“Be good, Qingqing—hold on to me yourself.”
The man’s low, husky voice brushed her ears, and heat instantly rose to Jiang Yu’s fair, jade-white face.
“I have to get up early tomorrow to go into the city. Don’t make it too late!”
Xiao Lingzhou agreed verbally, but didn’t slow down in the slightest. “…Just one last time.”
Jiang Yu’s slender fingers curled in his hair, her voice broken with fragments of embarrassment and annoyance. “S-slow down… are you trying to wear me to death?”
Desire stained Xiao Lingzhou’s eyes. The voice by her ear remained as gentle as ever. “Qingqing, don’t say such inauspicious things. How could I bear to let you die?”
They were meant to be husband and wife for a lifetime.
If she died, what would he do?
In the flickering lamplight—
Mist filled Jiang Yu’s eyes, the corners tinged red. Her clenched fingers showed pale knuckles. “Xiao Lingzhou…”
She couldn’t go on.
She was so tired.
Xiao Lingzhou lightly bit her earlobe, his breath scorching. “Hmm? What is it?”
Receiving no answer, he took the liberty of interpreting her meaning. “I understand—Qingqing wants a bit more.”
Jiang Yu: “……”
She was going to lose her mind.
How could a man who was so upright and aloof in public have such an extreme contrast once in bed?
Ever since getting married, she often suspected she’d been tricked!
No one knew how long it was before, just when Jiang Yu felt like she might fall apart, that Xiao Lingzhou—utterly satisfied—kissed the corner of her lips and finally stopped.
After cleaning up, he wrapped his arms around her from behind, greedily rubbing his cheek against her soft hair, and said gently, “Sleep, Ah Yu.”
Surrounded by the pleasant woody scent of his body, the utterly exhausted Jiang Yu had no energy left to scold his indulgence.
Before long, her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep.
The night grew ever deeper.
Outside the wooden house, cicadas chirred one after another.
Half-asleep, Jiang Yu instinctively reached toward the pillow beside her—only to grasp empty air.
In an instant, all drowsiness vanished.
Opening her eyes, she saw the thin quilt neatly pressed flat.
Frowning, she muttered, “Where did Xiao Lingzhou go?”
In the half year since their marriage, he had never gone out this late.
The slightly sultry summer night breeze blew in through the window.
Jiang Yu grabbed the outer robe from the rack by the bed and draped it over herself. As soon as her feet touched the floor, her knees went weak. Fortunately, she caught the bedframe in time and didn’t fall.
Cursing Xiao Lingzhou’s lack of restraint in her heart, she steadied herself and slowly walked outside.
Two years ago.
While in college, she had inexplicably transmigrated to this unfamiliar dynasty.
Relying on her superb makeup skills and selling rouge, she managed to save some money and gain a foothold in this small mountain village.
Knowing she’d never return to the modern world, she planned to earn more, buy a house, hire a couple of servants—
And occasionally visit the South Wind Pavilion to order a couple of handsome attendants. She’d live this life joyfully to the end.
Everything had been proceeding along its planned course.
Then Xiao Lingzhou appeared—an accident.
He had arrived in Zhangjia Village a year ago.
It was early spring then: peach blossoms blazing, vast fields of golden rapeseed flowers in full bloom, set against emerald wheat fields.
Xiao Lingzhou stood at the village entrance in plain white robes, long ink-black hair tied with a white ribbon. His sleeves fluttered; his bearing was like jade, almost celestial.
(Image generated by reader baby via AI)
With just one glance, Jiang Yu—the ultimate looks enthusiast—fell.
After returning home, that refined, otherworldly face kept surfacing in her mind.
Early the next morning, unable to hold back, she asked around the village and learned he was a distant relative of the village head, staying in Zhangjia Village for a year or so.
Because the previous teacher had gone to the capital for the imperial exams, Xiao Lingzhou was temporarily filling the post.
Smitten at first sight, Jiang Yu went to the school every day, openly and covertly teasing him.
Sweet talk, flirtation techniques—she tried them all on him.
Over time, she really did succeed.
After Xiao Lingzhou had eaten the pumpkin cakes she made for him for the fifty-second time, she propped her chin on her hand and said, “Xiao Lingzhou, at this rate, when will you reach the five-hundred-and-twentieth time of eating my pumpkin cakes?”
Xiao Lingzhou tilted his head, those beautiful phoenix eyes resting on her. His expression was as cool as ever, yet the corner of his lips carried a gentle curve even he hadn’t noticed.
“Five hundred and twenty times. If I eat two a day, it’ll still take over half a year.”
She drooped her long lashes, murmuring, “That long?”
The night was silent.
Her peach-blossom eyes gradually dimmed under the moonlight. She sighed. “By the time that day comes, you’ll probably have already left Zhangjia Village, right?”
Emotions surged in Xiao Lingzhou’s eyes, yet his refined face remained calm. “Does ‘five hundred and twenty’ have some special meaning?”
She was adept at using superficial acting to achieve her aims. Hearing that, she suddenly looked up at him, her brows and eyes curved with renewed sparkle. “It does!”
She cautiously leaned closer. Seeing that he didn’t avoid her, she whispered by his ear, “ ‘Five-two-zero’ sounds like…”
“ ‘I love you.’ ”
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Lingzhou choked. His ears reddened at a visible speed, the blush spreading to his cheeks.
Staring at his flushed ears, she pressed her advantage. “Xiao Lingzhou, I don’t just want you to eat my pumpkin cakes five-two-zero times—I want you to eat them one-three-one-four times.”
“That way, it means ‘I love you for a lifetime…’ ”
That night, Xiao Lingzhou practically fled.
She thought her words had been too blatant and scared him off.
Until three days later, when he appeared before her with dark circles under his eyes and dropped a bomb that left her stunned.
He said, “Jiang Yu, I want to marry you. What about you?”
He said he wanted to marry her.
As if, in his heart, this was a carefully weighed, solemn decision.
Jiang Yu was completely dumbfounded then—she had no mind left to parse his words.
They had known each other for half a year; things were moving a bit fast.
But his looks truly struck straight at her heart.
Never mind what lay beneath.
Just for that peerlessly handsome face, she was willing to give it a try.
So, blinded by lust, she agreed.
Half a month later, they married.
The wedding wasn’t rushed; everything that should be there was there.
After marriage, Xiao Lingzhou handed over all his assets and took on all the household chores.
Everyone praised Jiang Yu for marrying such a gentle, considerate husband.
Only she knew: everything about Xiao Lingzhou was great—except that after marriage, once he’d tasted desire, he loved to cling to her endlessly in bed.
She had complaints, but couldn’t really say much.
After all, every time, it was she who couldn’t resist temptation and was the first to tease him.
…
Coming back to herself, Jiang Yu lifted a lantern and stepped out of the room.
The night wind rushed toward her, tousling her raven-black hair.
Tightening the outer robe around her, she circled the courtyard, but still didn’t see Xiao Lingzhou.
Even the yellow dog with a white face they’d raised together—named “Jiang Mo”—wasn’t in its kennel.
Just then, a rustling sound came from deep within the bamboo grove beside the wooden house.
She stopped and turned her head.
Softly, she asked, “Xiao Lingzhou, is that you?”
After waiting a long while with no response, she steeled herself and headed toward the bamboo grove.
The emerald bamboo was dense, blocking most of the moonlight and making the grove seem eerie and ominous.
Jiang Yu couldn’t help feeling afraid.
She’d never believed in ghosts or gods.
But if something as absurd as transmigration could happen to her, she had to believe at least a little.
When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she gripped the lantern pole and looked toward the source of the sound.
The moment she saw the scene in the distance, her face went white. She was so frightened she nearly flung the lantern from her hand.
In her panic, she clapped a hand over her mouth and hid behind a large tree, her hands shaking like sieves as she extinguished the lantern.