Chapter 53. Chapter 53: Skin him alive, tear out his heart...

The purse felt hot in Xue Mingyao's hand again.

She took the hair out, examined it carefully, and then put it back without saying a word.

"My lord, this must have been cut out and placed inside by General Xie. You didn't care about these or that kind of gift when you got married, but he didn't."

On the day of her wedding, the master removed the fan and lifted the veil before the groom even arrived. The next day, when Green Branch came to the bridal chamber to tidy up, she found that the wedding wine on the table had not been touched, let alone the hair-tying ceremony. Unexpectedly, Xie Langjun had secretly tied his hair up and hidden it there.

Xue Mingyao's face flushed slightly, and the pink purse seemed to have grown a row of small teeth, gently biting her palm. She then tossed it onto the table.

“Perhaps it was with another woman?” she said.

"How could that be!" Green Branch picked up the purse and rearranged the ties. "Master, Young Master Xie really wants to live a good life with you."

"Who cares..." Xue Mingyao said irritably, lifting the hem of her skirt, "Stop turning over, let's go back."

Xue Mingyao moved with lightning speed, and Lüzhi almost couldn't keep up.

Upon arriving at the main courtyard, Green Branch brought the food. Xue Mingyao's porcelain spoon clattered against the soup bowl, but she didn't eat a single bite for a long time.

"Should I ask the kitchen to send over a different kind of porridge?" Green Branch asked from the side.

Xue Mingyao slowly shook her head, her expression inscrutable.

After she had stirred the bowl of porridge until it was completely cold, Xue Mingyao clapped her hands, turned to Luzhi who was staring blankly with her face in her hands, and said decisively, "You're right, Xie Zhuo is deeply in love with me and can't extricate himself from it."

Green Branch thought to herself that she didn't think she had said that, and smiled slightly, "Master, you finally realized it. Actually, I've felt that way for a long time. Even Qi Zhao said that Young Master Xie has you in his heart."

"The reason why Master Xie is targeting Qi Zhao so much must be because he is jealous of him. The two of them had a match before, and Qi Zhao suffered a great setback. He has been practicing martial arts diligently ever since."

“Yes, he was so glaring at A-Zhao, he should have been grateful to A-Zhao. If it weren’t for A-Zhao, he wouldn’t have been able to…” Xue Mingyao said, then suddenly realized that Xie Zhuo seemed unaware of this matter, so she changed the subject and said, “Don’t you think Xie Zhuo is hateful? He likes me a lot, but he always lies to me and says that he only likes my good looks.”

“It’s not hateful, it’s just a little funny,” Green Branch said earnestly. “How could someone of Xie Langjun’s character marry you just for your looks? If that were the case, he wouldn’t have needed to fight so hard back then.”

"That kind of character?" Xue Mingyao snorted. "There's no need to say anything good about him; he's no longer a gentleman. And why are you calling him 'Master Xie' again? Don't you listen to what I say anymore?"

Green Branch blinked her eyes, "This servant was wrong."

"Go to the kitchen and get another bowl of porridge."

"yes."

"Wait," Xue Mingyao called out to Lüzhi, "Let's have someone bring water first, I want to take a bath."

Sitting in the steaming bathtub, the water reflecting the traces of their lovemaking, Xue Mingyao lowered her eyelashes. A gentleman? He's long been a lecher, two-faced, and doesn't speak like a human being.

She had to skin him alive and tear out his heart.

......

Xie Zhuo finished his shift early today. He had spent the night in a debauched affair with Xue Mingyao, who left many marks on his body. He tried to cover them up for a while before returning home early.

As I approached the study, I was surprised to see Green Branch and Ah Lian talking in a corner of the courtyard.

Since their marriage, Xue Mingyao's main courtyard and his front courtyard have been completely separate. She had never set foot on his property before yesterday, and her maids would not come either. Given her attitude, Xie Zhuo was unwilling to go over there, and went straight to his own courtyard after returning home.

"Thank you, General." Green Branch bowed to him.

A smile bloomed on A-Lian's face as she eagerly opened the study door for him.

Xie Zhuo sensed something was wrong. When he went inside, he saw Xue Mingyao leaning casually against the couch, her apricot-red skirt hanging down, covering most of the couch, looking at him with a half-smile.

Xie Zhuo looked at the skirt, then at the person, "Why are you still here?"

Xue Mingyao's eyes sparkled, and her voice was sweet and gentle, "You're not happy to see me?"

Xie Zhuo's handsome face remained stiff. "This is my study. I don't want to be disturbed."

"How could you call it a disturbance? I'm here to keep you company."

Xue Mingyao's scolding reminded Xie Zhuo of the time when he was reading by the window and Xue Mingyao would come to him without being asked. He refused her in the same way, and she responded in the same way, which was perfectly natural and beyond question.

But this was clearly not the same time; he could clearly see the mockery in Xue Mingyao's eyes.

Xue Mingyao stood up gracefully, her skirt trailing behind her as she walked up to him and lightly took his arm. "You were hugging and kissing me last night, and now you're turning your back on me?"

Her white, jade-like fingers clasped around his arm, bringing a warm, tight feeling. Xie Zhuo silently felt it for a while, then with a stern face, he pried her fingers off.

"Xue Mingyao, what exactly do you want to do?"

Xue Mingyao pouted, deciding to stop beating around the bush. She took out a lucky purse and waved it in front of him, "I was looking for a painting in your room, and I found this. Don't you want to explain?"

Two mandarin ducks swayed on the brocade face, facing his face. Xue Mingyao's teasing smile fluttered along with them, and Xie Zhuo's right eyelid began to twitch.

It felt like being in a military camp when the old rogue unearthed Xue Mingyao's undergarments, which he had hidden, and held them up in public, laughing loudly, "Brother Xie, you pretty boy, you're quite the actor! Turns out you're one of those women who can't live without them, huh? Tsk tsk, such a voluptuous woman, must be from some wild woman. Tell me, which little whore is she from...?"

It's a terrible, terrible thing for a shameful secret to be revealed.

Xue Mingyao watched Xie Zhuo's tense face with great interest, eagerly awaiting his answer.

However.

Xie Zhuo took the purse and glanced at it. "What's this?"

Xue Mingyao was taken aback. "You don't recognize this purse?"

Xie Zhuo shook his head. "I've never seen it before."

Xue Mingyao could hardly believe it. "This is the auspicious purse that was on our wedding bed when we got married. You hid your hair inside it during the wedding ceremony behind my back. What are you pretending to be stupid for!"

“I didn’t tie my hair up, nor did I hide a purse,” Xie Zhuo said calmly. “Your excuse is rather unconvincing.”

"I didn't make this up. You didn't make it, so this purse just grew legs and flew into your room?"

"Perhaps. Your wallet may not have legs, but you do."

Xue Mingyao threw her purse aside and glared at him. "Try saying another lie. Xie Zhuo, you like me, don't you? You want to be my husband and grow old with me."

A mocking smile appeared on Xie Zhuo's face. "There's no need to be so self-righteous."

Seeing his calm demeanor, Xue Mingyao really wanted to slap him.

"You just said you searched my study looking for paintings—" Xie Zhuo looked around, "looking for Chen Liangqing's painting? Who gave you permission to do that? Who gave you permission to disturb something?"

Xue Mingyao chuckled and started to turn the tables on him.

"Who told you to keep the painting from me? I won't give up until you give me the painting. I'll come looking for it every day, and I'll search your study every day. Go ahead and be angry!"

"Incomprehensible." Xie Zhuo said expressionlessly. "I'm going to the training ground. I'll have to leave you alone."

After saying that, he turned around and left decisively.

"What? You run away when you can't win an argument?" Xue Mingyao glared at his retreating figure with resentment.

His mouth is harder than his tongue!

......

That night, Xue Mingyao deliberately delayed her bedtime, planning to seize Xie Zhuo and interrogate him again, but after waiting and waiting, he didn't come. She had no choice but to send her maid to ask him. The maid returned and reported that General Xie said he wouldn't be coming to sleep tonight.

"What's the reason?" Xue Mingyao asked.

"General Xie didn't say," the maid whispered.

Xue Mingyao smiled, which only proved that Xie Zhuo was guilty. If he were simply after her body, he wouldn't have been willing to stay in bed with her; he hadn't been able to get rid of her before.

She grabbed a cloak and put it over her nightgown, slipped on her wooden clogs, and went to catch the person.

Xie Zhuo's bedroom remained as simple and unadorned as ever, with plain curtains and a bare bed, a stark contrast to the exquisite and luxurious bedroom in the main courtyard. Having not spent the night here for a long time, he felt somewhat out of place, sitting before the bed staring at the somber curtains as if searching for some vibrant color.

That splash of watery red caught his eye.

Xue Mingyao stood in front of him with a smile, her loose cloak covering her red silk nightgown, and her bare feet showing beneath her trousers; she was not wearing silk stockings.

"If you won't sleep with me, then I'll come and sleep with you."

She naturally took off her cloak, kicked off her wooden clogs, and climbed onto the tatami mat.

Xie Zhuo frowned and said dryly, "This place is shabby, you probably won't be able to sleep comfortably, you should go back."

"Thank you for thinking of me. It's alright. I slept here with you once before we got married, and it was quite nice."

She was referring to the time she broke into the Xie residence at night.

Xie Zhuo lowered his eyes. He barely slept that night, constantly turning over and over on his pillow to look at Xue Mingyao. She was indeed sleeping soundly.

“By the way,” Xue Mingyao said with a smile, “you took my undergarments back then, you probably hid them here, right? I’ll look for them tomorrow.”

Xie Zhuo's eyelids twitched again. Luckily, Xue Mingyao had told him beforehand. But since she loved rummaging through his things, where could he possibly hide them?

"That would be a waste of time." After saying that, he ignored her and lay down on the pillow to cover himself with the blanket.

Xue Mingyao looked at his tightly closed eyes and smiled gently. She thought he was going to try to get rid of her. Was that all he could do?

Not long after Xie Zhuo closed his eyes, Xue Mingyao blew out the lamp and also crawled into bed.

Xie Zhuo slowly felt a soft, almost imperceptible touch beside him, a faint fragrance lingering in his ears—Xue Mingyao lay down on his pillow, almost touching him.

"I don't have a pillow," she said innocently.

"It's in the wardrobe," Xie Zhuo said in a low voice.

But Xue Mingyao showed no intention of taking it.

Xie Zhuo didn't move either.

Both of them were quiet, their breathing peaceful and shallow. However, Xie Zhuo knew that he was not at peace. Usually when he shared a bed with Xue Mingyao, she would fall asleep early. He had not yet learned how to sleep with Xue Mingyao when she was awake.

But Xue Mingyao was still thinking of making him even more uneasy.

Xie Zhuo felt her soft body coil around him like a snake. She nestled in the crook of his neck and softly and charmingly uttered a single word.

Xie Zhuo felt a sudden numbness in the top of his head.

She called out, "My husband."