The Sixth King and the Sixth Imperial Concubine sat in the main seat while the people below lined up facing each other. Every two people shared one small table and kneeled down to eat.
Ye Xiaoxian was still not used to this way of eating. She only felt tired and flustered, but out of etiquette, she still had to behave well and naturally.
It was more comfortable in Qian’s house where everyone sat around a big round table and ate together.
Ye Xiaoxian and Baoshan were husband and wife in their eyes, so they were assigned to the same table.
She was used to being free, so after kneeling for a short while, she felt her legs had gone numb, and she couldn’t help but quietly change her postures.
Xiao Baoshan was sitting there as steady as Mount Tai. When no one was paying attention, he even quietly pulled out his mat and stacked it up with Ye Xiaoxian’s. With two mats, Ye Xiaoxian felt not as tired as usual.
After she felt a little more comfortable, she turned to look at Baoshan. He was still as steady as ever, as if he wasn’t feeling any discomfort at all.
Ye Xiaoxian couldn’t help but think that it was fortunate that she didn’t come from a prestigious family. Otherwise, it would be painful to kneel like this every day.
But on the second thought, not every lady from a prestigious family had to kneel like this every day. Usually, there were servants, and only when the whole family gathered together, they had to kneel like this.
At the moment she was blanking out, Baoshan suddenly nudged her.
She realized that everyone was looking at her.
She found that the Sixth Imperial Concubine was holding a glass of wine and smiled. “What is Madam Xiao thinking about? Was it too tiring on the journey here yesterday?”
“No, no.” Ye Xiaoxian was a little embarrassed, “Sorry, just now…”
She suddenly noticed a plate of fried silkworms on the table and immediately said, “I just saw a plate of silkworms on the table. It reminded me of the past. These silkworms have the taste of my hometown.”
The Sixth Imperial Concubine was going to toast Ye Xiaoxian, but when he heard Ye Xiaoxian say this, he replied, “I see. The dishes from your hometown makes you feel homesick. This is reasonable. After coming to Baoning city for so long, people would indeed miss their hometown. They don’t know when they would go back. But no matter where we are, we have to live a good life. Madam Xiao, you have worked hard this year. You have made a lot of contributions to the citizens of Baoning city. I will give you a toast.”
“I’m honored, thank you,” Ye Xiaoxian raised her glass and chugged it.
Then, it was time for the Sixth King to speak again. Everyone was polite, and the dinner was pretty delightful.
……
Having enjoyed the dinner and wine, the Sixth Imperial Concubine let Ye Xiaoxian stay in the wing-room of the mansion. First, it was late, and second, it could save some room and accommodation fees.
The Sixth Imperial Concubine also said that there were some old clothes in her residence, so they could tidy them up and take them back to the tribe.
It was too hard for them to refuse such kindness. Plus, there were old clothes, so they stayed.
Old clothes can be taken back and be given to some poor families in the tribe, so that they could survive this winter.
Ye Xiaoxian and Baozhu followed a maid of the Sixth Imperial Concubine to collect the old clothes. Apart from the old clothes, there were also some shoes and hats. These were not really worn out ones, but there was a rule in the Imperial Court that they had to renew the apparels regularly.
After all, it was the Six Seat King’s residence. No matter how frugal they were, they couldn’t be too miserable or shabby.
Ye Xiaoxian and Baozhu picked the clothes with the maid and quickly packed up a bunch of them. These were originally good materials and were worn by the servants in the residence. However, they were old, and there were some small holes. But they could still be worn after some patching when they take them back.
The maid also told them that the Sixth King would had to give the rest to the commoners at the city gate. None of them should be wasted.
Ye Xiaoxian thought that things were done after picking the clothes. But the maid added, “Right, the Sixth Imperial Concubine said that Baozhu can sleep with me tonight. Madam Xiao and General Xiao will sleep together in the wing-room.”
Ye Xiaoxian was a little confused.
“Isn’t Baozhu staying in the chamber with us?”
The maid smiled and said, “Recently, there are some guests from the Sixth Imperial Concubine’s family and the wing-room is almost full. Only one of them is available. Alas, you know that the Sixth King’s residence can’t compare to the big palace in the capital city. The conditions here are so simple and crude. There is no other choice, so I’m afraid Miss Baozhu would have to make do with it.”
Baozhu was laughing in her heart. She hurriedly said, “No, no, no, it’s good enough for me. I’m by myself anyway. As long as there is a bed, I can sleep. There’s nothing to be picky about.”
Ye Xiaoxian, “…”
She was in an awkward position and it didn’t seem appropriate to explain anything.
If the Sixth Imperial Concubine knew that she was unwilling to live in a room with Baoshan, the Sixth Imperial Concubine would definitely guess that there was a gap between them. It was okay if the tribe knew about this. But if people outside the tribe knew, Baoshan would feel ashamed.
As long as the Sixth Imperial Concubine knew about it, Mrs. Qian would definitely know about it as well. They respected Baoshan so much that they might try to persuade her at that time.
“Madam Xiao, Madam Xiao…” When the old maid saw Ye Xiaoxian in a daze, she called her several times.
“Oh, what is it?”
The maid smiled and said, “If this place is cleaned up, I will bring you back to the room to rest and prepare some hot water for you. You can go to bed after washing up.”
“… Okay,” Ye Xiaoxian replied.
The maid took Ye Xiaoxian out while Baozhu laughed maliciously inside the room.
If she returned to the tribe and told Li Hongmei about this, Hongmei would definitely be happy too.
……
From the maid’s room to the chamber, one had to pass by a yard and made two turns before arriving at a small garden.
The maid pushed open one of the doors and saw the lights on inside. Baoshan was also inside. He seemed to have just returned and had just taken off his coat.
“General Xiao, Madam Xiao, I will leave for now. Someone will send the hot water later. Please wait patiently.”
Ye Xiaoxian responded and entered the house in a muddle.
Baoshan sat on the chair in the room without moving and looked at Ye Xiaoxian silently.
Ye Xiaoxian came in from behind and said, “the Sixth Imperial Concubine arranged for me to share the room with you.”
“I know,” Xiao Baoshan said.
“There seems to be no choice. She said that the Sixth Imperial Concubine’s family is here and there are not enough wing-rooms.”
“I know.”
Ye Xiaoxian was embarrassed and felt like she was trying to conceal something.
Xiao Baoshan didn’t say anything and just looked at her.
After a while, he said, “the Sixth Imperial Concubine doesn’t know about our situation. Please forgive this for tonight.”
The house consisted of one living room and one bedroom. There was a large bed inside and a small round table and a bench outside.
Baoshan added, “If you’re tired, go to bed and rest.”
Ye Xiaoxian refused. She sat down beside him and said, “The maid said that someone will send hot water over.”
A few servants walked in with some water buckets.
Soon enough, a large tub of water was poured in.
The female attendant invited Ye Xiaoxian and the rest to bathe. If she needed other help, she could call them at any time.
Ye Xiaoxian looked at the bucket of water without making a sound.
She would definitely want to take a bath.
It was particularly difficult to take a bath in the tribe. Someone needed to pick the water and boil it. Because the river was far away, they didn’t want to waste the resources so they only bathe once a while.
Baoshan asked, “Do you want to go for a bathe? Why don’t you go first?
I will go once you’re done.”
Ye Xiaoxian still did not say anything. Taking a bath in front of him? She couldn’t do it.
Even though they had done it before, they were like a divorced couple. Who would shower in front of her ex-husband?
Baoshan seemed to have noticed. He moved the screen to the middle of the room, separated the bathtub from the bed, and then covered the screen with a quilt. In this way, they would be blocked apart.
Baoshan said to her, “Alright, go wash yourself first, in case the water cools down.”
Ye Xiaoxian was relieved to take a bath.
She turned around several times to see if Baoshan had come, but there was no sound behind the screen at all.
Baoshan is an honest and sincere person, he definitely won’t come.
Only then did she relax and take a shower. The sound of the water was rustling in the room.
There was only the sound of the water.
……
Little Ye didn’t spend much time in washing herself because Xiao Baoshan said that he would have to wash himself later as well. She was worried that if she had taken the bath for too long, the water would cool down, so she simply soaked and wiped herself. When the water temperature was still slightly hot, she quickly came out and put on her clothes.
When she was putting on her clothes, she looked at the large bucket of water she had just used. It was night and the light in the room was dim, so she couldn’t tell if the water was dirty. However, sharing the same bucket of water was something that only people in an intimate relationship could do.
Even if he didn’t mind the water was already used by her, she still felt that this was a little awkward.
After putting on her clothes, she still said to him, “I’m done.”
Whether or not to have a bath next would depend on him.
Baoshan had been sitting upright for the whole time. Now that Ye Xiaoxian called him, he replied, “Okay.”
Then he said, “If you are tired, then lie down and rest.”
Little Ye let out an “emm” before she sat on the bed.
Xiao Baoshan didn’t mind sharing the bathwater with her. She only heard the sound of clothes falling off, then she heard the sound of his body soaking into the water, followed by the sound of water splashing around.
He washed himself quickly and was soon finished.
After washing up, he pushed the door open to call the servants outside. The servants heard the orders and walked in to clear the place.
After a while, the room returned to its original appearance. The screen was taken away, leaving only Xiao Baoshan and Ye Xiaoxian.
Now that there was only one bed in the room, how should they sleep?
The two of them had been sleeping separately for a long time. If they slept together tonight, their frozen relationship would completely melt.
Ye Xiaoxian had been listening about flattering words for the whole day and everyone was praising Xiao Baoshan. Her heart was already softened and she no longer blamed Xiao Baoshan.
Before this, she had always said that she would let nature take its course, but now that it was a turn of chance, if she could seize this opportunity, their relationship would be restored to normal.
Of course, she wouldn’t take the initiative either.
She moved parts of her body into the bed, leaving some place for one person, and then laid herself down.
She felt like she had already given a sign indicated that he wouldn’t be able to miss such an obvious action.
But who knows, Baoshan had always been a rigid man and was particularly stiff.
Little Ye didn’t ask him explicitly, so he thought that she still hated him.
There were two quilts on the bed. He walked over and took one, then put together several chairs into a bed. Then he said to little Ye, “I’ll sleep here tonight.”
Little Ye, “…”
