Chapter 4 Chapter 4 House Rule 3: No Neglect After Marriage...

Deep in the secret path, along with that bit of moisture, they rushed to rub into the lines of the fingertips.

Xie Zhiyan paused abruptly, his lips tightly pursed, like a cold straight line, and an extremely absurd emotion surged into his heart.

He looked gloomy and mysterious, but soon calmed down.

The slender fingertips smoothed out the creases on the page without leaving a trace, and calmly turned the page.

Outside the study, the north wind tore the snow off the pine branches. In the silence, the only sound was the rustling sound of ink spreading on the rice paper.

"Sir." The book boy Qingshi stood respectfully outside the corridor.

Xie Zhiyan raised his head and glanced out the window. In the vast expanse of white snow, a young man was followed by a maid in green clothes. "What's going on?"

Qingshi lowered his body and said, "My dear, it was the Crown Prince's wife who sent Miss Jinli over here."

Xie Zhiyan put down the brush dipped in thick ink, stood up and walked to the door, his handsome face expressionless: "What do you want, Madam?"

Jinli followed Qingshi and knelt down to salute the somewhat blurry tall figure in the study.

She was very well-behaved, looking down at her toes the entire time. "My dear, Madam sent a maid to ask for instructions. Madam has sorted and packed all the things you brought back from Yumen Pass. Would you like to have them delivered to the study?"

Xie Zhiyan seemed to feel the warmth still on his fingertips. He paused for a few seconds before raising his eyelashes. His eyes were as dark as ink. "Ordinary clothes can be left in Yunyu Hall. Please have the books, writing brushes, paper and inkstone sent to the study."

"Yes, I will report to the Madam right away." Jin Li retreated respectfully.

Xie Zhiyan looked at the servant guarding the corridor and suddenly said in a calm voice, "Qingshi, from now on, you and Bannu will still stay in the study and wait for orders."

"Yes, I've got that in mind." Qingshi nodded. His lips were already a little blue and white from the cold. It was indeed snowing heavily today.

Xie Zhiyan waved his hand at him: "Go down and rest first, there is no need to stay here."

Qingshi bowed and quickly retreated. He was really cold.

The Xie family has a history of hundreds of years and dozens of generations, with 1,801 family rules. They prohibit having a concubine before marriage, strictly prohibit indulgence in lust, and do not neglect the wife after marriage. Even small matters such as prohibiting the use of floor heating and charcoal basins in the study room in the outer courtyard are all engraved in the Xie family rules.

Some clan rules that seem unimportant or unreasonable are the lessons that the Xie clan members have learned with their blood and lives over the past hundred years.

Therefore, from the day he got married, Xie Zhiyan naturally believed that the Xie family rules did not allow him to neglect his wife, which of course also included maintaining regular marital relations. If they wanted to maintain regular marital relations, they naturally had to sleep in the same bed every night.

On the bed, Sheng Puzhu had her eyes closed with half of her face buried in the quilt, her curled eyelashes drooping, her breathing long and deep, and it was obvious that she was sleeping soundly.

"Madam, it's time to wake up." Nanny Du stood outside the tent, carefully holding a wet silk handkerchief in her hand.

"I'm too tired, Ma'am, I can't open my eyes." Her voice was soft, like nectar melting in warm water, only when she was not fully awake.

Nanny Du was reluctant to wake her up, so she spoke in a kind and patient voice, "While Madam was taking her nap just now, the maids sorted and organized everything that Master brought back for her, and also sent someone to the study to ask Master for his permission."

Sheng Puzhu was half asleep and half awake, and said in a murmured voice, "Mammy, you are the one who cares about me the most. It's time to sort and organize everything carefully. You know I hate to bother with such trivial matters."

"Hmm?"

"Have all those things been sent to the study?" Her hair was plastered against her rosy cheek as she slept, and the ending tone was so light that it was almost out of tune.

Seeing that he was about to fall asleep again, Madam Du hurriedly said, "According to Master's instructions, I have asked the servant to move the books, pens, inkstones, and brushes to the study, but..."

Madam Du paused and said, "My husband specifically instructed us to leave all our clothes in Yunyu Hall."

“Huh?!” Sheng Puzhu supported his boneless body and sat up suddenly, but almost fell back.

"Mammy, are you kidding me?" She reached out and lifted the gauze curtain, revealing a slender and beautiful neck from under the collar of her snow-white nightgown. She tilted her head back and looked out with sleepy eyes.

Thank God, at least he woke up.

Nanny Du breathed a sigh of relief and quickly handed over the handkerchief: "How could I possibly scare you with such a thing? I specially sent our most reliable Jinli to the study to ask for your permission."

Sheng Puzhu felt like the sky was falling.

Not to mention that officials in the court have regular days off every ten days, even the maids and servants in the mansion have their daily shifts arranged, so everyone has time to rest.

How come when he comes to her place, Xie Zhiyan has to sleep in Yunyu Hall every day!

Then how can she find excuses to go out of the house to do business in Linlang Pavilion, and how can she find time to read storybooks in the dead of night? And how can she enjoy her husband's sexual life? Will it be very frequent then!!!

Just like last night, she felt like she was about to die from being stuffed to death.

"Well, Ma'am, why do I feel a little dizzy? Maybe I'm sick. I'm afraid I need to rest alone for some time." Sheng Puzhu rubbed his solar plexus with one hand, then leaned backward, pretending to be frail.

But she looked really good, with fair and rosy cheeks, rosy and plump lips, and such a beautiful and lively face.

There's no way he could feign weakness.

"My lady, this is a good thing. At least it means that your husband has you in his heart." Madam Du was not worried at all, and even had a faint smile on her face.

Sheng Puzhu has been under the personal care of Nanny Du since she was born. After so many years, how could she not hope that her little master could always be happy and healthy?

Nanny Du had no children in her life, and from the very beginning she poured all her love into Sheng Puju. She would be happy if her young master and her husband could live in harmony.

"Never mind, never mind."

"Mammy, help me get up and change my clothes and put on my makeup. I have to go serve tea to Princess Shoukang today, so I can't be late."

Sheng Puzhu stretched out her hand to push open the window, and the cold wind carrying snow foam blew on her face. When she was almost sober, she sat in front of the dressing mirror and let her four personal maids surround her to comb her hair and put on makeup.

Nanny Du specially brought a Boshan incense burner and placed it on the flower table. There were incense balls in the incense burner, and mint and borneol must have been specially added. It smelled cool, and even the fatigue after the nap gradually faded away.

Sheng Puzhu curved her lips and smiled at Madam Du, because they always put a lot of thought into these tiny things that sometimes even she herself didn't notice.

"My dear."

Faintly hearing the sound of someone greeting outside the house, Sheng Puzhu paused with a smile on his face. He glanced out the window and happened to see Xie Zhiyan walking towards him against the light.

Outside the window was a pure white expanse of snow. Except for a few scattered spots of emerald green, there was only that tall figure wearing a moon-colored round-necked, narrow-sleeved robe with a peacock blue edging on the collar. The sleeves of the robe were rolled up, revealing the precious flower patterns embroidered with gold thread on the cuffs.

The narrow and powerful waist was bound tightly by a dark black leather belt, and on the feet were a pair of black leather Liuhe boots.

Sheng Puzhu glanced at the figure who was so handsome that even the subtle curve of the man's lips, which were pursed without any emotion, seemed to contain thousands of kinds of elegance.

He walked from the corridor to her, taking a total of twenty-seven steps, each of which was rigorous and precise.

Is this man a jade ruler transformed into a spirit?

Sheng Puzhu's eyes showed pure appreciation for beautiful things, but he also didn't forget to complain a little in his heart.

Meeting his condescending gaze, Sheng Puzhu raised her head and blinked her eyes, which seemed to speak, "My dear, I am dressing up, so I will not stand up to greet you."

Paying respects is a small matter, and there are reasons for it. Now, with four maids and a nanny surrounding her, it does seem inconvenient.

Xie Zhiyan pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "No problem, you can continue."

He walked to the soft couch where she often sat, but did not sit down. Instead, he picked up the book on the rosewood Eight Immortals Table.

Fortunately, the book—

The day he just came back, she asked Naidong to change to poetry. Sheng Puju breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but sigh again that she had prepared for a rainy day and was indeed an extremely intelligent girl.

An hour later, outside the Chuihua Gate.

Sheng Puzhu held the hand of the attendant and boarded the carriage.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." She knelt down and saluted Xie Zhiyan. She was wrapped tightly in a snow-white fox fur cloak with a lapel. She wore earrings on her ears, which were also furry white and specially made to look like fox ears. Only her radiant little face was exposed, and she looked really lovely.

The four words "never again" rolled around his lips and met her innocent eyes, which were clear and seemed to be filled with smile.

Article 3 of the Xie family rules states that a man must not neglect his wife after marriage.

The man pursed his thin, cold lips and said lightly, "It's okay."

"Thank you for your consideration, my dear." Sheng Puzhu looked at him with some suspicion, but still curled her lips in a good mood and sat down next to the man.

As she moved, the lilac-colored long-sleeved skirt beneath her cloak was faintly visible. It was a purple with a hint of pink, elegant and gentle. The pearl bracelet on her wrist jingled as the carriage swayed slightly.

The car was very quiet. Xie Zhiyan had always been a silent person, but Sheng Puzhu was getting a little restless.

During the two years since she married into the Xie family, she would go to Tianchang Temple every month to accompany Princess Shoukang for one or two days.

For her, a one-hour journey was just like reading a storybook in the carriage. If that didn't work, she would just have some snacks or ask a few maids to chat with her.

It's not like today, where I have to sit still and not talk, and I can't even doze off or get distracted.

Wanting to read a storybook is even more unrealistic.

"My dear, why don't you ride a horse today?" Sheng Puzhu made small talk.

Xie Zhiyan's eyes fixed, and he slowly reached out and opened the car window in front of her.

The north wind was blowing heavy snow, and the snow on both sides of the official road was almost up to the knees. The wind blowing on people's faces was as painful as a knife falling. Any normal person would not ride a horse in such weather.

Sheng Puzhu covered her face and instinctively hid behind him, her big eyes filled with deep regret.

Xie Zhiyan lowered his eyes and asked pointedly, "Madam, are you sure?"

Damn it, what did she just say.

ah!

She is really capable!

On such a snowy day, I actually asked him why he didn't go horseback riding?

The author has something to say:

----------------------