Chapter 118 A Snowy Winter Night, Yet Passion Burns Bright
Whether it was the surprise of his wife's arrival or the prospect of a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner, Qingchuan washed his hands quickly and ran out as if he hadn't eaten anything substantial all year.
Ping An went to pack the luggage for the master and servant, while Luo Fu followed Xiao Yu into the kitchen.
After moving into the official residence, Xiao Yu didn't even hire a personal cook. The kitchen, which had been empty for more than half a year, must have been quite desolate. Fortunately, he had his servants thoroughly clean the kitchen in advance for this New Year's Eve dinner, so that although the tables, chairs, and stoves inside were simple, at least they were clean and not too dilapidated and bleak.
The stove was burning with glowing red firewood, and a steaming pot was simmering with a chicken, which looked much more presentable than the half-plucked chicken in the basin next to it.
Compared to the mess near the stove, the low table and kneading board on the other side were very neat. The three rows of dumplings on the board were almost identical ingot shapes, even more orderly than the soldiers in formation. After all, the soldiers varied in height, weight, and build, and even a soldier's own parents couldn't give birth to another child who looked exactly alike.
"It's too messy. Let me take you inside to sit down."
Xiao Yu stared intently at the lady who was looking around, afraid that the simplicity of the place would displease her.
Luo Fu finally looked at Xiao Yu's hands, which were covered in flour. The kitchen was warmer than outside, but it was still cold, and Xiao Yu's fingers were red from the cold.
Xiao Yu instinctively hid behind his back: "I, I'll go wash up."
There was a basin of water in the kitchen specifically for washing hands, but there was no steam in it. Luo Fu stopped the person who wanted to put their hand in directly, and went to pick up the copper kettle sitting on the small stove and added some hot water for Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu looked at the person in front of him expectantly: "Madam is so kind."
Luo Fu glared at him, then looked around again, and said unhappily, "If I hadn't come, was this how you planned to celebrate the New Year? The farmers eat better than you." At least the farmers had already cut up their chickens, ducks, fish, and meat, just waiting to cook them at mealtime.
While washing his hands, Xiao Yu said, "It's just Qingchuan and me, no need to be so formal."
Luo Fu tugged at his cloth robe: "You can't even afford a silk robe anymore?"
When Xiao Yu left the capital in the first month of the lunar calendar, he only brought a few sets of cloth clothes besides his official robes. It was said that cloth clothes were more durable, but he could have easily bought himself a few sets of silk clothes after arriving in Jicheng.
Xiao Yu: "...When I'm on duty, I wear official robes. I only have three days off a month. I don't know who I'm going to wear the silk I buy. I might as well save the money and give it to my wife."
He used sweet talk, and Luo Fu slapped him.
After wiping his hands, Xiao Yu took the opportunity to grab his wife's wrist and pull her into his arms. With his other hand, he lifted his wife's chin and kissed her.
As soon as he touched her face, Xiao Yu was startled. He touched his wife's face again and asked anxiously, "Why is it so cold?"
Luo Fu had traveled over 1,600 li in the dead of winter to be with him. She was willing to do it and wouldn't complain to anyone, but she had really been uncomfortable along the way. The bumpy ride and the biting cold wind were unbearable, and the simple conditions at the post station were also uncomfortable. When Xiao Yu asked her this, all the hardships she had endured to see him came flooding back: "It's so cold. I was almost frozen solid in the carriage."
The lady was in tears, and Xiao Yu felt heartbroken. He picked her up and carried her quickly to the north room where the underfloor heating was burning.
The snow was still falling, and Luo Fu buried herself in Xiao Yu's arms.
Xiao Yu carried his wife into the inner room. The beds here were heated on kang beds by the window. He first placed his wife on the edge of the kang, then took off his boots and climbed onto the kang. He laid down his bedding and then helped his wife take off her deerskin boots. He grabbed her feet and found them to be icy cold. Xiao Yu quickly untied his wife's cloak and tucked her completely into the quilt.
After tucking him in, Xiao Yu hugged him from the outside, blanket and all.
At this moment, only Luo Fu's head was exposed. She tilted her head slightly and gazed at her husband whom she had been separated from for a whole year. Xiao Yu also looked down at his wife whom he had been thinking about day and night. As he looked, Xiao Yu kissed his wife's lips again.
The heated kang bed was warm, and Xiao Yu's tight embrace quickly warmed up Luo Fu's hands and feet. This long, reluctant kiss made Luo Fu's whole body warm up, and her neck seemed to be covered in fine sweat. In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yu kissed her tenderly again.
Just as Xiao Yu was about to unbutton her clothes and kiss her, Luo Fu weakly pressed his hand down and said embarrassedly, "I haven't washed in a long time, let's do it tonight."
The post station didn't have the facilities to heat the floor with firewood, and sitting in a bathtub during the twelfth lunar month could easily make one catch a cold. Luo Fu didn't want to delay her journey because of illness.
Xiao Yu didn't mind, but he wouldn't force his wife.
Having briefly eased his longing, Xiao Yu embraced his wife and asked, "Since you were coming, why didn't you tell me? I could have picked you up a few days earlier."
Luo Fu laughed and said, "I just wanted to see you looking so dazed just now."
Xiao Yu thought to himself, if he had known that his wife would come, he would have definitely prepared two sets of silk clothes to make himself look handsome and dashing.
After kissing for a long time, Luo Fu refused to lie down and wanted to go see Ping An's side room, as Ping An had also had a difficult journey.
When the official residence was originally built, this two-courtyard house was intended for the Prefectural Chief Clerk. Considering that the side rooms might be used for the Chief Clerk's family, both side rooms were also connected by underfloor heating. If needed, the servant in charge of heating the underfloor heating could simply adjust it. Xiao Yu sent someone to say so, assuring him that he could sleep on a heated kang bed at night.
Finally free from the bumpy carriage ride, Ping An was thrilled and told Third Master and Madam to go talk to each other while she went to the water room to help the old woman boil water.
Luo Fu opened the bundle she had brought. Inside were letters from Hong Ge'er and Cheng Jie'er to their father, as well as wedding cakes and candies prepared for Ying Jie'er and Zhi Jie'er's weddings. They were all dry and would not spoil even after a winter.
Xiao Yu sighed as she looked at the four small packets of wedding cakes and candies: "I hope I can be there to witness my eldest son's wedding."
My nephew Xiao Chun will be twenty-two after the New Year. A year is enough time to settle things down, and he will probably get married the following year.
Luo Fu scoffed, "How rare! You actually look forward to going back. I thought you really wanted to bring the people of Liaoxi over for the Emperor."
Xiao Yu: "..."
When he wrote to his wife to tell her he was staying in Jizhou, he deliberately said that he could make great strides and achieve new successes there to avoid worrying her. In reality, Jizhou had always been a prosperous and important place, far superior to the still undeveloped land of Loujiang. After the late emperor established the dynasty, several governors of Jizhou had governed the province very well. As the newly appointed chief secretary, he could only do minor tasks to fill in the gaps for the current governor, and he had even had several disputes with Governor Du because he meddled too much.
Li Chong, the general of Ji Province, was his uncle. At first, Li Chong took good care of him, inviting him to banquets at the general's mansion on major and minor holidays. Li Chong was undoubtedly a capable and brave general, but he had some of the common flaws of powerful officials. He kept several concubines and even wanted to arrange for beautiful women to serve him. After Xiao Yu sternly refused, Li Chong became indifferent to him.
So, Xiao Yu's official career in Jizhou wasn't going well, and he didn't make many friends. How foolish of him not to want to return to the capital? Even if he continued to be neglected by Emperor Xianping after returning to the capital, at least he had his wife, children, and parents there, and Pei Xingshu was a brother-in-law and friend he could talk to.
Luo Fu: "I've heard that some local officials send a few letters of greeting to the Emperor whenever they have nothing to do, trying to flatter and please him. With your literary talent, if you try to get closer to the Emperor, he might be in a good mood and transfer you back."
Xiao Yu: "...I don't know how to flatter, I only know how to tell the truth."
How could Luo Fu not understand her husband? She was just teasing him.
As darkness fell, Qingchuan finally managed to find a young cook. It was a restaurant owner who, out of sympathy for the dignified Chief Secretary who couldn't even afford a decent New Year's Eve dinner, specially arranged for an orphan apprentice to come to the official residence to help the Chief Secretary cook for a few days until the restaurant reopened for business after the New Year.
Qingchuan wasn't a great cook, but he was excellent at tending the fire, and the two of them busied themselves enthusiastically in the kitchen.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Luo Fu asked Ping An to help her bathe. Xiao Yu wanted to help, but Luo Fu chased him away.
After washing up, Luo Fu and Xiao Yu sat facing each other on the heated kang, feeling relaxed. The couple ate alone, while Ping An ate with Qing Chuan, the cook, the water-boiling woman who lived in the official residence, and two servants.
Xiao Yu looked at his wife, listened to the laughter and chatter of Ping An and the others, and heard the sounds of firecrackers going off in the street. He said with a smile, "Only when my wife comes do I feel the festive atmosphere of the New Year."
Looking at the dark purple silk robe he had specially changed into after his bath, Luo Fu chuckled and said, "What New Year's atmosphere? I only feel the official air of an official."
Xiao Yu poured a small bowl of wine for his wife and said, "I have never poured wine for any colleague or superior in officialdom."
Luo Fu raised an eyebrow: "Even the Emperor doesn't have one?"
Xiao Yu nodded.
Luo Fu snorted, "That's why you're always being demoted."
Xiao Yu: "..."
Even a playful bickering between husband and wife can be quite charming. After Luo Fu finished her few sips of wine, Xiao Yu, seeing his wife's rosy face, poured her another half bowl.
Luo Fu looked at him meaningfully: "The Chief Secretary seems to have ulterior motives."
Xiao Yu said seriously, "Drinking alcohol is for warmth, but only a small amount, it won't harm your health."
After saying that, he picked up his bowl, which was eight-tenths full, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.
As Luo Fu watched his Adam's apple bob up and down, a fire ignited in her heart.
The couple ate their New Year's Eve dinner later than other families. After finishing their meal, they went to the entrance of the main room to watch the snow scene for a while, then washed up. By then, the streets had quieted down.
Back in the inner room, Xiao Yu turned around and pressed his wife against the door.
Luo Fu was no longer the sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl who had just married him. As Xiao Yu kissed her passionately, her hands were not idle either. She touched the gold and jade belt that matched his purple official robe, skillfully untied it, and tossed it to the other side of the kang (heated brick bed).
The weather was still cold. The two women's official robes, cloaks, and dresses had only loosened, not been completely removed. So when Xiao Yu lifted them up and pressed them against the door, Luo Fu was still facing Xiao Yu's purple official robe.
Perhaps her mind was slowing down at this moment, or perhaps he had made her head go blank, but Luo Fu couldn't help but call out "My lord".
Xiao Yu tensed up and suddenly stopped moving, burying his head in her hair.
Luo Fu: "..."
Stunned, she pressed her cheek against Xiao Yu's and chuckled softly, "I can tell, this is the first time Lord Xiao has done something like this, bullying a respectable woman."
Xiao Yu bit her ear: "I never intended to bully a respectable woman."
Luo Fu breathed into his ear: "But I like being bullied by Lord Xiao."
With just that one casual remark, the Chief Secretary's official robes began to sway again, causing the two door panels to creak occasionally.
Author's Note: Here I am! Looks like I'll have to wait until tomorrow to go back to Beijing. Once I get into writing about this lovey-dovey young couple, I can't stop! [shy]
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow!
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