Li Xiu hurried home. 'I shouldn't have gone to watch the drama,' he thought. 'I expected a good show, but I would've been better off snuggling with my wife on the warm kang. Even just teasing my darling daughter would have been better than looking at their faces. What a miscalculation.'
He tiptoed into the room to find Zhou Lian leaning back against the kang, reading a book. Their daughter was lying beside her, her little face rosy as she slept. The amber glow of the lamp fell on Zhou Lian's already delicate and lovely features, making her seem all the more pure, elegant, and utterly enchanting.
As if sensing his presence, Zhou Lian looked up and saw Li Xiu standing in a daze at the door. "What's wrong?" she asked, a little puzzled. "Come on in. Aren't you cold standing there?"
