Chapter 4 Urgent Needs Xiao Qiyu abruptly turned her face away, her ear tips turning bright red. ...

"Going to the toilet?"

Xiao Qiyu thought it was something serious.

They've known each other since they were four years old. When they were still wearing open-crotch pants, they would ride on each other and fight. Xiao Qiyu didn't care about the insurmountable gap between ordinary men and women, such as excrement and urine.

"Big or small?" His voice remained icy and remarkably calm.

"Little one..."

Cui Ying was so embarrassed that she felt dizzy and her words were weak and unsteady. The fierce and domineering woman who had been baring her teeth and claws just now had become a weak and pitiful sick cat.

No matter how carefree she was, she was still just a young girl. She felt a little embarrassed to talk about such a private matter in front of her own sisters, let alone in front of a stranger.

Even though this man and she had been fighting since childhood.

By the light of the lamp, Xiao Qiyu opened his eyes and scanned the room with his long, narrow phoenix eyes. Finally, his gaze settled on the beast-shaped bronze chamber pot inlaid with gold and silver, which was lying under the table and chairs.

In his memory, this thing should have been placed by the bed, but because he and Cui Ying had been fighting, he didn't know when he kicked it under the table and chairs.

Xiao Qiyu got up and walked over, bent down at his narrow waist, stretched out his long arms, and easily reached the chamber pot.

He blew off the dust, tossed it onto the bed like a sandbag, and said casually to Cui Ying, "We're limited by resources, so make do with it."

Cui Ying remained silent, seemingly speechless and choked with emotion.

But she quickly adjusted her mood. After all, the night was still long, and if she didn't make do, she would definitely suffocate.

Cui Ying let out a long sigh, as if she had comforted herself eight hundred times in that instant. Then, carrying the chamber pot, she got off the bed and stiffly moved to the back of the rosewood carved bird and flower screen used for changing clothes.

"You...you're not allowed to peek." Cui Ying poked her head out and glared at Xiao Qiyu, her cheeks burning like rosy clouds, her watery almond eyes filled with anxiety.

Xiao Qiyu had already returned to the door and sat down with his eyes closed. Upon hearing this, he raised an eyebrow: "Peeping at you while you use the toilet, are you sick or am I?"

Cui Ying: "I don't care, turn around."

Xiao Qiyu: "..."

Xiao Qiyu knew that if he didn't do as she said, this old lady would probably hold it in until dawn, and at the same time, she would scold him until dawn.

If it were just now, he would have stared at her with his eyes wide open until the end of time, determined that neither of them would have an easy time. But after all this commotion last night, and having suffered a fatal kick, his energy was completely depleted, and he had no intention of going against her.

Holding onto the rigid belief that "if Cui Ying is quiet, the world will be quiet," Xiao Qiyu turned around without saying a word, his back to the screen.

Cui Ying continued, "Cover your ears again."

Xiao Qiyu snorted impatiently and covered his ears with his hands.

Cui Ying finally relaxed a little and began to untie the complicated ties on her wedding dress.

After finally finishing the task, Cui Ying peeked out and saw that Xiao Qiyu was still facing away with his ears covered, which made her feel relieved.

"I'm all better now, you can put your hands down." As she spoke, she dashed to the bed, pulled down the bed curtains, and covered herself completely, clearly still feeling ashamed and annoyed.

Little did she know, Xiao Qiyu had his ears covered so tightly that he didn't hear her at all.

About the time it takes to drink two cups of tea has passed.

A single, bright red candle tear slowly dripped down the dragon and phoenix wedding candle. Xiao Qiyu, who had been covering his ears for a while, felt that the time was almost up and asked loudly, "Are you done yet?"

Cui Ying did not answer him.

Xiao Qiyu pretended she hadn't heard him, so he raised his voice and asked again, "Cui Ying, are you alright?"

No one answered him.

Xiao Qiyu immediately became annoyed, turning his face away as he spoke: "Cui Ying, are you mute? I'm asking you a question—"

Behind the sandalwood screen, all was quiet. A gentle breeze slipped through the window and into the room, parting the swaying layers of red curtains to reveal a pair of bright red, embroidered, gold-trimmed, and jade-encrusted shoes neatly arranged under the wedding bed.

On the bed, the girl's black hair was askew, her eyes were closed, and her long, curled eyelashes rose and fell with her breath, casting a small, bright shadow on the tip of her snow-white nose. Below her delicate nose, her red lips were slightly parted, resembling cherries.

This guy, who has never shown any humanity since childhood, only begins to resemble a human when he's asleep. Xiao Qiyu fell silent, watching his sleeping nemesis through the dim light of the lamp.

His gaze couldn't help but trace the girl's beautiful features.

He suddenly remembered a saying his grandmother used to say: "If we're talking about mischief, a hundred young ladies in the capital can't compare to the third young lady of the Cui family, but if we're talking about beauty, even three hundred of them can't match her."

Xiao Qiyu couldn't see what made Cui Ying so beautiful.

He felt that she was simply more delicate in appearance, fairer in skin, more expressive in eyes, more refined in nose, and smaller and fuller in mouth than others.

What's the big deal?

Since ancient times, when choosing a wife, virtue and temperament are paramount, while appearance is secondary. I really don't know what kind of foolishness the Empress Dowager had to think that he was a good match for this capricious tigress. What kind of person is Xiao Qiyu? He would rather become a monk or remain a bachelor for the rest of his life than marry Cui Ying.

He swore.

Thinking of this, Xiao Qiyu hardened his heart and looked coldly at Cui Ying, just in time to see the girl frowning as she pulled at her collar, revealing a dazzling expanse of soft, snow-white skin below her neck.

Xiao Qiyu abruptly turned her face away, her ear tips turning bright red.

...

The next morning, the sun rose in the east, and magpies chirped.

Cui Ying was fast asleep, clutching her blanket, when she felt Cui Jin nudging her in her half-awake state.

"Girl? Girl, wake up, it's time to get up."

Cui Ying turned around groggily and mumbled softly, "Just tell her that my period has started again and I can't go to pay my respects to my grandmother."

Cui Jin sighed, "Miss, you're still half asleep. Open your eyes and see where you are."

Cui Ying forced open her eyes, fighting off her drowsiness. All she could see were red curtains and vermilion windows, a festive expanse of red filling her vision.

Only then did she realize that she was already married.

Cui Ying blinked twice, her body awake but her mind still foggy, and she asked Cui Jin in a daze, "So?"

What should she do next?

"It's time to serve tea to the elders," Cui Jin said.

Cui Ying nodded, got up from the bed, rubbed her eyes, and said, "Let's go now."

Hurry up and go find out what's going on with this damned marriage.

Cui Jin was both amused and exasperated. She reached out and pressed her down, saying, "My dear girl, please look down and see if this outfit is appropriate for you."

Cui Ying looked down and saw that her wedding dress was in a mess, with several tears on the sleeves. She looked more like she had just escaped from disaster than just gotten married. It was a pity that such a beautiful wedding dress was ruined.

"It's all that bastard's fault..." Cui Ying rubbed her throbbing forehead, a nameless fire burning within her.

Cui Jin didn't ask any questions. She called in a maid to help her wash and change her clothes.

After washing her face, Cui Ying felt much more awake. She glanced at the open door and asked, "When did you open the door?"

Cui Jin said, "It was opened just after dawn. I saw that you were sleeping soundly, so I deliberately didn't disturb you."

Cui Ying yawned, walked behind the screen, and let the maids help her take off her wedding dress and undo her hair.

"Where did Xiao Qiyu go?" Cui Ying asked lazily.

Cuijin: "The young master went to the front house to practice his boxing at dawn, and he hasn't returned yet."

Cui Ying frowned unconsciously: "Why call him son-in-law? Don't call him son-in-law anymore."

As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps could be heard from outside the screen.

Cui Ying assumed it was just another maid coming and didn't pay any attention. She naturally took off her wedding gown, her black hair cascading down her slender, fair waist.

She looked up, wanting to order her maid to bring her the clothes she would wear that day so she could choose them herself.

As a result, he looked down and met Xiao Qiyu's eyes as he walked behind the screen.

Under the blazing summer sun, the young man returned from his martial arts practice, his body steaming with heat. His bright red wedding robes accentuated his already handsome face, making him appear like a flawless gem.

Only behind her ears, a barely perceptible blush rose the moment she saw Cui Ying clearly.

Cui Ying hadn't reacted at first, until she remembered that her shoulders were bare. She screamed and hid behind the maid, yelling angrily at the uninvited guest: "Get out of here! Who allowed you to come in!"

Xiao Qiyu was scolded and should have been furious, but she subconsciously felt ashamed and retorted sharply, "How was I supposed to know you were changing clothes?"

He turned around and quickly walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

After driving Xiao Qiyu away, Cui Ying complained to the maids, "Why didn't you stop him from coming in?"

The maidservant asked tremblingly, "Aren't you two... husband and wife?"

Cui Ying was stunned and couldn't find a rebuttal.

Outside the door, the veranda is shaded by green trees, cool and pleasant, with birds chirping in chorus. Sunlight filters through the lush foliage, dispelling most of the summer heat, leaving only dappled shadows.

Xiao Qiyu sat on the bluestone steps, picked up a pebble, and threw it into the small pond under the paulownia tree.

Ripples gathered and dispersed, startled koi fish scattered in all directions, creating a delightful display of vibrant colors.

Xiao Qiyu, however, was extremely agitated.

He learned martial arts in his youth, and from the time he could remember, he knew that if a man wanted to achieve great things, the most important thing was to maintain his integrity and restrain his desires.

Over the years, what he despised most were those dissolute young men who had concubines at the age of fourteen or fifteen, who frequented brothels and indulged in women all day long.

He felt that he and those people were from completely different worlds. Those guys weren't even worthy of talking to him; just standing in front of him was an eyesore to him.

But the embarrassing sight of him bumping into Cui Ying changing clothes and being kicked out by her made him feel like a lecherous voyeur who had failed to peep, no different from those lewd guys.

That's infuriating.

Xiao Qiyu then threw two more pebbles into the water. Only then did he realize that something was amiss.

He turned to look at the door, frowned, and said, "Wait a minute, why is she telling me to get out? Isn't this my room?"

A note from the author:

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