During the short days and long nights of winter, the sky was still dark at that hour, and the entire water pavilion was shrouded in darkness, silent. Huo Xian would stand by, watching Wei Rao, occasionally mocking him.
Wei Rao, not being a fool, quickly realized he was being used as a punching bag. Someone was bottling up their frustration, unable to vent it on Ji Yuluo, so they took it all out on him.
Wei Rao’s gaze at Huo Xian grew icier.
Nanyue, observing the entire scene, thought to himself that young master Wei Xiao’s temper had indeed mellowed. However, if this continued, his patience would soon run out.
Ji Yuluo was not entirely oblivious. It was just that Huo Xian’s temperament had been so good this past year that she had forgotten how irritable he used to be. She remembered how, back then, he nearly strangled her with one hand when he failed to pry information from her lips. How could someone like that have a good temper?
But if only he had vented his anger back then, maybe they could have moved past it. Instead, he now dealt with her in a passive-aggressive manner, leaving no room for proper conversation.
That night, Huo Xian returned to the inner chamber at midnight. Ji Yuluo made a point of staying awake for him. As he got into bed, she moved closer to his side.
Her hand, not very disciplined, slipped under the hem of his nightshirt.
When Huo Xian pressed her hand through his clothes, she said, “I’m healed.”
Huo Xian responded with a sarcastic “Oh,” and a half-smile, “Just a minor injury, why bother telling me?”
See, this was exactly it.
Ji Yuluo endured it and then flipped over, pressing down on him, “How long do you plan to stay angry?”
Huo Xian glanced at her lazily, “How could I dare to be angry? Miss Yuluo is so decisive. You do whatever you want. What does it have to do with anyone else?”
Without waiting for Ji Yuluo’s reaction, he pushed her off and rolled over, wrapping himself in the quilt.
But he only closed his eyes, hearing her harshly call out “Huo Zhe’an” beside him, then turn over and toss and turn for a long time.
Huo Xian smirked.
He wasn’t really angry with her; it’s just that Ji Yuluo had no sense of consequences. If he took it lightly, she would dare to hide her injuries again next time.
Given the daily dangers she faced, he couldn’t afford to let her hide things from him when she came home. How could he let her stay away for ten days to half a month if she did?
Ji Yuluo had no idea about Huo Xian’s scheming. She just felt he was growing more irritable and couldn’t help but feel depressed, staring at the canopy. Even by midnight, she hadn’t felt sleepy.
Beside her, his breathing was steady.
Seeing it was almost dawn, she got up and went out.
The fog was thick, and the stars and moon had not yet faded, still hanging high in the sky like it was deep night, casting a bright glow over the veranda and reflecting off the lake.
Hearing noise from the woodshed, she walked over.
It turned out to be Wei Rao chopping wood. Ji Yuluo raised her eyebrows and said, “You are obedient.”
Wei Rao continued to ignore her.
Ji Yuluo had no interest in chatting with him. She walked into the kitchen, glanced around, and her gaze fell on the stove.
Suddenly, she recalled a time back in the Huo residence in the capital when Huo Xian had personally made a bowl of noodles.
At that time, she thought that given his background as a noble and a corrupt official who amassed a fortune, his cooking would be nothing special. So, she said she wasn’t hungry.
Who knew he had some real skills in the kitchen, making her feel inferior.
Thinking of this, Ji Yuluo instinctively gripped the handle of the kitchen knife, hesitating for a moment before deciding to give in and try to please him this time.
Ji Yuluo was clever and quick to learn anything. When she was young, Youdaiyue forced her to learn the qin, and she mastered it quickly. However, she later grew tired of musical and artistic pursuits and gradually neglected them. Later, Madam Qiao taught her business and bookkeeping, which she also picked up quickly. With her training under Lou Panshun, she could internalize and apply all she learned. Thus, she overestimated her culinary skills.
By the time the kitchen beams had been smoked to charcoal, it was broad daylight.
Wei Rao, in a sorry state, extinguished the firewood, immediately opened the windows for ventilation, and sat wearily on a bench outside, looking up at the sky.
The fur on Ji Yuluo’s cloak was singed black from the smoke. She washed her face, shook off the water droplets from her hands, and said calmly, “Don’t tell anyone about this.”
Wei Rao calmed himself and closed his eyes quietly.
Thinking back, he realized that life in the old temple wasn’t so bad. At least he didn’t have to put up with this nonsense. If anyone crossed him back then, he could just kill them. But now, he felt suffocated.
His face remained impassive, but inside he wondered why he was stuck with such a pair of master and mistress.
Ji Yuluo didn’t care what he was thinking. She left the kitchen with a downcast face, her brows furrowed in frustration.
Huo Xian, on the other hand, slept well that day. He woke up to daylight and, just after putting on his cloak to look for Ji Yuluo, ran into her in the corridor.
Contrary to her contrite attitude from last night, she now looked at him with cold eyes, even giving him a sidelong glance before walking straight past him, as if he had wronged her.
Huo Xian narrowed his eyes, noticing the bit of ash on her clothes.
Ji Yuluo sat quietly in her room for a while. When she was sure no one was around, she pulled a blanket over her face and flopped down on the soft couch, feeling incredibly vexed.
She had never been so troubled by such minor issues before. Now, her temperament seemed increasingly susceptible to these influences, and the frustration building inside her felt like it could cause internal injury.
Huo Xian’s schemes were indeed skillful. Ji Yuluo, realizing this belatedly, understood that she had fallen into his trap.
Just as she was thinking this, Huo Xian walked in with a bowl of scallion noodles.
The fragrant aroma was a welcome change from the smoke-filled scent she had created.
His expression was relaxed, a stark contrast to his cold demeanor of the past few days. Placing the bowl down, he said, “Eat. You’ve been busy all morning, aren’t you hungry?”
Despite his effort to remain composed, there was a hint of amusement in his words, showing that he was fully aware of what had happened.
Ji Yuluo sat there silently, staring at him.
Anyone else would be terrified to see her cold expression and wouldn’t dare to say another word. But Huo Xian found her even more endearing, laughing as he sat down beside her, very close. “Why are you still angry with me? It’s not my fault you hid your injury or burned down the kitchen. What’s the point of getting angry with me?”
His words felt like pouring oil on a fire. Ji Yuluo looked at him, her voice softening with a touch of humor. “I’ve noticed you’ve been staying late in the study, burning the midnight oil to read those secret letters. It must be exhausting, right?”
Whenever Ji Yuluo used this tone, it meant she had something up her sleeve.
Sure enough, she calmly said, “I’ve had your bedding moved to the study, Young Master Huo. You’ll have to make do there for the next few days. I’ll make sure there’s plenty of charcoal to keep you warm.”
With that, she stood up and started to leave.
Huo Xian clicked his tongue in his mind, stretched out his long arm, and pulled her back, trapping her against the rosewood cabinet. “Do you remember how you treated me after Dongxiang County?”
Of course, she remembered. A single iron chain locked to the bedpost, unforgettable by anyone.
But to Ji Yuluo, that was a different matter entirely. Huo Xian did it on purpose, while her actions were unintentional. How could they be compared?
As if he knew what she was thinking, he cut her off before she could speak. “Ji Yuluo, I just want you to understand that your feelings back then are similar to mine now. We’re both living on the edge. If you get injured and hide it, how can I not worry every time you leave Cuixue Tower? If that’s the case, I’ll have to rush to train Wei Rao.”
Ji Yuluo was puzzled. “What does this have to do with Wei Rao?”
Huo Xian sneered, “I’ll have him stage a coup and replace his master.”
Ji Yuluo raised an eyebrow, “Let him try.”
With that, the atmosphere changed.
Ji Yuluo didn’t struggle, leaning back against the cabinet.
Huo Xian pulled aside her collar and saw a shallow wound, already scabbed over and healing well.
He sighed, pulling her into his arms. “Ji Yuluo… you’re going to be the death of me.”
Ji Yuluo liked hearing him speak like this. The coldness in her eyes melted away, and she placed a hand on the back of his neck, calling him “Senior Brother.”
It was both a gesture of goodwill and an admission of fault.
Ji Yuluo never admitted her mistakes or begged for forgiveness. She had her own roundabout ways. For instance, calling him “Senior Brother” seemed to work better than “Husband.”
Huo Xian enjoyed it immensely, burying his head in her neck with a smile.
He then gently pushed her to have breakfast.
The noodles were made by him, just like before.
After her futile efforts that morning, Ji Yuluo’s appetite was whetted. But as soon as she picked up her chopsticks and got a whiff of the noodles, she inexplicably lost her appetite.
She hesitated, about to say something, when Chaolu came running in from outside, carrying a bowl of fragrant fish soup. Ji Yuluo couldn’t hold back anymore. Her face turned pale, and she started to retch violently.
It felt like her insides were going to come out.
Chaolu, wide-eyed and terrified, stood there as if holding a hot potato, not knowing what to do.
Pingxi quickly called for a doctor. At first, they thought Ji Yuluo’s reaction was due to her injury and the bland diet she had been following for several days, making her naturally nauseous at the smell of fish.
However, after the doctor examined her, they discovered that she was nearly two months pregnant. Everyone was shocked.
Ji Yuluo, especially, was in a daze, seemingly lost in thought, without a trace of joy or excitement.
She wasn’t unhappy, but she couldn’t say she was particularly pleased either.
Pregnancy was natural, but since she hadn’t noticed anything for so long, she hadn’t paid much attention to the possibility. Now that it was confirmed, she felt a huge sense of bewilderment.
Huo Xian was also taken aback. He looked at Ji Yuluo and gently squeezed her shoulder, trying to comfort her, and asked the doctor, “Are you certain? To avoid any mistakes, please check again.”
He then instructed the maid to bring Ji Yuluo a warming stone, feeling that her face seemed a bit cold.
That night, neither of them could sleep.
It was as if Ji Yuluo had a hot potato in her belly, not a baby.
Seeing her reaction, Huo Xian asked, “Are you scared?”
Huo Xian didn’t have high expectations for children, and Ji Yuluo even less so. Therefore, he had never discussed the matter with her. But he knew that eventually, they would have children, and he thought that if it was her child, he would patiently raise it.
Having thought about it early on, he accepted the news quickly, despite the initial shock. His main concern was her health.
Reflecting on her recent injury, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of fear.
Ji Yuluo thought for a long time, then shook her head and sighed softly. She was thinking the same as him.
Now that it had happened, what else could they do?
