Chapter 7
Xie Yao’s brow twitched. “But I have been very busy lately and cannot accompany you for the time being. You will have to be patient for a while.”
Yuli felt as if she had come back to life. “Alright, it’s no trouble. Husband should prioritize important matters.” Not just for a while, could you please be busy for a lifetime?
Xie Yao seemed to smile for a moment, then quickly resumed his profound expression.
After Xie Yao left, Yuli stayed in the room alone for a long time. These two hours… half a day wouldn’t be enough to recover. It would probably take two days to heal.
Yuli felt immense pressure. The fantasy of treating him as a boss or a client was shattered. This was not a role-playing game. He was a living person, not someone who followed the original plot. He would change according to her actions. He had flesh and blood, thoughts and desires.
In the original book, the female lead, Song Yi, was very cold towards the male lead. To make him let her go, she always opposed him. The tension between them was palpable. There was no mention of calling him Mingyan, nor was there any talk of a husband and wife sharing a bed.
But their opposition only led to Xie Yao killing Mei Qing. Their relationship, which was not close to begin with, suddenly turned into hatred, and they began a cycle of stabbing, drugging, and mutual torment.
Aloofness and stubbornness were standard for the heroines of angsty novels. Moreover, the authors of that era were mostly high-spirited and believed their heroines would rather die for freedom. But in the era Yuli came from, freedom was a luxury. Many people lived under high pressure. A few years ago, people would go crazy, but later, they didn’t even have the energy to go crazy. They just wanted to lie flat. But lying flat would lead to a miserable and anxious life. It was better to live in a muddle, following the crowd.
Yuli was a coward, and she really wanted to lie flat. The women of this world had even less hope. Lying flat was a physical reality, not a choice she could make.
Even if she hadn’t met Xie Yao, or if she had avoided him in advance, she might have ended up marrying someone in a muddle, living a life of toil like Mother Song, and fading into mediocrity.
But now, she had entered the plot and married a man. Setting aside the plot, she was actually just walking a common path, the path that all women in this world had to walk.
Fortunately, she had no white moonlight. And Xie Yao was very powerful. Being his wife, she could truly lie flat. If the plot developed smoothly, he wouldn’t have the ancient custom of having three wives and four concubines.
As a piece of scrap wood whose edges had been worn smooth, what more could she be dissatisfied with?
It took Yuli a whole night to transition from seeing herself as an employee and a contractor to seeing herself as the mistress of the house, as a wife.
She didn’t fall asleep until it was almost dawn and didn’t wake up until noon. No one disturbed her. The moment she woke up, someone entered.
It was Xiyun, her expression as usual.
Xiyun could sense that her mood was not as cheerful as the past few days and guessed it was because of Young Master Xie. But she was even more afraid of Xie Yao than Yuli was, so she could only ask if she was feeling unwell.
Yuli shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Once she told herself she was fine, Yuli stopped being downcast. The problem was there, and being dejected wouldn’t solve it. It was better to find something to do first.
Yuli had a brunch. Today, the kitchen had specially made some palatable pickles to her taste. With the green vegetable and lean pork congee, Yuli’s appetite was greatly whetted.
After eating her fill, her spirits instantly lifted. She had woken up too late, so she rested for a while and then went to the kitchen.
No matter what her status was, it was always right to be good to Xie Yao.
She planned to make some dishes to his taste, to go along with him, take care of him, leave a good impression, and accumulate some favorability points.
Yuli was busy in the kitchen all afternoon. She made sweet and sour pork ribs, lemon chicken feet, and spicy stir-fried beef. She also made a hot and sour shredded potato dish. She wanted to test whether Xie Yao preferred sour, spicy, or hot and sour flavors.
Her skills were average, but with Old Hu’s improvements, the final result was quite good.
Regardless of whether Xie Yao was coming or not, she returned to Mingyue Residence to bathe. She had Xiyun do her hair and makeup, used the jewelry he had prepared, and wore a magnificent wide-sleeved robe.
It had to be said that Xie Yao had excellent taste. Although the clothes were magnificent and exquisite, with intricate embroidery, they were light, soft, and warm, very comfortable to wear, and they also complemented her gentle and bright personality.
The jewelry was the same. It wasn’t very heavy or exaggerated. Instead, each piece had an ingenious design, not ostentatious, but with a quiet beauty of its own.
The person in the mirror was completely transformed, but not abruptly so. It was like the countless stars in the night sky; no matter how beautiful, they would become mere embellishments in the presence of the moon.
All girls like beautiful and exquisite things, and Yuli was no exception. Before putting them on, she had been a little resistant, but after wearing them, she found that she unexpectedly liked them very much.
Seeing her happy, Xiyun gave a few simple compliments. “If you put on makeup, I can’t imagine how beautiful you would be.”
Yuli just smiled.
The wide-sleeved robes were not easy to move in. Yuli had never worn them before. In the afternoon, she practiced walking and sitting in her room. She had a good figure to begin with, but she was used to being efficient, and her walking pace was a bit fast. Now she had to learn to slow down. To prevent the sleeves from getting dusty, she had to learn to be mindful of them when picking things up.
Before she could get used to it, Jingyu arrived, smiling. “The Young Master is almost here.”
Yuli sat upright. “Mm, okay.”
Jingyu’s smile didn’t change as she secretly gave Xiyun a look.
Xiyun stiffened, understanding that Yuli was supposed to go and meet him. Yuli was already in a bad mood today, and Xiyun didn’t want to persuade her. She hesitated for a moment.
But Yuli reacted. “Oh, you want me to go and meet him, right? I’ll go now.”
Yuli got up and left. She was used to walking fast, but the sleeves were cumbersome, so she slowed down again.
Xiyun felt sorry for her.
But Jingyu wore a smile. If the Mistress was well-behaved and could win the Prince’s favor, they would all have a good life.
Yuli walked to the second gate and had not been standing there for long when Xie Yao arrived, stepping in the glow of the setting sun.
She had abandoned the mentality of a worker and was not wearing a professional fake smile, which made her seem a little reserved.
She couldn’t be blamed for this. If it were a worker going to work, she would be at ease. But to interact with a strange man as a wife, she had zero experience.
She had never been in a relationship in her past life. She wasn’t bad-looking, but she just never had the chance.
She went to university in another city, and her parents forbade her from dating there. After graduation, her parents wanted her to go on blind dates. But her job was unstable, like a ticking time bomb, and she and her blind dates never hit it off.
In the big city, she had even fewer opportunities to get to know the opposite sex deeply and had remained single. She was used to being alone and was quite content.
She had never even been in a relationship, and now she was suddenly someone’s wife. She was completely in the dark, not knowing what to do at all.
From a distance, Xie Yao saw her wearing the clothes he had prepared. It was a light turquoise outer robe embroidered with intertwining branches, with a water-green cloud-patterned brocade underneath. It suited her very well.
Two beaded flowers and a cyan jade hairpin were in her hair. It was the one he had personally put in for her last night.
And with her bright eyes and red lips, without the distant and polite smile, she seemed a little reserved.
Not so afraid of him, and not averse to coming to meet him, just still not used to being close to him.
This is the real her.
The smile on Xie Yao’s lips became a little more natural. Yuli didn’t dare to look at him. She called out “Husband” and walked ahead.
Xie Yao paused and followed, walking one step behind her, very close. He could clearly see her unnatural gait, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, her sleeves often catching on the withered branches by the roadside.
It seemed she was really not used to wearing such clothes.
Xie Yao took a large step and walked beside her.
Yuli turned her head to look at him. The hand by her side accidentally touched his. She wanted to lift her hand to avoid it, but he held it completely.
Yuli’s heart leaped.
She was a modern person, but after becoming an adult, she had had almost no physical contact with any member of the opposite sex. It was said that the ancients were feudal, but modern people had a stronger sense of boundaries.
Even among girls, they had to be very close to hold hands. Between the opposite sexes, an accidental touch would warrant an apology.
Yuli froze, not daring to pull away. She just wanted to walk faster, praying in her heart that he would let go when they reached Mingyue Residence.
Xie Yao sensed her avoidance and stiffness and stopped. Yuli had no choice but to stop as well. They stood facing each other. Yuli’s gaze was straight ahead, only looking at his chin.
Xie Yao: “Yuli, you have to get used to my touch.”
His tone was non-negotiable, but not cold. Yuli quickly adjusted and hummed in agreement.
Xie Yao held her hand and didn’t let go. Yuli prepared herself mentally, relaxed her fingers, and gently curled them, as if returning his grip.
They walked hand in hand to Mingyue Residence. Xie Yao let go of her. The moment their palms separated, Yuli felt her palm turn cold. It was only when she entered the room that she realized it wasn’t that her palm was cold, but that the temperature of their clasped hands had been too high.
After letting go of her hand and entering the room, the food was already laid out in the parlor. It was what Yuli had asked the kitchen to prepare.
The dishes she had made today were no longer fresh. She planned to keep them for herself and had asked Uncle Hu to make new ones just like them. Such dishes had a “wok hei,” a flavor that pre-prepared meals could not compare to.
She guessed that Xie Yao ate little because he had already eaten before coming and was just keeping her company now. She only served him a chopstick-full of each dish.
Whatever she put in his bowl, he would eat.
Yuli observed his expression and found that he liked the hot and sour flavor.
She thought he was probably like her, that his mood would improve when he ate something he loved. So she served him some more.
At first, Xie Yao thought she was just letting him try her new inventions. It was only when she had served him the delicious dish four times in a row that he realized she had discovered the flavor he was interested in.
He paused and looked at her for a while.
Yuli noticed his gaze and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. You eat more,” Xie Yao said.
But Yuli felt that his expression had clearly darkened a little.
“Did you eat before you came?” Yuli asked, without any intention of questioning or feeling disappointed.
Xie Yao had indeed eaten before coming. He was always extremely cautious about what he ate. Everything he consumed had to be tested for poison by someone first. It was only when he ate with Yuli that he let down his guard.
But he wanted to eat with her and didn’t want to spoil her mood.
“No, I just haven’t had much of an appetite lately,” he said.
“Is it because you don’t like these strange things?” Yuli was a little embarrassed. Had she misunderstood his intentions?
“I like them,” Xie Yao answered quickly.
Yuli smiled. “I can see that. You like the hot and sour flavor. If you like it, I can prepare it for you every day. Although Uncle Hu’s skills are good, he doesn’t have as many recipes in his head as I do. I can make different things for you.”
Xie Yao agreed.
After the meal, Xie Yao did not leave immediately. Yuli was not like the past few days, watching him as if urging him to leave. She took a walk in the courtyard to aid digestion.
After a quarter of an hour, Xie Yao called her into the room.
Tonight, he had taken out a pair of purple jade bracelets to put on for her.
Xie Yao’s palms were large, and Yuli’s wrists were slender. It looked as if he could hold both her wrists with one hand.
Yuli’s wrists were very fair, and upon closer inspection, one could see the faint blue veins. Xie Yao’s hands were also fair, but with a slightly honeyed tone compared to Yuli’s. He gently lifted her hand. Yuli’s sleeve slid back, and his hand also moved back, from her wrist to her forearm. He held her forearm.
Yuli cooperatively tightened her five fingers, and Xie Yao smoothly fastened the jade bracelet for her.
The purple jade was lustrous and translucent, glowing warmly in the candlelight.
After it was on, Yuli should have withdrawn her hand, but Xie Yao was still holding her forearm. She could feel the strength. It was as if he was about to drag her somewhere, giving her no room to struggle. So Yuli didn’t dare to move.
Xie Yao held her forearm with one hand and pinched her fingers with the other, as if carefully examining the jade bracelet for flaws.
He had already looked at it before. The bracelet was translucent, a rare masterpiece, naturally flawless. It was very beautiful, and so were her hands and wrists.
Xie Yao saw something. The hand holding her forearm loosened a little, moved, stopped, and then he extended his thumb and gently pressed down, stroking it.
Yuli could feel her blood flowing quickly under his thumb, her blood vessels throbbing violently. Her left arm grew hot and numb, and she couldn’t even struggle.
“There’s a mole,” Xie Yao said. The light in the room seemed to waver for a moment. After he finished speaking, he let go of Yuli’s wrist. Yuli slowly let out a breath.
“Is there?” she replied casually, raising her wrist to look for it. Her mind was completely on Xie Yao, afraid he would do something else, so she couldn’t find the mole at all.
Xie Yao looked at her for a while. “Rest early. I’ll be back the day after tomorrow.”
Yuli agreed, and Xie Yao left.
After he was long gone, Yuli raised her wrist again and found that the place he had held was slightly red. She looked more carefully and saw a very tiny mole on the front of her forearm.
He has really good eyesight. Yuli touched it. The sensation of Xie Yao’s touch from before seemed to linger, and she couldn’t help but shiver.
Yuli went to bed, her wrist still feeling a little uncomfortable. She suddenly remembered that in the original book, after Song Yi’s first escape attempt, Xie Yao had put her in chains and imprisoned her in his bedchamber, nailing the doors and windows shut, plunging her into darkness…
She knew what was wrong with the way he had put the bracelet on her. He had controlled her arm. It wasn’t like putting on a bracelet; it was like putting on a shackle.
Yuli wrapped the quilt tightly around herself, scaring herself for a while. Then she thought it through again. At least it was a bracelet. If she wore the bracelet properly, he probably wouldn’t put her in shackles.