Ch 16: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

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Red Date Honey Cake

It took less than an hour for the news from the riverside to spread throughout Furong Alley.

Everyone knew that the old hag, Gao Lu, who was always bad-mouthing others and gossiping about the neighbors, had brought along two sisters-in-law who were just as shameless to bully the Qin family’s husband and the young wife from the Wei family.

The Wei family’s young wife cried her heart out, sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath, and the Qin family’s husband, Jiu Ge’er, was so angered by them that he fainted on the spot!

His face was so pale, and many people saw Qin Xia carrying him in his arms, rushing to the clinic.

Although the people in the alley had always had their criticisms of Qin Xia, just as Gao Lu said, they knew that Yu Jiuque’s background was unclear, and there was no guarantee that he came from a respectable family.

But such things were usually discussed behind closed doors—who would be so brazen as to say it out loud?

Jiu Ge’er was part of the Qin family, not Gao Lu’s husband.

What business was it of him how they lived their lives behind closed doors?

And since Yu Jiuque had ended up in the clinic, everyone quickly turned their ire toward Gao Lu, almost breaking his back with their comments.

By the time they returned from Chengyi Hall, the sky was as dark as ink.

At the hall, the old physician Xu had treated Yu Jiuque with acupuncture, so he had regained consciousness, though he was still weak.

Qin Xia carried Yu Jiuque on his back all the way home and settled him into bed.

Physician Xu had mentioned that Yu Jiuque’s fainting was due to a sudden rush of anger and advised him not to easily get angry in the future. Other than that, there were no serious concerns.

As the previous prescription was finished, they now received a new one based on his current symptoms.

Yu Jiuque felt very apologetic.

He had only intended to teach Gao Lu a lesson, not expecting his own body to be so unreliable.

Just one swing of the stick, and he ended up fainting. Not only did this scare Qin Xia, who had to rush around taking care of him, but it also probably gave Shuang’er from across the way a good fright.

On the way back, he apologized to Qin Xia, saying he shouldn’t have caused trouble.

But Qin Xia responded seriously, “This matter was clearly instigated by Gao Lu; it was trouble that came to you, not you causing trouble. Besides, you handled it very well.”

Qin Xia was still fuming inside, wishing he could throw that old hag Lu into the river to cool her down!

The house had been quiet for a long time, and now that they were finally back, Da Fu, the goose, was anxiously calling out from its cage, so Qin Xia freed up a hand to let it out.

“I’ve been stewing lamb soup in the pot, and it should be just about ready. Would you like to eat some?”

He asked Yu Jiuque, who was leaning against the bed.

Originally, they had planned to sit together in the warm living room tonight, eating lamb soup and meat, maybe even sipping some warm yellow wine—it would have been wonderful.

But now, it had turned into a sick meal.

Yu Jiuque was indeed hungry.

When he first regained consciousness at the clinic, he was cold and clammy, with trembling hands. The old physician Xu had a clerk make him a bowl of sugar water to drink, which made him feel a little better.

“I’ll eat anything.”

“Then I’ll go heat up the lamb soup and tear some noodle pieces into it, so we can have a few hot bowls.”

Before leaving the room, Qin Xia didn’t forget to scoop up Da Fu. The little thing had been hungry for a while, so he took it to the kitchen to get something to eat.

As it turned out, the delayed dinner was still delicious.

The lamb soup had absorbed all the essence of the lamb, with a rich, non-greasy broth, tender and flavorful meat, and no trace of gaminess.

The noodles were soft and smooth, soaking up the soup and warming the body, driving out the cold from within.

Qin Xia tasted a bowl of the clear soup first, and once he was sure it was just right, he added plenty of chili peppers to his own, turning it into a fiery red bowl that he ate with great satisfaction.

Yu Jiuque held his bowl and drank the soup, a bit of sweat forming on the tip of his nose, and color returning to his face.

At home, he had a large bowl that was his own special one, bought by Qin Xia just for him.

This kind of large bowl is something most households rarely have; it’s typically used in eateries specifically for serving soup, and one of these bowls holds as much as three regular bowls.

Qin Xia later realized that eating five bowls of noodles on the first night was quite an impressive feat for Yu Jiuque, likely because he was extremely hungry before. On a normal day, Yu Jiuque would only eat about four bowls of noodles.

Given his physique, that still sounds astonishing, but Qin Xia had grown accustomed to it.

“Are you full? I’ve still got some noodles left. If you want more, I can cook them.”

Yu Jiuque wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and shook his head. “I’m already very full.”

He no longer lies about his appetite because Qin Xia can always see through it.

Qin Xia knew that he was truly satisfied, so he got up to clear the dishes.

After the meal, he stayed in the kitchen, brewing medicine and boiling water.

Both he and Yu Jiuque had broken a sweat today, and it had been several days since their last proper bath. Although bathing here wasn’t as convenient as in modern times, Qin Xia could barely tolerate it anymore.

Once a large pot of water was boiling, he brought a big wooden tub into the main room, along with buckets of hot and cold water.

Yu Jiuque’s health was fragile, so soaking in a bath wasn’t advisable. Qin Xia prepared a separate basin for him to wash up.

Da Fu also had a small basin of water set beside Yu Jiuque’s basin.

When Yu Jiuque placed Da Fu in the water, it instinctively started splashing around.

Yu Jiuque watched with a smile for a while, then turned his gaze toward the closed wooden door.

Qin Xia was bathing in the main room to avoid any impropriety.

They had been married for almost half a month, yet they were still so distant—probably only the two of them were like this.

Thinking of how Physician Xu from Chengyi Hall had once again reminded him today, Yu Jiuque felt his ears burn.

He still couldn’t consummate the marriage with Qin Xia and had no idea when he would be able to, as Fang Rong mentioned, carry Qin Xia’s child to continue the Qin family’s bloodline.

He touched his belly, full of lamb soup, and with some frustration, undressed and began to wash.

…

The next morning, a rich sweet fragrance wafted from the Qin family courtyard.

A bit of glutinous rice flour was mixed into the regular flour, kneaded into dough, and left to rise. Honey, eggs, and a little oil were then added, and the dough was left to rise again.

Once ready, the dough was topped with chopped red dates, walnuts, and raisins, and steamed until done.

The sweet aroma escaped from the kitchen, making the neighboring children cry out in hunger.

“Mom! It smells so good! I want some sweet cake!”

“Sweet cake? Eat your corn cakes!”

At this point, any disobedient child would start crying.

Qin Xia carefully timed it, then lifted the lid and brought out the sweet cake, cutting it while it was still hot.

Inside, the cake was filled with tiny holes, resembling a honeycomb, which is why this honey-based sweet cake has a proper name—honeycomb cake.

Interestingly, Qin Xia’s original family was somewhat similar to the original owner of this body.

The original owner’s grandmother was a cook, while Qin Xia’s maternal grandmother and mother were both skilled in the kitchen.

His maternal grandmother used to joke that this culinary skill should be passed down to daughters, not sons.

Unlike his paternal grandparents who lived in the countryside, his maternal grandparents lived in the same city as Qin Xia’s family.

When Qin Xia was a child and fell ill, his maternal grandmother would make this honeycomb cake for him.

In his memory, this was the taste that marked the end of his illness, similar to how some people crave canned yellow peaches when they’re sick.

It had been a long time since he last tasted this sweet treat, and for some reason, starting from last night, he had a strong desire to make it for Yu Jiuque as well.

He made a large batch this time, keeping some for their own household and preparing another portion to take to the Wei family across the way, as a gesture to help calm Cao A’shuang’s nerves.

After all, yesterday’s unexpected trouble was mainly aimed at Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque, and Cao A’shuang got involved unintentionally.

Moreover, Yu Jiuque mentioned that Cao A’shuang had been very protective of him, and they needed to acknowledge that kindness.

After letting Yu Jiuque have a piece to satisfy his craving, Qin Xia placed two large pieces of the honeycomb cake in a big bowl, covered it with a clean steamer cloth, and carried it over to the Wei family’s door.

The door was opened by Wei Chao, Cao A’shuang’s husband.

“Brother Wei.”

The two families had been neighbors for many years and were well acquainted.

When they were children, Wei Chao and the original owner of Qin Xia’s body had been playmates, but as they grew older, the original owner took a wrong path.

After the deaths of Qin Xia’s grandparents and parents, the two families, despite living across from each other, gradually had less contact.

But now, because of their wives, they had started to reconnect.

Wei Chao suspected that Qin Xia was here because of what happened yesterday, but deep down, he didn’t want to have much to do with Qin Xia.

He had even advised his wife, telling her all about Qin Xia’s past behavior, hoping she would avoid getting too close to Jiu Ge’er.

Just look, it had only been a few days, and trouble had already arisen.

However, since Qin Xia wasn’t empty-handed, Wei Chao couldn’t just shut the door in his face.

“Thanks to Madam Cao’s help in calling for aid, I was able to get Ah Jiu to the clinic in time. These are some homemade honeycomb cakes, a small token of my appreciation. I hope Brother Wei will accept them.”

Wei Chao looked at the cake, then at Qin Xia, momentarily stunned.

Did he hear wrong? Those polite and respectful words had actually come out of Qin Xia’s mouth!

It was as if the sun had risen in the west.

He had been ready with a refusal to keep Qin Xia from lingering, but now all those words were useless.

Wei Chao stammered, “There’s no need to say that. In such a situation, anyone would have helped. But this… we really can’t accept…”

Qin Xia, however, firmly placed the cake in Wei Chao’s hands.

Wei Chao felt the weight of the cake, surprised at how heavy it was and how tempting it smelled.

In these times, anything made with fine rice flour and sugar was considered a luxury, something most families would only make for holidays or special occasions.

Qin Xia wasn’t the original owner and understood the principle that “distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors.”

If there was a chance to improve relations with the neighbors, he wasn’t going to miss it.

Not to mention, at the moment, he had something he wanted to ask Wei Chao for help with.

“I’m planning to visit the Gao family after breakfast. Would you like to join me, Brother Wei?”

He had already made up his mind—he couldn’t let the Gao family think that this matter would just be swept under the rug.