Her Husband is Both Delicate and Fierce; The Little Stutterer Coaxes Him Through Tears - Chapter 7

Yu Tingzheng slept until noon. When he finally woke, he was filled with apprehension. He went out but found no sign of the two young maids or the manservant, and Madam Pei was nowhere to be found. The entire residence felt empty, leaving him all alone.

Spotting his auntie, who had just returned from the fields, over the fence, Yu Tingzheng leaned against the pickets and asked, “Auntie, did you see Madam Pei and the others today?”

“I did. When I was coming back, they were heading toward the academy,” she said. She glanced at what he was wearing and let out an “Aiyoh.” “Little Zheng is wearing fine clothes now! You look no different from a young master in town. Quite handsome!”

Her words made his face flush a deep red. Madam Pei had already ordered people to prepare his clothes and leave them in his room. Earlier, when he had put them on, he had turned before the mirror for a long time; no matter how he looked, he didn’t seem like himself. It was as if he had become a different person, yet he lacked the innate noble air that Pei Qingyu possessed.

When Madam Pei returned from the academy and saw him peeking over the fence, she couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly. “Zheng’er, are you here waiting for me?”

Yu Tingzheng straightened his posture, instinctively hiding his hands behind his back. “Wait, waiting for you.”

Madam Pei entered the courtyard and took his hand. “It’s hot outside. Let’s go inside.”

Once indoors, after they had rested for a moment, Madam Pei glanced at Yu Tingzheng’s hair several times. Finally, she stood up and pulled him to the dressing mirror, pressing him down into a seat to fix his hair.

In the past, Yu Tingzheng had always tied his hair back haphazardly; he didn’t care if it looked good or messy, so long as it was convenient for farm work. Madam Pei, a famous beauty in Luozì City, had her own insights into aesthetics and simply couldn’t bear to see it. Yu Tingzheng never imagined a day would come where he’d need to put effort into such things, while Madam Pei was more than happy to indulge.

The two spent the entire afternoon working on his hairstyle. When Pei Qingyu returned, the courtyard was quiet. Stepping into the room, he saw Yu Tingzheng dressed in brocade with his long hair half-flowing and half-tied back with a ribbon. He froze for a second, then coldly looked away, sitting at his desk to review his lessons.

A maid brought food, opened the windows wider, and added more ice blocks to the room.

Madam Pei pulled Yu Tingzheng up to examine him from all angles, looking thoroughly satisfied. She squeezed his thin arm and smiled. “Zheng’er, you must eat more in the future. Grow up quickly.”

Yu Tingzheng was very obedient. At dinner, he ate two extra bowls. Including the first two, he ate four bowls of rice in total.

Pei Qingyu, who felt bloated after eating just one bowl, was speechless. How can this person eat so much? No one in the Pei family is this gluttonous. Was he a starving ghost in a past life?

Meeting the Young Master’s eyes, Yu Tingzheng cradled his full stomach and gave him an embarrassed smile. Pei Qingyu turned away, thinking to himself: He is surely a legendary rice bucket.

Madam Pei, however, was delighted by his appetite. Taking advantage of the evening cool, she took him for a walk in the courtyard to help his digestion and mentioned that he would start school tomorrow.

Yu Tingzheng had never attended school; previously, he had only snuck to the academy to eavesdrop on the teacher’s lectures. Hearing that he could actually attend, his eyes sparkled as he looked at Madam Pei, speaking incoherently, “I. school? Can I, really go to school?”

“Of course. You are still young, Zheng’er. Why wouldn’t you be able to?”

“But… school costs… costs silver…”

Madam Pei’s heart melted. She pinched his cheek and said, “The Pei family has vast holdings. Could we possibly not afford a little tuition?”

Yu Tingzheng shrank his head back slightly and stared at her, his eyes growing brighter than the moon in the sky.

In Yanti Village, the insects chirped and frogs croaked under a gentle night sky. Yu Tingzheng was in high spirits; even seeing Pei Qingyu already lying in bed when he returned didn’t frighten him.

He moved to the bedside and said in a negotiating tone, “Yu’er, can… can I… sleep in the bed?”

Pei Qingyu’s eyelid twitched as he looked up. This person actually dared to call me ‘Yu’er’? Is that a name he is fit to call?

A breath caught in his throat, his chest heaving. His beautiful eyes shot a fierce glare at Tingzheng before he turned his head away. “My mother told you to sleep in the bed. Do you expect me to force you onto the floor again?”

He was clearly unwilling.

Yu Tingzheng let out a disappointed sigh. “Then tonight… I’ll still… sleep on the floor.”

As he turned to look for the mat from the night before, he heard the person behind him begin to cough violently. He rushed over to pat the other boy’s back. “Yu’er, why… are you coughing… again?”

Pei Qingyu coughed and glared at him simultaneously, nearly dying of rage. Yet Yu Tingzheng was as dense as a block of wood; he didn’t realize he was the problem and assumed the illness was worsening.

“Don’t… cough cough cough… don’t touch me! Cough cough cough…”

Even in this state, Pei Qingyu loathed the contact. He thought to himself: This person is filthy; he must not touch me.

Yu Tingzheng stepped back, watching him nervously. He was terrified the beauty might cough his last breath right then and there, and then he’d be expected to bring honor to the Pei ancestors and inherit the family estate.

Once the coughing subsided, he diligently poured a cup of water and held it out. Pei Qingyu took one look and didn’t want to drink, so Yu Tingzheng kindly fed it to him.

Feeling a bit better, Pei Qingyu leaned against the headboard and looked at him with indifferent eyes. “If you sleep on the floor, are you trying to make me endure a scolding from Mother?”

“No… no, I don’t want to…”

“If you don’t want that, then sleep in the bed.”

Yu Tingzheng’s eyes widened. With a wide grin, he prepared to climb onto the bed.

Pei Qingyu was so startled he gave the boy a kick, sending him tumbling off the bed. He roared in embarrassed rage, “You haven’t washed up yet! How can you get into the bed?!”

The outburst sent him into another fit of coughing.

Yu Tingzheng’s backside ached from the fall, but he didn’t care. He rubbed it twice and went back to watching the Young Master with intense anxiety. Pei Qingyu pushed his head away. “Go… go wash up… cough cough…”

“Oh, okay… okay.” Yu Tingzheng looked back three times with every step as he went to the washroom, still worried.

In his old home, he had never been so fastidious. He used to wash his body once every three days and his hair every five; he never thought much of it, as his parents only washed once a month. Wealthy families truly were meticulous; no wonder Pei Qingyu always smelled so fragrant.

When Tingzheng returned, scrubbed clean, Pei Qingyu was still awake. This time he wasn’t reading but was happily playing a game of Go against himself. Yu Tingzheng had never seen such a thing; he leaned over to watch with curiosity, but after a long time, he couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Instead, his eyelids began to fight. He felt a pang of shame, he had only woken up at noon today!

He didn’t have to wait long. Pei Qingyu finished the game quickly, and the maid, Wanxiang, came in to clear the board. Yu Tingzheng blinked, expecting Pei Qingyu to invite him into the bed, but the beauty simply pulled up the covers and went to sleep, ignoring him completely.

Yu Tingzheng felt a little dejected. He reached out and tugged at the corner of the quilt, negotiating without much confidence: “Yu’er, can… can you… sleep on the inside? I’ll… sleep on the outside? That way, I can… take care of you, and I won’t… wake you if I sleep late.”

Pei Qingyu, who was occupying half the bed, opened his eyes. He watched him for a while, huffed, and rolled over to the inner side.

Joy filled Yu Tingzheng’s heart as he finally climbed onto the bed, lying down beside him with light, careful movements.

This was the first time in Pei Qingyu’s memory that he had slept with someone, and the same was true for Yu Tingzheng. One lay at the very edge of the inside, the other at the very edge of the outside, as if they wanted to create a vast chasm between them.

Yu Tingzheng didn’t use a quilt, but Pei Qingyu required one. In the night, feeling the chill, Pei Qingyu instinctively sought warmth, and Yu Tingzheng began to cross the line.