The Second Young Master’s Obedient Husband : Extra Part 1

The story of Liang Feng and Zhang Yun is actually quite simple.

Liang Feng studied at the scholar’s house, and Zhang Yun was the scholar’s youngest daughter. She was pretty and very curious. Since her father ran a school, Zhang Yun would sometimes come over and peek through the window, secretly watching them study. One day she suddenly saw a new face, an especially handsome young boy. Little Zhang Yun thought he looked good, so she wanted to wait until they finished school and go play with him.

As soon as the teacher announced class was over, the students who had been holding it in all rushed home like a swarm of bees. Liang Feng stayed a bit longer to ask the teacher some questions, then packed up his little bundle, leaving the schoolhouse last.

When it was time for school to end, Zhang Yun went to ask her mother for snacks, then carried the sweet cakes her mother made to go feed the good looking older brother. Liang Feng naturally refused. He was about to speak when Zhang Yun put on a sad face and looked at him with watery eyes. “Then older brother, play shuttlecock with me. If you play games with me, these snacks will be your payment.”

Liang Feng hugged his little book bag and tried to walk around her to leave. Zhang Yun grabbed his sleeve and would not let him go. Her little mouth turned down, and tears fell. Liang Feng could only wipe her tears, then helplessly agreed.

But they had not played shuttlecock for long when Zhang Yun pulled him over to eat the cakes. Liang Feng would not eat, so Zhang Yun fed him at his mouth. She turned her mouth down like she was about to cry again, so Liang Feng could only open his mouth and eat. Seeing that Zhang Yun was only feeding him and not eating herself, he took a cake and stuffed it into her mouth. Zhang Yun was startled, then smiled sweetly and kept feeding him. One bite for you, one bite for me, and soon the cakes were finished. Liang Feng played with Zhang Yun a while longer, then picked up speed and ran home.

Liang Feng ran fast, so he got home around his usual time. Liang’s father and mother did not notice, and this became a regular thing afterward. Later, Liang Feng learned that a gentleman should be proper and upright, and felt that feeding each other was not appropriate. He told Zhang Yun they should each eat their own. Zhang Yun disagreed. She stared at him with round eyes, and her eyes were just starting to redden when Liang Feng surrendered. What else could he do? He could only go along with her.

At that time, the Liang family had not yet become well off. Liang Feng’s clothes were all patched, but he always kept himself neat and clean out of habit. He only smelled of clean soapberry. The family was not wealthy, so Liang Feng’s lunch at school was just cold water with dry, hard coarse grain cakes, plus two eggs his mother stuffed into his bag. After Zhang Yun succeeded in feeding him snacks, her ambitions grew bigger, and she even brought her own little bowl to eat lunch with him.

Zhang Yun stuffed meat into his bowl, and Liang Feng would peel the eggshell and put the egg into her bowl. They were at the age where they were still growing, so Zhang Yun’s small portions were nowhere near enough for him. So Liang Feng only took out one cake each time, ate two pieces of meat that Zhang Yun picked for him, and said he was full. Zhang Yun would hold her little bowl, biting the meat and eating her own food. After Zhang Yun finished eating and left, Liang Feng would hurry and take out the rest of his cakes to finish before afternoon classes started.

At that time, both of them were still young. It could not really be called love. Zhang Yun just felt that this older brother, who was better looking than all the other boys, was very gentle, and playing with him was very happy.

Later, after they grew up, feelings developed between them. But Liang Feng was only a child student, and his family was not very well off. How could he be worthy of a scholar’s youngest daughter? So Liang Feng never revealed his feelings and gradually distanced himself from Zhang Yun. But Zhang Yun noticed right away. She found a time to directly pull Liang Feng aside and confess her feelings. Liang Feng instinctively wanted to refuse. Looking at Zhang Yun, just like when she was little, the moment she sensed he was going to refuse she started to turn her mouth down like she was going to cry. Liang Feng could only swallow back the cold, decisive words he was going to say, and started rattling off his concerns to her, how unsuitable the two of them were… Zhang Yun would not listen to what he was saying. She grabbed his collar, gave him a smacking kiss on the face, then stared at him with round eyes and asked, “Don’t you like me?”

Liang Feng was speechless. The true feelings hidden beneath all his concerns were dug out by Zhang Yun. He could only smile helplessly. “I like you. I like you very much.”

Zhang Yun raised her chin proudly. “Then isn’t that enough? Why do you have to worry about so many things? If you think it won’t work now, then I will wait for you. Anyway, I am not in a hurry to get married. When you think it will work, bring a generous betrothal gift and come marry me.”

Liang Feng nodded solemnly. His surging emotions were hard to calm. Liang Feng could not be as direct and bold as Zhang Yun. He only held her in a restrained, light hug, silently making up his mind.

From then on, Liang Feng studied and helped with family work even harder. At twenty years old, he passed the scholar exam. He brought the generous betrothal gifts he had saved up and went to ask for Zhang Yun’s hand in marriage.

…

After Liang Feng passed the provincial exam, he worked as a clerk at the county office. Every day he had to get up before dawn to go to work at the county office. The village was far from the county office, so Liang’s father specially asked someone to buy a horse and make a carriage to make it easier for him to commute. Chunniang’s younger brother, Fu Man, was the servant who followed Liang Feng. Every day he drove Liang Feng to the county office. When they got to town, the two of them ate breakfast, then Liang Feng went to work and Fu Man drove the carriage back to the Liang house. In the afternoon, he would go to the county office again to pick Liang Feng up and bring him home.

Actually, when Liang Feng first got the job, the two of them bought a small house in the county town. The house was not big, a two courtyard place with blue bricks and small tiles, kept neat and clean. But Zhang Yun lived there for less than five days before going back to the village. In town, there were vegetable sellers shouting before dawn, and at night there were night watchmen beating their clappers. The sounds of neighbors scolding their husbands or beating their children came clearly through the walls. She could not even get a peaceful night’s sleep. Also, the people on the street were strangers, and the next door neighbors were not familiar. Zhang Yun had nothing to do in town and was bored all day. It was not like the village, where every day was full and lively. The village was full of people she knew, and she could chat for half a day just washing clothes by the river.

Zhang Yun was not used to town life and wanted to live in the village. The couple discussed it, and Liang Feng would normally live in the county town, then come back to the village on his days off. But although the county town was close, at night there was no wife to hold, no wife to eat dinner and chat with… Liang Feng could not stand living alone for even two days. After that, he came back to the village to live every day.

At night, after the two of them washed up and lay in bed, Zhang Yun leaned against Liang Feng’s chest and spoke. “How about I still go live in town with you? It is too hard on you running back and forth every day.”

Liang Feng combed through Zhang Yun’s hair, his brows and eyes full of relaxation. “It is comfortable living at home. Just stay here.”

“But you run around every day…”

“The road is not far. I am used to running it. It is no trouble.”

“Liang Feng.”

“Yes.”

“You just spoil me too much.”

“Isn’t spoiling you the way it should be?”

Zhang Yun laughed, at a loss for words.