Getting Up in the Night

On the same night, some drifted into peaceful dreams, some gazed up at the stars in the wilderness, some listened to opera at Bright Moon Pavilion, and some lay in a woodshed, quietly staring at the pitch-black roof.

The tenderness on Su Yuhe's face as she looked at her husband kept flashing through Ruan Puchuan's mind. If only she were his wife.

A thought he had briefly entertained long ago surfaced again.

When he first arrived, he had considered getting Li Wenxiu pregnant. Even if that meant losing his greatest value, he would still be the child's father. If he endured until his harsh father-in-law died, life would get better.

But that thought had died before it lasted even three days.

His wife had an odd temper and no interest in men. The slightest attempt to draw close earned him beatings and curses. In two years, they had rarely spoken, and despite living under the same roof, they spent pitifully little time together.

If he could attach himself to Su Yuhe and give her a child, even if he could not escape this place, at least his life would be a little better.

He touched his face. The calluses on his hand scraped painfully against it. His face was covered in little cuts where he had grazed it on the stones when he fell that afternoon.

Ruan Puchuan deflated. How could someone like him entice a woman with three beautiful husbands at home to see him in a different light?

His stomach growled again and again. That evening, his harsh father-in-law had, for once, given him a couple more mouthfuls of food, but he was still so hungry.

Su Yuhe had drunk too much water that evening and slept restlessly, the pressure in her bladder waking her several times, but it was so cold that she did not want to go outside to use the privy.

After several rounds of this, she was fully awake.

She opened her eyes, carefully draped her clothes over herself, climbed out of bed, and left the room for the privy.

After using the privy, she went around to the kitchen to wash her hands. She was about to go back to sleep when a sudden knock at the gate startled her.

She stopped and pricked up her ears, listening quietly.

She waited a long time without hearing another knock.

Su Yuhe let out a breath of relief. Just as she thought-who would come knocking at this hour?

Knock, knock-

Cold sweat crept up her back.

She waited a little longer, and the knocking sounded again.

She walked to the gate and asked softly, "Who is it?"

There was a soft scuff of footsteps outside, quickly fading into the distance. Su Yuhe opened the gate and looked out.

By the moonlight, she could only make out a tall, thin figure. It looked strangely familiar.

"Wife?"

Su Yuhe jumped and spun around. It was Lu Mingyi.

He took two steps forward and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Wife. I startled you."

She pressed a hand to her chest and shut the gate. "You scared me to death. Why aren't you asleep?"

"I drank too much ginger soup this evening."

She reached out, and Lu Mingyi lowered his head without prompting. Su Yuhe checked his forehead. It was no longer hot; it was even a little cool.

She withdrew her hand. "Go to bed soon."

Su Yuhe was about to return to her room when a pair of slightly cool hands caught her hand hanging at her side. She turned to look, and the young man embraced her. "Second Brother and Third Brother are both asleep. Let this servant attend to you, Wife."

There was not a trace of desire in his eyes, as though he intended to handle it as a matter of duty. Su Yuhe was attentive to the finest detail. She raised a hand and patted his waist, feeling his body tremble beneath her palm.

"Let's wait a while."

She stroked his loose hair, which carried a chill. "Go to bed soon. Don't catch cold."

Su Yuhe released him and hurried back to her room. As she slipped under the covers, Meng Zhixian rubbed his eyes, heavy with sleep, his voice soft. "Where did you go, Wife?"

"The privy."

After asking, he hugged Su Yuhe and soon fell asleep. Her body, chilled stiff by her brief trip outside, quickly warmed again, and before long, she too went off to meet the Duke of Zhou.

When Lu Mingyi returned, bringing the cold in with him, there was no longer any room for him. His youngest brother had rolled himself up in the quilt and curled up beside their wife. Getting under the covers would take some effort.

With a quiet sigh, he pulled a little of the quilt out from the gap and covered himself. Just as he began to feel sleepy, the quilt was rolled away again.

He opened his eyes and dragged his youngest brother back.

Over and over, he slept and woke, until the rooster in the courtyard crowed.

Lu Mingxi opened his eyes groggily. It was still dark outside. With difficulty, he climbed up and got dressed, then tucked the quilt around his elder brother before heading out.

He had cut plenty of grass yesterday and had thought he would not need to cut any more today, but there was another chicken at home now, such a skinny one. He needed to feed it more and raise it nice and plump.

The early morning was heavy with dew and cold. Lu Mingxi pulled his clothes tighter around himself, opened the door, and went out.

A few steps to the side after leaving home brought him to the flagstone path leading to the mountain behind them, with wild grass growing thickly on either side. He cut from the first gray light until sunrise, filling his back basket with grass. He pressed it down again and again, only preparing to return when he could compress it no further.

"Don't you want this?"

A slightly raspy voice sounded. Lu Mingxi looked toward it and saw the young man he had met before squatting beside him, pointing at a plant on the ground.

Lu Mingxi crouched down and examined the plant he was pointing at. "What is this?"

"A wild vegetable."

"A vegetable?" Lu Mingxi's eyes widened. "Can you eat it?"

Meeting the young man's innocent face, Ruan Puchuan stiffly forced a smile. "Of course you can, though it's a little bitter."

He had not smiled in a long time. The muscles in his face were stiff, making him look a little odd.

Fortunately, Lu Mingxi did not mind. His attention was fixed entirely on the vegetable before him. "Can you tell me which ones are edible?"