Yan Qi never imagined this could happen in the bathtub. The sensation of being submerged in water felt quite different from being between pillows and sheets. His entire body floated without support, forcing him to cling tightly to the tub’s rim. Water splashed everywhere, soaking the floor on both sides.

By the end, he was utterly drained, his entire weight supported by Huo Ling lifting him up. Yet precisely because of this, a certain place seemed to receive even more…

Stepping out of the tub, his legs felt like jelly. Wrapped in clothes, he sat on a small stool for a long while before gathering enough strength to leave. Even the look he shot Huo Ling carried a hint of resentment.

He knew that no matter how “wild” Huo Ling had been before, he’d always considered it part of their marital duties. But this time, it had truly gone too far.

“How could you…”

He simply didn’t know how to begin. More than anything, he wanted to know where the man had learned all these new tricks.

Even looking at the tub now, it felt unclean.

Though it was only for their shared use, he shouldn’t be complaining about himself. But still… it was the place they bathed…

After struggling for a while, he touched the slippery surface. It was pointless to wash it now.

After stammering for a moment, he finally whispered, “Next time… next time, don’t do that. It’s such a waste of water.”

As for Huo Ling, this was certainly no spur-of-the-moment idea—he’d planned it all along.

The young man was soft and slippery in the water, like a fragrant white fish.

As for why they did it during the day instead of waiting for night, it was because washing his hair at night meant it wouldn’t dry before bedtime. Besides daytime, there was no other opportunity.

The tall man wore only a loose pair of pants—old trousers for home, patched at the knees, but comfortable nonetheless.

His upper body was bare, droplets of water still sliding down his damp hair. As he crouched before the ger, Yan Qi felt a wave of warm breath wash over him, mingled with the soapberry scent of the small room—a heady, warm fragrance that was somewhat intoxicating.

“If you dislike it, we won’t do it this way next time.”

Huo Ling brushed his finger against the ger’s wrist, reminding Yan Qi of how Dager would nuzzle their hands with his snout when seeking affection.

The thought of Dager interrupted what he’d been about to say, and suddenly, the shame and anger seemed less intense.

But if asked to say he liked it, he still couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“Anyway…”

He pursed his lips. “It can’t happen in the bedroom.”

The thought that others besides them might visit this place made his ears burn with embarrassment.

Huo Ling agreed immediately, “Alright.”

After saying that, Yan Qi felt something was off, but then he thought, Huo Ling wouldn’t go so far as to move the bathtub into the bedroom just for this, and his mind eased slightly.

He was completely unaware that a man who’d tasted the forbidden fruit wouldn’t be limited to just one trick.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

“It’s the first time we’ve had thorn buds this year. Let’s try a few different flavors.”

Lunch was prepared by Ye Suping and Huo Feng, who didn’t let the young couple lift a finger. Regardless of their exhaustion from descending the mountain, these fresh prickly thorn buds were only found deep in the mountains—the young couple was fortunate to even taste them.

As soon as she finished speaking, a large plate of blanched and stir-fried thorn buds appeared, accompanied by a generous bowl of freshly made egg sauce. To complement the sauce, several other wild greens were served for dipping—including the garlic shoots, dandelion greens, and wild mustard that Ye Suping had led Huo Ying to gather.

Small garlic shoots, dandelion greens, and wild mustard were among them. While these could be eaten raw, the thorn buds and willow herb shoots required blanching to remove their astringency.

Salt, vinegar, sesame oil, and a touch of sugar were added to create a refreshingly sweet and sour cold salad of thorn buds.

“Add some peanuts to this, and it’d be perfect with liquor.”

Huo Feng picked at it a couple of times before saying this.

“Always thinking about your liquor.”

Ye Suping chuckled. “If you want to drink, go buy a few ounces. Tomorrow, when Second Brother returns from the market, have him keep you company. Qi and I will prepare more dishes to accompany the wine.”

“If my sister-in-law says so, I’ll take you at your word.”

Huo Ling casually served some food to Yan Qi beside him, lifting his lips in a smile. “While up in the mountains, I kept craving the grilled lamb from Lianji in town. Why not buy some tomorrow and bring it back for us to eat?”

“Oh dear, why waste that money? If you want grilled lamb, have your eldest brother buy a piece from Guo the Butcher in Sanjia Village. We can grill it ourselves.”

Yan Qi hadn’t tasted mutton since arriving from beyond the frontier. Back home, mutton wasn’t cheap—significantly pricier than pork, though still incomparable to beef.

The imperial court forbade the private slaughter of draft cattle. Only cattle that died of old age or accidents could be butchered for sale. To prevent the spread of disease to humans, even meat from cattle that died of illness was off-limits.

Earlier, Huo Ling had mentioned hunters bringing wild sheep to market, where hides and meat were sold separately. The meat alone fetched forty wen per catty. A single wild sheep could yield over a hundred catties of meat, netting four or five taels of silver in one go.

Domesticated mutton was cheaper, selling for about thirty wen per catty.

“You reminded me—Guo the Butcher buys sheep for slaughter. I’ll check tomorrow if he has any. If he does, I’ll buy a good cut of meat and some bones to make mutton soup.”

“You’re making my mouth water.”

Huo Ling chuckled. “Since we’re making mutton soup, we might as well get some offal too. But Guo the Butcher always keeps his offal for his own family—others can’t buy it. I’ll go check the market. Even if we can’t get mutton, we can still make soup with just the offal and bones.”

Huo Ying chewed on tender wild shoots while listening to the adults talk. Acting like a little grown-up, she said, “Hearing you talk, wild greens don’t sound tasty at all.”

“You little picky eater! These wild greens aren’t much cheaper than lamb.”

Ye Suping flicked her nose and pushed the egg sauce toward Yan Qi. “Eat more of this sauce. I rarely make it. Since you haven’t had it since marrying into the family, if you like it, I’ll teach you how to make it. You can prepare it when we go up the mountain. Your eldest brother is out of the question, and though your second brother knows how to cook, his fried sauce really can’t compare to mine.”

Huo Ling handed Yan Qi two stalks of bitter vegetables. “Try these. See if you like them. Don’t take too big a bite at first. If you don’t care for them, give the rest to me.”

Huo Ying shook her head vigorously. “Auntie, don’t eat these. They stink and taste awful.”

Despite this, Yan Qi still wanted to try it.

On his journey fleeing famine, he’d eaten all sorts of things. Since this vegetable was commonly eaten by people from beyond the pass, how bad could it be?

Besides, there was the fragrant egg sauce to go with it.

He snapped off a leaf, scooped some sauce onto it with his chopsticks, rolled it up, and popped it into his mouth.

The initial taste was bitter, but it was tender and juicy. After a few more chews, a grassy flavor emerged—not much different from ordinary greens.

Yan Qi blinked after finishing, then looked at Huo Ling and his elder brother and sister-in-law. “I don’t think it’s bad.”

Everyone laughed. Huo Ling raised an eyebrow. “Looks like we’re meant to be. Its good that you married me—your taste buds match ours from the frontier.”

Huo Feng, listening nearby, snorted, “Never knew you had such a thick skin before.”

Yan Qi smiled without comment, quietly serving Huo Ling a piece of fish from the table, then doing the same for Huo Ying.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The market was always bustling. Once they arrived, they set out the straw baskets holding live rabbits and hazel grouse, along with tender thorn shoots, monkey leg vegetables, and several bundles of wild mallow greens. Far more people stopped to inquire than usual.

With the wild greens hitting the market, the peak season for mountain foragers had arrived. Unlike winter, when they could only sell the same few staples over and over.

Among the wild vegetable vendors at the market, distinct groups emerged. Those selling tender thorn buds or monkey leg vegetables—which required foraging deep in the mountains—were far fewer. Most vendors offered more common varieties like sunflower greens, dandelion greens, willow herb buds, wild garlic, and stinkweed.

Prices were rock-bottom: sunflower greens had dropped to a single coin per pound, while others fetched only two or three coins—purely a labor-for-pay affair.

By contrast, monkey leg vegetables sold for thirteen coins, while female thorn buds commanded twenty-five coins and males twenty, prices rivaling meat. Unless one was utterly craving this particular taste, most would rather buy a cut of pork.

But according to Huo Ling, there was no need to worry about unsold goods.

Soon, a middle-aged man clad in silk trousers and adorned with a silver hairpin stopped before the stall. A carved wooden plaque hung from his waist as his eyes scanned the offerings with meticulous scrutiny.

Huo Ling couldn’t read, but he knew such waist plaques belonged to the city’s wealthy families. Servants wore them to prove their status, displaying the wooden tags both inside and outside the manor. Most inner-house servants weren’t permitted to leave the estate, so those who did were usually older and specialized in procurement like this.

Their purchases were charged to the household account, and they were notoriously picky shoppers. They rejected anything subpar and often tried to squeeze a little extra profit out of the deal.

It was common knowledge that any job handling money was a lucrative one.

“What’s the price for these thorn buds?”

As he spoke, the husband reached out to pinch the shoots.

Many shoppers had this habit—pinching to check freshness. Yet how many wild greens sold were truly unblemished? Leaving nail marks on every bunch deterred subsequent buyers.

Yan Qi noticed the man’s refined attire, but couldn’t bear seeing the wild greens—painstakingly gathered and carried down the mountain by Huo Ling—being ruined. In a rush, she interjected, “Sir, all the greens on our stall are exceptionally fresh. If you like them, I’ll help you pick some.”

Unexpectedly, the man grew domineering. His eyes narrowed as he retorted, “You merchants are truly overbearing! You won’t even let customers pick their own vegetables? That’s unheard of anywhere!”

With that, he seemed unwilling to give up and reached out again.

This time, Huo Ling swiftly raised his hand to cover the few vegetables the man’s fingers were pointing at, though his tone remained courteous.

“You can tell just by looking whether these are fresh. We’re a small operation. If you pinch a bunch, I pinch a bunch, and then the vegetables rot, it makes it hard for us to do business. I hope you’ll show some consideration.”

The buyer’s eyes turned cold. After a moment, he snorted disdainfully. “Who knew anyone would refuse to give face to the Cheng household? I’ll be damned if I don’t see how long you can keep running your business like this.”

With that, he rose angrily. As he left, he feigned carelessness, deliberately stomping on several monkey leg greens near the straw mat. The force crushed them instantly, leaving Yan Qi heartbroken.

“How could someone be so cruel!”

He picked up the damaged greens and set them aside regretfully.

“High-ranking households often have wicked servants. He’s just a dog taking advantage of his master’s power. If he hadn’t mentioned the Cheng household, who would even know who he is?”

He tossed the crushed greens far behind him, beneath a tree, so Yan Qi wouldn’t have to see them.

“That’s how business goes—you encounter all sorts of people. If he wasn’t serious about buying, we shouldn’t have sold to him anyway.”

Yan Qi flared up for a moment before finally calming down. Only then did he remember to ask Huo Ling, “So which Cheng household is this? Is it very famous?”

Huo Ling gave a dry cough and shook his head.

What nonsense about the Cheng household? Or the Chen household? He truly hadn’t heard of them.

He knew little about the city’s wealthy families. After all, he was just a country bumpkin with no ties to the elite. Among his regular customers, someone like Hou Li was already considered one of the more respectable.

He whispered to the young ger, “Truthfully, I don’t know either. Maybe they’re quite powerful.”

Yan Qi stared at him blankly for a moment before bursting into laughter.

That fellow was so arrogant, spouting threats to intimidate people—little did he know it was all just a show put on for the blind.

Thinking of it that way, he felt not the slightest bit angry anymore.