Volume One, Chapter 19: Her Eyes Turned Cold—Was She Jealous?

After finishing dinner and returning to their room, Lu Xiuyi gathered his clothes and headed to the river to bathe, leaving Jiang Yuan alone in the room.

By the time Lu Xiuyi returned from the river, Jiang Yuan was nowhere to be seen. After waiting a short while, he heard the sound of the door being pushed open behind him. He turned to see Jiang Yuan walking in, carrying a basin of steaming hot water. Lu Xiuyi’s brows furrowed tightly.

Jiang Yuan looked up and said with a smile, "Husband, you're back."

She set the basin down by the edge of the kang, then walked over to pull on Lu Xiuyi. "Husband, come and sit here."

Lu Xiuyi followed her lead and sat down, watching as she turned to grab a stool from the table. She sat down, lifted his feet, and placed them into the basin. "There, husband, have a foot soak. It’s very good for relieving fatigue." This was Jiang Yuan's favorite way to relax after finishing her chores.

As soon as his feet touched the hot water, Lu Xiuyi instinctively tried to pull them out, but Jiang Yuan pressed them down with her own small, plump feet, submerging them completely. Seemingly unfazed by the heat, she said in a leisurely tone, "It only works if it’s hot."

With her feet resting over his, Jiang Yuan realized for the first time how large a man’s feet could be. After a while, she used the arches of her feet to rub against the hard bones on the top of Lu Xiuyi’s feet. Lu Xiuyi felt a tickle and tried to shift his feet away to avoid her, but Jiang Yuan followed closely, keeping her feet firmly planted on his. Helpless, Lu Xiuyi stared at her for a moment with his dark eyes before finally letting her be.

To his surprise, after the soak, Lu Xiuyi truly felt that the soreness in his feet had subsided, though he was now sweating all over. Jiang Yuan dried his feet and crouched down to move the basin, but Lu Xiuyi took it from her first. Jiang Yuan didn’t argue and climbed comfortably onto the kang.

In the following period, whenever Lu Xiuyi finished his own work, he would go to help Jiang Yuan. However, Jiang Yuan no longer sat on the sidelines resting as she had on the first day; instead, she picked up a hoe and worked right alongside him. As the saying goes, a couple working together makes the labor feel lighter. Consequently, looking out across the fields, the only idle person from start to finish was Chen Xiangxiang, who had initially helped out but would sit on the sidelines to rest as soon as others arrived to assist.

One day, after finishing the morning’s work, Jiang Yuan was alone in the courtyard when she suddenly heard someone calling from outside.

"Lu Xiuyi, you have a letter! Come out and get it!" A postman riding a bicycle called into the yard while pulling an envelope from his green mailbag.

Jiang Yuan opened the gate and said to the postman, "I’m his wife, please give it to me."

"Keep it safe," the postman said, handing her the letter.

Jiang Yuan walked back, glancing at the envelope as she went. She didn’t open it, only noting the recipient’s name and address, as well as the sender’s address—something like "Lin... City," though she didn't recognize the middle character. Although she had grown up in the county seat, she had never spent a single day in school. Her aunt had several children to support, and the pressure was great; the few characters she knew, she had learned from her cousin. In her previous life, after her narrow escape from death, she had been too busy struggling for survival to ever have the chance to learn.

Lu Xiuyi stepped out of the outhouse and saw the envelope in Jiang Yuan’s hand; he had heard the calling from outside as well.

"Here, I didn't open it," Jiang Yuan said, holding it out. This was Lu Xiuyi’s private business, and she wouldn't open it without his permission.

Lu Xiuyi glanced at the address with a blank expression and opened the letter right in front of her.

"Oh, the letter fell." A sheet of paper and a photograph had been inside the envelope, and as Lu Xiuyi didn't hold onto the paper firmly, it dropped. Jiang Yuan crouched down to pick it up. The folded letter landed with the sender's name facing up. Jiang Yuan had just caught a glimpse of the character "Bai" when the paper suddenly vanished from her sight.

She looked up to see Lu Xiuyi clutching the letter and photo tightly, hurrying back into the room without a word. Confused, Jiang Yuan followed him, only to find that he had locked the door from the inside. She couldn't get in.

"?" Jiang Yuan’s curiosity deepened. Was there something in there she wasn't allowed to see? She waited outside, but even when he eventually came out, he didn't tell her what it was about. Noticing a flash of joy in the depths of his eyes, she couldn't help but ask, "Husband, what did the letter say?"

"Hm? It was nothing," Lu Xiuyi replied, his tone pausing slightly.

Jiang Yuan didn't believe it was "nothing," but seeing that the man seemed quite happy, she decided to let it go. As long as it wasn't bad news, it didn't matter. She didn't press the matter further.

After the harvest came the threshing and drying of the wheat. Jiang Yuan wrapped herself up completely, letting down the pant legs she usually rolled up to her thighs to stay cool while working. Threshing not only covered one in dust, but the wheat awns could cause intense itching if they got on your legs. They had to go early in the morning to clear the threshing floor of debris, then spend a long time spreading out the wheat sheaves. Once spread, the wheat had to be left to be winnowed by the wind and dried by the sun to remove the dampness. Only then did everyone get a moment to rest.

"Husband, drink some water." Jiang Yuan found Lu Xiuyi and, seeing that he had come without his canteen as usual, offered him hers.

Lu Xiuyi took it and gave it a shake; hearing that it was still about half full, he knew she had already had some. He leaned in and drank. *Gulp, gulp.* As his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, the water in the canteen slowly diminished. Jiang Yuan stared at the smooth lines of his throat, feeling a sudden urge to reach out and touch it.

"What are you doing?" Lu Xiuyi asked, his voice unclear as he caught sight of her hand reaching toward his neck.

"?! Oh, heavens!" Jiang Yuan’s hand trembled as she pulled it back. How could she have acted on her thoughts? She explained awkwardly, "Nothing, nothing! You had something on you just now, I was just helping you brush it off."

Lu Xiuyi looked at her with a knowing, half-smile, not calling her bluff.

"Everyone up, let's get back to work!" After a short break, the busy work resumed.

"Jiang Yuan, look at our fate; we’ve run into each other again."

As Jiang Yuan was working, she heard someone call her name. She turned to see Chen Jianye. He was looking at her with a cheerful smile, having completely forgotten the unpleasantness from before.

Jiang Yuan replied, "The threshing floor is only so big. Is it really that strange to run into each other?"

Chen Jianye said, "True, I suppose it is normal."

Jiang Yuan thought, *...I think he is the one who is abnormal.* Ignoring him, she lowered her head and went back to work.

Chen Jianye didn't bother her further, but he didn't leave either; he simply picked up his tools and started working right beside her. There were many people around, and since Jiang Yuan was focused on her work with her head down, she hadn't noticed Chen Jianye staying close to her.

Lu Xiuyi, however, had noticed him—and he even caught the provocative look Chen Jianye shot his way. Lu Xiuyi’s gaze turned cold, his eyes filled with slivers of ice that could freeze a person solid.

From a distance, Chen Jianye saw Lu Xiuyi’s expression change and raised an eyebrow in triumph. As if that wasn't enough, he reached out and brazenly placed his hand on Jiang Yuan’s shoulder right under Lu Xiuyi’s nose.