Chapter 79.
After returning home, Wen Xing went to the kitchen to brew a pot of Pugong grass tea, known for its lung-nourishing properties, and brought it to the dining room, pouring a cup for everyone.
A sip of the warm tea spread coziness throughout the body.
Fu Wei set down his cup and revealed the purpose of his return.
On hearing about the Wen family’s situation and the upcoming court session at the yamen, Fu Zhen and his wife were visibly shocked.
Fu Zhen had mentioned it to his wife while they were in the county seat.
His wife had said that once they returned, her brother-in-law would help investigate her maternal family’s situation, seeking justice for them.
Fu Zhen never doubted his brother's willingness to help; he just hadn't expected the matter to be resolved so quickly, only three days after their return from the county seat.
Regaining his composure, Fu Zhen’s face turned ashen, his fists clenched tightly as he asked gravely, “Where are they now?”
Fu Wei replied, “County Magistrate Zhou has already sent people to arrest them, and will also locate the yamen runners involved in the case. If they admit to taking bribes, then tomorrow my sister-in-law only needs to identify the Wen family members.”
He paused briefly, then added, “At most, they will receive a beating and be jailed for a while. Although they are also ordered to repay the labor fee, considering their financial situation, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to pay.”
Three years had passed, and for Fu Zhen, it was no longer about getting back the labor fee, but rather about teaching them a harsh lesson.
“How many strokes will they get, and for how long will they be jailed?” This was Fu Zhen’s primary concern.
Fu Wei, having some knowledge of similar cases, answered, “Twenty strokes and a three-month sentence.”
Fu Zhen frowned deeply, “That’s too lenient!”
They not only tried to sell Marquise Xing but also schemed to send her to hard labor. For such malice, such a punishment was indeed too light!
Fu Wei’s expression was calm, but his words carried a deeper meaning: “Though they'll only be jailed for three months, who knows what might happen to them in prison?”
Both Yu Ying and Fu Zhen understood the implication in Fu Wei’s words.
——A lesson taught in secret.
The idea of lying in wait, or being prepared for danger, was not something Yu Ying greatly approved of in the past. However, this era was far from a society governed by law. Moreover, the Wu family's inhumane actions towards their eldest daughter-in-law left no room for sympathy, and their punishment was indeed too lenient.
Upon hearing this, Fu Zhen looked at his younger brother and asked, "Can you get me into the prison for a visit?"
Fu Wei smiled and replied, "They're not serious offenders, so why not?"
Upon hearing this, Fuzhen felt reassured and then said, "Then tomorrow, I will go into the city with Xingniang."
Fuxian said, "After they have been flogged, when it's almost time for them to be released from prison, I will arrange for our eldest brother to visit the Wen family in jail."
Fuzhen nodded.
Wen Xing had been silent all this while, sipping her tea with her head down, her hands trembling slightly as they held the cup.
Yuying recalled discussing this matter with her sister-in-law back in the county seat. Her sister-in-law, eager to see the great-aunt's retribution, was so agitated she tossed and turned for half the night. Now that it had actually happened, how could she not be excited?
After discussing when to go to Yuxian tomorrow, they left the dining hall.
When Fuxian returned, Yuying had no choice but to share a room with him.
The single bed that Mrs. Luo used to sleep in and Fuxian's bed, neither sent to Yuxian yet, were still there, but the problem was the lack of spare thick bedding.
Yuying, pushing his wheelchair into the room and closing the door, saw Fuxian also stand up and place the bundle containing his change of clothes on the single bed.
Yuying turned back and looked at him, asking, "Shouldn’t this matter have been announced by the yamen runners to Lingshui Village? Given your condition, why did you still come back?"
Fuxian turned and looked at her.
Meeting his gaze, those deep, dark eyes, Yuying seemed to understand in a moment.
She understood the longing in his eyes and quickly interrupted as he opened his mouth, "Alright, I know, you don’t need to say it."
Fuxian smiled and retracted the words he was about to say, "I came back because I wanted to see you," back into his heart.
Yuying quickly tidied up the bed and then said, "You should rest for a while. I'll call you when it's time for dinner."
Yuying left the room to join her sister-in-law in the kitchen to prepare the evening meal.
As her sister-in-law stirred the rice, Yuying took out a piece of the lean pork they had cured earlier.
Although it was lean meat, a bit of fat was left on to enhance the flavor of the cured pork.
She thinly sliced the cured pork, blanched it briefly in water, and then drained it on a bamboo sieve.
While draining the pork, Yuying took out the bamboo shoots soaked earlier in the morning, blanched them after several washes, and stir-fried them in a dry pan to remove excess water and bitterness.
After drying the bamboo shoots, Yuying added a little salt, and after a moment, transferred them to a dish. She then began to fry scallions and ginger slices, followed by the cured pork.
Since the pork was already salted when cured, Yuying didn't add any more salt, using just a spoonful of soy sauce.
The household had progressed from having no condiments to always having oil, salt, and soy sauce at hand.
As the aroma wafted through the air, the pork glistened in the pan. Yuying then added the bamboo shoots and stir-fried them together.
Wen Xing, who only knew how to stew vegetables simply, watched her sister-in-law cook, eager to learn. Seeing the appetizing dish in the pan, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Your cooking skills are really great, probably even better than the chefs in the restaurants."
Yuying, who only knew how to cook home-style dishes, laughed and said, "The chefs in restaurants have more skills than this."
At that moment, Funing returned from playing at the He family's house, drawn by the fragrance to the kitchen. The little girl sniffed eagerly and said in her soft, tender voice, "Smells good."
Yuying smiled and told her, "It'll be a while before we eat. Go back to the room and chat with your uncle."
Funing looked puzzled, thinking she had misheard, and asked, "Uncle is back?"
Wen Xing nodded, "He just got back."
Hearing that her uncle had returned, Funing excitedly ran towards the house.
Wen Xing watched her daughter's cheerful departure with a soft sigh.
Ever since Ningning learned to speak, she has become much more outgoing and is no longer shy.
Honestly, even knowing that her former brother-in-law was mistakenly taken and lived twenty years of hardship, she felt sympathy for him.
But after hearing that her current brother-in-law's leg might have been broken by the former one, and her daughter might have been rendered mute for years because of him, it was hard for her not to harbor resentment.
Fortunately, the brother-in-law who returned was easy to get along with.
Yuying remarked, "Ningning seems to really like Erlang."
Wen Xing smiled and said, "Not just Ningning, Anan likes the uncle too."
After the evening meal, as it was getting dark, it was time to wash up thoroughly.
It was chilly in the mountains, and bathing too late could let the cold seep into the body.
Yuying, washing her hair in the kitchen, saw Funing come out of the bath and urged her to quickly return to her room.
Back in the room, Funing saw her uncle busy at the desk. After rolling around on the bed out of boredom, she decided to go find her mother to play.
Looking at the doll her mother had given her, she hesitated for a moment before jumping off the bed to look for her mother.
Meanwhile, Wen Xing sewed clothes absentmindedly, recalling the days after her grandmother's death at twelve, living with her great-aunt, doing all the household chores and often being scolded and beaten, her hands trembling at the memory.
Even after so many years, she couldn't forget the fear and despair of those times.
She couldn't help but look at her husband weaving mats nearby and said, "Thinking of seeing my great-aunt's family tomorrow makes me nervous and scared."
Fuzhen stopped his work, stood up, and walked over to his wife's side, wrapping his arms around her petite frame and softly comforting, "Don't be nervous; they can't and won't have the chance to hurt you again."
Feeling a strong sense of security from her husband, Wen Xing wrapped her arms around his waist and softly murmured an "Mhm" in agreement.
Fuzhen gently patted his wife's back.
At that moment, the room door was softly knocked, causing the couple to pause in surprise.
Fuzhen stood up and said, "I'll go open the door."
Upon opening the door, he saw no one at first, then heard a soft, tender voice from below saying, "Daddy."
Looking down, Fuzhen saw his little daughter standing outside, wearing slippers with her tiny feet exposed, her cheeks flushed red.
Funing, seeing her usually reticent father, blinked hesitantly.
After a brief moment of eye contact, Fuzhen said, "It's cold outside, come in quickly."
Realizing it was her daughter who had come, Wen Xing's heart leapt with joy, her worries instantly dissipating as she quickly got up to pull her little girl inside.
Sitting on the bed, she gently asked, "What brings Ningning here?"
Funing, growing fond of her gentle mother, immediately smiled brightly, a stark contrast to her expression around her father.
Watching his daughter’s smiling face, Fuzhen suddenly realized that in this home, in his daughter's heart, it seemed the mother, sister-in-law, wife, and son were all ranked first, his younger brother second, and he... third.
This realization caused a tightness in Fuzhen's chest.
He wondered, being her biological father, how could he rank even lower than her uncle?
With a trip to Yuxian planned for the next day, Yuying decided to wash her hair that night. Shivering with her neck huddled, she returned to her room, not finding Funing there, and asked Fuxian, who was writing on bamboo slips, "Where's Ningning?"
Fuxian stopped writing, turned his head in confusion towards the bed, and said, "Just now, she was still playing with her doll on the bed; I don't know where she went."
Noticing that Ningning's doll, which she had been inseparable from these past few days, was also missing from the bed, Yuying thought for a moment and said, "I'll go check in my sister-in-law's room."
With that, she turned and left the room.
Arriving at her sister-in-law's room, Yuying knocked on the door.
Moments later, the sister-in-law quietly opened the door, gesturing for silence and whispered, “Ningning must be tired today; she fell asleep soon after crawling into bed.”
Falling asleep before it was fully dark showed how truly exhausted she was from playing today.
Wen Xing looked at her sister-in-law with hopeful eyes, “Can Ningning sleep in my room tonight?”
Although she had gradually grown closer to her daughter, she had thought about having her sleep together but didn’t want to force her after sensing her reluctance.
Yuying was at a loss for words; after all, Ningning was her sister-in-law’s daughter, and it was natural for her to take care of her own child.
Yuying softly said to her sister-in-law, “Alright, I’ll go back then.”
Having said that, she sighed softly as she turned to leave.
It had been a long time since Yuying had shared a bed with Fuxian alone, and she felt unaccustomed to it.
When she returned to her room, Fuxian, not seeing his niece, asked, “Where’s Ningning?”
Yuying replied, “She fell asleep in my sister-in-law’s room.”
Fuxian paused briefly, glanced at the large bed, then back at her, and said, “If you’re uncomfortable with us sleeping together, I can go to the room my mother used to stay in. With some clothes and a fire, I won’t feel cold.”
Yuying glanced at him and then sat down to dry her hair with a towel, saying softly, “Let’s just keep it as before.”
Fuxian also sat beside her on the bed, speaking softly, “I understand your concerns, but if you ever decide to make a home here, I hope the person you choose to start a family with is your first and only choice.”
Yuying hadn’t expected him to bring this up again, and her motions slowed.
The two sat silently on the edge of the bed as time quietly passed.
After a long while, Yuying spoke, “If one day I could return to my past, I would choose to go back without hesitation. But before that, if there’s a deep connection, the separation would bring pain not only to me but also to the other person.”
She knew that even if she parted ways with everyone in the Fuxian family, she would miss them, but the memories wouldn’t tear her apart like thoughts of her own family did now.
“A-Ying,” Fuxian softly called out.
Yuying turned her head to look at him.
Under the flickering firelight, Yuying, with her ink-black hair draped over the other shoulder, looked exceptionally gentle and tranquil.
Fuxian suppressed the urge to caress her cheek, his voice slightly hoarse, "No matter what the future holds, even if you're not by my side, you're the only wife for me."
Yuying saw the sincerity in his clear, profound eyes, slightly parted her lips, and gazed steadily at him.
She had seen too many fleeting relationships, where people come together and part easily, staying only if it suits them and moving on if not. Growing up in such an era, she knew all too well how rare a sincere connection was.
If it weren't for her many reservations, she might have tried to accept this relationship.
"Each day you're away, I miss you. When you're gone for over half a month, my heart aches incessantly, and you’re in my dreams."
Yuying's heartbeat slowed for a moment.
"You needn't worry about my future pain, because whether you leave now or later, my feelings remain the same."
Saying this, he slowly leaned closer to her.
As Fuxian drew nearer, Yuying’s breath caught, her heartbeat accelerating.
Fuxian, with his palm braced against the bed and stopping a half-arm's distance away, gazed into her eyes and said softly and slowly, “A-Ying, don’t just refuse me outright, or let me be kind to you without expecting deep feelings in return. Even if you leave later, it won’t hurt as much."
Yuying clenched the handkerchief in her hand tightly, her heart pounding like a drum.
……
Moments later, inside the house.
Fuxian and Fuzhen, the brothers, stared at each other in silence, each with their own thoughts.
Just a short while ago, Yuying, who grew up in an open era, unexpectedly didn’t know how to respond to the irresistible Fuxian and ended up fleeing.
She pushed away Fuxian, who was just an arm's length away, and ran out of the room, knocking on her eldest brother and sister-in-law’s door again.
Upon seeing her sister-in-law, she blurted out with flushed cheeks, “I can't sleep without holding Ningning.”
Just as Wen Xing thought, disappointed, that her sister-in-law was going to take her daughter back, she heard Yuying ask, “Can I sleep in your room tonight, with you and Ningning?”
Fuzhen and his wife exchanged a glance.
It dawned on Wen Xing that even when they were in the county seat without Ningning, her sister-in-law could sleep just fine.
Her sudden request to stay the night surely wasn’t because she couldn’t sleep without holding Ningning; there had to be another reason.
Realizing this, Wen Xing looked directly at her husband and said, “Big brother, let our sister-in-law sleep in our room tonight, and you can sleep with Fuzhen.”
Fuzhen, who had hoped to spend the night with his daughter to foster their relationship, found himself sent to share a room with his brother instead.
Fuxian, having unintentionally pushed too hard, not only caused her to run away but also ended up having to share a room with his elder brother.
The two men, now facing each other, restrained any signs of displeasure and turned away, involuntarily sighing.
—Ah.
Chapter 79.
After returning home, Wen Xing went to the kitchen to brew a pot of Pugong grass tea, known for its lung-nourishing properties, and brought it to the dining room, pouring a cup for everyone.
A sip of the warm tea spread coziness throughout the body.
Fu Wei set down his cup and revealed the purpose of his return.
On hearing about the Wen family’s situation and the upcoming court session at the yamen, Fu Zhen and his wife were visibly shocked.
Fu Zhen had mentioned it to his wife while they were in the county seat.
His wife had said that once they returned, her brother-in-law would help investigate her maternal family’s situation, seeking justice for them.
Fu Zhen never doubted his brother's willingness to help; he just hadn't expected the matter to be resolved so quickly, only three days after their return from the county seat.
Regaining his composure, Fu Zhen’s face turned ashen, his fists clenched tightly as he asked gravely, “Where are they now?”
Fu Wei replied, “County Magistrate Zhou has already sent people to arrest them, and will also locate the yamen runners involved in the case. If they admit to taking bribes, then tomorrow my sister-in-law only needs to identify the Wen family members.”
He paused briefly, then added, “At most, they will receive a beating and be jailed for a while. Although they are also ordered to repay the labor fee, considering their financial situation, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to pay.”
Three years had passed, and for Fu Zhen, it was no longer about getting back the labor fee, but rather about teaching them a harsh lesson.
“How many strokes will they get, and for how long will they be jailed?” This was Fu Zhen’s primary concern.
Fu Wei, having some knowledge of similar cases, answered, “Twenty strokes and a three-month sentence.”
Fu Zhen frowned deeply, “That’s too lenient!”
They not only tried to sell Marquise Xing but also schemed to send her to hard labor. For such malice, such a punishment was indeed too light!
Fu Wei’s expression was calm, but his words carried a deeper meaning: “Though they'll only be jailed for three months, who knows what might happen to them in prison?”
Both Yu Ying and Fu Zhen understood the implication in Fu Wei’s words.
——A lesson taught in secret.
The idea of lying in wait, or being prepared for danger, was not something Yu Ying greatly approved of in the past. However, this era was far from a society governed by law. Moreover, the Wu family's inhumane actions towards their eldest daughter-in-law left no room for sympathy, and their punishment was indeed too lenient.
Upon hearing this, Fu Zhen looked at his younger brother and asked, "Can you get me into the prison for a visit?"
Fu Wei smiled and replied, "They're not serious offenders, so why not?"
Upon hearing this, Fuzhen felt reassured and then said, "Then tomorrow, I will go into the city with Xingniang."
Fuxian said, "After they have been flogged, when it's almost time for them to be released from prison, I will arrange for our eldest brother to visit the Wen family in jail."
Fuzhen nodded.
Wen Xing had been silent all this while, sipping her tea with her head down, her hands trembling slightly as they held the cup.
Yuying recalled discussing this matter with her sister-in-law back in the county seat. Her sister-in-law, eager to see the great-aunt's retribution, was so agitated she tossed and turned for half the night. Now that it had actually happened, how could she not be excited?
After discussing when to go to Yuxian tomorrow, they left the dining hall.
When Fuxian returned, Yuying had no choice but to share a room with him.
The single bed that Mrs. Luo used to sleep in and Fuxian's bed, neither sent to Yuxian yet, were still there, but the problem was the lack of spare thick bedding.
Yuying, pushing his wheelchair into the room and closing the door, saw Fuxian also stand up and place the bundle containing his change of clothes on the single bed.
Yuying turned back and looked at him, asking, "Shouldn’t this matter have been announced by the yamen runners to Lingshui Village? Given your condition, why did you still come back?"
Fuxian turned and looked at her.
Meeting his gaze, those deep, dark eyes, Yuying seemed to understand in a moment.
She understood the longing in his eyes and quickly interrupted as he opened his mouth, "Alright, I know, you don’t need to say it."
Fuxian smiled and retracted the words he was about to say, "I came back because I wanted to see you," back into his heart.
Yuying quickly tidied up the bed and then said, "You should rest for a while. I'll call you when it's time for dinner."
Yuying left the room to join her sister-in-law in the kitchen to prepare the evening meal.
As her sister-in-law stirred the rice, Yuying took out a piece of the lean pork they had cured earlier.
Although it was lean meat, a bit of fat was left on to enhance the flavor of the cured pork.
She thinly sliced the cured pork, blanched it briefly in water, and then drained it on a bamboo sieve.
While draining the pork, Yuying took out the bamboo shoots soaked earlier in the morning, blanched them after several washes, and stir-fried them in a dry pan to remove excess water and bitterness.
After drying the bamboo shoots, Yuying added a little salt, and after a moment, transferred them to a dish. She then began to fry scallions and ginger slices, followed by the cured pork.
Since the pork was already salted when cured, Yuying didn't add any more salt, using just a spoonful of soy sauce.
The household had progressed from having no condiments to always having oil, salt, and soy sauce at hand.
As the aroma wafted through the air, the pork glistened in the pan. Yuying then added the bamboo shoots and stir-fried them together.
Wen Xing, who only knew how to stew vegetables simply, watched her sister-in-law cook, eager to learn. Seeing the appetizing dish in the pan, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Your cooking skills are really great, probably even better than the chefs in the restaurants."
Yuying, who only knew how to cook home-style dishes, laughed and said, "The chefs in restaurants have more skills than this."
At that moment, Funing returned from playing at the He family's house, drawn by the fragrance to the kitchen. The little girl sniffed eagerly and said in her soft, tender voice, "Smells good."
Yuying smiled and told her, "It'll be a while before we eat. Go back to the room and chat with your uncle."
Funing looked puzzled, thinking she had misheard, and asked, "Uncle is back?"
Wen Xing nodded, "He just got back."
Hearing that her uncle had returned, Funing excitedly ran towards the house.
Wen Xing watched her daughter's cheerful departure with a soft sigh.
Ever since Ningning learned to speak, she has become much more outgoing and is no longer shy.
Honestly, even knowing that her former brother-in-law was mistakenly taken and lived twenty years of hardship, she felt sympathy for him.
But after hearing that her current brother-in-law's leg might have been broken by the former one, and her daughter might have been rendered mute for years because of him, it was hard for her not to harbor resentment.
Fortunately, the brother-in-law who returned was easy to get along with.
Yuying remarked, "Ningning seems to really like Erlang."
Wen Xing smiled and said, "Not just Ningning, Anan likes the uncle too."
After the evening meal, as it was getting dark, it was time to wash up thoroughly.
It was chilly in the mountains, and bathing too late could let the cold seep into the body.
Yuying, washing her hair in the kitchen, saw Funing come out of the bath and urged her to quickly return to her room.
Back in the room, Funing saw her uncle busy at the desk. After rolling around on the bed out of boredom, she decided to go find her mother to play.
Looking at the doll her mother had given her, she hesitated for a moment before jumping off the bed to look for her mother.
Meanwhile, Wen Xing sewed clothes absentmindedly, recalling the days after her grandmother's death at twelve, living with her great-aunt, doing all the household chores and often being scolded and beaten, her hands trembling at the memory.
Even after so many years, she couldn't forget the fear and despair of those times.
She couldn't help but look at her husband weaving mats nearby and said, "Thinking of seeing my great-aunt's family tomorrow makes me nervous and scared."
Fuzhen stopped his work, stood up, and walked over to his wife's side, wrapping his arms around her petite frame and softly comforting, "Don't be nervous; they can't and won't have the chance to hurt you again."
Feeling a strong sense of security from her husband, Wen Xing wrapped her arms around his waist and softly murmured an "Mhm" in agreement.
Fuzhen gently patted his wife's back.
At that moment, the room door was softly knocked, causing the couple to pause in surprise.
Fuzhen stood up and said, "I'll go open the door."
Upon opening the door, he saw no one at first, then heard a soft, tender voice from below saying, "Daddy."
Looking down, Fuzhen saw his little daughter standing outside, wearing slippers with her tiny feet exposed, her cheeks flushed red.
Funing, seeing her usually reticent father, blinked hesitantly.
After a brief moment of eye contact, Fuzhen said, "It's cold outside, come in quickly."
Realizing it was her daughter who had come, Wen Xing's heart leapt with joy, her worries instantly dissipating as she quickly got up to pull her little girl inside.
Sitting on the bed, she gently asked, "What brings Ningning here?"
Funing, growing fond of her gentle mother, immediately smiled brightly, a stark contrast to her expression around her father.
Watching his daughter’s smiling face, Fuzhen suddenly realized that in this home, in his daughter's heart, it seemed the mother, sister-in-law, wife, and son were all ranked first, his younger brother second, and he... third.
This realization caused a tightness in Fuzhen's chest.
He wondered, being her biological father, how could he rank even lower than her uncle?
With a trip to Yuxian planned for the next day, Yuying decided to wash her hair that night. Shivering with her neck huddled, she returned to her room, not finding Funing there, and asked Fuxian, who was writing on bamboo slips, "Where's Ningning?"
Fuxian stopped writing, turned his head in confusion towards the bed, and said, "Just now, she was still playing with her doll on the bed; I don't know where she went."
Noticing that Ningning's doll, which she had been inseparable from these past few days, was also missing from the bed, Yuying thought for a moment and said, "I'll go check in my sister-in-law's room."
With that, she turned and left the room.
Arriving at her sister-in-law's room, Yuying knocked on the door.
Moments later, the sister-in-law quietly opened the door, gesturing for silence and whispered, “Ningning must be tired today; she fell asleep soon after crawling into bed.”
Falling asleep before it was fully dark showed how truly exhausted she was from playing today.
Wen Xing looked at her sister-in-law with hopeful eyes, “Can Ningning sleep in my room tonight?”
Although she had gradually grown closer to her daughter, she had thought about having her sleep together but didn’t want to force her after sensing her reluctance.
Yuying was at a loss for words; after all, Ningning was her sister-in-law’s daughter, and it was natural for her to take care of her own child.
Yuying softly said to her sister-in-law, “Alright, I’ll go back then.”
Having said that, she sighed softly as she turned to leave.
It had been a long time since Yuying had shared a bed with Fuxian alone, and she felt unaccustomed to it.
When she returned to her room, Fuxian, not seeing his niece, asked, “Where’s Ningning?”
Yuying replied, “She fell asleep in my sister-in-law’s room.”
Fuxian paused briefly, glanced at the large bed, then back at her, and said, “If you’re uncomfortable with us sleeping together, I can go to the room my mother used to stay in. With some clothes and a fire, I won’t feel cold.”
Yuying glanced at him and then sat down to dry her hair with a towel, saying softly, “Let’s just keep it as before.”
Fuxian also sat beside her on the bed, speaking softly, “I understand your concerns, but if you ever decide to make a home here, I hope the person you choose to start a family with is your first and only choice.”
Yuying hadn’t expected him to bring this up again, and her motions slowed.
The two sat silently on the edge of the bed as time quietly passed.
After a long while, Yuying spoke, “If one day I could return to my past, I would choose to go back without hesitation. But before that, if there’s a deep connection, the separation would bring pain not only to me but also to the other person.”
She knew that even if she parted ways with everyone in the Fuxian family, she would miss them, but the memories wouldn’t tear her apart like thoughts of her own family did now.
“A-Ying,” Fuxian softly called out.
Yuying turned her head to look at him.
Under the flickering firelight, Yuying, with her ink-black hair draped over the other shoulder, looked exceptionally gentle and tranquil.
Fuxian suppressed the urge to caress her cheek, his voice slightly hoarse, "No matter what the future holds, even if you're not by my side, you're the only wife for me."
Yuying saw the sincerity in his clear, profound eyes, slightly parted her lips, and gazed steadily at him.
She had seen too many fleeting relationships, where people come together and part easily, staying only if it suits them and moving on if not. Growing up in such an era, she knew all too well how rare a sincere connection was.
If it weren't for her many reservations, she might have tried to accept this relationship.
"Each day you're away, I miss you. When you're gone for over half a month, my heart aches incessantly, and you’re in my dreams."
Yuying's heartbeat slowed for a moment.
"You needn't worry about my future pain, because whether you leave now or later, my feelings remain the same."
Saying this, he slowly leaned closer to her.
As Fuxian drew nearer, Yuying’s breath caught, her heartbeat accelerating.
Fuxian, with his palm braced against the bed and stopping a half-arm's distance away, gazed into her eyes and said softly and slowly, “A-Ying, don’t just refuse me outright, or let me be kind to you without expecting deep feelings in return. Even if you leave later, it won’t hurt as much."
Yuying clenched the handkerchief in her hand tightly, her heart pounding like a drum.
……
Moments later, inside the house.
Fuxian and Fuzhen, the brothers, stared at each other in silence, each with their own thoughts.
Just a short while ago, Yuying, who grew up in an open era, unexpectedly didn’t know how to respond to the irresistible Fuxian and ended up fleeing.
She pushed away Fuxian, who was just an arm's length away, and ran out of the room, knocking on her eldest brother and sister-in-law’s door again.
Upon seeing her sister-in-law, she blurted out with flushed cheeks, “I can't sleep without holding Ningning.”
Just as Wen Xing thought, disappointed, that her sister-in-law was going to take her daughter back, she heard Yuying ask, “Can I sleep in your room tonight, with you and Ningning?”
Fuzhen and his wife exchanged a glance.
It dawned on Wen Xing that even when they were in the county seat without Ningning, her sister-in-law could sleep just fine.
Her sudden request to stay the night surely wasn’t because she couldn’t sleep without holding Ningning; there had to be another reason.
Realizing this, Wen Xing looked directly at her husband and said, “Big brother, let our sister-in-law sleep in our room tonight, and you can sleep with Fuzhen.”
Fuzhen, who had hoped to spend the night with his daughter to foster their relationship, found himself sent to share a room with his brother instead.
Fuxian, having unintentionally pushed too hard, not only caused her to run away but also ended up having to share a room with his elder brother.
The two men, now facing each other, restrained any signs of displeasure and turned away, involuntarily sighing.
—Ah.
