Spring of the Blade - Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Qingyuan was still a young girl; she did not fully understand the profound connotation of what is called a "kiss." She only knew that when she was happy, she would kiss a cheek, or at most, touch lips. Although it felt bashful when she thought about it, since it was an act of intimacy with the one she loved, it naturally didn't matter.

What a lovely night it was. Outside, the moonlight was clear and bright, and the leaves in the courtyard rustled. She hung from his neck like a gourd, and that sweet burden, in turn, gave her a sense of security and solid contentment.

A fire was burning in his heart. She was so close that their noses almost touched. Looking at her from this distance, she appeared flawless, without a speck of dust. She had come to ask for a kiss, colliding directly into his heart, but she was a little silly and did not realize what consequences might follow from stirring up a man’s desires.

He squinted slightly and pecked her lips, "How was that?"

She blushed, but there was no lingering sensation, only the feeling of soft lips pressing against hers like a seal... but it had lasted too short a time, leaving her feeling unsatisfied.

"Is that all for the kiss?" she asked innocently, though her sense of achievement was quite real.

She never realized just how attractive her inadvertent, naive charm was to a man. His breathing grew somewhat hurried, and he chuckled softly, "That was just an appetizer; there is more to come. A real kiss can suck the very soul out of one's heart."

She thought he was being alarmist, "You are trying to scare me again!"

"You don't believe me?" He laughed mischievously, cradling her as he said, "If you don't believe me... I will show you."

He kissed her again, their lips and teeth interlocked. Qingyuan was surprised to find that there could be such extreme intimacy between two people. She tasted a man's scent, faint and lingering, like the aroma of ambergris, which instantly filled her thoughts. She saw how intently he kissed, the comfort in his eyes like that of a child receiving candy.

He seemed very happy, Qingyuan thought to herself. If he was happy, then all was well; she was happy too. But then he opened his eyes dreamily, and seeing her staring straight at him, he couldn't help but laugh. He covered her eyes with one hand to block her view and whispered softly, "No looking."

One shouldn't look while doing such things, for if one looks, it becomes impossible to continue. Qingyuan closed her eyes obediently; it turned out the feeling after closing one's eyes was different—perhaps it was like... a single spark starting a prairie fire.

She heard her own heartbeat quickening, and a strange, urgent desire to cry out filled her throat. He held her face with great reverence; after a fierce intensity came a calm like the autumn moon over a river, pecking here, and then pecking there. She didn't know why, but she groaned softly, and the long, trailing note made him freeze for a moment.

He seemed to grit his teeth, wanting to crush her—to crush this person and knead her into his own flesh and blood. Qingyuan felt the same, wanting to crush him; she circled his broad back with her arms, and although her strength was small, she tried very hard to respond to him.

Then, while kissing, they both started to laugh. He asked, "What are you doing?"

Qingyuan’s hands were still firmly clasped around his back, and she said, embarrassed yet innocent, "I'm hugging you."

He reached his hand around and scratched his back, "I thought a big dumpling had jumped onto my back..." There were always places he couldn't reach, and he hissed through his teeth, "So itchy."

People like them, who would stop to scratch an itch while kissing, were probably rare. Qingyuan tugged at the clothes on his back to help him rub, "Where? Is it here?"

He twisted back and forth, and the way he moved, chasing her fingertips, was a bit like a cat.

Qingyuan scratched with all her might, as if scratching an itch were a good way to strengthen their bond. In truth, she didn't realize that he had withdrawn from the game midway because he feared his own willpower wasn't enough. Old Madam Chen trusted him implicitly, letting him enter the inner chambers to see her even after dark; if they overstepped before marriage, there would be no way to answer to their elders.

But this didn't stop him from teasing her, "Are you itchy? I'll scratch for you too."

Unfortunately, Qingyuan didn't fall for his trick, "I have Baoxian; I don't need you to scratch. Why did you return at this hour? In the days you were in Shangjing, you haven't been bathing, have you?"

He naturally said no, "I bathe every day." For the refined Commander, washing was as important as eating. However, since she asked, it wouldn't do to show no reaction, so he leaned in closer and sniffed at her neck, "The young lady has bathed today; you smell very sweet, I can tell."

Qingyuan pushed him away a little, embarrassed, "Of course I am fragrant, even if I didn't wash, I would still be fragrant." As she spoke, she stood up and asked, "Do you want some water? Let me pour you a cup."

He shook his head, his gaze ambiguous as he spoke, "The young lady just offered me fragrant tea; I am not thirsty yet."

At first, Qingyuan didn't understand, but when it finally dawned on her, she stammered, "No... you are not allowed to make fun of me, I am going to... to get angry."

He stepped up and embraced her, laughing, "Words between husband and wife, a laugh is enough; don't be angry."

She became coy again, "Who is your wife..."

"You, of course." He cupped her face and kissed her plump red lips once more, then pulled her into his embrace and sighed, "What can be done? One day apart is like three autumns..."

Even a battle-hardened Commander had his moments of sentimentality. Qingyuan wrapped her arms around his waist and whispered, "I am the same... A few days ago, Grandmother brought the wedding dress for me to see. I tried it on, and only then did I feel that I am truly going to be married."

He smiled and said, "Do you feel like it's a dream to be able to marry me? I complain every day that time moves too slowly, and I complained that there was no good news from beyond the border. But today, a message arrived by carrier pigeon saying that a wing of the Imperial Guard assisted Commissioner Xie in capturing Shibu City. It was a pass taken at the cost of over twenty thousand lives, yet the number of captured and neutralized Tubo people was only six hundred. The Sage is both happy and sad, saying he shouldn't have been so fixated on his pride, which led to such losses in troops and generals."

Qingyuan felt melancholy hearing this, "Earlier, the Old Master refused to capture Shibu City, and thus disagreed with the Sage politically. Now that the war is over, the Sage realizes his persistence was justified. I expect that since his merits and faults cancel each other out, the Sage shouldn't make things too difficult for the Old Master."

Shen Run pulled her to sit on the couch, saying languidly, "Such is fate. Without the Commissioner's setbacks, how would I have arrived at today? His merits and faults cancel each other out, but for me, a promotion is in sight. The Sage wanted to make me a Jiedushi (Regional Military Commissioner) earlier, but the court has always been stable, and there was never a good opportunity. Now, this title is secure; the Lulong Army guards Youzhou, and since the previous commissioner was dismissed, the position has always been held in my hand. Now I have a legitimate reason, and the Sage won't make things difficult."

Qingyuan nodded; seeing his career flourishing, she was happy as well. However, just as she held his hand, she noticed the calluses on his palms. She turned his hand over to look, rubbing it as she asked with heartache, "You haven't had a moment of leisure these ten days in Shangjing, have you?"

He smiled, "There were some official duties piled up at the yamen, but I worked hard to finish them these past two days so I could be free for our wedding."

Her eyes shimmered with light as she looked at him, then she lowered her eyes and stroked his palm again, "It is all because of me that you have been so busy."

Afraid she would overthink, he lowered his voice, "I am happy to do it. Besides, it wasn't just because of the wedding; the yamen has plenty of official work as well. These calluses are nothing; it was from riding and traveling... do you want to see other places?"

Qingyuan immediately understood what he meant, and blushing, she hit him, "Stop talking nonsense!"

He took a couple of hits, "Since I returned to the capital, no one has dared to hit me; now only my lady takes action against me." By the end, he sounded somewhat aggrieved.

She came over to coax him, patting his arm, "I don't hit hard... if you feel wronged, why don't you hit me twice?"

How could he bear to hit her? He laughed, "Hitting a woman, how could that be?" He shook his head, "I don't hit women, especially my own woman."

That point was good as well. Back when she was at Hengtang, her grandfather’s nephew used to beat his wife. Every time that aunt came over, her face and hands were always bruised, yet she would claim she bumped into things just to save face; it was truly pitiful.

She leaned against him and asked, "Is the war at Shibu City settled?"

He gave an "um," "The people sent by the Yulong Guard sent word back first. After the battle, the troops need to be counted and reorganized. For the Commissioner to return to the capital, it will take at least a month. Tomorrow, I will prepare gifts to formally request the date. Let's get married sooner, so we can have a son sooner."

Qingyuan's face turned beet red at his words, "You only think about having a son..."

He paused slightly and smiled, "It's not just that I want a son; it's that I want to see you every day. I know you are too young, so having a child right now isn't good for your health." However, preparations for having children could start earlier. In truth, she didn't know that he valued that part the most.

Having agreed to come and request the date the next day, he indeed arrived as promised. When the Commander came to deliver the betrothal gifts, it was always done with great grandeur. Qingyuan understood that he wanted to earn her respect. No matter what rumors were circulating outside, he was determined to elevate her status. He had set his heart on one person and would not be shaken. Sometimes, even she did not understand how he could have such firm conviction.

She sat in the side hall next door listening as they arranged the date and went over the gift list. Finally, it was set for the sixth day of the eleventh month.

Baoxian bowed to her with a smile, "Congratulations, Young Lady. Exactly three months left."

Qingyuan bowed her head to calculate; three months... with all the miscellaneous things to prepare, three months was just about enough time.

However, he was busy. Once the date was set, he was in a rush to return to Shangjing. Since the Shen family had no elders to oversee the preparations, and Fangchun was pregnant and getting quite heavy, it was not good to trouble her. Qingyuan had to attend to things herself.

That day, she went to the Commander's mansion because a servant had reported that the courtyard for the wedding had been renovated and prepared, and they asked the young lady to take a look. She brought Baoxian to the mansion and checked everything inside and out carefully. The servants in the Shen household were quite efficient, but the expenses seemed a bit questionable. For example, a mother-of-pearl cabinet that cost at most a hundred taels on the market was recorded at double that price in their ledger. Having never experienced the hardships of managing a household, Shen Run was a man; even if he knew the house expenses weren't quite right, he didn't have the time or energy to investigate.

After looking at the ledger, Qingyuan closed it. With an indifferent expression, she said to the stewards below, "I used to manage the household with my grandmother, and I know how difficult it is to be in charge. Over these next three months, everything will still rely on Mother Zhou and the other matrons to take care of."

The older women agreed, but in their hearts, they knew this new mistress would not be easy to fool in the future. Once she had seen the ledger, she might not have failed to notice the trickery, but she didn't mention it to preserve everyone's dignity.

Although Mother Zhou felt a bit uneasy, she still harbored a sliver of luck, thinking that a girl in her teens couldn't be as sharp as she imagined. She smiled and promised, "Young Lady, rest assured. We are all old staff of the mansion. When the household faced hardships, we were scattered everywhere, and it was only after the Old Master restored the family's standing that he called us back. We are sincere in working for this home, having shared such difficulties; what else is there to say? Before the Old Master married, we handled more of the burdens; once you come over, you can make the decisions, and we will follow."

Hearing this tone, they clearly didn't intend to hand over the accounts. Qingyuan didn't press further; she asked as if in idle conversation, "How much land and grain does the Old Master have now? Who is handling it all?"

Mother Wang replied, "Replying to the Young Lady, it is all handled by our husbands. The Old Master has seven hundred mu of official land and three hundred and sixty shi of annual salary grain..."

"Incorrect." Qingyuan did not wait for her to finish before cutting her off, "According to the decrees of this dynasty, the Old Master should have one thousand mu of official land and four hundred and sixty shi of salary grain as a second-rank official." Seeing the woman's face change drastically, she smiled and steered the conversation back, "External matters are handled by outside people, and it is natural that things in the inner court might be unclear. It doesn't matter; this can be discussed later. The priority right now is the arrangement of the courtyard. I saw it today, and it is very good. Later, when the Old Master is present, I will certainly request a reward for you all."

That was that. Because she had not yet officially entered the door, some things had to be tolerated. However, a warning was necessary. The meaning was very clear: the one who would manage the household in the future knew everything. She would not pursue the graft of the past, but from now on, they needed to be careful. Since she could grant rewards, she could certainly grant punishments. The Old Master of the house worked in criminal law, and if it truly came to a point where they lost all respect, no matter how seasoned they were as old servants, blood would never be thicker than the person sharing his pillow.

The women were all fearful and said in succession, "This was originally our duty; we dare not claim credit before the Young Lady."

Qingyuan did not argue with them, but smiled, "You have all worked hard. Go and rest now; I will take another look and be on my way soon."

The women took their leave and exited the courtyard. Baoxian waited until they were far away before saying, "Truly, there is no household inner court whose accounts are completely clean. The Master is a second-rank official, yet those stewards do not hold back on swindling him."

Qingyuan replied, "When large amounts of silver pass through one's hands every day, how incorruptible must one be to not steal even half a copper? But today I stretched their tendons and bones. Before the wedding, we need to send some of our own people over, and every part of the bridal chamber must be carefully inspected."

Baoxian understood immediately. As the saying goes, it is better to offend a gentleman than to offend a petty person; petty people often harbor thoughts of revenge and might inevitably cause trouble. The success of the wedding concerned her whole life; if the feng shui were ruined anywhere, or if some inappropriate items appeared, that would be a major problem.

Baoxian said, "Young Lady, rest assured. I will pick a few experienced matrons, and I will come along as well."

Qingyuan nodded. As she turned, she saw Fangchun and a young lady she had never met coming toward them. She hurriedly went to meet them and took Fangchun's arm, saying, "I was afraid of disturbing you, so I specifically didn't send word, yet you have come anyway."

Fangchun said, "Since my sister-in-law has arrived, how could I not come? The renovation of this courtyard just started, so I often come to take a look. I haven't been feeling very well these few days, so I have been lazy about walking."

Qingyuan helped her sit down and said, "There are plenty of people to handle things at home; you don't need to oversee it yourself. You just need to take care of yourself. Now that you are pregnant, you must be careful in everything. Where are you not feeling well? Has a doctor seen you?"

She was, after all, still a young girl, and she might not know about these pregnancy-related issues. Fangchun smiled and glossed over it, "It's nothing too serious. The doctor said I have a deficiency of qi and prescribed a couple of doses of medicine for me to take and recover with." She then said 'oh,' "I was so busy chatting with you that I forgot to introduce you. This is the daughter of the Shaoyin (Assistant Magistrate) of Xuanzhou; her name is Haoxue, and she is related to my maiden family. Her family only moved to Youzhou last month. Haoxue sees that I am lonely, so she often comes to the mansion to keep me company."

That young lady from the Shaoyin's house stepped forward, performed a salute, and smiled, "I have often heard Sister Fangchun mention the Young Lady, and I have long wanted to make your acquaintance, but I never had the opportunity."

Qingyuan leaned slightly to return the salute, "I have been quite busy these past few days and truly haven't had the time to come to this mansion..."

"I suppose there is much to prepare before the wedding, so it is no wonder the Young Lady is busy." Her words were very considerate, and she looked at Qingyuan with a faint gaze as she spoke, "Sister Fangchun said the Young Lady was young, and now that I see you, it is indeed true. The Young Lady has such good fortune; let me offer my congratulations first."

Qingyuan observed this young lady from the Shaoyin's house; her appearance was quite proper, and she seemed well-educated, but for some reason, her gaze always made people feel uncomfortable. However, since she was offering congratulations, she couldn't not respond, so she returned the salute again and said thank you.

Fangchun was a simple-minded person and said bluntly, "Once my sister-in-law is married in, the three of us can often be together; it will be so lively then."

Qingyuan smiled, "I only fear that Miss Haoxue's family will not let her come out often."

Haoxue said, "My family is usually very strict, but because I am related to Sister Fangchun, they don't restrict me."

"That's right, they only moved here a month ago, and she has spent more than half of the month with me." Fangchun held Haoxue's hand and said, "Shen Che is busy and often not at home; I am grateful to have Haoxue here to keep me company and relieve my boredom."

Qingyuan only smiled and didn't say anything else. Secretly, she pondered: a Shaoyin of Xuanzhou, a sixth-rank official—if their family upbringing was good, how could their daughter run to someone else's house for more than half a month? But seeing that Fangchun liked her, she had nothing to criticize. She simply told her to take good care of herself and to send word to the Chen mansion if anything happened, and then she took her leave.

On the way back, Baoxian exclaimed, "The Commander's wife must truly be stifled; she is like someone drowning who finally grabbed a straw for company."

Qingyuan also sighed, "It hasn't been easy for her. Her maiden family is far away, and she stays in a big house all day long, just like living in a prison."

However, the difficult times were yet to come. Not two days later, a servant from the Shen household came to report with a face full of anxiety, "It's terrible! Young Lady, please hurry and take a look; the Second Mistress has had a fall and is crying in pain at home.”