Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Zhong Yizhu woke up feeling warm and cozy.

The blanket was snug and warm, and the person beside him had their limbs tangled around him, holding him close. Sunlight was already streaming through the window; it wasn’t that early, but on a cold autumn morning like this, even staying in bed felt like pure bliss.

Zhong Yizhu opened his eyes to find Pei Mu’s sleeping face right in front of him.

Pei Mu had said he was thin, but actually Pei Mu had also lost some weight—his cheeks were a bit leaner, making his nose look sharper, and his features looked even more intense.

Zhong Yizhu thought of Pei Song’s looks and couldn’t help but think it was a classic case of “a good sprout from a bad bamboo”—Pei Song was probably ugly inside and out, which was why he was so jealous and hateful toward Pei Mu.

Pei Mu was nineteen this year. Now, the usual harshness in his brows had faded, revealing a youthful edge. His sword-like eyebrows arched, his nose straight, lips thin.

Zhong Yizhu watched for a while, then leaned in and gently kissed him on the cheek. He’d found himself such a handsome husband; his father should be happy.

Pei Mu had been plagued by snake venom in the past few days and hadn’t been able to sleep well. It was only the last two nights, once the leftover poison cleared, that he slept deeply. Since he didn’t need to get up early today, he let himself sleep in and had a great dream.

Feeling the soft, light touch on his cheek, he woke from a beautiful dream. The person in front of him was the one from his dream—what could be better?

As Zhong Yizhu moved, a faint scent of pear blossoms came with him. Pei Mu, still drowsy, wasn’t satisfied and buried his face in Zhong Yizhu’s neck, breathing deeply.

Zhong Yizhu was already limp from sleep, and now he was too weak to push Pei Mu away. Pei Mu took in the full scent of pear blossoms, satisfied, and then lifted his head, leaning in, pressing his forehead against Zhong Yizhu’s, and smiling at him.

“Happy birthday, Zhu Ge’er.”

Zhong Yizhu looked at the golden specks in Pei Mu’s eyes, and his own eyes filled with a smile. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Pei Mu’s neck. “Thank you, husband.”

Pei Mu stared at him for a moment, then leaned in to kiss him again.

Only after kissing Zhong Yizhu until his eyes shimmered did Pei Mu get up to fetch clothes for Zhong Yizhu to wear.

Pei Mu also put on new clothes today—he was going to see his father-in-law, so he had to look sharp.

The new clothes were made by Zhong Yizhu with his own hands. They had gotten dirty on the day he was injured, but later washed clean.

He hardly ever wore such light colors, and after changing, he felt a bit awkward, but Zhong Yizhu was extremely pleased.

The indigo-blue fabric really suited Pei Mu. Just by changing clothes, the coldness in his expression turned into a young man’s rebellious look, nowhere near as intimidating as before.

He grabbed a basket and went out with Pei Mu. As they passed through the village, everyone they greeted on the road stared at Pei Mu in surprise, as if seeing his good looks for the first time. When they met Wang Pingan on the way, he even clapped his hands over his eyes in exaggeration, saying he thought Pei Mu was some young master from town.

Pei Mu usually hated that kind of talk, but since everyone who praised him also said he and Zhong Yizhu looked perfect together, he found even the earlier comments nice.

The shift in the villagers’ attitude was naturally thanks to the stupid stunt the Pei family had pulled on a whim when Pei Mu was seriously ill.

After the earlier incident, the villagers had badmouthed the Pei family for days. Pei Mu, on the other hand, saw his reputation improve. Someone went to ask Mr. Zhu from the neighboring village if the “jinx” fate he had predicted for Pei Mu was still real. Mr. Zhu said mysteriously, “Man can overcome fate.”

After a lot of discussion, the villagers decided that since Pei Mu had survived such a strong poison, maybe the jinx was already broken. Some also remembered what Zhong Yizhu had said and started whispering that Pei Song might be the real jinx, just pushing Pei Mu out to take the blame. Now that the scapegoating was exposed, the jinx would return to Pei Song, which matched what Mr. Zhu had said.

Pei Song had pinned the blame on Pei Mu, and most villagers didn’t feel guilty or sorry about it. They just cursed Pei Song a little more and felt a bit sorry for Pei Mu, treating him normally.

Though Pei Mu wore new clothes for no special occasion, few were jealous—after all, he had cheated death, so changing into something new to shake off bad luck made sense.

Zhong Yizhu and Pei Mu made their way to Zhong Laoer’s grave.

Incense and candles were already set in front of the grave, and the area had been cleaned. It was obvious Sun Yunniang had come early to pay her respects.

Yesterday was a day for family, but his mother must have missed his father even more.

Zhong Yizhu set the basket down and took out incense, paper money, and his father’s favorites: braised pig head, braised edamame, and a piece of osmanthus cake.

Pei Mu lit the candles, and they each took three sticks of incense, lit them, and knelt before the tombstone.

They kowtowed, offered wine, and burned paper money.

Pei Mu wasn’t familiar with the rituals; he just followed Zhong Yizhu’s lead.

After the worship, Zhong Yizhu crouched in front of the grave, using a stick to stir the pile of paper so that the unburned money underneath could continue burning.

Zhong Yizhu looked at the offerings, his eyes red from the smoke.

“Dad, this is Pei Mu. I married him. Now he gets to call you Dad too.”

Pei Mu followed with a “Dad,” his emotions a jumble.

Zhong Yizhu went on, “Dad probably doesn’t remember him. But when Dad came to the village once, you gave him a pack of osmanthus cake. He’s remembered it all these years. He saved me, and then he married me. He treats me so well. Dad, you must have seen it all from up there.”

“I’ve started my own business, Dad. A lot of people like my incense. My little stall is doing great. I plan to make more kinds of incense to attract more customers, and when the time is right, I’ll open a shop. Pei Mu and my mother both support me. Will Dad support me too?”

Zhong Yizhu waited until all the sparks in the pile of paper went out. A gust of wind came up, swirling the ashes into the air.

He wiped the ash off the tombstone with reddened eyes. “Dad, remember to visit me in my dreams. Mom and I miss you very much.”

After the worship, when he was packing the food back into the basket, Pei Mu, who had been silently standing by, came over to help.

Zhong Yizhu picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and brought it to Pei Mu’s mouth, making him eat it.

There was a folk saying that eating the food and fruit offered at a grave would receive the ancestors’ blessing.

Pei Mu obediently opened his mouth. The osmanthus cake slid in, sweet and soft, and it tasted exactly the same as it had many years ago.

“Dad will bless you from now on,” Zhong Yizhu said.

“Hmm.” Pei Mu picked up the basket and pulled him up, stuffing a piece of cake into his mouth as well. “Dad will bless both of us.”

Zhong Yizhu took one last look at the tombstone, then turned and walked down the mountain with Pei Mu.

They had agreed to eat at Sun Yunniang’s place today.

As soon as Zhong Yizhu and Pei Mu entered and put down their things, Sun Yunniang called Zhong Yizhu into the room to try on clothes.

Pei Mu was now familiar with the home inside and out. He didn’t need to be told; he didn’t sit idle either, wandering around the front and back yards to see if there was anything broken or leaking that needed fixing, and he did it on the spot.

When he returned to the main room, Sun Yunniang was having Zhong Yizhu turn in a circle, looking at him with satisfaction. “Our little Zhu Ge’er is so good-looking.”

Zhong Yizhu, however, was already feeling a bit hot and said hurriedly, “Mom, have you seen enough? I need to change.”

Sun Yunniang smiled. “Seen enough. Fits perfectly. Go ahead.”

Looking up and seeing Pei Mu come in, Sun Yunniang waved him over. “Pei Mu, you and Zhu Ge’er go eat some snacks. The food will be ready soon. You don’t need to help. Just enjoy yourselves.”

Saying that, Sun Yunniang walked toward the kitchen, while Zhong Yizhu went to his own room to take off the new clothes.

Finding that someone had followed him in, he wasn’t even surprised.

Zhong Yizhu told Pei Mu to close the door and then reached up to undo the button at his neck.

Sun Yunniang had made him a lilac-colored set: a small jacket with a fur collar on top, and skirt-pants in the style of a young man’s clothing below. Sun Yunniang had done meticulous work, padding both the jacket and pants with cotton, while the outer skirt panel was unpadded, rippling as he walked, warm without being bulky.

This outfit made Zhong Yizhu look as radiant as a spring begonia, the white fur collar highlighting the young man’s bright eyes and charming smile—truly stunning.

Feeling Pei Mu’s gaze, Zhong Yizhu paused and turned to look back at him.

He adjusted the hem of his robes, spun around with a smile, and looked at Pei Mu: “Looks good, doesn’t it?”

Pei Mu nodded. Zhong Yizhu lowered his head to unbutton his collar and said, “Then I’ll wear it for you again when the weather gets cold.”

Pei Mu stepped forward to help him with the buttons and replied, “You look good in everything.”

Zhong Yizhu’s eyes crinkled in a smile.

The two had lunch at the old house, and Zhong Yizhu spent the entire afternoon at home with Sun Yunniang, while Pei Mu went to see the village head to discuss buying land for building.

Liu Youzong found it odd—there were only Pei Mu and Zhong Yizhu, a couple. Even if they wanted to plan ahead for the inconvenience of having a child in the house, they could just build an extra room in the backyard. He knew the Pei family’s backyard was spacious, so why would they need to buy more land?

Pei Mu brought out a prepared reason: “After the new year, I plan to raise some chickens, ducks, and rabbits for a living. The backyard isn’t big enough, and I’ll need to build a few more rooms. I’d appreciate your help, Village Head.”

Liu Youzong nodded in understanding. Considering Pei Mu had nearly lost his life recently, it made sense he no longer wanted to rely on hunting. He waved his hand and said, “No trouble at all. If you’ve made up your mind, we can take the cart to town while we have time and ask the local magistrate to send someone to measure the land.”

After Pei Mu confirmed, Liu Youzong called his eldest son, Liu Mingfeng, and together they harnessed the cart and went to town with Pei Mu.

Pei Mu had gone through this process when he first built his house in the village last year, so he was familiar with it.

When they arrived in town, they first went to the local magistrate to explain the situation. The magistrate then dispatched a clerk and a constable to accompany them back to the village to measure the land.

Pei Mu had already decided on the plot he wanted—right next to their current yard, where a half-acre vacant plot remained. Once built, a simple doorway connecting to their yard would make it very convenient.

The clerk and constable measured and recorded the land, made markings with the village head as witness, and drafted the deed. Pei Mu then returned to town with them, paid the silver, and received the stamped land title. Only then was the land officially purchased.

Village residential land was much cheaper than farmland. His half-acre cost two taels of silver, plus eight copper coins each for the clerk and constable for their travel expenses.

Pei Mu noticed that Liu Youzong had brought Liu Mingfeng along mainly to familiarize him with the process and get him acquainted with the magistrate, clearly grooming him as the next village head. But given the Liu family’s upright character, most villagers likely had no objections.

After two trips to town and back, by the time they finished the paperwork and returned to the village head’s home on the ox cart, it was already dark. The Liu father and son urged Pei Mu to stay for dinner, and Zhou Shaofen warmly insisted as well. Only when Pei Mu said that Zhu Ge’er and Sun Yunniang were waiting for him at the old house did the family let him go.

Liu Youzong stood at his doorstep, watching Pei Mu’s retreating figure, and smiled as he said, “Good.” Zhou Shaofen turned around with a smile and walked back into the house with him, knowing exactly what he meant.

The man who had once been as cold and fierce as a blade now spoke of someone waiting for him, had the look of someone settling into a stable life.

Truly good.

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Author’s note: In case you missed the announcement, due to recent irregular sleep patterns, the update time has been temporarily adjusted to midnight. Thank you for your nutrient solution, mwah~