After Marrying The Paranoid God of War (Rebirth) - Chapter 27
I was too busy yesterday and wasn’t able to update so here’s a full chapter
Chapter 27: The Child’s Tea Art
The moonlight was like silk, gently brushing against the west window through the willow shadows.
In the small furnace, a subtle and tranquil sandalwood fragrance was burning. Ruan An held an ink stick in her delicate hands, grinding it with a serene expression.
Her beautiful hair, as long as her waist, cascaded down her back. The hibiscus flowers embroidered on her robe seemed to undulate with her gentle and sweet breath, as if about to burst into full bloom.
Her brows were light, like autumn waters, and her skin as pure as jade, accompanied by a gentle breeze.
Bai Wei, holding a candlestick, couldn’t help but glance several times into the study, as if admiring a vivid and beautiful portrait of a lady.
She then glanced at Huo Pingxiao beside her.
Lord Hou had arrived at this place earlier but had been standing outside, not entering immediately or disturbing his wife.
Indeed, for such a beauty as the lady, anyone would want to take a few more glances, and Lord Hou was no exception.
As Bai Wei thought this, she noticed Huo Pingxiao casting an indifferent glance at her.
Immediately understanding, Bai Wei quickly exited the study, not wanting to disturb the Lord and his wife’s private moment.
“What are you doing?”
Huo Pingxiao’s voice was calm. The man clasped his hands in front of him and leaned lazily against the door, turning his head to gaze at her.
Startled by his voice, Ruan An looked up like a frightened rabbit. Her small hand, holding a brush, trembled upon meeting his intense and profound gaze.
Ruan An calmly hung the brush back on the stand. There were some ink stains on the skin of her hand, but she had no time to wipe them off.
Since conceiving Huo Xi, Ruan An had spent less time studying medical herbs and prescriptions than before. Her early pregnancy was much harder than a typical mother’s.
During Huo Xi’s birth, she almost lost her life due to a difficult delivery and severe bleeding.
It took her nearly half a year to recover and regain her health. In this year and a half, she had barely treated anyone.
Fortunately, Huo Xi was born healthy. She and her family had not spent too much effort in nurturing him over these years.
Although Ruan An had delivered countless babies, this was her first time being a mother, and a single mother at that.
She and Huo Xi could be considered as an orphan and a widow, and Sun Ye was just a child, not fully grown. Living in Jiazhou, they of course had to be careful and cautious, not daring to easily hire a nanny with an unclear background to take care of the child.
During those years, Ruan An had a hard time and could only find time to write her medical records late at night.
In this life, although she married into a marquis’s family and Huo Xi had maids to take care of him, she didn’t have much leisure time to herself during the day.
Moreover, she had developed the habit of going to bed late. At this hour, she simply couldn’t sleep. Lying next to Huo Pingxiao, she would easily get lost in wild thoughts, so she preferred to go to the study to write medical prescriptions, which helped to calm her mind.
Thinking of this, Ruan An honestly replied, “I… I’ll write some medical prescriptions for a while.”
Seeing Huo Pingxiao stride towards the desk, Ruan An instinctively wanted to cover the poorly written characters with her small hand.
Her handwriting had not improved much, which Huo Pingxiao had seen before in Jiazhou. Ruan An was afraid he would laugh at her.
But, the man’s reaction was faster than hers.
With a long reach, he “swooshed” and pulled the few pages of pale yellow paper from under her hand.
Ruan An abruptly stood up from the hoop chair.
Huo Pingxiao then lowered his eyes, slightly pursed his thin lips, and started to read word by word.
After a while, the man indeed chuckled lightly and said in a low voice, “Your handwriting is still the same as before, it hasn’t changed much.”
Ruan An was extremely embarrassed and asked helplessly, “You still remember…?”
“Hard to forget.”
The smirk at Huo Pingxiao’s lips did not fade, and he handed the prescription back to her.
Ruan An bit her lip and looked up at him, asking softly, “Then… after we move to the new residence, can you arrange for a teacher who is good at teaching calligraphy for me?”
Huo Pingxiao slightly narrowed his dark eyelashes, his gaze enigmatic, and did not immediately answer her.
Ruan An didn’t know what he was thinking, but wanted to argue further, so she hesitantly asked again, “Is it not possible? If really not, hiring a female scholar is also…”
“What teacher?”
Finally, Huo Pingxiao spoke, his tone revealing a hint of defiance.
He suddenly leaned in, staring intently at the girl’s soft, apricot eyes, and said, “Your husband will teach you.”
Perhaps because of the deep silence of the night, the few words spoken by the man sounded in Ruan An’s ears with an inexplicably beguiling and coaxing tone.
She lowered her eyes, trying her best to conceal the uncontrollable throbbing in her heart, avoiding his straightforward gaze, and calmly replied, “But you are also very busy with military affairs, can you really find the time to teach me?”
“Why not?”
Having said that with conviction, the night wind blowing into the room suddenly extinguished several candles on the lampstand.
Her vision became blurred, unable to see Huo Pingxiao’s expression clearly, but the man could see hers.
Joy and excitement, with nowhere to hide, silently climbed into her heart.
But in front of him, Ruan An had learned how to mask her thoughts.
She replied softly, “Alright then, I’ll trouble my husband to teach me in the future.”
Although Ruan An could not see, she felt that Huo Pingxiao must still be staring into her eyes.
The man’s low, gentle voice burrowed word by word into her ears: “Then you must promise me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t stay up this late again.”
“Alright…”
After Ruan An verbally agreed, she wanted Huo Pingxiao to help her light the candle again.
But the man slightly curled his thin lips and resolutely replied with two words: “No light.”
“The sky is almost bright, come back to bed with me.”
Huo Pingxiao said lazily and then, with his strong arms, encircled his petite wife’s slender waist, lifting her horizontally, and strode towards the bedroom.
Ruan An lay back on the bed, her eyes closed, listening to the steady breathing of the person next to her on the pillow.
She had tried many times, but still couldn’t fall asleep.
Ruan An sensed that Huo Pingxiao must have fallen into a deep sleep, so she thought about getting out of bed again to finish the medical prescription she hadn’t completed in the study.
Just as she sat up and before she could move, she felt an oppressive, dark shadow rapidly approaching her, like a vicious wolf pouncing on a young rabbit, exuding a cold and aggressive aura.
“Thump—”
The man clenched his strong hand and forcefully pounded the bed, his voice hoarse as he commanded: “Where do you think you’re running off to now?”
Ruan An was subdued beneath him, clearly intimidated by his actions.
The ink-black wolf pendant with amber inlay hanging from Huo Pingxiao’s neck, also moved with his actions, “clink,” landing on her delicate collarbone.
Its cold, hard texture made her body involuntarily stiffen.
“My little wife.”
The man called her in a low voice. As he spoke, the fierce scar stretching along his neck slightly scraped against the delicate angle of her jaw.
Ruan An’s eyes trembled in panic, blinking helplessly.
Both the wolf pendant and the scar on his neck were untouchable taboos for her.
She wanted to escape, but Huo Pingxiao’s warm, rough hand pressed down on her slender wrist, lifting it above her head, forbidding her to move.
When he spoke again, his gaze was intimidating.
He stared at her face, his eyes and brows expressing intense desire, and he said heavily: “I’m not some monk living in a temple, eating vegetarian meals. Don’t provoke me. Be obedient and go to sleep.”
These crude words, coming from him, did not carry the vulgarity of a hooligan; instead, they had a kind of wild defiance.
Unlike the deliberate gentleness he had shown in the study, Ruan An seemed to see the subtle pressure lurking in the depths of his dark eyes.
The girl curled her toes in fear, thinking Huo Pingxiao was too, too, too domineering!
The next morning, Huo Pingxiao left early for the camp in the outskirts.
Ruan An got up later and didn’t have breakfast with him. Thinking back to the minor conflict with him last night, she felt relieved.
Otherwise, she really didn’t know how she would have managed to interact with him.
This morning, having nothing urgent to attend to, Ruan An took the opportunity to continue transcribing medical prescriptions alone in the study.
Initially undisturbed, she could focus on her writing, yet she felt as if a gaze was constantly watching her.
Following the line of sight, Ruan An saw little Huo Xi standing in front of the desk. Due to his short stature, she could only see his forehead and his bright, dark eyes.
Huo Xi stood on tiptoes, imitating her usual posture with hands on hips, and asked in a childlike voice, “Mother, did you stay up late again last night, working on medical prescriptions?”
Surprised by the child’s questioning, Ruan An put down her brush and asked helplessly, “How did you know? Who told you?”
Huo Xi replied truthfully, “The Marquis of Dingbei told me.”
The Marquis of Dingbei?
Even though Huo Xi’s voice was sweet and tender, the mention of these words made Ruan An feel guarded and distant.
She suddenly realized that since they acknowledged their father-son relationship, Huo Xi never seemed to call Huo Pingxiao ‘father’.
How could this be? As a son, it was not appropriate to address one’s father by his title in private.
Ruan An beckoned her son over.
After Huo Xi approached, she took his chubby little hand and looked into his bright eyes, patiently asking, “Why don’t you call him father?”
Huo Xi wouldn’t lie in front of Ruan An.
His expression visibly saddened as he replied truthfully, “Because… when Mother took me to the teahouse to listen to storytelling, every time the storyteller mentioned the Marquis of Dingbei… Mother’s expression was always very sad…”
So that was it.
Ruan An suddenly understood Huo Xi’s thoughts. The child had interpreted her previous sad expressions as her attitude towards Huo Pingxiao being one of resistance and dislike.
She asked further, “Did you ever talk about this with your father?”
Huo Xi shook his little head.
Ruan An added, “Then don’t mention it again in the future.”
If Huo Pingxiao were to learn of this, it could lead to misunderstandings.
Even worse, if he guessed that she had always secretly admired him, that would be dreadful.
“When you see your father tonight, remember to call him ‘Daddy’,” Ruan An said. However, she saw that Huo Xi’s expression was obviously reluctant. The boy’s chubby little face was crumpled, rather like a little steamed bun.
Seeing this, Ruan An gently said again: “Xi’er, didn’t you always want a daddy? Now you have a father, why don’t you call him ‘Dad’?”
Huo Xi replied in a muffled voice, “Then why didn’t he want us back then?”
Ruan An finally found the root of the matter.
If Huo Xi was still upset about this, it was all her fault for not having explained it properly to the child.
So, Ruan An reached out to touch her son’s head and tried to explain in words he would understand: “Your father did not abandon us; it was because of your mother… He was always on military campaigns before, and couldn’t even see your grandfather more than a few times a year. In short, he has found us now, and we are a family of three, with both a father and a mother. As a child, you should naturally respect your parents.”
“If Xi’er is a good child, he should call him ‘Daddy’.”
“Well… okay then.”
Little Huo Xi lowered his long eyelashes, reluctantly agreeing to this matter, and added, “But tonight, I am going to have dinner with Grandpa.”
Ruan An saw through his little trick, and even felt that Huo Pingxiao and Huo Xi, this father and son duo, were incredibly alike in some ways.
She hadn’t expected Huo Pingxiao to start using their son to do things for her so quickly.
Thinking of this, Ruan An pointed her index finger at her son’s little nose: “Anyway, you also have to inform your father. When you see him, remember to call him ‘Dad’.”
At noon, Ruan An and Huo Xi had some lunch in the courtyard.
A maidservant from the Gao family came to ask Ruan An to come over.
These past few days, the Gao family hadn’t called her over, and this sudden summons didn’t make Ruan An think too deeply. She simply thought the Gao family had something important to discuss with her.
Just as Ruan An was about to instruct the maid to take good care of Huo Xi and not let him eat too many sweets, Huo Xi toddled up to her side and tugged at the hem of her clothes.
Ruan An looked down at her son and asked gently, “Xi’er, what’s wrong? Mommy will be back from your grandmother’s place in a while.”
Huo Xi sweetly said, “Mom, I want to go see Grandma too, let me come with you.”
Ruan An hesitated for a moment, then thought that Huo Xi was an obedient child. At the Gao residence, he would surely sit quietly and not cry or make trouble.
Since her son wanted to go, she decided to take him along.
Soon, Ruan An entered the hall with Huo Xi, only to see He Xinruo and Concubine Zhang sitting on one side.
However, He Xinruo’s gaze towards her, although seemingly calm and undisturbed, carried some inexplicable emotions.
Recalling their conversation outside Concubine Jiang’s courtyard that day, Ruan An gradually guessed the reason behind it, yet her expression remained unchanged.
After sitting down with Huo Xi, she saw He Xinruo stand up from her seat and respectfully said to Madam Gao, “Mother-in-law, since you have something private to discuss with my sister-in-law, I will take my leave.”
After she finished speaking, Concubine Zhang also stood up and said the same thing to Madam Gao.
Madam Gao nodded at them.
After He Xinruo and Concubine Zhang left, Madam Gao glanced at Huo Xi’s chubby face. Feeling her gaze, Huo Xi smiled sweetly at her.
Madam Gao was momentarily startled.
Although the child of the Fang family was not her biological grandson, he was still endearing.
Thinking this, Madam Gao felt that the conversation she was about to have with Ruan An was not suitable for a child to hear. She then ordered the servant behind Huo Xi, “Take the young master away.”
“Yes.”
After the servant picked up Huo Xi, he kicked his little feet a couple of times. Ruan An also stood up and whispered a few words of reassurance in her son’s ear, letting him feel at ease to leave.
Once Huo Xi was carried out, Madam Gao finally put down her teacup with a “clink” and looked solemnly at Ruan An, asking, “Did you go to Concubine Jiang’s place yesterday?”
It was indeed about this matter.
Ruan An nodded obediently and replied, “Huo Xi enjoys playing with his younger brother. Yesterday, as Concubine Jiang was unwell, he went with third brother to her courtyard. When I and his nursemaid went to fetch him, we also sat inside for a while.”
Madam Gao spoke again, her tone indifferent, “There is a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. In the future, let Huo Xi spend less time with Huo Leshi. He is to inherit the title of Marquis Dingbei and should not always be seen with a child born out of wedlock. What would people think?”
Saying this, Madam Gao kept observing Ruan An’s expression.
After He Xinruo informed her about Ruan An’s visit to Concubine Jiang’s courtyard, she was naturally displeased, fearing that the main house was trying to win over Concubine Jiang to build their own power in the household, perhaps to rival them in the future.
Ruan An was outwardly obedient, but inside she deeply resented the criticism from Madam Gao regarding her upbringing of Huo Xi. She was unaware of the past grievances between Madam Gao and Concubine Jiang, yet she felt that such matters of the adults should not involve the younger generation.
Moreover, she and Huo Xi wouldn’t stay here for long; perhaps in the future, she wouldn’t see Concubine Jiang more than a few times a year. Madam Gao truly had no need to act this way.
With these thoughts, Ruan An replied gently, “Although third brother is a concubine’s son, he is still an elder to Huo Xi. I heard from Steward Su that the Lord knows they often play together. This must be with the Lord’s tacit approval, so there’s no need for mother-in-law to worry.”
Madam Gao’s eyes widened in shock, not expecting this usually soft and weak distant cousin of the Fang family to rebuke her with the Lord’s authority.
She decided not to be polite with Ruan An anymore and went straight to the point, “That’s true, your husband is capable. I can’t meddle in the affairs of your main house. But be clear, you can’t have the best of both worlds. As soon as your son entered the mansion, the Lord called him the young heir. You should be satisfied with that.”
“?”
After hearing Madam Gao’s words, Ruan An suddenly realized.
So, the issue with Concubine Jiang was just a pretext, and Madam Gao’s real intentions were waiting for her here.
She had fallen for Huo Pingxiao not for his status or title. In Xinghua Village, Ruan An often wished he was just Xiao Ping, even if he were a village bully, she would still want to be a commoner’s wife with him.
A man like Huo Pingxiao, a favored son of heaven, wouldn’t have stayed long in such a small village, even without his illustrious background. His talents and abilities were not for such a place.
From the start, she wasn’t after the power and position of the Huo family, so naturally, she wouldn’t be greedy enough to want her future children to inherit Huo Lang’s title.
But Madam Gao and He Xinruo didn’t think so.
Since Madam Gao had spoken thus, Ruan An prepared to express her attitude towards another title before leaving: “Daughter-in-law will remember mother-in-law’s advice and will not harbor improper thoughts. Please rest assured.”
After Ruan An spoke, Madam Gao felt somewhat relieved, thinking the main daughter-in-law at least said the right things. But she would continue to observe how she acted in the future.
After Ruan An left, Madam Gao remembered she hadn’t seen Huo Lang for a long time and wanted to find an excuse to visit Tongjian Garden to see him.
Just stepping out, she saw Huo Xi and a maid waiting outside.
Upon seeing her, the boy greeted her with a smile, “Grandmother, hello?”
Madam Gao didn’t dislike Huo Xi and asked him kindly, “What are you doing outside my yard?”
In a milky voice, Huo Xi replied, “I’m going to visit Grandfather soon. Grandmother seems to have not seen Grandfather for a long time too. Xi’er thinks Grandfather must miss Grandmother as well, so I want to go to Tongjian Garden with Grandmother?”
Upon hearing this, Madam Gao was initially surprised, but soon a faint joy welled up in her heart.
“This child,” she thought, “is like a savior to me. I’ve been worried about finding a proper excuse to visit Huo Lang.”
Although she didn’t particularly like this cousin from the Fang family, she couldn’t bring herself to dislike her son.
Madam Gao replied, “Since the young master has said so, I’ll accompany you to Tongjian Garden to meet your grandfather.”
“Great!” Huo Xi, with a loud voice, walked over to Madam Gao and extended his chubby little hand, pleading softly, “Grandmother, please take Xi’s hand and go.”
Madam Gao, looking at Huo Xi’s adorable demeanor, suddenly remembered that Huo Changjue, when he was this age, had also grown up from this small.
Children of this age are the most adorable. After seven or eight years old, Huo Changjue was no longer as playful and didn’t like to be close to her, his mother, as much.
But remembering that Huo Xi was a child from the main family, Madam Gao hesitated for a moment and didn’t immediately take his little hand.
Huo Xi’s face showed disappointment. He slowly withdrew his hand and hung his little head down, his clear voice soon filled with a whining tone, “Wuwu, does grandmother hate Xi?”
Madam Gao was taken aback. When Huo Xi looked up again, his eyes quickly filled with tears, looking pitiful.
Is this child made of water? How can he cry so easily?!
Madam Gao hurriedly had her maid wipe Huo Xi’s tears and thought, if this crying continued to Huo Lang’s place, it would be a disaster.
Lord Minister would surely question her about what was going on.
She thought, “How could such good fortune just fall from the sky?”
With this in mind, Madam Gao took the handkerchief from the maid and bent down to wipe the little one’s tears herself, trying to comfort him gently, “Good child, don’t cry, how could grandmother hate you?”
Huo Xi sniffled and asked again with a choked voice, “No! Grandmother must hate me. It’s because you hate me that you spoke to Mother that way.”
“Wuwuwu, if Xi has upset grandmother in any way, please tell me. Xi will change, wuwuwu…”
Hearing the child’s pitiful crying, Madam Gao’s heart grew increasingly frantic, afraid that any further delay on the road would bring Mr. Su, the steward sent by Lord Minister, to hurry them. If Mr. Su thought that she made Huo Xi cry and mentioned it to Huo Lang, she would be unable to clear her name even if she jumped into the Yellow River.
Huo Xi had overheard her conversation with Ruan An.
Such a young child wouldn’t have any ulterior motives. Madam Gao thought to herself that she had been somewhat cold to the child usually. Moreover, the tone she had used in speaking with Fang’s family today wasn’t very polite either. Naturally, Huo Xi would think that she disliked him, or even hated him.
“Grandmother doesn’t hate Xi’er, and I wasn’t… targeting your mother. Please stop crying.”
Huo Xi gradually managed to stop his sobbing.
Madam Gao sighed in relief, feeling that if the child continued crying, it might shorten her life by a year.
She quickly wiped the tear stains from the child’s face with a handkerchief, and coaxed Huo Xi for a good while.
For a moment, Madam Gao even felt that, although Huo Xi was small, his impact was not insignificant.
His crying was even more dreadful than his father, who was like a living Yama, the god of death!
On the way to Tongjian Garden, Huo Xi didn’t cry or make a fuss anymore.
Madam Gao thought that the emotions of a child come and go quickly, but she still felt anxious and apprehensive, fearing that Huo Xi might say something in front of Huo Lang.
She cautiously brought Huo Xi into the hall, where the little one quickly ran to Huo Lang’s wheelchair.
Huo Lang stroked the boy’s head and looked towards Madam Gao with a faint voice, “Why did you come too?”
Madam Gao was somewhat at a loss for words, but Huo Xi spoke before her, loudly saying to Huo Lang, “I saw Grandmother on the way and asked her to come with me.”
Huo Lang’s eyes were deep and he asked again, “Why did you suddenly think to bring your grandmother along?”
Madam Gao felt her heart almost leap to her throat, fearing that the child would speak of the incident just now. She didn’t want to be scolded by Huo Lang.
But Huo Xi sweetly replied, “Because Grandmother is so good to me, and she probably misses Grandfather. She wanted to come and see Grandfather too.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Huo Lang glanced at Madam Gao and asked faintly.
Madam Gao nodded, and the heart she had been holding finally settled.
As her tense nerves relaxed, Madam Gao suddenly felt that Huo Xi was a likable child, and his mother hadn’t really caused her any trouble.
Ruan An only met Concubine Jiang by accident, and there’s no need for her to take this minor incident too seriously with her daughter-in-law.
Rather, it was the lady of the He family who, while speaking of this matter yesterday, deliberately steered the conversation to imply that Ruan An was intentionally trying to win over the Jiang family and Huo Leshi.
Madam Gao clicked her tongue twice in her heart.
It seems that the lady of the He family is not quite sincere, but she is, after all, her own daughter-in-law, and she still needs to be properly guided in the future.
After Huo Changjue finished his official duties at the Dongshi (East Market) Office, he returned to the mansion, by which time it was already dusk.
He happened to meet Huo Pingxiao, who was returning from the suburban camp. Today, Huo Pingxiao rode an ordinary Ferghana horse. After the stable boy led the horse to the stables on the west side, Huo Changjue approached Huo Pingxiao, preparing to have a chat with his elder brother on the road.
Unexpectedly, Huo Pingxiao spoke first today, his face stern and his voice calm as he advised, “Your new wife seems restless. Talk to her when you return, and don’t let her cause trouble in the inner quarters.”
Huo Changjue promptly agreed, then mentioned, “By the way, brother, Li Yifang has asked for a couple more days off recently.”
The incident in the Xishi market (West Market) made Huo Changjue aware of some secret romantic involvement between Huo Pingxiao and a female doctor surnamed Ruan.
It seems that Huo Xi’s biological mother is that doctor, and the cousin from the Fang family was merely his caretaker.
Of course, his brother must have also had feelings for the Fang family during his time in Jiannan Road.
For a man like his brother, having several female confidantes is quite normal.
As his younger brother, he couldn’t criticize, let alone casually discuss his brother’s private matters with others.
And it seemed that it was because of that doctor that his brother was particularly wary of Li Yifang.
As expected by Huo Changjue, the mention of Li Yifang sparked Huo Pingxiao’s interest.
He glanced casually and asked seemingly without intention, “Isn’t he a diligent and good official? Why does he keep asking for leave from his duties?”
Huo Changjue truthfully replied, “It seems he went to Jiazhou. That doctor surnamed Ruan appears to be from Jiazhou. Since his mother disapproves of his marriage to the doctor, he probably went to Jiazhou to find her.”
After saying this, Huo Changjue, like Li Yifang, was quite curious about the whereabouts of the doctor.
Had Miss Ruan returned to Jiazhou, or had his brother arranged for her to be hidden away in a golden house?
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Huo Pingxiao sneer.
The man spoke again, his voice carrying a chilling coldness as he uttered four words: “Presuming too much affection.”
Sensing the man’s aura suddenly becoming more intense, Huo Changjue dared not say more, though he deeply agreed.
The woman his brother admired, not even the emperor would dare to contend with him for her. Li Yifang, merely an official from a humble background, could be completely blocked off by Huo Pingxiao with a mere flick of his finger.
Li Yifang truly should know when to stop. It’s not worth ruining his future just to provoke his brother.
As the two walked on the cobblestone road, they saw Huo Xi and his nanny approaching them.
Realizing Huo Xi was looking for him, Huo Pingxiao halted his steps.
The man’s eyes, previously cold, gradually warmed. He looked down at the little one and asked leisurely, “Little devil, what brings you to seek out your father?”
