“I came to consummate our marriage, Husband.”
The moment those words fell, Shen Yi inside the room, Lu Ming outside the door, and Chunlan standing behind Jiang Xuening were all left dumbfounded.
Jiang Xuening had said it with an utterly calm expression, yet it made the tips of Shen Yi’s ears turn red.
“Jiang, Xuening, are you even a woman?” Why did she not possess even the slightest bit of feminine modesty?
“I am a woman, of course. Husband, would you like to check?”
“Jiang Xiaoliu!”
He was the dignified Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Heir Apparent of the Jingning Marquis’s Residence, a seven-foot-tall man, yet he had actually been teased by this young woman who was four years younger than him and only came up to his shoulder.
He gritted his teeth.
“Do you have any sense of shame?”
“Not when it comes to you.”
They were husband and wife. Consummating their marriage was something married couples were supposed to do, so why should she feel ashamed?
Jiang Xuening took another step forward, her pair of dark, bright eyes staring directly at him.
“So, can we consummate our marriage tonight, Husband?”
Shen Yi was forced to take a step backward by her advance, and his ears turned completely red.
“Jiang Xiaoliu, I made it very clear to you on our wedding night. I married you only to preserve the dignity of both our families. Don’t harbor any other expectations. I don’t like you, so naturally, I won’t consummate our marriage with you.”
This was the second time he had spoken such harsh words to her.
He did not want to bully a young girl, but she was different from ordinary young ladies. Even after he had rejected her so mercilessly, she did not feel embarrassed. Instead, she seriously asked him,
“Oh? Then what would it take for you to like me?”
“It is impossible for me to like you.”
“How is it impossible? I’m not an unattractive, unlovable, or unworthy person. If you don’t like me, that’s your problem. We have to find a way to solve this problem…”
“…”
Shen Yi was rendered speechless for a moment. He even felt that what she said made sense.
She was indeed very beautiful. The way she seriously said such things to him was also rather adorable. If Shen Yi had not known what kind of person she truly was, she would indeed have been a young woman worth liking.
Unfortunately, he knew exactly what she was like, and she had also been chosen by his stepmother, Madam Wei.
What kind of good person could someone chosen by Madam Wei possibly be?
Shen Yi was unwilling to continue entangling himself with her and could not be bothered to refute her words.
“Then figure out how to solve it yourself.”
Having said that, he moved to see her out.
“Leave.”
Fine, she would leave.
Jiang Xuening was not discouraged in the slightest.
“Then I’ll come find you again tomorrow night.”
…
Over the years, Shen Yi had been busy securing his career and his position as Heir Apparent. He had no interest in matters of love and naturally had very little contact with young ladies.
Among the few young women he knew, whether they were his own sisters or the sisters of his close friends, most were well-behaved and reserved. They were easily embarrassed and had thin skins.
He had never encountered a young woman like Jiang Xuening.
How could there be such a woman in this world?
She was neither reserved nor shy. When she was neglected, she did not feel wronged. When she was rejected, she did not think there was anything wrong with herself. Not only did she not reflect on her own actions, she even dared to boldly approach him again…
This woman was extraordinary. It seemed he would have to be even more careful and wary of her in the future.
Jiang Xuening had only recently married into the Marquis’s Residence, and she had no one here whom she could trust.
The two maids by her side, Chunlan and Xiamo, were both people of her legal mother, Madam Zhou. Jiang Xuening would not open her heart to them.
As for herself, she was unfamiliar with everything in the Marquis’s Residence. The only person who treated her with some kindness and warmth was her mother-in-law, Madam Wei.
She decided to seek Madam Wei’s help.
“Mother, Husband doesn’t like me. I don’t know what I should do to win his affection.”
Madam Wei knew everything that had happened in Magnolia Courtyard over the past few days. She also knew that Jiang Xuening had taken the initiative to knock on the study door the previous night, only to be turned away by Shen Yi.
Looking at the daughter-in-law before her, with her dark almond-shaped eyes, cheeks fair as snow, and luminous complexion like a new moon surrounded by a faint halo, Madam Wei could not help but wonder.
How could Shen Yi possibly not be moved by such an extraordinarily beautiful woman?
If she could not help Jiang Xuening win Shen Yi’s affection, Madam Wei’s plans would also be difficult to carry out.
Therefore, at this moment, she genuinely wanted to bring this young couple together.
“The Heir Apparent’s dislike for you isn’t entirely your fault. You may not know this, but I am not the Heir Apparent’s birth mother. Being a stepmother is difficult. All these years, the Heir Apparent has always held some resentment toward me. And you only married into this family after I gave my approval. Naturally, he would have a preconceived bias against you…”
Jiang Xuening’s red lips parted slightly.
No one had ever told her that the Marchioness of the Jingning Marquis’s Residence was actually not Shen Yi’s birth mother.
“The Heir Apparent has been cold toward you, and I was worried that you would become disheartened because of it. Now that I see you are willing to take the initiative to repair your relationship with him, I am truly relieved.”
Madam Wei held her hand, her eyes carrying the knowing look of someone who had been through such things herself.
“As the saying goes, when a woman pursues a man, there is only a thin veil between them. You only need to be a little bolder. After all, what man can resist a woman throwing herself into his arms? What’s more, you are such a rare beauty…”
Throw herself into his arms?
Jiang Xuening seemed to understand.
So, before consummating the marriage, she had to throw herself into his arms.
That night, Jiang Xuening carried a bowl of tremella and lotus seed soup to the study and knocked on the door.
This time, Lu Ming, who was standing guard outside, did not stop her as he had the previous night. The person inside had also learned his lesson and knew that she was stubborn, so he did not make her knock for long.
“Come in.”
The study door was not bolted from the inside. Jiang Xuening pushed it open and walked in.
Shen Yi was sitting upright behind the writing desk, reading a book. The glow of the glazed lamp illuminated his features, making him appear even more handsome.
At the sound of the door opening, he looked up at her.
When he saw the tray in her hands, the corners of his lips lifted into a cold smile.
He knew there were Madam Wei’s informants in his courtyard, and Madam Wei’s courtyard also had his own spies.
He had already learned that Jiang Xuening had gone to see Madam Wei earlier that day. Now that she had come to bring him a late-night snack with such a gentle and considerate demeanor, it was obvious that Madam Wei had instructed her to do so.
However, sending him a late-night snack was far too clichéd.
Or could it be that this bowl of late-night soup had something else mixed into it?
“I personally made this tremella and lotus seed soup. It has the effects of nourishing the body and calming the mind. Husband, have some…”
Shen Yi cast a casual glance at it.
“Heh. Did you put some medicine in it?”
“No. If Husband wants to take some medicine, you can add it yourself.”
“…”
He was not certain whether there was medicine in the soup, but one thing was certain: her mouth was definitely poisoned.
“Put it there. I’ll drink it later.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Xuening placed the lotus seed soup on the desk and then stood beside him without leaving.
Shen Yi lightly turned a page, calmly flipping to the next one before casually ordering her to leave.
“I’ll accept your thoughtfulness. You can go back now.”
She still did not move.
“Aren’t you going to get up and see me out?”
“I wasn’t the one who invited you here in the first place. However you came here, that’s how you can return.”
Yet she stubbornly remained where she was.
“If you don’t see me out, I’m not leaving.”
Although they had only been married for three to five days, Shen Yi had already witnessed her unwillingness to stop until she achieved her goal.
In order to get her to leave as quickly as possible, he had no choice but to put down the book in his hand and rise.
He walked to the study door and gestured for her to leave.
Unexpectedly, the moment he turned around, the young woman suddenly threw herself forward and crashed straight into his arms.
His back slammed heavily against the doorframe.
He was forced to breathe in the sweet, delicate fragrance of her body.
A pair of soft arms wrapped around his waist, sending a shiver through him.
“What… are you doing?”
She looked up at him, her shallow breaths brushing against his neck.
“I am throwing myself into your arms, Husband.”