Chapter 5

Her beautiful eyes seemed both coquettish and reproachful; her moist almond-shaped eyes were as lively and charming as that snowy night, melting one's heart.

"Smell me, I stink."

Instead of clinging to Xiao Chuan's arm and acting coquettishly, Mi Yao pinched the hem of his clothes and gently shook it.

That force was like an ant trying to shake a tree, unable to provoke Xiao Chuo's resistance. It was merely like lake water being lightly brushed by a bird's wings, causing an itch on the skin she hadn't touched.

"Where does it smell?"

As soon as she appeared, a rich floral fragrance, like musk, wafted over. Xiao Chuan sniffed lightly and, besides the sweet floral scent, also detected a pure milky fragrance on her, like that of a newborn raccoon dog, soft and tempting.

I wonder how these women from wealthy and noble families formulated their perfumes to create such a variety of scents on a person.

"Don't try to coax me with sweet words, Xiao Lang. I've been sick for several days, how can I not smell bad?"

As soon as Xiao Chua entered the room, Wu Ao couldn't wait to start complaining one after another. He naturally understood why Mi Yao was doing this, and pulled the hand that she had grabbed from his clothes away and placed it on her waist.

Even with the fur coat providing insulation, the waist of the beauty in my arms remained so slender it was almost unreal.

Xiao Chuan reached out, intending to provoke her into resisting and revealing her true colors of disdain for his background. However, when he embraced her, she leaned against him as if boneless, causing him to unconsciously tighten his grip and pull her deeper into his arms.

Unable to elicit any resistance from Mi Yao, Xiao Chuan, unwilling to stand idly in the courtyard for others to watch, led her into the house.

Upon entering the room and touching the surrounding furnishings, Xiao Chuan's lips curled into a slight smile.

He occasionally stayed overnight at this private residence after arriving in Jingzhou. He remembered that apart from the bed, a square table, and some other useful items, the room was simple and there was nothing particularly noteworthy to look at.

Mi Yao had only been there for four days, and was still ill, yet she had already transformed the house.

I don't know how her sister packed her things, managing to create so many embroidered curtains to cover up her flaws, and even adding a dressing table with a purple jade and pearl-inlaid bronze mirror next to the bed.

The room where he had slept was filled with the exquisite details of a young woman, and there was a subtle fragrance everywhere, which finally made him feel like he had won the heart of a beauty.

"Are you bored or not enjoying the food?"

Since she was his own beauty, Xiao Chuan became more patient. Recalling Wu Ao's complaints, he asked her what was wrong.

Xiao Chuan was looking around the room, while Mi Yao was looking him over.

That night, he sat upright on his black horse, amidst the cold, swirling snowflakes, like a demon descending.

Now that the situation was no longer there, Xiao Chuan took off his black sable fur coat and put on a dark blue brocade robe with silver patterns, and he didn't seem much more kind-hearted or soft-hearted.

Below his long, sharp, pale eyes was a high, straight nose, and below that were thin lips shaped like sword marks. The cold, hard contours of his face made him extremely handsome and aggressive.

With his towering height of over eight feet and imposing broad shoulders, he exudes a powerful aura that makes others hesitant to approach him.

No matter how unapproachable he may look, he's still a man who openly and frankly declares in front of everyone that he wants to marry a beautiful woman.

Therefore, there is no need to analyze why he sought to marry the original owner of the body in the book; the fact that the woman was beautiful was at least within his criteria.

"I am a delicate flower meant to be admired from a high place. How can I be bored or not? When I am at home, I may not go out for ten days or half a month."

"So the food wasn't to my liking."

"Young Master Xiao should have already met Aunt Wu. What kind of precious treasures do you think she can nurture with her cooking?"

Xiao Chuan recalled Wu Ao. He realized that most of the old women he saw on weekdays were slovenly and he didn’t think there was anything wrong with them. But when he thought about the contrast between that kind of person and the one standing in front of Mi Yao, he understood Mi Yao’s disdain.

Delicate flowers are pampered and nurtured.

Even if what actually makes Mingzhen bloom is cow dung, a layer of rare wood chips is laid on the surface, claiming it is nourished by divine dew and water.

"Stay here for another day, and tomorrow I will send someone to take you back to Yizhou. Once you arrive at my residence, you can choose any chef you like."

"I wonder if you will send me away alone, or with all my servants?"

After asking, Mi Yao held up her fingers. "My lord, look, my hands have developed fine lines without the nourishing balm, and my eyes have lost their sparkle without the prepared medicinal fumigation. And my face, my hair..."

Mi Yao covered her lips with her fingers and twitched her lips twice. "A cold has aged me by five years. Without any maids to serve me, I'm afraid I'll wither away like Wu Ao in a few days."

Wu Ao's face appeared in his mind, and Xiao Chuan's eyebrows twitched.

Although he felt she was no different from a few days ago, he understood her spoiled nature.

If she were to ask him about her lover's life or death the moment she saw him, making a huge scene, he could simply ignore her. But with her so soft in his arms, her watery eyes fixed on him, even if she was acting, as long as she did it well, he couldn't ignore her demands.

He really should severely punish the scouts who investigated the Yu family. The documents clearly stated that Yu's daughter was arrogant and self-important, just like her good-for-nothing lover. Every day, besides writing a few sentimental poems, she would mock the rising poor families.

Marrying a roughneck like him would be worse than killing her.

Does she look like she's in pain right now?

He had heard phrases like "soft as if boneless" and "warm and fragrant as jade" before, and he thought he had figured out the meaning of these two words. But after carrying her onto his horse on that snowy night and seeing her lying in his arms like water now, he finally understood the meaning of the words.

Once inside his arms, Yu Nu felt as if all the bones had been removed from her body, and she couldn't even stand up.

"The servants of the Yu family will stay at the post station for a few more days. I will have someone send a maid and a cook over in a few days, and then I will send someone to send them to leave with you."

"I'm relieved to hear that you say so, my lord."

Looking down at Mi Yao's satisfied smile, Xiao Chuan simply couldn't reconcile the arrogance and rudeness that Wu Ao had described with her.

"Aren't you going to ask me what I'm going to do with them?"

"My lord has his own plans. Why should I ask about things that have nothing to do with me?"

Mi Yao placed her hand on Xiao Chuan's neck and met his eyes. "What my lord seeks is a beautiful woman, while what I seek is a stable and fertile land where I can take root and flourish, where someone will take care of me and serve me, so that I don't have to suffer any hardship. My lord and I are simply a match made in heaven."

Her soft, sweet voice gradually softened. Mi Yao had originally only intended to be honest with Xiao Chuan and let him know that she could definitely be a good, beautiful but useless wife.

But when her gaze fell upon his sliding Adam's apple and his taut jaw, she felt pressured to do more to prove her allure.

However, before her lips could touch his neck, Xiao Chuan released her and stood up.

"If there's nothing else, I'll go rest next door. If you need anything while I'm gone, you can ask my servants."

Without waiting for Mi Yao's reply, he strode out the door.

*

"Why did the town envoy come out so quickly?"

Wu Ao and her daughter-in-law tidied up the house for resting. Zhao De waited outside, but before the house was even tidied up, Xiao Chuan hurriedly came out of Yu Nu's house.

Although I know my boss is a novice, this is still a bit too fast.

Meeting Zhao De's strange gaze, Xiao Chuan knew without asking what he was thinking.

"roll."

Sensing the chill in Xiao Chuan's tone, Zhao De shrank back, but once the house was cleared out, he couldn't help but squeeze into Xiao Chuan's room.

Zhao De was a servant who was given a surname by Zhao Tianhe, Xiao Chuan's adoptive father. Xiao Chuan saved him when he first entered the army camp. Later, Xiao Chuan was favored by Zhao Tianhe, and Zhao De followed him around. Compared with other subordinates, Zhao De's friendship with Xiao Chuan was much deeper, so it was natural for him to ask Xiao Chuan more questions.

"Could it be that Yu Nu is unwilling? Was her behavior outside just now merely for her lover?"

Just now, Mi Yao was playfully scolding Xiao Chua in the courtyard, without hiding it from anyone.

If any man could resist that seductive charm, he must be either a eunuch or a Buddhist disciple descended to earth, born without lust.

She didn't mention the scholar.

"That's right. One is a poor, powerless scholar who can only make her ride in an oxcart in the dead of night and freeze, while the other is a majestic and heroic general with a bright future. If Miss Yu has eyes, she should know who to choose."

After Zhao De finished speaking, he realized that since it wasn't Yu Nu acting, the problem must lie with Xiao Chuan.

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but glance down at Xiao Chuan's lower body. They were all men in their early twenties. Xiao Chuan had never gone to brothels with them, and he had suspected that there was something wrong with Xiao Chuan.

He even secretly peeked at Xiao Chuan a few times when he went to bathe in the river.

The donkey's enormous thing almost made him dumbfounded.

If even someone like him can't do it, then there are no men in the world who can.

"Could it be that you, the governor, don't like women?"

Xiao Chui's gaze was like a cold blade, and Zhao De felt as if he were about to be torn to pieces. "With that beauty in your arms, why..."

"I am not married to her yet."

"ha?"

Zhao De never expected that this was Xiao Chuan's reason. He really didn't understand why those noble scions who considered themselves to be of noble blood could sleep with any woman they wanted, while his master, who could only be considered a ruthless and ambitious man, was so particular about so many rules.

"I'm not some starving wolf who can't resist a woman. If we were to get married, I would sleep with her myself. Why bring it up before we're even married?"

Xiao Chuan remained indifferent, unaware of anything wrong with his behavior. On the contrary, he felt that his subordinate was obsessed with women and needed some training to prevent him from getting caught up in a woman's affairs and ruining important matters.

After giving instructions on the maids and cooks he had promised to find for Mi Yao, Xiao Chuan said before resting, "Send someone to infiltrate the Yu family and investigate Yu Nu again, to see if the Yu family has found several women who resemble the eldest daughter of the Yu family to help them."

"Does the magistrate doubt that this is truly a daughter of the Yu family?"

Zhao De thought about what he had found out earlier, but judging from her attitude toward her lover, it didn't seem like it.

"It's similar, but not quite."

Although their personalities differed, her face was worthy of being called the most beautiful woman in Jiangnan.

However, when he proposed marriage, he did not choose any other beauties, but instead chose Yu Miyao, not only because of her gimmicks, but also because her elder brother, with whom she had a deep relationship, was an official in the imperial court, serving as the Director of the Department of Revenue.

The Shu region lacked talent in internal affairs, and the first person on the list that the strategist gave him was Yu Shaoyang.

Yu Nu thought that he married her only to have a beautiful vase, but he was more greedy than she thought. In addition to displaying pleasing objects, he also wanted to extract fertilizer from her to nourish the land of Shu.

If she can only give the former, then she is just a dusty vase, and he has no patience to care whether her fingers are wrinkled or her eyes are dull.

Even though she was alluring and charming, in his eyes she was not as useful as the slovenly old woman Wu.