This year’s cold wind was destined not to blow for too long. The warmth of the human world would quickly melt the frozen ice. Chang’an was filled everywhere with wandering crowds. When Yun Huan emerged from the steaming bun shop, the sky had already darkened somewhat. He hadn’t gone to school all day today, and he didn’t know whether his mother would find out.
He hated going to school, hated every word that came out of the teacher’s mouth. He would rather read books than listen to the teacher explain those tedious principles. In his view, even hunting on the mountain was far better than studying.
Yun Huan was completely different from his older brother Yun Shou. At such a young age, he already displayed an extraordinary personality. What he loved most was staying with girls, like the daughter of this bun shop owner.
He had ordered a steamer basket of buns since morning and sat idly until evening. Only when he absolutely had to return home did he reluctantly leave the bun shop. Naturally, he didn’t eat the food in the bun shop—the buns here couldn’t compare at all with those at home. This was already his third day coming to the bun shop.
On the way home, Yun Huan stared at the clouds in a daze, bumping into passersby without even noticing. He was contemplating a very important question: why did he have to marry Cheng Huahua?
To be honest, if Huahua didn’t like wielding battle axes, she would be quite a lovely beauty. But why did she have to love wielding battle axes? The moment a girl picked up a battle axe, all her beauty completely vanished, leaving only fierceness.
This marriage arrangement had been personally decided by Father. Grandfather Cheng and Uncle Cheng had both agreed to it, so no one could change it. If Mother had arranged it, perhaps he could have discussed it with Father and there might still be room for negotiation. But since Father had personally come forward, even the immortal gods could do nothing about it.
Three days ago, Father had sent a letter back from the distant Western Regions. He hadn’t mentioned his own affairs, only demanding that Mother send the betrothal gifts to the Cheng family right away to firmly finalize the marriage.
Just as Yun Huan was lamenting, his ear suddenly tightened. His eldest sister Yun Mu appeared before him, grabbing his ear and refusing to let go.
“Xiao Huan, you’re dead! Mother is furiously angry at home. Big Brother and I have both been sent out to find you. You can’t escape today’s beating, so hurry back with me.”
“Why are you looking for me instead of Steward Qian and the others?”
“Nice try! How many times have you played tricks on Steward Qian? Let me tell you, Sister Xiao Wu is also there today. I heard Mother say with her own mouth that she’s preparing to have Xiao Wu personally teach you.”
“Oh!” Upon hearing this, Yun Huan immediately let out a miserable cry. No one in this world was as terrifying as Sister Xiao Wu. From childhood to now, he had always grown up in Sister Xiao Wu’s shadow.
Sister Shishi was very nice. She would bring him many fun things and delicious treats, giving him whatever he wanted. She would even accompany him to hunt in the mountains. But Sister Xiao Wu was different—she was simply a demon who devoured people without spitting out bones.
Yun Huan couldn’t fight against Yun Mu, so he could only obediently follow his sister home with his head hanging low. When they reached the front gate, he saw servants from the Di family carrying large and small bundles of luggage. Yun Huan’s face twitched twice. This was complete disaster—Sister Xiao Wu was planning to stay at home for a while. It seemed everything Yun Mu had said was coming true.
He would rather endure a beating from Mother than suffer endless torment under Xiao Wu’s hands. This was because whether in intelligence or martial strength, he was no match for Sister Xiao Wu. Most terrifying of all, she had some kind of itching powder. He had merely stolen her garment to smell it once, but ended up getting hit by it. He itched for an entire day. Even bathing eight times in one day couldn’t relieve it. He didn’t dare tell anyone else, so he could only toss and turn alone in his room.
Yun Huan loved beautiful flowers, melodious music, rich fragrances, beautiful people—almost all beautiful things in the world. Of course, except for the beautiful Sister Xiao Wu. Yun Huan had discovered that Sister Xiao Wu possessed a special quality: wickedness. She was extremely wicked.
The reason he liked going to that bun shop was that he loved watching the young girl surrounded by swirling steam. He felt that in that moment, the young girl was like a celestial goddess descending to earth, so beautiful she defied description.
“Kneel down!”
Hearing this familiar voice, Yun Huan habitually knelt down. Then came the burning sensation of the feather duster striking his body. In the depths of winter, wearing thick clothing, and with Mother’s strength insufficient to really hurt him—he couldn’t cry out now. He had to wait until Mother calmed down.
Very strange—today there was actually no punishment forbidding him to eat. He had already prepared himself for it, but now suddenly there was none. This made Yun Huan’s heart rise with vigilant suspicion.
“Xiao Huan, from now on you must be obedient and properly study with your sister. Don’t be naughty anymore. Look how angry you’ve made your teacher’s wife! From now on, you must change, understand?”
All of Mother’s beating couldn’t compare to Sister Xiao Wu’s two sentences. In this household, Sister Xiao Wu could practically make half the decisions. The eldest young lady of the family was nominally Yun Mu, but really it was Xiao Wu. Even though she had long since married, she was still so detestable.
“Teacher’s wife, actually our Xiao Huan has already grown into a big young man. Last time he secretly smelled my clothes, knowing how to distinguish powder fragrances—this is a problem only big young men have.”
Hearing this sentence, Yun Huan closed his eyes, knowing the storm was coming. Sure enough, the feather duster fell on him again. This time it really hurt—Mother had used all her strength.
“I can’t control you anymore! Your father is campaigning in the Western Regions, and I as your mother manage such a large household. I’ve neglected disciplining you, but who knew you’d become such a depraved wretch! Xiao Wu is your sister—how can you behave so outrageously?” Hearing what Xiao Wu said, Xinyue nearly collapsed.
Xiao Wu pulled Xinyue aside and said quietly, “Teacher’s wife, haven’t you misunderstood? Why do you call Xiao Huan a depraved wretch just because he smelled my clothes? When I was young, I also liked to do this—I liked smelling your clothes and Teacher’s clothes. Does that mean I’m also a depraved wretch? I just wanted to find a sense of intimacy from the scent on the clothes. For Xiao Wu, the scent on you two’s clothes can make me feel peaceful. I’ve always kept one of Teacher’s garments in my room, and I even like to wear it when there’s nothing to do. Don’t you have the habit of smelling your father or brother’s clothes?”
At this moment, Xinyue was completely dumbfounded. She could only stand there rigidly, listening to Xiao Wu speak these strange words.
“Our academy recently made a discovery—young animals actually rely on scent to recognize their mothers. Wolf packs also rely on scent to identify their own clan. We are human, but we also have animal nature. The more sensitive a child’s senses are, the more they can detect these subtle differences. I dare say Xiao Huan can distinguish everyone in the household by scent. This is an advantage, not some defect. If you don’t believe me, have Xiao Huan blend perfumes—he’ll definitely be able to create very good fragrances.”
Xinyue looked at Xiao Wu doubtfully and found that when she spoke these words, she was very sincere. Although it was somewhat strange that Xiao Wu liked smelling her husband’s clothes, there were already enough strange people in the household. Standing on the windowsill was a rooster that had almost become a spirit demon—who else would raise a rooster for eight years? Having seen much of the world, Xinyue finally calmed down. Thinking of those rumors about her husband circulating outside, she immediately changed her mind. She stuffed the feather duster into Xiao Wu’s hands and said, “Fine! You’re your teacher’s good disciple. Now your junior martial brother has become a scoundrel, so you go teach him. Anyway, you’re all of the same lineage. This way I can also be worthy of your teacher.”
Seeing Xinyue angrily being escorted out of the front hall by maidservants, Xiao Wu looked at Yun Huan with a half-smile and said, “Teacher is Bin Meiren. Xiao Jie is Bin Meiren. I am the legendary fox temptress. Xiao Huan, tell me what you should be. Speak up.”
Yun Huan tried hard to lean his body backward. It was exactly like this—exactly like this. Sister Xiao Wu had precisely this wicked appearance. Her beautiful face was almost touching his own cheek, but those eyes were like dead fish eyes. No matter who looked at them, they couldn’t feel half a bit of beauty—only cold, chilling air rising from the soles of the feet straight up to the top of the head.
“Sister Xiao Wu is a monster!” Yun Huan let out a miserable wail and bolted from the front hall, running toward his own room like flying. With a crash, he slammed the door tightly shut and hid under the covers, trembling.
Xiao Wu watched Yun Huan’s distant flight, tapping the table with her finger, deep in thought as she muttered to herself, “Regardless of whether White Jade Capital exists or not, shouldn’t we recreate a White Jade Capital?”
At the same time, Xinyue was also pondering. Madam Cheng had privately and quietly asked her about the rumors regarding Bin Meiren. What kind of joke was this? Husband was Husband—how could he be some ridiculous Bin Meiren? Even the name didn’t sound like a good person’s name. Although during the pre-Qin period there indeed was a formidable figure of unparalleled intelligence and strategy, ultimately he was just a lobbyist. Even in the Great Tang, there were many lobbyists too—they all crowded in the Eastern and Western Markets helping others haggle over prices. Using a lobbyist to describe Husband was the greatest insult to him. It was even more vicious than terms like spendthrift or wastrel. Wastrel and spendthrift were titles one could only have after reaching a certain status—what did a lobbyist amount to?
However, Xiao Wu and Xiao Jie were obviously different. Even compared to Shishi, the eldest senior sister, there were great differences. Their methods of doing things were exactly like Husband’s—audaciously bold, yet able to live freely and easily.
Xiao Jie at the Court of Judicial Review was simply an anomaly. Others couldn’t do without him, yet he wasn’t very welcome. So colleagues who had good relationships with Xiao Jie were almost nonexistent. Xiao Wu’s position among noble ladies was similar. All the women looked up to her, but wouldn’t gather around Xiao Wu. The only ones who could barely speak with her were herself and Hypatia.
Husband had said they were too intelligent, so the fools around them felt ashamed of their own inadequacy and actively distanced themselves from the intelligent people to avoid exposing their own foolish side.
Thinking of this, Xinyue eagerly anticipated her husband’s early return home. As the children gradually grew up, she truly lacked the ability to control them. Just like earlier—she had no way to determine whether what Xiao Wu said was correct or not. She could only hand Yun Huan over to Xiao Wu. At least following an intelligent person, he could learn to be a bit smarter. Becoming smarter had no disadvantages.