Chapter 7 Chapter 7 "Bite is fine, but lower it a bit, give it to me..."

Meng Yuanxiao never expected that Cui Xintang would use everything he had just learned from storybooks on her.

The little girl seemed made of water; with every movement, her body became wet and glistening. The stimulation was too much for Cui Xintang, who lost his composure and hastily confessed.

The shaking of the bed stopped abruptly, and the young couple stared at each other, frozen in place.

Meng Yuanxiao looked on in disbelief. "Didn't the storybook say that it would take almost half an hour each time?"

Cui Xintang: "...Storybooks are all lies, don't read them."

Meng Yuanxiao didn't believe it. Her eyes suddenly reddened. "Brother Tang, is there something you can't say? You're in such a hurry to marry me, is it because..."

Before he could finish speaking, his lips and tongue were silenced.

The usually composed third-place scholar lost his composure for the first time, stammering, "Young master, keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear us..."

Although everyone has been driven away, there are likely still people hiding outside. We'll just have to wait and hear what they have to say before reporting to Madam Wu tomorrow morning.

Meng Yuanxiao remained silent, her brows still tightly furrowed, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with tears as she stared at him.

How could Cui Xintang bear it? He couldn't help but feel a little anxious, but he quickly regrouped.

"I couldn't take it just now because you bit me so hard. If you behave this time, I promise I won't do it again."

Having learned from his less-than-pleasant experience, he was much more at ease this time.

Meng Yuanxiao couldn't take it anymore and angrily bit his neck.

Cui Xintang grunted and turned her head to the side. "You can bite, but lower it a bit. Give me some face."

The two of them tossed and turned for most of the night. Meng Yuanxiao was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep in Cui Xintang's arms. The next morning, he was woken up by Cui Xintang pinching the tip of his nose.

Seeing him through her drowsy state, Meng Yuanxiao immediately shrank further under the covers and said aggrievedly, "No, I don't want it anymore."

Cui Xintang chuckled, "Yuanyuan really thinks too highly of me."

Meng Yuanxiao wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, with only her head sticking out. She was satisfied with the later episodes last night.

When they got to the back, he held her tightly around the waist, not letting her escape, and wouldn't let her go even when she cried.

The person who was so out of control at night is now dressed and acts like a completely different person, as if he has become a different person altogether.

But...

Meng Yuanxiao blushed slightly, looked him up and down, blinked and said, "Well, Brother Tang is half a cycle older than me, I understand."

"..." Cui Xintang was amused by her, flicked her forehead with his finger, straightened up and said, "Get up and go serve tea to Mother."

Exhausted, Meng Yuanxiao lingered on the bed for a while, clutching the blanket, before reluctantly getting up.

While she was tidying herself up, Cui Xintang instructed the kitchen to prepare some food and have it delivered in about half an hour.

After Meng Yuanxiao finished washing and dressing, the two of them went to the main courtyard to serve tea.

Upon arriving at the main courtyard, they discovered that not only was Madam Wu present, but also the eldest master, Cui Zhen.

Yesterday, Meng Yuanxiao was led to the wedding ceremony in a daze, not knowing who was sitting in the hall. Today, she was surprised to see her father-in-law.

Meng Yuanxiao knew something about Cui Zhen.

Cui Zhen and his wife Wu were not on good terms. Cui Zhen had another concubine whom he doted on. He once favored his concubine over his wife, which became known to everyone in the capital.

Because of Madam Cui's restraint, things didn't get too ugly.

Later, after Madam Cui passed away, Cui Zhen did not hesitate to request to be demoted and sent to a post outside the capital, leaving the capital with his beloved concubine.

A few years ago, the woman outside gave birth to a son and a daughter for Cui Zhen, and Cui Zhen had even less time to care about the mother and children in the capital.

Cui Zhen had not returned to the capital for several years, but unexpectedly, he returned after she married Tang Gege.

Apart from Cui Zhen, Madam Qin, whom I saw in the bridal chamber yesterday, was also present.

Meng Yuanxiao subconsciously looked at his mother-in-law, Wu, whose expression was indifferent, revealing nothing.

Cui Zhen, however, smiled as he accepted her tea, put down the cup, asked her a few more questions, nodded to her, and then got up to call Cui Xintang out.

Meng Yuanxiao stayed in the hall to listen to her mother-in-law's lecture. Because of Cui Xintang, she instinctively felt a bit close to her mother-in-law, Wu.

As expected, Madam Wu did not make things difficult for her. She only smiled and gave her a few words of advice, without imposing many rules on her as she had anticipated.

Meng Yuanxiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After Wu finished speaking, Qin, who was standing to the side, started talking again.

Qin Shi, as if she couldn't find anyone to talk to, kept talking to Meng Yuanxiao.

Her enthusiasm caught Meng Yuanxiao off guard, leaving him no choice but to turn to his mother-in-law for help.

Wu clearly knew Qin's character and noticed her unease, so she dismissed Qin with a few words.

When Meng Yuanxiao came out of Wu's room, his head was still buzzing, filled with Qin's rapid-fire words.

At the other end of the corridor, Cui Xintang and Cui Zhen were still talking.

Because they were far apart, Meng Yuanxiao couldn't hear what they were saying. She didn't want to disturb them, nor could she just leave without saying a word, so she had to walk a little further away and wait.

She was somewhat curious about her father-in-law, Cui Zhen, so she glanced at the two people under the eaves a few times.

Cui Zhen is about forty years old, but he is well-maintained, tall and upright without being overweight. From a distance, his figure is quite similar to Cui Xintang's.

The relationship between father and son was not good, even somewhat cold. The two stood under the eaves, Cui Zhen with his hands behind his back, talking about something, while Cui Xintang listened and occasionally responded with a word or two.

Meng Yuanxiao glanced at it a few times and then looked away. Feeling really bored, he kicked the pebbles on the ground idly.

As she was playing, she noticed something and looked up to see Cui Xintang looking at her from afar.

Cui Zhen was still talking, and Cui Xintang had no expression on her face. When she saw Meng Yuanxiao looking over, she raised her eyebrows at her.

Meng Yuanxiao smiled at him.

Under the eaves, Cui Zhen noticed that his son was distracted, so he followed his gaze.

Upon seeing Meng Yuanxiao, Cui Zhen paused and said, "It's good to marry someone you like. Treat her well, after all, there's still the Meng family connection."

Cui Xintang looked away and gave a faint "hmm".

His "hmm" was laced with sarcasm, which Cui Zhen naturally noticed. He glanced at Cui Xintang but didn't argue with him; however, he still had to say what needed to be said.

"You've dealt with the other side as well. Don't use them and then drag them down with you."

Cui Xintang frowned slightly, gave Cui Zhen a meaningful look, but said nothing.

Having said what needed to be said, the father and son, whose relationship had become distant, had nothing more to say.

After a moment of silence, Cui Zhen waved his hand and said, "That's enough, go. That's all I can say to you about matters in the yamen. You can decide the rest yourself."

He paused briefly, then continued, "I will be leaving the capital in a few days. If you encounter any difficulties, please write to me. I will do my best to help you if I can."

"knew."

After saying this, Cui Xintang didn't look at Cui Zhen again, and walked towards Meng Yuanxiao.

When he got closer, Meng Yuanxiao called out "Brother Tang," and Cui Xintang said, "Let's go."

On the way back, Cui Xintang gave Meng Yuanxiao a detailed introduction to the people in the Cui family.

Aside from Cui Zhen, who was away from the capital most of the year, Cui Xintang also had a second uncle named Cui Qin, who was Qin's husband.

Cui Qin had a wife, concubines, and maids, but only his second wife, Qin, gave birth to a son. Therefore, in Cui Xintang's generation, there were only Cui Xintang and his cousin.

The household was small, yet there were plenty of disputes.

Of course, Cui Zhen also had a son and a daughter outside, but Cui Xintang did not consider them as members of the Cui family, nor did he want to mention these two siblings to Meng Yuanxiao.

Back then, Cui Zhen favored his concubine over his wife, which angered Old Madam Cui to the point of near death.

Madam Cui made a harsh statement, saying that she would pretend that Cui Zhen was not her son, and that she would only recognize Cui Xintang as one of Cui Zhen's children, and that no one else would be allowed to inherit a single penny of the Cui family's property.

Meng Yuanxiao had actually heard about these things. Just now, in Wu's room, she had also figured out the temperaments of her mother-in-law Wu and her second aunt Qin.

It is said that her mother-in-law, Wu, was a woman who could not tolerate any dissent and often quarreled with Cui Zhen because of that concubine.

Later, when Old Madam Cui died of anger, Cui Zhen abandoned her and her son, and went out to enjoy himself with his sweetheart. Wu was completely disappointed and gradually came to terms with it.

The Wu family seems to be doing well now and is easygoing, which is probably because they suffered too much in the past and gradually lost their temper.

As for the Qin family...

Meng Yuanxiao said, "Brother Tang, Second Aunt seems to be a shrewd person. She just pulled me aside and talked to me for a long time. My head is still buzzing."

Cui Xintang glanced at her with amusement, "You should stay away from your second aunt. Once she gets on your nerves, it'll be hard to shake her off."

“Oh,” Meng Yuanxiao readily agreed.

After thinking for a moment, she reached out and tugged at Cui Xintang's sleeve.

When Cui Xintang looked over, she asked with a smile, "Brother Tang, we're married now. Do you feel anything is different from before?"

Cui Xintang paused briefly, then raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's the difference?"

Meng Yuanxiao was unhappy and glared at him angrily.

As they were talking, the two of them happened to walk to the front of the courtyard where they lived.

Cui Xintang stopped in his tracks, casually ruffled her hair, and said with a smile, "Do I love you even more now?"

Meng Yuanxiao's neatly combed hair was slightly ruffled by him. In the past, she would have liked such intimate gestures from him, but for some reason, she was not very happy today.

She snorted and said with dissatisfaction, "I have a father and mother, as well as an older brother, sister-in-law, and second brother. Who needs your love?"

Cui Xintang had no idea why his casual remark had angered her.

He chuckled and said, "Stop fooling around. The food should have been delivered by now. You must have had a hard night. Go back and have something to eat and rest. I'm going out for a bit."

Meng Yuanxiao blushed with embarrassment at his words, "You must have had a hard night," and then she was surprised to hear that he was going out.

For their wedding, the government office would grant them a few days off. He doesn't need to go to the government office today, so where should he go?

Cui Xintang explained, "I was too busy yesterday and didn't have time to think about my friends and colleagues. They said yesterday that they were going to give me a hard time today. If I don't go out to find them, do you expect them to come to my house and bother me?"

These words didn't sound like much, but for some reason, Meng Yuanxiao was not happy.

She couldn't figure out the reason right away, so she hastily concluded in her mind that newlywed couples in storybooks weren't like that.

Although she was unhappy, she was too proud to show it on her face.

So, despite her stern face, she still pretended to be magnanimous and said, "Then Brother Tang, go ahead."

Cui Xintang ruffled her hair again, making her hair even more messy. "Yuanyuan, you worked hard last night. Tonight, your husband will make amends to you."

Meng Yuanxiao immediately understood the meaning of "apology" he was referring to.

Her cheeks flushed, but Cui Xintang didn't say anything more. He only instructed the servants to listen to the young mistress's orders and take good care of her. He glanced at Meng Yuanxiao again and then left.