The Scent of His Wife

Su Yuhe lowered her eyes to his hand and gave a casual hum. "I'm here."

He plucked up his courage and moved closer. Seeing that she did not stop him, he loosely embraced her, resting his cheek on her shoulder. "Wife."

Each call was more tender than the last. Su Yuhe was a good deal shorter than him, her ear pressed to his chest, and his heartbeat was practically deafening her.

Being seduced for the first time felt a little funny.

She played along, offering him a ladder to climb. "What is it?"

"This slave wishes to share your quilt, Wife."

Su Yuhe questioned inwardly, That's all he wants?

Her face betrayed nothing as she hesitantly nodded. "All right."

Meng Zhixian broke into a radiant smile, delivering a point-blank blow of beauty. He reined in his smile and hurried indoors. "I'll go tell him to move."

Su Yuhe followed him inside at a leisurely pace.

Lu Mingxi was already asleep. He pushed him awake and, while he was still groggy, shifted him to the side. Lu Mingyi had not yet fallen asleep. He did not stop him, merely reaching out a long arm and wrapping his youngest brother in the quilt.

Lu Mingxi was still not quite awake. "Brother, why is it you? Where's Wife?"

Su Yuhe took off her outer robe and climbed onto the heated bed. As though he could see her in the dark, Lu Mingxi rolled toward her. Meng Zhixian swiftly blocked him and lay down beside her, separating the two.

"Second Brother Meng, why are you lying here?"

Lu Mingxi rubbed his eyes and sat up. Meng Zhixian did not answer, and Lu Mingyi caught hold of his youngest brother. "Go to sleep."

"No, I want to sleep with Wife."

She did not catch what followed, only muffled whimpers and Lu Mingyi's reprimands.

Once it fell quiet, Meng Zhixian was so nervous that he did not know where to put his hands. This quilt was much thinner than the one he shared with Lu Mingyi, yet his whole body was burning, and his face felt scorching.

Su Yuhe paid no attention to his little schemes, planning the household finances in her head.

Money flowed in and out of her hands. She had less than ten taels left, with another tael in Lu Mingyi's keeping. Once she finished copying the books in the next few days, she would have another two taels, and Meng Zhixian could earn half a tael. Altogether, it amounted to only around twelve taels.

She was earning money fairly quickly, but it simply could not withstand their spending.

After all, she had not been born and raised here, and her capacity for hardship was limited. She bought meat whenever she could afford it, never mixed coarse grains into their rice or flour, and bathed frequently. She could manage neither chopping firewood nor carrying water, so she normally bought both.

The three men at home bathed frequently too. It was not a bad thing-she also liked clean, fresh handsome men-but the money just streamed away.

It was already like this in cold weather. Summer would be even worse.

She had originally planned to marry Li Yun while she had some money on hand, adding another worker to the household. Li Yun was also good at making money. Hunting was risky, but the returns were considerable.

Only just now had she remembered that his father had passed away two years ago. He was the only one left in his family and had to observe three years of mourning, so he could not marry until next November.

That really was terrible.

Su Yuhe turned over, and their breaths suddenly mingled. Only then did she remember that someone different was sharing her quilt tonight.

Meng Zhixian edged closer to her, then made no further move.

They lay face-to-face, leaving a gap between them where the cold air ran rampant.

She reached outside the quilt and drew him toward her, quilt and all. They lay extremely close, their hair mingling, and the draft no longer poured in.

Meng Zhixian's body went rigid. He had never imagined losing his innocence in front of other people, and shame and unease welled up within him.

He had only wanted to grow closer to his wife and gain more of her favor, so his days would be a little easier.

"Cold?"

He shook his head, but his body was still trembling. Su Yuhe drew him into her arms, and he shook even harder.

She reached around to the back of his head and stroked his long hair, speaking softly. "If you're cold, we can switch places."

Meng Zhixian could not make out her expression in the darkness, but her voice settled him somewhat. He buried his face in his wife's shoulder and shook his head slightly.

His wife smelled lovely. It was an indescribable scent, warm like her, neither pungent nor sharp.

No wonder Lu Mingxi loved sharing a quilt with his wife and refused to move away when told.

Su Yuhe braced an arm beside him and rolled over to his other side before he could react. "It's warmer by the wall."

Meng Zhixian moved farther in, tilting his head to rest on her shoulder.

She could not muster the slightest resistance to a handsome man drawing close. If she were not so poor right now, unable to afford raising a child or buying contraceptive decoctions, she would truly have liked to sink her teeth in early and savor this tender young beauty.

Lu Mingxi was still sulking, his mouth covered by his brother's hand. Hearing the sounds behind him, he could not help wondering whether he would no longer be able to share his wife's quilt.

Second Brother Meng was the greatest beauty in Jiangnan. Only the sixth prince could rival him in all of Tianyuan Kingdom. His wife was bound to like him more, wasn't she?

Dejected, he burrowed into his brother's arms, only to be pushed away.

There was movement behind him.

He turned his head, and strands of hair brushed his face.

It was his wife's scent!

He moved closer, pulling his quilt over his wife's. "Wife."

Meng Zhixian, who had only just settled down, darkened. Who knew whether Lu Mingxi was truly stupid or merely playing the fool? Tonight was clearly meant for him and his wife, yet this man insisted on jumping out and adding so much drama.

Lu Mingyi opened his eyes. His younger brother had dragged away most of their quilt and plastered himself against their wife. He pressed a hand to his forehead. What a fine younger brother he had.

The familiar suffocating sensation enveloped Su Yuhe. The slight lack of oxygen cured her insomnia brought on by excessive worrying, and she soon fell asleep.

Lu Mingyi dragged him back, pinned his hands down, and warned in a low voice, "If you don't go to sleep, go stand outside."

Lu Mingxi stopped moving, expressing his displeasure with little grumbles, only to be disciplined by his brother less than two seconds later.

The commotion over there died down, but Meng Zhixian was still angry. All he was doing tonight was sharing a quilt, yet Lu Mingxi had made such a fuss. They had all come from prominent families-how could he not understand these twists and turns of the inner household?

Lu Mingxi was fourteen, not four. Surely he was not so lacking in discernment.

As far as he was concerned, it was deliberate.

If Lu Mingxi gained favor in the future, wouldn't he leave him no room to survive?

Besides, Lu Mingxi had an older brother above him. Even if he was not favored, he could still borrow his brother's might like a fox borrowing a tiger's power.

Compared with the countryside, where every household went dark after nightfall, Luoshui City was far livelier.

A woman in brocade smiled as she handed the rabbit lantern in her hand to the young man wearing a bamboo hat beside her. "I didn't expect you to like this rabbit lantern too. Your big sister will just have to bear the pain of parting with something she loves."

Xubai took the lantern with a cold snort. "A single rabbit lantern isn't enough of an apology."

The woman did not quite agree. "I don't think I did anything wrong. How could an orphan girl from the countryside be worthy of you? She wouldn't even be worthy of serving as your bedmate. I chose those three little slaves with great care. That hardly counts as humiliating her."