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As dawn broke, Shen Zi’an woke up, feeling the warmth in his arms. He lowered his head, gazing at the person in his arms through the faint light seeping through the paper windows. A smile curved his lips like a crescent moon. He didn’t move, knowing that Su Zhi was a light sleeper; any slight movement would wake her up. Considering how tired she was yesterday, he wanted her to sleep a little longer.
“What time is it?”
Su Zhi’s voice was husky from just waking up, sounding like a little kitten murmuring. She snuggled closer into his embrace, then suddenly opened her eyes wide, realizing she was once again in Shen Zi’an’s warm embrace.
In these days, Su Zhi had grown accustomed to waking up in Shen Zi’an’s embrace. It seemed that no matter how far apart they were, she would wake up in his arms the next day. From the initial panic and shyness to later calmness, it was a process that didn’t take much time. Su Zhi had already become accustomed to waking up in Shen Zi’an’s arms. Although they still slept separately, it was merely a formality, as this arrangement would always be disrupted by the next morning.
Shen Zi’an felt Su Zhi nestle back into his embrace, warming his heart. He gently placed his hand on her waist, feeling the delicate softness in his grasp. He thought she was too thin and resolved to fatten her up this winter. As he inhaled her scent, he noticed a unique fragrance emanating from her body. It was subtle, almost imperceptible from a distance, but unmistakable up close.
“Wife, you smell so sweet, like flowers.”
Shen Zi’an leaned in closer to Su Zhi’s hair, taking a deep sniff, finally confirming it. He had noticed it faintly before, but today it was much clearer.
Su Zhi, whose eyes had been closed, opened them in surprise. She had taken a bath last night and added some lotus flower pollen to the water. Perhaps she had added a bit too much, hence the stronger scent.
“Really? Sometimes I do notice a faint scent on myself. It comes and goes. Luckily, it’s not a bad smell. If it were like those people with body odor, that would be troublesome.”
Su Zhi didn’t deny that Shen Zi’an had smelled it correctly. If she were to deny it, he might become even more suspicious. So, she straightforwardly admitted that sometimes there was a faint scent on her body. Although she found it peculiar, she believed Shen Zi’an wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.
Shen Zi’an confirmed that he hadn’t mistaken the scent. He felt that his wife was truly extraordinary. How many people in the world naturally emitted fragrance from their bodies?
“Wife, this scent won’t become too strong, will it?”
“What’s wrong?”
Su Zhi raised her head, curious as to why Shen Zi’an was asking about this.
Shen Zi’an explained, “If your scent becomes too strong and attracts others’ attention, it could be problematic. There are plenty of people with unpleasant odors that nobody likes, but those with pleasant scents are rare. Many people would surely be attracted to it. Moreover, if rumors spread and people start seeing you as a goddess, that wouldn’t be good.”
Su Zhi looked into his eyes and asked, “If there are bad people coming, will you protect me?”
Shen Zi’an nodded, pressing down the blanket to prevent cold air from getting into the covers and freezing Su Zhi. He said, “You’re my wife, of course, I’ll protect you.”
Su Zhi buried her face in Shen Zi’an’s neck and smiled, saying, “Don’t worry, it won’t become stronger. You’ve been with me for so long, and you’ve only noticed it when you’re close, right? I can just say I’ve applied powder, can’t I? Many women in this world use powder, so your wife is not the only one. Husband, rest assured, the scent on my body isn’t a secret of makeup fragrance. Only you, my husband, will know.”
Shen Zi’an was touched by Su Zhi’s affectionate calling him “husband” and referring to herself as “your wife.” He felt her warm breath on his neck, mixed with a faint scent. After sniffing for a while, he realized it was the fragrance of lotus flowers. Riverside Village was adjacent to the river, where lotus flowers bloomed. When the wind blew, there would be a faint scent like this. He wondered if his wife smelled like a lotus flower in her past life.
“Wife, we’ll be together forever.”
Shen Zi’an hugged Su Zhi tightly, thinking that no matter how his wife looked, whether she was ugly with bad skin or emitting fragrance, she was still his wife.
Su Zhi murmured in agreement, inhaling Shen Zi’an’s scent, thinking of staying together like this until the end of time.
But ideals were beautiful, and reality was inevitable. The young couple lingered in the warm blankets for another two hours before getting up when the window paper began to brighten.
On an ordinary day, they could afford to be lazy, but not today. Su Zhi’s family was coming. The custom in their warm house was that the bride’s family should come the day after the groom’s family and friends were invited.
Since the time Su Zhi saw her current body’s mother, Zhao Yangshi, and her sister, Zhao Lianhua, in the embroidery village, not long after, her mother brought the whole family to Riverside Village.
When Zhao Yangshi took Lianhua back to the village that day, she had already set her mind on her daughter’s recovery. Especially after seeing the cart of items and the purse she embroidered, she felt uneasy not having them in her hands. She mentioned it to her family, but the Old Man Zhao advised her not to dwell on it. He reminded her that their daughter and son-in-law had essentially come from nothing and it was best to avoid getting involved with people who might ask for loans or favors. So, things quieted down for a couple of days. But then, they heard rumors that the Shen family had become wealthy!
Upon inquiry, Zhao Yangshi found out that although her daughter and son-in-law didn’t inherit much after splitting from the family, they had lucked out by catching two tigers. It was said that selling those two tigers had brought them a lot of money. She immediately brought her family to settle scores with her daughter. As soon as they arrived at Riverside Village and asked about her daughter and son-in-law’s whereabouts, upon hearing that she was the mother-in-law of Shen Zi’an, people praised them for having such a good daughter and started talking about sacred beasts and ginseng. Now, the Zhao family was even more eager to confront Su Zhi. When they finally met her, they berated her harshly, accusing her of deceiving her own family into thinking they were destitute despite having plenty of money.
Su Zhi’s impression of this family plummeted to the lowest point. She thought they were no different from the Shen family, maintaining only surface politeness with the Shens while not even bothering with courtesy towards the Zhaos. After they finished scolding her, she bluntly told them that a married daughter was like water poured out, implying they had no say over her anymore. She accused them of treating her like a burden and dumping her on Shen Zi’an when she fell ill, so they had no right to interfere in her life now. She warned them not to have any illusions about getting money from her, and if they didn’t want to continue their relationship, it was fine by her. She had no desire for a family that had abandoned her.
Shen Zi’an also showed no kindness to the Zhao family. Although he loved Su Zhi deeply now, he still harbored resentment towards her family. They were Su Zhi’s relatives, and if Su Zhi cared about them, he would let them in. But if Su Zhi grew tired of them, he wouldn’t hesitate to kick them out.
The Zhao family was successfully intimidated by the couple’s cold words. They immediately became submissive, promising never to neglect Su Zhi again. In reality, they were just trying to mend the relationship to gain benefits.
To show their willingness to reconcile, the Zhao family did visit a few times when Shen Zi’an and Su Zhi were building their house, but they always came and left early, citing various excuses.
Su Zhi regarded this family as distant relatives, considering that her current body belonged to this family’s daughter. She couldn’t simply sever ties with them, but considering how heartless they were to the previous Zhao Xiaomei, Su Zhi believed that if she doesn’t show too much genuine filial piety, the former Zhao Xiaomei wouldn’t object. Now, whether she chose to be affectionate or distant towards this family was entirely her decision.
Because these familial ties still existed, the Zhao family was invited when the house was completed.
Su Zhi felt a headache coming on at the thought of this family visiting. She carefully stored away most of the gifts the villagers had given them yesterday and locked them up, grateful for the foresight of having lockable spaces in the cabinets. She didn’t particularly care about these items, but nobody liked to be taken advantage of, especially by a greedy bunch.
Each time this family visited, Su Zhi noticed things missing from the house. If they had asked for something, she might have understood, but stealing was simply outrageous. Su Zhi knew it was the work of her opportunistic brother and sister-in-law, but they denied it when confronted, making her tempted to search them. In the end, she did her best to guard against them, even fitting locks on cabinets and boxes while making furniture. She refused to believe they could outsmart her!
After Su Zhi secured the items and Shen Zi’an tended to the cattle and chickens, they both busied themselves until the Zhao family arrived.
The Zhao family now consisted of five members: Zhao Daxi, Zhao Yangshi, their son Zhao Yuanbao, who was married to a woman named Zhang, and their daughter Zhao Lianhua.
“Su Zhi, we’re here! Quickly pour us some water to drink, we’re parched!”
As soon as Zhao Yangshi stepped through the courtyard gate, she began to chatter as if she had been through a great ordeal. She now knew that her daughter preferred to be called Su Zhi, and she quickly adapted her speech. It wasn’t just her; the whole Zhao family adjusted surprisingly quickly. This only served to widen the gap between Su Zhi and them. In Su Zhi’s mind, their daughter was Zhao Xiaomei, while she was Su Zhi.
Su Zhi brought a teapot on a tray and poured each of them a cup of tea.
The Zhao family looked at the blue and white porcelain teacups, thinking that Shen Zi’an’s family must be really wealthy now. Just look at this tea leaves; they looked exquisite. And these teapot and teacups! In their ordinary households, they never drank tea. They just drank water from a big bowl, and even hot water was considered a luxury!
The Zhao family sat in the main hall, their eyes wandering as their minds raced with various thoughts.