In the Northern Song Dynasty, he started by marrying the eighth daughter of the Su family.

Today, besides receiving the imperial decree, is another important day—Han Zhi's long-awaited "hair-drying day," so he took a shower early and returned to his room to wait for Su Zhen.

It must be said that Su Zhen is indeed a book lover. As soon as he received the book bestowed upon him by Zhao Zhen today, he has been reading it ever since. Except for eating and bathing, he is almost always reading it.

After rushing back from the bathroom, she sat directly on the edge of the bed and shoved a towel into Han Zhi's hand. Her next move, naturally, was to pick up a book and pen, and turn her back to Han Zhi—

Who knows how much longer I can read tonight?

However, Han Zhi didn't start drying her hair immediately. Instead, while Su Zhen was focused, he snatched the pen from her hand. Su Zhen was startled and turned around, looking at Han Zhi with a puzzled expression.

Han Zhi casually placed the brush on the low table in front of the bed and said, "Don't use the brush after taking a bath. It would be a loss if the ink got on your clothes."

"Hmm..." Su Zhen frowned slightly, but did not object.

Han Zhi wanted to take the book from her hands, but seeing how intently she was reading it, he gave up the idea and continued to dry her hair.

After drying her hair, he smoothed Su Zhen's long hair as usual. Thinking she would continue reading, he quietly got up and hung the towel on the rack. Turning around, he saw Su Zhen close her book and hand it to him.

"What's wrong, Eighth Sister? Aren't you going to watch anymore?" Han Zhi asked with a serious expression.

Su Zhen shook his head and said, "It's getting late, and I haven't had much time to talk to my husband today."

Han Zhi laughed, took the book and put it on the table, then picked up Su Zhen and sat on the bed together.

"Then, Eighth Sister, tell me, what do you want to say tonight?" Han Zhi pressed his nose against Su Zhen's cheek, gently inhaling her scent.

He reached out and pulled the blanket over himself and Su Zhen. Su Zhen then reached out and picked up a Rubik's Cube from beside her pillow, saying, "I'd like to see you play with the Rubik's Cube, my lord. You didn't teach me last time."

"Okay!" Han Zhi freed up one hand and began to fiddle with the Rubik's Cube.

His fingers fiddled with the Rubik's Cube, and Su Zhen would occasionally raise her little hand to fiddle with it as well, helping Han Zhi complete the next step. They would do this every now and then, and the two would whisper secrets to each other.

Suddenly, Han Zhi stopped what he was doing and asked, "By the way, Eighth Sister, I've thought of something delicious. Would you like to hear about it?"

Su Zhen nodded, and Han Zhi then said, "I remember we have a small copper pot at home, right?"

Su Zhen thought for a moment and remembered that there was such a thing, so he nodded.

Han Zhi continued, "Now that it's cold in our Great Song Dynasty, food often gets cold quickly. So is there a type of food that can be eaten immediately after cooking, preserving the freshness and temperature of the ingredients?"

"Has the gentleman thought of something? But what does that have to do with the delicious food the gentleman is thinking of?" Seeing that Han Zhi couldn't move the Rubik's Cube, Su Zhen started to turn it himself.

Han Zhi had no choice but to continue, explaining as he turned the Rubik's Cube, "Of course it's related, I call this thing a hot pot!"

"The way to eat hot pot is very simple. First, make a pot of soup. You can make any flavor, even the spicy one that Ba Niang loves the most. Then we prepare the raw food. Slice the meat and chop the vegetables. When you want to eat it, you can put it in the pot and wait a moment before eating."

Su Zhen thought for a moment, then asked, "But what if the soup gets cold?"

"The soup won't get cold because the pot is always hot. Just put charcoal in it and keep it warm. Then add some sauce, and eat it with the sauce—it's incredibly delicious!"

Su Zhen immediately sensed something was wrong and looked at Han Zhi, asking, "But how would you know how it tastes if it's something you just came up with? Could it be that you've already tried it yourself?"

Han Zhi was taken aback, then quickly said, "No, I just brought over a hot pot from the previous dynasty and modified it slightly. Hot pot is so delicious, isn't it? This one, which I've improved, is sure to be even better!"

"Eighth Sister, don't you think so?"

Seeing Han Zhi's silly grin, Su Zhen reached out and tapped him, saying, "You haven't even tried it yourself, yet you're already bragging. Luckily, you're telling me; if you told others, they'd probably laugh at you."

"I'm not bragging!" Han Zhi said. "How about Eighth Sister makes a bet with me?"

"Okay!" Su Zhen readily agreed and asked, "What are we betting on?"

"Let's bet on whether this hot pot I'm talking about is delicious or not!" Han Zhi said.

Su Zhen nodded and asked, "What is the stake for the bet, sir?"

“If I lose, I’ll be at Eighth Sister’s mercy for the entire day. I’ll do whatever she wants, how about that?” Han Zhi said. “If Eighth Sister loses…”

Su Zhen then said, "If I lose, then I will be treated the same as you, my lord, and will be at your mercy."

Han Zhi shook his head and said, "That would be too unfair to Ba Niang, and I'm not qualified anyway. Ba Niang is still wearing her little bracelet."

At this moment, Su Zhen remembered that she was still wearing the bracelet that represented her status as the "mistress," and said, "Then I will take it off when the time comes. If you gamble, you have to be able to afford to lose."

Han Zhi said, "This bracelet can only be removed if the couple is divorced or if the woman has a daughter-in-law. How about this: if Eighth Sister loses, she'll come to my study with me, just like last time..."

Su Zhen suddenly blushed. He had been in real pain at the time, and his back was aching. If he hadn't been careless and been "punished" by the man, he wouldn't still be feeling lingering fear.

Her face flushed, she glared at Han Zhi and said reproachfully, "My lord, you always do this, always trying to amuse me. But... but that time was truly unpleasant, I really didn't like it..."

"I always say that my husband is my nemesis, but I never thought he would actually be a nemesis even more nemesis than a nemesis. He is always so shameless."

Seeing the blush on Su Zhen's face, Han Zhi was even more delighted, but still asked, "So, does Eighth Sister mean she agrees or disagrees?"

Su Zhen hesitated for a moment before saying, "If it's really delicious, then we can go to the study. If it's not delicious... then you'd better be careful, sir!"

Han Zhi chuckled twice, then placed the Rubik's Cube he had solved in front of Su Zhen and said, "Alright, Eighth Sister, the Rubik's Cube is solved."

"I want to try it too!"

Su Zhen then snatched the Rubik's Cube and said, "Tonight I will also try it. I refuse to believe that only you can make this, my lord, and that I cannot."

She struggled for a long time, but only managed to solve one side. She simply put the Rubik's Cube back next to her pillow.

"Enough. This thing is not close to me. If it continues like this, I'm afraid it will be my fault."

It was unclear whether she was embarrassed or annoyed by what she said. Then she broke free from Han Zhi's embrace, lay down in the quilt, and said, "I'm tired from reading, so I won't bother you anymore."

Han Zhi smiled, tucked her in, blew out the candle, lay down beside her, and whispered:

Goodnight, Eighth Sister.

"Goodnight, my lord..."