Yun Juan stayed in the bath barrel for half an hour. Just as she was seriously contemplating whether drowning herself right then and there would cause the world to rewind and restart, Xiao Lanting returned.
From behind the folding screen, Xiao Lanting questioned the senior maid, “She isn’t up yet?”
“The Young Mistress is still bathing. Eldest Young Master, it might be best if you go in and check on her. When the Young Mistress came out earlier and saw the state of the room… she seemed rather displeased.”
Hearing the footsteps slowly drawing closer, Yun Juan hurriedly stepped out of the bath barrel, grabbed a long towel, and wrapped it securely around her entire body. Just as she finished, Xiao Lanting stepped around the screen.
Their eyes met. Seeing her expression of mortified rage—brave enough to be angry but too timid to speak out—Xiao Lanting couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle.
“To think your skin would be this thin… Rest assured, none of them would dare spread gossip about me. Change your clothes; I am taking you to the front courtyard to pay respects.”
Yun Juan bit down hard on the inside of her cheek.
Her clothes were resting on the table right next to Xiao Lanting. Yet, he simply leaned against the folding screen with his arms crossed, staring at her broadly with absolutely no intention of stepping out.
Hardening her resolve, Yun Juan dashed forward, snatched the garments, and quickly changed with her back turned to him.
The gaze burning into her back was impossible to ignore. With trembling hands, she tied her inner sashes and spun around.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Hold on.”
Xiao Lanting lazily reached out, unfastening the hopelessly tangled sashes she had just tied.
“What’s the rush? You can’t even tie your sashes properly; you’ve practically bound yourself up like a rice dumpling.” His movements were slow and deliberate.
The two of them stood extremely close, their breath mingling in the tight space. Yun Juan stared blankly at his long, elegant fingers weaving through the silken fabric.
“There.”
Xiao Lanting’s breath brushed against her ear, and only then did Yun Juan realize that he had completely leaned over her at some point.
She tried to take a step back, but Xiao Lanting suddenly caught her by the wrist. Losing her balance, Yun Juan tumbled straight into his embrace.
“What do you think you’re doing?! Let me go!”
Yun Juan struggled, but his strength was overwhelming.
He leaned down, hovering just beside her face, his magnetic voice dripping with wicked amusement. “Fretful and easily embarrassed… you don’t seem quite like the person you were on the desk last night.”
“Does my lady possess two entirely different faces depending on whether she is in bed or out of it?”
Xiao Lanting lowered his gaze. The tips of her ivory ears were flushed as red as precious gemstones. Pressing the tip of his tongue against his canine tooth, he suddenly leaned in and took a gentle, nibbling bite of her earlobe.
Yun Juan’s eyes widened in shock, and she forcefully pushed him away.
“You!” Her throat bobbed heavily as she snapped in utter exasperation, “Have you no shame?!”
“We are husband and wife, after all.” Xiao Lanting brushed his thumb across the corner of his lower lip, the raw possessiveness and desire in his eyes entirely unconcealed.
He smiled wolfishly. “Between husband and wife, isn’t this perfectly normal?”
“…”
“We still have plenty of things to do together in the future. If you haven’t adjusted yet, you best get used to it soon.”
A dark, meaningful light swirled within his seductive peach-blossom eyes.
Yun Juan followed behind Xiao Lanting through the long, quiet corridors, her expression gloomy as she stared at his broad, straight back.
In the span of a single night, Xiao Lanting had completely shattered everything she thought she knew about him from her past life. Consummating the marriage last night was merely to shut the mouths of the gossips; it didn’t mean she wanted to become deeply entangled with him.
In her memory, Xiao Lanting had always been an incredibly difficult man to deal with. He was exceptionally talented in his youth, passing the military imperial examinations as the top martial scholar at the tender age of sixteen before entering the Ministry of War, later transferring into the Jinyiwei.
At twenty-five this year, he was already the Commander of the Northern Yard, holding immense trust and expectations from both the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
He was the Emperor and Crown Prince’s most relied-upon confidant—their sharpest blade, their most obedient hound.
What made him so terrifyingly difficult to handle wasn’t just his venomous tongue and brooding nature, or his ruthless methods; it was the fact that he was completely incorruptible, unmoved by either threats or flattery. In the past, someone had tried to curry favor with the Crown Prince through him, sending him massive bribes of gold, silver, and beautiful women. Xiao Lanting had not only refused them, but like a mad dog, he had dug up all of the official’s dirty secrets, forcing the man to flee the capital with his entire household overnight.
Yun Juan simply could not fathom how a man who had lived like a celibate monk in her past life could undergo such a drastic change in personality before her.
Surely it couldn’t be due to some extraordinary charm on her part.
Yun Juan gave a self-deprecating smile. She knew she wasn’t a particularly interesting person; her world was defined by walls on all sides.
Unable to wrap her head around it, she simply tossed the thought to the back of her mind. What is done is done; she would take things as they came.
The two of them arrived at the main hall. The moment they stepped into the inner courtyard, the furious roar of the Marquis of Yingchuan echoed out.
“That rebellious wretch! Why hasn’t anyone dragged him back here yet?! If I don’t beat him to death today, I am not his father!”
Madame Qin tried to placate him, “My Lord, Mingyu must have had a reason. Please have some water first; I have already sent people to pursue him.”
“Nonsense! What valid reason could he possibly have for abandoning his bride on their wedding night to stay in a concubine’s quarters, only to run off to a brothel first thing in the morning to drink?! That insolent brat has completely disgraced me!”
Intermingled with the shouting was the sound of Yun Xiu’s humiliated weeping.
Yun Juan and Xiao Lanting arrived at the doorway just in time to hear this, leaving Yun Juan deeply astonished.
Xiao Mingyu went to a concubine’s quarters again last night?
That doesn’t make sense. He successfully married the white moonlight of his dreams, yet he still abandoned Yun Xiu on their wedding night to visit a concubine?
The housekeeper announced in a loud voice, “Eldest Young Master, Eldest Young Mistress!”
Yun Xiu’s shoulders gave a violent shudder. She snapped her head toward Yun Juan, her tear-reddened eyes burning with resentment and deep-seated jealousy.
“Father,” Xiao Lanting greeted the Marquis calmly.
Yun Juan followed suit, curtsying and greeting him as well.
“You’ve arrived,” the Marquis’s expression softened slightly.
The smile vanished completely from Madame Qin’s face, the gaze she directed at Yun Juan and Xiao Lanting dripping with malice.
The Marquis rubbed the bridge of his nose and said, “Take a seat. From now on, we are all one family; there is no need for such stiff formalities.”
Madame Qin let out a pointed cough. A waiting maid stepped forward carrying a tray of tea. Madame Qin adjusted her posture, looking down at Yun Juan with supreme arrogance.
Yun Juan picked up a teacup, bowing respectfully. “Father, please have some tea.”
The Marquis accepted it readily. This part was easy; the real challenge was dealing with Madame Qin.
Yun Juan let out a quiet sigh in her heart.
In her past life, Madame Qin believed that her status as a concubine’s daughter made her entirely unworthy of Xiao Mingyu, causing her to find fault with Yun Juan at every turn. Even though she had married Xiao Lanting in this life, Xiao Lanting—being the eldest son born of a concubine—had a deeply strained relationship with Madame Qin. Yun Juan figured she still wouldn’t escape her wrath.
Especially since Madame Qin couldn’t easily bully Xiao Lanting, she would most likely take all her pent-up frustration out on her.
Sure enough, a long moment passed after Yun Juan offered the tea, yet Madame Qin made no move to accept it.
The tea had already cooled to a lukewarm temperature and wasn’t hot enough to burn her, but being forced to maintain a low, bowing posture for an extended period in front of a room full of servants was an undeniable humiliation.
Servants in noble households were notorious for currying favor with the powerful while trampling on the weak. If they saw her being mistreated by her mother-in-law today, they would treat her with the same contempt as Madame Qin by tomorrow.
Seeing this play out, Yun Xiu let out a quiet exhale, instantly feeling a wave of deep satisfaction.
Much of the frustration and resentment she had felt from being abandoned by Xiao Mingyu last night dissipated instantly.
On second thought, she didn’t need to worry too much. So what if she had spent her wedding night alone? Yun Juan was bound to suffer the exact same fate.
She would consummate her marriage with Xiao Mingyu sooner or later, whereas Yun Juan would end up exactly like her past self—living in cold isolation for an entire year!
The Marquis’s brow furrowed slightly. He shot a sharp glance at Madame Qin, silently telling her to know when to stop. Only then did Madame Qin condescendingly reach her hand out to accept the cup.
Right at that moment, another hand cut in ahead of Madame Qin and snatched the teacup away. Madame Qin’s face stiffened in shock, and Yun Juan raised her eyes in confusion.
Before the eyes of everyone in the room, Xiao Lanting slowly and deliberately poured the tea straight into a nearby spittoon.
When there was no smile in those detached peach-blossom eyes, his gaze was cold enough to strike terror into anyone’s heart.
“Since Mother does not wish to drink this cold tea, then let us change it for a fresh cup.”
He picked up the teapot and poured another cup. The scalding tea sent plumes of hot steam rising into the air. Xiao Lanting reached out, taking Yun Juan’s hand in his to support the cup, and thrust it directly beneath Madame Qin’s nose.
“This time, it is hot.”
He looked at her, his voice deceptively smooth. “Mother, please.”