Sunlight streamed through the window. The red candles on the table had burned out, leaving only a small pool of red wax that resembled a blooming flower.

A hand emerged from behind the bed curtains.

He Yan rubbed her eyes and sat up, supporting her aching waist.

It had been a bewildering night… a night of intense battle. If she were to recall… no, better not to remember.

She could only think about how that earlier phrase “do whatever you want” had unexpectedly been used on herself. Did she receive any reward? No. Looking at the situation now, Xiao Jue was the biggest winner.

He Yan turned to look beside her but found the space empty. She was stunned for a moment, then looked outside. It must be late – after bathing last night, she had been exhausted and fallen straight asleep. Judging by the sunlight, it wasn’t early anymore.

Just then, the door opened and someone walked in. He Yan looked up to see Xiao Jue enter, with Bai Guo following behind carrying a food basket, and setting out dishes one by one on the table.

“You’re awake?” Xiao Jue asked as he walked over, seeing her sitting up.

He Yan coughed lightly and nodded.

“You can eat after washing up,” he paused, then asked hesitantly, “Are you feeling alright?”

He Yan blushed, instinctively glancing at Bai Guo, but the young maid had already placed the food and quickly scurried away. She looked at the man before her, who appeared refreshed and energetic after their night together, showing no signs of discomfort. She gritted her teeth and said, “I’m perfectly fine. Commander Xiao’s skills have reached mastery level, rarely matched – I’ve certainly experienced that firsthand.”

Xiao Jue’s lips curled into a smile as he drawled, “Young Lady He wasn’t bad either. Last night you even declared we should battle eight hundred more rounds…”

He Yan: “?”

What vulgar words were these? When had she ever said such things?

He Yan hurriedly covered his mouth: “Wait! Don’t make things up.”

“Young Lady He,” he leaned closer, dark eyes twinkling with amusement, “Just one night has passed, and you’re already denying your words?”

The closeness was unsettling. He Yan threw off the covers, put on her shoes, and fled, mumbling, “I’m going to wash up! Where’s Qing Mei? Qing Mei—”

Qing Mei was called in, and after He Yan rinsed her mouth and washed her face, Qing Mei came to do her hair, chattering as she worked: “Miss… oh, I should call you Young Mistress now. Young Master treats you so well.”

He Yan responded with an absent-minded “Oh.”

“He got up early today,” Qing Mei continued, “went to the kitchen to instruct them on preparing your meals. I wanted to wake you, but Young Master wouldn’t let me, said to let you sleep longer.”

He Yan nodded, then noticed Qing Mei beaming from ear to ear and asked puzzled, “Why are you so happy?”

“Of course, I’m happy when the Second Young Master treats Young Mistress so well,” Qing Mei said as if she’d found treasure. “I’ll tell Master and Young Master right away, they can rest assured!”

He Yan: “…”

After washing up, she changed into a coral red narrow-sleeved long dress. Qing Mei had done her hair well – the married woman’s hairstyle didn’t make her look old, but rather fresh and clean.

He Yan reattached the black jade snake pendant Xiao Jue had given her to her waist and headed to the small hall.

At the table, the dishes Bai Guo had brought were laid out abundantly. They both preferred to eat without servants attending, so Qing Mei withdrew. He Yan sat at the table, handed Xiao Jue a pair of chopsticks, and sighed, “Xiao Jue, your family’s breakfast is excessively lavish.”

And it was all food she enjoyed, though she wasn’t particularly picky about food anyway.

Xiao Jue’s lips twitched: “Are you so easily bought with just one meal?”

“You don’t understand,” He Yan declared confidently, “we common folk don’t care for empty gestures. Marrying clothes or marrying a man, wearing clothes and eating food – what we eat is naturally important.”

He laughed, “You’re certainly easy to please.”

He Yan grabbed a plum blossom bun, smiling at him as she ate, then suddenly remembered something and her expression changed: “Oh no, weren’t we supposed to serve tea to Elder Brother and Sister-in-law this morning?”

Originally, new brides would serve tea to their parents-in-law, but since Xiao Zhong Wu and his wife were no longer in this world, they should still properly serve tea to Xiao Jing and Bai Rong Wei.

“It’s fine, I’ve already spoken to them, we’ll go after eating.”

“Eh?” He Yan looked at her, “Isn’t that against protocol?”

“What protocol,” he said casually, “the Xiao family has no such protocols, you can do as you please.”

He Yan was stunned. Not to mention her time in the “He family,” but after marrying into the Xu family, before she lost her sight, daily morning and evening greetings were essential. Because she had lived as a woman for only a short time and then spent many years in the military, she wasn’t very familiar with many protocols and often made embarrassing mistakes. Back then, whenever she thought of “protocols,” she would feel headaches and annoyance.

Now someone was telling her “Do as you please.”

She secretly glanced at the person opposite her. Xiao Jue noticed her gaze and asked, “What is it?”

“Xiao Jue,” He Yan said seriously, “In all of Shuo Jing City, you must be the first husband of your kind, truly considerate in every way.”

Xiao Jue’s lips curled up as he spoke flatly: “Of course. After all, your husband fell in love with you at first sight at the Lantern Festival, and proposed the next day, refusing to marry anyone else. If you hadn’t agreed to marry, he would have jumped into the river.”

He Yan: “…huh?”

He continued nonchalantly: “Our General He’s skill in commanding troops is refined to perfection, and her skill in managing her husband has also reached the peak.”

He Yan found this familiar, then remembered – wasn’t this what she had casually made up to the girls like Ling Xiu while in Ji Yang? She hadn’t expected Xiao Jue to still remember it.

The random talk back then had unexpectedly come true, with Xiao Jue becoming her husband, but hearing these words now seemed rather shameless.

He Yan lifted her sweet soup and pretended to take a sip, changing the subject: “Um… does the Xiao family have no protocols? Anything goes?”

Xiao Jue glanced at her: “Having affairs isn’t allowed, neither is meeting men at night.”

He Yan: “…”

She daringly asked: “What happens if someone breaks these two rules?”

Xiao Jue’s eyes narrowed as he said calmly: “Break their legs and lock them up.”

He Yan: “…”

After a while, she said: “Xiao Jue, you’re so fierce.”

He looked at her with warning in his eyes, “Indeed.”

…

After breakfast, He Yan went with Xiao Jue to serve tea.

Having lived in the Xiao residence for a period before, He Yan wasn’t unfamiliar with Xiao Jing and his wife. After drinking tea, Bai Rong Wei took out a small box and handed it to He Yan, smiling: “This was prepared by me and his elder brother before Huai Jin was married, and today we can finally give it to you.”

He Yan smiled and expressed her thanks.

Bai Rong Wei looked at the couple, growing more pleased the more she looked. When Xiao Jue was first bestowed marriage by Emperor Wen Xuan, at every ladies’ gathering, Bai Rong Wei would hear people saying behind their backs how the fine Second Young Master Xiao ended up with such a crude military woman. Hearing this often, Bai Rong Wei became displeased and later declined invitations, citing poor health. Now seeing the two together, they were like a pair of beautiful jade pieces. Besides, who said women must be gentle and courteous? She found He Yan’s lively personality delightful, and these days, Xiao Jue’s expressions have become much more animated.

She chatted with He Yan for quite a while until Xiao Jing called her to rest – after Bai Rong Wei became pregnant, Xiao Jing had become constantly cautious.

He Yan carried the box and left with Xiao Jue, heading back to their courtyard. Halfway there, she finally couldn’t resist opening the box a crack to peek inside. She saw three white jade combs inside, arranged from large to small, exquisitely carved and transparent.

“Marriage combs…” she was startled.

Xiao Jue turned to look at her: “You don’t like them?”

“No,” He Yan closed the box and hugged it to her chest, “I love them very much.”

These were more precious than any gold, jade, or jewels.

Due to the wedding, Emperor Wen Xuan had granted leave for two days, so Xiao Jue could stay at home an extra day, and today there was nothing particular to do. Just as He Yan and he walked back to their courtyard entrance, they saw Qing Mei and Bai Guo squatting on the ground, surrounded by mountains of wedding gifts tied with red silk.

“Young Mistress is here?” Bai Guo stood up with a smile, “We were just sorting out the wedding gifts received yesterday. Would Young Mistress like to take a look?”

Seeing the gifts nearly filling half the courtyard, He Yan clicked her tongue in amazement and couldn’t help asking Xiao Jue: “Wasn’t it said that you’re unsociable and have poor relationships in Shuo Jing City? How are there so many wedding gifts? How many people came yesterday?”

Xiao Jue remained silent, his lips curling up in what seemed like satisfaction.

“I’ll go see what treasures there are first.” He Yan said as she walked to Qing Mei’s side. When she was “He Ru Fei,” the Emperor’s rewards were plentiful, but before they were even warm, they had been moved to the He family’s storehouse. Later, as “Miss He,” the family was poor as church mice, so this harvest-like joy of sitting on a mountain of gold was indeed long unseen.

Qing Mei was also very excited, presumably seeing so many fine things for the first time, and kept sharing her discoveries with He Yan.

“Young Mistress, look at this, this flower pot is made of colored glass!”

“This ginseng looks so expensive!”

“And this vase, I’ve never seen one like this before, are these jewels real?”

The young maid chattered non-stop, and as He Yan sorted through the gifts, she came across something from a familiar person.

It was a complete set of pearl hairpieces from Mu Hong Jin and Cui Yue Zhi of Ji Yang City. Ji Yang, being close to water, was known for its fine pearls. Each pearl was full and lustrous, dazzlingly bright. Upon opening the box, the brilliance almost blinded her. It was typical of the wealthy Cui Yue Zhi and the generous Mu Hong Jin to send such an extravagant gift, though He Yan thought she would probably never wear this hairpiece out. Wearing it would be like wearing bank notes on her head – wouldn’t that just invite robbery? It was far too ostentatious.

She continued searching and found a small jar of wine, a gift from Hua You Xian and Cai Lian from Jin Ling City. It was the Bi Fang wine they had once tasted together. However, this jar was aged for seven years – had it not been for Xiao Jue and He Yan’s wedding, Hua You Xian wouldn’t have parted with it.

He Yan placed the small jar of Bi Fang wine beside her when she heard Qing Mei say, “Young Mistress, look at this!”

He Yan turned to look and was momentarily stunned.

It was an extremely long embroidery, about half a person’s height, depicting a pair of mandarin ducks beneath conjoined lotus flowers. The needlework was exceptionally even, and the colors were vibrant and beautiful. Such an embroidery piece wasn’t easy to create – even with many embroiderers working day and night, it would take over a month to complete.

There was a letter attached to the embroidery scroll. He Yan opened it and discovered that the embroidery came from Run Du. The women who had created this piece were the same captives she had rescued from Li Kuang. Though Run Du had recently been through warfare and the city was desolate, Magistrate Zhao Shi Ming had obtained silk threads and asked these women to sew it as a wedding gift for Xiao Jue and He Yan.

It seemed those women were doing well.

He Yan was happy for them. She put away the letter and instructed Qing Mei to move these specially selected items to her room. Then she stood up and walked to Xiao Jue’s side.

As she approached, Xiao Jue raised an eyebrow slightly: “Are you satisfied?”

He Yan shook her head.

“What’s not satisfactory?”

“Commander Xiao, everyone has given wedding gifts, why haven’t you given me one?” He Yan teased.

She had meant it as a joke, but unexpectedly, Xiao Jue replied calmly, “How do you know I don’t have a gift?”

He Yan was startled and probed, “You don’t have a wedding gift prepared, do you?”

Xiao Jue crossed his arms and looked at her.

He Yan froze, “Didn’t you already give the betrothal gifts? And you gave me your family heirloom black jade – isn’t that enough? What else are you planning to give?”

She felt a bit panicked – would she wear the title of “devastating beauty” for life without even doing anything? Heaven and Earth be her witness, she hadn’t done anything!

Seeing her reaction, Xiao Jue’s lips twitched as he walked away. He Yan hurried after him, “Xiao Jue, what exactly are you planning to give me?”

As they walked, something suddenly blocked her feet. He Yan looked down to see a yellow dog biting at the pearl ornament on her shoe.

“Er Mao?”

After investigating the He residence that night, He Yan temporarily entrusted the escaped Er Mao to Xiao Jue. Unexpectedly, Er Mao had only been at the Xiao residence for a short while but had already grown rounder. Someone had tied a festive red ribbon on the tuft of fur on its head, making it almost unrecognizable from before.

Seeing He Yan looking down at it, Er Mao excitedly barked twice, though no sound came out. Then it rolled around in the courtyard and started chasing its tail in circles.

He Yan was speechless for a moment. This dog had made itself at home quickly, showing how content it was living here. Soon it would probably rival that pig called “Tang Yuan.”

“I’ve found a new residence for your father and brother,” came Xiao Jue’s voice from beside her.

He Yan turned around: “Didn’t Lin Shuang He say it would take a few more days?”

“He’s too busy to help you.” Xiao Jue said flatly, “I’ve already arranged for people to help with the move. They should be able to move in within these two days.”

“Oh? So quickly? Where is it?”

“One street away from the Xiao residence.”

He Yan grabbed his sleeve: “Wait, did you say one street away from the Xiao residence?”

Xiao Jue looked down at her, “You don’t like it?”

“It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just…” He Yan’s mind was a bit chaotic.

“Being close to the Xiao residence means you can return anytime, and it’s convenient if Father and Yun Sheng want to visit you.” Xiao Jue frowned, “You seem unsatisfied.”

He Yan looked at him, momentarily speechless.

A married daughter frequently visiting her maiden home would be gossiped about. In her previous life, after marrying into the Xu family, she had only returned once for a formal post-wedding visit before her drowning death. Though in her previous life, she hadn’t had much reason to return anyway.

However, He Yan hadn’t expected Xiao Jue to simply buy a house opposite the Xiao residence. She wondered what people would say about him when this news spread. Those gossipmongers would probably blame everything on He Yan, labeling her as an unruly new bride who didn’t know proper etiquette. Yet surprisingly, He Yan wasn’t angry at all.

She was very happy.

“If you don’t like it…”

“I love it!” she said brightly.

“Your expression suggests otherwise.” Xiao Jue looked at her doubtfully.

He Yan’s hand holding his sleeve moved to link arms with him: “Xiao Jue, I’m so touched.”

“You take such good care of my father, my brother, and even my dog. Heaven must have seen how miserable my previous life was and sent you to me in this one.”

Xiao Jue was silent for a while before saying, “So taking care of your dog is enough to move you?”

“That’s not exactly what I mean,” He Yan watched Er Mao frolicking in the courtyard, feeling deeply emotional, “But I never imagined before that you would be such an agreeable person.”

People’s rumors couldn’t be trusted. The talk of being unsociable and ruthless was all hearsay. In her previous life, she had been so careful as a wife, with everyone telling her to be filial as a daughter, virtuous as a wife, and nurturing as a mother. To be quiet and chaste, maintain order, have shame in her actions, and follow proper methods. To be respectful and gentle, free of jealousy and tolerance, to value dignity and righteousness, to be wise and graceful… She didn’t know who first placed these shackles on women, but these rules of feminine virtue seemed to have been passed down for thousands of years, to the point where everyone thought them natural.

Everyone was like that.

But Xiao Jue had broken these shackles from the beginning. She hadn’t known that being a wife could be like this – unrestrained, soaring with joy.

Xiao Jue stood straight, and hearing this, he removed her hand from his arm only to cover it with his own palm.

As their fingers intertwined, it felt like a snowflake landing on her heart, quickly passing by and leaving a fleeting tickle like a dragonfly touching water.

“No need to be touched,” he said quietly, “After all when you’re unhappy, your husband will use all his skills to please you.”

He Yan: “…”

“Eyes that see no one else, favoring only you alone.”

He Yan: “…”

She was certain now – Xiao Jue truly was the top student at Xian Chang Academy. She had only said it once in Ji Yang, and she had forgotten it herself, yet Xiao Jue remembered it word for word.

She gripped Xiao Jue’s hand in return, as if wanting to hold hands with him like this until the end of time, and replied with a smile: “Well, what can I do? Even a virtuous woman fears a persistent man.”