Chapter 44

The next day, Yun Pianpian woke up in the morning and groggily went to the courtyard to wash up.
After freshening up, she first watered the plum branches in the flowerbed, then went to the kitchen to let the chicks out of their cage.
The winter weather was cold, with short days and long nights. Worried that the chicks couldn’t withstand the harsh cold, Yun Pianpian made sure to put them in a cage and keep them in the kitchen overnight before dusk each day, only letting them out again at dawn.
The chicks burst out of the cage, scattering across the yard. Some even flapped their wings and took flight.
The crowing of roosters echoed one after another throughout Jiangjia Village.
The entire village was waking up.
Yun Pianpian scooped a spoonful of millet into a small bowl and scattered it on the ground.
The chicks crowded around, chirping noisily as they pecked at the grains. She had been raising them for nearly half a year, the once fluffy, golden, yellow chicks had now grown into half, grown birds.
They looked both adorable and delicious.
Yun Pianpian couldn’t help but gaze at them with motherly affection for a while.
Her stomach growled with hunger.
Xiao Changyuan always rose early and had already gone to the kitchen to start the fire and cook. This morning’s meal was shredded pork and vegetable porridge, paired with the pickled vegetables Jiang Cuicui had given her as compensation. Yun Pianpian finished eating quickly and hurried to the kitchen to wash the bowls.
There was still some congee left in the pot. Taking advantage of Xiao Changyuan's inattention, Yun Pianpian stealthily scooped the congee into a small unused bowl.
Guiltily glancing toward the house, she quickly carried the bowl outside the fence, bent down, and placed it outside the doghouse.
The puppy, hearing the noise, emerged from its bedding.
It seemed delighted to see her, panting with its tongue out, its fluffy tail wagging back and forth. It lifted its head, its moist black eyes gazing at her with an exceptionally gentle expression.
Yun Pianpian’s heart melted.
She whispered, “Eat the congee quickly, don’t let my husband find out.”
“I’ve already found out.”
Xiao Changyuan’s deep, pleasant voice suddenly sounded from behind her.
Yun Pianpian’s heart tightened.
Her scalp tingling, she turned around.
Xiao Changyuan stood expressionlessly behind her, his dark, cold eyes gazed at her calmly, his expression was unreadable.
Yun Pianpian’s heart raced wildly.
Ever since he had started practicing the art of breath control, his footsteps had grown increasingly quiet. He always loved to suddenly appear behind her without making a sound, startling her greatly. Yun Pianpian was now beginning to regret having lied to him earlier, claiming his breathing disturbed her.
Xiao Changyuan lowered his gaze to look at her, his dark, cold eyes inscrutable, his voice cool and deep.
“It seems my wife is quite fond of this dog?”
Hearing his cool, deep voice, Yun Pianpian’s ears inexplicably began to itch.
They even felt a little warm.
Remembering the previous night, Yun Pianpian shrank back, not daring to meet his eyes. She stared down at the tips of her shoes and explained softly, “Husband, you didn’t stop me from giving it a blanket yesterday, so I thought you would allow me to secretly keep the dog.”
Yun Pianpian couldn’t figure out why Xiao Changyuan disliked her keeping a dog so much.
But it didn’t seem like he entirely disliked dogs.
After all, he had clearly known she was secretly building it a shelter and giving it a blanket, yet he had restrained himself, waiting until nightfall to confront her. This proved it wasn’t something he found unbearable.
At the very least, he had tolerated it so he could punish her.
They say the emperor’s heart is inscrutable.
Who would have thought that even after losing his memory, the tyrant’s heart remained as unpredictable and hard to read as ever.
Yun Pianpian felt as though she was losing her ability to gauge his emotions.
Suddenly, Xiao Changyuan scooped Yun Pianpian up into his arms.
Her heart pounding in fright, Yun Pianpian quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, her almond, shaped eyes brimming with panic.
“Husband, I was wrong.”
Without even glancing at her, he carried her straight into the house.
Yun Pianpian tearfully begged for mercy, “Husband, I truly know I was wrong.”
Xiao Changyuan carried her into the room, set her down on the bed, and turned to close the door.
The crisp sound of the latch sliding into place struck Yun Pianpian’s heart like a heavy hammer.
Trembling with fear, she immediately covered her ears. She could already foresee the suffering her poor ears were about to endure. Her heart clenched into a tight knot as she shrank into the corner of the bed. With tear, filled almond eyes wide open, she sobbed and pleaded, “Husband, I really know I was wrong. I won’t dare do it again. You already punished me yesterday, please spare me today.”
Xiao Changyuan closed in on her menacingly, his tall shadow enveloping her petite frame. His gaze was dark and intense, his voice low and husky.
“You deliberately broke the rules, wife, which makes your offense all the more severe.”
On the third day, Yun Pianpian no longer dared to secretly keep the dog. She steeled her heart and pretended not to see the puppy clinging pitifully to the wooden fence, nor did she dare to even glance at it.
The puppy clung to the fence, letting out a mournful whimper.
By nightfall, Yun Pianpian thought she might escape Xiao Changyuan's punishment for the day.
But the cruel tyrant still ended up biting her ear.
Yun Pianpian’s cheeks flushed crimson, her eyes grew moist, and her body went limp under his bite. Her heart swelled with grievance.
“What did I do wrong, husband? Why are you punishing me?”
Xiao Changyuan’s thin lips pressed close to her ear as he let out a low, cold laugh.
“My wife gave up halfway, shouldn’t that be punished?”
Yun Pianpian: “...”
How hateful! This tyrant! This merciless, ruthless tyrant!
She finally understood.
It wasn’t that she had done anything wrong, this tyrant simply wanted to bite her!
Yun Pianpian felt both angry and ashamed, her face burning hot. She was on the verge of tears from his biting.
After what felt like an eternity, Yun Pianpian was utterly drained from Xiao Changyuan’s torment.
Only then did he reluctantly let her go.
Yun Pianpian hugged her pillow, her cheeks flushed, and fell into a deep slumber.
Tiny, glistening teardrops still clung to her long, dense lashes, like dewdrops on a lotus flower.
Xiao Changyuan extended his pale, slender, and well, defined hand.
With his fingertip, he gently wiped away the teardrops from her lashes.
That single teardrop looked especially enticing.
Unable to resist, Xiao Changyuan licked it away.
Throughout the entire process, his dark, intense gaze never once left Yun Pianpian’s rosy lips.
In the stillness of the deep night, a wicked thought suddenly arose, like a raging fire, it burned through his reason.
Xiao Changyuan turned his handsome face away in disarray.
His breathing grew rapid.
He didn’t dare look at Yun Pianpian’s alluring, temptation, filled lips.
Abruptly rising, he slowly made his way toward the door.
Xiao Changyuan closed the door securely, then skillfully opened the kitchen door. He scooped water into a wooden bucket with practiced ease and stood in the courtyard, methodically pouring bucket after bucket of cold water over his burning body. As the icy water met his skin, it released a faint white mist.
Kissing her cheek was a reward, biting her ear was a punishment.
But kissing her red lips would be falling into madness.
Xiao Changyuan firmly remembered the boundaries between these three, constantly reminding himself not to cross the line.
Buddha and demon, good and evil, all lay within a single thought.
He absolutely must not harm his wife.
The agony of being consumed by flames, he alone could endure it.
He absolutely must not cross the line.
The winter night was windy, the temperature icy cold.
At some point, a few snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
The snow grew heavier, gradually shifting from a light flurry to thick, heavy flakes like goose feathers.
After several buckets of cold water, Xiao Changyuan’s pale skin slowly took on a bluish tint, and the burning heat in his body gradually faded away.
Brushing the snow from his shoulders, Xiao Changyuan quickly regained his composure.
Tomorrow morning, when his wife wakes up and sees all this snow, she will surely be overjoyed.
Thinking of his wife’s happy expression, Xiao Changyuan’s pale, thin lips curved into a faint smile.
His cool, handsome face unconsciously softened with a nearly tender expression.
He deftly returned the wooden buckets to the kitchen, skillfully used his inner strength to dry his body and clothes, and waited until his bluish skin had returned to its pale, healthy state before opening the tightly shut door and stepping inside. Closing the door behind him, he easily found the bed in the darkness.
Xiao Changyuan reached out to touch his clothes, ensuring they were dry and warm, then carefully lifted the corner of the quilt and slipped gently inside. As soon as he lay down, Yun Pianpian, like a kitten, squinted her eyes and snuggled close, wrapping her arms tightly around him.
She wasn’t awake, it was just that the warming pan at her feet had grown cold, and she had instinctively sought out the nearest source of warmth, clinging to him as if he were a furnace.
The young girl nestled against his chest, her face unconsciously nuzzling into him.
Xiao Changyuan’s body stiffened abruptly.
The blood in his veins, which had only just calmed down…began to boil once again because of her movements.
Xiao Changyuan felt a sense of helplessness.
He truly didn’t know which of them was punishing the other…
Carefully, Xiao Changyuan extracted his hand from Yun Pianpian’s embrace.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her gently as he silently recited the ‘Scripture of Clarity and Tranquility’ in his mind. Listening to her soft, even breaths, Xiao Changyuan closed his eyes and gradually drifted into a deep sleep.
Outside, the wind howled, and heavy snow swirled through the air.
Inside, the two lay in the same bed, sharing a pillow, holding each other tightly as they drew warmth from one another.
The house they lived in was a dilapidated earthen, walled hut. The biting winter wind seeped in through the cracks in the doors and windows, thread by thread, strand by strand, carrying a bone, chilling cold. But because they held each other so closely, even winter seemed to lose its sting.
The next day, when Yun Pianpian woke up and saw the snow covering the entire courtyard, her clear, bright eyes widened slowly.
…It actually snowed?!
And so heavily!
A blanket of pure white snow covered the entire yard. As far as the eye could see, the distant green mountains, the village houses and walls, the reed groves, everything was draped in a thick layer of snow. In an instant, the entire Jiangjia Village seemed transformed into an ink, wash snowscape painted by a master artist.
So beautiful, it felt like stepping into a dream.
“It’s snowing!”
Yun Pianpian ran back into the house, eager to share the joyful news with Xiao Changyuan, her lovely face alight with excitement.
“Husband! Have you seen the snow? It’s snowing outside!”
Xiao Changyuan set down the scripture in his hand, his expression cool and detached, feigning ignorance as he slightly raised an eyebrow.
“Is that so?”
“It's true!” Yun Pianpian tugged at Xiao Changyuan to go outside and see the snow, chattering joyfully as they walked. “Look! It's all snow outside! It must have snowed all night last night, which is why there's so much this morning. It's so beautiful!”
Xiao Changyuan's dark, indifferent gaze shifted from the snow, covered courtyard to Yun Pianpian's ecstatic little face.
His eyes grew deep and shadowy as he stared at her small face, the corners of his thin lips curling almost imperceptibly.
“It truly is beautiful.”