The man turned back, his black eyes behind the mask as bright as cold stars. Facing this impudent woman, he showed a fleeting look of surprise before immediately returning to his indifferent expression.
“Since you’re not saying anything, I’ll take that as agreement,” Ye Hui pressed on, a hint of mockery in her eyes. “Since you respect this clay figurine so much, why don’t you ask first?”
“Whatever,” he said, coldly snorting and turning to leave, quickly disappearing into the twilight.
What a bizarre person!
Ye Hui’s good mood turned gloomy. Just as she was about to leave, Facai walked into the main hall with a confused look. “Grandmother, you won’t believe who I just saw. You can’t imagine, I saw Third Uncle!”
Ye Hui was stunned. “Who did you see?”
“Third Ancestral Uncle! He left the sect over two years ago, and I don’t know when he returned. I just saw him leaving the main hall.”
Third Ancestral Uncle! Her husband’s third junior brother, the wolf-masked man from just now – what a coincidence?
Cold-tempered and strange, he was truly a perfect match with Ma Tilian. Pairing them up would be just right!
Ye Hui thought her idea was quite precise.
As they were leaving the Taoist temple, Facai whispered to Ye Hui, “Grandmother, let me tell you about Third Ancestral Uncle. His name is Chu Yu, ‘Chu’ as in the state of Chu, ‘Yu’ like in Zhou Yu. He has a bit of a strange personality. He’ll only talk to people he thinks are worth his time, and those he looks down on aren’t even worth a glance.”
He thinks he’s gracing me with conversation? How ridiculous! Ye Hui thought sarcastically.
“But Grandmother, don’t be afraid. Although Third Ancestral Uncle has a strange temperament, he never bullies people from our sect. Just… just be careful not to get angry if you meet him.”
Too late, I’ve already met him! Ye Hui recalled the man full of cold, condensed energy, feeling no goodwill towards him.
Not to ten minutes, Xiao Luzi brought four servants and filled the table with dishes. Ye Hui sat with her husband in the main seat, while Chu Yu sat below.
During the meal, the two deliberately did not mention the unpleasant scene at Laojun Temple, behaving as if they had just met.
Qin Yuhang was very satisfied with his wife’s performance, his eyes gleaming with self-satisfaction.
“Your master is from the capital, born into a scholarly family. Her father and grandfather were both learned scholars. Your master inherited this scholarly tradition, knowing books and etiquette from childhood, and is proficient in many skills we don’t know. This time, she was able to defeat the Turks, which is a long story I’ll tell you slowly when we have time.”
“My dear, I want to show you something,” Qin Yuhang handed her a uniquely shaped long sword from the table, slightly drawing the scabbard, immediately revealing a cold light that made the skin feel chilly. He said, “This knife is very sharp, brought by my third martial brother from Byzantium.”
Ye Hui was surprised. Wasn’t Byzantium the Eastern Roman Empire?
Looking at the sword, although unusual, it was clearly the famous Damascus sword she had seen in her previous life. When she went to Europe on official business, her colleague had brought back one to treasure.
Ye Hui raised her eyelids and asked, “Has the third martial brother been away from Pingzhou for two years, going to Byzantium?”
“The third martial brother’s father is from Byzantium, but how do you know the name Byzantium?” Qin Yuhang put down the sword, adding dishes to his wife’s bowl while asking.
So Chu Yu had European blood, no wonder his skin was so white and his facial features different from those of the Central Plains, with the characteristics of a mixed-race person! Smiling sweetly at her husband, she said, “I heard about it.”
Chu Yu didn’t think much of it. Pingzhou was a transportation hub to the Western Regions, with Arabs and Persians coming to do business through this route.
“My father was originally from Byzantium. Thirty years ago, he went to Persia for business, and later came to the Yingtang Kingdom with merchants. Because he loved this land, he married a Han woman and settled down. The year my father passed away, he wanted me to return to my homeland no matter what. I went to Byzantium to fulfill his last wish.”
Ye Hui nodded, “Your third martial brother’s father traveled far to a foreign land, which is truly admirable.” Chu Yu no longer seemed as unpleasant as he had been at Laojun Temple.
“My father was a fallen nobleman from Constantinople, of noble blood but not wealthy, who traveled and traded with Persians in his youth,” Chu Yu looked at her, deliberately emphasizing Constantinople.
Was this a test? Ye Hui furrowed her beautiful brow slightly.
In ancient times, limited by transportation, people rarely knew about foreign lands, let alone Byzantium beyond their immediate world.
The Yingtang people believed the Central Plains were the center of the world, blessed with natural resources and talented people. Lands beyond the Central Plains were considered barbaric, with people wearing animal skins and tattoos, living in utter ignorance. In fact, this was somewhat true. At this time, except for Yingtang and a few European and Middle Eastern countries, the rest of the world was indeed as backward as primitive tribes. Even Europe was plagued by hunger and poverty, with people barely able to feed themselves. Their agricultural methods differed from the Chinese farming civilization – they would simply dig a hole, scatter seeds, and do nothing more, with crop yields one-fifteenth of those in Yingtang.
Difficult to say, who says ugly women can’t get married? Didn’t King Xuan of Qi marry the woman without salt? Ye Hui leaned on her husband’s chest, with a serious expression: “Besides, my fourth junior sister is not ugly at all, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. So what if she’s tall? Being tall means good health, and being able to bear children is what matters.” She uttered a contemporary catchphrase.
Girls who play basketball are even taller, and no one has trouble getting married.
Qin Yuhang glanced at the hourglass in the corner of the wall; the second watch was about to arrive. He got up to close the door tightly and returned to the bedroom, holding his wife.
“My dear, don’t think about useless things. We need to sleep.”
This morning, he received a carrier pigeon from Pingzhou City. Huangfu Zezhuan was bringing his entire family to Tianying Mountain, and he wanted to claim his husbandly rights before they arrived, sparing them the opportunity.
Ye Hui laughingly helped her husband remove his restraints, caressing his groin with her hand. After a few strokes, it stood erect. She knelt on the floor, her hands front and back, teasing, “Why are you so unsatisfied, my dear?”
These days, except for a few days during her menstruation, he almost always wanted her. Fortunately, she had given him a contraceptive pill earlier. Having just given birth to Hengting, she didn’t want to get pregnant too soon and wanted to take care of her body for two years.
“I’m very happy to be with my wife,” Qin Yuhang looked down at the figure below, his eyes full of tenderness. He bent slightly, holding his hardness, rubbing against her chest’s two soft mounds, gently teasing a red bud. A drop of liquid spilled on the red bud, crystal-clear like a ripe fruit.
“Oh, it’s wet,” Ye Hui pinched it with her fingertip and put it in her mouth, her eyes slightly hazy.
It’s a kiwi fruit. Qin Yuhang took off his long robe, revealing his strong physique, got on the bed, and sat down beside his wife, reaching out to embrace her and wanting her to face him, but Huangfu Zeduan waved his hand and pushed him away.
