Chapter 7: The Mysterious Man Who Was Hard to See Through

  The study has four treasures of Chinese studies, the pen is a writing brush made of Xuan paper and bamboo, with a soft and smooth tip; The inkstone is made of Qinghua tortoiseshell stone, with fine texture, smoothness and purity; The ink is pine smoke, with solid quality; The paper is somewhat rough, without the smoothness and evenness of modern paper, but at that time it was already top-grade.

  The bookshelf was filled with all kinds of books, neatly arranged in rows. No matter how messy Yue Kang's study was the night before, it would always be spotless by the next morning, thanks to the diligent work of his maid who cleaned the room every day.

  The desk is spotless, and the pen holder and inkstone are washed every day.

  This is already the sixth day of Yue Kangcheng's marriage. As usual, Yue Kang sat in front of his desk, holding a brush at an angle. He had never written with a brush since he was young and didn't know how to hold it at first. Under the guidance of the maid, he finally got the hang of it and could write a few words roughly. As for writing crookedly, that wasn't Yue Kang's concern. With great pride, he picked up the characters he had written himself. Yue Kang looked intoxicated with a satisfied expression. The kind-hearted maid, Rongrong, couldn't help but smile secretly whenever she saw the young master's handwriting and gave him corrections.

  Rongrong did not despise or look down on this son-in-law who had married into the Bai family. She felt that he was not as despicable as people said, and would not make indecent remarks to her or shout at her loudly. Once when the son-in-law was writing, Rongrong accidentally knocked over the inkstone, spilling it all over the table. Not only did the son-in-law not scold her, but he also helped clean up the mess.

  Rongrong put the tea on the desk, took a look at her husband who was concentrating on writing and didn't say anything. Although her husband's handwriting wasn't good, he was very diligent and made rapid progress. Seeing his progress, Rongrong felt a sense of pride, it was all thanks to her efforts. She quietly retreated from the study and closed the door behind her.

  Writing with a brush is really tiring, after writing for a while, Yue Kang felt his hand was sore, putting down the brush and looking at the sloppy handwriting, he sighed that practicing calligraphy is not something that can be accomplished in one or two days, now thinking about it, he still admires those calligraphers.

  He was run over by Wang Xiaomi's car, and in a daze, he crossed over to the woman's bed. With a sword held against his neck and a poisonous snake biting his shoulder, Yue Kang now recalls all of this as if it were a dream.

  After getting married, Bai Miao Xi never said a word, and the latter didn't even give him a proper look. On their wedding night, Bai Miao Xi just sat quietly staring at the candlelight, motionless, her eyes without any ripples or movement, not speaking, not lifting her head, as if she was the only one in the room. Yue Kang also didn't speak, the girl's melancholy made him feel stifled, he didn't know whether to comfort her or change the subject.

  "I am also a person in this world." Yue Kang's abrupt sentence left them sitting silently for the rest of the evening.

  During this time, the family had a few meals together. The so-called "family" referred to Old Lady, Second Miss, Third Miss, and Yue Kang. As for Eldest Miss, she was far away, busy with the White family's business, and couldn't rush back for the time being.

  On the dinner table, San Niangzi was always at odds with Yue Kang. She didn't have any ulterior motives and would do whatever came to mind without hiding it. When Yue Kang tried to take a dish, she would say that it's too spicy for him to eat. When he changed to another one, she would say that eating too much meat is bad for him. As a result, Yue Kang could hardly get a few bites of food during the meal. He was furious with San Niangzi in his heart but still had to smile and say: "Dandan is so good, taking care of her sister's husband like this." The latter would hum and turn her head away, muttering that someone has no shame. Yue Kang could only treat the rice in his bowl as something for San Niangzi to chew on with all her might.

  Yue Kang was idle at the White House, either staying in the study or wandering around the White House, never leaving the gate of the White House. It wasn't that he didn't want to go out, but there were rules that said after getting married for ten days, they could only leave the house. The rule was meant to let the newlyweds get closer and increase their feelings for each other. In ancient times, there was no such thing as dating, and many people got married without even knowing what their partner looked like. So, they had to stay at home for ten days, indirectly implying that the young couple should focus on "doing the right thing" at home.

  The Ba family's compound is not ordinary in size, with houses standing tall, intricately carved beams and pillars, a powder wall surrounding the courtyard, green willows hanging down, a three-bay flower-covered gatehouse, and a four-sided covered corridor. The courtyard has winding paths, dotted with rocks and stones. The entire compound is grand and majestic, elegant and luxurious, with gardens full of flowers, crystal clear and delicate, and the back garden filled with roses and peonies, with a strip of water pool. The Fragrant River flows together here and exits into the Grand View Garden, with a white stone path crossing over the river that connects to the opposite bank.

  In this era, the identity of a son-in-law is very humble and is often looked down upon. Even if it's extremely humble, the status is still there, so most of the Bai family servants would greet him with respect when they see him, at least Zhang would smile and say hello. But behind his back, people might say something else, which Yue Kang doesn't mind. After all, you have to consider the master when scolding a dog, it's a bit exaggerated to say that a servant is pointing fingers at their master.

  Only Third Miss's line has a good head start, not giving in to Yuke Kang's white eyes, but it can't stir up any waves. As long as it doesn't hurt or itch and doesn't scold his mother, Yuke Kang, this young master who is just standing firm in the Bai family, can endure it. What's that saying? Ah yes, settling accounts after autumn.

  Yue Kang put the "Dynasty History Record" on the bookshelf. In the past few days, he had read many books and gained a certain understanding of this world. This era was completely inconsistent with history, it was an unrecorded dynasty in historical records, the country name was Tianqian, the Tianqian Dynasty was founded for hundreds of years, now it is Tianqian 536th year, Yue Kang sighed that his previous historical knowledge seemed useless in this dynasty.

  It was evening again, and Yue Kang returned to the bedroom. The room had been lit with two candles for a long time. Bai Miao Xi was still quietly sitting on the bed, facing a silent Osmanthus fragrans flower. The veil on her face had not been lifted.

  Yue Kang took a look and saw that Bai Miao had walked to the bedside, picked up his bedding and held it in her arms. For several days, Yue Kang had not slept on the bed. He had assembled a temporary bed frame with stools, not because he didn't want to go to the study to sleep, but also because he felt that sleeping in the same room as a wife who was almost mute was very oppressive. However, the rules of this era were that newlyweds must sleep together, and the old lady had even set up a secret post to "supervise".

  "If the quilt is cold, you can find Rongrong to add a quilt." The voice was clear and crisp, warm and pleasant to hear. Yue Kang heard it and was slightly startled, this was his wife's first time speaking to him, almost moved to tears.

  Yue Kang turned around with a smile and said, "It's okay, you should get some rest too." After finishing speaking, he took off his shoes and got into bed, but he was wide awake.

  Bai Miao looked at Yue Kang, who was lying down, and didn't know what to feel in her heart. She should have hated him to the bone, but she just couldn't bring herself to hate him. That day, when her grandmother brought up the topic of their engagement, she agreed without any hesitation, because she understood her grandmother's good intentions. She found it laughable that this was not something she was willing or unwilling to do, and she knew that if she didn't agree, her grandmother would never force her.

  The Bai family may really need a male heir now, regardless of whether he is good-looking or ugly, kind or evil. Bai Miao knew that what she was doing might be inviting a wolf into the house, but she had no other choice. She never thought about her own happiness; all she wanted was for the Bai family to continue thriving without decline. Her unexpected event three years ago could no longer do anything for the Bai family.

  She didn't do it for herself, but for the White family. She went through the motions of marrying this man, knowing her chances of winning were slim. But she did it anyway, not seeking to make the White family prosperous, just to maintain it. The worst-case scenario was that they would perish together, a person who had already died once, with no meaning in living, and death being just an ordinary word.

  The man was completely different from what he had imagined, and after marriage, he never touched her once, not even a glance with a hint of flirtation; she didn't speak and he sat quietly.

  Bai Miao Xi had a high level of spiritual awareness, and with the slightest movement, she would wake up to see the man covering her with a quilt. Every time, Bai Miao Xi's nerves were tense, and as soon as the man made any move, she would grab the dagger under her pillow and stab it into his body without hesitation. However, every time, the man would simply cover her with the quilt again, turn around, and go back to sleep. Before Bai Miao Xi's nerves could fully relax, the man's snoring sound would start. Bai Miao Xi would ponder for a long time each time this happened.

  Was it really this man who rushed into her room with a red body and a bright back in the middle of the night? With the big hole on the roof and the fact that the man didn't even lay a hand on himself that night, could a debauched thief like him have sat by his bed for an entire evening? Was everything really just a misunderstanding as he said?

  Bai Miao suddenly discovered that she couldn't see through the man lying on the chair, was everything a disguise?

  Bai Miao lay on the bed, her red veil still on her face as she slept. She said softly, "Miao Dan is actually not a bad person, just a bit mischievous. Don't mind her."