Zong Zhaoyi had a habit of deflecting whenever he felt embarrassed. Xu Wan saw right through it but chose not to point it out, though she couldn’t help laughing. "Let’s freshen up first. It’s been two days since we last bathed."
Zong Zhao chuckled in response. "Alright, I’ll have someone prepare it. You can wash up quickly and then join me for dinner."
Hot water had been ready all along, reheated whenever it cooled, waiting for Xu Wan to wake. The maids hurried to prepare the small bathing chamber, while Zong Zhao went to the outer bath. The room was tidied with fresh bedding, and even the floor was swept clean.
After their baths, the two emerged refreshed and sat down to eat.
Zong Zhao reminded her gently, "You haven’t eaten all day. Start with some porridge before moving to the dishes."
"Alright," Xu Wan agreed obediently, then suddenly teased, "You haven’t eaten either, have you? I noticed earlier you didn’t even wash your face."
Zong Zhao gave a quiet "Mm," his neck flushing slightly.
Xu Wan caught it, her lips curving into a faint smile.
As they ate, Cui Zhi entered with a bowl of medicine. "Madam, this is a calming tonic prescribed by the House Physician. Would you like to take it after your meal?"
"Huh?" Xu Wan paused, chopsticks in hand, looking surprised. "I’m fine after sleeping. Do I really need it?" She glanced at Zong Zhao for support.
After a brief hesitation, he said, "You don’t have to if you don’t want to."
Xu Wan decisively replied, "Then I won’t."
Cui Zhi: "..." So casual.
Though the long sleep had restored her energy, Xu Wan found herself wide awake at night. She had deliberately stayed up until 9-11 pm, but sleep still eluded her—her mind was so alert she could’ve solved an entire exam paper.
Just then, a warm hand reached over and covered her eyes again. "Think this’ll help you sleep?" he murmured.
It had worked like a charm the night before.
Xu Wan’s eyes shifted beneath her lids. "Your hand is so warm, like a hot compress," she whispered.
In the darkness, she thought she heard him chuckle softly.
The next morning, Xu Wan woke to find the bed empty. Remembering how she’d drifted off the night before, she mused that the "hot compress" had indeed worked wonders—she’d expected to toss and turn until midnight.
As she finished breakfast, a maid hurried in. "Madam, Elder Su Xi is leaving."
"What?" Xu Wan set down her chopsticks and rushed outside.
Su Xi had already packed—just a small bundle—and was crouched in the courtyard of the grand study, gazing at the lush water spinach covering the ground.
Xu Wan approached hastily. "Sir, there’s no need to leave so soon! Jin Cheng and the others want to bid you a proper farewell. Please wait another eight days. And… this whole yard of water spinach won’t be ready to harvest for a few more days."
Su Xi huffed, stroking his beard. "This spinach’s been growing for over a month. With proper fertilizer, it’d be ripe by now. But alas, your estate is too pristine—I couldn’t bear to stink it up."
Xu Wan pressed, "All the more reason to stay! Once it’s ready, you can take some home for your family. It was planted by your five students, after all."
Su Xi stood with a sigh. "No, separations are inevitable. Better to leave now than watch those lads weep in front of me. I can’t stand that."
Xu Wan tried to imagine it…
But couldn’t picture them crying.
"Enough," Su Xi cut her off. "Our meeting was fate, but all partings must come. My sweet potatoes at home are probably ripe—I need to dig them up."
Seeing she couldn’t persuade him, Xu Wan asked softly, "Sir, after today… will we meet again?"
Su Xi paused before answering. "The palace exam results come out in six months. If they make it that far, I recall there’s a home-visit leave for reporting the good news to family."
Xu Wan nodded. "Yes, a month’s leave."
Su Xi smiled. "They’ve no kin in the countryside. If they still remember this old man by then, bring them along. Luo Jingfeng knows where I live."
"Of course," Xu Wan agreed. "We’ll visit you and see those vast sweet potato fields."
Su Xi laughed heartily. "By then, it’ll be late spring—no sweet potatoes in the ground!"
Xu Wan grinned. "Then we’ll have them help with whatever you’re planting."
With a final wave, Su Xi climbed into the departing carriage.
As the curtain fell and the carriage rolled away, Su Xi wiped his tears inside, muttering, "Ugh… I hate goodbyes. Those rascals better pass the exams, or I’ll have Luo Jingfeng gouge out the Ministry of Rites’ eyes for being so blind!"
The Luo family’s driver/bodyguard: "..."
He really didn’t want to hear the old man’s ranting.
After Su Xi left, Xu Wan sighed at the thriving water spinach. "He never got to taste what his students grew."
When Zong Zhao returned and heard the news, he reassured her, "In six months, they’ll plant whatever he wants at his home."
Xu Wan turned to see him in a fitted black outfit, tall and composed. His gaze, steady and devoted, held only her.
"Where were you?" she asked. "You vanished this morning."
"The Zhao family’s finished their mourning," he replied.
"Huh?" Xu Wan blinked.
Zong Zhao smiled. "Now it’s the Ma family’s turn."
She hadn’t expected him to return so casually, mission accomplished. Unlike his grief-stricken self the first time, he now acted with calm resolve—no self-doubt, no moral anguish.
"Won’t your parents notice if this keeps happening?" she asked. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel✦fire.net
"A third might raise suspicion, but not the second," Zong Zhao said. "I won’t wait. Every extra day he lives feels like a betrayal to Zong Yan."
Xu Wan considered it. "Then don’t wait. Let them busy themselves with funerals—sooner buried, sooner at peace."
Zong Zhao laughed and pulled her into an embrace, nuzzling her neck. "I love you," he murmured.
Xu Wan stiffened, realizing this was his first daylight confession. The last time had been a drowsy whisper at night—almost like a dream.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, feigning nonchalance. "Did you learn this from Jin Cheng? He’s the one who says ‘I love you’ all the time."
Zong Zhao didn’t deny it, tightening his hold. "Good habit. I’ll adopt it."
Xu Wan giggled. "Usually sons copy their fathers, but here you are, the father copying the son."
Zong Zhao chuckled but didn’t argue.
The grand study’s courtyard lay quiet, the water spinach rustling in the autumn breeze. The two stood entwined, their warmth filling the little garden with tenderness.