Caiyu stood still on the spot, staring at the man curled up in the corner of the large canopied bed, trying his best to minimize his presence.
"My lord," she said helplessly. "Your bed is outside the screen."
The only response she got was his gentle breathing, as if he had fallen asleep in a second.
Caiyu sighed. She knew he might be pretending to sleep, but she couldn't use force on him.
He had just applied the medicine. How could she follow Lan Jinxiang's example and kick Xu Ziyi out of the bed?
She tugged at the quilt that Song Yinghuai was lying on, but it didn't budge at all, as if it were glued to him.
It was already winter, and she was staying in the Xu Mansion. It wasn't appropriate for her to wake up the servants and ask for another set of bedding.
Helpless, Caiyu had no choice but to lie down on the other side of the bed and go to sleep for the time being.
Anyway, she and he weren't strangers. So be it!
Before long, even breathing sounds came from beside her.
The man in the corner finally moved. He got up, turned around, and lay down beside the woman. He gently covered her with the quilt.
There was a glint of moisture in the man's eyes. He carefully stretched out his arm and slowly pulled the woman into his embrace.
In her sleep, the woman seemed to be very familiar with this. She reflexively rolled into the man's arms and continued to sleep soundly against his strong chest.
Song Yinghuai could only hear his own heart pounding.
Thump.
Thump.
One thump after another...
Five days later, Xiao Rencheng and Lan Jinqin entered Pengcheng.
When Caiyu heard that her eldest sister had arrived, her eyes lit up. She jumped off the couch and rushed out.
Song Yinghuai threw away the orange he was peeling. He bent down and picked up her embroidered shoes.
"Yuer, the floor is cold. Put on your shoes first..."
Before he could finish his words, the little girl had already rushed out of the room.
When Lan Jinqin and Lan Jinxiang came hand in hand, they just saw Caiyu rushing forward like a lively little bird, while the handsome man chased after her, holding a pair of embroidered shoes in his hand.
Lan Jinqin was stunned. She stood still on the spot. "Wait, is the servant behind Shu'er His Highness the Prince of Yan?"
Lan Jinxiang glanced at them carelessly. "Sure is. What do you think of the effect of my training my third sister's husband?"
In the past few days, there had been someone doing everything like a servant, willing to work hard and never complaining. He would never go west if told to go east.
Caiyu also seemed to be starting to accept this. Some of her former lively spirit had returned.
That naughty temper seemed to be showing up gradually.
Lan Jinxiang was extremely satisfied.
She didn't care what others thought of her younger sister as naughty and unreasonable.
The youngest sister of the Lan family was meant to be loved.
If she caused any trouble, it should be the men of the Lan family who would clean up the mess.
In the future, after she got married, it would be her husband's turn to do so.
Why should she be a virtuous and gentle young lady?
The women of the Lan family didn't buy into this!
Lan Jinqin said, "Don't go too far. He's His Highness the Prince of Yan. Aren't you humiliating him?"
"Eldest sister, you're wrong," Lan Jinxiang said with a smile. "Even if he were the emperor, if he wanted to win the heart of the woman he loved, he would have to learn to humble himself, wouldn't he?"
"He just couldn't let go of his pride back then, which is why he hurt Shu'er. Now that he wants to reconcile with her, his temper must be tempered."
Lan Jinqin said, "You always have a lot of fallacies."
"Eldest sister! Second sister!"
Caiyu rushed up to them in one step. She lifted her skirt and jumped slightly. Her childishness was fully revealed in front of her relatives.
Lan Jinxiang saw her bare white feet half-hidden under her golden-embroidered skirt. She couldn't help but frown and complained to Song Yinghuai, who had just caught up.
"What's going on? My sister caught a cold when she fell into the water. She needs to be kept warm. How could you let her run all the way barefoot? What if she catches a cold?"
Song Yinghuai knelt down halfway. He didn't have time to apologize to Lan Jinxiang. He quickly grabbed Caiyu's feet, lifted them slightly, and put on her embroidered shoes for her. Then he stood up and said with a smile,
"It's my fault. I didn't catch up with her in time."
He was really wronged.
He had chased after her all the way, shouting for her to stop, but the little girl just ignored him.
He didn't dare to stop and scold her forcefully like before, so he had no choice but to chase after her all the way.
"Yuer, I'll go make some ginger soup. You drink a bowl later and soak your feet."
After saying that, Song Yinghuai turned around and went to the kitchen to prepare.
Lan Jinqin stared at the busy man in disbelief.
Even Xiao Rencheng had never been so humble and attentive!
Was that really His Highness the noble Prince of Yan?
When Song Yinghuai stepped into the kitchen, he bumped into Xiao Rencheng and Xu Ziyi.
"Isn't this His Highness the Prince of Yan?" Xiao Rencheng said with a smile in his eyes. "Why would the noble Prince of Yan come to such a dirty place as the kitchen?"
On the way here, Xu Ziyi had vividly described all the grievances Song Yinghuai had suffered in the past few days.
Xiao Rencheng had been a bit skeptical.
But then he saw Song Yinghuai rushing into the kitchen in a hurry.
Was the dignified Prince of Yan personally coming to the kitchen to supervise?
He began to believe it. He couldn't help but tease him.
Among the three brothers-in-law, he and Xu Ziyi had the lowest status in their families. Only Song Yinghuai had been superior in front of Caiyu.
He had always been a bit dissatisfied.
They were all men who were going to marry daughters of the Lan family. Why should Song Yinghuai be one step higher than them?
Now that he saw this, he finally felt a sense of sympathy for his fellow heroes!
Song Yinghuai nodded to the two of them and then walked straight into the kitchen. He found a basket of ginger in the corner.
Xiao Rencheng stared at Song Yinghuai in horror as he skillfully washed and peeled the ginger. Suddenly, he felt a bit uncomfortable:
"...He didn't come to the kitchen to give orders?"
"He's doing it himself?"
Compared with him, he seemed to be a bit inferior.
He turned to look at Xu Ziyi. "What about you? Do you do the same?"
Xu Ziyi coughed lightly and refused to answer.
Such boudoir fun should only be known to him and Xiang'er. Why should he let Xiao Rencheng laugh at him?
Xiao Rencheng could tell from his expression. Suddenly, he felt isolated.
Why did these two men personally cook ginger soup for their wives, while he just told the servants to do it?
Xiao Rencheng stepped in. He rolled up his sleeves and started peeling ginger.
Song Yinghuai threw half a basket of ginger into the water to boil. Then he started pounding the ginger in a stone mortar.
Applying ginger paste in winter was helpful for expelling cold.
The pungent smell of ginger filled the air, making the two men cough.
Song Yinghuai covered his nose and mouth and asked, "Brother Xiao, what are you doing here?"
Xiao Rencheng replied without looking up, "Qin'er has been traveling a long way. There was heavy snow all the way. She has always been cold. So I'm making some ginger tea for her to expel the cold."
Song Yinghuai then turned to look at Xu Ziyi, who had joined them later.
The man was vigorously melting brown sugar.
Song Yinghuai said, "...Second Master, what about you?"
Xu Ziyi replied calmly, "Xiang'er got her period this morning. I'm making some brown sugar ginger tea for her to warm her uterus."
Song Yinghuai's eyebrows twitched.
Very well.
One of them was a royal relative, and the other two were first-rank officials.
They were all crowded in the kitchen, bending their backs for the little women, and they were even willing to do so.
It took time to boil the ginger soup. The three men crowded in the kitchen and couldn't help but chat and exchange experiences.
Xiao Rencheng said, "My lord, has the third young lady softened her heart?"
Softened her heart?
Song Yinghuai recalled for a moment and stammered, "In the past few days, I've been able to find all kinds of reasons to stay in bed every day. Although she objected at first, I always won in the end. Does that count as softening her heart?"
Xu Ziyi said, "...Does she let you touch her?"
Song Yinghuai's face immediately darkened. "Not at all. She even wore several layers of clothes and drew a line with the quilt. I could only secretly hug her after she fell asleep."
Xu Ziyi gloated. "You're even more miserable than I was. At least I could hug my wife while getting beaten."
"You..." Song Yinghuai gritted his teeth, but he was helpless.
He even wanted Caiyu to beat him up and force himself on her.
But he was like a frightened bird, afraid of driving her away again.
After all, forcing himself on her was what he was best at two years ago.
Xiao Rencheng clicked his tongue and said in a low voice, "This means there's no progress! Sheng Jiangli has already gathered all the Hu cavalry. Now he's preparing to set off for the Qin region. The third young lady will soon know the news that he's not in the capital."
"If you don't work hard and can't untie her knot in her heart, you won't be able to keep her..."
Xu Ziyi leaned over. There was a hint of mischief in his eyes. "My lord, I have a magic weapon to cheer my wife up. I use it when Xiang'er is in a bad mood, and she'll be happy again. I'll lend it to you?"