Huo Hanye slept terribly that night. In fact, he barely slept at all. He had already drifted off when the person beside him suddenly moved closer. His mind began to run wild, and he could no longer fall asleep. He lay awake until the rooster crowed and he could not stay in bed any longer. He got up, changed out of the clothes he was wearing, gathered the clothes they had taken off in the room, and went to the river.
Su Nuanru slept deeply. By the time she woke, it was already broad daylight, and the person who had been beside her was long gone. Remembering that this was the second day of her marriage, she immediately grew anxious. She hurriedly put on her clothes and left the room.
The moment she opened the door, she froze. Her bright-red wedding dress from the day before was hanging on the clothesline in the courtyard.
Someone in the Huo family had actually washed her clothes.
Old Mrs. He had squatted by the west wall of the courtyard to pick a handful of cilantro. When she stood up, she saw her daughter-in-law standing dazed in the doorway and said with a smile, “Hanye’s wife, you’re awake. Go wash up quickly. It’ll be time to eat soon.”
Su Nuanru’s face immediately flushed. It was only right for a daughter-in-law to serve her mother-in-law, yet she had slept in and failed to get up—and had even made her mother-in-law attend to her. If outsiders found out, her parents would be criticized again and would be unable to hold their heads up in the village. She hurriedly apologized. “Mother, I’m sorry. I got up late today. I’ll definitely get up early and make breakfast tomorrow.”
Old Mrs. He smiled. “It’s not late, it’s not late. If you’re tired, sleeping a little longer is no trouble.”
Hearing her say that made Su Nuanru feel utterly ashamed. Blushing, she went to wash up. As soon as she had finished, she hurried to the kitchen to help.
Old Mrs. He was cooking porridge, while Huo Hanye’s younger sister, Huo Hehua, was tending the fire.
“Mother, let me help you make breakfast.”
“No need. I’ll be finished in a moment. Go rest for a while.”
Even though Old Mrs. He said that, Su Nuanru did not dare to take it lightly. In her previous life, Old Mrs. Zhen had also spoken very gently, always making her words sound pleasant. At first, Su Nuanru had believed her several times. But Old Mrs. Zhen would turn around and go outside to complain about her, lamenting about her own hardships. She made the villagers think Su Nuanru was lazy and greedy, and even had those words reach her parents’ ears, saying that they did not know how to raise their daughter. As a result, her parents could not hold their heads up in the village.
After that, she had never again dared to believe Old Mrs. Zhen’s polite words.
“Let me do it after all.”
“Really, there’s no need. The porridge will be ready in a moment. I only need to sprinkle in a handful of cilantro, and it’ll be ready to eat.”
Su Nuanru insisted two more times. Only when she saw that Old Mrs. He genuinely did not want her help did she stop pressing the matter. She turned to look at Huo Hehua. In her previous life, she had lived in the Qian household across the way and had often heard Hao Chunniang and Huo Hehua arguing. Old Mrs. He was quiet and not fond of talking, but this younger sister-in-law was a sharp-tongued, fiery girl. Su Nuanru was no good at arguing and could not win a quarrel, so she had to be careful. Under no circumstances could she offend Huo Hehua.
“Little Sister, get up for now. I’ll tend the fire.”
Huo Hehua smiled. “Eldest Sister-in-law, there’s no need to add more firewood. I’m just sitting here keeping Mother company.”
Looking at the smile on Huo Hehua’s face, Su Nuanru could not reconcile her with the young girl from her memories—the one who had stood in the courtyard with her hands on her hips, trading insults with Hao Chunniang. Perhaps she was only being polite now?
Su Nuanru still did not dare to let down her guard. “You’ve been busy all morning. Let me do it.”
“Eldest Sister-in-law, really, there’s no need. Look, I’m only sitting here. I haven’t done anything.”
Su Nuanru glanced at the stove. The porridge was nearly done, and there was still plenty of firewood beneath the pot. There was no need to add any more. Only then did she realize that Huo Hehua had been telling the truth.
Would she scold her for being too lazy?
But the young girl’s eyes were bright as she looked at Su Nuanru, and there was even a trace of warmth in her smile. She did not look as though she intended to scold her.
Su Nuanru looked at Old Mrs. He again. The older woman was keeping her head down and busying herself, paying no attention to her.
The situation made Su Nuanru increasingly uneasy. She was already married to Huo Hanye, yet her mother-in-law had washed her clothes and was now making the food as well. If word got out, her parents would be disgraced.
“Mother, you don’t need to wash my clothes in the future. I can do it myself. If there are any other dirty clothes in the household, put them in the basin. I’ll take everything to the river and wash it together.”
Huo Hehua said with a grin, “Eldest Sister-in-law, it was Eldest Brother who washed your clothes, not Mother.”
Su Nuanru froze. Huo Hanye had washed her clothes? How was that possible? What man washed clothes?
After her moment of shock, she quickly looked at Old Mrs. He and explained, “Mother, I wasn’t deliberately being lazy. I…”
Old Mrs. He smiled. “What’s the harm? The river water is cold, so women shouldn’t touch it too often. He has plenty of strength. It was no trouble for him to do it while he was at it.”
Seeing Su Nuanru’s embarrassment, Huo Hehua lowered her voice. “Eldest Sister-in-law, I’ll tell you this secretly: Father has washed Mother’s clothes before too.”
Old Mrs. He gave her daughter an exasperated look. “You child. Why do you have to tell her everything?”
After being chided by her mother, Huo Hehua smiled and said no more.
Su Nuanru was extremely grateful to Huo Hehua. Those words put her mind considerably at ease. Whether in the Su household or the Qian household, the men worked outside while the women managed the home. After her mother returned to the village, she had also had to do all the housework. The Qian household was even more so. Before Su Nuanru married in, every chore in the house had been done by Old Mrs. Zhen. Once Su Nuanru married in, Old Mrs. Zhen stopped doing any work at all and dumped everything on her. Most households in the village were the same.
The men of the Huo family actually washed clothes for the women. They really were different from other families.
It seemed that Huo Hanye had learned to wash clothes from his father.
Seeing that Su Nuanru seemed somewhat ill at ease, Old Mrs. He worried that she would feel uncomfortable standing there and said, “Hanye went to work in the fields with his father. They should be back soon. Why don’t you go wait for them at the gate?”
Su Nuanru readily agreed, happy to finally have something to do. “All right. I’ll go now.”
Once Su Nuanru had left, Old Mrs. He let out a sigh of relief.
Huo Hehua asked quietly, “Mother, why were you so nervous?”
Old Mrs. He glanced toward the doorway and lowered her voice as well. “Your sister-in-law is from the capital. She used to be a young lady from a prominent family. I was just afraid she might look down on our household—or on your brother.”
“I think Sister-in-law is very nice. She doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”
“Your brother went through great difficulty to marry a wife. You must serve her properly. Don’t let your sister-in-law run away.”
“I know, Mother.”
Su Nuanru stood at the gate and looked toward the fields, wondering where the Huo family’s land was and whether she should walk out to meet them. As luck would have it, two familiar figures appeared in the distance. She looked carefully and realized that one of them seemed to be Huo Hanye.
She had just raised her foot to walk over and greet them when the gate of the house across the way suddenly creaked open.
Su Nuanru instinctively glanced over. A familiar figure walked out from inside.
It was Scholar Qian!
When Scholar Qian woke and saw the person lying beside him, his heart was filled with unbearable grief. The person he loved was Su Nuanru. He had thought he was about to win the beauty’s hand, but one wrong step had brought him to his present situation. The more he thought about it, the more miserable he felt. He put on his clothes and prepared to go outside for some air, never expecting to see the person he had yearned for day and night the moment he opened the door.
There were countless things he wanted to say to her, yet for a moment, he did not know where to begin.
And she was gazing at him with deep feeling as well.
At that moment, he suddenly understood the line from the lyric: “We hold hands and gaze at each other through tear-filled eyes, rendered utterly speechless by emotion.”
Beneath her sleeves, Su Nuanru’s hands clenched tightly, and her eyes blazed with fury.
When she saw the husband from her previous life again, Su Nuanru had thought she would be able to greet him calmly. But she discovered that she could not. At the sight of that familiar face, all that remained in her heart was disgust and hatred.
Qian Wangzu was a vile bastard, a hypocritical fraud who appeared righteous on the outside! She had worked herself like an ox and horse in his household for three years, yet the moment he gained power, he had wanted to divorce her. She truly wanted to rush over and slap him across the face.
But in Huo Hanye’s eyes, the scene took on an entirely different meaning.
On the second day of their marriage, these two were already gazing at each other passionately in full view of everyone. Scholar Qian had already married someone else, yet she was still pining after him. What was so good about that pretty boy? He barely had any flesh on him. Huo Hanye could knock him flat with one hand!
Huo Yangshu noticed that something was wrong with his son and nudged him with his elbow.
Huo Hanye reined in his aggression and strode toward Su Nuanru. Within a few steps, he had reached her and blocked her view of Scholar Qian.
Su Nuanru was so consumed by hatred that she had completely forgotten about Huo Hanye nearby. Now, seeing the man before her staring at her with a deep, unreadable gaze, she hurriedly put away her thoughts and forced a smile onto her face.
“Husband, you’re back.”
Looking at the smile on Su Nuanru’s face—one more painful to see than tears—Huo Hanye felt an impulse to go across the way and give Scholar Qian a beating. If he injured that face, Huo Hanye wanted to see whether she would still be able to admire him.
“Mm.”
Seeing Huo Hanye’s face, Su Nuanru’s emotions settled considerably. She was already married to Huo Hanye, and he was far better than Scholar Qian. She should not remain entangled with the past. She needed to begin a new life.
“Mother has breakfast ready. She’s waiting for you and Father to come back.”
Hearing Su Nuanru’s words, most of Huo Hanye’s hostility immediately melted away.
“Let’s go home together.”
“Good.”
Huo Hanye took Su Nuanru’s hand. She was not used to doing this in public and tugged at her hand, trying to pull it free.
Noticing the scorching gaze from across the way, Huo Hanye tightened his grip and held her hand fast, refusing to let her pull away.
Su Nuanru had no choice but to let him lead her.
Scholar Qian was furious enough to die. Huo Hanye was a crude man; he must have hurt her. How could someone like him possibly be worthy of Su Nuanru? He took a step forward, wanting to rush across and separate the two of them.
At that moment, an enraged voice rang out behind him.
“Qian Wangzu, where do you think you’re going?”
Hao Chunniang was truly about to be driven mad by Scholar Qian. He had worn her out the previous night, yet early the next morning he was already exchanging flirtatious glances with Su Nuanru.
Scholar Qian stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the woman behind him. Seeing the fierce woman before him, his mind cleared somewhat. He thought of Su Nuanru’s gentle manner toward Huo Hanye just now. Then he looked at the woman in front of him and found everything about her irritating.
“I’m in a bad mood. I’m going out for a walk.”
Hao Chunniang suppressed her anger. “A walk? It’s time to eat.”
Scholar Qian was full of pent-up irritation and did not want to listen to her.
Hao Chunniang threatened him, “You dare walk out that door, and I’ll tell your mother that you’re still thinking about Su Nuanru. Let’s see how she deals with you!”
The moment Old Mrs. Zhen was mentioned, Scholar Qian immediately wilted. He knew that his mother had never liked Su Nuanru. She preferred the Hao family and had been the one to propose the marriage to the Shen family for him in the first place, refusing to approve of the match with the Su family. If she found out that he had gone to see Su Nuanru, she would certainly be displeased.
When Scholar Qian obediently came back inside, Hao Chunniang finally felt a little better.