Chapter 17: Caught Stealing a Kiss from My Husband

Looking at the little girl before him, sleeping soundly yet exuding an innocent allure, Xu An felt an indescribable flutter within his heart. He leaned in and gently pressed a light kiss on her forehead. Then, he began to quietly contemplate the plans ahead.

Earlier that day in the city, he had inquired with the candy shop owner about the prices of sugar. In the county seat of Linyuan, the most common black sugar was about one hundred wen per jin, while the slightly better-quality brown sugar sold for two hundred wen per jin. The finest white sugar, however, commanded a staggering five hundred wen per jin—a veritable fortune.

In Xu An’s eyes, that so-called white sugar hardly deserved the name; it was riddled with impurities and appeared dull and grayish. Judging by the market prices, the white sugar he could produce himself should fetch at least six to seven hundred wen per jin. With this in mind, if he used the proceeds from sales to purchase raw sugar for refining, he could earn enough silver—about two taels—to pay off the high-interest debts that the original owner had incurred.

Of course, there would be some loss during the refining process. Still, the candy shop owner had promised additional benefits, which would be another source of income.

Once the debts were cleared, Xu An would need to start saving for the winter. The winters in the Great Wei lasted long—around three to four months. During this period, aside from planting a few radishes and cabbages, the fields yielded little else. Therefore, it was essential to stockpile rice, flour, cured meat, and other foods in advance. If these preparations weren’t made before the heavy snows sealed the mountains, venturing into the city later would be far more difficult.

To ensure a supply of vegetables, Xu An decided that in a couple of days he would till the land and plant radishes, cabbages, greens, and chili peppers. People needed more than just filling their stomachs; vitamins were necessary too.

Most of the Xu family’s land had been squandered by the original owner, but there was still nearly half an acre left—enough to grow some vegetables. Xu An had also considered building a new house, but it was too late to do so before the new year. For now, he would just renovate the old one and wait until after winter to start anew. He certainly didn’t want to live in that dilapidated shack indefinitely.

Furniture also needed to be made, as the old, broken items at home were unusable. However, all of this required a considerable amount of money. Patience was necessary.

Xu An believed that with the knowledge and ideas he possessed—far ahead of this world—becoming the wealthiest man in Great Wei was within reach. Even ranking among the richest in the entire realm would be no great challenge.

But wealth without power was precarious. Xu An had no intention of wasting time on studying for the imperial exams. It was not only time-consuming and laborious, but passing was far from guaranteed. The population of Great Wei exceeded eighty million, with nearly seven to eight hundred thousand candidates per exam, yet only thirty to forty gained official recognition. The difficulty surpassed even that of entering the top universities in his original world.

His plan was to accumulate enough wealth to secretly raise a band of loyal warriors—a private army. Then, anyone who dared scheme against him would have to think twice, including the emperor himself.

After all, it was still the era of cold weapons. With enough money, one could truly act with impunity.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, sleep gradually overtook Xu An.

***

The next morning, dawn’s rosy light filtered through the window cracks, gently rousing the little girl. She realized she was lying in her husband’s embrace.

“I don’t recall going to bed last night. How did I end up here?” Her cheeks flushed as she covered her face with small hands, as if a sudden realization had struck her.

“Could it be that my husband carried me to bed?” she wondered. “But why am I in his arms?” A blissful smile spread across her face. Surely, it was because it was cold last night and her husband’s embrace was so warm that she had curled up with him without knowing how.

At this moment, Xu An was still fast asleep, too exhausted from the previous night to wake. The girl quietly peeked out her head and gazed at him in a daze.

Despite the original owner’s uselessness and foolishness, his appearance was quite remarkable—fair-skinned, sharply defined features, sword-like eyebrows, and piercing eyes. Apart from being a bit thin and lacking muscle, he possessed the looks of a leading young star. Truly handsome.

“My husband is so strikingly handsome!” Su Yan’er admired him, entranced.

Suddenly, in a whimsical impulse, she brushed a light kiss on Xu An’s face, then covered her flushed cheeks with trembling hands. Her heart pounded wildly, uncontrollable—an entirely new sensation for her.

A wave of unprecedented shyness surged within her.

“Why... why did I do such an embarrassing thing? If my husband finds out, will he think I’m too easy, too wanton? Hmm... I must not do this again unless he initiates it…”

Su Yan’er’s face burned so fiercely it seemed about to bleed, and her eyes darted away, unable to meet Xu An’s gaze. Yet her eyes couldn’t help but fall on him again, stirring another flutter in her heart.

“But my husband is really so handsome… I want to kiss him again, just a little kiss…”

As she pondered, she puckered her lips and leaned toward Xu An. Just then, his long eyelashes twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The little girl froze in surprise.

“Yan’er, what are you doing?” Xu An asked in confusion at her proximity.

“N-nothing... Husband, listen, I didn’t... I...” Startled, the girl blushed deeply, flustered and nervous, stumbling over her words as she tried to explain. Her heart screamed in panic—she had been found out! She shouldn’t have been greedy and kissed him twice. Her husband might misunderstand her as an unchaste woman. What should she do?

The more anxious she became, the more clumsy her speech.

Xu An rubbed his eyes and looked at her, puzzled by her behavior. But when he saw her flushed face, he was startled.

“Yan’er, why is your face so red? Could it be you got caught in the rain last night and have a fever?”

He quickly reached out to feel her forehead.

“It’s burning hot!” Xu An’s heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. She was indeed running a fever, and it seemed quite serious.

Medical conditions in this world were poor; a simple cold or fever could be fatal if untreated.

“Quick, Yan’er, lie down. I’ll help bring down your temperature physically.” Xu An’s sleepiness vanished. He gently pressed the little girl back onto the bed, covering her with a blanket, then swiftly dressed and went outside to fetch a basin of cold water. Late autumn well water was already quite chilly—perfect for cooling her down.

Watching Xu An’s worried hurry, the little girl felt dizzy. It seemed her husband hadn’t noticed her stolen kisses but had mistaken her flushed face for illness. How could she explain this to him? She couldn’t simply say she blushed because she kissed him—that would be far too embarrassing and might cause misunderstanding.

Yet her husband cared so much for her, growing so anxious. No one had ever shown her such concern before. If she remained silent and let him worry, that would be unfair—he had his own important matters to attend to. She must be a sensible wife.

Her heart was a muddle of emotions, but a resolute light soon shone in her eyes as she made a decision.

At that moment, Xu An returned with the damp towel in hand.

“Here, Yan’er, I’ll use this wet towel to cool you down. Later, I’ll go to the city to get you some medicine. Rest well—you’ll be better soon.”

He moved to press the damp cloth to her forehead, but Su Yan’er quickly stopped him, her face aflame, stammering, “Hu-husband, I... I’m not sick. Just now... I saw how handsome you are, so... I stole a kiss.”

Fearing misunderstanding, she hurriedly added, “Husband, I’m sorry. I only do this with you—I would never do this with anyone else. I’m not an unchaste woman.”

Her face glowed even redder, as if aflame, and she avoided his gaze, utterly mortified.

Xu An was momentarily stunned. Then, with a mischievous smile, he tossed the towel back into the basin as if discarding trash.

“So that’s how it is. Seems I misunderstood. Do you want to kiss me again now, Yan’er? I’m right here—come on, one more kiss?”

He leaned closer to her.

The little girl was speechless.