Chapter 25: Lullaby in the Bridal Chamber

Chen Wuji squatted at the door, listening to Huo Sanniang and Shen Youwei discuss how to deal with his first wedding night candle ceremony after crossing over, and for a moment he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Unfortunately, one got her period, and the other is so weak she needs to hold the wall just to walk a few steps.

Beautiful wives and concubines line up for the Bridal Chamber; since ancient times, it's been a man's beautiful dream.

But with Chen Wuji, it's become a bit depressing.

The timing of this period couldn't be worse.

"Wuji, go back to the room first; I'll come over in a moment," Huo Sanniang shouted through the door.

Chen Wuji grunted, "But I also want to wash up."

He had to stick to his principle: if he said he was coming to wash, he had to wash.

"Don't bother washing; it's useless," Huo Sanniang said, laughing.

Chen Wuji: ……

Wife, you're being too unrestrained and direct.

"If I'm not allowed to wash, then I'm not allowed to wash—what does that have to do with whether I need to?" Chen Wuji muttered, then went back to the room.

The period blocks the way, but isn't there a way around it?

In the next room, Huo Sanniang and Shen Youwei, hastily putting on their clothes, almost laughed themselves crazy.

"This silly Wuji, washing and using have nothing to do with each other!" Huo Sanniang said, blushing and shaking her head with a light laugh.

As for the wedding night candle ceremony, she actually wasn't clear about it either.

Although she was a wife for the second time, she had never truly entered the Bridal Chamber before.

But with someone even more clueless, she had to grit her teeth and go through with it no matter how confused she was.

"Sister, what do you plan to do later?" Shen Youwei asked softly.

Huo Sanniang looked wistful. "It seems I can only keep him company and chat—what else can I do?"

"Sister, I've heard some things before—when my grandma was chatting, I overheard them by accident." Shen Youwei hadn't yet said what exactly it was, but her face was already flushed, as red and luscious as a ripe peach.

"What is it?" Huo Sanniang asked, adjusting Shen Youwei's clothes out of curiosity.

"Well..." Shen Youwei hesitated, then gathered her courage and said, "It seems that... for those noble lords and rich gentlemen, if their beloved concubine gets her period, they would use other methods."

"What other methods could there be?" Huo Sanniang said, utterly puzzled.

"It's, it's those two ways..." Shen Youwei whispered, leaning close to Huo Sanniang's ear.

Her two pure white feet dug hard into the mat, as if she intended to carve out a three-room, two-hall layout on the kang.

Huo Sanniang stared, her eyes gradually widening like copper bells.

"How could this possibly work? Who would even think of such a crooked, underhanded trick? It's just... too exaggerated—I, I, I couldn't do it." Huo Sanniang stammered, shaking her head repeatedly.

"I've only heard it said, heard it said..." Shen Youwei said weakly.

Having said it, she also regretted it.

She was very worried that these few sentences would make Huo Sanniang see her as a flirtatious woman who dares to say and try anything.

"I'm coming over; you should sleep early." Huo Sanniang took a few deep breaths to steady herself.

What came next also made her extremely nervous.

Although she was a wife for the second time, her heart was still that of a maiden.

Shen Youwei nodded lightly; she was still regretting what she had just said.

As Huo Sanniang opened the door, she suddenly turned back and said, "By the way, you must absolutely not let Wuji know about those things, or else that guy will surely insist on trying them."

"Mm." Shen Youwei nodded firmly.

Although she regretted telling Huo Sanniang those things, she was actually quite curious as well.

Trying it out wouldn't be a big deal.

Back then, listening to those grandmas chat had piqued her curiosity intensely.

Chen Wuji sat up on the kang, pricking up his ears—what could they be hiding from him?

What had those two been secretly plotting just now?

The door was gently pushed open; under the bright moonlight, a graceful figure slipped in, then quietly closed the door and felt her way onto the kang.

The room had not a single oil lamp; the only light available was the cold moonlight streaming in through the windowless opening where even the paper was missing.

"Wuji." Huo Sanniang called softly.

"Hmm?"

"Come over, lie here." Huo Sanniang lay down and patted the spot beside her.

Chen Wuji immediately slid over, lay down, and buried his head in Huo Sanniang's embrace.

Huo Sanniang shifted up, then raised her arm to pull Chen Wuji into her embrace, patting his shoulder with her left hand and saying, "Be good, Wuji, go to sleep—I'll tell you a story."

Many years ago, in a mountain village of our Nan Jun, there was a kind-hearted little hunter. He loved helping others so much that, out of compassion, he couldn't bear to kill the small animals in the mountains; instead, he would go rescue the wounded ones. The villagers laughed at him, calling him a fool—who doesn't hunt and still saves animals…

Chen Wuji nearly split a gut.

Wife, what are you doing?

We're supposed to be in the Bridal Chamber—there's no such thing as a lullaby session!

Who, being a decent person, listens to bedtime stories in the Bridal Chamber?

So he stretched out his beastly claws.

Huo Sanniang didn't resist; she just shifted her body and said, "Just leave it be, don't move around."

Because he was overly kind, the little hunter often went hungry, several times nearly starving to death. The small animals he had helped couldn't stand it, so they often brought him to find wild fruits and mushrooms in the mountains to fill his stomach. Gradually he not only had enough to eat, but also had a surplus he could trade for money, yet the villagers still thought he was a fool… Hmm, don't fidget, listen carefully to the story, and go to sleep quickly.

Chen Wuji was nearly bored to death.

He really wanted to ask Huo Sanniang, in her eyes, just how old he was now.

"Ah... what are you doing?" Huo Sanniang gasped, pressing down on Chen Wuji's hand, and warned, "If you keep this up, I'll make you let go."

Chen Wuji behaved honestly for a while, and after Huo Sanniang moved her hand away, he continued doing as he pleased.

To leave such a great beauty untouched unless he's a real idiot!

In the darkness, Huo Sanniang, her face flushed and ears red, firmly pressed Chen Wuji's hand.

She felt as if she were ill, and actually felt a kind of...

A kind she couldn't describe, but it felt like many insects biting, a tingling numbness, with some urge.

"Don't move around, listen to the story properly, and hurry up and sleep." Huo Sanniang said, suppressing those strange feelings, in a tone like scolding a child.

Chen Wuji: ……

My dear, it's the Wedding Night Candle Ceremony; we really shouldn't do this.