After the curfew fell, the entire Marquis’s estate quieted down. Having only been married for a single day, Yun Juan didn’t know anyone in the courtyard yet; the only person she was close to, Jiaoyue, was still in the maidservants’ quarters at the back.
Yun Juan had spent the first eighteen years of her life in just such a quiet manner, yet for some reason, she felt a faint sense of loneliness today.
Holding her book as she rested on the brick bed, Yun Juan let her guard down completely since there was no one else in the room. Whether lying down or sprawling on her stomach, she didn’t look like the wife of the eldest son at all.
From time to time, she darted a glance toward the door. After her gaze fell on empty space once again, Yun Juan tossed the book aside and buried her face between her arms.
Would Xiao Lanting still come back tonight?
Truth be told, Yun Juan felt a bit of regret. When she had misunderstood Xiao Lanting earlier that evening, she had used harsh words against him and had yet to apologize.
Just as she was thinking about it, the next moment, she heard the sound of the door opening. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly scrambled up from the bed.
Xiao Lanting took off his fox-fur cloak and hung it on the clothes rack, his expression perfectly composed and showing no signs of anything unusual.
This was his domain, after all; there shouldn’t be any problem with him returning to his own room to sleep, right?
Stepping into the inner chamber, he found his little wife—who had just bowed and married him yesterday, and had called him a brute today because their marital life wasn’t harmonious—sitting properly on the brick bed, staring at him unblinkingly.
“You’re back…” Yun Juan said rather awkwardly, her fingers secretly plucking at her sleeping robe.
Yun Juan wasn’t particularly skilled at interacting with a husband. Her dynamic with Xiao Mingyu in her past life had been akin to a mother and her son, which carried no reference value whatsoever.
But she knew that, at the very least, she should show some tractability and apologize to Xiao Lanting.
Xiao Lanting discerned her intention, but he feigned ignorance. Giving a cold murmur of assent, he walked over to the clothes rack with his back turned to Yun Juan as he undressed and untied his belt.
Xiao Lanting’s ears remained attuned to the movements behind him. The sound of light footsteps ground to a halt right behind him.
Poking her head forward, Yun Juan held up the ginseng soup in her hands. “Drink this; it is good for your health.”
The scent of the ginseng soup, laced with the bitter aroma of Chinese medicine, hit his nose squarely. Xiao Lanting let out a sharp laugh out of pure exasperation. “Are you… trying to get back at me?”
He had given her a bowl of soup this morning, so she was immediately returning a bowl to him tonight?
And here he thought she was trying to show goodwill and apologize for calling him a “brute.”
This little lamb!
“Who said that!” Yun Juan’s eyes widened into round circles. “I had Mother Li brew this ginseng soup. Mother Li said it is highly nourishing and excellent for the body.”
She paused before adding, “You should consume more nourishing supplements from now on. If a person’s body is too weak and deficient, it is easy to… pass away in one’s prime.”
“…”
Xiao Lanting took a deep breath, snatched the soup bowl from her hands, and said grimly, “If you talk any more nonsense, I will let you experience firsthand whether I am ‘weak and deficient.'”
He placed heavy emphasis on those last words. Yun Juan froze for a brief second before a crimson flush slowly spread across her face.
“No, I didn’t mean that kind of deficiency, I meant…” Yun Juan gave up in self-despair. “In short, you must care more for your own body! Don’t overwork yourself, and don’t… fall ill.”
“I never fall ill.”
Xiao Lanting drained the medicinal soup in a single gulp.
He didn’t fall ill, yes, but once he did, it would be a critical illness—the kind that would send him straight to the grave.
Leaving only his undergarments on, Xiao Lanting walked toward the bed. “Go to sleep, it is getting late.”
With a wave of his hand, the room plunged into darkness. Yun Juan’s mouth fell open, silently marveling in her heart at how formidable his martial arts skills were. But was it really necessary to blow out the lamp like that? Wasn’t the candle right beside him?
“What are you standing there in a daze for? Come here.”
“Oh.”
Guided by a sliver of moonlight, Yun Juan walked to the bedside and obediently climbed onto the bed. Ordinarily, when a married couple slept together, the wife would sleep on the outside to make it convenient to pour water or hand things over during the night.
However, Xiao Lanting seemed to prefer sleeping on the outside. Just as Yun Juan was planning to scramble past his feet to get to the inner side, she heard him let out a soft click of his tongue.
“Why are you being so slow!”
“Ugh!”
With a single pull of his arm, Yun Juan collapsed right on top of him. She scrambled frantically like an overturned turtle; the bed curtains shut out the moonlight, leaving them in pitch darkness where nothing could be seen.
Yun Juan didn’t even know what her hand had accidentally brushed against.
Xiao Lanting let out a muffled groan, his patience pushed to the limit as he locked her tightly in his embrace.
“If you move again, what I said tonight won’t hold true anymore.”
As if her pressure points had been struck, Yun Juan instantly froze and stopped moving altogether.
Only after Xiao Lanting’s breathing steadied did he relax his grip slightly. Yun Juan adjusted her sleeping posture and pulled the brocade quilt securely over herself.
The space within the bed curtains formed a world of its own, where Yun Juan could hear Xiao Lanting’s breathing and heartbeat right beside her.
After hesitating for a long while, she finally spoke up: “About what happened earlier tonight… I’m sorry.”
Xiao Lanting gave a faint murmur of assent. “Mm.”
“I didn’t mean to call you a… brute. I truly thought you were going to force yourself on me, which is why I…”
Yun Juan lifted her eyes to look toward him, saying earnestly, “Don’t scare me like that in the future; I will take it seriously.”
“Furthermore, about that kind of thing… doing it too frequently isn’t good; it harms the body…”
Having slept too much during the day, Yun Juan was completely devoid of drowsiness now. She figured that since the conversation had led to this point, she might as well make things completely clear.
“You know about my father, right? He married over a dozen concubines. When he was young, he squandered his health without any restraint, and as a result, now that he has reached this age, he has to seek medical help everywhere.”
That fellow Xiao Mingyu was the same; living with him in her past life was no different from being a living widow.
“I only found out about my father’s condition because I overheard the concubines chatting with others. All the concubines in the estate know he can no longer perform, yet he still insists on putting on a brave face, taking in new concubines the more incapable he becomes. The year before last, when a new concubine became pregnant, my father’s expression was incredibly unsightly…”
Yun Juan wasn’t a talkative person by nature, but her mind was highly active tonight, leaving her somewhat unable to control her tongue.
Although Xiao Lanting didn’t respond to her, she could feel that he was listening intently, which filled her heart with a sense of contentment.
Chattering away until her throat was dry, her eyelids finally began to flutter shut.
“Xiao… Xiao Lanting, let us… live well together…”
Quiet fell within the bed curtains. A moment later, the sound of steady breathing rang out. Xiao Lanting turned his head to look at Yun Juan’s face.
Though it was blurred by the darkness, he could actually trace the contours of her features in his mind.
Clearly, they had only been married for a single day, and before the wedding, he had only caught a single glimpse of her through a screen.
Xiao Lanting’s brows slowly knitted together.
He was twenty-five this year. Ever since he was thirteen, people had been trying to send women into his quarters. Among those women, some were voluptuous and full-figured, while others were drop-dead gorgeous or delicate beauties from humble families, yet he couldn’t remember a single one of their faces, let alone feel any desire. He had always believed that he was a man of cold detachment.
Even though he had become intimate with Yun Juan, his initial purpose had merely been to pass the scrutiny of the Marquis of Yingchuan.
But today… why had he been so impatient and out of control today…?
In truth, if Yun Juan hadn’t struggled so fiercely—even going so far as to lie just to escape—he might have truly taken things to the very end.
Xiao Lanting raised his hand, slowly pressing it against Yun Juan’s neck.
Beneath the slender neck, her pulse beat in a calm, steady rhythm. With just a slight exertion of his strength, this unpredictable variable would be completely erased.
She was merely a concubine-born daughter, unloved by her father and uncared for by her mother; no one would care whether she lived or died.
Xiao Lanting’s fingers slowly tightened. The soundly sleeping Yun Juan let out a discontented mumble and flipped over to turn her back to him.
Staring at his empty palm, Xiao Lanting made a motion as if gripping thin air.
Forget it.
She was merely an optional little wife—a companion on the bed, and nothing more than air beneath it.
Keeping her around wouldn’t change anything; she was merely a bit of amusement to spice up his dull life.
Looking at Yun Juan’s back, Xiao Lanting felt a surge of displeasure. He flipped her body back around to face him and pulled her directly into his arms.