Chapter 32 (2/2)

Yun Shi Yi took off his outer robe and covered her with it. Thinking that tomorrow he would have to leave her, he felt stifled in his heart. He lowered his head to press a soft kiss to her lips and gently licked her moist red mouth, careful not to wake her up. Yet when he lifted his head, he discovered her long eyelashes slightly trembling as if they’d lift up at any moment. Sighing, he turned around to focus on his work. He had to settle all the important matters before his departure.

Ruan Zhu napped for a long while. By the time she woke up, it was already afternoon, but she felt refreshed with all of her previous exhaustion swept away.

Yun Shi Yi had finished his work and had long been keeping watch by his wife’s side. Seeing her awake, he called for a manservant of Tian Yi Pavilion to carry in water for her to wash her face with. He personally groomed her. Undoing her messy hair, he re-combed it before twisting it back into a coil. Adorning it with a beaded flower, he also inserted a gold buyao embellished with a sapphire.

“These clothes are what I had some servants buy from an embroidery workshop. Try them on to see if they fit?”

Yun Shi Yi picked up a package from the table and opened it. One glance at the delicate material and she knew its price was not low.

“How much was this?”

Nowadays, all of her clothes were all extremely high-quality goods.

But her husband chose his outfits as he wished. He sought convenience and was indifferent as to whether the material was expensive or not and the colors he usually chose were pale or light ones. Although he was very wealthy, he rarely accessorized himself with rare jewels or jade ornaments. However, this did not mean that he was not someone who did not know how to carefully select for quality. All of those small objects exhibited in his study room were all worthy of being collected. The ‘Four Treasures of the Study’[b] were all high-quality goods–a brush from Huzhou, ink from Huizhou, paper from Xuanzhou, ink stone from Duanzhou. Not only were these materials good and reliable, they were also all created under a famous hand.

“Don’t think about the price.” She wears it well and he’s happy.

Ruan Zhu finished putting it on and let him see. On her upper body was a pale pink garment embroidered with delicate butterflies that flowed like smoke, on her lower body was a streamline pleated skirt in the color of fresh grass. A thin moon-white muslin robe was draped across her back. Her long skirt dragged along the ground, and a cloud belt tied around her waist restricted her movements, accenting how slim her waist was.

She looked like a young daffodil that had just flown down from the Heavens, quiet and delicate beyond compare; a pure person. Yun Shi Yi was looking straight at her and looped his hands around her slender waist. The measurement of her waist just so happened to fit exactly within the confines of his hands.

“Wife, your waist is truly slender.”

“That’s because I haven’t eaten yet.” After she had something to eat, she feared it wouldn’t be like this.

“Hungry?” Yun Shi Yi faintly smiled. “This husband will take you to Yu Ping Restaurant to eat their furong buns[c]. There are over a dozen varieties so you can eat your fill.”

“Then wouldn’t my stomach be bursting with buns?”

Ruan Zhu’s entire heart felt sweet and full of honey. Linking arms with her hubby, they walked out of the study.

The men of Tian Chu were much more outstanding compared to the men of the future. Not only could they earn money outside, the way they treated their wives at home was so good that there were no words to say. Perhaps it was because there were few women so females were more popular, but she had indeed fallen in love with this era. Even though there was no Internet, no flush toilets, and this period also lacked a string of other modern facilities, there was a beautiful romance. Being loved, protected, and taken cared of by the world’s most handsome and elegant man–even if her place was taken by another transmigrated woman, there was no one who would be able to say they regretted transmigrating, right?

She wasn’t sure if it was because the world was too small, but after they had just walked through the entrance of Yu Ping Restaurant, they came face-to-face with Lu Piao Xiang, who had a guqin tucked under his arm. Seeing her, he suddenly came to a stop and stared at her, unconsciously rooted to the spot.

Ruan Zhu also felt surprised. Because they were not familiar, she lightly nodded her head at him before following Yun Shi Yi in walking around him as they entered the restaurant.

Lu Piao Xiang’s eyes followed the beautiful figure as she walked away, all the way until she disappeared after turning a corner on the staircase. Even then, his eyes did not move for a while. It was as if her voice from that day was right by his ear, clearly reciting, “The bright Moon shines in between the pine tree; Over the rocks, the clear spring water runs free……” He had actually become momentarily dazed. (Translation by Alan Ma and Frank Yue)[d]

[a] 八仙过海, the Eight Immortals in Chinese mythology all have a divine power. In one story, they head to a conference and decide to go by boat, relying on their powers, rather than just flying across the sea. (Wikipedia)

[b] 文房四宝, literally translated above, but is also idiom meaning essentials of calligraphy and scholarship. Four items are: brush, ink, paper, ink stone.

[c] I translated these buns as ‘Hibiscus buns’ earlier but I’m changing it to the pinyin because I’ve done some more research and I’m still not sure what exact style of buns they are.

[d] Translation taken from (here).