Half a month passed in a blink. During this time, people from the palace came twice, and the masters above bestowed many tonics and a secret scar-removing ointment. Thanks to this ointment, the two scars on An Sheng's face disappeared completely. His once fearsome appearance was gone, revealing his original features.
"Husband, Godfather, I bought some fried dough sticks, they're still warm. Let's eat them while they're hot." Early in the morning, A Mei came trotting in from outside carrying a basket, her little face flushed from the run.
It was stuffy indoors today, so An Sheng and An Gui were sitting in the courtyard drinking tea. Lifting his eyes to meet A Mei's bright, smiling face, An Sheng frowned and scolded, "How old are you now, to be so reckless!"
A Mei pouted, obediently said "Oh," and glanced at An Sheng from the corner of her eye, not looking the least bit afraid.
An Sheng glared at her. "This master sees you're getting bolder and bolder. Have you forgotten everything I usually tell you?"
An Gui waved his hand with a chuckle. "Alright, enough lecturing. A Mei is young, it's natural for her to be lively."
An Sheng snorted, raised his face, and looked sideways at A Mei, saying irritably, "Godfather, you just spoil her. This girl is only so brazen because she knows you'll back her up. Look at how she's become after just a few days, nothing like before."
These words came straight from An Sheng's heart.
When An Sheng first saw A Mei, he thought she was a young woman, simple-minded, timid, and fearful. She seemed submissive and obedient towards him, easy to control and afraid of him, which naturally satisfied him.
But ever since their marriage, this woman had become less and less afraid of him. Not just unafraid, ever since he agreed she could occasionally return to her maiden home to visit her younger brother, she had practically become overjoyed. At night, she would sleep like a child burrowing into his arms, making him lose sleep every night—that was bad enough. During the day, she would still find excuses to stick close to him, truly impossible to shoo away.
An Sheng felt extremely awkward, yet a strange emotion also stirred in his heart. In short, deep down, he wasn't annoyed by it.
An Gui chuckled meaningfully, giving An Sheng a long look, and drawled, "Fine, it's this master who spoils her, has nothing to do with you."
A Mei couldn't understand these subtleties. She was feeling happy inside because today she was going to see her younger brother and father!
It all started a few days ago when she went to the market to buy groceries and happened to run into her father and younger brother selling vegetables from a stall. Only then did A Mei learn that after she came to the An family, her father had also turned over a new leaf, bringing her brother into the city to become a small vendor.
Being able to see her brother and father again, and seeing her father find a proper livelihood to support her brother, naturally moved A Mei to tears of joy.
Then, A Mei returned home with red-rimmed eyes and nervously told her husband about it.
A Mei remembered her husband sneering at the time, his face cold as he said, "Women are so prone to crying. Since you miss your father and brother, just go visit them more often when you have free time. It's not like this master has you chained at home forbidding you from going out. Crying like that makes it seem like this master mistreats you!"
Finally, her husband glared at her with a dark expression and threw out another sentence, "This master gives you plenty for expenses. Buy whatever you want for your maiden family, no need to report to this master. If it's not enough, just ask this master for more."
From then on, A Mei simply believed her husband was the best, the very best person in the world.
An Gui was amused to see how things had reversed from A Mei avoiding his godson at the beginning to now his godson avoiding A Mei. After all, for eunuchs like them, having a family was truly not easy.
Finally, another letter arrived from the palace, bringing two pieces of news.
First, An Sheng was to return to the palace.
Second, An Sheng had been promoted.
The corners of An Sheng's mouth lifted, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. "This master's beating taken for the Second Prince was indeed not in vain."
A Mei stared with wide eyes, not understanding. She couldn't read either, her eyes darting repeatedly towards the letter in An Sheng's hand. "What do you mean, husband took a beating for the Second Prince?"
An Sheng shot A Mei a disdainful glance. "What do you know? Don't ask about things you shouldn't!"
"Oh." A Mei immediately became obedient.
An Gui, however, now wore a grave expression. "Sheng'er, after this incident, everyone in the palace will know you are the Second Prince's man now. If the Second Prince ascends to that position, you will rise high. But if the Second Prince ultimately fails to sit on that throne, none of us will survive."
An Sheng sneered. "Are we afraid of death?" As he spoke, his gaze paused on A Mei, then he revealed a peculiar smile.
He waved at A Mei. "Come, come sit by this master."
A Mei immediately moved her stool close to An Sheng.
An Sheng took A Mei's hand, his long, slender fingers gently stroking the back of her not-so-delicate hand. "A Mei, tell this master the truth, are you afraid of death?"
A Mei nodded honestly, pursing her lips and whispering, "A Mei is afraid of death."
An Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly, his slender gaze fixed on A Mei with a seemingly amused expression. "Being afraid is useless. Since you've entered the An family, your life is no longer yours to decide. This master is striving for our family's future in the palace. If I strive well, we all prosper. If I fail, we all have to die, and die horribly at that. Don't blame this master for not making it clear to you beforehand."
An Sheng's words were light, but they sounded exceptionally sinister to A Mei's ears. A Mei trembled slightly in fear, swallowing nervously, and nodded dazedly. "A Mei understands."
"Alright, stop scaring her. I've already told her these things." An Gui glanced at An Sheng, stood up, and walked towards the inner room. "Let's eat first. After eating, this master has some matters to discuss with you."
An Sheng agreed, then snorted at A Mei, who was standing there lost in thought. "Aren't you going to prepare?"
A Mei, still unsettled by her husband's words, snapped back to reality and hurried off to prepare.
After the family of three finished their meal, An Gui led An Sheng to the inner hall. A Mei, having cleared the dishes, had nothing to do and so fetched her needlework to sit by the door threading a needle.
The shoe insoles in A Mei's hands were almost finished. They were embroidered with peonies. A Mei's embroidery skills were passable. Ever since her mother passed away, she had been the one embroiding shoe insoles for her father and brother.
Soon, A Mei passed the last stitch, tied a knot, bit off the thread, and a pair of shoe insoles was complete.
"What is this?"
A sharp voice came from above. A Mei was startled. Looking up, she met An Sheng's slightly impatient expression.
A Mei immediately raised a smiling face, presenting the shoe insoles in her hands like a treasure, bringing them close to An Sheng. "Husband, these are shoe insoles A Mei made for you. Do you like them?"
An Sheng looked down at A Mei's cautious, almost ingratiating expression towards him. For no reason, his heart seemed to clench. He kept his face taut to conceal his current unnatural expression, reaching out to take the insoles seemingly casually. He raised an eyebrow, his face still showing little emotion, and snorted. "Embroidering peonies for this master? How did you come up with that? So vulgar and ugly. Hmph!"
Even as he said this, An Sheng's hands tightly gripped the pair of shoe insoles.
A Mei heard her husband's tone, which seemed to indicate he didn't like it, and she pouted her lips in grievance, timidly retorting, "But it's really quite pretty." This was the most beautiful, most exquisite pattern A Mei knew how to embroider, yet her husband called it tacky and ugly. It was clear he didn't like it and didn't want it. Thinking of this, A Mei felt somewhat sad.
An Sheng didn't catch what she said, his brow slightly furrowed. "What did you say?"
A Mei hung her head, her lips pursed slightly, wearing an unmistakably unhappy expression.
A corner of An Sheng's eye twitched. He thought to himself, this girl's courage was really growing. Now she dared to give him attitude!
An Sheng's face darkened, and he opened his mouth to scold her. But looking down at A Mei's pitiful, wronged appearance, what came out instead was an impatient tone: "Alright, alright. The embroidery is fine. Our household will accept it. What time is it? Isn't there any work to be done at home? Why are you still standing here?"
A Mei's eyes widened instantly, and her whole being brightened with happiness. "I'm glad you like it, husband. A Mei will go do the chores right away."
The slanting sunlight streamed into the courtyard, falling upon A Mei. The young girl's light, skipping figure seemed to possess a magic that deeply captivated An Sheng's gaze, holding it for a long, long time.
