The wife sat on the kang, applying some white cream to her face, apparently just after washing up, with her hair still slightly damp around her forehead and temples.
Dong Huiying rose to greet the visitor. It had been several days, and almost every night someone would visit her quarters. Except for Haoming, the rest stayed a night without the occurrence she feared.
Frankly, she was genuinely relieved.
Perhaps due to the inherent old-world views, she was not as open as the other women of Dayuan. Sometimes, she truly envied those women born and raised in Yuan Territory, their souls branded from birth. In their eyes, everything was justified, whereas she was striving to overturn the ideology she had built over the past twenty years and to reconstruct new beliefs. This process was not easy; there had been a few missteps along the way, fortunately now corrected.
However, consummating the marriage with six men all at once was indeed too abrupt for her.
Fortunately, her husbands were very considerate, understanding her feelings, and did not force her. Yet, the more they behaved , the guiltier she felt.
"My wife?" Yixuan called her softly, "Are you troubled?"
"No," she smiled, "I was just thinking that I might be too harsh on you all."
Yixuan was puzzled, but then he understood.
He placed the blanket he had brought from his own room on the kang, then leaned slightly over with his hands on the edge, moving closer to her.
"Then, should my wife be a bit nicer to me?"
He spoke of ’me’ rather than ’us.’
Outside their wife’s door, they were still brothers united, but at that moment, in front of their wife, he was only himself. He wanted to be her Liang Yixuan, not the sixth brother of his siblings.
Before the wife could respond, he reached out to gently caress her cheek. "If you’re unhappy, you can ask to stop at any time."
He slightly bowed his head, and a feather-light kiss landed softly on her forehead, then brushed past her eyelashes and gently stamped on the tip of her nose. Seeing her eyes closed, her curled long eyelashes trembling pitifully like a lovable little animal, he intended to go further, but stopped with a wry smile.
After a long while, when he didn’t make a further move, she opened her eyes in confusion. "Yixuan?"
Just as she was about to look at him, an embrace enveloped her.
He held her gently, swaying slightly as if to soothe her, and tenderly kissed her hair with his lips.
Why did she feel a sense of loss in her heart?
The seventh day of the first lunar month.
After breakfast, wearing a short cotton-padded jacket and covered with a large overcoat, Dong Huiying sat sideways in the embrace of Big Brother Liang Zhichen and rode a fast horse to Anyang Village with her husband.
Before leaving, Yixuan, fearing she might get cold, specially prepared a small heater for her. Now, nestled in Zhichen’s arms holding the heater, the cold wind raging outside, her heart was filled with warmth and cosiness.
After galloping for about half an hour, upon arriving at Anyang Village, Dong Huiying saw the Black Wind Camp bandits who had cursed and shouted with a hateful demeanor months ago, now looking dejected and dispirited.
It was just after the New Year, but the village showed no festive spirit, instead shrouded in gloom, everyone wearing a troubled expression.
"Master..." a person hesitated, approaching Liang Zhichen.
"How is Su Lang today?"
"Big Boss, Big Boss..." the man’s eyes reddened, then choked up: "Nightmares again, he was awake all night yesterday."