Xu Lang’s words, “Now we can finally consummate together,” instantly froze the warm atmosphere that had just formed inside the new wooden house.
Four women. Four completely different reactions.
Hua Yourong and Li Xiuzhi’s faces flushed bright red at once. They lowered their heads instinctively, not daring to look at Xu Lang. Their shy expressions were utterly endearing.
Xia Zhiruo blinked her large eyes, full of curiosity and a hint of excitement. Tilting her small head, she looked at Xu Lang, then at the sisters beside her, completely unaware of the storm hidden within that single sentence.
Only Murong Yanran’s strikingly heroic face first turned crimson, then shifted into restrained anger.
She folded her arms and glared coldly at Xu Lang.
“Shameless! Don’t even think about it!”
Xu Lang ignored her anger. He paced slowly to stand before Xia Zhiruo and Murong Yanran, stroking his chin as if seriously considering something.
“Hm… that is a problem.”
“Yourong is the first wife, properly married. Xiuzhi just entered the household as the fourth wife. The bridal night with them doesn’t need to be rushed.”
He paused deliberately, then changed his tone.
“But Zhiruo and Yanran, neither of you has consummated the marriage with me yet.”
“By logic, there should be an order. Yanran is the third wife, Zhiruo you are the second wife. But Zhiruo is the youngest…”
Xu Lang spread his hands and casually tossed this burning issue directly to Murong Yanran.
“Yanran, you tell me. Who should accompany me tonight?”
The question was vicious.
It was like placing Murong Yanran on a fire pit.
To force her, an unmarried young lady, to decide aloud whether she or another woman should serve her husband first?
If this spread, how would the proud daughter of the Murong family keep her dignity?
But if she refused to speak and let Xu Lang decide, this rogue would most likely choose Xia Zhiruo, who was obedient and full of innocent curiosity.
The mere thought of being placed behind a little girl made Murong Yanran’s chest tighten.
She was the daughter of the Murong family!
How could she lose to a little girl?
Xia Zhiruo still had no idea she had become the center of a storm. She looked at Xu Lang, then at Murong Yanran whose chest was rising and falling with anger, and asked softly with a bit of anticipation, “Husband, how about… how about I go first?”
That sentence was the spark that lit the fuse.
“No!”
Murong Yanran almost shouted it.
She shot Xu Lang a fierce glare, then glanced at Xia Zhiruo’s innocent face. Gritting her teeth, she forced the words out between them.
“I accept that Hua Yourong is the eldest!”
“But why should a little girl rank ahead of me?”
“Tonight, it will be me!”
By the time she finished speaking, her entire face was red enough to drip blood. She turned her head sharply away, refusing to look at anyone.
Xu Lang was overjoyed inside, though he wore a helpless expression as if saying, “Since you insist, I have no choice.”
He walked to Xia Zhiruo and patted her small head.
“Zhiruo, see? It’s not that Husband doesn’t cherish you. Your Sister Yanran is just too impatient.”
“Be good and wait your turn. Tomorrow will be yours.”
“Oh…”
Xia Zhiruo nodded, half understanding, her lips pouting slightly. She looked both wronged and strangely expectant.
Xu Lang wasted no more time. He grabbed Murong Yanran, who was still flushed with embarrassment and anger, and headed toward the newly built master bedroom.
“Come, Yanran my wife. A spring night is worth a thousand in gold.”
…
The door to the master bedroom closed.
Hua Yourong led the still-dazed Xia Zhiruo and the uneasy Li Xiuzhi into the secondary bedroom next door.
The moment Murong Yanran stepped into the master bedroom, she froze.
The room was simple, filled only with the fresh scent of wood.
But the bed in the center was absurdly large.
It could easily fit five people, let alone two.
She rolled her eyes and muttered toward Xu Lang’s back, “What a lecher… building such a big bed.”
Xu Lang’s ears were sharp. He heard it clearly and turned around with a mischievous grin.
“What is Yanran my wife saying? I’m thinking long-term.”
“Just imagine, when we have children. One or two, maybe three or four… if the bed isn’t big enough, how will we all fit?”
Such twisted logic left Murong Yanran speechless.
She watched him step closer and closer, her heart pounding faster, her body growing rigid.
…
In the secondary bedroom, although the bed was also large, the atmosphere was unbearably tense.
The three women lay on the bed, unable to sleep.
The wooden partitions in the new house were better than the old thatched hut… but only slightly.
Sounds from the next room drifted over in fragments.
First came the soft rustling of clothes. Then Murong Yanran’s suppressed gasp. After that… the faint creaking of the bed.
It was not as loud as before, but somehow even more tormenting.
Xia Zhiruo leaned her small head toward Hua Yourong’s ear and whispered in a voice as soft as a mosquito, “Sister Yourong… what… what are they doing?”
“Is Sister Yanran in pain? I heard her cry…”
Hua Yourong’s cheeks burned. She quickly covered Xia Zhiruo’s mouth, so embarrassed she wished she could sink into the ground.
“Don’t talk nonsense… sleep, hurry and sleep!”
But the continuous sounds made sleep impossible.
She felt like an outsider, as though she did not belong there and should not be hearing any of this.
Her heart was full of inferiority.
Hua Yourong was gentle and virtuous, the first wife.
Xia Zhiruo was lively and adorable, deeply cherished.
Even Murong Yanran, despite her temper, was skilled in martial arts and stunningly beautiful.
And what about herself?
Just a village girl sold by her father, nearly falling into the hands of a tyrant.
Husband taking her in was already a tremendous kindness. How could she dare ask for more?
Listening to the sounds next door, she felt both envious and uneasy.
The three women suffered in silence, faces flushed, sleepless through the night.
…
At the same time, on the eastern side of the village.
Zhao Erhu’s older brother was drinking gloomily, his face full of irritation.
“Damn it! Where the hell did Zhao Erhu go?”
He kicked over the wine jar beside him and roared at his last remaining lackey.
“It’s been two days! Where is he? Didn’t he say he was going to deal with Xu Lang’s wives? He didn’t deal with anyone, and now he’s disappeared himself?”
The lackey trembled as he replied, “B-brother… I… I looked. I searched all the places Second Master usually goes. He’s not there…”
“Not just Second Master. The men who followed him, Liu San, Wang Wu… they’re all gone too. It’s like they vanished into thin air!”
The man’s movement halted.
A thought flashed through his mind.
He suddenly remembered how Xu Lang had punched him back at the village entrance yesterday.
He remembered that terrifyingly calm face.
And he remembered the strange sentence that had puzzled him at the time.
“Your brother is called Zhao Erhu… he misses you.”
A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his scalp.
He sprang to his feet, his body trembling from shock and rage.
“Xu Lang…”
His teeth ground together, his bloodshot eyes burning with mad hatred.
“Erhu… something must have happened to him!”
He turned and took down the sharp hunting knife he relied on from the wall, gripping it tightly.
“You dare touch my brother… I’ll make your entire family pay with their lives! Your wives will all become my wives!”