Ye Lan was held tightly in Xu Qi’s arms, feeling the rough fabric of the woman’s clothes rubbing against the wound on his back, causing a fiery pain. But he couldn’t care about that now. He just clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his flesh. His body tensed up, then gradually relaxed, and the pale lips parted slightly, “I was born to serve, not worthy of being a partner.”

Xu Qi’s tense and shy smile slowly faded from her face. She casually moved her left hand, which was resting on her thigh, and gradually brought the somewhat dirty but slender hand into her palm. The hand was cold, and Xu Qi couldn’t help but rub it a few times. Ye Lan, with wide eyes, remained motionless in Xu Qi’s arms.

“What you’re saying has nothing to do with your true self. Being a slave is not your fault, and you’re not destined to be a slave. You’re just you, the partner I want.”

She hugged him inexplicably tighter, feeling his slight trembling in her arms until he let out a painful cry.

“Ahmm…..? Mistress?”

He tentatively called out twice, but his expression was uneasy.

Xu Qi happily responded, “That sounds so nice. From now on, you’ll call me that.”

Ye Lan was startled again, trying to shrink back, but this time Xu Qi didn’t restrain him. He successfully moved to the foot of the bed, then lowered his eyes, gripping the dark sheets beneath him, his expression unclear.

“You don’t know, I’m not worthy to be a proper husband.”

“Why aren’t you worthy? I’m not from a noble family, so why would you be unworthy?”

“I… I’m not clean.”

He turned his head away, unable to look at Xu Qi.

Even in an ordinary family, they wouldn’t want someone like him who was unclean. Even if she was willing, what about her parents and elders? Someone would always object.

Xu Qi sighed in relief, pinching his chin and turning his face back to her. “That’s not important. As long as you don’t have lingering feelings for the woman who sold you.”

“I… I don’t.”

When it came to being sold, it wasn’t decided by the adults, but by the adult’s attendant. When he was a slave, he had argued with him before and was beaten and then sold to someone else. Of course, the adult didn’t object; it was just a fleeting affection, a plaything for venting desires.

He had no attachment to that place; he just felt like a drifting duckweed, stumbling through life for so many years, which was rare. Even though it was a peaceful era now, there was no good future for a slave like him. He had had enough of living, tired of it.

Ye Lan’s eyes dimmed, his whole person like a lifeless ragdoll, causing Xu Qi’s heart to ache sharply. She let go of his chin, informing him, “Since you have no lingering feelings for her, from now on, you’ll be my husband, Xu Qi. Don’t say you’re unworthy again.”

Ye Lan stood still, not giving any reply.

Xu Qi waited for a while, feeling somewhat anxious. Thinking back on what she had said earlier, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had been too harsh. Did she scare him?

“Don’t worry, even though I’m just a commoner, I’ll treat you well.”

She awkwardly added, her eyes looking particularly sincere.

Ye Lan looked up dazedly at her. After a long while, for some reason, tears suddenly fell from his sunken eye sockets.

This startled Xu Qi; she hadn’t seen a man cry before, especially not one she somewhat liked. She hurriedly reached out to wipe the tears from Ye Lan’s face. Her hand, which had been firm and steady when killing pigs, was now trembling slightly. “W-Why are you crying? Does your wound hurt again? I have some medicine here, should I apply it for you?”

She was nervous, her lips turning pale along with Ye Lan’s wet ones.

Ye Lan stared straight at Xu Qi, not avoiding her this time. Finally, he said, “If mistress doesn’t mind my humble status and is willing to make me her proper husband, I will never disobey mistress. If, in the future, mistress meets someone she likes, I will step aside without hesitation, never delaying or annoying mistress.”

He had no confidence in himself, believing that Xu Qi wouldn’t always like him.

But this woman in front of him was really enticing. Everything she did was so tempting, he couldn’t help but want to agree to her, to be closer to her, to give himself another chance to live, and she was his last chance.

Xu Qi breathed a sigh of relief. She was a responsible person who didn’t develop feelings for just anyone. It wasn’t easy for her to meet someone she liked more than him. As long as this person didn’t resist her and didn’t cause trouble, she felt everything would be fine.

To be honest, whenever Xu Qi thought of the look in his eyes at the slave market, she was afraid he would lose hope in life and do something desperate.

A rich aroma of rice drifted in from outside the curtain. Xu Qi remembered the porridge she had cooked and quickly supported Ye Lan, laying him down gently, and covered him with a blanket. Due to the bumpy ride, Ye Lan’s back wound had slightly torn again, so Xu Qi dared not dress him, fearing the fabric would irritate the wound and cause pain.

She went to the large pot in the outer room, and the fire was no longer as vigorous as before, leaving only a faint glimmer. Xu Qi extinguished the fire completely, then opened the pot, and the fragrant steam of rice came rushing out.

“What are you doing? You don’t need to do this!”

As soon as Xu Qi entered the room, she saw Ye Lan bending down to pick up the wooden basin that had fallen earlier.

At that time, she thought Ye Lan was more important, so she didn’t care about the wooden basin, but she didn’t expect Ye Lan to get off the bed to pick it up.

Setting down the bowl of porridge, Xu Qi hurried over to support Ye Lan, who was swaying, and lifted him up horizontally. Ignoring the almost imperceptible resistance, she laid him back on the bed and covered him carefully with the blanket.

Ye Lan felt a little panicked, pinching the corner of the blanket and looking at Xu Qi with a scholarly air, which made people want to tease him.

Xu Qi picked up the porridge bowl again, a bit displeased. “What are you doing getting out of bed? Don’t you know you’re not fully recovered yet?”

“I saw the wooden basin fall to the ground and wanted to pick it up.”

Xu Qi helplessly propped him up against the head of the bed, then picked up the bowl of porridge and spooned a mouthful towards him.

Ye Lan lowered his head, thinking to himself, “Is she this gentle to her husband?”

“What are you thinking? Open your mouth.”

Xu Qi tapped the spoon against his thin lips.

Ye Lan was startled, slightly opening his lips and carefully swallowing the spoonful of porridge. His delicate tongue occasionally peeked out, extremely agile.

Xu Qi thought to herself, avoiding his gaze.

After finishing the bowl of porridge, she got off the bed. “You should rest well. I’ll go feed the pigs.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Lan tried to get off the bed, “I’ll go.”

He didn’t even hear what Xu Qi said; he just wanted to do something. He was afraid of being idle, having grown accustomed to being beaten if he didn’t work.

But Xu Qi didn’t want him to move. At this moment, she frowned, wanting to tie him to the bed.

Ye Lan didn’t know Xu Qi’s temperament, but he was very obslave and almost immediately noticed her unease.

“Mistress… Mistress..”

Ye Lan called out, still feeling a bit uncomfortable with the term, stuttering and not daring to look at her.

Xu Qi had to soften her voice, “Don’t move until your wounds are healed. Just stay in bed.”

“I… This lowly body is fine, just a minor injury, it’s all better now.”

Xu Qi choked on her breath for a moment, then smiled and touched Ye Lan’s ink-like long hair. “Don’t say that about yourself. If you’re lowly, then am I not lowly for buying you as my proper husband?”

She meant it as a joke, but she didn’t expect Ye Lan to be so frightened.

“Mistress, Mistress is naturally different from me. Mistress is mistress, and I am me. How can we be the same?”

In his eyes, the mistress was willing to spend money to buy him, willing to marry him as her proper husband, the only person who had shown kindness to him in many years.

“Would I marry a lowly person as my husband?”

Xu Qi asked again, and Ye Lan stuttered, enable to speak.

“Alright, don’t think too much. My husband is not for doing chores.”

“Then what is a husband for?” Ye Lan instinctively raised his head and asked.

Xu Qi lowered her head and pressed her forehead against his, wrapping her arm around his waist. “A husband is for pampering.”