The two of them slept very soundly that day. The next morning, Li Yaonan was awakened by the crying of a baby. He frowned inadvertently, opened his sleepy eyes, turned his head and saw his little boy crying heartbreakingly. Li Yaonan remained silent. For the sake of his son, he endured it.
"Are you awake?" Lin Yixuan coaxed the child while looking at him with concern: "Did I wake you up?"
Li Yaonan shook his head. How could there not be a quarrel? However, seeing that his young husband was suffering so much and it was his own son who was crying, how could he, a grown man, not have the nerve to complain
Lin Yixuan walked back and forth in the room holding his son, rocking him in his arms to coax him. Little Xuer burped a few times, and when he felt the cool air in the room, he gradually stopped crying and fell into a deep sleep again.
Li Yaonan was speechless. This brat was simply a little bastard. After waking up his parents, he slept soundly himself.
Lin Yixuan looked at his son lovingly and carefully placed Xu'er on the bed, with a hint of worry between his brows.
"What's wrong with you?" Li Yaonan was very sensitive and noticed that her husband was acting strange. She glanced at the little boy who was sleeping soundly and couldn't help but wonder, "What's wrong with Xu'er?"
Lin Yixuan touched his son's red face, with a faint smile on his lips: "Xiao Xu'er is very well behaved, don't worry."
Li Yaonan was dissatisfied, so she pulled Lin Yixuan to sit on her lap, tightly wrapped her arms around his waist, and whispered, "Is there anything you can't say to your husband?"
Lin Yixuan's cheeks were slightly red, but she didn't act pretentiously. She leaned into Li Yaonan's arms and sighed, "The imperial examination will be in September. I don't want you to be distracted. I can handle these things."
Li Yaonan tapped his nose and said, "You, we are husband and wife, what is there to hide? Tell me so that we can discuss it. Even if it can't be solved, it's better than you keeping it in your heart. Look at your frown, be careful that you get old quickly."
Lin Yixuan glared at him. Why couldn’t this guy say something nice
Li Yaonan didn't wait for him to speak, and continued with a chuckle: "But don't worry, even if you become an old man, you will still be the father of my son."
Lin Yixuan moved his slender fingers, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and he pinched his waist. Although his tightly furrowed brows had relaxed, his eyebrows stood up again.
Seeing that his husband was about to get angry, Li Yaonan cried out "Ouch!" and begged for mercy, feeling a little proud in his heart. Look, his little husband is so easy to coax. He becomes lively and vivid with just one provocation. He really likes his little husband's energetic look.
Lin Yixuan didn't dare to really use any force. Seeing Li Yaonan pretending to be so, she couldn't help but laugh in her heart. She knew that he was trying to make her happy. She leaned quietly in Li Yaonan's arms and said slowly, "We are running out of ice at home. We just moved here last year, and we didn't store much during the New Year. It's inevitable that it won't be enough in the summer. I've sent someone to buy some, but there's been no news recently. Yangzhou is very hot this year, and even ice is out of stock. I'm afraid we have to wait a little longer. I'm fine myself, I'm just worried about the child. It was too hot to sleep this morning, and the nanny had no choice but to bring him here."
Li Yaonan couldn't help but feel annoyed. He thought about how careless he was to not notice these details. Thinking carefully, he seemed to be in a cool environment as soon as he got home from Suzhou. There were ice basins in the bedroom and study. He wondered why Xiaoxuer was crying this morning. It must be because they were too busy last night and forgot to bring the child over, so Xiaoxuer got too hot.
"Leave it to me." Li Yaonan said seriously, but he was thinking in his heart. He vaguely remembered that saltpeter seemed to be able to produce ice. Although the specific process still needed to be explored, this method had been circulated since the end of the Tang Dynasty. He felt that it should not be too difficult.
"Okay!" Lin Yixuan smiled slightly. No matter what he thought in his heart, his face was still smiling, and his clear eyes were full of dependence.
Li Yaonan felt very satisfied. His little husband was so well behaved that his heart softened. It was obvious that Li Yaonan had long forgotten how fierce his little husband had been just now.
Not long after, a servant came to report that the head of the Li family had arrived and was waiting in the flower hall.
Li Yaonan was embarrassed. He hadn't even washed up yet. He quickly asked someone to fetch some water, packed up casually and left the room, leaving Lin Yixuan alone with her hands covering her mouth and laughing.
Li Yaonan walked to the main hall. Li Jingxiang had been waiting for a long time. He came to say goodbye. Xiao Xuer's full moon banquet was over, and it was time for him to go back. There were still many things to do in the clan.
Li Yaonan expressed his understanding of this. After all, the family had two more scholars, which was a cause for celebration. He did not try to persuade them to stay and only ordered his servants to deliver the prepared gifts.
Li Jingxiang was polite for a while, but finally accepted it. He became more and more satisfied with Li Yaonan and made up his mind to separate him from the Li family. After all, they were father and son. If their relationship eased, wouldn't it be a waste for others to take advantage of him
Without Li Yaonan's knowledge, Li Jingxiang saved him from a big trouble.
After Li Jingxiang left, it was almost noon. After lunch, Li Yaonan sent someone to buy saltpeter. This world was different from ancient China. The management of saltpeter was not so strict. It was just that the output of saltpeter was small, so there were few places to sell it. However, these were not a problem for Yangzhou. Yangzhou was one of the most prosperous places in the Jin Dynasty. As long as you had money, you could buy anything, not to mention that they were just some worthless stones.
In the afternoon, Wang Xiaohu returned with two carts of saltpeter, and Li Yaonan generously rewarded him with ten taels of silver. He then directed several servants to divide the saltpeter into two parts, one to be moved into the warehouse and the other to the study.
After finishing, he asked someone to fetch a few basins of water, then closed the door and started tinkering with it. Lin Yixuan thought he was studying, so she didn't let anyone disturb him. After coaxing her son, she went to the kitchen. Li Yaonan came back from the children's exam. He was not only thinner, but also darker. Although he looked more resolute, he couldn't help feeling distressed. He still remembered that when he first married Li Yaonan, she was so thin. Although she has grown taller now, the body that she had finally regained in this year has become thinner again. He felt sad.
Aunt Liu was filled with joy. Her son-in-law was back. Her son was different. He became warmer and gentler, with a touch of humanity. She thought it was better to have such a son. Seeing the couple getting along well, Aunt Liu was happy from the bottom of her heart. When she saw that the son-in-law wanted to prepare supplements for her son-in-law, she immediately stepped forward to help and told him some tips on making soup.
Li Yaonan was in the study, putting saltpeter into the water little by little according to different proportions. He originally thought that making ice would be difficult, but after half an hour, the water began to move.
Li Yaonan breathed a sigh of relief, proving that his idea was correct. He vaguely remembered that the book seemed to say that saltpeter dissolved in water would absorb a large amount of heat, causing the water to cool down to ice. It seemed to be true.
When Li Yaonan saw the movement in the water, he ignored it and planned to give his husband a surprise after the water froze.
But he didn't expect that his husband would give him a surprise first.
Looking at the table full of food, Li Yaonan felt warm in his heart. He held Lin Yixuan's hand and kissed her: "It's so hot, didn't I tell you not to do it?"
Lin Yixuan was a little shy, but recovered in an instant. With his shadow in her eyes, she said angrily, "You've lost weight. You just drank yesterday and didn't eat much. You have to show your support today."
Li Yaonan felt very relieved. He did have a poor appetite these days, mainly because of the days in Suzhou. He couldn't eat or sleep well, and he hasn't recovered yet. He didn't expect that his husband would find out after just a few days.
"These are all your favorite foods, try them." Lin Yixuan smiled and picked up a dish for him with chopsticks, and then served him a bowl of soup.
Li Yaonan was in a good mood, and even his appetite seemed to have improved. Lin Yixuan's cooking skills were not actually top-notch, but he just thought it tasted delicious.
He liked sesame oil paste, diced meat and cucumber sauce, braised quail with sauce, colorful wontons, and mushrooms and vegetables.
Hey! Li Yaonan sighed with satisfaction. At this moment, he no longer worried about whether his husband was a woman or a man. He just felt that if his wife was like this, what else could he ask for
Lin Yixuan looked at him with a faint smile, and only expressed satisfaction when he saw that Li Yaonan had eaten two more bowls than usual.
Li Yaonan ate very well. He took Lin Yixuan for a walk in the yard and then chatted for a while. Seeing that it was getting dark, Li Yaonan smiled and asked his husband to accompany him to the study.
Lin Yixuan didn't care at first, but when she saw Li Yaonan acting mysterious, she became curious. He knew everything in Li Yaonan's study and knew which book was where. He probably remembered it better than her husband.
Lin Yixuan suppressed her inner speculation and obediently let him hold her hand, her eyes constantly looking at her husband, wondering what he was going to do at this moment
Li Yaonan pushed open the door of the study, and a wave of cool breeze instantly hit him. Compared with the hot weather outside, he felt refreshed.
"Huh!" Lin Yixuan looked at the several large basins of ice in the room in surprise. He was not surprised that there was ice in the study, but that the ice seemed to be still emitting cool air. Three basins contained ice chips, three basins contained ice cubes, and two basins contained ice water.
"This is..." Lin Yixuan's eyes sparkled. His mind was indeed quick and he immediately understood that this surprise was definitely not fake. How could he not recognize the pile of saltpeter placed next to it
Li Yaonan was very proud, raised his eyebrows and smiled: "How is it? Your husband is amazing, isn't he?"
"Yeah." Lin Yixuan nodded vigorously and grabbed her husband excitedly: "How did you make the ice?"
Li Yaonan did not hide it and said with a smile: "Put saltpeter in water according to the proportion, and it will freeze in about half an hour."
Lin Yixuan's eyes flashed, and he immediately calculated how much money he could make. After all, saltpeter is not really a valuable thing.
Li Yaonan was unhappy. Her husband started to lose focus again. She pinched his cheek and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Lin Yixuan naturally wouldn't tell him, lest her husband would accuse her of being obsessed with money. She smiled and said, "I was thinking about how capable my husband is."
Li Yaonan smiled comfortably, all the grudge he had just had disappeared. He slightly curled the corners of his lips, but before he could react, his mouth suddenly felt cold. Li Yaonan's eyes widened suddenly, looking at the delicate face in front of him.
Lin Yixuan kissed him, then quickly retreated, ran out of the house, looked back and smiled, and said crisply: "This is a reward."
After saying that, as if she was afraid that Li Yaonan would say something, she ran away without a trace. Even after she walked a long way and returned to the main room, Lin Yixuan's heart was still pounding. Did he take advantage of her husband this time
Lin Yixuan smiled softly and snorted softly. She felt that instead of waiting for her husband to endure it slowly, it would be better for her to take the initiative. Her husband didn’t refuse, right