After seeing Ji Xiu once, Princess Dongzhu had a last-minute change of heart and canceled her earlier decision to kill him.
She stood on the second floor of the teahouse, tall and graceful, watching as Ji Xiu led the parade closer and closer. Her gaze lingered over his face, his chest, his waist, her beautiful eyes shimmering with an almost intoxicated infatuation. She opened her mouth and issued an order, “Go. Fetch fresh flowers and fragrant fruits. This palace wishes to celebrate the Top Scholar.”
The palace maid beside her hurried downstairs to find someone to procure the items, barely managing to return before the procession reached the teahouse below.
Princess Dongzhu took the bamboo basket, picked up the contents inside, and with a flick of her pale wrist, scattered them toward Ji Xiu.
In the previous life, the original body had accepted the bestowed marriage. Princess Dongzhu had obtained him, and what came too easily was no longer cherished. She had not gone to a teahouse to watch the parade.
Thus, Ji Xiu had no idea that Princess Dongzhu was right above him on the second floor of the teahouse.
He only felt a scorching gaze fixed on him, faint yet persistent, impossible to pinpoint, clinging like a parasite to bone, sending a chill down his spine and making him extremely uncomfortable.
He avoided the fruits falling from above, allowing a single snow-white pear blossom in full bloom to land on his lapel. He rode forward at an unhurried pace, appearing completely unconcerned as he casually surveyed his surroundings.
Unbeknownst to him, the snow-white pear blossom set against the vermilion Top Scholar’s robes, vivid garments and spirited horse, only made his features appear even more dashing and handsome.
The young girls and married women along both sides of the street had eyes nearly reddened from staring. They wished they could immediately perform the first bow to heaven and earth, the second bow to the high hall, and then mount his jujube-red horse to return home with him.
Princess Dongzhu noticed this, and a trace of killing intent flashed through her eyes. She felt murderous toward these commoners harboring delusional desires.
Fortunately, the parade passed by at that very moment.
Watching Ji Xiu move farther and farther away, Princess Dongzhu came back to her senses. She tossed aside the bamboo basket, turned, and hurried downstairs, boarding her carriage to chase after the procession, no longer sparing any attention for dealing with her supposed rivals.
…
After the parade, that strange gaze finally disappeared.
Ji Xiu felt a subtle unease in his heart and guessed who its owner was.
It seemed that he still could not afford to relax in the near future.
The group of newly appointed scholars returned their horses, attended the royal Apricot Grove Spring Banquet, and then went to the Ministry of Rites to request leave, preparing to return to their hometowns to pay respects to their ancestors.
Ji Xiu followed the crowd and requested two months of leave. He returned to the inn to pack his belongings, rented a small courtyard, cleaned it thoroughly, and waited to go fetch Ji Yue Sheng and her mother and brother to the capital so the family could be reunited.
He was now a sixth-rank Supervisor in the Ministry of Works, with a monthly stipend of fifty taels of silver, barely enough to support a household.
Since Princess Dongzhu had not given up yet, for the sake of protecting his family, bringing them under his direct watch was the best choice.
If he left them in Jiangnan, she might send people to kill them at any time.
Ji Xiu did not underestimate Princess Dongzhu’s madness in the slightest.
With all preparations complete, Ji Xiu set out on the road home, carrying the rewards and official documents issued by the court.
Twenty days later, he appeared outside the village where the original body had been born.
“Scholar Ji?” A villager returning from the market happened to spot him and called out in surprise. Coming back to his senses and remembering what mattered, he broke into a jog toward the village. “I’ll go call Rou Niang and the others.”
Rou Niang was the original body’s wife. Her surname was Xie, her given name Xie Rou Niang.
True to her name, she was gentle as water and skilled at embroidery. With her embroidery alone, she had supported the original body throughout his years of examinations and raised two children.
It could be said that the Ji family might survive without the original body, but it could not survive without Xie Rou Niang.
She was the pillar in the hearts of the Ji family, able to manage the household, assist her husband with scholarly matters, and raise children, capable in every respect.
If in the previous life Princess Dongzhu had only taken the original body and had not killed Xie Rou Niang, allowing the two children to grow up normally by their mother’s side, perhaps the awakening of a villain would never have happened.
Of course, that was only a hypothetical.
What had happened had already happened. Since he had been given the chance to start over, it was better to put the past behind him and focus wholeheartedly on living this life well.
Surrounded by villagers, Ji Xiu returned to his family courtyard. Just then, Xie Rou Niang heard the commotion and came out of the house. Husband and wife looked at each other across the air, and a trace of confusion flashed through Xie Rou Niang’s eyes.
Ji Xiu spoke first, cutting it off. “Rou Niang, I’m back.”
At the sound of his familiar voice, the confusion in Xie Rou Niang’s eyes instantly dissipated. She could not help but reveal a gentle, shallow smile. “Husband, you’re finally back.”
Ji Xiu had delayed his return until now. Anyone with sense could guess that he had passed the metropolitan examination and stayed behind for the palace examination.
Xie Rou Niang did not ask about the palace examination results. She gently thanked the villagers who had brought the news, accompanied Ji Xiu into the house, poured him a cup of water, and placed her snow-white, delicate hands on his shoulders, gently kneading and massaging.
Gentle as water, she spoke softly and considerately. “Husband seems to have grown much thinner.”
“The journey was rushed,” Ji Xiu said, draining the cup in a few gulps. “During the palace examination, the emperor named me Top Scholar. I am now a sixth-rank official. I came back to take you all to the capital together.”
A flash of joy passed through Xie Rou Niang’s eyes. “Husband is amazing!”
Ji Xiu smiled, raised his hand to rest on the back of her hand, and gave it a light pat. “From now on, I’ll support the family. You won’t need to stay up late straining your eyes with embroidery anymore.”
Xie Rou Niang’s heart tightened, and an inexplicable sourness welled up.
“Husband…”
She bent down and wrapped her arms around Ji Xiu’s neck, resting against his shoulder and gently rubbing her cheek against him. She murmured softly, “Husband, Rou Niang is so happy.”
It was not because Ji Xiu had passed the examinations that she was happy, but because Ji Xiu cared about her happiness.
In truth, Xie Rou Niang had always had great expectations for Ji Xiu. From the moment she married this man, she knew that with his talent, he would surely one day succeed in the imperial examinations. Thus, she was not surprised at all that Ji Xiu had passed.
If there was any surprise at all, it was perhaps that he had not only passed, but had become the Top Scholar.
Yet all of this became almost irrelevant beneath his gentle promise.
Since marrying into the Ji family, Xie Rou Niang had lived simply, worked diligently to manage the household. In the blink of an eye, five years had passed, filled with worry and toil, yet she had never received praise or concern from her husband.
She knew her husband was a dull piece of wood, someone who did not speak sweet words, showing everything through actions instead.
Thus, when he made a rare promise, it felt all the more precious.
Xie Rou Niang’s heart brimmed with tenderness and love. Loosely holding Ji Xiu’s neck, the corners of her lips lifted, and she felt as though her entire body were soaking in warm water, cozy and blissful.
Ji Xiu sensed her happiness and turned his head to glance at her.
Their eyes met, their breaths close.
Xie Rou Niang’s cheeks flushed slightly. She released him, stood up, and fled in embarrassment. “I’ll go call the two children back.”
Ji Xiu did not move. Sitting on the stool, he watched her leave.
In the later decades of his previous world, he had almost lived alone. Perhaps it was compensation from the Time-Space Bureau that allowed him to encounter Xie Rou Niang in this world.
Almost from the first moment he saw her, he had fallen for this gentle-as-water woman.
In truth, no one could refuse such tenderness.
In the decades to come, he would protect the owner of this gentleness well, until the end of their lives.
…
Ji Xiu met with the two children, easing the unfamiliarity from three months of separation, and the family quickly became harmonious once more.
“When we get to the capital, Father will teach you siblings your basics. Later, you can go to a private school…” Ji Xiu spoke of his plans after returning to the capital. The mother and two children sat opposite him, eyes bright, listening attentively, as though the entire world contained only him.
Ji Xiu’s heart paused slightly. He looked at Xie Rou Niang, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes, one that even he himself did not notice.
Then, he looked at Ji Yue Sheng.
Compared to the cunning, sharp, cold-blooded First Female Official by the Empress’s side in the world line, the current Ji Yue Sheng was still just a four-year-old soft little dumpling, completely ignorant of what the capital was or what schooling meant.
She blinked her clear black-and-white eyes, propped her chin with her small hand, and stared intently at Ji Xiu.
Though she did not understand, her expression was earnest and full of admiration.
Ji Xiu found it amusing and flicked her nose lightly. “Eat. When we get to the capital, Father will take you to fly kites.”
Ji Yue Sheng immediately became so happy she did not know what to do with herself, calling “Daddy, Daddy” nonstop.
Beside her, her younger brother Ji An Shu clapped his little hands. “Flying kites, flying kites!”
After the meal, Ji Xiu and Xie Rou Niang coaxed the children to sleep, then returned to their room to discuss moving matters.
“How much land do we still have? Find the deeds. I’ll sell them tomorrow and exchange them for silver so it’s easier to take to the capital. As for other odds and ends that won’t keep, sell them all together.”
Xie Rou Niang agreed to everything one by one, took out a box, and helped Ji Xiu tally the family assets.
“We have eight mu of high-grade farmland, which can sell for one hundred twenty taels of silver. Three mu of mid-grade land can sell for thirty-six taels. One mu of low-grade land isn’t worth much, so there’s no need to sell it. If we return here someday, we can still plant some vegetables. Aside from the land deeds, the most valuable things in the house are your books. Those cannot be sold and must be taken to the capital. It would be best to buy a carriage as well, so it’s more convenient for you to travel in the future. Besides that, we still have some silver deposited at the money shop…”
Xie Rou Niang was extremely familiar with every detail of the household. She spoke clearly and methodically, obviously having it all in mind.
With her help, Ji Xiu quickly finished accounting for all of the Ji family’s assets.
The Ji family was not considered poor in the local county. Even if they were, that had been before Ji Xiu passed the examinations. After he succeeded, gained the ability to vouch for others and socialize with officials, countless people had brought silver to his door to curry favor.
Now that Ji Xiu was Top Scholar, even more people would surely come.
Of course, taking that money to the capital might not amount to much.
The capital was vast, living there expensive. If he wanted his family to live better lives and not be constrained by imperial power, beyond his stipend, he needed additional income.
Ji Xiu set down the deeds and silver notes, propped his chin, and fell into thought.
After a long while, he finally thought of a way to make money, writing storybooks, or rather, writing plays.
He could, of course, engage in commerce, but in this world, merchants held low status. Now that he was an official, he could not personally involve himself and would need to train a trustworthy subordinate.
At present, he had not found one.
Writing storybooks was different. He had passed through several modern worlds and had seen countless novels and television dramas. His thinking and imagination were extraordinarily flexible, far beyond what people of this era could compare to.
Of course, the biggest reason he wanted to do this was not for money, but to control public opinion.
The ruler is the boat, the people are the water. Water can carry the boat, and it can also overturn it.
To contend against imperial authority represented by Princess Dongzhu, the hearts of the people were the best weapon.
Once he had the idea, he acted on it. Ji Xiu stood up, intending to go to the study to first draft a plan.
“Husband…”
Seeing him rise in haste, Xie Rou Niang also stood and stretched out her snow-white arms, hugging him from behind.
She carried the faint fragrance of having just bathed. Her soft, lush body pressed close, her voice tinged with a hint of urgency. “Husband, what is so urgent? Can it not wait until tomorrow?”
Ji Xiu’s steps halted.
He turned around and looked at the woman who appeared even more beautiful and gentle under the lamplight. His eyes darkened slightly.