At Scholar Qian’s house across the way, Hao Chunniang sat in the bridal chamber, listening to the lively sounds outside. She could not have felt more pleased. The gloom that had weighed on her for the past few months had been swept away in an instant.
She had originally thought that she had died after being thrown from the carriage. To her surprise, when she opened her eyes, she had returned to three years earlier.
At that time, Su Nuanru had just returned to the village. Scholar Qian had not yet gone to the Su family to ask for her hand, and Hao Chunniang had not married Huo Hanye either. Seeing Scholar Qian go to the Su residence every day, Hao Chunniang had been furious. She had gathered up her courage and confessed her feelings to him, only to be rejected.
After being rejected in her previous life, she had been unwilling to accept it, but all she could do was shut herself in and stew in silence. She smashed things at home to vent her anger, but in the end, she had no choice but to accept what had happened. After everything she had experienced in her previous life, however, she now understood that a woman could not be too reserved about certain matters. Otherwise, she would end up drawing water with a bamboo basket—getting nothing for all her effort.
In her previous life, she had been too reserved at the beginning, which was why she had failed to marry Scholar Qian. If she had used the same trick on him that she had used on Huo Hanye, she would have married into the Qian family long ago.
This time, after being rejected, she had not lost her temper. Instead, she had gone straight to town to buy some medicine. When she returned, she had arranged to meet Scholar Qian and drugged him. She was practically an old hand at such things. In her previous life, when Huo Hanye had refused to marry her, she had drugged him too. After taking the drug, Huo Hanye had chosen to jump into the icy lake rather than touch her. In the end, she had shamelessly gone to Huo Hanye’s parents and caused a huge scene before she finally got her wish and married him.
Scholar Qian was nothing like Huo Hanye, who had possessed such incredible self-control. He had left her utterly worn out.
What infuriated her was that after Scholar Qian had taken everything he wanted from her, he had immediately refused to acknowledge any responsibility and continued wandering around the area near the Su residence every day. She had quickly told her father, who had declared that he would report Scholar Qian to the county office and threaten his future. Only then had Scholar Qian been forced to marry her.
She had deliberately chosen the same wedding day as Su Nuanru precisely so that she could outshine her.
With two families in the village getting married, everyone could only attend one wedding. Her father was the village chief, so the villagers had to show her family some respect. The Qian family also had two scholars and enjoyed considerable prestige in the village. The Huo family had few friends there, while the Su family had only just returned to the village and had few acquaintances there. Nine out of ten villagers had chosen to come to the Qian family’s wedding. Hardly anyone had gone to the Huo family across the way.
In her previous life, the guests had been more evenly divided between the two families. Half had gone to the Huo family for the sake of the Hao family, while the other half had gone to the Qian family.
Su Nuanru’s wedding had been even more shabby and desolate than Hao Chunniang’s wedding in her previous life.
That was exactly the result she wanted!
So what if Su Nuanru had grown up in the city? So what if she was beautiful? Hadn’t Hao Chunniang still managed to outshine her? In this life, she would firmly win Scholar Qian’s heart, give birth to a child as soon as possible, and secure her position as Madam Qian. She absolutely could not end up like Su Nuanru, abandoned by the Marquis’s Residence. She would not merely become a scholar’s wife—one day, she would become a lofty Marchioness!
At the thought of this, Hao Chunniang could not stop the corners of her mouth from lifting.
Just then, the door creaked open, and Scholar Qian came stumbling in, thoroughly drunk. He could barely walk steadily, swaying from side to side.
Hao Chunniang hurriedly rose to support him.
When Scholar Qian got a clear look at the woman in front of him, he flung her away with a look of disgust.
“Don’t touch me!”
The smile fell from Hao Chunniang’s face at once. For the past few months, she had tolerated Scholar Qian in order to marry into the Qian family smoothly. Now that she had married into the household, she could no longer pretend at all.
“Who was it that couldn’t wait to have me at the time?”
Scholar Qian’s expression changed. “That was because you drugged me! Otherwise, who would have touched you?”
Thinking of how Huo Hanye had pushed her away after being drugged in her previous life, Hao Chunniang said, “Don’t pretend you’re so innocent. The medicine wasn’t that effective. You were already craving my body.”
Scholar Qian deeply regretted what had happened. He himself did not know what had come over him that day. Seeing Hao Chunniang’s alluring figure, he had been bewitched and lost his senses, doing such a thing with her. His face flushed crimson, his shame and embarrassment plain to see.
“I was… I was mistaking you for Lady Su.”
The moment she heard this, Hao Chunniang exploded with rage.
Whether it was Huo Hanye or Scholar Qian, both of them had only Su Nuanru in their hearts. Huo Hanye was one thing—he had not even touched her in her previous life—but Scholar Qian certainly had no such self-control.
Scholar Qian claimed to admire Su Nuanru, but in the end, hadn’t he abandoned her? His supposed deep feelings were nothing but empty words.
“Stop dreaming. Su Nuanru is lying in Huo Hanye’s bed across from your house. Huo Hanye isn’t known for having a good temper. If he finds out that you’re coveting his wife, he might beat you up.”
Scholar Qian had known Huo Hanye since childhood. Although they lived across from each other, their temperaments did not suit one another, and they usually had little contact. Thinking of Huo Hanye’s tall, sturdy build, Scholar Qian immediately fell silent. He did not want to deal with Hao Chunniang either, so he collapsed onto the bed and pretended to be asleep.
Hao Chunniang was furious.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
Old Mrs. Zhen called from outside, “Chunniang, are you asleep?”
Hao Chunniang went over and opened the door.
“Mother, not yet.”
“Wangzu drank too much. Go to the kitchen and make him a bowl of hangover soup to help him sober up.”
Hao Chunniang was speechless. This was her and Scholar Qian’s wedding night, and she had only just married into the household, yet her mother-in-law was already ordering her into the kitchen to make hangover soup. The old woman in the Huo family had never made her do any work. That damned old woman had always waited on her instead.
She patiently said, “Mother, my husband has already gone to sleep. There’s no need to make any.”
“How can that be? If he doesn’t drink a bowl of hangover soup, Wangzu will wake up with a splitting headache and feel awful tomorrow morning.”
Although Hao Chunniang had done household chores at home since she was young, she had been waited on for three years in her previous life. How could she still be willing to cook now? She tried to find a way to refuse. “Mother, I…”
Old Mrs. Zhen immediately took Hao Chunniang’s hand and said warmly, “Chunniang, I watched you grow up. You’ve always been obedient, sensible, and capable. You’re strong and sturdy too—far better than that delicate little seductress from the Su family. If Wangzu still thinks about that Su girl in the future, I’ll stand up for you!”
Hao Chunniang had married Scholar Qian so that she could eventually enjoy a life of luxury at the Marquis’s Residence in the capital. Now that Scholar Qian treated her so badly, treating her with constant hostility while thinking only of Su Nuanru, she needed Old Mrs. Zhen’s help. With her mother-in-law on her side, she would surely be able to win Scholar Qian over quickly. For the sake of the future, she would endure this for now.
“Mother, you have to keep your word.”
Old Mrs. Zhen smiled. “Of course I will. Now that you’ve married into our family, I’ll naturally take your side. Hurry to the kitchen and make the hangover soup. It’s getting late, and I’m going to bed first.”
“I know, Mother.”
Watching Hao Chunniang’s departing figure, Old Mrs. Zhen nodded in satisfaction.
A daughter-in-law was brought into the family to serve her. The one from the Su family looked weak; if they married her, there was no guarantee that she would not have to wait on the girl instead. That was not the kind of daughter-in-law she wanted. Her son had always wanted to marry Su Nuanru, and Old Mrs. Zhen had originally planned to fulfill his wish, but then Hao Chunniang had appeared and disrupted everything. Although she was somewhat displeased that the Hao family had threatened her son, she was still satisfied with Hao Chunniang as a daughter-in-law. Hao Chunniang looked as though she would bear children easily; she was strong and capable of working. Marrying her was far better than marrying that girl from the Su family.
Still, this girl from the Hao family actually wanted to lord it over her. It seemed she would have to discipline her properly. Once she had been trained, Old Mrs. Zhen would be able to enjoy the good life in the future.
After seeing Hao Chunniang start cooking the hangover soup, Old Mrs. Zhen turned and went back to her room.
At the Huo residence, Su Nuanru removed the two hair ornaments from her head. Her black hair fell beside her like a waterfall. She then took off her bright red wedding clothes, leaving only her white undergarments. She stood beside the bed, at a complete loss.
Just then, Huo Hanye came in from outside with a basin of water in his hands and set it beside the bed. When he noticed that his outer robe had been splashed with water, he took it off and draped it over the back of a nearby chair. Then he sat down on the bed.
Seeing Su Nuanru standing motionless beside the bed, Huo Hanye reminded her, “Go ahead and wash. The water will be cold if you wait any longer.”
Su Nuanru had assumed that the footbath was something Huo Hanye had prepared for himself. She had not expected it to be for her, and she looked at him in surprise. “You prepared this footbath for me?”
“Mm. The wooden basin looks a little dark, but it’s actually newly made. The wood isn’t very good—it was made from the leftover lumber from making furniture.”
Su Nuanru’s eyes grew hot. She sniffed and lowered her gaze. “I’m not bothered by it. Thank you.”
She had never expected Huo Hanye, who looked rough and fierce, to be so thoughtful. She sat on the bed and bent down to remove her shoes, but then suddenly remembered that Huo Hanye was sitting nearby. The movement was somewhat improper.
Huo Hanye’s gaze had remained fixed on Su Nuanru. When she bent over, he caught a glimpse of her breasts, but after one glance, he quickly looked away.
At that moment, Su Nuanru straightened up and looked at him.
Huo Hanye noticed her movement. He glanced at the height of the bed, assuming that it was too high for her and that she was having trouble taking off her shoes. He quickly bent down and grasped her ankle.
Su Nuanru froze. “What are you doing?”
The moment she finished speaking, Huo Hanye had already removed her shoe, then pulled off her sock as well. A small, delicate white foot appeared before him. His hand was dark and rough, while the foot in his grasp was fair and tender. His gaze deepened.
When Su Nuanru pulled her foot back, he said calmly, “Helping you take off your shoe.”
Then he lifted her other foot.
Blushing, Su Nuanru struggled. “There’s no need. I can do it myself.”
As she spoke, the shoe and sock on her right foot were removed as well.
Huo Hanye picked up both of Su Nuanru’s feet and placed them in the basin.
Su Nuanru’s face turned bright red. Seeing how calm Huo Hanye looked, she did not know what to say. When she thought of how Huo Hanye himself had heated the water, she felt a strange sensation in her heart, as though none of this were real. A husband not making his wife serve him was already something to be profoundly grateful for. When had anyone ever heard of a husband serving his wife? People would laugh if they found out.
“You shouldn’t heat the water anymore.”
“Why?”
“If people find out that you’re fetching footbath water for me, they’ll gossip.”
Huo Hanye furrowed his thick brows. He felt that she was being overly cautious. He had just been about to tell her not to care about what other people thought when he changed his words at the last moment.
“Don’t you like it?”
“I…”
She meant to say that she did not like it.
But once she had begun speaking, she could not bring herself to say the rest. How could she possibly dislike it? No one was born wanting to serve others. Everyone liked being served.
Seeing her hesitation, Huo Hanye said, “There are only the two of us in this room. If you don’t tell anyone, who would know?”
Su Nuanru was stunned.
That was true. There were only the two of them in the room. As long as neither of them said anything, who would ever find out?
She suddenly realized that many of the things that had happened in her boudoir in her previous life might not have been overheard by her mother-in-law at all. They might have been told by Scholar Qian himself. The difference became painfully clear when she compared the two men. Apart from knowing how to study, Scholar Qian was truly useless in every respect.
She said nothing more and concentrated on washing her feet. When she finished and was about to look for a cloth to dry them, a square of gray cotton cloth appeared before her.
“It’s new. It hasn’t been used.”
Su Nuanru pressed her lips together, took the cloth, and dried her feet. Afterward, she was about to put on her shoes and empty the footbath, but Huo Hanye had already taken off his shoes and placed his feet in the water.
“You go to sleep first. I’ll empty it after I’m done.”
Su Nuanru studied Huo Hanye carefully. Seeing the sincerity in his expression, she climbed onto the bed.
By the time Huo Hanye returned after emptying the water, Su Nuanru was already lying on the inner side of the bed. He lifted one corner of the quilt and lay down on the outer side.
The oil lamp in the room had already been extinguished. Only two red candles continued to burn.
Thinking about what was supposed to happen next, Su Nuanru’s heart began pounding nervously. With Huo Hanye’s broad, sturdy build, she wondered how difficult tonight would be. She waited for a long time but noticed no movement from the person beside her, and instead began to feel uneasy. This was her and Huo Hanye’s wedding night. Why was he not touching her?
Was it because she had rejected his marriage proposal before, and he no longer liked her? Or was there some other reason?
She suddenly remembered a rumor she had heard in the village in her previous life. Someone had said that there was something wrong with Huo Hanye’s body. Then she thought of Hao Chunniang’s behavior, secretly sleeping with another man behind his back, and suddenly felt that the rumor might not have been false after all.
She glanced at Huo Hanye, who lay motionless beside her, and felt an indescribably complicated emotion. In truth, that sort of thing was not absolutely necessary. If there really was something wrong with his body, then he certainly would not abandon her in the future. For her, that would instead be a kind of security.
Su Nuanru relaxed, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.
That night was a difficult one for Huo Hanye. The woman he loved was right beside him—close enough to see but impossible to touch. It was even more unbearable.
Those tender white feet swayed through his dreams for nearly the entire night.
He knew that Su Nuanru had not wanted to marry him. Since he had married her, he was unwilling to force her. He wanted her to give herself to him willingly.