Dou Akou was lost in thought when it was her turn to wash the dishes. Without thinking, she put her hands into the cold water, and was so startled by the cold that she shook her hands and breathed on them to warm them up.
The weather was already cold in December, and Qingyong City was located on thousands of stone steps. In the early morning, the water in the vat was covered with a thin layer of ice. Dou Akou was pampered and always had Fu Jiuxin wash her.
This time was no exception. Fu Jiuxin silently took the bowl from her hand, his fingers flying across the water, splashing up glistening droplets—a truly beautiful sight. Dou Akou loved her master's hands, just as she loved him as a person; however, whether it was his hands or him, she could only admire them from afar, never to be touched.
This time, Dou Akou had a rare moment of clarity. She seemed to realize that her husband was angry. The person was still the same person, and the bowl was still the same bowl, but something was just wrong with her husband.
Fu Jiuxin washed the dishes for Dou Akou, then turned around and saw Dou Akou's conflicted face. He pursed his lips and asked, "What are you still standing there for? Don't you have to do your evening lessons?"
This sentence struck Dou Akou's Achilles' heel, instantly shattering her desire to investigate Fu Jiuxin. The one teaching evening lessons wasn't her irresponsible, wine-drinking master, but rather the notoriously strict city lord of Qingyong City, Mingkong Sanren. Dou Akou glanced at the sky, her soul leaving her body, and ran off in a panic.
Behind her, Fu Jiuxin said calmly, "Miss, appearance."
Like a wild buffalo galloping across the grasslands, Dou Akou suddenly stopped, adjusted her hair ribbon, clothes, and skirt, and with light, graceful steps, slowly disappeared from Fu Jiuxin's sight.
She managed to make it to the evening class at the last minute, sneaking to her seat right under Mingkong Sanren's nose. Mingkong Sanren was lecturing on the mental cultivation method on stage when Tang Xunzhen held up a book and whispered in Dou Akou's ear, "Akou, I found out. The man your master brought back is called Xu Liren. It seems his family fell on hard times and he was sold as a commoner."
Dou Akou was startled: "Xu Li? Isn't that the surname of the royal family of the Huang Dynasty?"
Since no one in Tang Xunzhen's family held official positions and he didn't care about the imperial court, he wasn't as shocked as Dou Akou: "Of course it's not Xu Li, it's surname Xu, given name Li Ren."
"Oh," Dou Akou responded, her mind involuntarily recalling Xu Liren's decadent and glamorous appearance.
"Oh dear, I forgot to take notes." Tang Xunzhen suddenly turned around, quickly scribbling down the incantation Mingkong Sanren had spoken, then turned back to ask, "Akou, have you taken a liking to that Xu Liren?"
Dou Akou blushed: "No, no. Really, no." It wasn't that she liked him, but she was simply amazed when she first saw such a handsome man, and then became somewhat interested.
"So what kind of man do you like?"
Mentioning Dou Akou gives me a headache. Her birthday is the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. After her birthday this month, she will turn fifteen and reach the age of marriage.
Master Dou must be eagerly awaiting this day at home. Master Dou has very traditional ideas. He first sends his daughter to learn martial arts. Once she has mastered the skills, she will be of marriageable age when she returns home. Then, he can easily arrange to marry her off to another family. That way, even if she marries into another family, no one in her husband's family will dare to bully her.
Dou Akou felt heartache, chest pain, and brain pain whenever she thought about this.
Tang Xunzhen rambled on, "Well, let me give you an example. Do you prefer someone like your husband, or someone like Xu Liren, or someone like Gu Huaibi? Anyway, I prefer someone like your husband."
Tang Xunzhen had a very simple taste in men. She was particularly fond of rugged, bold, muscular men who exuded masculinity. But among the men in Qingyong City, Gu Huaibi was too delicate, Xu Liren was too glamorous, and only Fu Jiuxin was slightly more to her liking.
Dou Akou was very upset: "Me? I like chivalrous heroes."
She made a casual remark, her heart filled with the slight discomfort she felt when she heard that Tang Xunzhen liked Fu Jiuxin.
Tang Xunzhen pondered for a moment, then clicked his tongue and said, "Nowadays, most of the great heroes in the martial arts world have settled down and started families, and the young heroes haven't yet shown their talents. Your request is quite difficult."
Dou Akou continued rambling, "Then let's find someone with the potential to become a great hero. Potential, talent, aptitude, do you understand, Senior Sister?"
Tang Xunzhen nodded. "Oh, then I'll look for it for you when I get back to Yiyantang."
Tang Xunzhen is truly the young lady of the Jianghu Yiyantang (a powerful and influential place in the martial arts world). Yiyantang knows all the anecdotes of the great heroes, young heroes, heroines, and minor heroes of the Jianghu, and has compiled a list of weapons in the Jianghu and a list of beauties in the martial arts world—both men and women.
Before Dou Akou could say anything, a wolf-hair brush suddenly flew from afar. Her junior brothers and sisters sitting in front of her nimbly dodged it. Dou Akou was slow to react; she had barely shifted her position when the brush struck her face with a sharp crack. The person who threw the brush had controlled the force and angle perfectly, making it look like a whip had been lashed across Dou Akou's face, leaving a red mark.
Mingkong Sanren, standing on the stage, said with a flourish: "Dou Akou, from 3:45 PM to midnight tonight, you will be forced to kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment."
Mingkong Sanren was biased, never mentioning his own disciple, Tang Xunzhen. Tang Xunzhen glanced apologetically at Dou Akou and stuck out his tongue.
The ancestral hall is a place to enshrine the ancestors who have been the city lords of Qingyong City throughout history. A candle flickers on and off, casting an eerie glow.
Dou Akou trembled on the prayer mat, her mind racing with ghostly thoughts of demons and monsters in the dead of night. Suddenly, she heard soft footsteps outside the door. Her heart skipped a beat, initially thinking it was a hallucination. But the footsteps were not only real, but growing closer. A flood of thoughts rushed through her mind: ghosts in deserted villages, eerie tales of the mountains…
The footsteps came straight towards them, pausing briefly outside the door. Dou Akou's heart leaped into her throat. Suddenly, the door creaked open softly in the dead of night. The tension that had been taut within Dou Akou snapped with a thud.
She screamed and rushed out, but tripped over the prayer mat and fell forward, her face covered in something.
"Mmm..." Dou Akou's entire face was covered by a wad of cotton fabric. She could clearly feel a part inside, and the heat from it seeped through the fabric onto her skin. Dou Akou carefully explored it for a while, then pulled her face out. When she looked up, she met Fu Jiuxin's deep, calm eyes.
—Her face was pressed against Fu Jiuxin's crotch.
“Sir, you are so big…” Dou Akou held the object in her hand that seemed to be getting bigger, and in a moment of inspiration, looked at Fu Jiuxin with unusual sincerity.
cat ears
"S-Sir, you're so big..."
"Dou Akou, let go." Fu Jiuxin's voice was hoarse, but his tone was very calm.
The calmer Fu Jiuxin's tone, the more turbulent the inner universe he was brewing.
Dou Akou knew this all too well, and released her grip as if her heart was on fire, crying as she looked at Fu Jiuxin: "Sir, I was wrong!"
"It's alright." Fu Jiuxin put down the plate in his hand—it was a late-night snack he had brought for Dou Akou.
He floated lightly onto the chair, looking down at Dou Akou: "You've grown up, huh? You know how to appreciate men now, and you're even trying to take advantage of them."
Dou Akou shook her head vigorously: "No, no, Akou only has one man, Mr.! He raised me, changed my diapers, dressed me, and bathed me—"
The kindness of my sir is greater than the heavens!
Fu Jiuxin raised an eyebrow, looked at her and nodded: "Not bad. I still remember the first time you came to Gui Shui..."
That hit the nail on the head!
Dou Akou, sweating profusely, said, "Sir, please stop talking!"
Fu Jiuxin was five years older than Dou Akou.
When Fu Jiuxin was taken in by the Dou family, he was ten years old, and Dou Akou was five. At that time, Master Dou was busy with business and traveled all over the country all year round. Madam Dou had just passed away, and Master Dou did not have time to take a concubine, so the Dou family only had a wet nurse to take care of Dou Akou.
The wet nurse was old and not very capable; she could barely take care of herself, let alone little Dou Akou. Following the principle of a businessman who wouldn't do anything without profit, Master Dou took in Fu Jiuxin, whom he had found, as his wet nurse.
So one child brought along an even younger child. As the weather grew cool and the wind blew, and the birds sang and the grass grew tall, they agreed to grow up together, stumbling and struggling, during that youthful time.
At that time, Dou Akou still called Fu Jiuxin "Axin". To find out exactly when she started calling Fu Jiuxin "Mr.", we have to go back ten years.
Ten years ago, one noon, the Dou family cooked cat's ear noodles.
The cook was lazy; what he called "cat's ears" was actually just a long strip torn from the dough, thrown into a pot to cook, and then served.
Dou Akou ate and drank her fill, soup and all, until she was covered in sweat. Taking advantage of the bright sunshine, the wet nurse sent Dou Akou and Fu Jiuxin to take a bath.
Fifteen minutes later, a series of ghostly wails echoed from the Dou family compound.
The wet nurse shakily stepped out to check and saw the two children entangled together. Dou Akou was crying uncontrollably, and Fu Jiuxin's face was flushed.
"Nanny! Ah Xin hid a cat's ear and won't let me eat it!" Dou Akou cried when she saw her nanny arrive.
Cat ears?
The wet nurse, with her failing eyesight, squinted for a long time before she saw Dou Akou's hands placed between Fu Jiuxin's legs, holding something in her hands. She was immediately terrified.
"Miss, let go! Let go! Those aren't cat ears!"
“Why not?” Dou Akou looked down at Fu Jiuxin’s tiny “cat ears” in her hand. “They’re on Axin’s body, so I can’t eat them.”
"Amitabha, men and women are different..." The wet nurse chanted as she pried Dou Akou's hands apart to rescue Fu Jiuxin. When she picked up Dou Akou, she glanced at Fu Jiuxin and said, "Miss is ignorant, but aren't you ignorant too?"
From that time on, Dou Akou never bathed with Fu Jiuxin again; from that time on, Dou Akou was forbidden from calling Fu Jiuxin "Axin" and had to call him "Mr."; from that time on, Dou Akou's "Axin" grew up and began to treat her coldly.
Thinking about it this way, Dou Akou and Fu Jiuxin's "cat ears" actually have quite a connection.
Now fifteen years old, Dou Akou stared blankly, realizing that her husband's cat ears had grown so big.
She angered Fu Jiuxin tonight and had her midnight snack taken back, so she knelt on an empty stomach for half the night.
Despite his anger, he couldn't bring himself to leave her alone. He stood guard outside the ancestral hall for half the night, letting the cool night breeze dispel the heat that Dou Akou's unintentional actions had stirred in him.
When Dou Akou left the ancestral hall, she sincerely thanked Fu Jiuxin: "Sir, you are so kind to me."
Fu Jiuxin snorted lightly: "Practice the calligraphy ten times tomorrow."
He decided to remain unmoved, even when Dou Akou tried to seduce him.
The next day, Qingyong City awoke with the first rays of dawn and began to flourish.
The carefree man rarely returned to the city. Because he hadn't had enough of Xu Liren's zither music, he stayed in the city for a few days. He also remembered that he had two apprentices, so he taught Dou Akou a move and a half.
Dou Akou wields a broadsword. According to Jiu Rou Sanren, Dou Akou's lightness skill is lacking, her mental techniques are unrefined, she's not agile enough, and her strength is insufficient; her only asset is her great brute force. If she doesn't use a sword, who will?
Among the fellow students, Tang Xunzhen wielded a hollowed-out silver whip adorned with butterflies and flowers, while the others used ribbons, swords, or daggers, appearing both graceful and heroic, which Dou Akou greatly admired.
"Snap out of it!" The wine-and-meat herb tapped Dou Akou on the head with the back of his knife, bringing her back to her senses. "Have you remembered the moves I taught you today? I'll demonstrate them again, and then you can practice them on your own."
"Oh." Dou Akou obediently brandished her knife, and the transitions between her moves were quite smooth.
She was strong, and although she didn't have any fancy skills, her dance was powerful and sweeping, making it difficult for others to get close to her.
After watching for a while, Jiu Rou Sanren suddenly remembered something and ordered someone to summon Xu Liren.
Dou Akou was dancing when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a white figure standing quietly to the side, holding a guqin. She was distracted, forgot the moves, lost her balance, and almost fell. She quickly used her knife to brace herself and regain her balance.
Taking advantage of the situation, Jiu Rou Sanren interjected, "Perfect timing. Akou, you rest for a while, and let Xu Liren play a piece. Think about it, and it would be best if you could dance with your sword to his music."
Dou Akou glanced at Xu Liren. He had changed out of the tattered clothes he wore yesterday and put on the most ordinary white robe in Qingyong City. Even though the color was so plain, it still gave him a touch of decadent and beautiful charm.
Xu Liren set up the zither, lowered his hand and plucked the strings, and a series of melodies flowed out. Dou Akou hurriedly began to wield her knife.
She followed his rhythm, stiffly striking each move, drawing laughter from the onlookers. Dou Akou felt embarrassed and blushed, but she didn't back down, continuing to listen to Xu Liren's music.
Gradually, the zither and the sword blended into harmony. His zither music was resounding, and her sword strikes were sharp. Sunlight shone on the Elephant Dance Stage in Qingyong City, illuminating the zither and the sword, as they roamed freely on the majestic and colorful land.
Dou Akou grew more and more confident as she danced. In the gaps between the flashing blades, she glanced at Xu Liren and happened to see him looking at her as well, giving her a slight smile.
When he laughed, it was like the fleeting moment when spring flowers bloom and fall from the branches. Dou Akou's heart skipped a beat, her face flushed, her legs felt unsteady, she staggered, stopped wielding her sword, and gasped for breath.
Fu Jiuxin, who arrived a quarter of an hour earlier, stood to the side, taking in everything. He stood silently under the shade of the flowers, like a sword drawn from its sheath.
Gu Huaibi put his arm around his shoulder, his eyebrows dancing with excitement: "Oh, Brother Fu, it seems that Junior Sister's rapeseed flowers have bloomed!"
Fu Jiuxin raised his eyes but did not speak.
Xu Liren's zither music couldn't hold back the reclusive drinker. The old man said that the old yellow wine brewed in the Suzhou winery should be opened now, and drinking yellow wine in the twelfth lunar month was the perfect time. So he left behind his two apprentices and the zither player he had bought, and went down to Qingyong City that afternoon.
With the departure of the wine-and-meat-wearing man, Dou Akou once again fell into Fu Jiuxin's hands.
Fu Jiuxin arranged her food, clothing, lodging, and transportation, as well as her daily schedule.
"We'll practice on the plum blossom stakes this afternoon," Fu Jiuxin said.
Dou Akou made a request: "Sir, could you please have Xu Liren play the zither to keep me company?"
Fu Jiuxin nodded: "Alright, the music will calm your mind."
Dou Akou found her husband unusually easy to talk to and exceptionally understanding today. She happily stood on the plum blossom stake and glanced at Xu Liren. For some reason, she especially liked watching Xu Liren play the zither with his eyes lowered, a strand of black hair gently draped over his shoulder, white robes, black hair, and a paulownia wood zither—it was truly beautiful.