Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When Meng Ye returned, I was holding a book on military strategy, mulling over the Thirty-Six Stratagems-

Victory without bloodshed; to conquer the heart is the superior tactic.

“Why are you reading military strategy again?”

He casually took the book from my hands and caught my fingers in his.

“Was today exhausting? Did you miss me?”

I looked at him blankly.

I wanted to find even a single flaw on that face, which had been so kindly treated by time.

But there was none.

He had navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom for over a decade. He was steady and experienced, no longer the youth who wore his every emotion on his sleeve.

In those deep, affectionate eyes, his gaze was filled with nothing but my reflection, as if making a silent vow.

Only a small stain on the wide cuff of his green robe betrayed him.

Taking advantage of his distraction, I rubbed the spot with my fingertips and sniffed – it was crab roe.

I remembered that woman, her face blooming with spring-like joy, telling her maid:

“My husband can’t stand the smell of crab, but it’s the one thing I crave.”

“He promised me that when I return to the manor today, he’ll reward me with a whole bowl of fat crab meat that he peeled himself.”

So he was late because he was peeling crab for her.

I used to love crab meat, too. Before I married Meng Ye, my father and brothers would roll up their sleeves to peel a full bowl of it for me.

Later, Meng Ye said he couldn’t stand the fishy smell of crab; even from a distance, it would make his stomach churn.

For his sake, I never ate crab again.

To this day, while I was still compromising for the sake of love, he had already learned how to be indulgent within it.

He was wholeheartedly indulging another person’s tastes and habits.

In truth, I once received that kind of blatant, unmistakable love as well.

Back then, I wasn’t his wife yet.

I had merely mentioned in passing that the mung bean cakes from my maternal grandfather’s home were the softest and most fragrant, never too sweet. I lamented that it was too far away and I didn’t know when I’d get to eat them again.

He had set off alone on horseback, riding day and night without rest for four full days, just to bring back those cakes from my grandfather’s house.

Having been cherished by my father and brothers, I never lacked for love, yet my heart still fluttered for that youth’s sincere and passionate devotion.

So many years had passed, and the way Meng Ye loved someone hadn’t changed a bit.

It was just that the person being loved was no longer me.

My chest felt tight, and my eyes stung.

“They were all broken.”

The hand stroking my long hair paused.

“What?”

I forced a smile.

“The mung bean cakes you brought me that year, tucked against your chest… they still crumbled into pieces during that long, bumpy journey.”

“Meng Ye, do you think if we had a child, things would be more… complete?”

His eyes met mine for a moment before he guiltily looked away.

“You’re overthinking things! If you want mung bean cakes, I’ll send someone to buy some for you tomorrow.”

Times change. I stopped eating mung bean cakes long ago.

Only an innocent young girl can be coaxed into a beaming smile by a mere treat.

And I… I refuse to scavenge for traces of love where none remains.

He thought I didn’t know. He thought I didn’t know that just a few minutes ago, he had gone to his mother’s courtyard to demand an official status for that woman and her unborn child.

And his mother had replied with four words:

“Keep the child, discard the mother.”