was young."

Fei Jie sighed. "It appears that the old salt seller Xin is also your excuse."

Fan Xian chuckled.

Fei Jie could not help but shake his head as he looked at him. "Your mother was quite a talent herself, but she looked down on such triteness. After you entered the capital, you practiced such skills. If your mother could see, you she'd be livid."

Fan Xian shrugged. He reckoned his mother must have been a formidable scientist in the previous world, so naturally she wouldn't agree with his path.

Fei Jie refused his student's offer of hospitality; naturally, he had a house in the capital. As he prepared to leave, Fan Xian finally could not stop himself from asking.

"Teacher. Were you and Chen Pingping and Wu Zhu followers of my mother?"

"That's right."

"Did you once find medicines for my mother?"

"What medicines?"

"Hm..." Fan Xian had no choice but to shake his head. "Aphrodisiacs or knockout drops?"

Fei Jie had seemingly thought of something, and there was a strange look on his face. He laughed darkly. "Now that you are married, do you need such things?"

The next morning, the birds chirped incessantly on their branches. Even the leaves, gradually turning yellow, seemed soaked in happiness, turning soft. The morning sun shone at an angle into the courtyard, filling it with a faint and plentiful warm light. The gra.s.ses in the courtyard, tilting slightly over the stone footpath, were covered in a slight dew. All looked peaceful and quiet.

With a creak, Fan Xian pushed open the door and stretched out his body. There was a tired look on his face, but his eyes were still incomporably bright and clear. He yawned, smiled, and waved behind him. "Hurry up; you can see the season best in the morning. Chen'er, how can you dawdle in bed?"

Lin Wan'er's bashful and nervous answer came from inside the room. "I've never seen you so shameless. Close the door, quick."

Fan Xian laughed. "It's early in the morning, yesterday was the wedding. The servants are all tired. Perhaps we are the first in the household to wake up."

As he said it, he heard the sound of movement throughout the courtyard, with men and women all coming out to greet him. "Good morning, Master."

Fan Xian was startled, and suddenly went back inside, closing the door.

After a moment, a servant girl came in to help the newlyweds get washed and dressed before leaving the room. Fan Xian carefully took Lin Wan'er's hand. He looked at his wife's annoyed but beautiful face and smiled. "Last night I was with my teacher for a while, so time was short. This evening I shall return to make up for it."

Lin Wan'er had grown up in the palace, so she chose her words carefully. Now she had married a man who seemed to enjoy talking complete nonsense. "It's not proper," she said bashfully.

Fan Xian led her by her slightly-cold hand and smiled. "After the lakeside, we started to look at the scriptures a bit differently."

"There you go again."

"From today, you can call me 'husband'."

"Yes, husband." The way Lin Wan'er answered bashfully could really make one feel love for her.

When Fan Xian heard the word "husband", he thought of mahjong, of all the fortune and misfortune he'd had in his life, of the madness of last night, of the beauty of his wedding night, of the eldest princess exiled to her fiefdom by the Emperor; he couldn't help but smile. "I seem to have a few more tiles than most." [1]

Now, since he'd come to the capital, he'd finally found happiness. He couldn't help but sing to himself. "One night in the capital left me with so many feelings."

He held Lin Wan'er in his arms, who looked at him with innocent eyes, not understanding a word.

Over in Fan Manor proper, there was quite some commotion. The servants were divided into two rows to greet the newlyweds, all knowing that this lady of the house was quite a woman. At last night's wedding, the gifts from the palace had shaken all of the Fan clansmen.

Having drunk their wedding tea, Count Sinan amiably asked them to come forth and asked Wan'er about the health of Prime Minister Lin, then let them carry on comfortably. Seeing this new husband and wife, Count Sinan felt content, and Fan Ruoruo, standing to the side, was also delighted for her brother.

The two returned to the courtyard, then heard a commotion outside. A servant opened the door to find the the people who lived in the Fan Clan estate on the outskirts of the capital had come bearing gifts. It was not required for these people to see Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er in person, but then Teng Zijing and his wife had appeared, and Fan Xian was rather astonished.

"Is your leg better?" Fan Xian sat on a chair, looking carefully at Teng Zijing's leg.

Teng Zijing laughed. "It's been better for ages. I just have a little trouble getting out of bed."

Fan Xian smiled. "The venison I sent you was all thanks to Teng Zijing," he said to Lin Wan'er who was next to him.

Lin Wan'er smiled and nodded slightly. In one night, she had gone from a maiden to a prudent wife. Changes in one's life can be sudden.

Having said a few words, Teng Zijing's and his wife were led out to where they were staying. After they had left, Teng Zijing's wife spoke with quiet curiosity. "That young woman is so n.o.ble, but her posture seems rather weak. I worry she won't be a good fit for the young master."

Teng Zijing was startled, and chided her. "The young lady is truly n.o.ble. Think about who might be listening before you open that mouth." Teng Zijing's wife was still a young woman in some ways. She laughed, noncommital. "It just looked to me like the bride wasn't as attractive and intelligent as the groom. It's funny."

Teng Zijing laughed too. "In the capital, finding a young bride more intelligent than the young master might be a hard task."

Meanwhile, the gift from Fan Xian's grandmother in Danzhou, delayed on the road for a number of days, had finally arrived at Fan Manor. Count Sinan naturally came out to receive it, and let people know about the young people. Fan Xian was very happy. He led Wan'er by the hand outside the compound, talking as they walked. "My grandma loves me a lot, but I don't know what she might have sent us."

As they came to the gate, Fan Xian was taken aback. He could never have imagined that the gift his grandmother would send him would be a person.

Sisi looked happily at the young master she had served for many years, and paid them both her respects. "Young master, young mistress, it is an honor to see you."

[1] The word "xianggong", which means husband, is also used to denote a mahjong player disqualified by unintentionally taking the wrong number of tiles

[2] A reference to the pop song "One Night in Beijing" by Bobby Chen