When Zhao Huanxi went to take a bath after returning from practicing martial arts, he found that there were some curves of muscles on his arms. He was very proud and wanted to show off in front of Xu Nian’an after bathing.

He arrived outside the door of the left room and peered in, only to find Xu Nian’an with Mingli and Yisu sitting inside the jade screen cabinet, chatting and doing women’s handicrafts (needlework).

He went to sit on the swing in the courtyard for a while to air his hair, then went to the screen window and took a look. Yisu and Mingli were still there.

Zhao Huanxi couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated: Why haven’t these two maidservants gone back to sleep yet?

“Sanlang, why peeking at the window? Is there something you need?” Xu Nian’an had seen him early on and asked when she saw him peeking in for the second time.

“No, just seeing what you’re up to. I’m going to read.” Zhao Huanxi said somewhat sulkily, then went to his study in the right-wing room and saw the eight storybooks Qian Ming had given him placed on the desk at a glance.

He randomly picked one and saw the title “Crabapple Blossom’s Boisterous in Spring.”

海棠闹春 - a work of erotic literature, basically a sm*t that have existed since ancient china.

“The title is quite joyful,” he muttered to himself, then sat behind the desk and started flipping through the pages slowly.

He frowned in confusion after reading a few pages, then read a few more, repeatedly reading a passage as if not understanding it. His eyes then fixed in place, his cheeks turned red, and he abruptly closed the book!

He nervously glanced outside the right-wing room and, seeing no one, heaved a sigh of relief. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked down at the book in his hand, then threw it to the ground as if tossing a hot potato.

What on earth is this written about?

He sat on the chair in a daze for a while, and then heard the sound of the screen door opening across from him. Yisu and Mingli were about to leave.

Zhao Huanxi saw that Xu Nian’an had also come out, and he suddenly panicked. In a state of confusion, he threw the seven books on the table along with the one on the ground under the desk, then stepped on them.

Xu Nian’an walked straight into his study, looked up, and saw him sitting on the chair, his cheeks red, his forehead glistening with sweat under the lamp light.

“What have you been up to? Is it that hot?” She walked over to him and fanned him with a folding fan.

“Nothing, it’s just… just hot,” Zhao Huanxi said, his mouth dry.

Xu Nian’an looked around and saw that the windows and doors were all open, and there was a cool breeze blowing. Just sitting there shouldn’t make him so hot. However, she also saw nothing unusual in the study, so she really didn’t know what was going on with him.

She took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, and as she approached, a delicate fragrance wafted over.

Zhao Huanxi’s mind was full of the words from the book: “He sniffed wildly at her jade-like body and found the scent to be like orchids, fragrant and intoxicating.” The heat that had just receded from his face surged back up again.

Feeling both embarrassed and shy, in a state of confusion, he actually reached out and pushed Xu Nian’an away.

With this push, both of them were stunned.

Zhao Huanxi wanted to flee through the door, but then remembered the things he was stepping on and couldn’t move. He could only turn his red face away and say, “I’m fine, Dong Jiejie, you should go to sleep. I’ll… practice calligraphy for a while and then go to sleep.”

Xu Nian’an looked at him suspiciously and said, “Alright, I’ll leave the fan with you.” She placed the folding fan on his desk and turned back.

Zhao Huanxi listened to the sound coming from the opposite side and quickly picked up the stack of books under the table. He spun around in the study, but couldn’t find a place to hide them.

Turning around, he saw the tall bookshelf against the wall. Thinking that if he hid them in the top compartment, Xu Nian’an, with her height, would definitely not be able to see them.

He quietly moved the chair next to the bookshelf, stood on it, and hid the eight books in the corner of the top compartment. After stepping down, he looked up and felt satisfied. Just as he was about to move the chair back to the desk, he turned around and saw Xu Nian’an standing at the door of his study, holding a teapot and cup.

Zhao Huanxi: “……”

Xu Nian’an walked in and placed the tray on his desk. Before she could speak, Zhao Huanxi, with a flushed face, explained, “These were given to me by Qian Ming. I didn’t know what kind of books they were.”

This is his no 300 taels of silver buried here.

此地无银三百两 - an idiom originates from a folk story. In the story, someone buried silver underground and placed a sign on top that read "There is no 300 taels of silver here." Their neighbour, Li Si (or according to some versions, Wang Er), saw the sign and added on the other side (after he had stolen the money), "The neighbour Li Si (or Wang Er) did not steal it." Later generations use this idiom to describe a situation where someone tries to cover up a fact but ends up exposing the truth.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t something to be ashamed of. You don’t need to be flustered,” Xu Nian’an said, her mood complex but not showing on her face. After comforting him with these words, she left again.

Returning to the left side room, Xu Nian’an leaned on the couch, looking at the vase of freshly cut flowers in the room, lost in thought.

Of course, she hoped that Zhao Huanxi would continue to be as ignorant about matters between men and women as he had been before. This way, their cohabitation and sleeping on the same bed would be less awkward. However, this was obviously unrealistic.

Now that he knew about these things from elsewhere, wouldn’t it save her from having to worry about it? Besides, the next time Yin Furen urged them to consummate the marriage, he would need to play along and put on a show.

She rolled over to face the bed and remembered the gossip she had heard in the streets.

Some idle talkers would compare young men who had just come of age to themselves, saying they had unlimited energy and lacked self-control…

She heard the sound of the screen door opening and closing, but Xu Nian’an lay still.

“Dong Jiejie,” came Zhao Huanxi’s voice from behind.

Xu Nian’an turned over and saw him standing inside of the room, next to the screen door, holding her folding fan. His handsome face was flushed, but his clear eyes were full of helplessness.

Seeing her turn over, he asked, “Dong Jiejie, have I really been led astray by Qian Ming and the others? Do you dislike me?”

Xu Nian’an, seeing his expression, suddenly realized that this first experience with matters between men and women was a major test for him as a young man. If he couldn’t handle it correctly now, he might stumble in this area in the future.

It should have been his father and older brothers who taught him about these matters, but his relationship with them is not good… Moreover, with his father’s favoritism towards concubine and mistreating the main wife, if he were to be taught by them, he might end up learning the wrong things. As for Yin Furen, she is not someone to rely on either…

Xu Nian’an sighed inwardly, then got up and knelt on the bed, running her fingers through her loose hair. She said to Zhao Huanxi, “You come here.”

Zhao Huanxi hesitated but then slowly moved to the edge of the bed.

Xu Nian’an patted the cool mat in front of her and said, “Come up.”

Zhao Huanxi took off his shoes and climbed onto the bed, sitting cross-legged in front of her obediently.

“Why do you say you’ve been led astray by Qian Ming?” Xu Nian’an asked him.

Avoiding her gaze, Zhao Huanxi lowered his head and whispered, “I read… I read those kinds of books.”

“What did those books say?”

Zhao Huanxi hesitated, blushing, and looked up, his eyes flickering. “Can I.. can I really say it?”

“Although we are a fake couple, we are still a couple. There’s nothing that cannot be said between husband and wife,” Xu Nian’an said.

Zhao Huanxi, hearing this, lowered his head and fiddled with the handle of the folding fan in his hand, stuttering, “It’s about… it’s about a man and a woman, on a boat, um… engaging in relations without… without being properly matched.”

Xu Nian’an suppressed her own feelings of embarrassment and asked calmly, “Do you think they should behave like that?”

Zhao Huanxi shook his head vigorously.

“This is fine, isn’t it? The book may not be good, but you know right from wrong. Where have you gone wrong?” Xu Nian’an said.

“Dong Jiejie, don’t you dislike me reading such books?” Zhao Huanxi asked.

“As long as you don’t act according to what’s written in the book, but only read it, why would I dislike what you do?”

Zhao Huanxi hurriedly said, “I will never act according to what’s written in the book. Those people have no shame.”

Xu Nian’an nodded with a smile. “You are a good person. Some people cannot be like you. Once they read such books, they become excited and act recklessly with women inside and outside the family, not realizing that while they seek momentary pleasure, no one around them will truly respect them.”

Zhao Huanxi pondered her words and asked, “So, women actually don’t like it when men have three or four concubines?”

Xu Nian’an replied, “That’s natural. Men are human, and women are also human. How different can their hearts be? Just as men cannot accept women having affairs, how can women accept men having three or four concubines? The difference lies in the fact that, in most cases, women are in a weaker position. They may not be able to accept it in their hearts, but they have to pretend to accept it on the surface. However, pretense is just pretense. Under the appearance of mutual respect, how much of the true marital affection remains, only the woman herself knows.”

Zhao Huanxi sighed, “Just like my parents.”

Xu Nian’an reached out and tapped his forehead.

Zhao Huanxi looked up in confusion, but Xu Nian’an said, “You’re not like your parents at all. Your mother is a proud person who doesn’t even bother to pretend. Can’t you see how much she despises your father?”

Zhao Huanxi was speechless.

“So you don’t have to suspect whether I dislike you or not. Because I’m also too lazy to pretend. If I really dislike you, I’ll definitely let you know,” Xu Nian’an said.

Zhao Huanxi leaned closer and asked, “If Dong Jiejie really is too lazy to pretend, then you’re so good to me, does that mean… you like me quite a bit?”

Xu Nian’an’s face flushed red in an instant, she raised her hand as if to hit him, scolding, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Zhao Huanxi laughed and raised his hand to block hers.

Xu Nian’an saw the wound on the back of his hand, she pulled his hand over to examine it carefully, and said, “It’s hot, just in case, it’s better to apply medicine and bandage it.” She then got off the bed to fetch the ointment and bandage.

Zhao Huanxi also slid off the bed and sat at the brightly lit table.

When Xu Nian’an applied the ointment, he pretended to be in pain, flinching. Unexpectedly, this time Xu Nian’an didn’t blow on it, but instead gave him a slap and scolded, “Stop pretending!”

Zhao Huanxi felt that women were really unpredictable. She had been willing to blow on it last time, but not this time.

The next morning, after seeing Zhao Huanxi off, Xu Nian’an went to Jiaxiang House.

Yin Furen saw her wearing a headdress made of glass and silk that she had never seen before, and asked, “Where did you get this hair accessory?”

Xu Nian’an replied, “Sanlang bought it for me yesterday at the Xiangguo Temple. Does Mother think it looks good?”

Yin Furen smiled and said, “It looks good, but it’s not that precious. You can wear it at home for fun.”

“Okay.”

Yin Furen then said, “I’m busy this morning, so Lao Taitai said I should skip my greetings. You’ll have to go on your own. Be careful not to give anyone a handle on etiquette. If there’s any trouble, say you need to come back and ask me first.”

Xu Nian’an obediently agreed, and under Yin Furen’s watchful gaze, she left Jiaxiang House and went to Lingde Hall. On the way, she met the people from the Second and Third Branch returning from their greetings, and exchanged greetings with them.

In the Lingde Hall, Xu Nian’an found the Fourth Branch, Fifth Branch, and Qin Shi (Zhao Hunachao’s wife) and Wei Shi (Zhao Huanyang’s wife) were all there.

Xu Nian’an entered and greeted Lao Taitai. Just as she was about to straighten up, Si Taitai rebuked her, “Your mother-in-law is busy in the morning because she has to take care of the offerings. I don’t know what you’re busy with, but you arrived later than your two (elder) sisters-in-law who have children to take care of. Could it be that you don’t respect your Zumu?”