Song Yuming grasped her hand and looked into her pretty face, but said nothing.
Words could not describe his gaze.
His forehead had become smeared with charcoal soot. Dongting wiped it off with a sigh. "Getting all ashy just from cooking!"
Song Yuming sat on the little stool and pulled her into his arms and set her on his lap. "Did you sleep well last night?" he said in a low voice.
Xue Dongting buried her head in the crook of his neck. Her delicate scent assailed his nostrils.
"Scrutinizing someone like that in broad daylight," she grumbled, but her feeble protest in Song Yuming's ears was pleasantly tender.
He held her face in his hands and their foreheads touched. "I'm not going to the ferry today," he said quietly.
"Mm," she said. "Then where are you going?" she asked softly.
"Nowhere."
"Mm…" she moaned, his lips already planted fiercely on hers. By the time he let up they were both panting. Dongting's chest was heaving slightly, her cheeks flushed and more lovely and beautiful than the rosy reflection off the river. She suddenly realized something and took a good look at Song Yuming's clothes. "Why have I never seen that outer robe before?"
Song Yuming looked into her eyes. "Last night I went to the ferry to see Old Zhang and slipped and fell in the river. My clothes were soaked, so I got this from his boat and put it on."
Dongting gave a thin smile. "What were you doing looking for Old Zhang in the dark? Were you two playing weiqi again?"
Song Yuming nodded and laughed. "You got me."
She tried to struggle free, but he would not let go. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. "Put me down now!" she said in a low voice.
Song Yuming ignored her and took her inside and laid her on the bed and his big hands naughtily set about untying her green lotus cloak.
Xue Dongting laughed and wriggled away from him. "No, it's too cold!"
"You cloak doesn't look good," he said softly, "It's not as good as that red one."
Xue Dongting cocked her head and side-eyed him with a smile. "What red one? The one Rosecloud had on?"
"The one you wore when you went to the ferry to bring me food that one time. Old Zhang said straight away how good it looked and then he went right into town and bought a bolt of cloth like it for his wife." Song Yuming's was breathing heavily, his hands busy. He never imagined it would be tied so tight. It took him forever and he still hadn't gotten it undone.
Xue Dongting grabbed his big hand and got right to the point, "Tell me, did the one Rosecloud was wearing look good?"
Song Yuming smiled wearily and gave up on untying her sash. "I didn't really pay attention, how should I know?"
Xue Dongting sat up and looked at him. "Do you really not remember Rosecloud?"
"I remember, I rescued her."
Xue Dongting's face clouded, staring at him, clenching her teeth.
Song Yuming laughed. "If I had said I didn't remember you wouldn't have believed it, but didn't you say as well that I rescued her?"
She chuckled. "You, such a smooth tongue but not an honest word comes out of it. Lucky for you I married you so I can make a decent person out of you!"
"I'm only indecent to my wife." He was grinning.
"Ugh! Ugh!" She gave him a cross look and turned away. He looked at her in profile and pulled her into his arms with a sigh. "I'm thoroughly in the palm of your hand. Would you say I was in your debt in a past life?"
She nodded. "Yep, so you have to pay me back in this one."
Song Yuming said nothing, only held her tightly.
"You really don't remember Rosecloud?" she asked, her head cocked to the side.
Song Yuming tapped her on the end of her nose. "You still won't let this go," he said grumpily.
"Tell me!" she said, pouting.
"I had forgotten about her, but I remembered once you mentioned her."
"So how did you rescue her?"
He cast her a sidewards glance and laughed. "You want me to demonstrate on you?" He pushed her down on the bed.
Xue Dongting laughed and pleaded for mercy. "Alright alright, I get it."
Song Yuming laughed it off and took her back up in his arms. "Why do you keep asking about her?"
"You just saw her, could you not tell?"
"Mm? Tell what?"
"As soon as Rosecloud saw you she turned red all the way to the base of her neck. You're still playing dumb."
He thought for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. "No way, you're full of it."
"I am not full of it. My intuition is perfect. Rosecloud without a doubt has a thing for you."
"So what was the meaning of bringing her over here?" He was frowning.
"Rosecloud is my big sister's maid, it's just that Lady Yu sent her to spy on my big sis. I wanted to win her over to our side, that's all." Xue Dongting looked at her husband, smiling mischievously.
Song Yuming was at a loss, then it hit him. "Ah I get it. You were using your husband as bait! There's no way I'm letting you off!" He rubbed the blue stubble on his chin across her smooth cheek over and over.
She tried to squirm away, laughing. "Handsome man as you, it'd be a pity not to use the manly honey trap!"
"I may be handsome and dashing, it's just a shame you have to hog it all for yourself."
"Ugh! Handsome and dashing? Where?"
"Since you can't tell, why do you want to hog it all?"
Xue Dongting was speechless. She tried to pinch his leg, but his clothes were thick and she hadn't much strength, so it just felt like a little tickle to him. "Harder."
She ignored him and looked outside. "It's cloudy today. I think it might snow."
"Mm, we'll just stay inside and do our own thing and not go out."
"Ugh! Our own thing?"
"Why not? I chop wood, you mend clothes, aren't there a lot of things that need to be done?"
Xue Dongting was really at a loss for words, so she simply said nothing.
Song Yuming laughed. "But going back to what we were talking about earlier, don't make jokes in front of Rosecloud. She's a sensitive girl."
Xue Dongting hmphed and mumbled to herself, "I'm sensitive too!"
"Oh? I hadn't noticed… Alright alright, don't go… Dongting!"
She sat back down and said menacingly, "If you don't be nice I won't speak to you for three days!"
Song Yuming nodded obediently, laughing. "Do you have a nickname from when you were a child? Calling you Dongting is not intimate enough, plus your name is not very feminine."
She laughed. "Do you know why I'm called Dongting?"
"Tell me."
"Mama Qiao said she found me in a pavilion in the east end of the capital, so she called me Dongting… I do have a pet name, Chudong, Early Winter. Can you guess why?"
"She found you during early winter?"
Xue Dongting grinned happily and tapped the bridge of his nose and nodded. "You're so smart!"
Song Yuming nodded, laughing. "It's kind of random, but your pet name sounds nice. And it just so happens that I married you in the winter, so from now on I will call you Ah Dong, Winter, how about that?"