After spending the night together, the awkwardness started to lessen a bit. Their relations.h.i.+p started to change for the better. They decided to prepare for their journey and left in a few days. They went together to the nearest town, buying necessities.
They lived in the Shu Kingdom. The continent was divided into three kingdoms, Shu, Qin, and Han. Currently, they lived in a peaceful era. They signed a peace treaty. Yao Ying and Yao Ling just commoners that didn"t engage in any politics, but they knew their kingdom was the strongest. The other two kingdoms didn"t dare to declare war blindly, hence the peacefulness.
There were several statuses for the people in their kingdom. Peasant was one of them. Though Yao Ling"s mother practiced medicine, she still had to rely on farming for their daily necessities. Jiu Lan was kindhearted, sometimes she cured people without being paid. Informally, peasant meant a person of low social status. It can be said both Yao Ling and Yao Ying were at the bottom of society.
Yao Ying and Yao Ling decided to head to the capital. That"s the only place to get many pieces of information easily. They knew the chance for Yao Ying to find his past was bigger because of his jade. They could reduce the possibilities by looking for Xiao families. Their village quite far from the capital and it would take a few months to get there.
Yao Ying teased Yao Ling, "Just take this as our honeymoon." He smiled mischievously, making Yao Ling blush. There was no one they left behind, so they didn"t need to say farewell to anyone. They just left the village behind.
"We are not really in a hurry. We can just enjoy each city and stay for a little while. Maybe if I were alone without memories, I"d try to find my past like a lunatic. My mind is like a blank canvas and it"s scary. Now… I have you. I"m quite content with our marriage. Why don"t we also enjoy ourselves?" Yao Ying proposed a plan.
Yao Ying actually did it for her. He knew Yao Ling was still sad, but this stubborn girl concealed it. If he didn"t know her previously, he wouldn"t have known it. Yes, she still smiled, but it wasn"t genuinely cheery like before. He didn"t know why but it didn"t sit nicely for him.
Yao Ling was quite surprised with his idea; she thought he would go straight to the capital to find information. She was happy with the idea though, maybe it would distract her from missing her mother.
They went to the nearest city, An Yang. It only took a few days. When they arrived it was already at night, the city was bustling with a merry atmosphere. It seemed like there was a celebration. Their village was quite remote and rarely had any celebration. Yao Ying asked one of the pedestrians, asking about the event.
"Ah… are you guys new here? Enjoy the festival then! This is the Sevens Festival. This is the day to wors.h.i.+p the stars and for the young girl to pray for a good husband." The pedestrian was a young man. After looking at Yao Ling, he was stunned. The girl beside the man was a beauty!
"Young miss… it will be the perfect time for you to pray too!" The young man tried to flirt with Yao Ling.
Yao Ying"s face slightly darkened. Was that man flirting with his wife? He felt a sudden possessiveness. He grabbed Yao Ling"s waist and pulled her to him, "I"m sorry! She already has a husband." The young man looked disappointed, but he respected them. He still smiled and bid the couple farewell.
Yao Ling looked at Yao Ling in surprise. Did he feel jealous? After realizing Yao Ling"s look, Yao Ying awkwardly released her and blushed. Yao Ling laughed and felt her husband really cute. Between husband and wife, there would be a feeling of possessiveness and she understood that. She felt so happy!
They walked around and heard this festival also held an importance for a newlywed couple. Yao Ling asked Yao Ying, "Husband, should we go pray to the temple? After that, we can find an inn to stay." Yao Ying agreed to her request. They headed to a temple and decided to wors.h.i.+p the celestials.
Both of them were in sync and prayed for a happy marriage, hoping they could fall in love with each other. They felt quite lucky. They weren"t deeply in love, but at least they trusted each other. Their interaction previously made then know each other"s character well. Other people usually got married even without knowing each other"s face and character.
After praying, they pa.s.sed by a crowded main street. There were a lot of people, looking at a beautifully decorated stage.
"Come… come… join our compet.i.tion. Ladies only! Show us your embroidery skill under low-light conditions! The winner wins 20 silver taels!" A middle-aged man shouted loudly, promoting the compet.i.tion.
Yao Ling"s eyes lit up after hearing the man. She looked at Yao Ying expectantly, "Can I join the compet.i.tion?"
"Sure, just enjoy yourself." It meant she didn"t have to force herself to win, so no pressure. Yao Ying didn"t realize that he started to dote on his wife.
Yao Ling just grinned at him and nodded excitedly. She quickly went up to the stage along with five young ladies. They were given red handkerchiefs and they had to make a couple of mandarin ducks under the glow of an ember. They were only given roughly half an hour time. It was quite hard!
Yao Ling started to embroider at a fast speed, making the audience gaped at her – even the host too! "Young ladies, don"t forget about the quality of the mandarin ducks shape. Even you finish fast, but the mandarin ducks look ugly, then you won"t win!" Of course, this sentence was directed to Yao Ling. The other partic.i.p.ants were two times slower than her.
What the host said made the audience laughed – except for Yao Ying. He gritted his teeth trying to hold back his anger! The host didn"t have to humiliate his wife like that! However, he looked at Yao Ling"s serene expressions. The laughter didn"t bother her, so he didn"t make a scene.
After the compet.i.tion time ended, the partic.i.p.ants had to show their embroidery to the audience. Before they did it, the host was curious about Yao Ling"s embroidery. When he peeked at it, he gasped loudly. The audience thought the result must be really bad due to the host"s reaction. They laughed at Yao Ling and some of them even mocked her.
Yao Ying couldn"t stand his wife being bullied!