A Little Too Salty

Huo Yun'er stood to one side, watching the scene as tears streamed down her face.

She walked over and gently wrapped her arms around the two children, her voice choked with emotion.

"Tianming, you good child... I'm afraid I'll never be able to repay what I owe you in this life."

Held by mother and daughter, Ye Tianming finally felt the taut string in his heart loosen.

"Don't say that. We're family. There's no need to keep score."

That night, after they returned to the Side Courtyard, Dai Yutong followed Ye Tianming everywhere.

Wherever he went, Dai Yutong followed, like a kitten that had just been frightened and was terrified of being left behind.

When Ye Tianming went to brew medicine, she carried over a little stool and sat beside him.

When Ye Tianming returned to his room to read, she sat close to him and held his arm.

At bedtime, she stood in the doorway clutching her little blanket and asked softly,

"Brother Tianming, can I... can I sleep with you tonight?"

"I'm a little scared on my own."

Ye Tianming looked at her red eyes and her little face, which was still swollen, and his heart softened at once.

"Okay."

Dai Yutong immediately climbed onto the bed, slipped under his covers, and lay down obediently. Then she reached out and gripped his clothes.

In the darkness, her voice slowly rose.

"Brother Tianming, will you someday think I'm a burden, like Madam said, and stop wanting me?"

Ye Tianming turned toward her and looked at her by the moonlight coming through the window.

"No."

"Never."

"Why are you so good to me?"

It was the second time she had asked him that.

Ye Tianming thought about it seriously. Then he reached out, brushed the stray hair from her forehead, and said,

"Because you deserve it. Because in this world, someone ought to treasure you more than anything."

"And that someone is me."

Dai Yutong stared at him. Moonlight shimmered in his eyes, breaking into tiny flecks of light.

She said nothing. She only edged closer and rested her face against his chest.

Even through his clothes, she could hear his steady, strong heartbeat. Slowly, she closed her eyes.

A long, long time passed—so long that Ye Tianming, tense as he was, was about to fall asleep.

Then an almost inaudible murmur came from the girl in his arms.

"Brother Tianming, when I grow up..."

"Can I marry you?"

Ye Tianming's drowsy mind snapped awake.

His whole body stiffened. Then, hardly daring to look, he slowly lowered his head.

The girl was already asleep. Her long lashes rested quietly against her cheeks, and a small, peaceful smile touched her lips, as though she had only spoken in a dream.

Ye Tianming looked at her sleeping face and shook his head, helpless and amused. He tucked the covers around her and answered in a voice as soft as a sigh.

"Okay..."

Outside, the spring night breeze drifted through the old locust tree in the courtyard.

The moonlight gradually dimmed. Inside the little room, the two children nestled against each other.

What Ye Tianming failed to notice was that, after he closed his eyes, the girl in his arms slowly opened hers. She watched him sink into sleep and whispered,

"You promised, so you can't take it back."

"Brother Tianming..."

The next day, word that Young Master Ye had stood up to the Duchess in the main hall and saved the Side Courtyard spread throughout the Duke's Mansion.

The servants were masters at seeing which way the wind blew.

The old maids who had once made every excuse to put things off, and the allowances that had arrived only now and then, all changed overnight.

The medicinal ingredients were supplied in full. When Auntie Zhang in the kitchen saw Yutong, she even took the initiative to tuck two extra pieces of meat into her food box, muttering,

"The young miss is still growing."

Everyone could see it now: Young Master Ye might be small, but he kept his word and could truly protect those under his care.

The Duchess also quieted down completely. It wasn't that Ye Tianming had won her over; she had simply weighed the situation.

The boy held the Command Token, was nothing like an ordinary six- or seven-year-old, and had a sharp tongue to boot. If she confronted him head-on, she would only embarrass herself.

So she washed her hands of the Side Courtyard and pretended she saw nothing.

Dai Yutong, meanwhile, seemed to grow up a little overnight.

One day, Ye Tianming returned from the courtyard where he trained. The moment he pushed open the door, he smelled something burning.

His heart tightened, and he hurried into the kitchen. There stood Dai Yutong on tiptoe atop a little stool, frantically stirring a pot.

Steam had flushed her little face bright red, and somehow a streak of soot had landed on her forehead.

She looked rather funny.

Ye Tianming rushed over and spoke with a touch of anger.

"What are you doing? You'll burn yourself!"

Dai Yutong turned around and waved him back in alarm.

"Brother Tianming, don't come over!"

"I... I'm making noodles for you!"

Ye Tianming froze for a moment.

"It's not a holiday or anyone's birthday. Why are you making noodles?"

Dai Yutong lowered her head and said in a tiny voice,

"Yesterday, you argued with Madam for me and Mother, and I couldn't help at all."

"So I wanted to make you something to eat. Aunt Zhang said eating hot noodles would keep you safe and sound."

"I want Brother Tianming to always be safe and sound."

Ye Tianming stood in the kitchen doorway, watching that little figure on the stool. She could barely hold the spatula steady, yet she was trying so hard to do something for him.

Suddenly, it was as though windblown sand had gotten in his eyes.

He walked over slowly, stood behind her, and closed his hand around the little hand holding the spatula, guiding her as she stirred.

"Here, I'll teach you."

"The fire's too high. Turn it down first. Wait for the water to boil before adding the noodles. The chopsticks..."

The two children huddled over the pot, one teaching and the other learning. Steam billowed up and gradually fogged the window.

Of course, the finished noodles didn't look very good. They were a little clumped together, and there was too much salt.

But Ye Tianming ate every last bite and even drank the broth.

The broth made Ye Tianming cough twice, but he finally finished it. He set down his bowl and said earnestly,

"Delicious. Those were the best noodles I've ever had."

Dai Yutong broke into a smile, revealing two little pointed canine teeth. Her eyes shone like stars as she held out a finger.

"Then I'll make them for you every day from now on."

Ye Tianming stiffened. Then, as though he had made up his mind, he held out his finger and hooked it around hers.

"Okay. I'll be waiting!"

Huo Yun'er leaned against the doorframe, watching the bigger and smaller figures in the kitchen, and quietly wiped the corners of her eyes.

She had suffered so much in her life that she had thought her days would simply go on that way. She had never expected to taste sweetness like this again.

Ye Tianming knew the Duchess wouldn't give up just like that. While Dai Hao was away this year, she would probably try something else.

But he wasn't afraid.

Ye Tianming looked at the girl beside him, who grew more cheerful with each passing day. His gaze was gentle and resolute.

The road ahead was long. Step by step, he would protect her and help her grow.

He would watch her walk out of the Side Courtyard of the Duke's Mansion and into the vast world that belonged to her.

No one would ever make her suffer the slightest grievance again.

Though it was probably time to help Yutong improve her cooking...