His Peasant Wife: Yao Ling

After spending the night together, the awkwardness started to lessen a bit. Their relationship started to change for the better. They decided to prepare for their journey and leave in a few days. They went together to the nearest town, buying necessities for their trip.

They lived in the Shu Kingdom. The continent was divided into three kingdoms, Shu, Qin, and Han. Currently, they lived in a peaceful era. The three countries had signed a peace treaty. Yao Ying and Yao Ling were just commoners that didn't engage in any politics, but they knew their kingdom was the strongest. The other two kingdoms didn't dare to declare war blindly, hence the current peacefulness.

There were several statuses for the people in their kingdom. Peasant was one of them. Though Yao Ling's mother practiced medicine, she still had to rely on farming for their daily necessities. Jiu Lan was kindhearted, sometimes she cured people without being paid. Informally, peasant meant a person of low social status. It can be said both Yao Ling and Yao Ying were at the bottom of society.

Yao Ying and Yao Ling decided to head to the capital. That's the only place to get many pieces of information easily. They knew the chance for Yao Ying to find his past was bigger because of his 'Xiao" jade. They could reduce the possibilities by looking for Xiao families. Their village was quite far from the capital and it would take a few months to get there.

Yao Ying teased Yao Ling, "Just take this as our honeymoon trip." He smiled mischievously, making Yao Ling blush. There was no one that they left behind, so they didn't really need to say farewell to anyone. They just left the village behind without a second look. They were ready for the next phase of their life.

"We are not really in a hurry. We can just enjoy each city and stay there for a little while. Maybe if I were alone without memories, I'd try to find my past like a lunatic. My mind is like a blank canvas and it's scary. But now… I have you. I'm quite content with our marriage. Why don't we also enjoy ourselves?" Yao Ying proposed a plan.

Yao Ying actually did it for her. He knew Yao Ling was still sad, but this stubborn girl concealed it. If he didn't know her any better, he wouldn't have known about her sadness. Yes, she still smiled, but it wasn't genuinely cheery like before and sometimes it didn't reach her eyes. He didn't know why, but it didn't sit well for him to see her sad.

Yao Ling was quite surprised with his idea; she thought he would go straight to the capital to find any available information. She was happy with the idea though, maybe it would distract her from missing her mother.

They went to the nearest city, An Yang. It only took a few days. When they arrived, it was already night time, and the city was bustling with a merry atmosphere. It seemed like there was a celebration. Their village was quite remote and rarely had any celebration. That was why they didn't know what kind of celebration it was. Yao Ying asked one of the pedestrians about the event.

"Ah… are you guys new here? Enjoy the festival then! This is the Seven's Festival. This is the day to worship the stars and for the young girl to pray for a good husband." The pedestrian was a young man. After looking at Yao Ling, he was stunned. The girl beside the man was truly a beauty!

"Young miss… it will be the perfect time for you to pray too!" The young man tried to flirt with Yao Ling. "Maybe you can find a good husband. What is your name?"

Yao Ying's face slightly darkened. Was that man flirting with his wife in front of him? He felt a sudden feeling of possessiveness. He grabbed Yao Ling's waist and pulled her to him, "I'm sorry! She already has a husband." The young man looked disappointed, but he respected them. He still smiled and bid the couple farewell.

Yao Ling looked at Yao Ying in surprise. Did he feel jealous? After realizing Yao Ling's gaze at him, Yao Ying awkwardly released her and blushed. Yao Ling laughed and felt her husband was really cute. Between husband and wife, there was bound to be a feeling of possessiveness and she understood that. She felt so happy that he felt the same as her!

They walked around and heard this festival also held an important meaning for a newlywed couple. Yao Ling asked Yao Ying, "Husband, should we go pray to the temple? After that, we can find an inn to stay." Yao Ying agreed to her request. They headed to a temple and decided to worship the celestials.

Both of them were in sync and prayed for a happy marriage, hoping they could fall in love with each other. They felt quite lucky. They weren't deeply in love, but at least they trusted each other. Their interaction before the marriage made them know each other's characters well. Other people usually got married even without knowing each other's face and personalities.

After praying, they passed by a crowded main street. There were a lot of people, looking at a beautifully decorated stage.

"Come… come… join our competition. Ladies only! Show us your embroidery skill under low-light conditions! The winner wins 20 silver taels[1]!" A middle-aged man shouted loudly, promoting the competition.

Yao Ling's eyes lit up after hearing the man. She looked at Yao Ying expectantly, "Can I join the competition?"

"Sure, just enjoy yourself." It meant she didn't have to force herself to win, so there was no pressure. Yao Ying didn't realize that he started to dote on his wife.

Yao Ling just grinned at him and nodded excitedly. She quickly went up to the stage along with other five young ladies. They were given red handkerchiefs and they had to make a couple of mandarin ducks under the glow of an ember. They were only given roughly half a shichen[2]. It was quite hard!

Yao Ling started to embroider at a fast speed. Her hands worked skillfully without a pause, making the audience gaped at her in surprise – even the host too! "Young ladies, don't forget about the quality of the mandarin ducks shape. Even you finish the embroidery very fast, but the mandarin ducks look ugly, then you still won't become the winner! We also judge the embroidery quality!" Of course, this sentence was directed to Yao Ling. The other participants were two or three times slower than her.

What the host said made the audience laughed – except for Yao Ying. He gritted his teeth trying to hold back his anger! The host didn't have to humiliate his wife like that! However, he looked at Yao Ling's serene expressions. The laughter didn't bother her, so he didn't make a scene. He believed in his wife.

After the competition time ended, the participants had to show their embroidery to the audience. Before they did it, the host was curious about Yao Ling's embroidery. When he peeked at it, he gasped loudly. The audience thought the result must be really bad due to the host's reaction. They laughed at Yao Ling and some of them even mocked her.

Yao Ying couldn't stand to see his wife being bullied!

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[1]. Taels: Ancient Chinese Currency.

---Edited by: L0v3lamb---