Wu Ming received no response from Hou Danxue for a long while and couldn’t help but look down in confusion.
Was that answer not good enough?
Would calling her “bad” make her angry? Surely not. Hou Danxue was openly and unapologetically wicked; would she really mind it being pointed out?
“Excellent.”
Hou Danxue concealed the calculations in her eyes and looked up at Wu Ming with a sweet smile.
“So you knew from the very beginning that I wasn’t as pure and frail as I appear on the outside.”
In truth, Wu Ming had been fooled by her appearance initially; she had simply thought Hou Danxue was a pampered young lady. Who could have known she was a master of poisons behind the scenes?
“Head of House, can you let go now?”
“No. You, lie down.”
She was fighting for the dominant position again.
Wu Ming looked at Hou Danxue’s arrogant expression and decided she would no longer indulge her. If this continued, the woman would be completely spoiled. Wu Ming would have to endure not only her bad temper but also her amateurish technique and occasional streaks of malice.
Just imagining such a future felt terrifying. Wu Ming refused to live such a miserable life!
Instead of obeying and lying down, Wu Ming used her physical advantage to pin Hou Danxue down.
“You! How dare you disobey me!”
“Must I follow your every word, Head of House?”
“Of course! The Head’s spouse must listen to the Head!”
Wu Ming let out a cold laugh, leaning close to Hou Danxue’s ear and repeating mockingly, “Spouse, spouse, spouse—”
In the cramped space, Hou Danxue struggled to free a hand to cover Wu Ming’s mouth.
“Shut up! Call me Head of House!”
“Head of House? Heh. Am I one of your subordinates? Your subordinates call you that. I shall call you… Madam~”
“You may not! If you keep this up, I… I won’t search for treasures for you anymore!”
Hou Danxue’s threat was weak, and Wu Ming didn’t care at all. However, the reddening of the other woman’s eyes suggested she was on the verge of being bullied into tears.
Wu Ming had a premonition that if Hou Danxue actually cried… she would be incredibly difficult to coax. Wu Ming might not be allowed to hold her “dear madam” to sleep for a long time.
“Let’s change the address, alright? We are married. I just don’t want us to be so distant.”
Wu Ming wanted to fight for the title of “Madam.”
It felt satisfying to call Hou Danxue “Madam.” Since Hou Danxue called her that, she wanted to return the favor.
Hou Danxue’s thoughts froze. She couldn’t think of what Wu Ming should call her.
But it absolutely could not be “Madam.” She was already at a total disadvantage physically; she had to win back her dignity through her aura. If she let Wu Ming call her “Madam,” wouldn’t she be pinned down every single day? That simply wouldn’t do!
As for the counterpart to “Madam,” like “Husband” or something similar, she found it disgusting because it reminded her of the other gender.
“Do you really have to be this forceful?”
Wu Ming tried to convince Hou Danxue that being forceful with a title didn’t change anything. If Hou Danxue was willing to yield, Wu Ming might even let herself be pinned just for the sake of the title.
Wu Ming wanted to prove this point assertively, but if she continued to bully her, she might actually make Hou Danxue explode with rage. The risk was high, and Wu Ming hesitated.
“I earn the money to support you! Why shouldn’t I be forceful!”
Hou Danxue had a sudden flash of inspiration and said joyfully, “I’ve got it! You can call me Qizhu (Wife-Lord/Master)!”
Qi… zhu?
Wu Ming’s head began to throb. Hou Danxue truly insisted on having the upper hand in titles.
“Hurry up, say it!”
Wu Ming looked down. Hou Danxue’s eyes were bright, looking at her with pure anticipation. Wu Ming didn’t really want to grant her wish.
“Isn’t this the title you wanted?”
What Wu Ming wanted was “Madam,” not “Qizhu”!
“Qizhu” and “Madam” were nothing alike! “Madam” sounded soft—even if Hou Danxue was black-hearted, she was still soft!
Wu Ming bit her lip, refusing to speak. Hou Danxue grew anxious. The moment the title had occurred to her, she began to imagine the thrill of hearing Wu Ming say it. She truly couldn’t wait.
“Dear… please satisfy me. I’ll give you anything you want.”
She had actually started pleading. Wu Ming’s heart softened immediately. She took a deep breath, her face flushing as she whispered, “Qizhu…”
As long as it was just the two of them, she could endure it. But saying such a shameful title in front of others was absolutely out of the question.
“Ha—haha—”
Hou Danxue couldn’t hold back her laughter. As expected, it felt wonderful—much better than she had imagined.
“Now say it: ‘Please, Qizhu, pamper me mercilessly’!”
Wu Ming’s face darkened. Hou Danxue was pushing her luck! It was already shameful enough, yet she always came up with these malicious jests to test Wu Ming’s limits!
“Impossible!”
“Dear~”
“Absolutely impossible!”
“What’s the big deal? Am I not pampering you enough? I can find all the world’s treasures for you. Just say something sweet~”
“Are you sure the ‘pampering’ in your sentence means that?”
“Don’t you like it?”
“I like being on top.”
Hou Danxue decided to make a sacrifice. “Then I’ll let you be on top this time.”
Wu Ming raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t expected Hou Danxue to yield. For a mere phrase, she would give up a tangible benefit? As a merchant, how could Hou Danxue make such a losing deal?
“Please, Qizhu, pamper me mercilessly.”
Wu Ming’s tone was flat, but Hou Danxue was already so thrilled her mind went blank. She grabbed Wu Ming’s arm, panting.
Seeing her in such a lost state, Wu Ming could no longer hold back. Propping herself up with one hand, she reached down with the other.
By now, she was no longer as afraid of this act as she had been at the start. Experience had told her that Hou Danxue was far more resilient than she looked; she wouldn’t be broken by Wu Ming’s fingers.
Suddenly attacked, Hou Danxue’s blurred mind cleared for a moment. She gripped Wu Ming’s hand tightly, but Wu Ming was thick-skinned and sturdy; she could only leave faint red marks.
“Too… too sudden.”
“But didn’t I already say ‘Please, Qizhu, pamper me mercilessly’? Qizhu~”
Hou Danxue felt the stimulation from Wu Ming’s words was even more intense than her fingers. She soon sank back into a lapse of consciousness.
Before Wu Ming could do much more, Hou Danxue had already become a limp mess.
“Qizhu, are you already spent? Didn’t you say you would pamper me mercilessly? Hmm?”
With Wu Ming calling her “Qizhu” with every breath, Hou Danxue was completely drained of strength, yet she forced herself to rally to deny the implication and preserve her dignity.
I can’t be ‘spent’… my authority as the Qizhu…
Wait, what authority is there when being pinned down!
Dammit! Because of the gap in physical strength, I’m still too passive!
It made the title “Qizhu” seem like a hollow name.
Once I get the best chains and tie her up, haha, then I’ll be the true Qizhu!
Wu Ming didn’t know what Hou Danxue was thinking, but she was dissatisfied with her distraction. Her state, which had relaxed out of pity, tightened again. Having finally caught an opportunity, she was determined to show Hou Danxue her dominance.
However, Hou Danxue’s “rallying” only lasted a moment. After that, no matter how Wu Ming coaxed or teased, she couldn’t continue.
“Merciless pampering?”
“I really can’t… let me be on top, then I can pamper you mercilessly.”
Wu Ming was annoyed. How could she skimp on a promise! Once she was satisfied, she stopped caring about Wu Ming; it was truly detestable!
To prevent Hou Danxue from coming up with more wicked ideas, Wu Ming continued to toss and turn her until the woman was completely devoid of strength. Now that she couldn’t even lift a hand, she wouldn’t be able to “mercilessly pamper” anyone, right? Safe!
Satisfied, Wu Ming lay down beside Hou Danxue. She turned to pull her into an embrace, only to find Hou Danxue wriggling and sliding downward.
???
Noticing Wu Ming’s gaze, Hou Danxue moved even faster. By the time Wu Ming realized what was happening, the other woman had achieved her goal.
Wu Ming could only tense her body now. She was afraid that if she fought back, Hou Danxue would be stimulated into doing something even more unexpected. It was better to endure this fine, lingering torture.
But the current situation was absurd. Why was she still obsessed with a counter-attack even when she was so exhausted?
Wu Ming couldn’t understand. Much like Hou Danxue’s obsession with titles, her persistence in this matter far exceeded Wu Ming’s imagination.
“Now… the Qizhu has completed the ‘merciless pampering’ of her spouse.”
In her state of high spirits, Hou Danxue recovered some strength. She lifted her hand and stared with satisfaction at Wu Ming’s watery, shimmering eyes.
Having reached her goal, Hou Danxue collapsed onto Wu Ming and fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, the anxious voice of a maid outside the door woke Wu Ming. She looked confusedly at Hou Danxue, who was sleeping soundly on her chest, and shook her to wake her.
“Is there something happening today?”
Hou Danxue opened her eyes and let her mind go blank for a while before regaining consciousness. She answered lazily, “Today is the sacrificial rite. But isn’t Grandmother there?”
“…Didn’t you lock her up?”
Ah, right. Because she couldn’t stand her grandmother’s troublemaking, Hou Danxue had placed her under house arrest. Now, she had to take on the responsibility of presiding over the rite.
Hou Danxue took a deep breath and climbed out of bed.
If she didn’t show up, her subordinates might take the initiative to release her grandmother if they couldn’t find a leader. If that happened, her grandmother’s actions would only become more egregious.
She could not fail. If she did, her authority as the Head of House would vanish, and she would be left with no one to command.
Before leaving, Hou Danxue kissed Wu Ming. “Your Qizhu is doing all this just to provide for you.”
“Wait, we’ll go together.”
Wu Ming was worried Hou Danxue would be bullied. It was all too common for people to harbor ill intentions when they saw a family’s lineage was thin during a funeral rite. She had seen such things constantly at the bottom of society; she assumed refined people simply had a more “elegant” way of devouring others.
She was the one who killed the others; she was the one who made the Hou family so weak. She had to take responsibility.
“Alright, we go together.”
Wu Ming followed Hou Danxue to receive the guests. She stuck close to her, but soon, the dense crowd of people separated them.
Wu Ming only knew how to kill, not how to socialize. Looking at the elegant ladies before her, she quickly realized a stark reality.
As the spouse of a great family’s head… was she perhaps a bit too unqualified?
Because of Wu Ming’s “unqualified” nature, Hou Danxue had to take on even more responsibility. She had to simultaneously play the roles of both the “Head of House” and the “Head’s Spouse” in the eyes of society.