Dinner included: stewed deer blood and meat, pine nut fish, shrimp with matsutake mushrooms, steamed squab, stir-fried Chinese broccoli, and black-bone chicken soup with red ginseng.
After dinner, Pearl Su ignored him and went out for a walk to help digest.
While walking, she noticed Alaric Yun had also come out and was walking beside her.
After the walk, Pearl Su went back to bathe.
When she returned from bathing, she lay on the bed to rest and wanted to continue reading the storybook, but she couldn't find it anywhere. A few other books were also missing. She searched all over the place, confused, but couldn't find any of them.
Alaric Yun also came out after bathing and happened to see Pearl Su searching for something. His eyes darkened.
He got on the bed and sat silently for a while, then suddenly flipped over and pressed her down beneath him. He kissed her forcefully, pried her lips open, and began a fierce, demanding kiss.
Pearl Su was confused by his sudden behavior and became angry. She kicked and punched him to vent her frustration, but even after she was exhausted, Alaric Yun still didn't let her go.
When he finally let go, she glared at him and said coldly, "What is wrong with you?"
Alaric Yun stared at her deeply. "My wife wants to marry more husbands."
Pearl Su rolled her eyes at him and gave him a look that clearly said, "You're insane."
Alaric Yun understood that look immediately. His handsome face lit up with a bright smile, as clear as a pear blossom after the rain.
He quickly kissed her cheek and then snuggled into her arms, looking pleased without saying a word.
Pearl Su was still being pressed down and angrily tried to push him off, but he wouldn't budge. "Get off, you're crushing me."
"No, I like it here," Alaric Yun mumbled happily in her arms.
"You're hurting me. Move," Pearl Su said angrily, trying harder to push him away.
But he didn't move at all. No matter how much she pushed, he stayed still.
In the end, Pearl Su gave up, too tired to keep trying. She could only lie there, fuming inside, cursing him ten times over as a stupid man, stupid man…
The next morning, Pearl Su woke up and saw that Alaric Yun was gone. She happily ate breakfast, which included red date and brown sugar longan porridge, crystal shrimp dumplings, red sugar date cakes, and meat broth buns.
After breakfast, Servant Xin arrived holding a few books. "Madam, these are books the Lord asked me to bring you to help pass the time."
Servant Xin spoke nervously. She had been punished to kneel all night the day before.
Pearl Su didn't notice anything strange and responded with a hum, taking the books. She looked at the covers. They were all poetry and essays.
She started reading one and spent the whole morning that way.
Then she heard Servant Xin greet the Lord. Pearl Su looked up.
Just like last time, he wore a dignified official robe in crimson and blue, walking in with elegance and calm.
Alaric Yun came over, pulled her into his arms with a smile, and said, "Wife, did you miss me?"
Pearl Su quietly turned her gaze back to the book and kept reading, ignoring him.
Alaric Yun leaned close to her ear and said, "Wife, do you like the books I picked out for you?"
"Yeah," Pearl Su replied lazily.
Alaric Yun's eyes lit up, and he smiled. "If there are other books you want to read, just tell me. I'll find them for you."
"No need. I'll ask Servant Xin if I want something." Pearl Su refused without thinking.
Alaric stiffened for a moment, then smiled and said, "Alright, if you need anything, just tell the servant."
Pearl didn't respond and continued reading her book.
Alaric put his arm around her and read with her. When they got to the poem Yanqiu Ci, the line caught his attention:
"What is love that makes life and death worth sharing?
Birds flying together across the vast sky, old wings worn by seasons,
Joyful times, painful partings, and in between, foolish lovers.
You must have something to say, lost among endless clouds and snowy mountains,
A lone shadow, where is it going?"
Alaric couldn't help but read the poem out loud. After he finished, he asked Pearl, "What do you think it means, 'What is love that makes life and death worth sharing'?"
Pearl answered calmly, "It means mutual love. When feelings run deep, no matter how far or how hard, they stay together through life and death."
"Then… would you and I be like that too?" Alaric murmured, rubbing his face gently against her shoulder.
Pearl's lips twitched. She thought this clingy man was acting weird, so she ignored him.
A servant's voice came from outside, "Master, Madam, lunch is ready."
Pearl put down the book, pulled away from Alaric's arms, and walked over to the table.
Lunch included braised deer blood meat, red-braised pork, salt-baked chicken, steamed fish, lotus root with matsutake, and pigeon ginseng soup.
After Alaric sat down, Pearl picked up her chopsticks and started eating. After finishing the herbal soup Alaric handed her, she got up and went back to bed to rest.
When Alaric finished eating, he joined her in bed and hugged her while they napped.
When Pearl woke up after the nap, Alaric was already gone. After drinking some water, she continued reading.
The books weren't thick. By the time Alaric returned that evening, there was only one left.
A servant came in to say that dinner was ready. Dinner included: braised donkey meat, steamed pork knuckle, pan-fried tender pork, steamed quail, shrimp egg custard, and red ginseng white phoenix chicken soup.
After dinner, Pearl went for her usual walk to help digestion. Alaric accompanied her.
She admired the sunset in the sky. Tonight's sunset was different from the fiery red ones before. It was more of a smoky purple haze that covered the sky, creating a dreamy, magical glow.
After walking, the sun had completely set and the sky turned dark. Pearl returned to her room to bathe.
After her bath, she sat on the bed and read the last book of songs and poems. Naturally, Alaric came in after bathing and hugged her while reading together.
By the time they finished the book, it was already late. Pearl was so sleepy that she fell asleep in Alaric's arms.
The next morning, Pearl woke up and found, like usual, that Alaric was already gone. After washing up, she had breakfast, which included eight-treasure porridge, radish cake, egg pancake, steamed shrimp dumplings, and purple sweet potato buns.
After breakfast, Pearl asked Servant Xin to find her some travel notes, tales of wanderers, or books about the customs and culture of the four nations.
This was actually her real purpose. What she had read before was just preparation.
She knew too little about this world. She needed to learn fast to prepare for an escape.
She also wanted to read the historical records of the four kingdoms on this continent. Once she finished those, she would have a full understanding of this world.
That way, when she left, she wouldn't accidentally offend some noble in this monarchy-based world and end up getting herself killed.
When Alaric returned and saw Pearl reading a book about local customs, he didn't say anything. He just came over and snuggled up with her again.
By the time Pearl's period ended, she had finished nearly all the books she wanted to read. Only the tales of wanderers were left.
Once she went out, she knew she'd run into some people from the martial world. Even though Rafael Mu had told her a few things about it, it wasn't enough. She wanted to learn more, just in case anything happened.