Her Husband is Both Delicate and Fierce; The Little Stutterer Coaxes Him Through Tears - Chapter 6

“Can, can I sleep on the floor?”

After a long silence, Yu Tingzheng finally stammered out the question.

Pei Qingyu had known all along that this person was peeping at him again. However, his mood was foul, and the faint throbbing in his forehead made him too weary to care. He had been wondering how long the boy would stand there when he finally saw him approach.

He actually wants to sleep with me?

Pei Qingyu had never shared a bed with anyone in his life. He couldn’t stand the thought. His lips thinned, and he looked at the other boy as if facing a great enemy. This little stutterer was so filthy; how could he possibly be allowed on his bed?

Then, he heard the stutterer ask to sleep on the floor.

Pei Qingyu let out a breath of relief, and his attitude softened slightly. “Sleep there if you like. But you must explain it to my mother yourself when the time comes. Do not involve me in your trouble.”

Yu Tingzheng nodded. He looked at the floor; though it was clean and the summer heat made quilts unnecessary, he still needed a mat. He looked up at Pei Qingyu, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Is, is there a mat?”

Pei Qingyu was momentarily stumped. After a silence, he called for A-Tong, the manservant waiting outside.

A-Tong received the order and quickly brought a straw mat. “Why does the Young Master need a mat? Are we changing the one on the bed?” He moved forward enthusiastically to change the bedding, but Pei Qingyu stopped him.

“Just leave the mat and get out.”

A-Tong was baffled. Usually, the Young Master had the servants handle every minor task. Why was he refusing help with a mat? However, catching sight of Yu Tingzheng, he understood. He handed the mat to Tingzheng and left the room.

With the mat, Yu Tingzheng could make a bed on the floor just as he did back at the Yu household. Finally having a place to sleep, he felt his whole body relax. As he spread the mat, he heard Pei Qingyu speak from behind him.

“In the future, if you need anything, just order the servants. Do not ask me.”

“Yes, yes okay. I’ll remember.” Yu Tingzheng turned and gave him a wide, toothy grin.

Pei Qingyu took one look and immediately averted his eyes. He felt as though his eyes had been tainted. This little stutterer was truly thin, dark, and ugly. He couldn’t fathom why his mother had taken a liking to him, even going so far as to pay seventy taels to bring him home. To him, this person wasn’t even worth ten taels.

Pei Qingyu eventually drifted into a brooding sleep. The next morning, he was jolted awake by a knock on the door. Irritated, he grabbed his pillow and hurled it toward the entrance.

A-Tong, who had pushed the door open, skillfully caught the flying pillow. He chuckled. “Young Master, it’s time to get up. Today is your first day at the academy; you mustn’t be late.”

As he walked over with the pillow, his foot caught on something, and he nearly stumbled. Looking down, he saw a leg. Looking closer, he saw a person. A-Tong nearly jumped out of his skin.

It was the “Young Master” the Madam had just bought! How could his Young Master allow the boy to sleep on the floor?!

After throwing the pillow, Pei Qingyu had rolled over and gone back to sleep with his back to the door, so he didn’t see the manservant’s shocked expression. A-Tong stared at the small figure curled up on the mat, his face a kaleidoscope of emotions. He had been the one to find this mat; half the blame would fall on him. If the Madam were to find out, he would be the one in the most trouble!

Just as he was worrying about the Madam, footsteps and voices echoed from outside.

“Why is the Madam up so early today?”

“Yu’er has school today. He likely isn’t up yet, and A-Tong might not be able to rouse him. I must check on him myself.”

Before A-Tong could hide anything, Madam Pei stepped into the room. She entered the inner chamber and immediately spotted the person sleeping on the floor.

She froze for a long time before asking A-Tong, “What, is the meaning of this?”

A-Tong, close to tears, told her the truth about the previous night.

Madam Pei’s mood soured instantly. With a heavy expression, she knelt down and placed a hand on Yu Tingzheng’s shoulder, shaking him gently.

Tingzheng hadn’t slept at all the night before last, and once he had finally lain down last night, he had fallen into a deep slumber. Even A-Tong’s knocking hadn’t woken him. It took several calls from Madam Pei before he blearily opened his eyes. Thinking it was his own mother calling him to work, he mumbled, “Mother I’m getting up right now.”

He wondered, however, when his mother had ever been so gentle. Didn’t she usually shriek and bang on the door?

Madam Pei’s heart softened. “Zheng’er, be good. Get up and go sleep in the bed.”

Hearing the voice, Tingzheng’s mind cleared. Realizing it was her, he scrambled up in a panic. “Did I… sleep, sleep too long?”

“It’s not late. It’s only the hour of mǎo (5-7 AM). Yu’er has to go to the academy, so he must rise early. If you are tired, go back to sleep,” Madam Pei said, pulling him up. “But you must sleep in the bed.”

Yu Tingzheng was incredibly embarrassed. “I I’m fine sleeping here…”

“How can the floor be a place for a person to sleep?” Madam Pei looked at her son, who was hogging the entire bed. “Did Yu’er forbid you from sleeping in the bed?”

Tingzheng panicked, shaking his head frantically. “No. no. Yu’er didn’t forbid me. It was, my own choice to sleep on the floor.”

Hearing him refer to her son as “Yu’er,” Madam Pei’s heart softened further. She ruffled his hair and said in a gentle voice, “Why did you want to sleep on the floor? Do you not wish to sleep with Yu’er?”

“No, that’s not it.” Tingzheng grew even more flustered, his head shaking like a rattle. “I… I… I didn’t say.  I didn’t want to sleep with Yu’er…”

Madam Pei understood. She looked over at her son, who had been woken by the noise and was sitting up with a look of displeasure. “Yu’er, get up. It is time for school.”

“I had intended to have Zheng’er accompany you today, but it seems he didn’t sleep well and needs to catch up on his rest. You go ahead first. When you return, you can teach Zheng’er whatever you learned at the academy.”

Pei Qingyu didn’t want to go to school with the stutterer anyway; he was happy to go alone. After he got out of bed, dressed, and washed, he was forced to swallow his bitter medicinal soup. With a grimace, he went to grab his books, only to see Yu Tingzheng, who had somehow ended up lying in his bed.

Yu Tingzheng’s drowsiness had vanished. Seeing the Young Master’s dark, brooding gaze, he shrank under the quilts and apologized in a muffled voice. “S-sorry.”

He wasn’t even sure what he was apologizing for.

Pei Qingyu grabbed his books and left with a cold face.

Initially, Yu Tingzheng worried that he had enraged the other boy. He tried to think of how to coax him when he returned, but before a plan could form, he became drowsy again. The bedding was so soft and warm; he had never slept in such a comfortable bed in his life. His eyelids grew heavy, and soon he was fast asleep.

Pei Qingyu spent the entire day at the academy with A-Tong. During the midday break, Madam Pei and a maid brought him lunch. She watched from a distance, seeing the other children playing and laughing while her son sat alone, isolated and reading.

He sat straighter than anyone else. His tall frame and exquisite features drew the gazes of the other children, who looked as if they wanted to play with him but were too intimidated to try.

Madam Pei sighed. She carried the food box over and sent the maid, Wanxiang, to call him. They found a quiet spot to eat.

Seeing them, Pei Qingyu’s expression remained indifferent, but he seemed a bit more spirited. He complained that the children at the academy were “filthy and stinking,” saying it hurt his eyes to look at them and made him want to gag. He suggested it would be better to hire a tutor to teach him at home.

Madam Pei knew his temperament, but she wanted him to have more contact with the outside world. She simply told him that starting tomorrow, Yu Tingzheng would accompany him to the academy.

At the mention of Yu Tingzheng, Pei Qingyu’s mood soured. He didn’t care for the stutterer’s company. His fingers brushed against a smooth go-stone in his sleeve. Remembering those startled, wide eyes, he felt that perhaps his days at the academy wouldn’t be entirely unbearable.

As they were leaving, Pei Qingyu became irritable again. He held out his palm. “There are no go-stones here. Tell Father to send me a set.”

Madam Pei looked at the single white stone in his hand and smiled. “Is the academy truly that boring?”

Pei Qingyu turned his head away. “What the teacher explains is too simple. I learned it all long ago.”

After watching him for a moment, Madam Pei reached out and patted his head with a smile. “Very well. If they are brought here, you can play with your classmates and perhaps make some friends.”