That night, the moon hung like a hook in the sky. Insects chirped softly, and in the open courtyard, green trees cast their shade while summer flowers bloomed in profusion.
Under the flickering candlelight of the pavilion, Shen Yuance and Jiang Zhiyi sat facing each other across a stone table. After a long silence, he looked at her with a testing gaze: “So this is what you meant by… facing storms together, sharing life and death?”
Jiang Zhiyi sat with shoulders squared, hands folded in front of her, her posture dignified as she nodded: “What? Having second thoughts already?”
“If these are the storms we’d face, I think—”
Shen Yuance lowered his eyes to observe the scene before him, which resembled a battlefield after gunfire. He carefully examined this table of charcoal-black meat, charcoal-black fish, charcoal-black vegetables, and soup with floating charcoal-black unidentified particles. Those who knew would recognize this as a farewell meal; those who didn’t might mistake it for a condemned prisoner’s last meal…
“Perhaps…” Shen Yuance slowly raised his head, “We could do without such storms?”
Jiang Zhiyi lowered her head, staring at the ground: “This is the first time in my life these feet have entered a kitchen.”
Shen Yuance followed her gaze to the new pearl-tipped shoes she had changed into, and nodded. The previous pair had gone in white and come out black—presumably no longer wearable.
“And it’s the first time these hands have braved smoke, climbed knife mountains, descended into fire seas, and entered boiling oil.”
Shen Yuance looked at her outstretched hands—fingers like scallions, nails adorned with beautiful henna—and nodded again. If he hadn’t miscounted, those hands had been washed seven times before returning to their original state.
Jiang Zhiyi looked at him with watery, pitiful eyes: “I went through all this fire and water for you.”
Shen Yuance nodded for the third time: “I’m deeply moved.”
Jiang Zhiyi picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of meat that had been drained of all moisture and was as thin as a twig: “Since we’re to face storms together, share life and death, why don’t we…”
Shen Yuance wasn’t particularly concerned with good food. During his days wandering in the wilderness, merely filling his stomach had been satisfaction enough. But even in the harshest times, when he’d had no time to hunt and had to pick wild fruits to stave off hunger, he hadn’t eaten anything quite like this—
“Try it, Brother A-Ce?”
“…”
Shen Yuance’s temple twitched. After a moment of silence, he hesitantly rolled up his sleeves and picked up his chopsticks: “…Alright.”
With each holding a piece of meat to their mouths, Jiang Zhiyi and Shen Yuance stared intently at each other, taking deep breaths, hesitating for a moment—
“Forget it, you’re right,” Jiang Zhiyi, staring at the meat jerky capable of destroying one’s will, put down her chopsticks. “We can do without this storm. The thought is what counts.”
Shen Yuance’s exhaled breath slowly sank into his lower abdomen: “It counts, and it’s all in your Brother A-Ce’s heart.”
Jiang Zhiyi nodded and raised her hands, clapping them twice with a clear sound.
A line of maids entered in a flowing procession, removing the blackened dishes and replacing them with colorful dishes. First, they placed a bowl of niangpi in front of Shen Yuance.
The translucent, yellow, elastic skin was covered with bright red, flavorful sauce, complemented by well-seasoned gluten and green cucumber shreds.
Jiang Zhiyi pointed: “This sauce I made myself according to the kitchen’s instructions, not missing a single ingredient. I poured the hot oil and mixed the skin myself. This one is edible.”
Shen Yuance lowered his head, slightly surprised: “Why niangpi?”
“Don’t you like to eat this?” Jiang Zhiyi tilted her head, looking at him.
Shen Yuance then remembered how in April, while away on business, he had jokingly claimed in a letter that he had been detained by the niangpi of Jincheng, wanting to give her a surprise on his return.
But in reality, niangpi, being such an inexpensive food, was available everywhere in Hexi. It had merely been something he had eaten casually to fill his stomach before traveling that night.
To be honest, when it came to food, for him, there were only things that satisfied hunger and things that didn’t quite satisfy hunger. He couldn’t say he had any favorites. However—
Shen Yuance blinked and picked up some niangpi with his chopsticks: “From tonight onward, it is true.”
The night breeze blew gently, causing the candlelight in the pavilion to flicker. The two enjoyed a dinner that seemed to last an eternity. Afterward, Jiang Zhiyi rose first to bathe, saying she needed to wash away the smell of smoke and fire.
In the distance, where the lights were growing dim, Li Dafeng, who had been waiting for a long time, sighed and approached: “If you hadn’t finished soon, I would have come to eat for you.”
Shen Yuance glanced at him sideways: “What fortune would you have with that?”
Li Dafeng had been there for a while, and Shen Yuance had seen him long ago. But since Li Dafeng hadn’t approached, it probably wasn’t urgent. Rarely did this man show consideration for lovers about to be separated, so Shen Yuance had ignored him.
“The prescription has been sent out. This lung condition can be either severe or mild. I’ve instructed my apprentice in detail and arranged for him to return to the capital with the princess tomorrow.” Li Dafeng sat down on the stone bench.
“I understand. Did you come specially to tell me this?”
“I came by to see what General Shen looks like when he’s disheartened.”
“What do I have to be disheartened about?” Shen Yuance pointed to the empty bowl in front of him. “I have niangpi made by my fiancée to eat. Do you?”
“Eating too much niangpi is harmless, but if the two of you intend to grow old together, I’d advise against eating those charred things from earlier.”
“I know that without Doctor Li’s instruction.”
“Is that so? I thought her lips could work magic. With one ‘Brother A-Ce,’ she could make you give her your life.”
“…”
Shen Yuance narrowed his eyes urgently: “What did you come for?”
Li Dafeng took out a small box from his wide sleeve: “Since the princess happens to be returning to the capital, there’s something I’d like to trouble General Shen to have the princess take to Chang’an for me.”
Shen Yuance snorted with laughter: “Take it where in Chang’an?”
“The princess will know.”
“My fiancée is innocent and doesn’t understand your complicated hearts.”
Li Dafeng shook his head and, with the sigh of someone making a request, said deliberately: “The Princess’s residence.”
“Which princess?”
“Princess Baojia.”
Shen Yuance accepted the box: “I thought good people were always the ones being pursued. It seems good people sometimes deliver gifts, too?”
“July is her birthday. She asked for this in the first month.”
Shen Yuance nodded thoughtfully. Seeing Li Dafeng stand up to leave, he called out to him: “You still remember what she said four months ago?”
Li Dafeng turned back: “Does General Shen have any objections?”
Shen Yuance stood up, hands behind his back, and took two steps forward. With his back to Li Dafeng, he cleared his throat: “I want to ask, how do you maintain your feelings when separated by a thousand li over a long time? Is there any special method before parting…”
Li Dafeng laughed lightly: “I don’t think you need to worry about your feelings fading. The princess doesn’t need any special methods.”
Who needs them? Isn’t it obvious? Shen Yuance turned his head to glance at him.
“If I gave you this method, you probably wouldn’t want to use it.” Li Dafeng shook his head.
“What do you mean?”
Li Dafeng patted his shoulder with a significant air: “Of all human sensations, physical pain is the most profound and difficult to forget.”
Jiang Zhiyi bathed several times in the bathhouse, finally washing away the smoky smell acquired in the kitchen that day.
Earlier that evening, she had asked Jing Zhe and the others what she could do to make Shen Yuance remember her more often when they were separated and he was busy with countless affairs. They had told her that a common saying suggests that to capture a man’s heart, one should first capture his stomach. So she had decided to leave him with an unforgettable taste.
Had she known it would be inedible anyway, she wouldn’t have done such a foolish thing…
Jiang Zhiyi sighed as she came out of the bathhouse and saw someone lying on the bed—
Shen Yuance had bathed and changed into a light lounging robe. He was lying on the outer side of the bed, resting with his arm as a pillow and his eyes closed.
The maids attending them knew the master and mistress needed to be alone tonight, so they quietly withdrew, closing the bedroom door.
Jiang Zhiyi also lightened her footsteps as she approached. At the bedside, she bent down to look at him. Seeing him so quiet, as if asleep, she carefully climbed onto the bed, avoiding disturbing him.
Just as she was about to step over him, suddenly the world turned upside down. She was flipped over and fell into the soft bedding.
With her black hair spread across the pillow and her snow-white nightgown in disarray, Shen Yuance was above her, his arms supporting him at her sides. His gaze was clear, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
“You weren’t asleep…” Jiang Zhiyi raised her eyes, her words cut off halfway by a burning kiss.
Her lips were moistened, and the familiar taste advanced like an invading army. Jiang Zhiyi opened her mouth to finish what she was saying, but found it no longer important. She closed her eyes, raised her arms, and tightly embraced his neck.
Her thin sleeves slid down, revealing a pair of dazzlingly white wrists. As her snowy skin brushed against the back of his neck, it triggered waves of trembling. Shen Yuance looked down at her, deepening the kiss, nibbling and devouring, once again showing his “man-eating” posture.
But this time, Jiang Zhiyi’s chest was full of reluctance to part, also eager for release. Not only did she not retreat, but she pressed down on his neck, inexpertly kissing him back.
Their noses bumped against each other, and their lips and teeth collided. Heat spread, sweat soaked through their clothes, and their breathing alternated high and low. The moist sounds of their entanglement echoed between the floating bed curtains.
Jiang Zhiyi gradually felt her strength ebbing from her limbs, and her arms slowly slipped from around him.
Shen Yuance placed her jade arms back around his neck with one hand, while the other moved downward, finding a thin strap and gently pulling it.
Amid the burning heat, her lips were suddenly released, followed by a coolness at her front.
Jiang Zhiyi abruptly opened her eyes and looked down. Seeing her nightgown open, her mind exploded with a thunderous sound. She quickly crossed her arms to cover herself, her eyes widening in shock.
Shen Yuance lowered his head, staring at the snowy rise half-exposed beyond her pale yellow undergarment. Seeing how those mountains heaved with her rapid breathing, almost bursting forth, his gaze intensified.
Jiang Zhiyi, noticing where his eyes had fallen and the turbulent desire in them, felt her face burning hot.
In an instant, the images from the book she had seen that day flashed through her mind. It seemed like the same situation as now. Jiang Zhiyi panicked: “What-what are you doing… You’re not going to…”
Shen Yuance raised his eyes, his voice rough: “That’s something done on the wedding night.”
“Then-then what are you—”
“Take your hands away, and I’ll tell you.”
Dazed and confused, Jiang Zhiyi was bewitched by his coaxing eyes and hesitantly removed her hands.
Shen Yuance looked at her for a moment, then bent his neck and lowered his head to suck on the thin skin at the edge of that snowy rise.
A flash of white light seemed to pass before her eyes. Jiang Zhiyi trembled all over, her eyes wide open as she tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling.
Shen Yuance gradually increased his pressure, as if wanting to leave a mark on the place closest to her heart.
As fine, needle-like pain came, heart-piercing pain mixed with heart-piercing numbness and tickling. Amid her drifting consciousness, broken, light moans escaped Jiang Zhiyi’s lips. Looking down at the top of his head, at where his nose pressed against her, her fingers were tightly gripped the bedding.
By the time her knuckles had turned white, Shen Yuance finally released her and raised his head.
In a moment of dizziness with stars dancing before her eyes, Jiang Zhiyi breathed lightly and met his gaze.
“…Does it hurt?” Shen Yuance asked softly.
Tears welled in the corners of Jiang Zhiyi’s eyes: “It hurts—”
“Then remember me well.”