Everyone in the room had dispersed.
The servant boy had already washed Xiao Jingyi’s body and changed him into a soft white silk sleeping robe.
Jiang Lingzhi sat by the bed, her gaze fixed on his handsome and dignified face, wanting to familiarize herself with him first.
He had enlisted at fifteen, fought in numerous battles over the years, and earned a formidable reputation. Now, upon his return, he was only twenty-three.
He did look rather fierce, but that was precisely what made him intimidating on the battlefield!
Besides, what did it matter if he was fierce?
Wasn’t he still lying here obediently, waiting for her to…
“Fourth Madam, this is the Hejin Wine sent by the Old Madam, prepared by Doctor Mu from Medicine King Valley.”
“Set it down.”
The one delivering the wine was Granny Liu from the Old Madam’s side, and it was naturally a wine to stir passion.
After placing the tray, she carefully set a small booklet on the table:
“Fourth Madam, I have already instructed all unrelated servants in the courtyard to withdraw. Only two maids remain outside, one named Xueying and the other Yunrou. You may command them as you wish.”
The maids and matrons who had accompanied Jiang Lingzhi as part of her dowry had all rushed to the main household to serve Jiang Lingyuan. With no other choice, Granny Liu had to assign two steady maids from the Old Madam’s courtyard.
Jiang Lingzhi responded, “Understood.”
She rose and walked to the table, curiously picking up the small booklet. As she opened it, images of entwined men and women immediately caught her eye, causing her cheeks to flush.
Glancing back at the man lying motionless on the bed, she suppressed her embarrassment and flipped through a few more pages, paying particular attention to the sections depicting how women took the initiative.
Realizing that she would have to exert herself throughout the process, she asked Xueying and Yunrou to bring in some food. After eating, she went to bathe and change.
Both maids wore expressions of pity, but Jiang Lingzhi had no desire to explain.
To others, her agreement to these matters might seem like self-degradation, but to her, it was the best path forward.
After her bath, she wore only a dudou and xiekou beneath a water-red robe before returning to the main chamber.
Calmly, she poured two cups of wine.
She drank one herself in a single gulp, then picked up the other and walked to the bedside. After a brief glance at him, she lifted the cup and poured the wine into her own mouth as well.
Immediately after, she discarded the cup and leaned over him, gently lifting his chin with one hand and pinching his nostrils with the other. When he could no longer hold his breath and opened his mouth, she slowly transferred the wine from her mouth to his.
No one knew whether he was still capable after being unconscious for so long, so he needed to drink the passion-stirring wine—at the very least, to ensure he could perform.
Once the wine was transferred, Jiang Lingzhi removed her outer robe, climbed onto the bed, and drew the bed curtains on both sides. In this enclosed space, she felt a greater sense of security.
The formidable General Xiao lay here, waiting for a rustic woman like her to consummate their marriage.
Adjusting her posture, Jiang Lingzhi knelt beside him and began to explore him and herself, mimicking the movements she had learned from the booklet.
She was well aware that if he were conscious, he would surely look down on a woman as vulgar, wanton, and shameless as her. Fortunately, the consummation was a one-sided affair.
After a long while, Jiang Lingzhi felt she was fully prepared. Taking a deep breath… yet the pain still brought tears to her eyes.
She remembered when she was first brought back to the Jiang family a year ago—Jiang Lingyuan had deliberately pushed her off the artificial hill. Back then, she broke her arm, and the pain kept her awake night after night. Yet now, looking back, that pain wasn’t even half as intense as this.
She breathed slowly and moved gradually, adapting bit by bit.
Whether it was the efficacy of Medicine King Valley’s medicinal wine or Xiao Jingyi’s inherently robust physique, it had been a long while, and he showed no signs of relenting.
Jiang Lingzhi was so exhausted her waist felt on the verge of breaking. All sense of shame had long vanished—she only wished to muster every ounce of strength to bring this to a swift end.
Xueying and Yunrou, the two maids, waited silently outside the bathing chamber. Faintly, they could hear Fourth Madam’s intermittent, strained gasps from within, making their cheeks flush with embarrassment.
After what felt like an eternity, the two finally heard a frail, weak voice from inside: “Attendants.”
The maids hurried in to assist.
Jiang Lingzhi had already collapsed limply against Xiao Jingyi, resting for quite some time. When the maids helped her up, she still felt as though she were treading on clouds, her waist so sore she could barely straighten it.
After bathing, thinking it improper to have the maids attend to him, she endured her weariness and personally took a damp cloth to carefully wipe him down before lying down beside him.
Just as she was drifting into a hazy slumber, she felt a faint tickle on her arm, as if someone had lightly brushed against her.
She jolted awake abruptly. What was that?
Could it be, as the old madam had said, that she brought him fortune—so much so that consummating their marriage had actually roused him?
Jiang Lingzhi opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Xiao Jingyi.
In the candlelight, his handsome face glowed like gold and jade, yet his eyes remained tightly shut.
Tentatively, she called out, “General?”
Naturally, there was no response.
After a pause, she mustered her courage and called again, “Husband?”
He remained completely still, as motionless as before.
It seemed the earlier touch had merely been her imagination.
Jiang Lingzhi laughed at herself wryly and quietly lay back down. What was she fantasizing about?
Even the physicians from Medicine King Valley had no way to cure him—how could she possibly expect that consummating their marriage would wake him?
…
The next day.
Granny Liu called softly from outside, “Fourth Madam, it’s already Chen hour. Time to rise.”
Jiang Lingzhi opened her eyes instantly, feeling that she had slept remarkably soundly and woke refreshed and clear-headed.
In truth, she usually woke before dawn. Back in the countryside, she had to rise early every day to chop wood, fetch water, and feed the chickens and pigs. After returning to the Jiang family, she had to study etiquette daily, rarely sleeping past the fourth watch.
For the first seventeen years of her life, she had been like a spinning top, whipped about at others’ whims. It was only here, at Guogong Fu, that she finally felt like a human being.
It was good. She liked it very much.
Yet, recalling the previous night, she couldn’t help but feel a flush of embarrassment. Turning her head, she saw Xiao Jingyi still lying there with his eyes closed, and she grew somewhat more at ease.
“Come in,” she responded.
Xueying and Yunrou deftly assisted her in rising, washing, and changing clothes.
Granny Liu went to tidy the bed.
As an experienced woman, one glance at the traces told her the marriage had been consummated. Seeing the bloodstain on the Yuanpa, she was thoroughly pleased and promptly stored it carefully.
Then, she respectfully paid her respects to Jiang Lingzhi: “You’ve worked hard, Fourth Madam. This old servant will go report to the old madam at once.”
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