RFF - Chapter Ten (Part 2)
Tao Fang Ao was lost in his grief that he didn't notice Tao Tu Yun was slowly opening her eyes.
'Ah...' Tao Tu Yun murmured.
Tao Tu Yun's soft murmur startled Tao Fang Ao. He slowly opened his teary eyes, looked at Tao Tu Yun's face and cried joyful tears.
News of Tao Fang Ao's dead wife coming back to life quickly spread throughout Luo Yang province. The citizens believed the generations of the Tao Household's good deeds miraculously revived Tao Tu Yun's life.
The physician believed in miracles for the first time when the physician checked Tao Tu Yun's pulse. Tao Tu Yun's pulse was healthy compared to her faint pulse the last time the physician examined her.
Everyone in the Tao Manor took good care of Tao Tu Yun, and she recovered her health quickly.
'Mistress, eat this bowl of soup,' Su Wu said.
Tao Fang Ao walked into the bedchamber and saw his wife was awake.
'Su Wu, I'll feed my wife,' Tao Fang Ao said.
'Fang Ao, I can feed myself,' Tao Tu Yun protested.
Tao Fang Ao took the bowl of soup from Su Wu's hands and gestured Su Wu to leave.
Su Wu left the bedchamber and Tao Fang Ao sat on the bed next to Tao Tu Yun with the bowl of soup in his hands.
'Let me feed you,' Tao Fang Ao insisted.
Tao Fang Ao thought his wife's complexion was still pale but he was grateful she was alive.
'Fang Ao, I'm sorry I made everyone at the Tao Manor worry about me,' Tao Tu Yun said.
After Tao Tu Yun woke up, Su Wu recounted everything Tao Fang Ao and everyone else at the Tao Manor did to save Tao Tu Yun's life.
'Tu Yun, you're not an outsider,' Tao Fang Ao said. 'You're my wife. It's natural for everyone at the Tao Manor to take care of my wife. Besides, of course I would honor my promise for us to grow old together.'
Tao Tu Yun's heart was deeply moved by Tao Fang Ao's words.
Tao Fang Ao fed Tao Tu Yun the bowl of soup. He put the empty bowl of soup on the table and hugged her.
Tao Fang Ao could only relax when he could feel Tao Tu Yun's heartbeat. The memory of her heart stopped beating traumatized him.
'Fang Ao, I can't believe I'm alive,' Tao Tu Yun said. 'We're married and we'll get to grow old together.'
Tao Tu Yun felt her being alive was surreal. She was grateful the heavens let her live a long life with Tao Fang Ao.
'Wife, you owe me a wedding night,' Tao Fang Ao said. 'You need to compensate me a wedding night.'
Tao Fang Ao pulled the beaded curtains down. He laid on top of Tao Fang Ao's soft body and kissed her lips while undressing her and himself.
The beaded curtains clinked together in rhythm with the newlyweds' movements on the bed.
When Tao Tu Yun woke up again, her body ached and on her left wrist there was a familiar jade bracelet with Tao Fang Ao's name engraved on the jade bracelet. Seeing Tao Fang Ao's name made her remember their first time together and her face turned red.
Su Wu parted the beaded curtains and Tao Tu Yun coughed awkwardly. Tao Tu Yun was embarrassed Su Wu saw her naked body after her first time together with Tao Fang Ao.
'Mistress, I prepared a bath tub of warm water for you,' Su Wu said. 'After a bath, you'll feel refreshed.'
Su Wu helped Tao Tu Yun sit in the bathtub. She suppressed her urge to tease Tao Tu Yun after seeing Tao Fang Ao's kiss marks all over Tao Tu Yun's body.
'Su Wu, the bath water is comfortably warm,' Tao Tu Yun said. 'How did you know when I'll wake up?'
'Master instructed the servants to keep the bath tub of water warm and that I should help mistress bathe when you wake up,' Su Wu said.
'Master?' Tao Tu Yun asked. 'Su Wu, your mouth knows how to adapt quickly.'
Su Wu smiled. She was happy Tao Tu Yun married a good man like Tao Fang Ao. She was lucky to have a good mistress and master.
Su Wu helped wash Tao Tu Yun's body. When Tao Tu Yun felt sleepy, Tao Fang Ao quietly entered the bedchamber and gestured for Su Wu to leave again.
Tao Fang Ao grabbed the dry cloth from the bed, wrapped it around his wife's wet soft body. He kissed her lips and his desire for her intensified.
'Fang Ao, what are you doing?' Tao Tu Yun asked shyly.
Tao Tu Yun was wide awake when Tao Fang Ao suddenly carried her from the bath tub to the bed.
'Don't worry,' Tao Fang Ao said. 'Soon you'll be familiar with performing your wifely duties with your husband.'
Tao Fang Ao sat on the bed and Tao Tu Yun sat on his lap. He stared intensely at her face.
'Why are you staring at me?' Tao Tu Yun asked.
Tao Tu Yun avoided Tao Fang Ao's intense eyes like he wanted them to burn together.
'Tu Yun, did you know I almost turned insane when you stopped breathing in my arms?' Tao Fang Ao asked. 'I hated myself because I couldn't save you. I watched helplessly as Ox Head carried your soul away. Now getting to hold you in my arms is the most precious gift to me. Tu Yun, promise me that we won't take each other for granted and we'll love each other to our old age.'
Tao Fang Ao hugged his wife tightly. He wished their bodies could melt together so he couldn't lose her again.
Tao Tu Yun wrapped her arms around Tao Fang Ao's neck. The sad tone in his voice showed her how much he must have grieved when he thought he lost her forever, it made her heart break.
'Fang Ao, after I coughed blood, I entered a nightmare,' Tao Tu Yun said. 'In the nightmare, Ox Head carried my soul away from you. I heard you call my name despairingly but Ox Head didn't let my soul turn around to see you. When Ox Head was about to leave the Tao Manor with my soul, the heavens sent an elderly man from the north-west direction who held a powerful sword to stop Ox Head from carrying me to see Dizang. The elderly man said out of consideration of the Tao Household's generations of good deeds, I can live a long life with you but the heavens took away my gift. Ox Head and the elderly man disappeared then I woke up in your arms.'
'North-west direction?' Tao Fang Ao asked. 'Tu Yun, north-west is the direction of the Tao Household's ancestors' altar.'
'Fang Ao, does that mean the elderly man is your ancestor?' Tao Tu Yun asked.
'Tu Yun, you don't need to overthink things,' Tao Fang Ao said. 'I'm thankful you're alive. The most important thing right now is that you need to comfort me. I'm still scared of losing you.'
Tao Fang Ao took off the cloth wrapped around Tao Tu Yun's body, and she understood what kind of comfort he wanted from her.
Tao Tu Yun closed her eyes and Tao Fang Ao kissed her lips. He whispered he loved her in her ear while his hands stroked her soft body.
The newlyweds' bodies peaked together countlessly throughout their postponed wedding night.
In the morning, Tao Fang Ao and his wife burned joss sticks to thank the Tao Household's ancestors. He wanted to take his wife to Liu Yue province to visit her parents, but she wanted to visit the fortune teller and Dou Dou's home before they travel to Liu Yue province.
Later in the morning, a horse carriage stopped in front of the fortune teller's home and Tao Fang Ao helped his wife step out of the horse carriage.
Dou Dou opened the front door before Tao Fang Ao and Tao Tu Yun knocked on the front door.
'Big sister, come inside,' Dou Dou said. 'Grandma's right. Grandma said big sister will visit us this morning.'
Tao Fang Ao and Tao Tu Yun followed Dou Dou inside the old home, and they saw the fortune teller sitting on an old chair like the fortune teller was expecting them.
'Tu Yun, you're here,' the fortune teller said. 'You brought second master Tao too.'
Tao Tu Yun knelt in front of the fortune teller and she held the fortune teller's hands.
'Elder, thank you for saving my life,' Tao Tu Yun said.
'Tu Yun, you should thank yourself and the Tao Household's ancestors,' the fortune teller said. 'You're alive because of your kind heart and the generosity of the Tao Household's ancestors. It's your fate to marry second master Tao, because the heavens wanted you to live a long life.'
'Elder, if you didn't show us how to save Tu Yun's life, Tu Yun wouldn't be alive,' Tao Fang Ao said. 'Thank you for saving Tu Yun's life.'
'Second master Tao, it's I who should thank you and the Tao Household for taking care of me for years,' the fortune teller said.
Tao Fang Ao didn't expect there would be a day he would receive the biggest gift from the poor people the Tao Household helped for generations.
Tao Fang Ao and Tao Tu Yun ate with the fortune teller and Dou Dou before they began travelling to Liu Yue province by horse carriage.
'Fang Ao, will you be upset with me if I want to do something to help other people?' Tao Tu Yun asked.
'It depends whether it'll affect your health,' Tao Fang Ao compromised.
'Fang Ao, promise you'll agree with me first and I'll tell you,' Tao Tu Yun said.
'Tu Yun, how many people do you plan on helping?' Tao Fang Ao asked suspiciously.
'Fang Ao, I want to invite the fortune teller and Dou Dou to live with us in the Tao Manor,' Tao Tu Yun said. 'The fortune teller is elderly and Dou Dou is a little girl...'
'I understand,' Tao Fang Ao said. 'Of course they can live with us in the Tao Manor.'
Tao Tu Yun smiled and Tao Fang Ao sighed. He knew as long as she was happy and healthy, he would always concede to her.
Tao Fang Ao didn't expect he would follow in Tao Fang Ling's footsteps and marry a troublesome woman who loved to help people. But he admitted that he and Tao Fang Ling were blessed men to marry Tao Tu Yun and Luo Bing Liang.
Tao Fang Ao sighed again. He thought it was his and Tao Fang Ling's fate to fall in love with troublesome women. A troublesome future with their wives was a happier future than a smooth future without them.
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End of Chapter Ten (Part 2)
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The End of Real Fake Fiance
