Having gone to bed late the night before, she woke up late the next morning.

The blankets were wonderfully warm, even more so than when she slept clutching a bed warmer. It should have been comfortable, yet for some reason, she felt utterly exhausted after sleeping.

Chen Wanqing rolled over, wanting to go back to sleep.

But when she tried, she couldn’t. Something heavy was pinning her waist, as if she were bound by a rope.

Chen Wanqing’s mind was still a fog, and she was disoriented. She reached for her waist to move whatever was in her way.

But what she touched was warm, with the distinct feel of sinew and bone. As she touched it again, the arm moved, and a hand slid between her fingers, lacing their hands together.

"Wanqing... it’s still early. Let’s sleep a little longer."

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Chen Wanqing’s foggy mind, shocking her into crystal clarity. Her drowsy eyes snapped wide open.

Her gaze fell upon a strikingly handsome, youthful face. The morning sun streamed through the window lattice, landing right on his fair features. His face was chiseled, and his jawline was dusted with the faint shadow of stubble.

’It was Jing, all right.’

’She was in Jing’s arms!’

Only then did Chen Wanqing realize it wasn’t just Zhao Jing’s arm draped over her waist—her own legs were caught between his.

Their bodies were pressed so closely together that she could feel the contour of every inch of his body against hers.

Chen Wanqing’s heart trembled, and her breathing grew ragged.

On pure reflex, she used her free hand to push against his body. He suddenly hissed, sucking in a sharp breath, and seemed to wake up in an instant.

"Wanqing? What’s wrong?"

Zhao Jing’s voice was thick with sleep, and he still seemed groggy. But he frowned, a look of discomfort on his face.

Chen Wanqing was also uncomfortable, but her discomfort was born purely of shame.

’She rubbed her palm, feeling like it was tainted.’

She truly hadn’t known what *that* was at first. The moment she realized, a blush spread from her head to her toes, making her feel as if she’d been boiled alive.

Before Zhao Jing could get an answer, Chen Wanqing had already sat up, thrown on her clothes in a flash, and fled the room.

Only after Chen Wanqing had gone did the drowsiness in Zhao Jing’s eyes finally fade away.

Looking at him now, all traces of his earlier grogginess were gone.

His eyes were perfectly clear, like the freshly melted snow from a high mountain spring.

Chen Wanqing went to the front courtyard to find her mother. Xu Su Ying was already awake and was just tucking a money pouch into her sleeve, getting ready to go out and buy breakfast for the children.

’Expecting her to get up and cook breakfast was a hopeless dream.’

Back in the village, she had no choice. But here in the county town, with food stalls everywhere, there was no shortage of places to get a full meal.

However, it was already the twenty-ninth of the month, so very few shops would likely be open. There was no telling what she’d be able to buy.

’It didn’t matter. They would eat whatever she could find. As long as it filled their bellies, it was good enough.’

Just as she was about to head out, she saw her daughter approaching, her hair completely undone.

Her fair face was flushed, and her large, almond-shaped eyes were glistening. No matter how you looked at it, she didn’t exactly look innocent.

"Why are you here so early in the morning, and so disheveled?"

Chen Wanqing stammered for a moment before covering her face and mumbling, "I slept too much... I’m a little dizzy, so I just wandered over without thinking."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Mom, could you come comb my hair? I’m still not fully awake. My body feels limp, and I don’t want to move."

Xu Su Ying nodded. "Then come over here."

Xu Su Ying maintained a prim expression on the surface. But once her daughter sat on the stool in front of the dressing table and she began to comb her hair, she couldn’t keep it up.

She whispered, "From the looks of you... did you and Jing finally do it last night?"

Chen Wanqing froze. Her body went rigid, and even her eyes stopped moving.

Seeing her reaction, Xu Su Ying grew even more certain she had guessed correctly.

She felt a surge of pride in her arrangements from the previous day.

She had originally considered getting some lamb testicles to... fortify her son-in-law. Given their current circumstances, that was about all she could get. After all, many families slaughtered sheep at year’s end. A trip to the West Market, provided one was willing to pay, could yield a whole pouch of them.

As for things like deer blood or oysters, those were out of the question—completely unavailable. Leeks were an option, but they had a strong smell, and Jing had always steered clear of them.

She had also worried that such things might be too much for Jing’s constitution, or cause her daughter to suffer, so she’d ultimately abandoned the idea. Instead, she had simply replaced the two prepared quilts with a single one. She never expected that simple trick would be enough to seal the deal.

Seeing the bright red blush behind her daughter’s ears, Xu Su Ying was incredibly smug. "You didn’t run over here in a panic because Jing got a taste and was already pestering you for more this morning, did you? You can’t spoil him like that. This is your first time. You need to rest for at least two days, wait until your body has recovered, before you can..."