Saving the Prince Regent - Chapter 46

Chapter 46 – Proposal (1)

Zhao Xi took the bowl of water that Shen Fei handed to her and sipped. She asked him, “Why are you so good to me?”

She had essentially trapped him here in this godforsaken valley. She had made him do things he didn’t want, and put him in uncomfortable circumstances multiple times, and yet he was never cross with her. He was always patient with all her antics. He even took care of her when she was sick, wiped her forehead, made her food.

Aunt Liu always went on about how men were so inconsiderate and treated their women like slaves, working them hard to cook and clean after them. Zhao Xi always heard about men forcing their wives to be submissive. She never heard about men who were considerate towards their wives, or to women in general. So, it was very surprising for Zhao Xi, who had not met many people in her life, to find Shen Fei being ordinarily kind to her. She thought that Shen Fei was an exception to other men.

“Zhao Xi,” Shen Fei said, looking at her, “it is not that surprising. I am just doing the most basic things to help. It’s the least I can do after everything you’ve done.”

With a hesitant afterthought, he added, “I don’t think you have met many people in your life… I am just doing what is normal.”

Shen Fei had never heard Zhao Xi talking about anyone else than her Master or Ping An, or Aunt Liu. Her Master had left her three years ago, and Ping An was an animal that she took care of. It was hardly a substitution for human contact. Besides, Ping An needed looking after more than a child, so Zhao Xi, in fact, had spent her life mostly alone.

Since Zhao Xi had spent her life with the most minimal human contact and Shen Fei realized that even the smallest things he did for her, made her most glad. She thought he was being extraordinarily kind to her. Shen Fei, in contrast, was so indebted to what she had done for him. She had saved his life and nurtured him to health. She would be away even during midnight hunting for herbs for his medicinal needs. Her feet would be red and sore, yet she never complained. She had made him a tripod and crutches, and bought a wheelchair, even when he had nothing to give back. She had done everything for him without expecting anything back, and for that, he could never be able to completely repay her.

Shen Fei thought Zhao Xi too innocent and strange. She had a child-like fascination with everything around her, and yet she was hardheaded enough to hunt poisonous snakes. She was vulnerable when she talked about her Master, yet unafraid to brave the dark mountains. He admired Zhao Xi. She was kind, caring and strong. She was so self-reliant without being prideful and had killer martial arts skills to put any man to shame.

The girl didn’t agree with him, though. She still thought he was exceptional, different from anybody else. She wondered if everything he did was so ordinary, then why didn’t her Master, or her Grandmaster, had never done anything like this? She had never been taken care of, so she thought that she was definitely special to Shen Fei, if he took the effort to care for her.

Nevertheless, Zhao Xi was happy. She drank the medicine and ate the porridge Shen Fei had made for her. She was so content that she fell asleep. The last thing she saw was Shen Fei placing a cold, wet cloth on her temple to lower her body temperature. She was still a bit feverish. He had to switch the towels for other wet ones, two or three times to get her temperature to come down a little.

After a while, Shen Fei slept on the bench as it was still difficult for him to get on the bed from the wheelchair. There was a blanket there, already. Usually, Zhao Xi slept on the bench because she insisted. Shen Fei would always wake up sore and aching whenever he slept on it. He felt guilty when he found out how uncomfortable the bench could be. Zhao Xi had slept on it with just a blanket for an entire month, when he had arrived to live with her in her small cottage. It wasn’t until recently that they had decided to share the bed. She had never said anything about it, which made Shen Fei feel even more remorseful.

Shen Fei looked at Zhao Xi across the room, sleeping on her side, half her face buried into the pillow. The other exposed half was delicate and beautiful. The conventions of beauty were hard for women. They were expected to be petite and fragile. The brutal practice of foot-wrapping was still performed in many villages, which affected the health of women, and they became physically weak. They were also married off at a very young age. Zhao Xi was the complete opposite of that. She was a hard- worker and a heavy worker; she was tall and sculpted. She emanated a kind of strength that intimidated everybody. Most men did not appreciate her, but Shen Fei admired her perseverance and tenacity and found her the most beautiful human ever.

The times were changing, and most things were changing with them. If one was to walk beyond the mountains to the capital, the practices of foot-binding and child marriage were already vanishing. Women were not belittled for not having bound feet, or for being tall. Most of them refused the idea of marriage until they became financially and socially stable. In fact, the practice of foot-binding had been outlawed in the capital, which was situated at the base of the empire. However, it was unfortunate that stricter measures weren’t in place and many villages in the outskirts still practiced the painful tradition in the hopes that this would attract better suitors for their daughters, which was just a remnant of a brutal stereotype.

Most places moved on from foot-binding to make-up. It was, in Shen Fei’s view, immensely better and wholly inventive. There were all sorts of new eyebrow shapes- willow-leaf brows, distant-mountain brows, crescent brows, etc. Many shades for lip-color, from red to mauve to even brown. It was indeed fascinating to see the artistry and creativity of many who did it. Zhao Xi didn’t need any of that, but perhaps she might like it too, if she was to venture out beyond the mountains.