When Xiaowei brought Xiaorong to deliver food, the thin-faced young man was still sitting at the table, refusing to pay attention to Xu Nian’an as he sat with his back to her.

After the maidservants withdrew, Xu Nian’an walked to the table to take a look. Perhaps fearing that they might overeat at night and have trouble digesting, they only sent two small bowls of red bean glutinous rice porridge, a plate of dumplings with an unknown filling, a plate of jade bamboo shoots and ferns, and a plate of wild chicken (野鸡) and melon seeds.

Xu Nian’an glanced at Zhao Huanxi, whose back of the head was adorned with a red satin ribbon, and exclaimed loudly, “Aiya, today I finally realize that in《The Song of Changgan》poem, ‘bowing one’s head toward the dark wall, calling a thousand times without response,’ it’s not about the new bride, but the new groom!”

from the poem《长干行》by Li Bai. The poem is written from the perspective of a girl married to a river merchant, and describes her gradually increasing affection for him and the pain she feels when he is away. The phrase Xu Nian'an mentioned was from the 2nd stanza;
"At fourteen I married My Lord you.
I never laughed, being bashful.
Lowering my head, I looked at the wall.
Called to, a thousand times, I never looked back"
It's about how the girl was shy on their wedding night, only facing the wall, not daring to look back despite him calling her again and again.

“You—” Zhao Huanxi whipped around. His pair of crystal-clear phoenix eyes were filled with the color of flames, reflecting the light of the Dragon and Phoenix wedding candles. It was as if a galaxy of stars were suspended upside down within them; he was so beautiful he defied description.

丹凤眼 (Dānfèng yǎn): Phoenix eyes, a highly prized eye shape in Chinese aesthetics. They are characterized by an inner corner that points slightly downward and an outer corner that sweeps elegantly upward toward the temple.
龙凤喜烛 (Lóngfèng xǐzhú): Dragon and Phoenix wedding candles. Traditional large red candles decorated with gold dragons (representing the groom) and phoenixes (representing the bride). They are lit in the bridal chamber to symbolize a harmonious and long-lasting marriage.

“Alright, don’t be angry. I was just teasing you. Why are you so easily teased? You’re really like a little younger brother.” Xu Nian’an placed a bowl of red bean glutinous rice porridge in front of him and stirred it by using a porcelain spoon with a large red “double happiness” written on it.

Zhao Huanxi became even more annoyed. “Don’t call me a little younger brother! Who is your little younger brother?”

“Then what should I call you? Fujun?” Xu Nian’an sat down beside him, stirring her own porridge while suppressing a smile.

Zhao Huanxi’s face flushed even redder. “Don’t call me that either.”

“Then we must have some form of address between us, right? Otherwise, in front of elders or servants, am I supposed to just call out ‘hey you’ to get your attention?”

After some thought, Zhao Huanxi reluctantly said, “You can call me Sanlang from now on.”

三郎 (Sānláng): Literally "Third Son" or "Third Young Master." 郎 (láng) is a prefix used by a woman in addressing her husband or lover darling; also used by the family to refer to their son. Between married couples, it's considered formal enough to use this term. It is less formal than Fujun.

Xu Nian’an nodded in agreement.

Seeing her silence, Zhao Huanxi asked anxiously, “Then what should I call you?”

Xu Nian’an said, “I’m the eldest in my family, so you can call me Da Niang.”

Zhao Huanxi was stunned, “Da… Da Niang?”

While Daniang literally means "Eldest Daughter" in some ancient contexts, it more commonly refers to an aunt (the wife of one's father's elder brother) or an older woman of a previous generation. By suggesting he call her this, she is jokingly positioning herself as his superior

Xu Nian’an burst out laughing.

Xu Nian’an said, “I was born during the winter, and before I was given my formal name, my family called me Dong Jie’er. I am two years older than you; if you don’t find it beneath you, you can call me Dong (冬 - winter) Jiejie.”

Zhao Huanxi objected again, “Why on earth should I call you Dong Jiejie?”

Xu Nian’an suggested, “Then, how about just calling me Dong’er? It’s not like you need to call me by my full name, right?”

Zhao Huanxi, with a stern face, started eating his porridge in silence. He didn’t want to call her either “Dong Jiejie” or “Dong’er.”

As they were eating, suddenly a maid shouted from outside, “San Yé, Pang Guniang has committed suicide, you should go and see….!” Her words were cut off abruptly, as if someone had covered her mouth.

Zhao Huanxi stood up abruptly, knocking over his stool, and rushed out the door.

“You, stop!” Xu Nian’an hurriedly got up and grabbed him.

“You, let go of me!” Zhao Huanxi, in a state of urgency, forcefully shook his arm. Not only did he fail to shake off Xu Nian’an’s grip, but he was also pulled back by her with such force that he staggered and returned to the table.

“If you don’t want to kill your Daixue Guniang, then calm down!” Xu Nian’an said in a low voice.

Zhao Huanxi, surprised by her strength, paused for a moment, then shouted, “She’s almost dead!” and tried to rush out again.

Xu Nian’an held onto him tightly. “Even if she’s really dying, can you cure her or save her life by going there? What if she doesn’t die? If you leave me on our wedding night to go see her, do you think the elders in the mansion will still allow her to stay?”

Zhao Huanxi’s mind was in chaos. He struggled to break free from her grasp, saying, “I can’t care about that right now!”

“You may not care, but you have to care for me!” Xu Nian’an caught up with him and grabbed the ribbon tied to his hairpin. Her gaze was sharp as she said, “Have you forgotten what you promised me that day? You vowed that if I marry you, you would give me respect and dignity. If you go out to see her now, and the elders get angry, My face will reach rock bottom. It will backfire and harm her. It’s all harm and no benefit. How foolish can you be to insist on doing such a stupid thing?!”

Zhao Huanxi angrily said, “Everyone thinks I’m foolish and stupid, only she understands me. If she wants to die, I’ll die with her!”

“You’ll have no name, no status, no place to be buried together when the both of you die! As soon as you are laid down in the Zhao family ancestral grave, and she is buried in a random burial mound, that will be the end for both of you. Your mother raised you with hardships, only to end up losing her son in her middle age, having no one to attend upon her funeral. Your elder sisters have cherished you from childhood to adulthood. In the future, there will be no one reliable in your family. If one suffers injustice in one’s husband’s family, one’ll have to bear it without complaint, even if one knocked out teeth or swallowed blood! If this is what you want, then go!” Xu Nian’an let go of him and pushed him forward forcefully.

However, Zhao Huanxi couldn’t move forward. After a moment of hesitation, he stood still and cried, “I promised her that I would help her. What should I do if she dies?”

The statement sounded suspicious, but now was not the time to dwell on such things.

Xu Nian’an took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and walked up to him, saying, “As I said earlier, if something has really happened to her, even if you go to her now, it won’t help. If nothing has happened, going now might actually harm her. First, you need to calm down your emotions. I’ll handle this matter. What’s the name of the maid who spoke to you at the door just now?”

Zhao Huanxi, now in a state of confusion, tears in his eyes, replied blankly, “Xiaowei.”

Xu Nian’an pointed to the bed and said, “You go over there. Don’t let the servants see you like this.”

Zhao Huanxi wiped his eyes with his sleeve and turned to sit on the edge of the bed.

Only then did Xu Nian’an go to open the door and call out, “Xiaowei.”

Xiaowei quickly came over and asked, “What orders does San Nainai have?”

“Did the maid from Pang Guniang’s side come just now?” Xu Nian’an asked.

Xiaowei denied, “No…”

“I heard her shouting.” Xu Nian’an interrupted her, “This is not a trivial matter. I heard that Pang Guniang is Da Nainai’s distant relative. You quickly send someone to inform Da Nainai to find a doctor, and send someone to inform Furen. The guests in the front courtyard have not left yet. We must not let the maidservants from Pang Guniang’s side run around, disturbing the guests. Send a young maid to Pang Guniang’s side to see how she is doing. Report to me immediately when there’s news.”

Xiaowei complied and left.

Xu Nian’an closed the door and turned around to see Zhao Huanxi, his eyes red, staring at her in a daze.

She walked over and said, “I wasn’t trying to be angry with you just now. It’s just that when you act impulsively and without a plan, you can easily harm yourself and others. The more urgent the situation, the more you need to think carefully before acting. This way, you won’t make mistakes in haste, which you’ll regret later.”

“You don’t seem to be worried at all about Daixue’s life being in danger,” Zhao Huanxi said, looking at her.

Xu Nian’an thought: Such tricks can only fool a naive young master like you. Anyone with a bit of sophistication would see through it.

“You think about it. If Daixue Guniang’s life were really in danger, her maidservant would inevitably be accused of negligence. Would she still have the presence of mind to call for you? It must be that Daixue Guniang is not in mortal danger but is still insisting on seeing you. Her maidservant, feeling sorry for her and fearing she might try something drastic again, took the risk of calling you to see her, even though it might displease Furen.”

Zhao Huanxi continued to look directly at Xu Nian’an. “Right now, looking at you is like looking at Wu Shenshen.”

This statement is somewhat confusing. Xu Nian’an didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”

Zhao Huanxi didn’t respond. He turned away and lay down on the bed, silent.

Xu Nian’an walked over and kicked his leg that was hanging over the edge of the bed.

Startled, Zhao Huanxi raised his head to look at her and frowned, “What are you doing?”

“You dare to say I look like a widow! I’ll tell Pomu tomorrow!” Xu Nian’an looked even angrier than him.

“I never said you look like a widow!”

“Dare you say you didn’t? You said I’m like your Wu Shenshen, and isn’t your Wu Shenshen a widow?”

Zhao Huanxi sat up and explained, “When I said you’re like my Wu Shenshen, I meant that the way you spoke just now reminded me of her; a face full of calculating and scheming.”

Xu Nian’an looked at him in surprise, her eyes wide open.

As soon as Zhao Huanxi spoke, he realized his words were too harsh. He was about to find something else to say to cover it up, but he saw tears quickly filling Xu Nian’an’s eyes. Before the tears fell, she turned away from him and cried softly with her back to him.

Now Zhao Huanxi was at a loss.

He was used to others making him cry, but this was the first time he had made someone cry.

What should he do now?

Earlier, Yin Furen had sent off the last female guest with a smile, and then, as soon as she turned her face away, she led the people towards Shenhui Courtyard. She had already been informed of what happened in the bridal chamber, as the guards and attendants there were all sent by her after all.

Halfway there, they met Xiaowei, who relayed Xu Nian’an’s words to Yin Furen word by word.

Yin Furen was quite surprised and asked, “San Yé didn’t cause a scene?”

Xiaowei replied, “Nubi vaguely heard San Yé arguing with San Nainai inside the room, but in the end, the one who opened the door and gave Nubi instructions was San Nainai. San Yé didn’t show himself.”

Yin Furen breathed a sigh of relief and her expression softened. She instructed Xiaowei, “Go back and tell San Nainai that Daixue Guniang is fine, not even a scratch was on her skin.”

“Yes, do we still need to ask Da Nainai to call the doctor?” Xiaowei asked.

Yin Furen replied coldly, “On such a happy occasion, why would we need a doctor? It’s unlucky!”

Xiaowei saw that Yin Furen was displeased and didn’t dare to say more. She bowed and returned to Shenhui Courtyard.

Yin Furen instructed her senior maid, Qianhe, who is beside her, “Take some people to surround Furong Pavilion. No one is allowed to enter or leave. Find the maid who shouted at Shenhui Courtyard today and give her twenty lashes. Then throw her back into Da Nainai’s courtyard. As for the others, I’ll deal with them when I have time.”

Qianhe took the order.

Yin Furn had hardly slept last night and had been busy for two days and nights. She was exhausted. Seeing that nothing had happened to her son, she didn’t want to go anywhere else and just wanted to rest at Jiaxiang Residence.

Nanny Su supported her as they walked towards Jiaxiang Residence.

“Being able to stop Xi Ge from coming out and avoiding a scene shows she still has some capability,” Yin Furen said wearily.

Nanny Su said, “No matter what, San Yé is Guogong Yé’s eldest legitimate grandson. Guogong Yé would not harm him, so this Xu Guniang must be quite capable.”

Yin Furen sighed but said nothing.

In the bridal chamber, Xu Nian’an was still crying with her head down, while Zhao Huanxi anxiously circled around her.

“Don’t cry. I didn’t mean to say anything bad about you,” he said.

“‘A face full of calculating and scheming’. If this is not saying anything bad about me, then are you praising me instead? When my father passed away and our family was split from the Count Residence, I was only thirteen. My mother was weak, and my siblings were young. If I didn’t plan and scheme a bit, if I wasn’t strong, who would my mother and siblings rely on? You are in a blessed situation and don’t know how lucky you are. Yet, you mock others for living a hard life. Yes, yes, only you and your Pang Guniang are pure and immaculate, untouched by the world. People like me are naturally filthy and corrupt in body and mind.” Xu Nian’an cried as she spoke.

Due to the resistance in his heart, Zhao Huanxi had never inquired about Xu Nian’an’s background. He only knew that her father was a friend of his grandfather’s and had passed away a few years ago, but he didn’t know how hard her life had been all these years. Now, listening to her cry and complain, he felt even more guilty but didn’t know how to comfort her.

At this moment, Xiaowei’s voice came from outside the door, “San Yé, San Nainai.”

Xu Nian’an’s crying stopped abruptly.

Zhao Huanxi hurriedly tried to please her, “I’ll go open the door.” He then quickly went to open it.

Xiaowei said, “San Yé, Nubi already went to check. Pang Guniang is fine, there’s no need to call the doctor. Both you and San Nainai don’t need to worry.”

Zhao Huanxi felt even more ashamed. He nodded randomly and then closed the door.

Xu Nian’an started crying again.

Zhao Huanxi felt overwhelmed. He didn’t care about his dignity anymore and went up to plead, “I was wrong, please don’t cry, okay? Dong Jiejie, dear good Jiejie, please forgive this Didi!”

⟡ Aewoo’s Ramble ⟡

Not Zhao Huanxi getting a whole galaxy installed inside his eyes 💀