And Zhao Jing actually came down.

After coming down, he took over for Chen Wanqing and watched his cousin scale the ladder in a few quick movements. With paste in one hand and a spring couplet in the other, he had it posted in a flash.

Zhao Jing softly called out to Chen Wanqing, "Wanqing."

Chen Wanqing smiled back. "What is it?"

"Wanqing, I don’t have the body of a Scholar. You know that."

Chen Wanqing kept smiling. "I don’t know that."

"Wanqing, don’t play dumb. You slept with your arm around my waist last night. You were feeling me up all night. My waist is all muscle."

Caught off guard by his sudden remark, Chen Wanqing couldn’t help but shoot him a harsh glare before turning and storming toward the house.

Halfway there, she remembered she hadn’t said goodbye to Zhao Tang. She quickly called out to him before turning and disappearing into the house.

Once Chen Wanqing was out of sight and the sound of her talking with Mrs. Zhao could be heard from the courtyard, Zhao Tang turned to Zhao Jing and sighed.

"Jing, you’ve changed for the worse."

Zhao Jing knew what he was talking about and scoffed. "Cousin, she’s my wife."

Zhao Tang continued as if talking to himself, "You weren’t like this before."

"I wasn’t married before."

"Can getting married change a man that much? It’s clear your true nature was rotten all along."

"Thank you for the compliment, cousin."

This was the first time Zhao Tang realized his younger cousin, the noble and virtuous Zhao Jing, was actually such a shameless rogue. He laughed in exasperation and couldn’t stop himself from giving Zhao Jing a sarcastic thumbs-up.

"Your true character is worlds apart from the image you project to everyone. Isn’t your wife angry that you’re putting on an act? Hasn’t she kicked you out of bed at night?"

"Cousin, you’re being too nosy. Just worry about what happens in your own bedroom. Why are you so concerned with me?"

"Tsk. Looks like I hit a nerve, and now you’re feeling defensive. If I were Miss Chen, I’d kick you too. What kind of man pretends to be so proper, only to turn out to be a complete hypocrite?"

"..."

That day, Mrs. Zhao forbade Zhao Jing from studying, telling him to relax for a few days and enjoy the New Year festivities.

As it happened, a few of his cousins from the Zhao clan came by, as was their custom, looking for Zhao Jing to hang out, and he was soon called away by them.

With Zhao Jing out, Chen Wanqing was happily enjoying the peace. She was just about to spend some time alone and sort through her feelings when, unexpectedly, Mrs. Zhao’s enthusiastic voice rang out. "Miaohua! Chunya! Oh, my, what brings you all here? Are you here to see our Wanqing? Hurry and come inside! Auntie will get you some sweets."

Miaohua said, "We’ve been meaning to come visit you, Auntie, but we never found the right time. By chance, everyone was together today, so we decided to all come over. For one, to chat with you, and for another, to see our new sister-in-law."

Chen Wanqing hurried out. Immediately, her sisters-in-law from the other branches of the family came over with beaming smiles to greet her. Miaohua took the opportunity to take her by the hand, and the whole group headed into Mrs. Zhao’s room together.

The visiting sisters-in-law had also brought along their own unmarried sisters, so even Lianxiang’er was pulled from her room to join the gathering. The room was soon filled with chatter and laughter as everyone talked, ate, and had a merry time.

The day passed in a lively bustle. When she woke the next morning, she was once again in Zhao Jing’s arms, but this time Chen Wanqing was noticeably calmer.

She remembered with perfect clarity that when she had fallen asleep last night, the bed had been made with two separate quilts. Now, upon waking, they were both under a single one.

’What other reason could there be?’

’Jing must have come back, seen that I was asleep, moved the other quilt, and snuck in here.’

’She had already agreed to this. Even if she’d only consented in a sleepy daze, a promise was a promise. There was no sense in going back on her word now.’

’But in the past, to save her the embarrassment of waking up face-to-face, Jing had always been considerate enough to get up early.’

’But now?’

’Is he not getting up yet because he’s letting himself relax for the New Year?’

Chen Wanqing couldn’t resist poking Zhao Jing. "If you don’t get up soon, Mother will come wake us."

Zhao Jing was clearly already awake. The moment her finger touched him, he immediately seized her hand.

But he still didn’t get up, instead nuzzling his head into the crook of her neck.

"Mother won’t come. She’s hoping for a grandchild. Wanqing, let’s sleep a little longer. I came back late last night and only got about two hours of sleep."

His warm breath washed over her, caressing her skin and whispering into her ear. She was ticklish and instinctively flinched. When Zhao Jing realized she was ticklish, he simply pressed his face against her neck and began to laugh.

His low, magnetic, husky voice was like an invisible silken thread, winding itself straight around Chen Wanqing’s heart. It wrapped around her so tightly, so completely, that she knew she could never escape.