’s first glance, however, fell on the candlelight burning beside her.
“Yesterday you scolded me for staying up late reading and hurting my eyes, yet here you are, burning a lamp at night.”
In these times, clothing was expensive—and so was fuel. Lighting the night meant burning money. A single candle cost more than ten copper coins, and lasted only about an hour. Ordinary families didn’t dare use much light at night; burning candles was like burning silver. Most people blew out their lamps early and went to bed. So even though Nan Yan’s candlestick held three candles, Zhao Mingyan had only lit one to save fuel.
“My lord, I can see well enough,” she quickly explained. She was young, with sharp eyesight. One candle was plenty—why waste money burning three?
Nan Yan looked at her, then bent down, took the candlestick, and lit the other two candles as well.
“My lord, that’s not necessary. I really can see. Look, my eyes are bright!” Zhao Mingyan hurried to stop him.
Nan Yan paused, fixing her with a steady gaze. “Your eyes are bright now. But keep straining them night after night, and they’ll turn dull like fish eyes.”
Zhao Mingyan: “……”
Not finished with his rebuke, Nan Yan went to his bookcase, fetched another three‑candle holder, and lit all of them too.
In an instant, the room blazed with light.
But Zhao Mingyan remembered—last night Nan Yan himself had only used three candles. Now he had lit six for her.
At fifteen coins each, six candles cost ninety coins—nearly a whole string of cash!
That much could buy a roast chicken outside.
Zhao Mingyan protested at once. “My lord, this really isn’t proper!”
Seeing him light the second candlestick, she tiptoed up and blew it out.
One candlestick she could accept—she could count it as borrowing Nan Yan’s light. He himself only used one. But bringing out two candlesticks just for her was too much!
With a *whoosh*, she blew out the three candles of the second holder. Nan Yan immediately covered her mouth with his hand. He glared at her, then once again used the flame from the first candle to relight them.
Zhao Mingyan blinked her bright eyes, took a breath, puffed out her cheeks, and was about to blow them out again.
The next moment, a large, well‑defined hand pinched her cheeks.
She and Nan Yan locked eyes.
Nan Yan’s lips curved. “If you blow them out again, I’ll suspect you’re trying to make me go to bed early.”
Zhao Mingyan: “……”
Her little face flushed crimson, and her head shook furiously in his palm like a rattle drum. No, no, no—she absolutely hadn’t meant that!
Nan Yan chuckled softly, released her face, and spoke gently above her head. “Silly girl. Your lord can afford to light candles for you.”
“From now on, at night, you must keep two candlesticks lit. If you blow one out, I’ll take it as you trying to seduce me—and then you’ll see how I deal with you.”
Zhao Mingyan: “…… All right.”
She dared not look at this vexing old man anymore, lowering her head and biting her lip as she agreed.
“By the way.” Zhao Mingyan suddenly lifted her head again. This time, her eyes shone even brighter—sparkling, lively, joyous. Like spring reflected on a lake beneath the moon, her peach‑blossom face glowed with radiance, so beautiful it stirred the heart.
Nan Yan, seeing her eyes so luminous, felt his chest tighten with a sudden warmth. “What is it?”
“My lord, stand still and don’t move.” Zhao Mingyan bent down, rummaged in her sewing basket, and pulled out a soft measuring tape. Standing behind him, she began measuring from his shoulders, arms, back width, leg length, and waist.
Nan Yan immediately understood. Zhao Mingyan was taking his measurements. An unprecedented warmth filled his heart.
Nan Yan froze completely. Never before—never had anyone measured him for clothing. He had lost his mother in childhood, his father in youth. After his mother’s death, he wore only hand‑me‑downs and patched garments, with no one to care for him. Later, even after marrying two wives, none had ever paid attention to such things. Wang Shuang was the widow of an old friend; theirs was merely a partnership. And his first wife, well, because of that… His life had been one of near‑total solitude. He had only ever felt warmth twice: once seventeen years ago, and now, here again.
Nan Yan gazed at the figure before him, his eyes trembling. Meanwhile, Zhao Mingyan finished measuring his shoulders, back, and legs, and she too felt a stir in her heart. This old man—say what you will—his physique was truly impressive. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs. His proportions were excellent everywhere. Those long legs—why, they reached all the way up to her waist. Truly legs that made one click their tongue in admiration. After measuring his legs, only the waist remained.
Zhao Mingyan stepped in front of Nan Yan, wrapped her arms around his waist, and looped the soft measuring tape around them. She had just finished taking the measurements and was about to release him when suddenly her small body was pulled tightly into his embrace.
Zhao Mingyan: “…My lord?”
Confused, she lifted her head—and found herself gazing straight into Nan Yan’s deep, ink‑dark eyes, beautiful and intense. At some unknown moment, those calm, steady eyes—like an ancient pool—had begun to ripple because of her, drawing him in circle by circle.
Nan Yan’s voice came low and husky. “You’re seducing me again.”
Zhao Mingyan: “……”
Heavens above! How was she seducing him again? What had she done? Nothing at all! This infuriating old man—why did he keep insisting she was seducing him?
She admitted that back in the Pleasure Bureau, she had indeed taken the initiative to entice him. But ever since entering his household, she had been trying to live like a proper, respectable woman!
“My lord, I didn’t…” Before she could finish defending herself, his scorching kiss descended, overwhelming her completely. The heat of his body pressed in layer by layer, swallowing her inch by inch.
Zhao Mingyan couldn’t understand—how was it that even after she had entered his household, Nan Yan’s interest in her remained so strong?
Weren’t the fates of Bureau women always the same—that once they entered the master’s residence, the initial favor quickly faded, and day by day the lord’s interest cooled? Yet she felt Nan Yan’s desire for her only growing. No, no!
She only wanted to be an unnoticed concubine, living quietly and peacefully for the rest of her life.
Just as he carried her to the bed, about to make her surrender completely, she struggled and cried out, “M‑My lord, wait, there’s something!”
“What is it?” Nan Yan’s voice was hoarse.
“Extinguish the two lamps first!”
Nan Yan: “……”