Mi esposa se sube al muro

Capítulo 40

Xu Shirong was both amused and exasperated. She looked up and saw that Xiao Que had returned to where she had been standing, looking around as if searching for her. She then snorted and said, "There are a few pancakes inside. Xiao Que wrapped them up and gave them to him, afraid that he would go hungry while working."

Yang Huan was taken aback, then said with relief, "It's good that it wasn't you who sent it." He glanced up and saw her frowning at him, seemingly a little displeased. He quickly moved closer and said with a grin, "If I were to come and work and get hungry, I would be so grateful if you were this considerate to me, my wife."

Xu Shirong knew he was trying to please her, and the slight annoyance she had felt from his petty behavior disappeared. She glared at him and said, "Don't bother repairing the dike yourself. Just focus on doing this well. Don't be lazy and work on it only sporadically. Once the seawall is repaired, who else will I take care of if not you?"

Yang Huan was overjoyed, almost ready to swear an oath to the heavens on the spot. Remembering her last words about thoughtfulness, a thought struck him, and he was about to ask more clearly how she meant it. However, he hesitated because passersby kept bowing and greeting him, so he coughed and put on a serious expression to answer them. He thought he would go back with her, but then the county magistrate and the others started calling his name repeatedly. He could only sigh and watch helplessly as she left him behind.

Xu Shirong called out to Xiao Que. The girl, unaware that she had just witnessed what had happened, happily ran over and said, "Where did Madam go just now? I've been looking for her everywhere."

Xu Shirong smiled and responded, not mentioning what had just happened. The two walked back to the carriage parked by the roadside and returned to the county office without further ado.

Yang Huan had been running around for more than half a day, inspecting the foundation work along the route and checking the quarries on the mountains by the sea. He was busy until the sun was starting to set before returning to the county office. When he entered the house, he didn't see Xu Shirong. He asked Xiao Die, who said that the madam and the others had gone to her house with Xiang'er to learn how to weave straw bags, and should be back soon.

Yang Huan dismissed Xiao Die and waited alone for a while. Feeling a bit bored, he suddenly remembered the mouse hole she had mentioned that day. Feeling reluctant to part with the handkerchief, he hurriedly moved the footstool in front of the bed, lifted the hanging blanket, and crawled under the bed.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Yang Huan crawled under the bed, searching all four corners, bending over and hunching over, but found no insect or rodent holes. The dust inside made his nose itch, and he sneezed several times. Disappointed, he muttered "What the hell?" and reluctantly crawled out. Just as he poked his head out, he found Xu Shirong squatting in front of the bed, staring intently at him.

In an instant, one was utterly astonished, the other caught off guard; their eyes met, and they remained silent.

Xu Shirong had only made a casual joke to Yang Huan that day, and then completely forgot about it. She never expected that the man would actually believe it, and even days later, still be thinking about it and actually crawling under the bed to look for mouse holes. Seeing that he hadn't even changed out of his official robes, and that his hair was still covered in cobwebs and dust from under the bed, Xu Shirong suppressed a laugh and was about to speak when Yang Huan suddenly realized what was happening. He abruptly raised his head, about to say something to cover it up, when suddenly there was a thud as his forehead slammed heavily against the lower edge of the bed frame—it was made of very hard pear wood.

Yang Huan covered his head with one hand, repeatedly crying out in pain. Xu Shirong pulled him out, pried his hand away, and carefully examined his forehead, noticing a small scrape. Hearing him complain of intense pain, she quickly wiped the dust from his face and stood on tiptoe to blow on the scrape. Only then did Yang Huan grin. Looking down, she saw that she was still wearing the same blue coarse cloth dress she had seen that morning. She took her hand, looked at it, and said with some heartache, "Hemp grass is very prickly. You're not used to doing it, and it won't make a difference if you're not there. Stay home and rest from tomorrow onwards. Don't go; your hands will get rough from all the work."

Xu Shirong laughed, "I had nothing better to do, and seeing everyone busy repairing the pond, I decided to join in the fun. I'm not good at weaving bags, so I just used a big needle to sew together the straw pieces that others had already woven. Chatting and laughing with the ladies, the day passed by." Seeing that he still looked somewhat unhappy, she deliberately frowned and said, "What are you doing under the bed in your official robes? Look at you, all dusty and dirty. Did you think the county magistrate was crawling into a rat hole to fight and judge cases for the rats?"

Yang Huan was embarrassed and was about to make up another excuse about seeing a mouse crawl inside when he suddenly heard Xiao Que knocking on the door and saying, "Sir, a report from the front office says that Master Xu from the county sent someone to deliver a note, saying that he will come to visit you tomorrow."

Yang Huan was taken aback. He exchanged a glance with Xu Shirong, who also looked somewhat puzzled. He went over, opened the door, took the invitation from Xiao Que, opened it, and handed it to Xu Shirong.

Xu Shirong glanced at it and saw that the gist of the notice was that he would visit at 9:00 AM the next morning to discuss something, and apologized for disturbing him. It ended with the three characters "Xu Jinrong" written in a flamboyant style.

"Isn't he in Tongzhou Prefecture? What's he doing back here! Should we see him?"

Yang Huan stared at those three words again and frowned.

Xu Shirong thought for a moment and said, "Since he has sent a letter, you should go and see him. See what he has to say."

Hearing her say that, Yang Huan chuckled and said, "We'll deal with whatever comes our way. I'll listen to you and see what this Xu guy is up to."

Xu Shirong hummed in agreement, recalling her several encounters with that man in Tongzhou Prefecture, and a sudden feeling of annoyance arose in her heart. But when she looked up and saw Yang Huan's smiling face, that annoyance vanished. Noticing that the hem of his tattered clothes and his knees were still covered with dust from crawling under the bed, she hurriedly pushed him out to take a bath.

That evening, the two lay in bed. As usual, Xu Shirong read by herself while Yang Huan tried to make conversation, though she only occasionally chimed in. After a moment, Yang Huan suddenly propped his chin up on his elbow and looked at Xu Shirong, asking, "On that handkerchief I lost before, I saw the words 'Who is suitable to be beautiful' embroidered on it. What's the explanation for that?"

Xu Shirong glanced at him and saw that he had a serious expression on his face, still thinking about the handkerchief, his mind seemingly completely stuck on one thing. She stopped reading, pulled the blanket over her head, and chuckled to herself.

Seeing her strange expression as she pulled the blanket over her head, Yang Huan quickly went over and lifted the blanket, only to find her laughing incessantly. He was puzzled and scratched his head, saying, "You always complain that I don't study, but today I really want to learn something from you, so why are you laughing?"

His words only made things worse, as Xu Shirong laughed so hard she clutched her stomach. Poor Yang Huan was completely bewildered, and after a long while, he heard her gasp and stammer, "Why do I not groom myself? It means I don't dress up because the person I love isn't by my side. Do you understand?"

Yang Huan read it aloud and nodded, saying, "Indeed, it's a young woman's way of thinking. Although it's a bit roundabout, it's quite right. For example, if I go out one day and don't come back, leaving you alone at home, you must not dress up in a flashy way to attract other people. You must only dress up for me to see when I come back. Is that what you mean?"

When Xu Shirong heard that he had distorted the meaning of "a woman dresses up for the one she loves" into something that only he could see and no one else could see, and that there was probably no one else in the world besides him, she could no longer hold back and buried her head in her fragrant pillow and laughed loudly.

Although Yang Huan didn't understand why she kept laughing, he was happy to see her laughing and chuckled to himself for a while. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he pulled her towards him, saying, "Didn't I accidentally lose that handkerchief you had earlier? Can you give me another one?"

Xu Shirong was taken aback, vaguely understanding his intention. Her face flushed slightly, and she turned her head away, ignoring him. When he persisted, she finally said, "If you want to use it, I'll go to the satin shop on the street tomorrow and have it made for you so you can use as much as you want."

Yang Huan persisted, turning her back to look at him before grinning and saying, "I don't like those things from outside. I just like using the ones you've used; they smell like you."

Xu Shirong blushed and spat at him. Yang Huan chuckled, got off the bed in an instant, slipped on his shoes and headed towards the trunk where the clothes were kept, saying as he walked, "I'll go and look for it myself. If I find it, it's mine. You can't go back on your word."

Xu Shirong was shocked. She didn't even have time to put on her shoes and got down barefoot to stop him. Seeing her fighting with him, Yang Huan became even more excited and moved faster. In one swift motion, he opened the box where she usually kept her small clothes and handkerchiefs and reached inside to rummage through it. He said, "If you won't give me handkerchiefs, then at least give me my small clothes and underwear..." Suddenly, he stopped and stared blankly at the bottom of the box, without saying a word.

Xu Shirong noticed that he suddenly stopped moving, probably because he had seen the handkerchief she had washed and put away a few days ago. Although she had washed it, she had felt something was off about it at the time, and had initially thought of throwing it away, but then felt it inappropriate, so she simply put it at the very bottom of the box, intending to keep it a secret. Who knew that, due to his unreasonable nagging, it would suddenly reappear.

Yang Huan carefully picked up the handkerchief, examined it several times, and then held it up to Xu Shirong with a look of astonishment, stammering, "This... isn't this the one I lost before? How did it end up in your trunk again?"

Xu Shirong noticed that his tongue was tumbling out as he spoke, his face flushing red and then pale, looking both ashamed and annoyed. A thought struck her, and she immediately abandoned her initial intention to mock him. She snatched the handkerchief away, saying casually, "I originally had two identical handkerchiefs like this. You lost one, and this one was at the bottom of my trunk; I'd completely forgotten about it. If you hadn't just taken it out, I'd probably be lying here sleeping forever."

Yang Huan had initially suspected that she had discovered his affair, and felt incredibly ashamed, wishing there was a mouse hole in the wall for him to crawl into. But now, hearing her speak so casually, and seeing the faint smile in her eyes, he, being a careless person, didn't think too deeply about it and immediately believed it. His heart, which had been pounding with anxiety, finally dropped with a thud, and he breathed a long sigh of relief.

Seeing how nervous he was, with sweat beading on his forehead, Xu Shirong felt a pang of sympathy and said to him, "It's just a handkerchief, why are you so nervous!"

Yang Huan chuckled, snatched the piece from her hand, quickly wiped it on his forehead, and said, "Nothing, nothing, I just thought I saw a ghost..." He then stuffed it into his clothes.

Xu Shirong saw him snatch the handkerchief and use it to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Before she could stop him, he had already finished wiping and slipped it into his clothes. She could only pretend not to see, but a smile kept welling up inside her, and she finally couldn't help but cover her mouth.

Seeing her smile again, Yang Huan, though not understanding why, was relieved that his manly image was secure, and having received her handkerchief, didn't care about anything else. Noticing she was still barefoot, he went over, scooped her up around the waist, and placed her back on the bed, complaining, "The ground is cold! I was just rummaging through your trunk, why did you rush to stop me? You didn't even put on shoes! What if you get cold? Then see if you'll still be smiling tomorrow..."

He kept muttering to himself, while Xu Shirong's lips curved into an even wider smile, leaving Yang Huan utterly bewildered. He thought to himself that this beautiful woman must be possessed tonight, otherwise why would she keep laughing like that? Noticing some mud on her feet, he took a cloth and helped wipe them clean. Afterward, seeing how lovely her feet were, he took advantage of her inattention and gave them a couple of squeezes before turning off the light and lying down. One of them, under the covers, chuckled to himself as he recalled the scene; the other, touching the handkerchief in his bosom, would occasionally bring it to his nose to steal a sniff of its fragrance, lost in his fantasies. Alas, this is probably what it means for husband and wife to share a bed but dream different dreams.

The next day, the two got up as usual. Yang Huan reached out and waited for Xu Shirong to help him put on his full set of official clothes, put on his brand-new boots, and straighten his official hat before kissing her on the forehead, taking her hand, and going to have breakfast together.

Not long after the two finished their meal, the gatekeeper came to report that Master Xu had arrived. Yang Huan remembered Xu Shirong's instructions to always maintain a gentlemanly demeanor so as not to be looked down upon. Therefore, although he disliked Master Xu intensely, he still greeted him with a spirited demeanor.

Author's note: Thank you maomaomi and houqian121212 for the thunder.

Thank you very much for the support of all readers.

Chapter Forty-Nine

When Yang Huan arrived at the county government gate, he was somewhat surprised. Xu Jinrong was sitting on his horse with a smile on his face. That was fine, but beside him were the magistrates of the neighboring counties of Judu and Wanqiao, and the two of them seemed to be flattering Xu Jinrong. After a slight pause, he put on a smile and welcomed the three of them in, offering them tea, with County Magistrate Mu and his entourage sitting with them.

Yang Huan greeted the other two county magistrates and then exchanged pleasantries with Xu Jinrong. The atmosphere was very warm and friendly, almost to the point of arm-in-arms. To an uninformed observer, the two seemed like old friends reunited. However, the other two county magistrates and Magistrate Mu knew that Magistrate Yang had severely offended Xu Jinrong upon arriving in Qingmen County. Seeing the two so amicable now, they were momentarily dumbfounded. Neither of them could afford to offend these two. Therefore, although they harbored suspicions, they simply exchanged glances and observed quietly.

After exchanging greetings, the conversation naturally turned to the construction of the seawall. Magistrate Wanqiao sighed at Qingmen County's ingenious plan of using bran to stabilize the seawall foundation, and said with a smile, "We are truly impressed to hear that such a brilliant plan came from Lord Yang."