At this moment, Lu Ye had only one feeling toward Su Qianqian:
“Adorable! I want to…”
Su Qianqian herself probably didn’t realize how criminally enticing her innocent yet slightly fearful gaze was.
Lu Ye had initially been puzzled—when had his usually cold and detached self developed sympathy? Why would he feel reluctant to see a girl he had just met suffer and even feel a desire to protect her?
Now, he finally understood the main reason why he had willingly allowed himself to be schemed against by that couple and agreed to marry Su Qianqian.
This wasn’t sympathy at all—the root cause was that he had been captivated by her beauty and desired her body.
Thinking back to the softness of her body when he held her that day, the tenderness of her lips when he gave her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and the deer-like look in her eyes when she glanced at him…
Lu Ye felt that the sinful fire he had barely suppressed last night was beginning to stir again.
He quickly pulled his thoughts back, telling himself not to let his mind wander. Although this young bride was now his wife, her fear of him was genuine.
Recalling the soft sobs he heard last night and this morning, he felt a pang of discouragement.
Forcing himself on her was out of the question—even if she was his wife, he couldn’t do it.
Moreover, Su Qianqian’s marriage to him wasn’t her own choice. If he disregarded her wishes and forced himself on her, she would likely become even more afraid of him, which was the last thing he wanted.
Although he was a military man, he understood the saying, “A forced melon is not sweet.” If he made an irreversible mistake, how could they possibly live together in the future?
Still, Lu Ye wasn’t disheartened. After all, this young bride was already his. As long as he treated her well from now on and helped her open her heart to him, a happy life together shouldn’t be too far away.
With this thought in mind, as soon as Lu Ye returned to the kitchen with Su Qianqian, he thoughtfully handed her a bowl and chopsticks.
Then, he pushed the remaining wedding pastries from yesterday and a few pieces of stewed meat right in front of her.
Although Su Qianqian had traveled from the modern era, she now possessed all the memories of her past life.
She knew the status of women in this era. Aside from the ladies and madams of wealthy families, peasant women rarely ate meat throughout the year—Su Qianqian herself was no exception.
If there was meat at home, it was always reserved for the male laborers first. Apart from women with exceptional embroidery skills, most women could only grow mediocre crops and vegetables to supplement the household income—they couldn’t do much else.
Since the entire family relied on men to provide, men’s health was naturally the top priority. How could they have strength without eating well? Thus, everything was prioritized for the men.
Most peasant women ate only two meals a day.
Now, seeing Lu Ye push all these delicacies in front of her, Su Qianqian felt uneasy and flustered.
In her past life, after being too exhausted to get out of bed on her wedding night, Lu Ye had also prepared plenty of meat for her.
Back then, she thought he did it out of guilt, wanting to nourish her. But now, she and Lu Ye hadn’t even done anything yet…
She cautiously glanced up at Lu Ye and found him staring straight at her with a serious expression, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Seeing Su Qianqian’s cautious demeanor, Lu Ye assumed she was too afraid of him to eat.
He hesitated for a moment, then looked at Su Qianqian and spoke in a very earnest tone:
“I don’t hit my wife, so you don’t need to be so afraid of me! Since I’ve married you, I’ll treat you well from now on.
You barely ate anything yesterday. This is my first time getting married too, so I might not have done everything perfectly. If there’s anything you’re unhappy about, you can tell me, but you still need to eat.”
As he spoke, he pushed the bowl of meat closer to Su Qianqian and coaxed her in the gentlest voice he could muster:
“Don’t be afraid, go ahead and eat!”
Su Qianqian glanced at Lu Ye, then looked down at the meat pushed toward her. Finally, she mustered her courage and whispered her predicament:
“The meat pieces are too big. I… I can’t eat this much.”
Hearing this, Lu Ye sized up his young bride. The person before him was delicate and petite, her face smaller than his palm, her lips as tiny as red cherries, looking utterly delectable…
Lu Ye realized his thoughts were drifting again and quickly coughed to cover it up. Then, he directly took the meat to the kitchen stove.
When he returned, the meat placed before Su Qianqian had been cut into small pieces.
“Alright, eat now!”
Su Qianqian hadn’t expected Lu Ye to be so patient with her, and for a moment, her heart felt both sour and swollen.
Ever since her parents died, no one had cared about her for a long time.
Suppressing the ache in her heart, she nodded without saying anything more and quickly lowered her head to eat.
The meat was likely from a wild boar or something similar from the mountains, mostly lean with only a little fat around the edges. For Su Qianqian, who disliked fatty meat, this was a blessing.
Otherwise, if she were to pick and choose, it would seem ungrateful.
Su Qianqian ate her meal in small bites, occasionally looking up at Lu Ye sitting across from her—her husband now.
She thought, is this what life will be like from now on? If it stays like this, it would be quite nice.
But as these thoughts crossed her mind, Su Qianqian suddenly blushed. She still had one difficult hurdle to overcome.
The man’s broad shoulders, long legs, and tapered waist were indeed pleasing to the eye, but if they were to be put to use…
Remembering the main reason she had been so afraid of Lu Ye in her past life, Su Qianqian suddenly felt the meat wasn’t as appetizing anymore.
And she was truly full now, but there was still about half a bowl of porridge left uneaten.
In this era, the value of food went without saying. Many people survived on coarse grain cakes and wild vegetables every day.
Porridge like what she was eating now was considered fine grain—who would dare waste it?
Lu Ye ate quickly, but he didn’t make any strange noises or come across as crude. Instead, he had a straightforward, hearty manner.
He happened to look up and noticed Su Qianqian eating slower and slower. Frowning slightly, he asked with some confusion:
“What’s wrong? Does it not suit your taste?”
Seeing Lu Ye frown made Su Qianqian nervous. Hearing his question, she found it difficult to speak up but mustered the courage to reply:
“I’m sorry, I… I can’t eat anymore.”
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum, tinged with unease and apology.
Hearing this, Lu Ye’s sharp eyebrows twitched slightly.
He glanced at the small half-bowl of porridge left in Su Qianqian’s bowl, then at the barely touched meat, and took a few more looks at her slender figure. Frowning slightly, he said:
“You’re eating too little, and you’re too thin. You really should eat more.”