Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Take It Slow

Her cheeks grew hotter, and she looked away at once.

It was early summer. Bathing at night in cold water was still a bit chilly.

She wanted to warn Huo Qi to be careful not to catch a cold, but the words stuck in her throat. [Be careful not to catch a chill.]

Dousing his heat with well water in the yard, Huo Zheng knew Chun Zhi stood at the window. He did not try to hide and lifted the bucket again and again.

Only after several buckets of cold water did he feel better. He dried off, put on his clothes, and went back in.

Hearing him, Chun Zhi had already slipped into bed on the inner side.

He brought a gust of night wind with him that made the oil lamp flicker. His belt was still loose, his strong waist bare, and a just-healed wound caught the light.

Embarrassed to look, she turned to face the wall.

He got on the bed and lay on the outer side.

The bed was small. They were so close she could feel his warm breath.

“We have to get up early tomorrow, so go to sleep,” she said, her voice not quite steady.

He answered: “Mm,” then reached over and pinched out the oil lamp.

The room fell into darkness.

Pale moonlight fell through the window lattice, and the shapes in the room showed faintly.

He let down the red gauze canopy. When Chun Zhi turned over, she met his gaze.

She had just opened her mouth when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Her words were swallowed by his lips.

She tried to push him away, but he held her tighter.

His arms were iron. She could not break free. “Huo Qi…”

Last night could be blamed on wine.

Tonight both were clear-headed. Their feelings were real and strong.

In the dark, Huo Zheng loosened her sash and poured his heat into her.

She could not get away, so she gave in and sank with him.

[Just take it as trying for a child.]

Thinking this, she stopped resisting and met him halfway, even taking the lead.

They were tangled together all night, hot and unending.

Only at first light did Huo Zheng stop.

They lay under the red gauze canopy and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Before long, Chun Zhi struggled up to get dressed.

Huo Zheng drew her back and said: “It isn’t light yet.”

“We have to make tofu,” Chun Zhi said, so sleepy her eyes could barely open, but she would not miss another day of business.

“Sleep a little more,” he said, his voice low and hoarse.

“You sleep. I need to get up,” she said, slipping from his arms as she tugged on her clothes. She moved to climb over him, but brushed a certain place and gasped.

Huo Zheng sat up and asked: “What is it?”

“It’s your fault,” she said, giving him a push. “I told you to stop and you wouldn’t.”

“I’ll be careful next time,” he said.

“You still want a next time?” she said, eyes wide.

He smiled and said: “You chose to share my bed. How could there not be a next time?”

Chun Zhi shoved him, put on her shoes, and headed out.

She did not even light the lamp.

He rose too and said: “Walk slower.”

Even as he spoke, she stumbled on the door sill.

He moved fast and caught her. “I told you to slow down. You didn’t light a lamp. Why rush?”

She opened her mouth but said nothing.

[Isn’t it because of you!]

He steadied her and said: “How much money can selling tofu make in a day? If you don’t sell, so be it.”

“Easy for you to say,” she shot back. “If we don’t sell tofu, what will I eat? What will you drink?”

“With me here, you won’t go hungry,” he said.

“Right now I’m feeding you,” she said. “If you had to support me, what could you do?”

She didn’t wait for his answer and walked on.

He stood there for a moment. He had been born noble, never short of silver, and never needed to think about how to earn it.

She had asked what he could do. He could do many things, but none of them could be traded for money.

Without thinking more, he went to the stove, lit the fire, and started a pot of porridge.

At the front, Chun Zhi ground soybeans. When the tofu was ready, his porridge was too.

When Yu Zhu woke, she saw both of them busy. She greeted him: “Brother-in-law,” then went to Chun Zhi.

Chun Zhi had finished the tofu, put it in wooden molds, set it on the handcart, and pushed it into the yard.

She had worked all morning and was sweating. She lifted a sleeve to wipe her face.

Yu Zhu moved to help, but Chun Zhi said quickly: “I’m used to doing this work alone. You don’t need to help.”

Only then did Yu Zhu pull her hands back.

“I smell porridge,” Chun Zhi said as she turned.

“It’s brother-in-law. He is cooking it,” Yu Zhu said.

Huo Qi had made breakfast two mornings in a row.

“You go eat first,” Chun Zhi said. “I’ll wash my hands and come.”

Yu Zhu answered and went to ladle porridge. When Chun Zhi came in, she quickly fried two egg pancakes and set them out with porridge and salted duck eggs on the Eight Immortals table.

The three of them sat and ate breakfast.

Huo Zheng was quiet.

Chun Zhi asked Yu Zhu: “How did you sleep last night?”

“Very well,” Yu Zhu said. “I have not slept this peacefully in a long time.”

Ever since the eldest young master took her innocence, her days and nights had been full of fear. For two months she had not slept well even once.

Only here with Sister Chun Zhi could she set down her guard and rest.

“As long as you can sleep and eat your fill, the rest doesn’t matter,” Chun Zhi said gently. “Stay here without worry. If you get bored, do a little needlework. I remember your stitches are very fine.”

Yu Zhu nodded and said: “All right.”

While Chun Zhi ate, old customers came to buy tofu. She had to get up again and again to serve them, and one bowl of porridge took her a long time to finish.

After several interruptions, Huo Zheng, who had already finished eating, stood and said: “I’ll do it. You finish your breakfast.”

Chun Zhi blinked, surprised that Huo Qi offered to sell tofu. But when she saw how neat he was at cutting tofu, weighing it, taking the coins, and wrapping it up, she sat and ate in peace.

One after another, customers came, and Huo Qi handled them all.

The regulars even teased Chun Zhi, saying: “Having a husband makes a difference. Chun Zhi will have an easy life now.”

She flushed at their teasing.

Even Yu Zhu whispered to her: “Sister, meeting a good man like brother-in-law is truly fate.”

Chun Zhi smiled, hurried to finish her porridge, washed the bowls, then walked to Huo Qi’s side and said: “Go rest. I’ll take over.”

Huo Qi did not move. He looked at her and said: “Do you think I still need to rest?”

At once Chun Zhi remembered how last night she begged him to slow down and let her rest, and how he refused to stop.

Thinking of it made her ears burn. She lowered her voice and whispered to Huo Qi: “Yu Zhu is still here, can you…”