Shen Lingzhen’s face suddenly flushed bright red.

“Then…” She stammered as she looked at him for a long while. Thinking that this was, after all, a natural and proper matter, differing only by a moment sooner or later, she closed her eyes and steeled her heart: “Then let’s…”

“Let’s wait a few days.” Huo Liuxing interrupted her, slowly rubbing his fingertips as if pondering something. “My legs are inconvenient, so you’ll have to exert more effort. But since you’re completely ignorant of this matter and so shy, having you take the initiative to do this now—wouldn’t that be making things difficult for you? Better to wait until we’ve become more familiar with each other before performing this rite of Duke of Zhou. If Father and Mother ask about it, I’ll explain properly to them.”

Every word and phrase showed consideration. Shen Lingzhen had to thank him again: “Thank you, Master, for thinking of me.”

“Why be formal with me? I am now your husband. Cherishing you is only natural. I know that marrying far away to this place, you must feel aggrieved in countless ways. If I cannot treat you well, how sad you would be.”

“Though I miss my relatives and friends in Bianjing, I think Master is a good person. I’m not aggrieved here.”

“Just from this, I’m a good person?”

“Could Master be a villain?”

Huo Liuxing leaned forward, gazing at her tenderly, yet his words came out measured: “Actually… hard to say.”

Shen Lingzhen’s heart skipped an inexplicable beat. Stimulated by the vague chill in his tone, she shrank backward. But in the next instant, she saw him smile openly and candidly: “Just teasing you. Did you take it seriously?” He wheeled his chair to the bedside and jerked his chin. “All right, come here. Take off your shoes and socks.”

Shen Lingzhen had not yet recovered from the shock of that instant and remained where she was without moving: “What for?”

“To cure your nightmares. Didn’t you just have a bad dream?”

She made a sound of acknowledgment and sat over in a daze. Hesitating as she removed her shoes and socks, just as she was about to ask how to cure it, she suddenly felt warmth at her ankle.

His palm had covered her ankle.

Shen Lingzhen was startled and immediately pulled her foot back.

Huo Liuxing relaxed his hand slightly and smiled: “Don’t be afraid. I’m just pressing the Shangqiu and Taiyin Intersection acupoints.” As he spoke, he grasped her ankle again.

This time Shen Lingzhen did not pull away, but she still felt uncomfortable. Her shoulders and arms stiffened awkwardly, and even her breathing stopped. Only when she lowered her head to watch that hand with distinct knuckles, seeing him use his thumb to massage the inside of her ankle with even pressure, like a physician focused solely on his task, did she relax slightly.

After all, she had been accustomed to being attended to since childhood, so she did not remain tense the entire time. She asked: “Seeing Master’s skilled technique, have you studied medicine?”

“Just became a physician through prolonged illness.” He shook his head and moved his hand up a few inches to the inside of her calf.

This position made Shen Lingzhen so ticklish she shivered.

“Ticklish?” He paused and looked up to ask.

She nodded, thinking he would considerately let go, but instead saw him quickly lower his head and continue: “You’ll get used to it. This won’t show results in just a day or two. From now on, I’ll press these points for you regularly so you can sleep well at night.”

As he made this gentle promise, Shen Lingzhen forgot about the ticklish sensation but felt hot instead. Her face burned in waves, and her back showed faint signs of breaking into a sweat.

She pressed the back of her hand against her flushed cheeks. Huo Liuxing looked up again: “I didn’t have you drink much just now. Are you already feeling it?”

Only then did Shen Lingzhen realize it was the alcohol taking effect.

She said: “I’ve never touched alcohol before. Is this what people call being drunk?”

“Not quite drunk, but looking at you like this, another two sips and it would be about right.” He smiled and shook his head. “I won’t dare let you touch alcohol in the future.”

——

But thanks to that wine, Shen Lingzhen quickly became dizzy and light-headed. When the two later shared the bed and quilt, lying down with pillows side by side, she didn’t even have time to feel constrained before she quickly fell into deep slumber.

A peaceful night’s sleep.

When she opened her eyes in the morning, there was no one beside the bed, yet the daylight was already bright. Shen Lingzhen’s heart sank as she called toward the curtain: “Nanny, what time is it?”

Nanny Ji responded and entered: “Young Madam, it’s the middle of the hour of the rabbit.” After the wedding ceremony was completed, the servants had changed their forms of address. “The young master said you’ve been working hard for days. Now is the time when you’re craving sleep, so he ordered this old servant to wake you later.”

Shen Lingzhen threw off the bedding and hurriedly got down from the bed: “How can I sleep late?”

A new bride entering the household should go offer tea to the elders early the next morning.

Nanny Ji brought the clothing that had long been prepared and explained: “The Dingbian Army is unsettled. The master departed north overnight and is no longer in the manor.”

The Dingbian Army was even closer to Xiqiang than Qingzhou—it was the true military stronghold of the Great Qi border.

Huo Liuxing’s father currently served as Military Commissioner of the Dingbian Army. Throughout the year, he didn’t spend many days at home in Qingyang. Although the position of Military Commissioner, which could be called an “earth emperor” in the previous dynasty, had been repeatedly weakened in Great Qi—now stripped clean of military and political power, with status completely incomparable to before—the hard and exhausting work had not diminished at all. Such rushing about was a common occurrence.

“But Mother-in-law should be here,” Shen Lingzhen said.

“Madam has a habit of rising early to practice martial arts. She’s still at the training grounds now. Even if you went, you wouldn’t see anyone.”

No wonder Huo Liuxing wasn’t in a hurry.

Shen Lingzhen absentmindedly wondered what the situation at the border might be. After she finished dressing and washing, she happened to see Huo Liuxing lifting the curtain and entering.

He wore a sky-blue robe with bamboo leaf patterns and a straight hem, his hair bound with a jade crown. Sitting in his wheelchair, he watched from afar with a smile as maidservants arranged her hair in a bun.

Shen Lingzhen saw him through the bronze mirror. Thinking that this was the person who had shared her bed last night, she felt somewhat uncomfortable for a moment. But then, thinking of more important matters, she put aside these small household concerns, turned her head, and asked him: “Master, has warfare broken out at the border?”

Huo Liuxing shook his head: “A drought has erupted in Yan and Hong, the two southern provinces of Xiqiang.”

Shen Lingzhen nodded with a grave expression, looking somewhat worried.

As for why a drought in those two provinces of a foreign nation would imperil the Great Qi border, Huo Liuxing had not actually explained the full cause and effect. But seeing her expression, she had clearly comprehended everything in an instant.

He said in surprise: “You have insights? Why not share them?”

This tone resembled the old master at the Shen family’s private school who often tested Shen Lingzhen.

She came back to herself and shook her head to indicate it was nothing. Her answer was also like that of an obedient student: “I am but a sheltered woman. I dare not presume to discuss political affairs.”

Huo Liuxing did not press her: “Then let’s not worry about these matters.”

He waited patiently at the side. Shen Lingzhen instructed the maidservants to work more quickly. Once her hair bun was finished, she left the courtyard with him to offer tea to Madam Huo Yu Wanjiang, who had returned from martial practice.

Last night, Shen Lingzhen had been welcomed in holding a silk fan and had not been able to see the manor’s appearance clearly. Now in the bright daylight, she finally saw it clearly.

A courtyard with three sections, long corridors and broad covered walkways—spacious and open. But like the bedroom, the furnishings were extremely sparse. Compared to the luxurious decorations of Bianjing mansions, this place lacked ostentation. At most, one could see wood carvings of single colors—refined yet also cold and austere.

Under the eaves, a servant pushed Huo Liuxing from behind while she followed alongside, observing all the way.

Noticing her gaze, Huo Liuxing smiled and said: “It’s not as magnificent as the Shen manor, but this place has vast land and few people. The size of the residence is also incomparable to ordinary Bianjing households. When we have time later, I’ll show you the training grounds at home.”

Shen Lingzhen smiled: “Wonderful! I’ve never been to such a place before.”

Huo Liuxing turned his head to look at her.

After all, she was a young girl who had only just reached the age of hairpin not long ago—truly married quite early. The childish joy on her face at this moment was utterly incongruous with her married woman’s appearance of straight-collared crossed-front jacket, high hair bun, and all.

“Master looks at me this way—have I dressed incorrectly somewhere?”

“Looking at you, it does seem wrong, just like a half-grown child secretly wearing her mother’s clothes.”

“This can’t be helped,” Shen Lingzhen grew embarrassed. “Who told me to marry you, Master…”

Because she was in such good spirits about being able to observe the training grounds, in her relaxed state she accidentally voiced her private complaint aloud.

Huo Liuxing was startled, then laughed aloud: “It sounds like I’m at fault. Then just dress as you did before from now on.”

She shook her head seriously: “That wouldn’t conform to propriety.”

“When you go outside, naturally you should observe common propriety. But in the Huo manor, my word is propriety.”

Shen Lingzhen could not help glancing at him sideways. This bearing—truly unlike someone who had sat in a wheelchair for ten years as an invalid.

She had previously heard from her imperial grandmother that the Huo family had been generals for three generations in the previous dynasty, with outstanding talents in every generation. Huo Liuxing in his youth had also become famous throughout Great Qi for his military achievements. Last night, seeing his temperament as warm and smooth as jade, she could not detect at all that he had once served alongside soldiers and horses. She had thought the old lady was exaggerating, but now it seemed those words were not false.

She was somewhat moved: “Then I’ll listen to you, Master. However, most of the clothes I brought on this journey are in married woman’s styles.”

“Another day I’ll take you to have new clothes made. I have two younger sisters, one seventeen and one ten years old. You can accompany them shopping together then.”

Just as he finished speaking, a series of clear, rolling sounds suddenly came from the roof above, drawing near. In just an instant, Huo Liuxing yanked Shen Lingzhen away from under the eaves. One of the two maidservants following behind her steadied her, while the other raised her hand and firmly caught an empty wine jar descending from above.

Shen Lingzhen didn’t even have time to cry out before the sudden incident had already passed. When she saw clearly the wine jar that had originally been about to smash her foot, her face turned deathly pale, completely bloodless.

The two maidservants’ faces showed anger. Had they not been mindful of Huo Liuxing as their young master, they would have immediately shouted upward in reproach.

The servant pushing the wheelchair was also extremely shocked and hastily stopped. Huo Liuxing’s face looked as if it had frozen over with a layer of frost. He first asked Shen Lingzhen if she was hurt. Seeing her shake her head to indicate she was fine, he then said to someone behind him: “Kongqing, go look.”

The servant called Kongqing immediately went around to look upward, then reported back with difficulty: “Young Master, it’s the eldest miss up there. I’m afraid she drank too much at last night’s celebration banquet. She seems quite drunk and unclear, sprawled on the roof ridge…”

“Outrageous!” Huo Liuxing rebuked in a low voice. “Have someone ‘invite’ the eldest miss down, ‘serve’ her tea and water to sober up, then ‘escort’ her to the front hall to apologize to the young madam.”

This was the first time he had shown anger in front of Shen Lingzhen. Though the words sounded polite and courteous, each one seemed to carry wind and rain.

But Shen Lingzhen, thinking that this “eldest miss” should be Huo Liuxing’s seventeen-year-old younger sister, had no intention of causing such unpleasantness right upon entering the household. She said: “A drunken person’s unintentional mistake—it doesn’t matter.”

Huo Liuxing did not respond. He only pulled her to his other side: “You walk on the inside.” Touching her ice-cold palm, he frowned again. “Were you badly frightened? Better go back to your room and rest. As for Mother, I’ll go greet her.”

She shook her head: “I’m fine.”

A servant had gone ahead to the front hall and reported the entire incident in detail to Madam Huo Yu Wanjiang.

When Shen Lingzhen went to pay respects and offer tea, Yu Wanjiang produced a heavy rosewood jewelry box, saying it was a meeting gift. Sighing, she said: “Good child, you were frightened. Shuyi has always been willful and acts without method. I blame myself as her mother for failing to teach my daughter properly, nearly causing a great disaster today.” She then turned to Huo Liuxing: “Liuxing, Mother apologizes to you both on Shuyi’s behalf. This time, how to punish her is your decision.”

Yu Wanjiang’s manner of speaking was strangely distant. Others hearing it for the first time would likely be thoroughly confused. But before coming, Shen Lingzhen had inquired with her imperial grandmother about the Huo family’s situation and roughly understood the reason behind it.

In truth, Huo Liuxing’s birth mother and eldest brother had both passed away many years ago. Yu Shi was his stepmother, who had remarried into the Huo manor bringing two daughters from her previous husband. After that, she had no more children.

Yu Wanjiang smiled and grasped Shen Lingzhen’s hand, asking with concern several times whether she had slept soundly last night and if there was anything she was not accustomed to.

She answered each question. Remembering that Huo Liuxing had just said he would have Huo Shuyi come to the front hall to apologize, worried that a young lady would be unable to save face in public, she adopted a weary demeanor before the girl arrived.

Yu Wanjiang indeed said: “You’ve worked so hard coming all this way from afar. Rest more. Later you’ll still need to see off your two older male relatives with Liuxing. Hurry and have your morning meal.”

She took the opportunity to take her leave. She glanced at Huo Liuxing and saw him smile gently: “You go first. I have a few words to say to Mother.”

Shen Lingzhen nodded and left. After the people in the front hall had all dispersed, Huo Liuxing’s expression did not look good.

Seeing his expression, Yu Wanjiang guessed: “Liuxing, was that wine jar deliberately done by Shuyi?”

Huo Liuxing nodded.

With his hearing, he had long detected someone on the roof and guessed the truth. That was why he had deliberately mentioned Huo Shuyi to Shen Lingzhen, hinting that this younger sister should not act rashly.

“This is truly outrageous!” Yu Wanjiang sighed. “The Emperor’s intentions are difficult to fathom, and Grand Princess of Zhengguo is no simple character either. This imperially bestowed marriage is absolutely not simple behind the scenes. Now the household has so many outsiders, and we have yet to penetrate the Shen family daughter’s character. We must be careful at every turn, yet on the very first day she causes such a great disaster! Liuxing, when Mother told you to punish her, it wasn’t an act for the Shen daughter—it was from the heart. Shuyi’s temperament needs proper tempering. If she makes a misstep, it could ruin the overall situation. If you’re worried she’ll cause more trouble, Mother will send her to Junxian Abbey outside the city. What do you think?”

Huo Liuxing shook his head: “Let’s discuss this matter further. You need not make any moves for the time being.”

Yu Wanjiang nodded. After a moment of silence, she said: “Then Mother won’t interfere much. But I must ask you one thing—last night, you and the Shen daughter…”

“We did not consummate the marriage, nor will we in the future.” Huo Liuxing gazed at the window lattice and blinked lightly. “Rest assured. Regarding the way of husband and wife, I have my own sense of propriety.”

After speaking, Huo Liuxing took his leave and departed, returning to the courtyard.

Just as he entered the study, a man dressed in tight-fitting short martial attire stepped forward and cupped his hands toward him: “Young Master, this humble one investigated all night. Before marrying, except for entering the palace, the young madam hardly stepped out the main gate or the second gate, much less left Bianjing city. Her saying you looked familiar should just be coincidence—she couldn’t have truly seen you somewhere.”

Huo Liuxing nodded. Seeing he seemed to have more to say, he jerked his chin to indicate he should speak.

“However, this humble one discovered something rather strange. More than a month ago, the young madam accompanied Duke Yingguo to play at Peach Blossom Valley. On that day, both the Shen and Xue families dispatched quite a few manor guards. At night, the palace’s Imperial Guards also mobilized a group. I don’t know if something happened. Does the young master think it necessary to continue investigating deeply?”

Huo Liuxing fell silent for a moment, then shook his head: “Use the spies in the capital where it matters most. She’s just a young girl—no need to pay too much attention.”