Men did not sit at the main table. It was a universal law. It didn't matter if a man was a legally wedded primary husband, a highly favored concubine, or a deeply cherished son—when the women of the household ate, the men served, stood aside, and only ate whatever was left over in the kitchens afterward. To be invited to sit as an equal at the same table as the female head of the household was entirely unthinkable. It was a catastrophic breach of every societal rule he had ever been beaten into obeying.
He stared at the empty chair as if it were rigged with explosives.
As Fei Yu stood paralyzed, Ren walked out of the kitchen carrying the final bowl of soup. Without a hint of hesitation, the young physician pulled out a chair, sat down comfortably directly across from Heena, and picked up his own chopsticks.
