The bedding on the kang showed no signs of blood, confirming the marriage hadn’t been consummated. Ignoring Mrs. Wang’s sneers and ridicule, Ye Yao’s mind was filled with the image of Xie Hanshuo’s wounded, stubborn eyes, and how he had left after tossing out those harsh words.
She couldn’t help but furrow her brows. Had she been too harsh with all that biting and pushing? What if he was now traumatized, refused to enter this room ever again, or even worse, ran away secretly like he did in her past life?
No, she absolutely could not let him go. If she remained a widow in all but name in this backwater village, her end would be no better than Ye Hanzhu’s in their previous life. She knew better than anyone how unbearable life was without a man by her side. She had to find him, coax him properly, and make him stay by her side obediently.
Ye Yao threw on an outer robe and headed toward the cowshed. The autumn night was chilly, and the bright red “double happiness” characters pasted on the doors and windows of the Xie household seemed particularly glaring in the dim light.
Just as she stepped out of the room, she bumped into someone. Ye Yao recoiled in pain, steadying herself against the door frame, but before she could look up, a gentle, refined voice drifted down:
“Sister-in-law.”
She was intimately familiar with this voice, yet hearing it in this life felt like a lifetime ago; it was jarringly, uncomfortably strange. In her past life, he had called her “Wife,” but now he addressed her with such polite, distant formality as “Sister-in-law.”
Ye Yao looked up. It was the same face—pale and sickly, tall but dreadfully thin. Though they were brothers, he and Xie Hanshuo shared no resemblance. One was cold and elegant, hiding hypocrisy beneath his skin, while the other was unruly and defiant, like a wildfire.
“Don’t be anxious, Sister-in-law. Hanshuo has had that temper since he was a child. It’s late; why don’t you let me go find him and bring him back?”
He must have heard the commotion from inside and come out intentionally. He was always one for appearances—gentle and refined in front of others, but a completely different person behind closed doors. Ye Yao remembered how he had kept up the act for the first few days of their marriage before abandoning all pretense. The way he would lose his composure and show his incompetence on the bed was truly repulsive.
Thinking of this, Ye Yao felt a strange sense of relief. The past was long gone; she owed no one anything. Those thirty years with Xie Moyan had been devoid of any real affection—just a performance, each getting what they needed.
Compared to him, Xie Hanshuo actually seemed rare. Simple-minded, sturdy, surely capable in and out of the bedroom, and devoid of Xie Moyan’s twisted habits. He was straightforward and easy to manage—a blessing, really.
Her resolve hardened, and she politely declined: “No need to trouble yourself, Brother-in-law. I’ll go myself.”
The back courtyard wasn’t far; the cowshed was less than fifty paces away. In her previous life, Xie Hanshuo had refused to share a bed with Ye Hanzhu, opting to sleep here or head into the mountains. No matter how many tricks Ye Hanzhu tried, he remained unmoved.
Rustle, rustle…
Footsteps approached. Xie Hanshuo was lying on a tattered straw mat with his back to her. Assuming it was his mother, he muttered hoarsely, “Mother, don’t bother. I’m not going back.”
Ye Yao paused. Looking at that stubborn back, she softened her voice as much as she could: “It’s me.”
She expected him to turn around and vent his anger or ignore her entirely. Instead, he sat bolt upright, a flicker of obvious surprise crossing his eyes. He even stammered, “Y-you… why are you here…”
But the joy lasted only a second. His expression darkened, and he turned his face away, saying stiffly, “Go back.” With that, he lay down again, clearly determined not to return.
Ye Yao wasn’t discouraged. She kept her tone soft: “It’s cold out here. Come back inside. The wind is strong at night; don’t catch a cold.”
Every word was laced with concern, yet Xie Hanshuo seemed stung by it. He retorted, “I’m not as weak as Big Brother; I’m perfectly healthy.”
So what if he’s a scholar? Pretending to be refined all day!
“You don’t want to sleep with me anyway.” He swallowed hard, his voice dropping, carrying a hint of uncharacteristic grievance, “What… do you want to bite me again?”
Ye Yao’s heart sank. She had indeed left a grudge with that bite. It wasn’t hard to understand—anyone who had been looking forward to their wedding night only to be bitten would be unhappy. But she honestly didn’t know how to explain her actions.
After hesitating for a long time, she swallowed her embarrassment and whispered, “I don’t… not want to be with you. It’s just that you were… too eager earlier. I was frightened, that’s why I bit you.”
A strange silence followed. Fearing she wouldn’t be able to coax this stubborn donkey, she bit the bullet and added, “Come back to the room… let’s try again, shall we?”
Uttering such bold and direct words felt incredibly shameful, but Ye Yao was all in.
However, the second master of the Xie family was not easily won over. The bloody teeth marks on his shoulder still throbbed; he remembered how resistant she had been—not a trace of willingness to be found. Xie Hanshuo curled his lip into a cold smile: “You clearly didn’t want to, yet here you are now. You change your tune so quickly—what exactly do you want?”
Oh? It seems this Xie second son isn’t as easily fooled as she thought.
As for what she wanted… naturally, she wanted to keep him from abandoning her and running away. But she couldn’t say that out loud. Ye Yao had to put on a look of injury: “What could I want? You left me on our wedding night to sleep in a cowshed—what would people say if word got out? Stop messing around and come back with me.”
Only now did Ye Yao realize why Ye Hanzhu had failed to win Xie Hanshuo’s heart in her past life. Dealing with this stubborn, unyielding nature was truly difficult.
After much persuasion, Xie Hanshuo finally agreed to go back. But once on the kang, he made sure to stay as far away from her as possible, his face tight and impassive.
Ye Yao tried to make conversation: “Um… the wound on your shoulder, do you need some medicine?”
“No need,” Xie Hanshuo replied coldly. “I’ve been bitten by wild dogs in the mountains before; the wounds were much worse than this, and I didn’t die. Your strength doesn’t even compare to a dog’s.”
Ye Yao: “…”
Fine, don’t use medicine. And what’s with comparing her to a dog? Is he trying to humiliate her?
Suppressing her anger, she said softly, “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to. I promise I won’t do that again.”
There was no response from his side for a long time. Ye Yao had been exhausted for half the night; her eyes grew heavy, and she drifted into sleep.
In the darkness, Xie Hanshuo’s deep gaze fell upon her sleeping face, his breath hitching involuntarily. Her sleeping posture was a bit unruly; without a word, he picked up the quilt she had kicked off and tucked it in for her.
“Ye Yao.” He whispered her name, a fierce possessiveness swirling in his eyes.
Whether you like it or not, it’s not up to you.
From now on, you are my wife alone.
…
Ye Yao slept exceptionally soundly. In her dream, she was still the honored, elderly matriarch of the Prime Minister’s estate, surrounded by children and grandchildren all vying for her favor. But before she could dream enough, she woke up.
Ye Yao patted her face to wake herself. Right, she had been reborn.
With a melancholic sigh, she got up, dressed, and went with Xie Hanshuo to the main room in the front courtyard. The morning after a new bride enters the house, she must listen to her mother-in-law’s teachings and observe the family rules. Every family in the village did this, and the Xie family was no exception.
Mrs. Wang had lost her husband early and raised her two sons alone. The eldest had a talent for learning and became a xiucai (scholar) at thirteen. Unfortunately, he was frail, and the amount of money spent on medicine over the years had broken her heart. The family’s entire hope rested on the eldest, waiting for him to pass the imperial exams and bring honor to the family name.
Mrs. Wang’s favoritism was, inevitably, quite apparent.