Ye Mo, the ill-tempered man that he was, was quick to respond when Ye Liu agreed to widen Liu Duo's bed. "We'll just make it happen first. Then when it's time to vote, it'll be two against one. The wife will have no choice but to go along with it."

Smirking, Ye Mo felt no pressure about the matter. Now they just had to fix the bed.

Ye Liu chuckled again. Would their Little Duo be stupid enough to let this matter be decided by voting?

How could Mo be so naive?

"Let's talk about this later. We have a meal to prepare." Ye Liu dropped the conversation to continue cooking.

"Gosh, we should find time soon to widen her bed, and sort out our sleeping arrangements some other time." Ye Mo was quite impatient. They had to deal with the bed first. If not, everything else would be nothing but empty talk.

Ye Liu laughed as he kept himself busy. "What's the rush, Mo? You think we can just go ahead and widen Little Duo's bed? We have to come up with a plan first, or do you think you have the guts to tell her to her face that you want to make it wider? Yang would have your head!"

Liu Duo was a smart woman. She would know exactly why they wanted to widen the bed. How would she agree to that?

She would turn down the idea for sure, and Yang would stand on her side. He and Mo could not possibly win then.

Ye Mo did not respond. He knew that what Liu said was right. They could not widen her bed while she was around.

She would surely put a stop to it. If she could not do it by herself, she would tell Ye Yang about their scheme. Yang, like Ling, was very protective of her. He would definitely come to her rescue.

Even though, technically, Liu and himself were also protective of her too!

"Sure, we'll just find a time when the wife isn't at home, then we widen the bed when no one's looking." Ye Mo was suddenly in a very good mood when he thought about his idea. A grin quickly spread on his usually solemn face.

Members of the Ye household were not the only early birds. In town, Dongfang Ming woke up quite early too.

He dressed well and washed up. Then he sat at his desk with a brush at the ready.

He dabbed the brush in ink and scribbled something on a piece of writing paper about two fingers wide.

He let the ink dry before attaching the message to a bamboo tube tied to a carrier pigeon. He released the bird at an open window.

He stared at it flying into the distance before returning to his desk, this time picking up his accounts book.

At the other Ye household, Ye Xuan woke up early to study for his exam, the way he usually did. It had become a habit, and he had never taken a day off even when the seasons changed.

He used to revise his lessons and practice his writing, but lately, he had an additional task. He would take time to admire Liu Duo's portrait.

He would smile as he touched the portrait. He imagined he was holding onto Liu Duo in person.

"How could someone be so absolutely lovely, and yet so strikingly sassy too?" he mumbled softly to himself, grinning.

He did not remember ever being looked upon or treated kindly by Liu Duo.

Then he took out another rolled up painting and laid it flat on the desk. It was another one of Liu Duo's portrait, but this one had her painted in the nude and lying on the bed.

After he flattened it, Ye Xuan grinned even wider, feeling a little lustful.

"Sister Duo, you look so tempting without clothes on! How I wish to have you in my arms..."

On the other side of town, Liu Duo let out a sneeze as she lay on the bed. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

She rubbed her nose, her mind still blurred and foggy, as she mumbled softly, "Who's talking about me so early in the morning? How troublesome!"

Ye Ling saw that she had awoken and came to inspect her by the bed. Very warmly, he asked, "Duo Er, do you want to get up?"