Chapter 4 – Husband and Wife (2)
Just as the constables inside the city were still unable to restore order and were hurriedly calling for reinforcements, Teng Yue happened to be passing nearby with his personal guards.
He immediately stepped forward and subdued the ruffians. In less than two ke of time, every one of them had been captured without exception, and the young ladies who had been seized were rescued safely.
To Teng Yue, it had been nothing more than a trivial matter not even worth mentioning. He never expected the incident to spread so widely through the streets and markets.
Afterward, when he entered the city again, there was no woman in Xi’an who did not know his name. In recent years it had even reached the point where young ladies competed with one another to throw flowers toward him.
Teng Yue found the situation nothing but embarrassing.
At that moment, one of the ladies seemed to notice his expression.
“General, why have you turned so red? Could it be that another young lady recognized you tonight and threw flowers or an embroidered handkerchief, saying she wishes to marry you?”
As soon as those words were spoken, the room burst into laughter once more.
Teng Yue’s expression stiffened slightly.
“That is quite impossible. I am already married.”
This was the truth, and everyone present knew it. Yet someone joked, “What does that matter to a great man?”
The others continued laughing, treating it as nothing serious. But Teng Yue felt the remark rather disrespectful. A thought suddenly crossed his mind, and his gaze swept across the gathering.
Besides his mother and several married ladies, there were many young women present. Yet no matter how carefully he looked around, he could not find his own wife among them.
Teng Yue could hardly ask about it outright, so after exchanging a few more polite remarks with the ladies, he prepared to take his leave. Just then, his mother, Madam Lin, spoke.
“You are covered in dust. Go inside and change your clothes first.”
After leaving the gathering, Teng Yue asked Wei Mama, who was standing beside his mother,
“Why is the Madam not present?”
Wei Mama had served Madam Lin for decades and was her most trusted attendant. Nothing large or small within the residence passed through the household without going through her hands.
Hearing his question, Wei Mama did not answer immediately. Instead, she first bowed respectfully and asked why he had returned so early and how many days he planned to remain at home.
When Teng Yue briefly replied that the duration was uncertain, Wei Mama finally spoke.
“Madam is feeling slightly unwell and has returned to Youming Pavilion to rest.”
Upon hearing this, Teng Yue paused.
Was today not the day the Teng household hosted the flower banquet? As his wife, she ought to have accompanied his mother in receiving guests. Why had she returned to Youming Pavilion instead?
“Where is she unwell? Has a physician been summoned?”
Wei Mama chuckled softly.
“The General is truly considerate. But in this servant’s opinion, Madam does not seem to require a physician.”
The answer sounded somewhat strange. Teng Yue did not pursue the matter further and instead turned his steps toward Youming Pavilion.
The candle flame on the desk flickered once.
Dam Yeon slowly closed her tired eyes.
Seeing this, Sunang immediately came forward and gathered up all the papers on the table.
“Miss, you must rest for a few days at least. If you keep burning lamp oil late into the night reading books like this, I fear you will end up like those old scholars who studied for the imperial examinations all their lives—wearing spectacles on your nose.”
She had purchased countless medical texts, and even the family’s inherited medical books had been read through again and again. There was hardly a day when Dam Yeon did not spend several shichen reading. Sunang was genuinely worried that her mistress’s eyes would one day be ruined.
Dam Yeon burst out laughing at the remark.
“And what is wrong with being an old scholar? Sunang, are you looking down on scholars?”
“How would this servant dare? Miss, please do not twist my words like that.”
Having already decided to remove the books tonight, Sunang stopped arguing and pointed toward the fish tank by the window.
“Miss, go watch the fish over there. If you stare at them for two ke, your eyes will feel much better.”
The moment she finished speaking, Sunang hugged the books to her chest and hurried out of the room.
Dam Yeon could neither stop her nor win against her stubbornness. With no other choice, she sat by the window, watching the fish while silently recalling the medicinal formula she had been studying earlier.
Because she was staring so intently at the fish and pondering the prescription, she did not hear the commotion outside. Only when someone lifted the bamboo curtain and stepped inside did she assume Sunang had returned.
“Tonight feels unusually dull. Shall we play a round of ssangnyuk?”
After speaking, Dam Yeon turned her head.
At that moment, she froze in place on the chair by the window.
The one who had returned was not Sunang.
It was her husband, Teng Yue.
Teng Yue also looked at her.
His wife’s complexion looked bright and healthy. Beneath her relaxed brows, her eyes rested idly on the fish tank by the window. It seemed she had been about to play a game with her maid.
Teng Yue recalled Wei Mama’s earlier words.
“The General is truly considerate. But in this servant’s opinion, Madam does not seem to require a physician.”
In other words, she was most likely pretending to be ill.
He silently gazed at her for a moment.
Dam Yeon awkwardly rose to her feet.
For a moment, the air in the room seemed to freeze solid. The breeze brushing against his sleeve never touched her fingertips, and the breath grazing her nose never reached his lips. The atmosphere was so heavy that even the lively sounds of the opera outside could not penetrate the room.
They had been married for two months, yet had only met face-to-face twice before. Today was their third meeting.
Teng Yue did not wish to begin his return home by becoming estranged from his wife. Without saying much, he simply nodded.
“I’ve returned.”
After leaving those words behind, he walked into the adjoining room to change his clothes.
When he entered the inner room to change, Dam Yeon followed quietly. Though she was not accustomed to attending to him, she could not simply stand there doing nothing.
Teng Yue remained silent for a moment.
Dust from the road still clung to his garments. He removed his outer robe and draped it over the back of a chair. Dam Yeon stepped forward, took the robe, and folded it neatly.
He felt somewhat dissatisfied that she had remained idly in her room instead of assisting his mother with the guests. Because of this, a brief silence fell between them.
But Dam Yeon had no way of explaining the matter to him.
Seeing that his wife also remained silent, Teng Yue finally spoke first.
He began with the customary courtesies, asking about the household.
“Has everything been peaceful at home?”
Dam Yeon replied softly,
“Yes. Everything has been peaceful.”
“Mm.”
He answered shortly and asked again,
“Does Mother still have trouble sleeping at night?”
Madam Lin had long suffered from insomnia. Only a few days ago had been the anniversary of Teng Yue’s father’s death, and in her grief she had barely managed two shichen of sleep a night.
Dam Yeon reported what she had heard.
“…But after the physician examined her pulse, she has been much better recently.”
He remained silent for a while before speaking again.
“And how has my youngest sister been lately?”
Madam Lin had two sons and one daughter. Teng Yue’s elder brother had died young, while his younger sister, Teng Xiao, was much younger than her two brothers and had only just turned thirteen.
Recently she had been locked in a cold standoff with Madam Lin because she refused to attend another family’s academy. She had briefly appeared at the flower banquet earlier today before immediately returning to her own residence, leaving Madam Lin helpless.
This was all Dam Yeon knew. She relayed the information without adding or subtracting anything.
Hearing this, Teng Yue found it difficult to comment on his mother or sister and fell silent again.
Even his own sister had neglected the reception of guests. It would hardly be fair to reproach his wife alone.
Teng Yue decided not to mention the matter further. He had originally intended to ask after his wife as well, but seeing that her complexion looked good today, she seemed to be doing reasonably well. There was no need to bring it up.
Instead, he changed the subject.
On the third day after their wedding, a small raiding party from Daldan had attacked the frontier. Teng Yue had been forced to ride immediately to the battlefield. The customary visit to the bride’s parents had therefore been postponed indefinitely, and no one had mentioned it again.
The matter had only just occurred to Teng Yue as well. Yet even now, he did not know how many days he would be able to remain at home.
“This time I have returned because there are matters that must be dealt with,” he said. “For the moment, I may not have the leisure to accompany you on the visit to your parents. Would it be better to go a few days later?”
He spoke politely, showing that he had not forgotten about her return visit.
But Dam Yeon felt there was no real need to rush.
“You may mention it again when you have time, General. It will not be too late then.”
She answered with equal courtesy, and Teng Yue simply replied,
“Mm.”
Inside the canopy bed draped with begonia-vine patterned curtains, the air felt stifling and oppressive.
His body was large and heavy like a mountain. Cold sweat and warm sweat alternately dampened Dam Yeon’s skin. When he bent down, there was not a single tender gesture—only the brief contact of his hand holding her arm.
The cool night air drifted through the gap between their bodies. Although the bedchamber was suffocatingly warm, she felt a chill creeping up her spine.
Perhaps noticing her discomfort, he finished quickly.
He pulled the blanket over her body.
“Rest first.”
After saying this, he dressed himself and left to wash.
Yet Dam Yeon did not dare rest. Supporting herself on the edge of the bed, she quickly tidied her disheveled appearance.
Only after both had washed and composed themselves did they return to the canopy bed one after the other.
“It is late. Let us sleep.”
With those words, the man pressed down the lamp beside the bed and extinguished the light.
Dam Yeon, exhausted as well, murmured a brief reply. Turning onto her side, she soon fell into a deep sleep.
