Chapter Fifty-Three: I Can Make Decisions for Her

Zhao Hengyi slowly opened his eyes, greeted by a ceiling that was still somewhat unfamiliar to him.

“Brother-in-law, you’re finally awake! It’s already past noon. You sure can sleep!”

Turning his head, Zhao Hengyi saw six little ones obediently perched by the bedside, their eyes fixed on him.

Six tiny heads, six pairs of bright eyes, all gazing at him with utter dependence and adoration. In that moment, Zhao Hengyi felt something deep within his heart gently melting.

“Did brother-in-law snore while he slept?”

Still lying on his side, propping his head with one arm, Zhao Hengyi grinned at the six little ones and chatted with them.

“Oh yes, you did! It was really loud!”

“And you were grinding your teeth, too!”

“Eldest sister said brother-in-law was tired and told us not to disturb you!”

“We were really good, we didn’t make a single sound.”

“All right, now that brother-in-law is awake, let’s go tell big sister and have Sister Xiuying warm up some food for him!”

Chattering like a flock of lively sparrows, the six girls eagerly reported everything they knew to Zhao Hengyi. The thoughtful Ruochang and Ruoyi even ran out to inform their eldest sister and Sun Xiuying.

At the mention of Sun Xiuying, Zhao Hengyi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

The poor girl’s fate was truly bitter.

Unable to find a husband, she had been forced to join a government-organized bridal party. At least in Yushu Bay, someone finally chose her, but her husband turned out to be a scoundrel and a gambling addict.

On their wedding day, she was beaten. What little dowry her family had managed to save was seized by her husband and gambled away. He didn’t even spare the clothes on her back.

Just last night, that scoundrel Liu Shuang was cut down by bandits from Erdaogou, leaving Sun Xiuying a widow for good. If it weren’t for the textile workshop offering her shelter, and Miao Xiaoyu’s help and acceptance, her fate would have been even more wretched.

Miao Xiaoyu brought Sun Xiuying in, carrying the food that had already been prepared. Zhao Hengyi watched Sun Xiuying’s expression out of the corner of his eye, but found that this diligent and honest girl seemed no different from usual. Only then did he let go of his worries.

“Stop staring and eat your meal,” Miao Xiaoyu teased her husband once Sun Xiuying and the six sisters had left the room. “You’ve embarrassed poor Xiuying. If you have anything to say, you can tell me—I can make decisions for her!”

Zhao Hengyi rubbed his nose and chuckled sheepishly, burying his head in his food.

There was no point getting entangled in this kind of topic—the more you tried to explain, the less clear it became.

Once he was full, Zhao Hengyi pulled Miao Xiaoyu aside and recounted in detail what had happened at Cliff Mountain.

“Those women are pitiful—more than half were sold off by their own families, and the rest have no desire to return home. I can only try to help them band together and survive.”

He looked at his wife, her eyes brimming with tears, and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. What a kindhearted woman she was. “Someone has to keep watch over Cliff Mountain. Otherwise, with only those weak women there, I fear that within ten days or half a month, they’d all be taken by other bandits.”

“Oh, what are we going to do?” Miao Xiaoyu had always considered her own circumstances tragic enough, but hearing about the fates of those women, she suddenly felt fortunate—at least she had her husband and her sisters.

“I plan to send the guards to station there,” Zhao Hengyi explained, having already devised a plan and now consulting with Miao Xiaoyu to see if there were any gaps. “But there’s the issue of men and women living together—if the arrangement lasts too long, trouble might arise... So, I’ll have the guards rotate every ten days.”

“What kind of trouble could there be? If those poor women are willing to marry, and the guards are willing to take a wife, why not? That could be a good thing!” Miao Xiaoyu thought her husband’s ideas were always a little odd. “You may want to be a monk, but others might not!”

At the end, she couldn’t resist poking fun at her husband.

Zhao Hengyi smiled awkwardly. Indeed, his thinking was too rigid; the people of Great Yan would never share his modern sensibilities.

As Miao Xiaoyu said, if those unfortunate women could find a home and marry the guards stationed there, it would truly be a second chance at life.

Besides, the guards’ wages weren’t low, and in this country where taking a concubine was considered an act of charity, Zhao Hengyi had no reason to interfere with his subordinates’ private lives.

It was only between himself and Miao Xiaoyu that things had become awkward.

At first, it was Zhao Hengyi’s reluctance to take advantage of a woman in distress—he didn’t want Miao Xiaoyu to be forced into marriage by circumstance. As a modern man, he found it hard to accept a marriage without love.

But after everything they’d been through, their feelings had gradually deepened, and what should have happened naturally was delayed again and again by all sorts of misfortunes.

For a while, it seemed the two of them were stuck in limbo, leaving Zhao Hengyi with a sense of guilt he couldn’t shake.

Miao Xiaoyu, on the other hand, seemed to have made peace with things.

She knew that her reputation as a “husband-starved jinx” could hardly endear her to her husband, and if he kept his distance from her out of superstition, she couldn’t blame him.

This was simply her fate. She would help her husband manage their affairs, watch over her sisters as they grew, and, when suitable girls came along, help him take more wives—a wife’s duty, as she saw it.

“I’ll be out handling some matters, and I’ll be back before dark,” Zhao Hengyi said, finally deciding to take initiative as a man—after all, it wouldn’t do for a married couple to remain in such an impasse. “By the way, have Xiuying put the girls to bed early tonight.”

Such a subtle hint was instantly understood by Miao Xiaoyu, who had nursed her worries for so long.

Watching her husband’s slightly panicked retreating figure, Miao Xiaoyu burst out laughing, but as she laughed, tears slowly traced down her delicate cheeks.

Alone in her room, she began to waver—was there truly a curse upon her, destined to bring misfortune to her husband?

Over at the village chief’s house, Steward Song and Zhao Hengyi were deep in conversation.

The thirty household servants had been replaced by the guards, with Xing Xiaorong remaining as liaison while the others returned to the estate with Steward Song.

Steward Song was well prepared for the aftermath of the bandit purge at Cliff Mountain; at least on the official front, Zhao Hengyi had nothing to worry about. Steward Song even promised that henceforth, no government official would ever lay a hand on the textile workshop at Cliff Mountain.

After seeing off Steward Song and taking care of a few more matters, Zhao Hengyi timed his return home to coincide with the rising moon.

Opening the door, he found the room had been carefully arranged, two red candles lit, and Miao Xiaoyu waiting, cheeks aglow with shy anticipation.

Seize the blossom while it is in full bloom—do not wait until the branches are bare.

Yet this time, it was Miao Xiaoyu who hesitated.

“My lord... I’m afraid... the curse of the jinxed wife will bring ruin to you.”

“Don’t be afraid. With the gods watching over me, nothing can harm me. Come, let me tell you in detail!”