But the moment the words left his mouth, Jiang Ji’s foggy mind cleared.

And he regretted it.

He’d actually asked it!

He’d actually asked it!

He shouldn’t have asked. All this time, he’d avoided and evaded Ye Li’s eloquent remarks, refusing to think about or speculate on them.

But now… Damn it, beauty had clouded his judgment!

In that instant, he wished he could turn back time just to cover his own mouth.

His mind was in turmoil, yet amidst the chaos, a secret hope began to stir deep within him.

How would Ye Li answer?

Would he brush him off with a flippant “You guess”?

Or would he answer honestly?

Ye Li lifted his eyelids, looking at the handsome young man across from him with a hint of surprise. Had he actually asked him outright?

Well, yes.

Last time he came back, he’d teased him repeatedly; it was only natural that his husband had finally reached his limit and wanted to lay his cards on the table.

It’s only human nature.

He’d been waiting a long time.

Last time, when Jiang Ji repeated that phrase he’d blurted out—“being in a situation that invites suspicion”—to be honest, it didn’t feel good.

He was an educated man; regardless of how much knowledge he possessed, using an idiom in everyday conversation was perfectly ordinary.

Was he supposed to think twice before saying every single word from now on?

Being so cautious even in his own home—that would be exhausting.

Besides, he had already prepared an excuse for why he was making tofu puffs.

So he deliberately teased Jiang Ji, hoping to get him to ask about it himself—though, setting that goal aside, he simply enjoyed teasing Jiang Ji; even now, recalling Jiang Ji’s reaction that night, he felt quite cheerful.

It was time to bring out the excuse he’d carefully crafted!

He curled his lips into a smile and nodded. “I can read.”

But before he could say another word, Jiang Ji suddenly asked, “You don’t mean those characters Xiao Mai taught you, do you?”

Jiang Ji even emphasized the word “taught” with extra volume.

Ye Li, you little rascal, you’re already reading my mind.

He shook his head. “Of course not.”

“Alright, then I’m all ears.” Jiang Ji let out a silent sigh of relief.

He set down his chopsticks and the piece of fish he was holding, rested his arms on the table, leaned forward slightly, and fixed his dark, piercing gaze on Ye Lile.

Ye Lile cleared his throat and put down the half-boned piece of fish he was holding: “Actually, I had a dream.”

“A dream?” Jiang Ji was taken aback.

“Right. In the dream, because I’d mistreated Xiao Mai and Ya-ger, my whole body was covered in festering sores, and in the end, I was burned to death in a fire. When I woke up, I was absolutely terrified!”

“So I turned over a new leaf and decided to start fresh.”

Jiang Ji: “……”

He blinked, but didn’t interrupt Ye Li.

Ye Li rested one hand on the table and held up two fingers, wiggling them at Jiang Ji: “And then! The very next night after I’d turned over a new leaf, I had another dream. I dreamed of a vast, boundless, and dazzling world!”

Jiang Ji: “?”

His brow furrowed slightly.

Ye Li pretended not to notice Jiang Ji’s confusion.

He had always been the type to speak with even greater conviction the more guilty he felt, so at that moment, he spoke with great passion and dramatic intonation.

Besides, half of what he was saying was true.

Ever since he’d traveled through time, he’d dreamed of that world countless times.

“In my dream, I saw children sitting in a bright classroom reading aloud. I saw small workshops frying tofu puffs and skewered snacks, and some households making preserved eggs. Many homes had wind chimes hanging from their windows… In short, I saw so, so much!”

“I wandered aimlessly, darting here and there!”

“In my dreams, I could only watch and listen! After drifting about for quite some time, I finally settled down and sat in a classroom watching the teacher instruct the students.”

“So, I really do know how to read. But I can only read—I can’t write. And my vocabulary is limited; after all, I didn’t study for very long.”

“The few idioms I know, I picked up by eavesdropping. In that world, everyone could read; you could pick up quite a few idioms just by listening to people chatting on the street.”

Jiang Ji: “……”

He suddenly smiled.

Actually, whenever he’d previously had the slightest urge to speculate about Ye Li’s drastic change in temperament, he’d immediately shut it down in his mind.

He didn’t want to guess.

He didn’t dare to guess.

He forbade himself from letting his mind wander or imagine.

Things were just fine as they were now.

Before they were married, he hadn’t even dreamed of having the good life he had now.

He didn’t want to shatter this peaceful, beautiful moment.

What had happened just now was purely a slip of the tongue caused by a momentary lapse of judgment—an accident.

But faced with this accident, Ye Li didn’t brush him off.

He didn’t just brush it off with “You guess.”

Nor did he bring up Master Xiao Mai’s teachings.

Ye Li had carefully crafted this story—logically consistent, capable of explaining all his past unusual behavior.

To go to such lengths for him… that must be love, right?

It must be love, right?

Never mind. The fact that he’d put so much thought into it was enough.

He raised his hand and clapped lightly a few times: “Very reasonable, well-crafted. Master Ji has a reward for you.”

“…What kind of reward?”

Ye Li ignored the word “crafted.”

“An eighteen-step massage, plus I’ll take care of all your chores tomorrow—how does that sound?”

“Then this servant thanks Master Ji for the reward.”

Ye Li was pleased.

However, he studied Jiang Ji’s handsome face, trying to discern even a hint of sadness, disappointment, or dissatisfaction.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t telling the truth.

It was just that human hearts are hard to fathom; he couldn’t be sure how much Jiang Ji had come to terms with the whole “possession” business.

What if, blinded by love, he foolishly spilled the truth, only for Jiang Ji to accuse him of being possessed by evil spirits and rally the entire village to burn him at the stake? That would be a joke straight out of hell.

Moreover, in this world, while women and gers could legally divorce their husbands, the laws and customs still favored men and were male-centric.

He couldn’t possibly hand over such a vulnerable point.

Jiang Ji might one day pass the exams to become a Xiucai or a Juren.

With an official title to his name, wouldn’t controlling him be a piece of cake?

So, what he said was half-truth, half-lie.

However, Jiang Ji didn’t seem to believe a single word.

Judging by his expression, however, there didn’t seem to be any negative emotions…

He pursed his lips, feeling a bit like scratching his head. What on earth was this man thinking?

Meeting Ye Li’s scrutiny, Jiang Ji remained composed as he picked up his chopsticks and picked up a piece of the fish from earlier. “Let’s continue eating the fish,” he said. “Once we’re done, we’ll go back to the room, and I’ll give you a massage.”

Seeing this, Ye Li also picked up his chopsticks.

But after holding back again and again, he couldn’t resist any longer. He asked, “Jiang Ji, aren’t you going to ask anything else?”

“You’ve explained everything clearly. It makes perfect sense,” Jiang Ji replied calmly.

“Then aren’t you curious about that world?”

“Not particularly. It’s better to spare you the trouble of having to deal with it. You’re so exhausted every day; let’s just leave it at that.” As he spoke, Jiang Ji placed the boneless piece of fish into Ye Li’s bowl.

What else could he do?

They’d known each other for too short a time. Now that Ye Li didn’t trust him, he felt disappointed, but he could accept it.

Time reveals a person’s true character.

Given enough time, Ye Li might change his mind and be willing to come clean about everything.

Ye Li had already sacrificed so much for this family; he was deeply grateful.

As for the rest, it was up to Ye Li. He wouldn’t force him.

Ye Li looked down at the fish in his bowl and was momentarily at a loss for words.

The kitchen fell silent.

Just then, Jiang Ya, who had been swinging a large pinwheel in the courtyard, suddenly ran in: “Li-ge! There are so many mosquitoes in the courtyard!”

They were even getting in the way of his play! Saying this, he bent down to scratch his bare calf. Just a moment ago, three large welts had appeared on his calf from mosquito bites!

Seeing this, Ye Li immediately said, “Then you and Xiao Mai go wash up. I’ll have your older brother bring some mugwort to fumigate the room. Once that’s done, the two of you can go back to your room to sleep.”

Jiang Ya scratched his calf somewhat reluctantly.

He was still in high spirits after drinking such delicious fish soup tonight; he didn’t want to go to sleep.

Just then, Jiang Mai entered the kitchen and took his little hand, leading him outside: “Ya-ger, let’s go take a bath. There really are a lot of mosquitoes out there.”

His cheeks had been bitten too—it was so itchy!

The two little ones came in quickly and left just as fast, but they’d successfully broken the silence in the kitchen.

Jiang Ji took the opportunity to stand up. “I’ll go get the mugwort.”

Ye Li gave a brief reply.

But once he’d left, his appetite for fish had faded.

Oh well, one shouldn’t eat too much at night.

Ye Li stood up to tidy the kitchen.

By the time he finished cleaning the kitchen, the two little ones had finished their baths and run back to the east room, laughing and playing.

Ye Li followed them into the main hall.

Seeing Jiang Ji sitting by the kang, preparing to put the two of them to bed, he grabbed a change of clothes and went to take a shower.

Just as he emerged from the small shed, Jiang Ji was coming out of the main hall.

He walked over and asked in a low voice, “Are they asleep?”

“They’re both asleep,” Jiang Ji replied, also keeping his voice down.

“Then you should go wash up,” Ye Li said, about to enter the main hall.

But just as he was about to brush past Jiang Ji, Jiang Ji suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist: “Ye Li.”

Ye Li paused and looked up at the person before him.

There was only moonlight and the dim glow seeping from the window of the west room, but it was enough to make out Jiang Ji’s expression.

Jiang Ji’s brow was slightly furrowed as he said earnestly, “That conversation earlier was just a minor thing, wasn’t it? I shouldn’t have spoken out of turn.”

His tone was filled with deep regret.

Ye Li: “……”

Why does it sound like he’s the one being bullied?

Such a tall, imposing figure, yet he speaks as if he’s the wronged one.

But then again, it does seem like he’s the one doing the bullying…

He was the one who brought up those idioms to tease him, and when Jiang Ji asked for clarification, he refused to tell the truth.

He’s so annoying!

In an instant, he was overcome with guilt. He instinctively reached out and wrapped his arms around Jiang Ji’s waist, sincerely apologizing: “I’m sorry. But you’re right—it really was a minor thing.”

“Let’s put it behind us and not mention it anymore.”

As he spoke, his hands moved to Jiang Ji’s face: “My dear husband, shall we take a shower together?”

Hearing this, a smile spread across Jiang Ji’s face.

That’s only natural.

What happened just now was insignificant.

But Jiang Ji shook his head, lifting a hand to gently tap his nose: “Go back to the bed and wait. The night is still long.”

Ye Li couldn’t help but smile: “Alright, then I’ll go back to bed and wait for Master Jiang to attend to me.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jiang Ji’s lips descended.

The two shared a kiss—a lingering one, born of one’s guilt and the other’s regret. They held each other tightly, as if trying to prove their feelings through this embrace.

By the time the kiss ended, Ye Li’s cheeks were flushed.

He urged Jiang Ji to go take a shower.

He himself went into the west room.

The room was filled with the scent of mugwort, and gauze covered the windows. Though the mosquitoes couldn’t get in, the room felt stiflingly hot.

Ye Li fanned himself with a palm leaf fan, reflecting on the events of the evening.

In the end, it was his fault.

Sigh.

After tossing and turning on the kang several times, Jiang Ji finally pushed the door open and came in.

His gaze fell upon Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji was wearing only a pair of pants, his upper body bare.

But because his upper body rarely saw the sun, it was snow-white.

Earlier, while bathing, he’d been a bit too rough with the scrubbing beans; now, his chest was marked with lingering red streaks that looked strangely alluring.

But what was even more alluring was his narrow waist, devoid of any excess fat.

Ye Li remembered clearly that just a few days ago, this man had stood in front of the stool just like this, and the two of them had engaged in the most intimate of acts.

His face grew hot, so he grabbed the palm-leaf fan and gave himself a few hard swats before rolling over and lying face-down on the kang: “Come on. Rub my back.”

Sitting all day, deep-frying food had really left his back feeling stiff.

Jiang Ji bolted the door, turned around, and seeing him already in position, took off his shoes and climbed onto the kang. With a long stride, he straddled Ye Li’s thighs and sat down.

“Is it too heavy?” Jiang Ji asked.

“It’s fine. Just rub faster.” Ye Li pressed his face against the mat.

Unfortunately, it was hot, and the mat wasn’t cool either.

When Jiang Ji’s large hands landed on his lower back, the pressure—neither too light nor too heavy—spread slowly across his waist, making him feel even hotter.

Realizing that tonight was entirely his fault, he couldn’t help but stop him: “Why don’t we move to a chair instead?”

Jiang Ji shook his head. “No need. We agreed I’d be the one to serve you.”

“Actually, it was my fault to begin with. I should make it up to you by trying out a few new positions,” Ye Li said.

“…Didn’t we already put that behind us?”

“Alright.” Ye Li rolled over so Jiang Ji could see his reaction. “Actually, my intentions weren’t pure—I’ve been lusting after your body.”

As he spoke, he lifted his foot and gently tapped Jiang Ji’s waist: “My dear husband, just give in to me.”

Jiang Ji: “……”

He laughed.

Then he leaned over and lay down beside Ye Li.

He pulled Ye Li into his arms. To be thinking of his body at a moment like this—not bad, just his style.

This was the real Ye Li.

He didn’t like seeing Ye Li with that look of deep-seated bitterness and resentment.

Ye Li should be either smug, or fierce and aggressive, or sly and cunning.

Vivid and full of life.

He cupped Ye Li’s face and kissed him.

Tonight, it really was just a small matter.

After the kiss, he carried Ye Li over to the stool. Ye Li no longer felt any need for guilt or compensation; she simply savored his beauty while urging him to hurry.

After the first round, the two moved to the kang.

The stool was merely a prop to spice things up; for comfort, the kang was better—it offered more space and allowed for greater freedom of movement.

It was just a bit hot.

Especially for Jiang Ji—he’d been the one exerting himself just now, and Ye Li had been urging him on the whole time. Now, fine beads of sweat glistened on his chest, and sweat was dripping down his face.

So Ye Li pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

The handkerchief looked unfamiliar; it wasn’t the one Ye Li had been carrying when he’d returned that evening.

Curious, he asked, “Did you go out of your way to buy this handkerchief?”

“No, Brother Yu embroidered it. He gave me three of them.”

As she spoke, Ye Li grabbed a palm leaf fan and began fanning them both.

He never leaves the house all day—how could he have had time to buy a handkerchief?

It was Tang Yu who had finished embroidering them and asked Ye Li to bring them over.

All three handkerchiefs were quite delicate—hemmed, embroidered with flowers, and made of breathable cotton.

So he carried one with him to wipe away the sweat.

The remaining two were placed on the kang, ready for any eventuality.

And now, here they were, being put to use.

“Brother Yu is such a kind man.” Once Jiang Ji knew where they came from, he stopped scrutinizing them. After wiping the sweat from his face and body, he placed the handkerchief on the wooden table beside the kang.

Just as he was about to take the fan from Ye Li’s hand, a commotion came from the eastern room next door, accompanied by the faint sound of Jiang Ya’s sobbing.

The two exchanged a glance, instantly forgetting their other thoughts, and simultaneously reached for the clothes that had been tossed to the foot of the bed.

By the time the two of them hurried out of the west room holding an oil lamp, the sounds from the east room had grown clearer.

Jiang Ya asked through her tears, “Second Brother, what should we do…”

The next moment, Jiang Mai’s slightly panicked voice rang out: “Big Brother’s here!”

Jiang Ji: “?”

Ye Li’s eyes widened as well. What on earth were these two little rascals up to?

As they pushed open the door to the east room, a faint whiff of urine immediately hit their noses.

Ye Li’s footsteps stopped dead in their tracks.

He understood.

He’d wet the bed.

And it seemed Jiang Mai had wet the bed too.

Seeing his eldest brother and brother-in-law push open the door and walk in, Jiang Mai wished he could find a crack in the floor to crawl through.

He was this old, and yet he’d wet the bed!

How humiliating!

Especially since he’d previously looked down on Ya-ger for wetting the bed.

He raised his hand to cover his face, not daring to look at Jiang Ji or Ye Li.

But the next moment, Ye Li’s voice rang out: “Xiao Mai, it’s my fault and your older brother’s. You and Ya-ger are still little; when you find something tasty, you can’t stop yourselves. We should have stopped you.”

“Exactly.” Jiang Ji walked over to the bed, scooped up Jiang Ya, and wiped the tears from his little face with his thumb: “It’s no big deal, don’t cry.”

Jiang Ya pouted and sniffled, “The whole bed is soaked…”

He had occasionally wet the bed before, but he could still sleep if he moved over to the side.

But tonight, more than half the bed was wet—neither he nor his second-oldest brother had anywhere to sleep!

“You and your second-oldest brother can just move to the west room to sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll wash the mats and hang them out to dry—then everything will be fine.”

Jiang Ji said this as he handed him over to Ye Li.

Jiang Ji then went to fetch Jiang Mai, who was covering his face.

Poor little guy—he’d always acted so grown-up and prided himself on his dignity, but now that he’d wet the bed, he probably felt like the sky was falling.

As his older brother, he had to comfort him properly.

The couple took the two little ones to the west room, leaving the mess in the east room for the time being.

Jiang Ji held Jiang Mai close, promising over and over that no one would find out, and taking the blame onto himself and Ye Li. He talked until his mouth was dry, and finally, Jiang Mai stopped covering his face.

He sat on Jiang Ji’s lap, his little face bright red.

But his deeply wounded pride had healed considerably.

Oh, right, he was only seven. Even though he felt like he’d grown up, in the eyes of real adults, he was still just a child.

With his heart at ease, Jiang Ji and Ye Li took him and Jiang Ya out to the courtyard to pee. After all that commotion, by the time he and Jiang Ya had settled down to sleep in the west room, the roosters were almost crowing.

Jiang Ji and Ye Li were exhausted, too.

They looked at each other, then burst into laughter at the same time.

That faint, intangible sense of distance had completely vanished.

What a busy night!

The next day, Ye Li naturally slept in, getting up only after Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya had already risen.

As soon as Jiang Ya opened his eyes, he saw his brother-in-law still lying beside him, so he happily threw himself into Ye Li’s arms.

It wasn’t until Ye Li held him that he belatedly recalled last night’s events.

But he didn’t feel embarrassed for long.

After all, he wet the bed from time to time anyway.

He wriggled happily in Ye Li’s arms.

Jiang Mai was woken by the commotion. The little guy woke up and quickly remembered last night’s events.

His face flushed, but since Ye Li didn’t bring it up, he pretended nothing had happened.

After breakfast, Jiang Ji brought out the mats, sheets, and quilts from the east room.

Seeing this, Jiang Mai immediately grabbed his backpack and, pulling Jiang Ya along, ran out the door.

He and Ya-ger were going to cut the grass!

When the two of them returned home, ignoring the items hanging on the rope, they saw Ye Li sorting chives again and ran over to help.

Upon learning that they were actually going to have chive and egg dumplings today, both of them were overjoyed.

They hadn’t had dumplings since the New Year!

Ye Li had previously found it too much trouble to make dumplings, but he’d grown tired of eating flatbreads day in and day out.

So he decided to try something new.

Just yesterday, he had specifically told Ye Liang to come over early if he had nothing else to do at home, so he could help him make the dumplings.

Ye Liang did indeed arrive early. Just as Ye Li had finished mixing the filling and was about to roll out the dough, Ye Liang showed up.

With no other distractions, the group headed into the kitchen to prepare the dumplings.

Jiang Ji recalled Bao Beiyuan’s advice and mentioned the preserved eggs to Ye Liang.

Ye Liang was a bit surprised when he heard this: “Selling cold preserved eggs as is?”

“Right, business is great—selling a hundred portions a day is no problem.” Jiang Ji nodded.

A hundred portions?

Ye Liang was taken aback. Two wen per portion—a hundred portions would be two hundred wen!

That profit was more than what his family made from their stuffed pancakes!

To be honest, it pained him to see so much money going to outsiders.

But since Bao Beiyuan had asked Jiang Ji to put in a good word, he couldn’t refuse: “Let’s sell this batch of preserved eggs to him. As for the next batch, why don’t we let your brother sell cold preserved eggs in town too?”

Ye Li, who was rolling out the dough at the time, heard this and didn’t hesitate—he nodded immediately: “Of course.”

Gong Lisheng was a decent guy, but he would definitely look out for his own people.

When they did the math, this wasn’t a small sum of money.

Jiang Ji also nodded: “Alright.”

Now that Ye Li, Jiang Tong, Jiang Liu, and Jiang Yu were all selling their preserved eggs to Gong Lisheng, they could at least feel they’d done right by Bao Beiyuan, the middleman.

Every household in Yezaopo made preserved eggs.

There was no need to worry about the Ye family’s preserved eggs anymore.