Mu Hanhe stopped in his tracks but did not turn around.
He stood with his back to her, his spine ramrod straight, his shoulders so rigid they looked carved from stone.
Beneath the coarse red wedding robe, the muscles across his back were clearly defined—the physique of someone who had trained in martial arts for years.
“Do you know what kind of drug was mixed into the wine?” he asked, his voice low and hoarse.
Xiao Guiwan released his sleeve and steadied herself against the table. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
“I know.”
Of course she knew.
In her previous life, while living in Prince Ning’s residence, she had seen countless schemes like this. The women of the inner court would stop at nothing to win favor. She recognized this drug immediately. It wasn’t an ordinary aphrodisiac—it was a potent one that could seriously damage the body if left unresolved.
Xiao Shuwan never left anyone an escape route.
“If the effects aren’t dealt with, it’ll harm your body,” Mu Hanhe said without turning. There was a barely perceptible tension in his voice. “But I can endure it. Trust me.”
Xiao Guiwan remained silent.
She looked at his back, at the patch of dust staining his coarse red robe, at the mud clinging to his black cloth shoes.
This man was nothing more than a country farmer.
She lowered her eyes to her trembling hands, then looked back at the man standing stiffly before her.
Suddenly, something clicked.
In her previous life, she had lived far too miserably.
Always yielding. Always retreating.
Bullied without daring to speak.
Humiliated and forced to swallow it all.
She endured it in Prince Ning’s residence.
She endured it in the imperial palace.
She endured it until the day she died, never once living freely.
Why?
Why should she always be the one to endure?
This time…
She refused.
She would live life on her own terms.
The man before her might be a simple farmer, but at least he was handsome.
She wasn’t exactly getting the short end of the stick.
“Ye Daniu,” she said softly, “we’ve already completed the wedding ceremony. We’re husband and wife now.”
Mu Hanhe finally turned around.
He looked at her, his gaze unreadable.
He had drunk half the cup. The medicine was already surging through his veins, every instinct in his body screaming for release.
But…
Why would she willingly give herself to a poor farmer?
Even if she was merely an illegitimate daughter, she had still grown up in the Xiao household. How could she accept marrying a peasant who tilled the fields?
And more importantly…
Why was she the one taking the initiative?
“That wine came from your Xiao family,” he said evenly.
Xiao Guiwan let out a bitter laugh.
“I know. That’s exactly why I know this isn’t an ordinary drug. My elder sister would never leave me any way out.”
After a pause, her voice softened.
“If you don’t touch me tonight, neither of us will have an easy time. I know you can endure it… and so can I.”
She raised her head and met his eyes.
“But…”
“I don’t want to endure anymore.”
The words seemed abrupt and unfinished.
Yet Mu Hanhe understood them completely.
He, too, had endured for an entire lifetime.
This lifetime…
He no longer wanted to.
Hadn’t he surrendered his military command and fled to this remote, impoverished village precisely to live differently?
If he had chosen a different life…
Why should he continue obeying the rules of his previous one?
The woman before him was his wife.
They had bowed before Heaven and Earth.
Entered the bridal chamber together.
She was his lawful wife.
He didn’t dislike her.
If anything…
He found her rather interesting.
A discarded illegitimate daughter, married off to a place like this. She neither cried nor complained, quietly accepting her fate while remaining clear-headed even at a critical moment.
A woman like that was no ordinary person.
Suddenly, he wanted to know…
What kind of wife she would become.
Mu Hanhe took one step toward her.
Xiao Guiwan did not retreat.
He took another, stopping directly before her, close enough to catch the faint scent of soapberry lingering on her skin.
“Are you certain?” he asked quietly, so quietly it sounded as though the words were meant for her ears alone.
Xiao Guiwan looked up at him.
The candlelight danced within his eyes like two tiny flames.
They were beautiful eyes—clear and slightly rounded, with gently lowered corners. His features looked almost gentle, yet they were framed by sharp brows and a firm jawline that gave him an unexpectedly commanding presence.
She suddenly smiled.
“I’m certain.”
Then she rose onto her tiptoes and wrapped both arms around his neck.
Mu Hanhe lowered his head to look at her.
Her bright almond-shaped eyes reflected the flickering candlelight.
Her cherry-pink lips were slightly parted, her warm breath brushing against his jaw.
He fell silent for a moment.
She, too, had been abandoned by her family.
Just like him.
In her eyes, he saw the same exhaustion…
And the same clarity.
Two people who had both been crushed by fate had met inside this dilapidated thatched cottage.
Was it coincidence…
Or destiny?
Mu Hanhe slipped an arm around her waist.
His other hand rose to cradle the back of her head. Her hair was soft and silky, sliding through his fingers like fine satin.
Then he kissed her.
Behind them, the red candles burned quietly.
After a while, he drew back slightly and studied her face.
Her cheeks were flushed crimson, the color spreading all the way to her ears, making her fair, rounded face resemble a perfectly ripened peach.
Her lashes hung low, trembling faintly as she avoided his gaze.
“Look at me,” he murmured, his voice rough with restraint.
Slowly, Xiao Guiwan lifted her eyes.
Their gazes met.
Mu Hanhe lowered his head again, deepening the kiss, savoring her closeness as his hand slid from the back of her head to the nape of her neck, his warm palm resting gently against her skin while his thumb brushed lightly behind her ear.
The lingering effects of the drug, coupled with his tenderness, left Xiao Guiwan weak in the knees. Her fingers instinctively clenched the front of his robe.
She had never imagined that a country man could kiss with such practiced gentleness.
When he finally released her lips, his kisses trailed softly along her jaw to her earlobe.
His warm breath tickled her ear, sending a shiver through her entire body.
“Would you like to touch me too?” he whispered, his voice husky.
Xiao Guiwan blinked, her mind completely blank.
Her dazed expression made Mu Hanhe chuckle softly, a fleeting smile softening the normally stern lines of his face.
Taking her hand, he guided it to rest against the firm muscles of his abdomen.
The solid warmth beneath her palm made her eyes widen.
This feels even better than those male models…
Her mixture of astonishment and embarrassment amused him even more.
He laughed quietly before lowering his head to capture her lips once again.
One garment after another slipped away, falling beside the bed.
His coarse red wedding robe.
Her lotus-colored skirt.
Her pale moon-white shawl.
The clothes mingled together until it was impossible to tell which belonged to whom.
The moment their skin met, they both shivered.
Mu Hanhe threaded his fingers through her hair, resting his forehead against hers, their noses lightly touching.
Their breaths intertwined, warm and hurried.
“Xiao Guiwan,” he called softly.
She froze.
It was the first time he had spoken her name.
His deep, husky voice rolled over the three syllables as though flavored with strong wine, making them unexpectedly pleasant to hear.
“Mmm,” she answered quietly.
He said nothing more.
He simply gazed deeply into her eyes before drawing her into his embrace.
The bed curtains swayed gently.
The old wooden bed creaked softly beneath them.
Xiao Guiwan bit the back of her hand to keep herself from making a sound.
Mu Hanhe gently pulled her hand away and pressed it against the pillow.
“You don’t have to hold it in,” he whispered.
His voice was gentle, somewhere between coaxing and quiet insistence.
Her eyes turned red.
Whether from the lingering medicine or something else, tears slipped from the corners of her eyes into her hair.
Mu Hanhe lowered his head and kissed away the tear.
The red candles burned through half the night.
Their flickering light cast swaying shadows across the walls.
Xiao Guiwan lay beneath the coarse quilt, her eyes closed.
The feverish effects of the drug had mostly faded, replaced instead by a deep sense of contentment unlike anything she had ever known.
In all those years of her previous life, she had never experienced intimacy like this.
Prince Ning, Mu Hanzhao, had despised her and had never truly accepted her as his wife. Even after she became Empress, she had spent countless lonely nights in an empty palace.
She had thought she would never know what it meant to share such closeness with another person.
Yet here she was…
Inside this shabby thatched cottage.
With a simple country farmer.
She opened her eyes and turned to look at the man lying beside her.
Mu Hanhe’s eyes were closed, his breathing calm and steady, his broad chest rising and falling rhythmically.
The candlelight cast shifting shadows across his already striking features, making them seem even more sculpted.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and met her gaze.
“What are you looking at?” he asked, his voice still low and slightly hoarse.
Embarrassed, Xiao Guiwan quickly turned her face away, her ears flushing red.
Mu Hanhe said nothing.
He simply reached out and gently pulled her closer into his arms.
Resting against his chest, Xiao Guiwan listened to the steady beat of his heart.
For the first time, she felt…
Perhaps this lifetime…
Wouldn’t be so terrible after all.
Outside, the wind had died down.
The village fell completely silent.
A dog barked once or twice in the distance before quiet returned.
The red candle burned to its end.
The flame flickered twice…
Then went out.