Chapter 109 - 51: Masts and Oars (3)

Chapter 109: Chapter 51: Masts and Oars (3)

Just as the aroma of food began to waft out—

"Brother Rui?!" Third Lady came out, draping some clothes over her shoulders.

She had a keen sense of smell and caught the aroma from outside. Recalling the last time Fang Rui had returned after fighting Lord Hu, she guessed he must be hungry and came out to see if she could help.

"Brother Rui, why do you look so pale?" Third Lady asked with concern.

"I’m just hungry from training. It’s nothing..."

"How can it be nothing? Let me heat up some more food for you!"

Her heart aching for him, Third Lady helped out. With her skillful hands, the food was quickly reheated.

She served it: a large bowl of noodles, along with the evening’s reheated cured meat with wood ear mushrooms, stir-fried bean sprouts, and a chicken frame, all steaming hot.

Fang Rui wolfed down the food. Only with a full stomach could he feel satisfied.

Third Lady was beside him, one hand propping up her chin, her head tilted slightly. She watched him with a contented expression, her limpid eyes filled with love and adoration...

"Third Sister, you have a bite too!" Fang Rui lifted a piece of mushroom to her lips.

"But I already brushed my teeth with a willow twig..."

"It’s fine, you can just brush them again later... Ah, Third Sister, open up!"

"Alright!" Third Lady shyly opened her glistening, cherry-like lips. Her small, delicate pink tongue curled out and swept the mushroom into her mouth.

Fang Rui froze for a moment.

"Brother Rui, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing..."

Fang Rui shook his head, chasing away some inappropriate thoughts, and fed Third Lady a piece of cured meat.

"Brother Rui, you eat too."

Third Lady picked up a pair of chopsticks and also served Fang Rui some food.

’She was deeply moved. In this era, there was surely no other man who would do as Fang Rui did—personally feeding his own woman...’

This kind of interaction, this kind of tenderness, perfectly fulfilled the fantasies Third Lady had as a young girl about a marriage filled with mutual respect.

’When I was born, you were yet to be... I only regret we did not meet before I was wed.’

Under Third Lady’s adoring and affectionate gaze, Fang Rui was also immensely satisfied, feeling his spirit enveloped by a great warmth.

A bite for you, a bite for me. The two were incredibly lovey-dovey...

Third Lady greatly enjoyed this feeling, as if they were courting...

Fang Rui did too. But for a fleeting moment, he was suddenly reminded of his past life—of being in university, eating instant noodles late at night in a rented room with his girlfriend after some ’exercise’...

’The same moon shines today, which once lit my beautiful love’s return.’

Under the dim, flickering firelight,

Fang Rui and Third Lady fed each other, whispering sweet nothings, their shadows snuggled together.

After the meal, with full stomachs and feeling warm, thoughts turn to...

Fang Rui swept Third Lady into his arms and carried her to an empty room.

...

Partway through, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family came out.

—In such chaotic times, she was naturally a light sleeper. When she noticed Third Lady was gone, she grew worried and came out to look for her, and then...

Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family listened suspiciously to the faint sounds. She followed them to the door of this room, pressed her ear against it to listen, and her face immediately flushed red. She spat disdainfully and returned to her own room.

Fang Rui had sharp ears. Having kept a sliver of his attention on the outside, he naturally heard that disdainful spit...

...

In the middle of the night.

Fang Rui was startled awake by the sounds of shouting and fighting from the direction of the city gates. He glanced at Third Lady beside him, who was sleeping sweetly, exhausted. He kissed her on the cheek, threw on some clothes, and got up quietly.

Unlike the false alarms of the past, he knew: tonight, there was a real possibility the Taiping Bandits would breach the city.

He went outside into the courtyard, where he could hear the sounds from outside growing louder, gradually swelling into a tide...

「At that moment.」

A great wind blew the dark clouds away. Myriad shafts of moonlight, like liquid mercury, poured down, brightly illuminating the entirety of Changshan County Town.

In the courtyard, Fang Rui stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the bright, clear moon. A line of poetry suddenly came to mind: ’Thinking back to Zhou Yu in his prime, newly married to the beautiful Little Qiao; a heroic figure, with feathered fan and silk turban, who, between jests and laughter, turned a mighty fleet to ash and smoke...’

...