“I don’t know. I don’t remember promising anything,” Song Wan said with a faint smile, pushing Shen Qianyu away.

“There are dishes prepared on the table, still being kept warm. Wash your hands and come eat quickly. If they go cold, you’ll easily get stomach pain in the evening.”

Shen Qianyu let out a light snort, released Song Wan, and went to wash his hands.

Today the small kitchen had prepared pork tenderloin, wine-fermented shrimp, bamboo shoots, and chilled cakes. The two of them weren’t particular about food and usually took their meals at Changle Palace.

As they sat down, Shen Qianyu reached out and picked up a wine-fermented shrimp from the blue and white porcelain plate decorated with peach branch and crane patterns, beginning to shell it for Song Wan.

“Have your younger sisters at home been discussing marriage matches? I noticed you seemed in good spirits earlier.”

After Shen Qianyu finished speaking, just as he was about to place the shelled shrimp into Song Wan’s bowl, before he could move, Song Wan placed another shelled shrimp into his bowl.

“Today Song Ni from the second branch had a meeting with Shang Thirteen of the Shang Family. It seems this match will be settled.”

Taking the shrimp from Shen Qianyu’s hand into her bowl, Song Wan smiled faintly.

The couple often had such synchronized actions. At first they would be surprised by their shared understanding and even secretly feel sweetness, but over time they felt this must be the normal state for ordinary married couples.

Shen Qianyu knew Song Wan didn’t like to eat troublesome foods, so he brought the dish with chilled cakes before him and used a silver spoon to scoop them into easily manageable small pieces.

While doing this, Shen Qianyu said: “Do you know that today Yan’er came looking for me and complained for quite a while?”

“What does he have to complain about?”

“The day before, Imperial Noble Consort Shang assigned him lessons. He tried to hide at Zhao Nanzhang’s palace, but not only did he fail to escape the lessons, he was dragged into learning archery for the entire day.”

“It seems he started from learning the horse stance.”

Song Wan laughed lightly at this: “He should have hidden at Baozhen’s palace instead. Baozhen dotes on him and couldn’t bear to tire him out. Going there for a day, he’d always get to rest for half of it.”

“I told him the same thing, but unexpectedly when Yan’er heard this, he cried even harder.”

“He said Zhang Baozhen had somehow become obsessed with tailoring clothes and making shoes. When he went there, the young eunuchs dragged him to change outfits for half the day.”

At this point Shen Qianyu paused: “He said there were dozens of sets. I think he was exaggerating.”

“So he ran to you?”

“He said he also looked for Wan Xiao in between, but I had no heart to listen further.”

Seeing Song Wan’s face full of amusement, Shen Qianyu said: “I sent Yan’er to Qi Qingling’s place. Tonight no one will come disturb us two.”

Song Wan’s face reddened and for a moment she had no words.

Seeing she had eaten her fill, Shen Qianyu pulled her to the washing stand and took a cloth to wipe clean her ten fingers.

Song Wan watched his movements and said softly: “I’ll call Heng Zhi to undo my hair.”

“I’ll undo it for you.”

Carefully removing the hairpin from her head, Shen Qianyu then gently and tenderly unwound the strands of hair entangled around it bit by bit.

“I’ve noticed Heng Zhi’s eyesight has gotten increasingly poor. Several times she’s pulled out some of your hair, yet you’ve never said anything about it.”

“When women wear hairpins, what’s so unusual about breaking one or two strands? Her hands are already extremely gentle. I’ve never felt pain.”

After Song Wan finished speaking, she continued warmly: “When I first went to the Marquis residence, we master and servants huddled together in Longxiang Studio. In that first year my heart was restless and I couldn’t sleep well at night, so I often lit candles to read and practice calligraphy.”

“If I didn’t rest, the attendants had to stay up to wait on me. Nanny Zhao was elderly, and the other girls were young, so Heng Zhi let them go rest while she stayed to keep me company herself.”

“When I read, she would embroider. Perhaps her eyes were damaged then.”

“Then from now on I’ll undo your hair.”

Knowing she had deep sisterly affection with Heng Zhi, Shen Qianyu said nothing more. He carefully loosened Song Wan’s hair bun and took a white jade comb to gently brush her hair until it was smooth.

Tying her hair with a bright yellow silk ribbon, Shen Qianyu asked: “Does it feel tight?”

“No, it’s just right like this.”

Song Wan looked at the man in the bronze mirror whose expression was solemn and earnest, as if doing some important task, and suddenly said softly: “Husband, could you tell Wan’er about your situation when you first went to Nanqing?”

When he went to Nanqing, he was merely a young child.

To leave home at such a tender age—Song Wan very much wanted to know what he had experienced in his youth.

In the past she couldn’t bear to ask, but today she felt a bit curious.

“Nanqing?”

Shen Qianyu said: “There was nothing particularly special about it.”

“When I arrived in Nanqing I was still quite young. I only remember that right after arriving at the Nanqing palace I fell gravely ill. Uncle Yan took care of me for nearly a year. By the time my illness was cured, I had already adapted to life in Nanqing.”

“Though sending a young son as a hostage seems cruel…”

Shen Qianyu paused slightly, then gave a scornful laugh: “It was also fortunate in a way.”

The faint bitterness in his tone made Song Wan’s heart clench.

Being a hostage in youth must have been extremely difficult.

Yet also because of his youth, still having no particular attachment to or memories of his homeland and relatives, after merely a year he had adapted to the customs and culture of another nation—truly heartbreaking.

Song Wan looked at Shen Qianyu and couldn’t help but place her hand over the scar she had soothed countless times.

If it were an ordinary child, at five or six years old going to an enemy nation, he should have long forgotten his homeland.

Wearing another nation’s clothes, eating another nation’s food, learning another nation’s customs… if that place had treated him with even half a measure of warmth, Shen Qianyu wouldn’t harbor half a sentiment for Dongning.

It must be that every single day and night in Nanqing made him feel intensely painful, which is why that homeland ten thousand miles away could become what his heart longed for.

Likely it was the thought of returning to Dongning that sustained his entire will to live, which is why years later it allowed Shen Qianyu to be so attached to the people of Dongning and this homeland.

Song Wan could even imagine young Shen Qianyu alone in a corner ten thousand miles from home, secretly longing for home yet having no one to miss.

“Husband, you must have suffered greatly in your youth.”

Song Wan stood up and wrapped her arms around Shen Qianyu’s waist: “When I was young I felt fate was unfair, but now thinking back, there is no such thing as fairness in this world.”

“All people suffer, all living beings suffer.”

“But after bitterness, there will always come a day of sweetness.”

Shen Qianyu embraced Song Wan, tenderly stroking her hair: “There is no such thing as instant success in this world. For a real man to stand tall and proud is ordinary. All kinds of hardship are merely trials and tempering in life’s journey—once passed through, that’s all there is to it.”

“So Wan’er need not feel sorry for me. Your husband does not suffer.”

Actually, how could he not have felt the suffering?

When he saw Uncle Yan daily having the palace’s bestowed pastries and jewels sent to Yan Qing, watching Qin Rao being protected daily in Qin Zhan’s embrace, watching the mother of Liu Changque hide soft, greasy sugar cakes in her bosom and walk for days on end just to let him taste something from home—how could he not feel it was bitter?

But when he came to know Wan Xiao and realized that in this world there were always people living even more difficult lives than himself, he felt it wasn’t quite so bitter anymore.

When he met Song Wan and discovered that even as a woman she could turn her desperate situation around and carve out a path for herself, he felt that remaining bit of bitterness didn’t amount to much.

And now with fragrant soft jade in his embrace, able to appreciate spring rain and winter snow with his beloved every day and discuss daily trivialities, he felt—what suffering was there in life?

Clearly everything was sweet.

Shen Qianyu lowered his head and kissed Song Wan’s forehead gently and tenderly.

“I don’t feel bitter. I have Wan’er. Wan’er can offset all the world’s unwillingness to accept fate and all suffering.”