"Why not?"
Hearing Mi Yao's refusal, Xiao Chu's narrow crimson eyes—already hazy with wine and desire—flashed with displeasure as he stared intently at her.
Mi Yao wasn't afraid of his usual sharp, bone-piercing gaze, but this look—mixed with beast-like ferocity and overwhelming possessiveness—made her skin break out in goosebumps, instinctively stirring fear within her.
It wasn't that she wanted to call a halt, but the situation left her no choice.
Mi Yao glanced at the thick wedding candle carved with dragons and phoenixes beside the bed.
Some descriptions she had thought were exaggerated for dramatic effect, but she never imagined someone could perfectly embody them.
"Young master, you're exceptionally gifted. I know my own limitations—I can't handle this. Later I'll find you a concubine with oceanic tolerance. Xiao Lang, just keep me as a decorative piece to admire."
She had prepared herself to share a chamber with Xiao Chu.
She'd even considered his physique and appearance, thinking she wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
But after practical assessment, for the sake of her own survival, Mi Yao abandoned subtlety and directly stated her inadequacy, promising to personally find him someone capable.
Noticing how Mi Yao's red-polished hands pressed tightly against her chest while her body attempted to curl backward, it didn't seem like she was breaking character at a critical moment, but genuinely frightened of his physique.
Xiao Chu spoke, his hoarse voice echoing in the room: "How do you know this is exceptional endowment? Have you made comparisons in your heart?"
"Young master, I'm not comparing—I'm using common sense. I truly can't manage."
Mi Yao gazed pitifully at Xiao Chu with tear-filled eyes, "Xiao Lang, just treat me like a beautiful painting to display. I'll certainly be more lively than those inanimate objects."
"How would you know it's impossible without trying?"
Having said this, he gave Mi Yao no further opportunity to bargain, sealing her lips with his own.
If this continued, forget about bearing two children in three years—even the sturdiest physique wouldn't survive tonight. Pushing against him, Mi Yao pleaded: "How about this? Spare me, young master, and I'll help you manage your three children."
Seeing Xiao Chu still probing, a terrified Mi Yao conceded further: "I'll also help you cultivate stewards to oversee the inner courtyard. This is my final concession. Think about it—you can find other women for this matter. If you don't proceed with me, I can still be useful to you. A capable steward versus a woman for sleeping…"
Xiao Chu stared at the beauty trembling before him and let out a soft scoff.
Without comparison or experience, how could she be so certain it was impossible?
Who knew whether her behavior stemmed from genuine fear or was merely an excuse to reject him for his roughness?
Meeting Xiao Chu's still-flushed eyes, Mi Yao couldn't tell if their negotiation had been successful.
The moment he paused, she regretted her haste in the bargaining, feeling she should have resisted a few more times. Both managing the household and caring for children—was she some old workhorse?
"Eldest Young Master Xiao is grown and seems to have his own ideas, unlikely to need my care. Besides, this is Xiao Manor after all. Wouldn't it be overstepping for an outsider like me to select household stewards? Perhaps you should find… Ah!"
As Xiao Chu moved, Mi Yao screamed in fright, abandoning any further bargaining as she tearfully looked at him: "Xiao Lang, I was wrong! Please spare me!"
Mi Yao pulled the quilt tightly around herself, shifting to lie at the edge of the bed. "Let's sleep. Tomorrow, as soon as I wake, I'll inquire with the matron from the Jiedushi's residence. If I can't find one, I'll put in the effort to train a stewardess with similar abilities."
It wasn't that she was timid—she was genuinely afraid of pain.
If Heaven reclaimed this second life of nobility and let her die, she would feel reluctant but could accept it calmly.
The problem was that matters between men and women couldn't be resolved with a mindset ready for death.
To prevent Xiao Chu from changing his mind, Mi Yao closed her eyes the moment she lay down, feigning immediate deep sleep, while her hands hidden beneath the quilt discreetly adjusted her inner garments.
When his lips touched her shoulder again, she clenched her fists and glared at him.
"Didn't we agree?"
He had made no such agreement with her.
As his palm brushed over Mi Yao's skin, Xiao Chu recalled an old memory.
The first time he received his official uniform, while adjusting the hem, the calluses on his hand snagged the silk, causing it to fray.
That was when he learned that the more precious something was, the more delicate it tended to be. For a rough man like him, if he lacked patience, it was better to stick to coarse cloth for convenience.
Now, years later, kneading Mi Yao's skin—softer than the finest brocade—he felt no inadequacy, only a patient determination to gradually claim and savor this exquisite delicacy.
"Just kissing your face," Xiao Chu said, sensing her resistance.
Hearing this, Mi Yao paused her attempts to block him, only to soon realize his true intentions.
While he went to the bath chamber to clean up, Mi Yao glanced down at the crumpled red silk handkerchief discarded beneath the bed and felt even more convinced that her negotiation had been flawed. For this level of intimacy, the only thing she should have bargained for was taking care of Little Radish.
After silently grumbling to herself for a while, she caught sight of Xiao Chu's robe hem from the corner of her eye and immediately shut her eyes, pulling up the quilt to feign sleep.
Soon, she felt someone lie down beside her.
There was only one mandarin duck quilt on the bed. Feeling the warmth radiating from Xiao Chu, Mi Yao couldn't sleep and opened her eyes. "Extinguish a few candles. It's as bright as daytime—I can't sleep."
Without leaving the bed, Xiao Chu somehow managed to dim the room, leaving only one wedding candle burning faintly in the farthest corner.
Though the darkness didn't bring sleepiness, it eased Mi Yao's earlier restlessness and anxiety.
Gazing at the canopy embroidered with twin lotus flowers above, Mi Yao blinked and suddenly wondered if she had managed to maintain boundaries with Xiao Chu.
Even with their skin touching, as long as they didn't cross the final line, he might not see her as one of his own and thus wouldn't treat her with the casual disregard reserved for insiders.
But how did he truly view the conditions she had proposed?
His silence left her uneasy. He had completely neglected Little Radish and the others—in such a situation, would he see her management as a convenience or as meddling?
Still, the household affairs surely lacked a steward.
If she took over the steward's duties, could she access his treasury and freely spend his wealth?
She knew that over the years, besides guarding Yizhou and fighting battles against the Tufan, he had also seized properties from local magnates to uphold Zhao Tianhe's absolute authority as Jiedushi.
He couldn't possibly have handed all those treasures to Zhao Tianhe without keeping any for himself.
Mi Yao grew more alert the more she thought, unable to hold back from speaking: "Earlier when the female relatives came to the bridal chamber for the wedding festivities, there was a certain Zhao Qi Niang who gave me a strange look. After she left the bridal chamber, Yu Xiu secretly followed her and overheard her discussing with her brother how to trick me into falling into their trap, intending to ruin my purity."
Fearing Xiao Chu wouldn't take it seriously, she deliberately exaggerated the content of what Yu Xiu had overheard when recounting it.
But after she finished speaking, the room fell into complete silence.
Mi Yao wrinkled her nose: "Xiao Lang, are you asleep?"
Having spoken for so long only to be talking to herself, Mi Yao wasn't pleased. She pushed him, "Why don't you say something? Someone wants to take advantage of your wife, and you're not making a sound?"
Xiao Chu was indeed half-asleep, but he had heard every word she said.
Seeing him remain silent, she grew restless and began fidgeting with her hands and feet. He snorted: "Why bother with them? Once you have something to compare with, you'll realize all men are like this and won't be afraid anymore. If he's different from me, that's even better. Once you get used to the slender, you can transition from slender to thick, so you won't disappoint me."
Mi Yao: "…"
What kind of trash male lead had she married? Just because he couldn't get what he wanted, he had to act like this.
She was telling him someone wanted to deceive his wife, to take her by force, and he called it a good thing, saying the other party could help him pioneer new territory so he could reap the benefits without effort.
No wonder this kind of man ended up alone in the novel. The author did women everywhere a favor by not giving him a CP.
"With young master's permission, whenever I see someone appealing in the future, I'll definitely find an opportunity to try them out."
Before falling asleep, Mi Yao didn't forget to thank Xiao Chu for his generosity.
After speaking, she heard Xiao Chu snort again. He was probably snake-like, always needing to flick his tongue for no reason, snorting all day long. One day when he actually spits while doing it, he'll learn what it means to be struck by lightning for pretending.