Chapter 73 [V] Taking a bath with her bathwater...
Li Yan had some connection with Gao Chunliang, the former Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. Although their social statuses differed greatly, Gao valued Li Yan because her cooking suited his tastes.
When Li Yan went to Jiangning Prefecture alone to seek development, she sought refuge with the Gao family. Some of the business partnerships in Jiangning Prefecture were even facilitated by this Master Gao.
Actually, Li Yan felt bad about troubling him so much. However, since Xue Yi had come to her for help, and it was all about Xu Ge'er, Li Yan couldn't help but do her best.
Having agreed to Xue Yi's request, Li Yan immediately returned home and wrote a visiting card, which she then sent Qingniang to deliver to the Gao residence.
Around dusk, Qingniang returned with a message saying that Madam Gao would be free the day after tomorrow and that she should go and pay her a visit.
Wealthy families have their own rules, so Li Yan couldn't go directly to Master Gao. Therefore, she could only send a visiting card to Madam Gao.
Fortunately, Madam Gao was a kind and loving elder who liked and cherished her, and the two got along very well.
During their previous interaction, Li Yan found the elderly woman to be very kind and amiable. She didn't have the sternness often associated with older women from wealthy families, and it was a pleasant experience to be around her.
Madam Gao also said that if she had the opportunity to move to Jiangning Prefecture in the future, she would definitely visit her often to chat.
Originally, I should have paid a visit after moving to Jiangning Prefecture.
After receiving permission from the Gao family, Li Yan began preparing the gifts she would send. Since the two elders were both noble people, there was no need to send anything expensive; she only needed to give something that suited their tastes, something thoughtful, or something novel.
After receiving a reply from the Gao family, Li Yan excitedly went to find Xue Yi.
Xue Yiping led a simple life. Apart from official business, he only had one or two close friends in his private life. He devoted himself entirely to his official duties and did not have much of a social life.
Just then, Li Yan came to find him, and he was in his study reading military books.
Upon hearing the servant outside the door report that the madam had come to see him, Xue Yi immediately closed the book in his hand, got up and went to greet her at the door.
Outside the door, a woman in a light green dress stood smiling under a lush tree in the courtyard. As soon as she saw him, she said, "The Gao family said they would be free the day after tomorrow. I thought that since we are now husband and wife, and you are a person of status in Jiangning Prefecture, it would be appropriate for the two of us to wait together for the Gao family to pay their respects."
Li Yan had considered it; after all, it was about Xue Yi's nephew, and they both worked in the same bureaucratic system, so Xue Yi couldn't very well refuse to go.
The couple had the same idea about this matter.
Therefore, when Li Yan made this suggestion, Xue Yi immediately agreed without hesitation.
"I'll prepare the gift," Li Yan said with a smile.
Xue Yi quickly and earnestly said, "I'll trouble you to put in a lot of effort in preparing the gifts, but I'll pay for them myself."
Li Yan agreed: "I agree."
The two shared the same opinion and had a pleasant conversation. After clarifying the matter in a few words, Li Yan returned to her own courtyard.
Xue Yi stared at her departing figure with his deep black eyes for a while before turning around and going back into the house to continue reading his book.
When someone from Liqing Courtyard came to call him, saying that the food was ready and asking him to come over for dinner, Xue Yi went to Qiuxiang Courtyard first. After meeting Li Yan, the couple went to Liqing Courtyard together.
After the meal, Madam Xue urged the young couple to go back and rest.
He then instructed his son, "You've been hiding in the study all day; you can't hide there at night, can you? You should spend some time with your wife."
Xue Yi didn't intend to continue sleeping in the study, so he readily agreed.
Today, Madam Xue didn't keep Qingniang any longer. If she had, there would still be that other maid. Besides, she couldn't keep Qingniang around every day. Their relationship still needs to be nurtured and cultivated by themselves.
It's midsummer now, and the weather is hot. Having moved yesterday and gone out today, she's been busy these past two days and has sweated a lot. Before dinner, Li Yan asked Xing'er to boil some water in the kitchen; she planned to take a good bath.
When Xing'er returned after finishing her meal, she had already boiled the water. After receiving instructions from Li Yan, she carried buckets of water to the bathroom.
Li Yan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking how wonderful it was to live in this mansion; not only was it spacious, but it also had a separate bathroom.
Unlike when I lived in Huating County, I no longer have to hide in my room to shower every time.
While Li Yan was taking a relaxing bath, Xue Yi went to the yard and practiced two sets of boxing.
By the time Li Yan finished showering and came out, Xue Yi had also finished practicing his boxing.
At this moment, he was not only covered in sweat, but his head and face were also covered in sweat.
Xue Yiyuan was just the son of a farmer. Although he had attended school for a few years, he had grown up in the village since childhood. He later joined the army and spent a few years in the military camp, so he wasn't particularly fond of cleanliness.
But in the past, he was a bachelor, living alone, which is different from the situation now where he has a family.
Regardless of why Li's personality changed so drastically, she is now extremely clean. Since they will be living under the same roof from now on, he will inevitably have to change some of his behaviors and habits.
For example, if you're covered in sweat right now, you definitely need to take a shower before you can go inside to sleep.
Thinking that the bathwater the woman had just taken wouldn't be too dirty, instead of sending someone to boil water, which would waste time, energy, and manpower... it would be better to just use the water that Li had just used to take a bath.
Therefore, Xue Yi went straight into the washroom.
Seeing that Xing'er was scooping water, Xue Yi went in and stopped her immediately.
"You may leave," he instructed Xing'er.
Xing'er kept her head down, not daring to lift it. After being dismissed by the head of the family, she immediately replied "Yes" and left.
Li Yan took a shower and washed her hair. Now, she moved a luxurious chair to the grape trellis in the yard, where she cooled off while drying her hair.
On a midsummer evening, the sunlight was dim and a breeze was blowing, bringing a cool feeling to Li Yan's face. She felt that this leisurely day was very enjoyable.
Li Yan had assumed Xing'er would continue working in the clean room, but instead saw her come out with her head down. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong?"
Xing'er then said, "Just now the general went into the clean room and sent me out."
After a moment of stunned silence, Li Yan realized what Xue Yi had done.
He had maids at home, so he couldn't possibly go to the bathroom to clean up after she had just bathed. Besides, given their current relationship, he didn't need to be so attentive to her.
Then there can only be one possibility... that he took a bath in his own bathwater.
Li Yan's first thought was, "Isn't he disgusted?" Other people's bathwater usually contains some sweat and grime. How could he possibly get clean using such murky water?
Immediately afterwards, the second reaction was that Xue Yi's actions were a bit too ambiguous.
No matter what, the bathwater after she took a shower still contained some of her sweat.
At least there was her sweat, and perhaps something else entirely.
In the 21st century, a time when hot water resources are not scarce but rather abundant, Li Yan couldn't believe that anyone would do such a thing.
But in this era where taking a bath is a luxury... I guess Xue Yi was just trying to save resources.
In short, as long as she doesn't point it out, she won't feel embarrassed.
She's no longer embarrassed, so it's others who are embarrassed.
"Okay." Li Yan nodded to Xing'er. "Then you should go and rest first."
Xing'er said, "I'm not tired." Looking at Li Yan's shiny black hair, she took the initiative to say, "I'll go get a dry towel to dry your hair, Madam."
Li Yan thought it was getting late and she would have to go to bed soon, and she wouldn't be able to sleep well if her hair wasn't dry. So, Li Yan replied, "Then go get a towel and help me dry my hair."
Xue Yi didn't have to go through so much trouble to take a bath. Unless he happened to be using leftover water from Li Shi to take a hot bath, he would just stand in the yard and rinse himself with cold water.
Not long after, he washed up and came out.
Seeing that Xing'er was helping Li Shi dry her hair, he silently went back to the bathroom and cleaned up the water inside.
By the time he finished getting ready, it was completely dark outside, and Li Yan's hair was almost dry.
The two met in the bedroom, and Li Yan felt slightly awkward. Xue Yi was a rough man and not very perceptive, so he didn't think much of it and didn't react unusually.
But... he spent the night in the outer room, so how is he going to sleep tonight...?
After all, they are husband and wife, and neither of them has any intention of divorcing.
Li Yan didn't care. Even if they slept in the same bed, nothing would happen. She wasn't that conservative; in fact, she thought that Xue Erlang was handsome and had a good physique, so she might not be at a disadvantage.
As for Xue Yi, he didn't care at all.
Li was a wife whom his mother arranged to marry; it was a proper marriage. Furthermore, when he was away, Li not only cared for his elderly mother but also helped look after his two young nephews. Now that he has achieved success, there's no way he would abandon such a wife.
Since they're going to live a serious life together, they'll have to sleep together sooner or later.
Neither of them said anything, so they tacitly went to sleep in the same bed.
Fortunately, the bed is big enough that there is no situation where you have to be pressed against each other or can't even turn over.
Both of them were exhausted and had no energy left to think about anything else, so they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow, without having the energy to think about anything else. Soon, they were both fast asleep.
When Li Yan woke up the next day, the man beside her was nowhere to be found.
Now, Li Yan eats all three meals a day at Liqing Courtyard. Since Xue Yi isn't home, she naturally goes there alone.
Before Li Yan arrived, Madam Xue had already learned from Qing Niang that the couple had shared a bed the previous night. Therefore, Madam Xue was very happy, and her eyebrows and eyes were always raised, never drooping.
"Yan Niang is here! Come and sit down." Old Madam Xue was overjoyed. She hoped that the young couple would be well and that they could have a baby of their own soon.
Li Yan also felt that her mother-in-law was being a little too enthusiastic today, but she didn't pay much attention to it. She only asked, "Did Erlang come to see Mother before he left?" Li Yan didn't like to get up early and usually slept until she naturally woke up. It was already quite late, so it wasn't that Xue Yi got up early, but rather that she got up late.
"I've come, I've come. I had breakfast before I left." The daughter-in-law's concern for her son and her initiative to ask about him made Old Madam Xue even happier.
Then Li Yan said, "Erlang has always been very concerned about Xu Ge'er's studies. He asked a friend to find someone, and it just so happens that the gentleman had eaten my cooking before. So, tomorrow morning, Erlang and I will go out to visit that important person."
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