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Then he realized he was completely naked. Xie Ning curled his toes against the bottom of the tub and leaned forward in embarrassment, trying to hide his lower body.

"You cried out that you were hot before you fainted, so I put you in the bathtub."

Only after making sure Xie Ning was safe did Zhou Jinian let go. He glanced back at the food on the table and asked Xie Ning, "Hungry?"

Xie Ning sank into the water until only his head remained above it, both hands gripping the rim of the tub. He tilted his head up slightly, his peach-blossom eyes fixed on Zhou Jinian. He was hungry, but he did not want to leave the water-filled tub, and he was naked, so he pressed his lips together and said quietly, "No."

"What time is it?" Xie Ning asked cautiously.

Zhou Jinian replied, "The fourth watch."

Xie Ning rubbed his feet together underwater. It looked as though he would have to go hungry for several more hours, waiting past midnight and then through the cockcrow before he could eat.

Xie Ning said nothing more. Zhou Jinian looked over and, in the hazy candlelight, saw the childlike roundness of his cheeks. His heart softened a little. Xie Ning was still only a young lad.

"Have a little even if you aren't hungry. You shouldn't sleep on an empty stomach." With that, Zhou Jinian went to fetch the bowls and tray, picking up a wooden stool along the way. Just as he was about to sit down, he remembered that the food had been cold for some time.

"It's gone completely cold. I'll take it to warm up."

Cold food was exactly what Xie Ning wanted. Even warm food would burn his mouth, so he hurriedly said, "It's just right. I can eat it."

"I can't eat it warm. It burns my mouth." Anxious, Xie Ning rose slightly, the waterline just covering his pale chest.

Hearing the water stir again, Zhou Jinian knew Ninglang was anxious. He came back and sat on the wooden stool, holding the wooden tray. "Then eat."

There were two bowls on the wooden tray before him: one of white rice and another brimming with meat and vegetables, with a large chicken leg laid across it.

Xie Ning picked up the rice bowl and took the chicken leg first. As he prepared to bite into it, he looked at Zhou Jinian's largely expressionless face and felt a little afraid. "Would you like some?"

"I've eaten. Go ahead." Zhou Jinian lowered his eyes and stopped looking at Ninglang, afraid his habitually stern, unsmiling face would frighten him.

Xie Ning swallowed, then opened his mouth wide and took a bite of the large chicken leg. The chicken had been stewed until tender, and even cold, it was full of savory flavor.

While Xie Ning filled his stomach, Zhou Jinian kept holding the other bowl of meat and vegetables, indulging Xie Ning by letting him soak in the water as he attended to his meal.

Faced with Zhou Jinian, a husband who was practically a stranger yet cared about him, worried that he might go hungry, and attended to his meal, Xie Ning's anxious heart settled. He had found a good man.

It seemed he really was fortunate, just as the villagers said.

Zhou Jinian occasionally looked up at Xie Ning. Seeing how contentedly he ate, he could not help relaxing his brow.

Soaking in the water made Xie Ning feel comfortable, and his appetite grew. Besides, he was sixteen, still at a growing age, and he actually polished off the entire bowl of rice and bowl of meat and vegetables.

Licking his lower lip, Xie Ning set down his bowl and chopsticks. "I'm full."

Then he watched Zhou Jinian stand with the tray and turn his back to him. The breadth of Zhou Jinian's shoulders and back reminded Xie Ning that he had lain on this man's back and been carried here.

He was married. He and this tall, handsome man with his imposing physique had become husbands.

Zhou Jinian poured two cups of wine, then walked back and offered one to Xie Ning. "Can you drink? Let's make up for the wedding toast."

Xie Ning accepted the little wine cup and spoke solemnly. "You don't mind? I look so frightening now."

"I will find a way to cure you," Zhou Jinian said earnestly. "Since you can breathe in the water and feel more comfortable there, stay in it. I had this bathtub prepared especially for you."

"If there's anything that will make you comfortable, just ask. I'm your husband now, not an outsider."

In a daze, Xie Ning linked arms with Zhou Jinian and drank the wedding wine. Perhaps because Zhou Jinian was so unsmiling, his words felt like a promise to Xie Ning rather than something said merely to fob him off.

After all this, the summer sky had begun to brighten. Zhou Jinian did not plan to sleep. He went to the bed to dress, then, once properly attired, approached Xie Ning and looked at his young husband in the water. "Sleep a little longer. Would you rather go to bed or stay in the water?"

Xie Ning waved his arms through the water. "In the water."

"All right. I'll go wash up, then come back to review my books." Zhou Jinian rolled up his sleeves and left the room.

Xie Ning was a little happy. Unable to help himself, he buried his face in the water, blinking his eyes underwater in an expression of his inward delight.

When Zhou Jinian finished washing up, it was not yet fully light, so he began chopping firewood, both to share his father's chores and to strengthen his wrists.

In the imperial examinations, neat writing and good calligraphy could make an excellent impression on the examiners.

After he had chopped wood for a while, he heard a rooster crow.

His father, Lin Jin, had risen too and walked toward him while rolling up his sleeves. "Why are you up so early? Last night...?"

Last night had been his son's wedding night, after all.

"I slept well. I wanted to get up early to review my books." Not wanting his father to worry unnecessarily, he added, "Ninglang was tired last night and is still asleep. I'll wake him when it's time to serve tea."

"Then let him rest. Your grandmother said last night that he needn't serve tea." Lin Jin was merely passing on Grandmother Zhou's words.

In fact, what Grandmother Zhou had said last night was much uglier: "If he has nothing to do, keep him in his room. Don't let him wander around the Zhou house, frightening people to death."

The Zhou Clan had not divided its households, and the Zhou residence had been expanded again and again. Third Zhou's family occupied two rooms: one for Zhou Sanfeng and Lin Jin, and one for Zhou Jinian and his new husband. The front door faced the central inner courtyard of the Zhou residence, while a small space behind the back door was enclosed by a courtyard wall.

They were standing in that small space now, which could count as a little courtyard for their own family.

Those words suited Zhou Jinian perfectly. He did not want to take Ninglang to serve tea either, only to receive his grandmother's disdainful looks for no reason.

After exchanging a few words with him in the little courtyard, Lin Jin hurried away to cook breakfast. Only then did Zhou Jinian wash his hands and return to the room.

The moment he entered, Zhou Jinian saw pale, tender feet propped on the rim of the bathtub, the ankles slender and their bones clearly defined.