The next morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Yunna opened her slightly dry eyes and sat up, holding her head.
"Yunna, you're awake? Are you still feeling uncomfortable anywhere?" Xael immediately asked with concern.
"Xael, why are you still in my room?" Yunna asked instinctively as she met his worried gaze.
"I noticed you seemed a bit down last night and felt uneasy leaving you alone so…"
"You didn't stay the whole night, did you?"
"Well, not really, I just got here," Xael said a bit awkwardly, trying to sound casual.
But the tired look on his face gave him away.
"Thank you, Xael." Yunna could tell he was pretending. He must have stayed by her side all night. She looked at him with gratitude.
This was the first time she felt such genuine care. And it came from someone she had only met briefly. Thinking about it, she couldn't tell if it was funny or sad.
"No need to thank me. It's a man's duty to take care of a woman. Besides, we're going to be married."
"Pfft…" Yunna couldn't help but laugh at how flustered Xael sounded.
"I still don't know your full name. Can you tell me?"
"My name is Xael."
"Is it the same 'Xael' as in 'a gentle gentleman'?"
"Yes, Yunna."
"That suits you well. From now on, I'll call you Xael. You already called me Yunna, why act so formal again?" she said with a smile.
"You don't mind me calling your name directly?" Xael asked, a slight blush on his face as he smiled.
Since they already had the marriage contract, he should be calling her wife, but he selfishly wanted to call her name before they officially married.
"Names are meant to be used. Since we're getting married, you can call me however you like."
Xael looked at the girl sitting on the bed. Hearing her allow him to call her name made his heart race. In this world, only the wives who truly loved their husbands would let them call their names. Even if someone was the main husband, without the wife's affection, he wouldn't dare to.
Was Yunna telling him she liked him and was happy with him?
"Then I'll call your name from now on," Xael said with a bright smile.
"Alright. Xael, can you step out for a bit? I want to get up."
"Yunna, your foot is still hurt. Let me carry you. Are you going to the bathroom?"
"No, I'll manage. My foot doesn't hurt that much anymore. I think I can walk today." Yunna quickly responded to his offer.
Was it really okay to talk so openly about this here? She felt a little embarrassed. Having a handsome man carry her to the bathroom? She didn't think she could handle that.
"Yunna, I…"
"Xael, I'm just shy. Please step out. I can do it myself." Yunna quickly interrupted when she saw his sad puppy look.
"Alright then. I'll wait for you outside," Xael said, sensing her discomfort and stepping out of the room.
Yunna got up and gently stepped on the ground. She tested her foot and found that it didn't hurt anymore. The medicine really worked.
Once she was done washing up, Xael came back in. Naturally, he picked up her clothes and wanted to help her get dressed.
Yunna was going to refuse, but when she saw Xael's eyes, she gave in and let him help her.
They were standing very close. Yunna looked at Xael's face and noticed how smooth and fair his skin was, not a single blemish. So soft and flawless. How did he take care of himself like this?
Thinking that such a gorgeous man would soon be hers made her feel really happy.
Maybe this world she had traveled into wasn't so bad after all.
She didn't even want to go back anymore.
During breakfast, Yunna also refused Xael's offer to serve her food. Instead, she pulled him to sit down and eat together, asking the servants to leave the room.
"Yunna, do you not like having people serve you?"
"Sort of. I just think doing things myself actually feels pretty nice."
"But in the future, when we're outside, you'll still need to let me serve you," Xael said.
"Serving food is also something men must do for women?" Yunna asked with a puzzled look.
From what she remembered, the original Yunna often had one or two attendants to help during meals. But sometimes, they would coax her into doing it herself too.
Was this kind of thing really necessary?
"Yes. We were trained specifically on how to take care of women. Back when I was in the capital with the Yang family, we had a teacher to teach all the men in the family. I heard from Big Sister that since the number of girls being born nationwide has dropped again this year, the Empress is considering issuing an order for women to marry more husbands and have more daughters."
"No way."
"She hasn't given the official order yet, right?" Yunna asked, shocked. If that really happened, wouldn't women just become tools for giving birth?
"Not yet. But before I left the capital, some officials had already submitted the idea. So it probably won't be long. Besides, it's common now for women to have several husbands. If the Empress gives such an order, maybe it'll come with rewards for families who have more daughters," Xael explained thoughtfully.
Yunna didn't know whether to feel happy or sad after hearing this.
The original Yunna was already seventeen this year. Before, because of her bad behavior, none of the sons from wealthy families in the county wanted to marry her. Her mother didn't like her, and she looked down on the sons of smaller families. So nothing ever moved forward.
Here, girls start getting matched with husbands as early as fifteen.
Men who reach twenty-two without marrying would be either recruited into the army if physically fit or forced into slavery if they weren't.
Being sent to the army was actually the better outcome. If they worked hard, they might even become officers. That's rare for commoners but not impossible.
But becoming a slave was miserable. The local government would divide them up. Some would be sold to brothels, others to wealthy homes as servants. And once a man became a slave, he almost had no chance to marry.
So slaves here were cheap. If they looked bad, you could buy one for a few dozen coins.
Luckily, the court hadn't made it mandatory yet for women to marry husbands. With more men than women, it was already hard to match every man. Girls always had attendants growing up, so it was common for one girl to have six or seven male companions. Some even married ten or more husbands.
Yunna felt a strange uneasiness in her heart. She couldn't help but worry that the Empress might actually force women to marry a certain number of men.
Even though she was slowly adapting to the customs here and didn't reject the idea of marrying more than one in the future, she didn't want to be told to marry several all at once. No matter how good the men were, didn't she deserve some time to adjust?
"What's wrong, Yunna? Are you worried no one will want to marry you? Once you marry me, I'll help you find the right side husbands or companions."
"What? You want to help me choose side husbands?" Yunna looked at Xael in shock.
She didn't expect him to be so open about it. The original Yunna had no experience with this, and her stepfather had never said anything. So she really had no idea how marrying multiple men even worked.
Were men really this willing to share their wife?
"Yes. If I become your main husband, normally the side husbands should be from my family. That way, it's more stable. But my second and third brothers were engaged to the Xie family. Since they canceled my engagement, I think my brothers will still marry into that family," Xael explained.
"Your whole family gets engaged together?" Yunna asked, remembering that her own mother's fourth, fifth, and sixth husbands were also three brothers.
"It depends. But most of the time, yes. Some families do separate their sons, but it's more peaceful in the household when brothers marry the same wife."
Yunna felt like her brain was about to explode. This was way too much to take in.
"Don't worry, Yunna. You're so wonderful. Once people in the county find out, they'll be lining up at our door."
"There's no need for that. I think my reputation is good enough now. Xael, right now, I only want to marry you. As for others, I want to choose someone I truly like myself, not just accept whoever is handed to me," Yunna said immediately.
Xael's eyes lit up when he heard that. What Yunna meant was that she wanted to pick the others herself. That gave him more time to be close to her and maybe even be the one to father her first child.
"Then we'll do it your way," Xael said with a big smile.
No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't hide how happy he was.