Her Husband is Both Delicate and Fierce; The Little Stutterer Coaxes Him Through Tears - Chapter 1

Summer had not yet fully arrived, but the heat was already unbearable.

The sun overhead baked Yu Tingzheng’s back until it felt scorched. With his waist bent and head lowered, he methodically pushed rice seedlings into the flooded fields. His body was sweltering; only his bare feet, buried deep in the cool mud, felt a hint of relief.

He had been working tirelessly all morning. A small patch of the field remained unfinished, and by now, the villagers were finishing their work, heading home in small groups.

“Little Zheng, where have your father and mother gone? Why have they left you to work the fields alone again?”

An older auntie passed by with a hoe over her shoulder, wiping sweat from her brow. “This plot of yours is massive. How long is it going to take for one person to finish?”

Yu Tingzheng straightened his back, a dull ache radiating through his spine. He pressed a hand against his waist and cracked a wide, honest smile. “My father, went to town to haul goods for others. My mother, hasn’t been feeling well lately; she likely had a heatstroke. She’s still lying on the kang bed.”

“What about your younger brother? He isn’t much younger than you. He’s long been old enough for this kind of work.”

“My brother… he went to the academy,” Yu Tingzheng replied. “He won’t be back until evening.”

An old uncle walking behind them let out a huff. “He’s able to attend school, so why aren’t you going?”

“Schooling…” Yu Tingzheng lowered his head, looking a bit embarrassed. “It costs, silver. My parents, can’t afford both of us.”

“Can’t afford you, yet they can afford him? Your parents are far too biased” The uncle rolled up his wet trouser legs and was about to continue his rant when his wife swatted him on the head, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Yu Tingzheng knew what he wanted to say, yet he kept his smile. “My brother is smarter than me. He can read so many characters. In the future, he will be an official. I can’t do that, so I stopped studying.”

He spoke with a stutter and considered himself dim-witted; he wasn’t “official” material, so education would be wasted on him. His brother was different after just one day at school, he could learn so many words. Now, he could even compose poetry and paint. To Yu Tingzheng, his brother was a great scholar.

The auntie opened her mouth to speak but ultimately said nothing. With a heavy sigh, she told him to finish up quickly and go home, for the day was simply too hot.

Once they left, Yu Tingzheng bent down again to continue planting. To pass the time, he hummed snatches of folk tunes in a broken rhythm. When a breeze occasionally drifted by, the heat didn’t seem so bad.

Qiao Xie, a young man from the neighboring house, passed by with his shirt off, carrying a water bucket. “Zheng, not heading home yet?”

Yu Tingzheng looked up, his face flushed red from the sun. “I’m, not finished yet. Brother Xie, you go ahead.”

Qiao Xie set down the bucket and leaped into the field. Muddy water splashed up, dousing Yu Tingzheng’s face and soaking his hair and clothes. The boy stared in shock at the man who had jumped in.

“Brother Xie, I can do it myself. You, you go back. No need to help.”

Before he could finish, Qiao Xie had already grabbed a handful of seedlings and begun working. He was so swift and efficient that Yu Tingzheng couldn’t keep up. The boy’s face grew even redder with anxiety.

Together, they labored away. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the planting was done. Had Yu Tingzheng been alone, it would have taken at least another hour.

“See that? Your brother is impressive, isn’t he?” Qiao Xie didn’t mind the dirt. He threw an arm around Yu Tingzheng’s shoulder and wrinkled his nose boastfully.

“Impressive,” Yu Tingzheng said sincerely. “Brother Xie is, very impressive.”

Enjoying the praise, Qiao Xie ruffled the boy’s hair, leaving Yu Tingzheng covered in grime from head to toe. As they climbed onto the narrow path, Yu Tingzheng’s foot slipped, nearly sending him face-first into the mud.

Two hands caught him from behind, effortlessly hoisting him onto the road. Yu Tingzheng stammered his thanks, and the two walked back toward the village together.

Before they reached home, they saw a carriage stopped in front of the courtyard next to the auntie’s house. The original owner of that yard had made a fortune in trade years ago and moved to town, leaving the house vacant for years.

Today, guests had arrived. One look at the carriage confirmed it was worth a fortune not something an ordinary family could afford.

A woman stood before the carriage, dressed in lavish silks. Gold hairpins that could blind the eye were tucked into her hair, and she wore emerald bracelets on her wrists and a jade thumb ring. Just by standing there, she drew everyone’s gaze. Two young maidens stood by her side one holding a parasol to block the sun, the other fanning her. Several servants stood ready by the carriage.

What a wealthy family this must be, Yu Tingzheng thought. Having never left Yanti Village, he had seen little of the world. He craned his neck, deeply curious about what kind of master was inside that carriage.

A moment later, a hand so white it seemed to glow reached through the carriage curtain and rested on a servant’s arm. A figure stepped down. As soon as his feet touched the ground, as if sensing something, he turned his head to look in Yu Tingzheng’s direction.

Their eyes met for a fleeting second, and Yu Tingzheng was stunned.

The person had lips as red as cinnabar and skin as white as snow. Judging by his frame, he was clearly a male, yet Yu Tingzheng had never seen such a beautiful man. He marveled inwardly: There is actually a man this good-looking in the world? He is even prettier than a young maiden.

Just as he was admiring the stranger, the young master’s gaze swept over him. The man looked at Yu Tingzheng’s mud-caked body, frowned imperceptibly, and turned to enter the courtyard.

Yu Tingzheng froze, looking down at his own filth. Only then did he realize the “Beauty” had looked upon him with disgust.

Qiao Xie asked the gathered villagers about the commotion. He learned that a wealthy family from the city had bought the house; they were looking for a place with “good feng shui” for their sickly son to live in for a while.

On the rest of the walk home, Yu Tingzheng kept his eyes glued to his muddy grass boots, nearly tripping into the fields.

“What’s wrong? Forget how to walk?” Qiao Xie laughed and tapped him on the head. Yu Tingzheng’s mind was entirely filled with the image of that young master, and he didn’t answer.

When they reached Qiao Xie’s house, Qiao Xie invited him in for some of his mother’s handmade grass jelly. Yu Tingzheng shook his head like a rattle and sprinted home like a startled rabbit.

The scent of food greeted him as he entered his courtyard. He washed his hands by the well and rinsed the mud off his boots and feet before entering the house. His mother, Madam Jiang, and his brother were already eating. Two vegetable dishes sat on the table, already nearly empty.

Seeing him return, Madam Jiang didn’t even look up. “Finished?”

“Yes.” Yu Tingzheng was used to this. He grabbed a stool from under the eaves and prepared to sit. He had only eaten a tiny bit this morning and was so hungry he felt faint.

His brother, Yu Chengfeng, lifted his head from his bowl and wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Brother, you’re so dirty.”

Madam Jiang looked over and slammed her chopsticks onto the table. “Go wash yourself properly before you eat. What kind of behavior is this, sitting there all filthy?”

Yu Tingzheng flinched. He stood there dazed for a moment before seeing them return to their meal. He silently stood up, went to the yard to splash himself with cold water, and changed into clean clothes.

By the time he returned, the rice in the pot was gone, leaving only a few scraps of burnt crust at the bottom. The two plates remained on the table, but only the leftover broth was left. He didn’t complain. He scooped the crusts into his bowl, added water to soften them, and ate the meager meal in silence.