An Sheng did not attend the morning court today. The Emperor had permitted him to first arrange the official duties of the Neihang Factory clearly, so he simply decided to finish his breakfast at home before leaving.
A Mei's father had taken Douzi to school early in the morning.
The An residence was unusually quiet today, and the atmosphere was particularly oppressive. A Mei, An Sheng, and An Gui sat around the table. The servants waiting on them walked so carefully that they dared not make a sound. For a time, the only noise in the entire room was the sporadic clinking of bowls and chopsticks.
An Gui slowly drank his porridge, quietly sweeping his gaze over A Mei. Even with makeup on, she could not hide her red, swollen eyes, nor the corners of her lips which were both swollen and visibly scabbed. His cloudy eyes were filled with an obscure darkness.
Beside her, An Sheng kept a straight face, revealing neither joy nor anger.
A Mei, who was usually the most lively, wore an expression that anyone with eyes could see meant she was feeling down and had something weighing on her mind.
A Mei was naturally unhappy. She forced herself to finish a bowl of plain porridge. Thinking about packing her husband's belongings for his trip ahead of time, she said that she was full, and left.
As soon as A Mei left, An Gui's face darkened.
He waved away the serving servants. Once only he and An Sheng were left in the room, An Gui slammed his chopsticks heavily onto the table.
"Sheng-er, how could you treat her like this!"
His tone was sterner than it had been in years.
An Sheng blanked for a moment. He looked up to meet An Gui's gaze, his brows furrowed tightly, and called out, "Godfather."
An Gui's eyes were full of disappointment and anger. "You really think you are so capable now!"
"Hmph, I got you a wife not for you to ruin and bully as you please. I do not care about other women, but not A Mei. She calls me Godfather along with you, which means she is the daughter-in-law I have acknowledged. You cannot hurt her!"
A flash crossed An Sheng's eyes. He was about to retort, but remembering the fact that he had almost lost control yesterday, he immediately shut his mouth again.
This silence, in An Gui's eyes, was tantamount to a tacit admission!
An Gui was angry and anxious, yet spoke with earnestness, "Godfather has known from the start that your nature is bloodthirsty and tyrannical, but that is for enemies and outsiders. You cannot treat the person in your own house like this."
"Over the years, Godfather saw that you had no interest in women. I got you a wife so you could have someone in your room who cares for you and lives a good life with you. I see how much you like A Mei and know it in my heart. A Mei is an especially good child. Everything was fine before, so how could you bring yourself to raise a hand against her now?"
Seeing An Sheng still looking silent, An Gui grew furious, and finally let out a heavy sigh.
"You child! If you must be like this, I can secretly set up a few mistresses for you outside behind A Mei's back. You can do whatever you want with them. But as long as you are in the An mansion, you must treat A Mei well, otherwise do not acknowledge me as your Godfather!"
An Sheng...
An Sheng was choked by An Gui's words, his face turning blue and red for a good while. Finally, he could only helplessly explain, "Godfather, you are overthinking."
"I cherish and respect A Mei. It is just that I am not taking her with me on my inspection tour this time, so she is feeling awkward and upset about it."
An Gui finally relaxed, his expression easing. "So that is how it is."
An Gui picked up his bowl and chopsticks again. "This inspection tour involves the border army. The journey is long and unsafe, unlike your last trip to the South. You are right not to take her."
An Sheng gave a hum of agreement.
An Gui added, "Then you should coax her a bit and speak more softly to her."
"That is natural." An Sheng agreed. Not knowing what he suddenly thought of, he let out a chuckle and gave An Gui an indescribable look. "I am already busy enough on normal days. Godfather, please never take matters into your own hands in the future and cause trouble for me. If you really set up mistresses for me behind A Mei's back, with A Mei's current temper, if she finds out, your godson's good days will truly come to an end."
An Gui...
The imperial decree for An Sheng to patrol on behalf of the Emperor soon came down. Such a great honor shocked the court and the public. For a time, the name of the Neihang Factory Commander An Sheng spread from the capital to the entire country.
His prominence directly rivaled that of Eunuch Yan Bing of the previous dynasty's Neihang Factory!
For a time, his glory was unmatched!
A Mei also became busy.
She had to personally handle all the preparations for An Sheng's trip, no matter how small the detail.
For this, A Mei even specially instructed people to inquire about the climate and seasons at the border. Hearing that severe winters there often brought heavy snows that sealed off the cities, she became incredibly worried, and her preparations became even more meticulous.
The scale of this inspection tour was massive, and the personnel were numerous. Led by An Sheng, officials from all Six Ministries accompanied him. The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue were in charge of material allocation. When it came to An Sheng, naturally, every little thing was of the highest quality.
However, A Mei was not at ease. She prepared many extra cold-proof clothes, and even personally dripped water onto his felt shoes to test if they were waterproof.
An Sheng saw this and his heart ached for her, but he let her busy herself inside and out. He had no choice and felt helpless, fearing that if she had free time, she would make a fuss about insisting on going with him.
However, aside from the very beginning, A Mei did not make a fuss anymore.
During the day, she managed the preparation of An Sheng's luggage, and at night, she stayed up sewing a cloak distributed by the imperial court.
Given An Sheng's rank, the cloak was naturally excellent and very thick. But whenever A Mei thought of the freezing weather at the border and how slender her husband was, she felt it was not thick enough. When she went through the storehouse and saw a batch of soft, warm fur, she decided to sew it onto the inside of the cloak, so it would definitely be warmer to wear.
In the evening, as soon as An Sheng returned to the room, he saw A Mei sewing by the candlelight. He immediately felt an indescribable heartache. How could he bear to let her do this kind of work now? An Sheng tenderly held A Mei's small hands. "Just let the servants do this kind of work. How can you do it yourself?"
A Mei cast a sidelong glance at An Sheng. "How could that be the same? A Mei just wants her husband to wear what A Mei has made with her own hands. That way, whenever you see this piece of clothing, you will think of A Mei."
"Oh my, Husband, quickly let go. A Mei is almost done sewing."
An Sheng simply stood beside A Mei, lowering his eyes, and watched her finish sewing stitch by stitch.
The candlelight flickered. A Mei's face was full of earnest meticulousness, and her pretty face took on a sweet shyness under An Sheng's gaze. An Sheng's stare was simply too intense for A Mei to ignore. She pursed her lips, and with a touch of bashfulness, she looked up to meet those deep eyes, complaining coquettishly, "With Husband staring like this, A Mei will not be able to sew properly."
This single glance from A Mei seeped directly into the softest part of An Sheng's heart.
An Sheng curled the corners of his lips, his tone gentle. "Why would you not sew properly? I think it looks very good."
A Mei glared at An Sheng, shifting her body slightly to the side, and urged, "Husband, hurry up and wash so you can go to bed. A Mei will be done in a moment."
An Sheng remained unmoved. Instead, he leaned over and breathed into A Mei's ear, "I naturally want to hold A Mei and sleep together. You keep sewing. The servants have already prepared hot water in the bathing room. We can go wash together in a bit."
The unique breath belonging to An Sheng brushed against her, making A Mei's small face turn red. She simply gave An Sheng a shy, delicate glance. "Alright then. Husband, wait for A Mei a moment, it will be done very soon."
"Okay."
