As soon as An Sheng finished speaking, Cui Gudao's face instantly flushed with anger. His gaze fell on the dazed A Mei beside An Sheng, and ultimately, mindful of his own dignity, he gave a heavy snort, waved his hand, and directly showed them the door.
On the journey back, the two sat inside the carriage.
Perhaps A Mei's gaze was too direct, as An Sheng spoke up helplessly, "Alright now, even if you keep staring, flowers won't bloom on my face."
At that moment, A Mei's eyes were sparkling, filled with admiration and worship, fixed intently on him.
"Husband, you're so amazing. A Mei saw that Lord Cui's face turn green with anger."
"That Lord Cui is an Imperial Commissioner, right? Yet husband didn't even bat an eye. A Mei thinks husband is really, truly amazing."
A Mei's little mouth was slightly agape, her eyes practically twinkling with stars. An Sheng looked at her awed and adoring expression, feeling a wave of pleasure wash over him.
An Sheng loved it when A Mei's heart and eyes were completely filled with him.
Narrowing his eyes, An Sheng thought of the official business from this trip, and a shadow fell over his heart again. Lord Cui was right; the journey was more than half over. Despite his calm and composed exterior, inwardly he was just as anxious as that Cui Gudao.
If he failed in this task, his head wouldn't be safe. An Sheng naturally valued his life and was prepared to succeed or die trying, but...
An Sheng looked at the pure-hearted A Mei beside him and thought, No! I must succeed. If I die, A Mei won't survive either. In the past, it wouldn't have mattered much, but now... I can't bear to leave her.
Perhaps afraid of frightening A Mei, An Sheng lowered his eyelids, hiding the brutality and bloodlust in his eyes.
A Mei was overjoyed, with her husband by her side again. She was positively bouncing with energy—one moment lifting the carriage curtain to peek left and right, the next moment snuggling up to An Sheng for hugs and nuzzles. When she spotted a stall selling snacks, she would coquettishly beg her husband to buy some for her.
An Sheng had always indulged A Mei's every wish and was naturally happy to humor her girlish whims.
Upon returning to their residence, An Sheng became busy. Having been away these days, a considerable amount of work had piled up.
A Mei didn't disturb her husband. While An Sheng handled official matters, she would serve tea and grind ink by his side. After finishing that, she would go aside to study characters and practice writing. With nothing else to do, she would do needlework. Having finished embroidering the handkerchief last time, A Mei started making shoe insoles for An Sheng.
An Sheng naturally didn't want A Mei to overexert herself, but A Mei said that just thinking of her husband using things she made filled her heart with joy, so An Sheng let her be.
Sometimes, seeing her truly bored, An Sheng would order his subordinates to find more popular storybooks recently in circulation, thinking it would help A Mei pass the time and incidentally allow her to read more characters.
A Mei actually enjoyed reading these storybooks. When An Sheng first gave them to her, she had frowned, thinking she had just finished laboriously studying the Thousand Character Classic and Three Character Classic, so why were there so many more books? But once she started reading, she was immediately captivated by the thrilling tales and couldn't put them down.
When she encountered characters she didn't recognize, she would ask her husband. If there were too many unfamiliar characters, A Mei would pout and coax An Sheng into reading to her.
A Mei absolutely adored the way her husband looked with his eyes lowered, his voice gentle and unhurried as he told her stories.
During those moments, A Mei felt her heart tremble.
These past couple of days, A Mei had been engrossed in a storybook called The Tale of Seeking Clouds. It told of a newlywed couple during wartime who were separated by a twist of fate and later overcame numerous obstacles to reunite.
Reading about the male lead offending someone and nearly being beaten to death, and the female lead being deceived and almost violated, A Mei was so upset she skipped lunch. She couldn't help but scoot over to An Sheng to vent, finally exclaiming with a sigh, "Why are there so many wicked people? These two are so miserable, truly pitiful."
An Sheng scoffed and snorted coldly, "That man is incompetent. His fate is in others' hands, and he can't even protect his own woman. If I were him, I'd rather dash my head against a wall."
A Mei disagreed somewhat and argued delicately with her husband, "But, they kept fighting back. It's just that the villains were too evil, that's why it turned out this way. Although A Mei hasn't finished the story yet, I know the ending must be good. It's called, called... ah, right, 'lovers eventually become a family'."
An Sheng sneered, "There aren't that many 'lovers eventually becoming a family'. In my view, these stories are just to fool you naive, inexperienced girls."
A Mei pouted and fell silent.
Seeing this, An Sheng immediately pulled A Mei into his arms, settling her on his lap. He pecked her pouting lips and softened his voice to coax her, "Aiya, why the anger now? I was only speaking the truth."
A Mei humphed. What bothered her wasn't the story itself, but her husband's words, 'There aren't that many lovers eventually becoming a family.'
Leaning against An Sheng's warm chest, A Mei spoke sullenly, "Then what about A Mei and husband? Can't we be 'lovers eventually becoming a family'?"
So that was it. An Sheng's heart instantly softened. He spoke matter-of-factly, "I was talking about that incompetent man, not about myself. What, don't you know in your heart whether your husband is capable or not?"
A Mei's face immediately brightened. Her moist eyes gazed seriously at An Sheng, her tone filled with happy excitement, "I know, I know! Husband is the most capable! So husband and A Mei will be 'lovers eventually becoming a family'!"
An Sheng was amused by A Mei's swift change of expression. He tapped her nose, raised an eyebrow, and pretended to be stern, "Alright now, these storybooks are just for casual reading. If you get so lost in them again that you forget to eat, I'll have to punish you."
Nestled in An Sheng's embrace, A Mei rubbed her smooth cheek comfortably against his chest, feeling a warmth in her heart. She nodded repeatedly, "Mm, A Mei worried husband. It won't happen again."
"Good girl."
