Chapter 5: Footbath
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Of the three singsong girls of Cloudgem Lodge, Wanqing liked orchids, Yuansheng liked lotus flowers, and Xue Dongting liked red, fragrant roses. Mama Qiao always made fun of her for it, saying she was gaudy, but she didn’t care. She liked what she liked.
Song Yuming brought in a basin of hot water. His eyes flashed when he saw the red quilt on the bed. He looked somewhat surprised.
Xue Dongting saw his odd expression and quickly put in, “Mama Qiao told me specifically… when you get married you have to cover yourself with a red quilt…” She stammered it out. Some topics were not easy to broach.
Song Yuming didn’t seem to notice, he just grunted lightly. “Soak your feet a bit and you won’t be so cold.” He set the basin of hot water beside her feet.
Xue Dongting gently clenched her teeth and whispered, “You’ve been working all day, you wash up first.”
Song Yuming shook his head. He didn’t speak, but his eyes told her he would not brook any refusal.
Xue Dongting blushed and bent over and took off her red embroidered shoes.
Her feet were alabaster, normally, but were now flushed red from the cold. The moment she stuck her foot into the wooden basin it scalded her and she yanked her foot out, moaning in pain. But she had been sitting on the edge of the bed and her sudden movement made her lose her balance and she started to slide off the bed.
Alarmed, she shut her eyes. Falling on her wedding night, what a fool she was. But what was waiting for her was not the cold floor. She toppled, flustered, into a warm chest.
Song Yuming said nothing, only embraced Xue Dongting gently and set her upright on the bed. The fisherman was very strong so it was nothing for him to grab her.
Xue Dongting’s hand rested against his strong chest and she was at a loss, their faces inches away from each other.
Song Yuming released her and squatted and stuck his hand in the basin to test the temperature. “Probably because your feet are too cold.” He took her delicate, slender foot in his big hand and held it. His hand was very warm.
Xue Dongting was so embarrassed, her hands propping her up on the edge of the bed. She wanted to say something. But he slowly dipped her foot into the hot water. This time water, which came up to her ankle, did not scald her.
Squatting there on the floor, Song Yuming gently tied up the bottom of her skirt to keep it from dipping into the water.
Xue Dongting looked down at the knot in her skirt and a faint, warm feeling spread over her.
She dawdled about soaking her feet because she didn’t know what she should do once she was done. By the time Song Yuming warned her, the water had already gone cold.
She took her feet out in a hurry and Song Yuming handed her a clean cloth before taking up the wooden basin and going outside.
Xue Dongting dried her feet, then sat on the bed hugging her knees, lost in thought, thinking back to when Song Yuming had touched her foot. She felt hot all the way to her ears.
Soon she felt her eyelids getting heavy. She had not slept a wink last night and had slept poorly the night before that, and now sleepiness was coming on strong. She shut her eyes gently. Maybe just a quick nap.
Half asleep, Xue Dongting felt someone embrace her. In her previous life she was in a constant state of anxiety, so she sprang awake, only to see Song Yuming’s sharply carved face.
Song Yuming smiled and said mildly, “I saw you sleeping and was afraid you’d catch cold.”
Xue Dongting squeezed out a smile and hemmed and hawed, “I’m really… so sleepy…”
Song Yuming nodded, not speaking. Meaning since she was tired they should sleep.
Xue Dongting was nervous, seeing the fisherman had already doffed his cotton-padded clothes and was not wearing only a thin undergown. But he didn’t do anything to her.
She hesitated, then reached up and undid the button on her outer robe and took off her red attire. Underneath was a light, pale bluish-white satin gown. It was still a bit cold in the room as she dug in under the quilt, shivering. The quilt was ice-cold, which made her even colder. She couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering.