Chapter 18
Why not?
Upon hearing Mi Yao's refusal, Xiao Chuan's narrow red eyes, tinged with alcohol and lust, flashed with displeasure as he stared intently at her.
Mi Yao wasn't afraid of his usual sharp, bone-scraping gaze, but this time, with its wild, aggressive, and possessive intensity, her skin crawled with goosebumps, and she subconsciously felt a little timid.
It wasn't that she wanted to stop, but the situation forced her to.
Mi Yao glanced at the sturdy wedding candles carved with dragons and phoenixes beside the bed.
She thought some of the descriptions were exaggerated for theatrical purposes, but she never expected that someone could actually fit the description perfectly.
“My lord, you are exceptionally talented. I know my own limitations. If I am not good enough, I will find you a concubine who is open-minded and tolerant. Xiao Lang, just keep me as an example.”
She was prepared to share a room with Xiao Chuan.
She even thought about his figure and appearance, and felt that she hadn't suffered a loss.
However, after actually examining the situation, for the sake of her own life, Mi Yao didn't mince words and directly pointed out that she wasn't up to the task, promising to personally find him someone suitable.
Seeing Mi Yao's hands, painted with red nail polish, tightly pressed against her body, and her body trying to curl up backward, it didn't seem like she was unable to continue acting at the crucial moment, but rather that she was genuinely afraid of his body.
Xiao Chuan spoke, his hoarse voice echoing in the room: "How do you know that I am exceptionally talented? Do you have a comparison in mind?"
“My lord, I’m not comparing, but I have a brain. I really can’t do it.”
Mi Yao looked at Xiao Chua pitifully with her big, watery eyes, "Xiao Lang, just treat me like a painting of a beautiful woman. I'm definitely more lively than those inanimate objects."
How do you know it won't work if you don't try?
After saying that, he didn't give Mi Yao any chance to bargain anymore and sealed her lips with his.
With this, even if you have two children in three years, no matter how big your backside is, you won't survive tonight. Mi Yao refused: "How about this? My lord, spare me, and I will take care of your three children for you."
After saying that, seeing that Xiao Chuan was still testing her, Mi Yao was so frightened that she backed down again, "I'll even help you train stewards who can take care of the inner courtyard. This is already my biggest concession. Think about it yourself, you can find other women to do this too. If you don't do it with me, I can create something useful for you: a useful steward and a woman to sleep with..."
Xiao Chuan stared at the terrified beauty in front of him and scoffed softly.
Without comparison or even trying, how can you know it definitely won't work?
Who knows if her behavior was because she was genuinely afraid, or if she was just using an excuse to reject him because she thought he was rude.
Meeting Xiao Chuan's still-reddened eyes, Mi Yao wondered if their deal had been finalized.
As soon as he stopped, she regretted it, feeling that she had conceded too quickly in the negotiations and should have refused Xiao Chuan a few times. She was a housekeeper and a childcare maker; was she some kind of workhorse?
“Young Master Xiao is getting old and has his own ideas, so he doesn’t seem to need my help. Besides, this is the Xiao family mansion after all. It would be too presumptuous for an outsider like me to choose a steward for the mansion. Otherwise, Young Master Xiao, you should go and find one… Ah!”
As soon as Xiao Chuo moved, Mi Yao screamed in fright. She dared not bargain any longer and looked at Xiao Chuo with teary eyes: "Xiao Lang, I was wrong, please forgive me."
Mi Yao pulled the blanket up and wrapped herself tightly around it while moving her body to lie down on the edge of the bed. "Go to sleep. When I wake up tomorrow, I will ask the nanny from the governor's mansion. If I can't find her, I will make an effort to train a steward whose abilities are similar to hers."
It wasn't that she was a coward, but that she was genuinely afraid of pain.
She was born with a privileged life, and if God were to take it away and kill her, she would feel reluctant, but she could also accept it calmly.
But the problem is that matters between men and women cannot be resolved by having the intention to die.
In case Xiao Chua changed his mind, Mi Yao closed her eyes after lying down, looking like she was about to fall asleep, while her hand, hidden under the covers, quietly pulled up her inner garment.
When his lips landed on her shoulder again, she clenched her fists and glared at him.
"Didn't we agree on this?"
He didn't agree to it with her.
As his hand brushed against Mi Yao's skin, Xiao Chuan recalled an old story.
Once, when he received his official robes, the calluses on his hands, as he smoothed the hem, caused the silk to fray.
It was then that he realized that the more expensive something is, the more delicate it is. For a rough man like him, if he didn't have the patience, it would be easier to wear coarse cloth.
Now, several years later, as he kneads Mi Yao's skin, which is even more delicate than the finest silk, he is incredibly patient. He doesn't feel unworthy of her; he only feels that it is his turn to gradually possess and erode this beauty.
"Just a kiss on the cheek."
Sensing Mi Yao's resistance, Xiao Chuan spoke up.
Upon hearing that she couldn't go in, Mi Yao stopped her actions, and then she knew what he wanted to do.
While he went to the bathroom to clean up, Mi Yao looked down at the large red satin handkerchief that was stuck together on the floor and felt that she had negotiated wrong. At this level, the only thing she should have exchanged was taking care of Little Radish.
After muttering to herself for a moment, she caught a glimpse of Xiao Chua's clothes out of the corner of her eye, and immediately closed her eyes, covered herself with the blanket, and pretended to fall asleep.
A moment later she felt another person beside her.
There was only a pair of mandarin duck quilts on the bed. Feeling the heat emanating from Xiao Chuan's body, Mi Yao couldn't sleep and opened her eyes again: "Let's extinguish a few candles. It's too bright to sleep in daylight."
Xiao Chuan did not get out of bed, and no one knew what he was doing. There was only one wedding candle left in the room, the one furthest from the bed.
As darkness fell, Mi Yao didn't feel sleepy, but she wasn't as uneasy or anxious as she had been before.
Looking at the embroidered twin lotus flowers above her head, Mi Yao blinked and suddenly wondered if she was now keeping a boundary with Xiao Chuan.
Even if they were skin to skin, until the very last step, Xiao Chuan wouldn't consider her one of his own, and therefore wouldn't treat her with disrespect.
But how exactly did he view the conditions she proposed?
His silence really made her uneasy. He completely left the children to their own devices. In this situation, would he think it would be easier for someone to take care of them, or would he think she was meddling?
However, he must be lacking a manager for the household affairs.
Now that she's taken over the management duties, does that mean she can open his storeroom and squander his wealth at will?
She knew that over the years, besides guarding Yizhou and fighting back and forth with the Tibetans, he had also confiscated a lot of property from powerful families in order to maintain the absolute authority of Zhao Tianhe as the military governor.
He couldn't have given all those things to Zhao Tianhe without keeping any for himself.
Mi Yao became more and more excited as she thought about it, and couldn't help but speak up: "Just now, when the women came to the room to make a fuss, a lady named Zhao Qi gave me a strange look. After she left the bridal room, Xiu'er secretly followed behind her and overheard her discussing with her brother how to trick me into taking advantage of me and ruin my reputation."
Fearing that Xiao Chuan might not take it seriously, she recounted what Yu Xiu had overheard, exaggerating the details a bit.
But after he finished speaking, the room fell silent.
Mi Yao wrinkled her nose: "Xiao Lang, are you asleep?"
After talking for so long, Mi Yao was unhappy and pushed him, "Say something! Someone is trying to take advantage of your wife, and you're just going to stay silent?"
Xiao Chua was indeed half-asleep, but he still heard what she said.
Seeing that he didn't speak, she started fidgeting with her hands and feet. He scoffed, "Who cares what he's doing? Once you compare, you'll find that all men are like this, so you won't be afraid anymore. If he's different from me, that's fine too. Once you get used to being delicate, you can become more rough around the edges and won't disappoint me."
Mi Yao: "..."
What a trashy male lead she married! He's such a jerk because he can't get what he wants.
She told him that someone wanted to cheat on his wife and force her to marry him. He said it was a good thing, as the other party could help him expand his territory so that he could reap the benefits.
No wonder a man like this lives a lonely life in novels; the author's decision not to pair him with a romantic partner is a mercy to all women.
"With your permission, I will definitely try to get a chance to meet anyone I find pleasing to the eye."
Before going to sleep, Mi Yao made sure to thank Xiao Chuan for his generosity.
After he finished speaking, Xiao Chuo let out a snort. He was probably born in the Year of the Snake, always sticking out his tongue and snorting all day long. One day he'll know what it means to be struck by lightning while loading cargo.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
