Chapter 6.6 He was as warm as a small stove.
In the woods, one camp away.
The carriage Zhang Ping'an bought arrived. From the outside, it looked similar to other escort carriages, but inside it was sealed with oiled paper and cowhide, and lined with a thick layer of compacted straw for shock absorption.
“There is dry food and rice inside. If you are hungry, make something to eat yourself. I can’t come to see you all the time, so you have to take good care of yourselves.”
"Thank you, sworn brother." Yuezhi watched Zhang Ping'an leave and couldn't wait to get into the carriage to check.
There was a stove, a flint, and a pot on the carriage. She unloaded the stove and gathered some scraps of firewood nearby to start a fire.
The dry rations included sesame cakes and dried meat. Yuezhi fetched water and cooked a small pot of porridge. She then shredded two pieces of dried meat and added them to the porridge. After simmering it over low heat for a while, the porridge smelled exactly like the meat porridge the guards ate.
Pei Heng squatted by the stove to warm himself, watching her busy herself and soon she had cooked a pot of fragrant porridge.
A bowl of steaming porridge was placed in front of him. Pei Heng took the bowl with both hands, and his gaze towards Yue Zhi became more respectful.
"You can cook?"
"Of course I can." Yuezhi said proudly while ladling porridge. "I started working as a kitchen maid in a restaurant when I was five years old. I secretly learned to cook by following the head chef. Later, I was assigned to work in the embroidery workshop after entering the palace. In order to improve my embroidery skills, I stopped doing these rough jobs."
Pei Heng listened intently, murmuring, "This is the first time I've heard you talk about your childhood."
"I didn't say it before because I was afraid you would laugh at me if you heard it."
"How could I laugh at you? You're capable and a good person. Now I have nothing, but you don't look down on me." Pei Heng's eyes dimmed again as he spoke of his downfall.
Normally, Yuezhi would try all sorts of tricks to make him happy and forget his worries, but now that she didn't have anything nice to offer, she urged him on.
"Try the porridge I cooked, is it good?"
Unable to resist her expectant gaze, Pei Heng scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.
The rice grains are soft and fragrant, and the shredded meat becomes tender after being soaked in the rice soup, yet it still retains a slight chewiness when you bite into it. The saltiness of the dried meat is cooked into the porridge, making the saltiness just right, and a little oil adds a touch of rich aroma.
"It's so delicious!" Pei Heng smiled with satisfaction. No matter how many delicacies he had eaten in the past, none of them could compare to the deliciousness of this bowl of hot meat porridge.
"Eat more if you like it," Yuezhi said with a smile.
Hiding in the shadows of the carriage, undisturbed, the two finished a whole pot of shredded meat porridge.
Yuezhi packed up the kitchen utensils to wash by the stream, but Pei Heng stopped her. He took off his cloak, put it on the carriage, and took the kitchen utensils from her hands.
"I'll go wash up."
"Do you know how to wash?" Yuezhi was a little worried. Pei Heng was born into a wealthy family and had never done any rough work.
"Yes." He had never done manual labor, but he had been to the imperial kitchen. He couldn't understand how others cooked, but he could understand simple tasks like washing dishes and pots at a glance.
Seeing his enthusiasm, and knowing that the stream was not far away and she could easily hear any noise, Yuezhi agreed to his request.
After Pei Heng left, she tidied up the stove, stomped out the ashes, and returned to the carriage.
When she left the East Palace, she packed several sets of autumn clothes into her bundle, some of her own and some of Pei Heng's. In addition, there was a sewing kit and two bed sheets. Because they were all made of ordinary materials and were not very valuable, they were not confiscated.
She placed the food stove on one side, spread a sheet on the other side, took out her sewing kit and put it into another bundle, rolled up a soft bundle to make a pillow, and then brought in her cloak.
A comfortable bed has been made.
Pei Heng quickly returned with the washed pots and pans, drained the water, handed them to Yuezhi, and put them back on the stove.
Yuezhi pulled him into the carriage and noticed that something was wrong with his expression. She carefully touched his forehead and found it was a little hot.
"Is your typhoid fever still not better? Should you take some medicine?"
Pei Heng shook his head and dodged her hand by tilting his head. "After eating your porridge, my illness is completely cured."
Yuezhi found it even stranger, "Since you're cured, why aren't you happy?"
She rubbed her palms together to warm them and then covered his red, frozen hands with them, comforting him, "It's getting colder at night. If you don't like doing chores, I'll do it next time. It's nothing."
"No." Pei Heng lowered his head in embarrassment, afraid she would misunderstand, and said, "I was by the stream, and I saw someone in the woods..."
Moonlight cast dappled shadows through the woods.
The soldier embraced the maid's soft body, pressed her against the rough tree trunk, one hand gripping her shoulder, the other disappearing beneath her skirt.
Pei Heng was drawn by the commotion the two were making. He glanced over briefly and immediately found their bickering, like wild beasts, absurd and rude. While he felt disgusted, his heart began to race.
He felt a burning sensation in his chest, a mix of shame and anger, much like when Xiu Yu pulled down his pants that day.
When Yuezhi heard what he had seen, she was first taken aback, then thought about it carefully and patiently explained.
"They might be getting married."
"Husband and wife?" Pei Heng looked puzzled. "Like Father and Mother?"
Yuezhi nodded and said confidently, "My godmother told me that a woman cannot be touched or kissed by anyone unless that person is her husband."
She spoke with a straight face, but her mind was actually blank, and her knowledge of matters between men and women was limited to a few words of advice from her godmother.
Even with just that little bit of knowledge, she knows more than Pei Heng.
“If you encounter something like this again, be sure to stay far away. My godmother said that peeping at other people’s affairs will give you a sty.”
Pei Heng nodded blankly, "I understand."
She smiled and rubbed his hand, blowing on it to warm it up. "Go to sleep quickly. We have to travel again at dawn tomorrow, and it won't be easy to sleep once the carriage is moving."
"Hmm." Pei Heng pulled his hand out of hers, and using the sliver of moonlight filtering through the carriage curtain, he felt his way to the bed covered by the cloak and wearily crawled inside.
Fearing the cloak wouldn't be enough for both of them, he deliberately moved closer to the edge of the carriage, leaving space for Yuezhi.
I lay down and waited for a while, almost falling asleep, but Yuezhi still didn't come in.
"Yuezhi?" Pei Heng asked, still half asleep.
"Hmm?" Yuezhi was sitting next to the dry food, just getting sleepy, but she immediately woke up when she heard Pei Heng call her.
Afraid he would get cold, I reached out to tuck the blanket around him and, as usual, gently patted his shoulder to lull him to sleep.
Pei Heng didn't want her to coax him. He tilted his shoulder to avoid her touch and said, "You should lie down and sleep. There's still space here. You can't get proper rest sitting up."
The carriage could fit four people lying down, but Yuezhi was thinking about what she had just been talking about.
She and Pei Heng are of different genders, how could they lie together?
"If you're not coming over, then I won't sleep here either." Pei Heng forced himself to stay awake, threw off his cloak, and made a move to sit down next to her.
Yuezhi pressed him down anxiously, but the recovered boy still had some strength, and she couldn't hold him down for a while. Seeing that it was getting late and she was getting sleepy, she had no choice but to give in.
"I finally got to sleep in a warm bed, so don't get up, I'll just lie down and sleep."
She yawned sleepily, took off her quilted coat and shoes, and lay down under the thick, warm cloak, sinking into the hay, feeling incredibly comfortable.
She sighed, "It's so warm."
"Mmm." Pei Heng responded, adjusted his position, and unconsciously leaned towards Yue Zhi, resting his forehead on her shoulder, and fell into a deep sleep.
Yuezhi was used to her usual night shift schedule, and she would only fall asleep after Pei Heng had fallen asleep. Now, listening to the sound of his breath on her chest, the fatigue from the day's journey dissipated, and her body gradually warmed up.
On a cold autumn night, with heavy dew, Pei Heng's willingness to share such a warm and comfortable bed with her made her happier than receiving gold and silver jewelry.
Thinking this, Yuezhi silently marveled at her own good fortune; even as a slave, there were still people who treated her with genuine kindness.
She was adorned with gold and silver jewelry, and her hands and feet were often cold when the weather was chilly. Only after lying down for a while did she realize that Pei Heng, dressed in thin clothes, was as warm as a small stove.
Yuezhi couldn't resist the warmth and temptation, so she quietly reached out and put her hand on his back. When her arm touched Pei Heng's waist and back, she was surprised to find that the sleeping Pei Heng was as soft as a kitten. With just a gentle hug, he snuggled into her arms, feeling sweet and warm.
Holding Pei Heng in her arms, she felt a mix of emotions—a sense of exhilaration, a fulfilling joy…
She used to hold him in her arms when he was scolded by the emperor, taught manners by the empress, or only hit half of the ten arrows he drew on the bow in the martial arts arena. He would vent his frustration and sadness by throwing himself into her arms, and she would gently comfort him.
But things were different now. Despite the inescapable guilt weighing on him, he neither cried nor was hurt, and she didn't have to rack her brains to figure out how to make him happy.
We lay there quietly, sharing each other's warmth in the still autumn night...
After many years, Yuezhi had a beautiful dream for the first time.
The vague home of her innocent childhood has changed. There are no parents, only a boy of similar age who plays with her in the yard, catching chickens and teasing dogs, climbing trees to steal bird eggs, and going down to the river to catch loaches.
The feeling of holding hands was so clear, and their laughter so melodious.
They played together from day to night, running and laughing, until the moon was high in the sky. Then they lay down together in the humid summer night, snuggling together until dawn.
Waking up in the moving carriage at dawn, Yuezhi felt relaxed and happily savored the joy of her dream.
When she woke up, she realized that her hand was covering Pei Heng's fair face. Her soft cheeks were being held in her palm like glutinous rice balls, while Pei Heng, who was still fast asleep, was completely unaware of her wanton actions.
Yuezhi gasped, reluctantly pinched his cheek, then withdrew her hand and pulled it to her side.
Yesterday, Pei Heng said they were the same kind of people, but she didn't feel it much.
Looking back now, I realize that the two of them have indeed become closer. It's not just that the barriers of their identities have disappeared, but that there's also a greater sense of trust and precious time spent together.
As for the distinction between men and women that she suddenly remembered last night, she had long forgotten about it, having only a superficial understanding of it.
When Pei Heng woke up, Yue Zhi was already dressed and wearing shoes, and was combing her hair.
He had slept soundly and was completely unaware of what had happened the night before. However, when he looked at Yuezhi, he noticed that she was suppressing a smile, as if she was thinking about something very happy.
"What are you laughing at?" he asked.
Yuezhi lowered her head shyly, "Last night was the first time I slept in the same bed with someone else."
Pei Heng scoffed, "When you were little, didn't your mother hold you to sleep?"
"I don't remember. I was so tired from working when I was little that I was sold by my parents. I've forgotten everything." Yuezhi asked him seriously, "What about you? When you were little, did the Empress hold you to sleep?"
Pei Heng shook his head. "Before I was five, Zhang Mama would hold me and lull me to sleep. After I started learning to read and write, my mother forbade the wet nurses from holding me. My mother... she never held me."
"I see..." Yuezhi was a little surprised. It turned out that the Empress was not only cold to others, but also to her own son.
She teased him, "Now that no one cares about our meals and sleep, if you want, I can hold you every night while we sleep."
Pei Heng gave a haughty snort and did not refuse.
Yuezhi knew that this meant he liked her, so she pulled him off the bed and taught him how to dress and comb his hair.
*
The escorting convoy traveled several hundred miles north, and the weather grew increasingly cold.
The coachman of the two carriages was someone Zhang Ping'an had arranged through connections. Yuezhi asked him to buy charcoal, dry food, and cotton clothes several times when the carriages stopped to rest. She also remembered her sworn brother's instructions and cut the silver ingots into small pieces before giving them to him.
Two days later, a small stove was lit in Yuezhi's car, which could be used to boil water and cook rice at any time, and to keep warm with the residual heat.
As night fell, the convoy stopped to rest.
Yuezhi cooked in the carriage, peeling and chopping sweet potatoes into small pieces, boiling them until soft and sticky, and then adding the leftover rice porridge from the morning, which had frozen solid, to thaw and make a pot of sweet potato porridge.
A whole cured fish is grilled over charcoal until the fat renders out, making it fragrant and juicy. The main bone is removed, and the fish meat is divided in half between each person. They eat it with porridge, their faces beaming with satisfaction.
After the two were given special treatment, they ate better than the guards.
Seeing Yuezhi spending money like water these days, Pei Heng, who never cared about gold and silver, felt uneasy.
"Yuezhi, I don't need to eat so well. You worked hard to save this money, don't spend it all on me."
Yuezhi slurped up a large bowl of rice porridge and sighed, "If we don't eat our fill and dress warmly, we'll freeze to death before we even reach the North."
She licked the last bit of soup from the bottom of the bowl and comforted him, saying, "It was all a gift from you anyway, and I'm happy to spend it on you."
Actually, she had a lot of money hidden on her person. She had spent less than twenty taels of silver on the road in the past few days. It was not only for food and other necessities, but also to give the coachman some money so that he would do her a favor and not cause her sworn brother any trouble.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
She told him, and Pei Heng believed her. He ate the grilled fish in small bites, and seeing her eat with such satisfaction filled him with a sense of security.
The cold wind outside made the carriage sway slightly.
The two had just finished eating when they suddenly heard footsteps approaching. They thought it was the coachman returning for business, but when they lifted the curtain to take a look, they were surprised to see an old acquaintance.
Cui Wenzhu ran to the car with her daughter, who had a high fever, her tears freezing into frost on her face.
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