Do You Want a Wife? Myriad Apertures Melt Heaven Is Mine!

At dusk, a thin layer of gold burned along the horizon over Qingzhou City.

The signboard of the tavern at the street corner stood two stories high. A wooden banner hung beneath the eaves, snapping in the wind.

The ground-floor hall was packed. People played drinking games, laughed and talked, or slapped tables to hurry their food along. Heat rolled out in waves, carrying the smell of wine. Waiters threaded through the gaps with trays in hand, calling "Coming through!" without pause.

Xu Qingshan chose a window seat on the third floor and ordered two more small jugs of wine.

He was neatly dressed today, his dark green brocade robe pressed straight, but he could not sit still.

Before all the dishes had arrived, he hid both hands beneath the table, clasping and rubbing them together.

"I ordered a few dishes." Xu Qingshan pushed the menu toward Yang Xiao. "See if there's anything else you want."

Yang Xiao glanced at it and shook his head.

"No need."

Xu Qingshan drew his hands back, rested them on his knees, then moved them onto the table again.

The food soon arrived. As he poured Yang Xiao a drink, his hand shook and wine spilled onto the edge of the table. He hurriedly wiped it with his sleeve.

"Brother Yang," he began, his voice a little unsteady, "do you remember where we first met? At the County Yamen in Heishui County."

Yang Xiao peeled peanuts and popped them into his mouth one after another without answering.

"You'd only just received your captain's badge. I had the nerve to tag along with you on the Painted Skin Case. Heh, who'd have thought we'd actually pull it off?"

Xu Qingshan smiled, though there was a bitter edge to it. "To tell you the truth, I