Time Traveling: the Only Beloved Husband

When Li Xiangming brought his family to the Shen residence, he saw Shen Xiangyan waiting at the door with his son. After Shen Xiangyan finished introducing Xia Rong to the Li family, Li Xiangming patted Shen Xiangyan’s shoulder with satisfaction. “You’re not bad, kid. I’ve heard about your family reopening the shop. Your parents can rest in peace now.”

“The success in business still depends on the ancestral blessings. I just stumbled upon it by chance and managed to make something out of it.” Li Xiangming patted with quite some force, and Shen Xiangyan subtly shifted his sore shoulder. “Moving into a new house this time, it’s an honor for my uncle’s family to come.”

Li Xiangming nodded in agreement. After all, the Shen family had been a generations-old incense-making family. It wouldn’t be possible without some special formulas. Li Xiangming’s initial doubts were smoothly attributed by Shen Xiangyan to the Shen family’s inherited incense-making skills. “Let’s not talk about these pleasantries. Business requires real skills. If my son could be a bit like you, I’d be relieved.” He finished with a stern glance at his son, Li Dongsheng, who was following behind.

Li Dongsheng shrugged helplessly. “Dad, why do you always talk about your son? You’re still vigorous yourself. Why do you need your son to be so capable?”

Li Xiangming was furious, his breath heavy. His son couldn’t bluff in front of others more than twice. If it weren’t for being at the Shen’s, he might have even taken off his shoe to hit him. Well, he had done it before anyway.

Li Dongsheng, seeing his father genuinely upset, hastily interjected, “Hey, hey, calm down, Dad. Don’t get too worked up. We’re in Shen’s house, remember to keep your composure.”

Last time they met, they didn’t get to chat much, and Shen Xiangyan didn’t realize that Li Dongsheng was such an interesting person. Now, he genuinely felt a desire to build a friendship. After arranging for the two women from the Li family to follow Xia Rong, the remaining men went to the front hall to drink tea and chat.

Xia Rong led the two ladies from the Li family on a brief tour of the courtyard before returning to the main hall used for entertaining guests. He saw He Xin efficiently instructing the servants to bring out the pre-prepared tea, snacks, and fruit plates one by one, and finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Mrs. Li had somewhat figured out Xia Rong’s temperament along the way. Unlike typical concubines, she seemed somewhat naive and innocent. Mrs. Li had endured enough of the intrigues and conflicts among concubines in her earlier years and hence detested cunning women like Shuang’er, who were even careful in selecting wives for their sons, opting for those with pure character and simple backgrounds. Therefore, Xia Rong’s nature happened to suit Mrs. Li’s temper.

Taking a closer look at Xia Rong’s clothes, the daughter-in-law might not have noticed, but Li Lanzhi saw it clearly—they were all made of top-quality Yun brocade. Even though the Li family was considered well-off, such material wouldn’t be used for ordinary clothing. Observing further, the jade hairpin Xia Rong used to hold his hair was also made of fine Hetian jade. A hairpin like that would easily cost thirty or forty silver taels at the very least. Yet, Xia Rong wore it casually as if unaware of its value. It seemed that the young master of the Shen family truly had a deep affection for his husband.

After spending some time together, Xia Rong noticed that Mrs. Li was also easy to get along with. Gradually, she relaxed and showed more of her true self, especially with Li Dongsheng’s wife occasionally chiming in. Eventually, Mrs. Li even affectionately called Xia Rong “darling.”

Before coming to the Shen household, Mrs. Li’s husband had specifically instructed her to assess the character of Shen Xiangyan’s husband. He expressed regret for his son being mistreated by the Xia family and suggested that if Xia Rong wasn’t good enough, perhaps they could introduce some decent girls from reputable families to Shen Xiangyan for concubinage.

However, now seeing Xia Rong and genuinely liking her, and observing the strong bond between the couple, Mrs. Li’s initial intentions were long gone. She didn’t want to be the villain and ruin the relationship between the younger generation.

On the other side, Shen Xiangyan, Li Xiangming, and Li Dongsheng had a pleasant conversation. The Li family even introduced Shen Xiangyan to a skilled old physician who had once saved Li Dongsheng’s life. It turned out that before the Li family moved out of Furong Town, Li Dongsheng had been bitten by a poisonous insect while playing near Fucui Mountain. None of the town doctors could help, but this old physician saved his life. However, this physician had no children of his own and often traveled to treat the poor, making him challenging to locate. Learning this news satisfied Shen Xiangyan greatly, knowing the physician’s whereabouts and planning to send someone to keep watch nearby.

The gathering between the two families was delightful, and in the end, He Xin presented two pearwood boxes containing incense, incense sticks, and perfume, prepared by Shen Xiangyan earlier, as gifts to the two Mrs. Li on behalf of Xia Rong. The Li family ladies were delighted to receive the gifts, further improving their impression of Xia Rong.

After Mrs. Li returned home and expressed her fondness for Xia Rong to Li Xiangming, it’s needless to say that she was quite detailed. Meanwhile, Shen Xiangyan was toying with Xia Rong’s delicate and boneless hand, occasionally using his fingers to tickle the palm. Xia Rong was ticklish, but he endured it as Shen Xiangyan held his hand. Shen Xiangyan, adept at climbing the ladder of favor, showed no intention of letting go. Instead, he held Xia Rong’s soft hand even tighter, causing the usually good-tempered Xia Rong to become flustered before inquiring about his day.

In fact, He Xin had already reported these matters to Shen Xiangyan one by one, but it didn’t matter. His inquiry was merely a way to divert Xia Rong’s attention, preventing him from retracting his hand. Oblivious to the hungry wolf beside him, Xia Rong dutifully recounted the day’s events, speaking earnestly and ending with a hopeful gaze at Shen Xiangyan, silently seeking praise. Shen Xiangyan, playing along with his husband’s intentions, leaned down and praised him several times in his ear, even rewarding him with a kiss on the corner of his mouth, leaving Xia Rong’s ears tingling and numb, unable to recover for quite some time.

—

Since the last snowfall, the weather had grown colder, and even fewer pedestrians walked the streets of Furong Town. When the servants reported that Doctor Li had arrived, Shen Xiangyan was lounging on a thick fur blanket in the main room, with Xia Rong nestled in his arms, the two engaged in idle conversation.

Upon hearing about Doctor Li’s arrival, Shen Xiangyan quickly instructed the servant to bring him in. The person sent to find Doctor Li at the foot of Fucui Mountain had returned with him the previous day. However, given the difficult journey in the snow, and considering Xia Rong’s health wasn’t urgent, Shen Xiangyan only exchanged pleasantries with Doctor Li before instructing the servants to show him to his quarters for rest.

Doctor Li initially harbored some resentment towards the family that insisted on summoning him. After all, anyone would be displeased when called out shortly after arriving home to rest. However, the politeness shown by the Shen family last night and the accommodations provided by the servants had somewhat alleviated his discontent.

Today, when he came to see the patient, he expected it to be someone with a serious ailment, but to his surprise, it was a young man who seemed relatively healthy. Observing the affection shown by the husband towards this seemingly healthy young man, Doctor Li stroked his beard. He had encountered all sorts of people in his years of practice, but it was the first time he had seen someone dote on their spouse like this.

After examining Xia Rong’s pulse, Doctor Li pondered for a moment before speaking. “This is a condition that has been present since birth. However, Madam, have you ever experienced severe cold exposure or anything similar?”

Xia Rong thought for a moment before replying, “When I was ten years old, during winter, I accidentally fell into icy water while playing outside with my elder sister.”

Listening to Doctor Li’s question, Shen Xiangyan already had a suspicion, but hearing Xia Rong’s account caused a sudden pang in his heart. A ten-year-old child should have been sensible enough not to fall into icy water without reason. It was evident that Xia Rong’s elder sister must have been involved in the incident.

Doctor Li nodded in agreement. “That seems to be correct. Even if the young Madam was weak from birth, it shouldn’t have led to such severe cold entering the body. It’s best to start regulating the body while still young, or else not only will childbirth become difficult, but various illnesses will also plague one in old age. Fortunately, Madam is still young. With the prescriptions I’ve provided, a year and a half of adjustment should suffice.”

Afterward, he walked to the table and wrote two prescriptions, handing them to Shen Xiangyan. “One is for a medicinal bath, to be taken every three days, each time for half an hour. The other is for internal use, to be brewed with three bowls of water until half a bowl remains. Drink one bowl per day and come to see me after two months. I’ve also written down some precautions on the prescriptions. Remember not to let him catch a cold.”

Shen Xiangyan took the two prescriptions and inquired about several precautions from Doctor Li before bowing to him and expressing gratitude for a long while. Initially, Shen Xiangyan had wanted Doctor Li to stay longer or even stay at their residence. With Doctor Li around, someone could monitor Xia Rong’s health if any issues arose, and the accommodations at the foot of the mountain were undoubtedly inferior. However, Doctor Li promptly refused, stating that his home was perfectly fine, and he didn’t want to be restricted in someone else’s home.

Helpless, Shen Xiangyan gave Doctor Li a generous amount of silver as payment and arranged for another visit in the future before sending him back to the foot of Fucui Mountain with his servants.