Perhaps because this mission wasn’t suitable to be seen in public, by the time the Xu family received news, Xu Fengjia had already boarded a ship on his way back to the capital. Just after the Lantern Festival, he had already arrived in the capital, conveniently avoiding the series of tedious celebratory activities during the first month.

In the past when she was an unmarried girl at home, Seventh Miss managed to avoid the bustle every New Year, at most following the Grand Madam around to various spring wine banquets. Only now that she had become a titled lady herself did she realize that the first month was truly no time of rest for a court-appointed noblewoman. On the first day of the first month, she entered the palace for audience; on the second, visited relatives; on the third, returned to her natal family; from the fourth onward, attended spring wine banquets all the way to the Lantern Festival—and this was without managing the household or worrying about gift exchanges. Even so, as the heir’s wife, Seventh Miss had no choice but to accompany Grand Madam Ni in social engagements. There were also quite a few Xu clan members who had returned to the capital for New Year to meet. After getting through the entire New Year period, she had actually grown somewhat thinner.

Because the Empress Dowager in the palace had suffered a relapse of her old ailment, and Quan Zhongbai wasn’t in the capital, having gone to the Western Regions to gather medicinal herbs, the palace atmosphere was somewhat somber. Seventh Miss had only exchanged distant glances with Sixth Miss a few times and couldn’t meet privately. After exchanging pleasantries with the Empress, she hadn’t been able to enter the palace for audience again—she hadn’t even caught sight of Imperial Consort Xu. The Grand Madam didn’t seem to mind either. Though their recent encounters remained lukewarm, she also hadn’t excessively manipulated Seventh Miss.

Though she had lived in the Xu family for two or three months already, Seventh Miss still didn’t feel she had truly integrated into this family.

Her life was monotonous and peaceful. Each day she would rise to pay respects to the two elders, then return to Mingde Hall to sit with Fourth Young Master and Fifth Young Master. Whatever matters concerned the two children would naturally be reported to Lixia. When Lixia couldn’t make decisions, Seventh Miss would take charge. First Young Madam, Fourth Young Madam, and Fifth Young Madam no longer came to Mingde Hall to visit. When she had leisure, she would carry the two children to Qingping Courtyard to see Madam Xu, then return to Mingde Hall to read, write, paint, and play the zither by herself. Though leisurely, it carried an indescribable sense of “floating.”

Even the most meaningless customs actually had their reasons. Seventh Miss couldn’t help but feel helpless—if she and Xu Fengjia had consummated the marriage on their wedding night, the situation would certainly be completely different now. At least Madam Xu would be actively wanting her to take over household management, and Fifth Young Madam and Grand Madam Ni’s attitudes wouldn’t be just this mild distance.

It wasn’t that she enjoyed conflict—these three months of tranquility were, after all, stolen time. Seventh Miss didn’t feel she had gotten any rest. It was like a performance inexplicably delayed, unable to begin, making the lead performer herself unconsciously anxious.

Under such complex thoughts, when she returned from the Sun family on the sixteenth day of the first month, there were men’s voices in Mingde Hall.

Xu Fengjia wasn’t staying in the Western Third Room but had opened the Western Fifth Room. Faintly, she could hear several male voices talking inside. As soon as Seventh Miss entered Mingde Hall, she frowned.

Bringing male guests into her living quarters—wasn’t that too absurd?

Then she saw Zhongyuan emerge from the room with two or three maids, holding a large silver basin with fine white cloth draped over the edge—clearly bearing several alarming red stains.

Seventh Miss’s brow immediately furrowed into knots.

“Has the heir returned home?” she asked quietly.

Zhongyuan hastily nodded to Seventh Miss, handing the silver basin to a young maid beside her before properly curtsying. “Young Madam has returned. The heir entered the household two hours ago. He first went to Menghua Pavilion to speak with the Duke, then just came in to change his bandages. Several palace eunuchs are attending to him—we’re just helping out.”

After all, she was someone Seventh Miss had trained. These few sentences were crisp and efficient, immediately conveying Xu Fengjia’s activities since entering the residence.

Only then did Seventh Miss’s brow gradually relax: Though it was somewhat odd for palace attendants to enter and exit the inner quarters, it couldn’t be said to violate taboos.

She walked a few steps toward the Western Fifth Room, then turned back, unconsciously touching the ornaments in her hair.

“Go pay respects to the heir,” she instructed Lixia. “Tell him I’ve returned to my room, and ask how he got injured. I’ll come see the heir in a moment.”

Lixia pressed her lips together, revealing a small smile. “Yes, this servant will certainly relay the message.”

Seventh Miss glared at her before turning back into the Western Third Room.

She removed her ornaments, changed out of her titled lady’s formal attire, and briefly washed up in the bathing room. By then, Lixia had returned to report: “The heir says he’s fine—just that he rushed the journey and some stitches came loose. He still needs to enter the palace to see His Majesty in a while. Young Madam needn’t wait for him to dine together.”

Truly a busy man.

Seventh Miss couldn’t help but frown. “Where was he injured? Did you see?”

“It seems to be an abrasion behind his elbow.” Lixia’s answer wasn’t certain either. “When this servant entered, the heir had already changed bandages—his spirits seemed good though.”

Listening to the footsteps and low voices coming from outside, Seventh Miss couldn’t help but frown.

If this were modern times, when a husband returned from a business trip, he would certainly first have intimate time with his wife before considering official or family business. Unfortunately, in Great Qin, official duties came first, filial piety second. After returning from the palace, Xu Fengjia would probably still have to go to Qingping Courtyard to pay respects. If he could return to Mingde Hall to sleep, that would be fortunate enough.

Fine—as long as he wasn’t dying, he could do as he pleased.

She pushed the matter to the back of her mind and smiled at Lixia: “Come, let’s go see Fourth Young Master and Fifth Young Master.”

Buildings like Mingde Hall with winding corridors in Northern style—the eastern and western wings were practically two separate apartments. Even if the eastern wing erupted in chaos, the western wing could only faintly hear the commotion. So although Xu Fengjia had briefly touched down at Mingde Hall to change bandages, the children in the eastern wing knew nothing of it, still laughing and playing nonstop in the nursery.

Seeing Seventh Miss arrive, Fifth Young Master shouted “Seventh Aunt!” and came running with a smile, only to trip over a small stool at his feet and fall onto the thick cotton rug. For a moment, he flailed his arms, struggling to get up.

The room immediately filled with soft laughter—Fifth Young Master was truly endearing.

Fourth Young Master was much quieter. He turned his eyes toward Seventh Miss, smiled with pressed lips as greeting, then lowered his head to fiddle with his small building blocks.

Perhaps because this pair of twins had changed environments several times since birth, neither was particularly shy with strangers. Fifth Young Master quickly accepted Seventh Miss. Whenever he saw her, he would warmly call “Seventh Aunt.” Fourth Young Master also didn’t show much resistance to Seventh Miss appearing in his life.

Children this age grew as fast as inflating balloons. In a few months, they had fattened considerably. Fifth Young Master could already fluently speak several complete sentences. Whenever Seventh Miss coaxed him, he could speak extremely fluently. Though Fourth Young Master still didn’t like talking, he had learned several common single words—at least his intelligence appeared fine, which allowed Seventh Miss to breathe easier.

She held Fourth Young Master in her arms and casually picked up a small rattle drum to tease him. Fourth Young Master had wanted to cry when separated from his blocks, but getting the rattle drum, he instead giggled, shaking the drum while beckoning Fifth Young Master. The two children played around Seventh Miss—one on her knee, one supporting himself against her knee—teasing and joking with each other, making everyone laugh continuously.

After a while, Fifth Young Master tired first. Yawning, he flopped onto Seventh Miss’s knee. His eyelashes fluttered as he said unclearly: “Mama, sleep…”

The “mama” he spoke of was his wet nurse. Wet Nurse Zhen smiled while stepping forward to pick up Fifth Young Master and place him on the small bed. Fifth Young Master still remembered the rattle drum. Reaching toward Fourth Young Master’s direction while muttering: “Brother, drum…”

Before finishing the sentence, his eyes had already closed, his breathing even—he had already fallen asleep.

Fourth Young Master pressed his lips together and giggled a few times, tucking the rattle drum into his embrace, then fussing to get down to play with blocks. Seventh Miss set him on the ground, smiling at Lixia: “Small children are like animals—truly adorable.”

Both wet nurses immediately smiled: “Madam’s words are quite amusing.”

While speaking, Guyu and Chunfen came in to relieve the two wet nurses for their meal. Shang Yuan also entered to pay respects to Seventh Miss: “Today the young masters had good appetites. Look, they ate more than usual.”

Over these three months, Shang Yuan had written several volumes of childcare diaries. Even if Fourth and Fifth Young Masters merely passed gas, it would be recorded. Any servant or wife who didn’t understand these two children could learn about them by reading the childcare manual. Seventh Miss often had copies made and sent to the Grand Madam and Madam Xu for filing.

Fingering the pages in her hand, she asked Shang Yuan casually: “Do the children still only sleep with their wet nurses?”

“Guyu and Chunfen care for them attentively. Fifth Young Master is outgoing, so he doesn’t mind this. Only Fourth Young Master still depends on the two wet nurses.” As Shang Yuan spoke, she glanced at Guyu and Chunfen. The two senior maids maintained calm expressions, attending to their tasks in the room as if they hadn’t heard Seventh Miss’s question.

Seventh Miss’s gaze inevitably darkened slightly. She patted Fourth Young Master’s shoulder, then rose with Lixia and left the room, concluding her daily family visit and returning to the Western Third Room for dinner.

When Xu Fengjia wasn’t present, her days were just this peaceful. If it weren’t the first month, she could go months without leaving the Xu residence. The world outside Mingde Hall seemed already very distant from her.

Seventh Miss instead felt somewhat irritated.

She had never lived in an ivory tower. The political situation, household affairs, social engagements that an ancient mistress had to face—she had experienced all of these. Knowing the outside world churned with undercurrents, yet being sealed in such a small world herself—the feeling was truly terrible.

Not to mention that without power in hand, many things simply couldn’t be undertaken…

She only ate half a small bowl of rice before setting down her chopsticks.

The capital in the first month was still very cold. A few days ago, fresh snow had fallen. The snow’s light reflected the moonlight, decorating the courtyard’s flagstones with faint luminescence. Seventh Miss sat by the window, borrowing this bit of light to stare blankly at the desolate, empty courtyard for a while before withdrawing her gaze and opening a book to read.

Before long, the first watch drum sounded. Usually at this time, Seventh Miss would have already removed her makeup, washed up, and prepared for bed.

Today she didn’t move. Lixia quietly came in to check twice, then pressed her lips together and silently left the room.

Near the second watch, Xu Fengjia finally returned to Mingde Hall.

From far away, Seventh Miss could hear his heavy, hurried footsteps—like drumbeats before battle, thudding closer to the Western Third Room.

She had been resting her chin on her hand, staring blankly at the book before her. Hearing Xu Fengjia arrive, somehow these small lead characters suddenly became very engrossing. She even read a passage, until the doorway darkened. Only then did she set down the book and slowly turn her head.

Xu Fengjia stood in the doorway, quietly watching Seventh Miss leaning against the kang.

Their eyes met. They looked at each other for a moment, then both simultaneously turned away.

Though they hadn’t seen each other for only three months, Xu Fengjia looked quite changed.

He had only turned twenty-one this New Year, yet perhaps because the Guangzhou trip hadn’t gone smoothly, the weariness and dust accumulated between his brows made him look forty-one instead. With just one glance, Seventh Miss felt he had become much more haggard.

Then noticing the stiffness in his stance that shouldn’t be there…

“This trip to Guangzhou didn’t go smoothly?” She stared at her book, murmuring the question.

As Xu Fengjia entered, he removed his outer robe and sword, revealing the dark-colored middle garment beneath. “It was alright.”

Though his answer was brief, with the outer garment removed, Seventh Miss could see several abnormal bulges on his body… apparently bandaged wounds.

She counted silently—aside from the one behind his right elbow, there were actually three more wounds distributed across his left shoulder, waist, and even his right chest looked somewhat odd.

Even with mental preparation, Seventh Miss still drew in a sharp breath.

“Are the injuries serious?” These words escaped unbidden.

Xu Fengjia glanced at his chest, saying lightly: “They’ve all closed up. Only the one on my elbow is troublesome.”

He yawned, unabashedly scanning Seventh Miss up and down before saying: “After New Year, you’re eighteen years old.”

Seventh Miss raised one eyebrow at him, expressing her wordless question: After New Year, she was indeed eighteen. But how did the topic suddenly jump here?

Yet her mind was still pondering Xu Fengjia’s transformation.

The last time she saw him, this person had seemed like the ocean at high tide—emotions chaotic and disordered, like countless whirlpools engulfing each other, with no one knowing when giant waves might surge.

This time returning from Guangzhou, though his appearance and physique hadn’t changed, emotionally Xu Fengjia seemed like a different person—retreating from extreme turbulence to extreme detachment. Yet precisely because of this detachment, his grasp on the situation had obviously strengthened.

Indeed, as long as he calmed down, he could naturally hold the situation in his palm—she was his wife, the husband ruled the wife, his dominance was the most normal situation possible.

And Seventh Miss had to admit, what she hated most was precisely this current situation.

Xu Fengjia was again treating her with the attitude one reserved for prey, rather than as an enemy, a detestable opportunist… Dealing with his desire to conquer was far more difficult than dealing with his malice.

Yet how could she resist? Especially when her own reason was encouraging Seventh Miss to submit…

Seventh Miss abruptly shook her head, pushing all the confusion aside.

“What exactly did you go to Guangzhou to do?” She stubbornly continued her own topic. “Mother-in-law won’t say, even my parents don’t know. But Fifth Sister-in-law made some sarcastic remarks to me—”

Xu Fengjia had already lazily leaned against the kang table, examining Seventh Miss’s features inch by inch with the deep, burning gaze he once had. But hearing Seventh Miss’s words, he suddenly straightened up.

“What did Fifth Sister-in-law say?” His tone darkened.

Only now did Seventh Miss realize that Xu Fengjia’s earlier tone had been quite light.

“Fifth Sister-in-law said…” She quickly recounted Fifth Young Madam’s words truthfully to Xu Fengjia.

Xu Fengjia immediately fell into deep thought, his sword-like brows tightly knitted together—it seemed Fifth Young Madam’s words had given him no small shock either.

Yet Seventh Miss’s irritation had also been climbing continuously with Xu Fengjia’s reaction, nearly reaching its peak.

Knowing that something major was happening around her, that she was even a person within the game, yet knowing absolutely nothing about the entire affair—the feeling was truly terrible.

“What exactly happened?” She irritably interrogated Xu Fengjia. “The heir can’t expect me to take over household management while knowing nothing…”

Xu Fengjia interrupted her again: “Household management is still in Fifth Sister-in-law’s hands, right? What have you been doing these past months?”

Starting to seize dominance again…

Seventh Miss only felt her head throbbing faintly. She pressed her temple and took a deep breath.

“I did nothing.” She answered softly, then looked back at the book before her. “I can do nothing.”

Xu Fengjia fell silent again.

Though she didn’t raise her head, Seventh Miss could still feel him examining her inch by inch.

The skin his gaze passed over seemed to bear burn marks.

In the deepest corner of her heart, she knew this scorching heat came both from Xu Fengjia’s scrutiny and from her own embarrassment.

That statement just now was both complaint and tactful urging.

She heard Xu Fengjia’s soft laughter. A hand reached before Seventh Miss, long fingers grasping her chin, slowly turning her face up.

Xu Fengjia thus unabashedly examined Seventh Miss’s face.

Without needing a mirror, Seventh Miss knew her face was probably already covered in blush. She clenched her fists, continuously telling herself in her heart that she needed the wedding night, she needed this moment…

Yet facing such eyes that burned hot enough to melt glass, her reason also seemed to burn along with them, condensing into uneasy mist churning in her mind.

“The Guangzhou matter is very complicated.” Yet Xu Fengjia seemed not to notice her timidity—or perhaps enjoyed her timidity too much. His voice carried soft amusement. “I’ll tell you after we consummate the marriage.”

These words severed the last thread in Seventh Miss’s mind that had been about to break.

“Your—your wounds haven’t healed.” She abruptly slapped away Xu Fengjia’s hand, sliding backward and hastily standing, escaping the range of Xu Fengjia’s control. “This matter… isn’t urgent!”

Xu Fengjia lowered his head with a smile, also standing and advancing step by step.

“You’re not anxious, but I am.” Though his response was flippant, it also revealed a needle-sharp edge.