Time Traveling: the Only Beloved Husband

Here, Xia’s father and Shen Xiangyan exchanged pleasantries in the front hall, while in the backyard, Xia Ji hurriedly entered Xia’s mother’s courtyard, disregarding the maidservant following behind him. Before even entering the house, he shouted, “Mother, didn’t you and father say that the boy from the Shen family was ruined, and moreover, wouldn’t live long? How come I heard from the servants that he’s perfectly fine and even brought a lot of valuable things back today?”

“Oh my, my dear daughter, please walk slowly, don’t fall or bump into anything.” The maid beside Xia’s mother hurriedly greeted her as she entered.

After Xia Ji settled down in the room, Li Lanzhi spoke up, “How old are you now, yet still so restless? When the Shen family sent people to inquire before, they said he was in poor health. Didn’t I tell you this before? So how is it that he’s suddenly fine today…” Li Lanzhi tapped her fingers lightly on the table beside her, “Yuma, please invite the young master in to sit. I, as a mother, miss him dearly after not seeing him for these days.”

“Ah, I’ll go call him right away.” Yuma had been with Li Lanzhi before coming to the Xia family, so she immediately understood her mistress’s intention and hurriedly agreed, sending someone to fetch him.

“Mother, why are you inviting that little brat over?” Xia’s mother glared at her daughter, feeling helpless towards her. She lacked any sort of sophistication. It was her own fault for spoiling her too much. In the future, when choosing a son-in-law, she must be more careful.

The servant who came to invite Xia Rong exuded an air of arrogance, striding ahead without caring whether Xia Rong and the others could keep up. In truth, Xia Rong didn’t want to be separated from his husband, but since his mother had invited him, and they had agreed on a reason, he couldn’t refuse.

Following behind Xia Rong, He Miao muttered quietly to his companion He Xin, “Why is the Xia family so ostentatious? Even the servants dare to be so rude when inviting guests.” He Xin quickly pulled on He Miao’s sleeve to stop him from continuing, reminding him that this was a place where rumors could spread.

Xia Rong had been specially dressed by Shen Xiangyan before leaving this morning. He wore a light pink outer garment embroidered with jade magnolia flowers, paired with a water-blue silk jacquard underskirt, all of which were the latest styles from the Embroidery Workshop. Plus, after a month of meticulous care by Shen Xiangyan, the difference between his appearance now and before he got married was like night and day, truly impressive. Xia Ji couldn’t help but feel jealous seeing Xia Rong looking so good, dressed lavishly and attended to by servants. These were all supposed to be hers, but now they were being enjoyed by Xia Rong for free.

Before Xia Rong could finish his greetings, Xia’s mother pulled him up with a face full of pity and said, “Young Master, your absence this past month has made me miss you terribly.”

Xia Rong didn’t know how to respond. In the Xia family before, his mother had always treated him as if he were invisible. They barely exchanged words in a year. When had she ever been so intimate and pulled him in for a chat? He couldn’t possibly tell her that he didn’t miss home, could he?

Luckily, Xia’s mother quickly changed the subject, chatting a bit more casually before feigning concern and asking, “How is your husband’s health? I heard it wasn’t great before. I wonder if it’s improved now?”

Xia Rong looked puzzled. “Where did you hear that? My husband’s health is perfectly fine.” Could it be that his husband wasn’t well? How did he not notice? He needed to ask his husband about it. Could his husband be hiding something from him?

Xia’s mother was also taken aback by his response. Could the rumors be false? What was really going on? Just as Xia’s mother was about to inquire further, Xia Rong stood up in panic, bowing respectfully. “Mother, it’s getting late today. I won’t disturb you any longer; I’ll take my leave.” Without waiting for his mother’s response, he hurriedly left with He Xin and He Miao.

Seeing Xia Rong’s lack of manners, Xia Ji quickly complained loudly to Xia’s mother, “Mother, look how disrespectful this brat is to you. Aren’t you going to do something about it?”

Annoyed by Xia Ji’s shouting, Xia’s mother retorted, “Look at yourself before criticizing others.” With that, she ignored Xia Ji and turned to Yuma, instructing her, “Send someone to carefully investigate the recent situation in the Shen family, especially after Xia Rong’s marriage. Be careful not to be discovered by the Shen family.”

Meanwhile, Shen Xiangyan, seeing Xia Rong return hastily, approached him with a hesitant expression. Shen Xiangyan thought he might have been wronged. Not wanting to deal with Xia Xueliang, he made up an excuse and quickly took his leave. Xia’s father, already harboring resentment towards his son-in-law over the marriage switch, had no desire to keep him there any longer. With a wave of his hand, he let the two leave.

Shen Xiangyan lifted Xia Rong onto the carriage before finally finding a moment to carefully examine him. Seeing that there was nothing serious, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked Xia Rong what was wrong.

“My husband, are you feeling unwell? It’s okay. Just tell Rong’er. If we’re sick, we’ll find a doctor to treat us properly. If the doctors in town can’t help, we’ll go to the city to find one.” Xia Rong couldn’t help but speak up when Shen Xiangyan asked. He didn’t want his husband to leave him so soon, like his father did.

Shen Xiangyan couldn’t help but smile wryly at Xia Rong’s words. He knew exactly what Xia’s mother had said without even guessing. The original owner of this body was indeed seriously ill, but since Shen Xiangyan woke up in this body, he only felt a bit weak for the first couple of days. After that, he didn’t feel any discomfort at all.

Seeing Xia Rong’s anxious eyes turning red, Shen Xiangyan reached out and pulled him into his arms, soothing him softly, “Do you still not know whether your husband is healthy or not? How can you believe everything Xia Madam says, you silly goose?” He knew he would have to ask He Xin and He Miao later about who Xia Rong encountered and what was said in the Xia family’s backyard. Xia Rong looked so distressed; he needed to know.

Xia Rong buried his face in Shen Xiangyan’s chest, listening to him reassure that he was fine, but still refusing to let go until he promised not to leave him if he got sick first.

Although Shen Xiangyan felt helpless, he indulged his dear husband. “Alright, alright, husband promises not to leave you first.” Whether or not he got sick was beyond his control; he could only be careful in his daily life to avoid illness. It seemed that Xia Rong’s father’s early departure had left a shadow on him after all.

—

The weather in Furong Town wasn’t much different from the northern parts of Huaguo, with distinct four seasons. Shortly after Xia Rong’s return, winter set in. Early in the morning, when He Xin and He Miao were helping the two of them get up, they reported that it was snowing heavily outside.

Xia Rong was excited upon hearing this news. As soon as he finished dressing, he rushed out of the house. The ground, which was clean and dry the night before, had suddenly turned white. Shen Xiangyan followed him out and draped a coat over Xia Rong. Although it wasn’t particularly cold when it snowed, winters were never entirely warm. Standing under the eaves and watching the snowflakes dance outside, Shen Xiangyan took a deep breath of the cold air. The air in this unpolluted place was truly refreshing, and the snowfall seemed cleaner than any he had seen before, with each snowflake forming perfect hexagons.

After breakfast, Xia Rong insisted on making snowmen with Shen Xiangyan. Shen Xiangyan was also in the mood to indulge in some fun with Xia Rong. After rolling a large snowball together, Xia Rong handed it to Shen Xiangyan, who took charge of sculpting it onto the snowman, adding details bit by bit. Eventually, there were two snowmen in the yard, one large and one small, standing close together. Xia Rong expressed his satisfaction with the result.

Shen Xiangyan had already instructed He Xin to prepare ginger water to ward off the cold. He watched as Xia Rong drank a whole bowl of it, sticking his tongue out afterward, before finally feeling relieved. A few days ago, the officials had sent word about a courtyard that met his requirements: a small quadrangle, mostly new, fully furnished, and priced at eight hundred taels. The price was reasonable, but Shen Xiangyan felt that a quadrangle might be too large, considering there were only the two of them in the Shen family now. In reality, a triple courtyard would be sufficient.

However, Shen Xiangyan still went to see the courtyard. It was exquisitely built, and indeed, it was a small quadrangle as the officials had described. It was much smaller than a typical quadrangle, but what truly attracted Shen Xiangyan was the underfloor heating in the main house. Since Xia Rong was naturally more sensitive to cold and afraid of it, and since winter would continue to be cold, having underfloor heating was perfect for him.

Having made a decision, Shen Xiangyan was not one to procrastinate. In the afternoon, he went to the officials and paid a deposit of four hundred taels. Since the place was quite spacious, he also needed to hire some people. Therefore, Shen Xiangyan bought two couples with a child each. He thought these two kids could help with Shen An’s business in the future. In addition to that, he also hired two capable maids, two guards with some martial arts skills, and a cook.

Seeing the snow outside getting heavier and showing no signs of stopping in the short term, it was a good opportunity to tidy up the house these days and move after the snow stopped.