Chapter 31 – Heart Aflutter

To be honest, this path was a bit difficult to tread.

In order to reach this person’s heart as quickly as possible, Cui Ti ate a spicy rabbit head with tears in her eyes.

Tears were no exaggeration.

She had always preferred mild flavors, not to maintain a slender figure, but because she had lived a life devoid of rich foods for over a decade. Suddenly eating something as spicy and meaty as this overwhelmed her taste buds and eyes.

The spiciness made her want to cry.

Her nose was slightly red, her eyes were red, and her lips had a thin layer of oil. Her eating manners were refined yet clumsy.

Everyone knew that eating spicy rabbit head required technique and patience. Cui Ti was blind and had little patience for food that required effort, like rabbit heads or chicken feet. In the past, she might have chewed them whole just to fill her stomach.

After a few days of living in luxury, she was now brought to tears by the spicy rabbit head being fed to her. Her throat felt like it was on fire, the heat rushing straight to her head.

And that wasn’t the worst of it.

The meat on the rabbit’s cheeks was the most abundant and easiest to bite into. Cui Ti opened her mouth but didn’t know where to start, glancing helplessly at the person next to her who was enthusiastically eating.

Pei Xuan seemed to find something amusing: “Eat from this side.”

The rabbit head was turned around, but Cui Ti had no idea what was where. She opened her mouth and bit into it clumsily, looking adorably silly. She was beautiful, her face flushed red—perhaps from the spiciness—and her eyes were watery, like rippling waves. Pei Xuan’s heart fluttered in response.

This feeling was too wonderful!

“Is it good?”

Cui Ti swallowed the small amount of meat, feeling like her entire tongue was numb. She was dazed for a moment before remembering to answer Pei Xuan’s question, her tone uncontrollably aggrieved: “It’s good.”

The eldest legitimate son of the Pei Family was the epitome of a gentleman in Xi Jing. However, at that moment, even a gentleman couldn’t resist teasing his own Niangzi when she appeared so reluctant and adorable.

Her eyebrows curved: “How good is it?”

Cui Ti was secretly annoyed at being teased, but she truly wanted to take this shortcut to plant herself deep in Pei Xuan’s heart, becoming intimately close. She took a quiet breath and softly said: “It’s like dragon meat from the heavens, nothing compares.”

Pei Xuan was stunned for a moment, then her shoulders trembled as she covered her mouth, laughing uncontrollably.

“…”

Was it really that funny?

Cui Ti didn’t understand, a slow-burning blush creeping up her chest, refusing to go away.

If only she couldn’t see. Unfortunately, when she looked up, Pei Xuan’s mischievous face came into view. She certainly loved her joy and her radiant smile, but this was…

This was too much.

She had a gentle temperament and didn’t like arguing with others, so she asked knowingly, “Fujun, have you laughed enough?”

Pei Xuan hadn’t had enough, but she didn’t dare continue. Especially thinking about the situation they would face tonight, her heart trembled. She didn’t dare offend the good girl in front of her. Seeing Cui Ti’s lips red from the spiciness, she poured some milk into a jade bowl for her: “Niangzi, you flatter me. If you like it, we can share this delicacy every month.”

Her words were teasing. Cui Ti was relieved she didn’t mention the “dragon meat” again, but the blush on her face wouldn’t fade. She lowered her head, thinking about having to taste this rabbit head with little meat and dubious flavor every month in the future, suddenly understanding the phrase “hoist with one’s own petard.”

Now, not only did her feet hurt, her face hurt, and her throat hurt too. She couldn’t help but silently mourn for her future self.

Bai Tang, standing by the dining table, was amazed. Truly, one shouldn’t judge a person by their appearance. Who would have thought that Gentleman Pei had a mischievous side, knowing full well that the girl couldn’t handle the tough rabbit head, yet suggesting they share it every month? And the girl, biting her lip and refusing to admit the truth, made these two quite an interesting pair.

After some teasing and coaxing, how could Pei Xuan not know that her Niangzi had different tastes? While Cui Ti was drinking her milk, she rolled up her sleeves, squinted her eyes slightly, and meticulously ate the spicy rabbit head, not missing a single piece of meat.

Cui Ti quietly peeked at her, marveling at how Pei Xuan looked as beautiful eating as she did while writing, if not more lively. She admired her thorough eating style, making sure to savor every bit of the rabbit head.

After another gulp of milk soothed her throat, her mind seemed to clear too.

Pei Xuan… Pei Xuan was eating her leftover rabbit head?

Haozhong’s rabbit also tilted its head, watching Gentleman Pei eat with gusto. Before long, Pei Xuan finished the rabbit head in her hand and reached for another one.

She ate with great appetite, seemingly unaffected. Cui Ti, given the opportunity to observe her, couldn’t help but wonder why Pei Xuan was being so attentive. They had only been married a few days; it was far too early for her to have done anything to wrong her.

Even in her previous lifetime, this person had always adhered to the virtues of a husband, never interacting with other women.

What could be the reason?

Halfway through eating, Pei Xuan recalled why the spicy rabbit head was on the table today. Noticing Cui Ti’s cup was empty, she instructed the cook to bring more dishes.

The dishes were freshly made, light, and refreshing, full of color and fragrance, with steam rising from them, filling the air with the warmth of home. Knowing the importance of the moment, Pei Xuan put down her delicious meal and personally served her Niangzi.

“You probably don’t like strong-flavored food. It was my oversight. I thought that since I loved it, my Niangzi would definitely love it too…”

“I—I really like it!”

Cui Ti hurried to refute, “I really, really like it.”

Then she saw Pei Xuan smile, clearly not believing her: “It’s okay to like it, and it’s okay not to like it…” She smiled, “I want my Niangzi to feel at ease and be herself.”

Bai Tang thought to herself: Gentleman Pei really knows how to talk. Ease and being oneself—how many people spend their entire lives without achieving these two things?

Cui Ti understood her meaning, feeling unsure: “How did you figure it out?”

Her intentions were not pure; she didn’t like the rabbit head but rather wanted to use it as an excuse to get closer to Pei Xuan.

Get closer…

She sneaked a glance at Pei Xuan, who was serving her, and her mind began to wander again. It’s often said that when someone is overly attentive without a reason, they must have ulterior motives. What was Pei Xuan planning…

“Eat up.”

Long chopsticks were placed in her hand.

Cui Ti quietly ate, beside her was the usually restrained but now indulgently eating Pei Xuan, the most straightforward gentleman of Xi Jing.

Her eyelids lowered, she tasted the fragrant, soft rice, followed by her favorite sweet and sour fish.

Pei Xuan glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, and an unprecedented thought crossed her mind: Those condemned to death receive a final meal before execution, and a brave man might shout, “In eighteen years, I’ll be a hero again.”

Disguised as a man, she was about to engage in such an intimate act. The deed was yet to be done, but the rabbit head had already been eaten. However, bunnies are naturally timid, and no matter how much she ate, it couldn’t bolster her courage. Now, just the thought of “going to bed at night” made her heart race with nervous anticipation.

If Titi lost her virtue to her, only to later realize that she was truly a woman, how could she make amends?

Even if she wanted to compensate, could she afford it?

In Dazhao, a woman’s chastity was more important than the sky, sometimes even more valuable than her life. Her mom had leveraged this point to force her actions…

Pei Xuan furrowed her brows, suddenly feeling that the rabbit head, which had tasted better than dragon meat, now left a bitter taste in her mouth. She was filled with worry and anxiety.

Thousands of worries were locked in her heart, invisible to others, but Cui Ti sensed something was off.

“Fujun?”

Pei Xuan snapped out of her thoughts: “Niangzi.”

Cui Ti’s smile was gentle: “I’d like to have another bite.”

The two shared a rabbit head, with the easily accessible meat going to her and the tricky bits, the delicacies, ending up in Pei Xuan’s mouth.

In the afternoon, the usually studious Gentleman Pei did not immerse herself in books but instead took her young wife out for a boat ride on the lake.

Xi Jing’s scenery was beautiful, with the vast expanse of Bilu Lake stretching endlessly. On a large boat, Pei Xuan embraced Cui Ti’s slender waist, leaning back to feel the breeze. Birds flew overhead, and as they listened to their calls, Cui Ti felt a sense of tranquility.

But this time, both were preoccupied with their own thoughts, neither truly enjoying the boat ride. Soon, night fell amid the gentle breeze.

Stars dotted the sky, and the bright moon hung high. The Pei family gathered for dinner, and before leaving the table, Pei Xuan received a subtle signal from her mom, making her feel like she was teetering on the edge of a cliff, just a gust of wind away from disaster.

“Everyone, you may leave.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Haozhong lit the incense burner prepared by the Madam for the gentleman, and together with Raoliang and Bai Tang, they bowed and retreated.

The door was closed, and a delicate scent wafted out from the animal-shaped burner, as if a mythical beast was exhaling fragrant mist.

From daytime until now, her behavior had been peculiar, making it impossible for Cui Ti not to overthink.

In the inner chamber, one could hear a pin drop. The wick inside the lamp made a popping sound, startling the ‘guilty’ gentleman.

Pei Xuan cleared her throat and stood up, her legs feeling weak: “Niangzi, it’s late…”

Cui Ti’s ears were burning hot, afraid of misunderstanding and causing a scene. She nodded gently.

Supporting her to the bed’s edge, Pei Xuan saw her face blush like a peach blossom, the shyness spreading. Pei Xuan quickly lowered her head, not daring to look further, staring instead at the embroidered shoes of the young lady, her heart pounding.

Her heart was pounding, and Cui Ti’s heart was racing like a frightened deer, her breath slightly erratic.

She wasn’t foolish; she understood that all of Pei Xuan’s strangeness today was likely due to what was going to happen tonight.

“Niangzi…”

“Hmm?”

Pei Xuan finally lifted her head, taking on the responsibility of being the ‘legitimate son’ of the Pei Family, staring unblinkingly at Cui Ti: “Niangzi already knows from Mom that I am not a complete man and cannot give you a house full of children.”

She stepped forward, as if wanting to bare her heart: “But my heart still burns with love for you, and my feelings for you are true. Do you mind my incompleteness?”

“Ah?”

“Do you mind?”

Cui Ti was enveloped by her breath, her body trembling slightly, unsure if it was from excitement or shyness. She shook her head: “I don’t mind.”

“Really don’t mind?”

“Hmm, really don’t mind.”

Pei Xuan’s heart was moved, her voice sorrowful: “But I am already a useless person, fortunate that Niangzi doesn’t despise me and is willing to be my wife, I…”

She waited for the next phrase, “I have nothing to repay you with but myself,” but after waiting and waiting, Pei Xuan did not continue. Cui Ti couldn’t wait any longer and asked, “What about you?”

“I…” Pei Xuan closed her eyes and then opened them again, suppressing her shame and her love. Her voice was soft: “Even though I am a ‘useless person,’ I still want to be a real ‘couple’ with you…”

She kept calling herself a “useless person,” which made Cui Ti feel both amused and exasperated. But hearing the phrase “being a real couple,” her body softened considerably.

“Is it okay?” Pei Xuan asked cautiously.

She moved even closer.

So close that Cui Ti could smell the fresh scent of her bath on her. Feeling shy, she couldn’t stop herself and whispered, “Okay.”

Confirming that she had heard correctly, Pei Xuan stood there in a daze for a moment, trembling as she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a detailed illustrated book.

The book was opened, and with trembling hands, she flipped through a few pages.

The sound of the pages turning reached Cui Ti’s ears faintly. She dared not lift her head, feeling panicked and at a loss: “Fujun?”

Pei Xuan, holding the ‘hot potato,’ found herself in a dilemma, hesitating over several positions. Fortunately, she was naturally intelligent, with an ability to remember things at a glance. She laid the book open on the ‘treasure cabinet’ beside the bed, her face flushing with heat: “Tonight, I… I want to be a real couple with you.”