When they reached the kitchen, Feng Xueniang looked at her daughter’s expression and smiled.
“Seeing how considerate my son-in-law is, I can finally rest easy.”
Su Nuanru froze for a moment, deeply surprised by her mother’s words. In her previous life, when she had returned to her parents’ home with Scholar Qian, her mother had looked at her with worry and questioned her at length. As she asked, tears had even fallen from her eyes. Yet in this life, before she had asked anything at all, her mother had already smiled.
“Mother, how could you tell that he treats me well?”
Feng Xueniang smiled. “A person’s eyes can’t deceive anyone. My son-in-law’s eyes are practically glued to you. Just now, he even took the initiative to offer to come to the kitchen and help. That shows how much he cares about you.”
So that was it. Su Nuanru had thought her mother had seen it from her expression. She had been wondering how her mother could tell whether she was doing well after only two days apart. She had never expected her mother to infer it from Huo Hanye’s behavior instead.
In her previous life, after Scholar Qian arrived at her family’s home, he had simply sat in the main room chatting with her father. He had never offered to come to the kitchen to help. Not only that, but his attitude toward her parents had been distant as well.
Compared with Scholar Qian, Huo Hanye was indeed considerate. At that thought, Su Nuanru glanced toward the main room, just as Huo Hanye happened to look over too.
Their gazes met. Huo Hanye’s eyes were deep and unfathomable, making it impossible to see the emotions hidden within them. He was clearly only a farmer who had grown up in the countryside, yet there was something about him that suggested he was no ordinary man. Scholar Qian had studied for many years and met all kinds of people, but whatever he was thinking was often written plainly across his face. One could more or less see through his intentions. But Su Nuanru could not see through Huo Hanye at all.
As she continued looking at him, Su Nuanru inexplicably felt a trace of fear and quickly looked away.
Setting all that aside, Huo Hanye truly did treat her well. He cooked noodles for her, washed her clothes, and peeled eggs for her.
“He… really does treat me quite well.”
Feng Xueniang was no longer worried about her son-in-law, but she was concerned about something else. Afraid that Huo Hanye might hear, she asked in a low voice, “Are the Huo family easy to get along with?”
Su Nuanru nodded. “They’re all very nice.”
Worried that her daughter might not know how to judge people, Feng Xueniang asked, “What do you mean by nice? Tell Mother in detail.”
The Su family had only recently arrived in the village. Although Feng Xueniang had inquired about the Huo family’s temperaments and knew that they were all honest, decent people, she had never interacted with them closely and did not know what they were truly like.
Su Nuanru said, “These past two mornings, Mother-in-law made the meals, and my younger sister-in-law helped stoke the fire…”
Feng Xueniang grew anxious. “You silly girl! You’ve only just married—how can you let your mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law cook? People will laugh if they hear about it.”
Su Nuanru knew that she should not have done so either. Somewhat embarrassed, she said, “I didn’t get up this morning, and he didn’t wake me when he rose.”
When she had lived with the Qian family, she had already grown accustomed to getting up early to cook. If she failed to rise, Old Mrs. Zhen would pound relentlessly on her door. Eventually, she had gotten used to waking early. But now, the people in the Huo family were so afraid of disturbing her that they kept perfectly quiet until she woke. As a result, she had overslept both mornings.
Feng Xueniang was happy that her son-in-law’s family treated her daughter with such consideration, but she was also a little worried. “It’s a good thing that your husband cares for you, but as a new bride, you can’t be too lazy either. Your mother-in-law is not in good health. When you ought to lend her a hand, you must do so.”
Su Nuanru nodded. “Mm.”
Feng Xueniang naturally doted on her daughter, but she was also afraid the villagers would laugh at her. Lowering her voice, she said, “It’s not that Mother insists you get up early every single day. The first month after marriage is when a new bride must make the best impression. Everyone is watching. Once this month has passed and word of your virtue has spread, no one will say much if you occasionally sleep in.”
“Mother, I understand. I’ll get up and make breakfast tomorrow.”
Seeing how obediently her daughter listened, Feng Xueniang raised a hand and gently stroked her hair. Her eyes were filled with tenderness. “Mother doesn’t want you to have to be so sensible. I wish you could remain simple and happy for the rest of your life. If our family were still as it once was, I would never let you do a single bit of work.”
Su Nuanru sniffed. “Mother, all that is in the past. I think things are quite good now. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Although Huo Hanye’s attitude toward her appeared cold, the Huo family was more easygoing than the Qian family. Marrying Huo Hanye was far better than marrying Scholar Qian.
Feng Xueniang sighed. “Yes. It’s all in the past. As long as our whole family is well, that is already very good.”
The mother and daughter chatted as they prepared vegetables. Then Feng Xueniang suddenly thought of something. She glanced toward her son-in-law and asked in a low voice, “Has he bullied you?”
Su Nuanru understood what her mother meant, and her face immediately turned red.
“No… no.”
Feng Xueniang assumed that her daughter was too embarrassed to discuss such matters with her. In a lowered voice, she said, “Your husband is a big, sturdy man. If you give in to him a little more, it will be more comfortable for you too.”
Although nothing had happened between Su Nuanru and Huo Hanye, she was still somewhat embarrassed at the mention of such things.
“I understand.”
Afraid that her daughter would become too bashful, Feng Xueniang stopped after making her point and did not bring it up again.
After chatting with Su Fusheng for a while, Huo Hanye came out of the main room. He did not go to the kitchen either. Instead, he swept the courtyard, repaired the walls, chopped firewood, and did every bit of hard labor that needed doing.
Su Fusheng and Feng Xueniang looked at him with increasing satisfaction.
Su Nuanru was pleased as well. Scholar Qian was a scholar and looked down on the business her father had once done. Whenever her father spoke to him, he would respond indifferently. When he came to their home, he did nothing at all, merely sitting there and waiting for his meal with an arrogant air, as though the entire Su family were there to serve him. It had made her deeply uncomfortable.
Huo Hanye looked cold and unapproachable, but he did not shirk any of the tasks that needed to be done.
Still, when she saw Huo Hanye pick up the ax and chop wood, Su Nuanru could not help shivering. Why did this man look so frightening?
Seeing a trace of fear in her daughter’s expression as she watched her husband, Feng Xueniang nudged her arm and said in a low voice, “You can’t judge a person only by what he says. You have to look at what he does. Some people look kind but are cruel at heart, while others appear cold yet are warm inside. I think your husband is the latter. Mother can tell that he cares about you, so you don’t need to be afraid of him.”
Su Nuanru thought of her previous life. After Scholar Qian had acknowledged his true family, he had heartlessly abandoned her. He had been the former kind of person. Lowering her eyes, she said, “Mm. You’re right, Mother. I was mistaken before.”
Hearing her daughter say that, Feng Xueniang smiled in relief. “You’re still young and haven’t experienced much. It’s normal that you don’t know how to judge people clearly.”
Su Nuanru’s nose stung. No matter what choices she made, her mother always accepted her. Even when she made a mistake, her mother would still stand on her side. She could not let her mother suffer anymore. Nor could she spend her entire life living beneath her family’s protection. She had to make sure her family could live a good life.
Feng Xueniang could see that there was still some distance between her daughter and son-in-law. Intending to bring them closer, she gave her daughter a hint. “Your husband’s face is covered in sweat. Take him a handkerchief and have him wipe it off.”
Su Nuanru looked at Huo Hanye’s face and instinctively felt somewhat reluctant.
“Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”
“What’s inappropriate about it?” Feng Xueniang said. “You’re already married, and this is our own courtyard. There’s no one else watching.”
Hearing her mother say that, Su Nuanru also wanted to grow closer to Huo Hanye. She suppressed her fear and walked toward him.
Huo Hanye had not noticed Su Nuanru’s approach. He was concentrating on chopping wood. With one swing of the ax, the log split in two.
Su Nuanru could not help shrinking back. She knew how difficult it was to chop firewood. When she had first arrived in the village, she had tried chopping some herself, but not only had she failed to split the wood properly, she had nearly injured herself. Even her father had needed a long time to split a log. Yet Huo Hanye split the firewood with ease. He truly was incredibly strong.
Only then did Huo Hanye notice Su Nuanru. He stopped what he was doing.
Now that she was close, Su Nuanru could smell the sweat on Huo Hanye and see the beads of perspiration on his forehead.
She wanted to use the handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow, but when she looked at that cold, expressionless face, her hand seemed to freeze and would not rise. Her gaze followed the beads of sweat as they trickled down Huo Hanye’s forehead and along his neck, disappearing beneath his clothes. His garments had been dampened by sweat and clung faintly to his body, revealing his solid chest. She suddenly remembered the bare upper body she had seen when she pushed open the door yesterday…
Seeing that Su Nuanru had remained silent, Huo Hanye asked, “Did you want to say something?”
Realizing what she had been thinking, Su Nuanru’s face reddened. Her hand trembled, and she quickly shoved the handkerchief into Huo Hanye’s hand.
“You… you should wipe off your sweat.”
With that, she turned and hurried away.
Huo Hanye watched her fleeing figure. As he rubbed the handkerchief between his fingers, the warmth in his eyes deepened slightly.