Chapter 27 "Brother Tang, I want it."...
Meng Yuanxiao scoffed, "Just like a mother-in-law?"
Tears streamed down her face. "You've never really thought about what your mother-in-law truly wants, have you?"
Cui Xintang remained silent for a moment.
From the time he was seven years old, his father brought that woman into the mansion, and from then on, the mansion was in chaos every day.
At first, he disliked his father and felt sorry for his mother, but day after day, caught in the middle, he only felt tired.
He initially thought that his mother valued only the position of mistress of the house, but later he realized that it was more than that.
Later, the relationship between the parents deteriorated further, and the mother vented all her hatred for Cui Zhen on him.
“You are his son, you are birds of a feather with Cui Zhen.”
"I truly regret giving birth to you. If it weren't for you, why would I stay in this detestable place?"
After hearing it so many times, he gradually came to believe that he was indeed just as cold-blooded as Cui Zhen.
Otherwise, why would he one day find Cui Zhen and calmly say to him, "Take that woman and leave"?
He only thought that once Cui Zhen left, things would finally be peaceful in the mansion, and he would no longer have to endure endless arguments and his mother's constant scolding and beatings.
That day, Yuanyuan said that he had never allowed her to go to the Cui residence before, and that wasn't a lie.
He valued his reputation and didn't want her to see him in such a disheveled state, nor did he want her to be tainted by the filth of the Cui family.
He was even more afraid that she would discover how despicable he was, like a rat in a sewer, and thus feel disgust towards him.
That day, Yuanyuan suddenly ran to the Cui residence. He had just angered his mother over a trivial matter. When a servant announced that Miss Meng had arrived, he couldn't help but talk back to his mother for the first time.
That day, he coldly brushed the ruler from his mother's hand, walked out of the Buddhist hall without looking back amidst her scolding, went back to his room to change his clothes, and silently sent Yuanyuan back to the Meng residence.
Then she told Lord Meng about Meng Zheng losing Yuan Yuan, held Yuan Yuan's hand, and watched as Meng Zheng was given a good beating by Lord Meng in a sorry state.
Yuanyuan covered her eyes, her vision blurred with tears, and dared not look, but he insisted that she look.
That day, tears clung to Yuanyuan's long eyelashes, and when she looked at him with her round eyes, there was a clear hint of fear.
His heart suddenly felt like it was being squeezed tightly. He was usually most afraid of her knowing about his disheveled state, but that day he hesitated for a moment and deliberately and unintentionally revealed a bruise on his arm.
Sure enough, when Yuanyuan saw the bruises on his arm, her fear of him instantly turned into worry and heartache.
Her tears fell even more heavily as she grabbed his hand, calling him "Brother Tang," and crying as she asked him what was wrong, saying that she had been beaten by Cui Zhen for doing something wrong.
Cui Zhenzheng was addicted to Wenwenxiang and had no time to pay attention to him, so how could he have the heart to beat him? Cui Zhen may not even know how his mother vented her hatred for Cui Zhen on him.
Or perhaps they know, but are just too lazy to get involved.
That day, Yuanyuan held his hand, her eyes brimming with tears, and blew on the bruise repeatedly, saying that if anyone bullied him at school, he should tell her. Her second brother was a fighter, and she wanted him to stand up for him.
Yuanyuan was mischievous but also very soft-hearted. When she saw that Meng Zheng had been beaten badly by Lord Meng because of her, she dared not go to the Cui residence again and never mentioned wanting to go to the Cui residence to find him in front of him.
Perhaps because he grew up in such a chaotic environment, he simply couldn't understand the meaning of the emotional entanglements and struggles between men and women.
So, on that day, in a moment of impulse, he suddenly felt the urge to marry Meng Yuanxiao, which surprised even himself.
Did he never intend to marry Meng Yuanxiao and bring her into the Cui family mansion, which he himself wanted to escape?
Besides, Yuanyuan is much younger than him.
But that day at the Meng residence, when he heard from Meng Xu that Madam Meng was already looking for a husband for Yuanyuan, he was stunned for a moment, and a thought flashed through his mind.
Why can't he just go along with me this once?
Since he needed to get married to avoid suspicion from the Princess, why couldn't he marry Yuanyuan? If it were anyone else, he would rather remain in this stalemate with the Princess.
So, the words "I want to marry Yuanyuan" just slipped out unconsciously.
However, with his parents still alive, he dared not easily give Yuanyuan any assurances about what the future would hold.
Not to mention, he is now forced into the new policies, and historically, very few who have embraced reform have managed to emerge unscathed. Although he is trying his best to leave himself a way out, who knows what the future holds for him?
Who knows, one day your head might suddenly roll on the ground.
So sometimes he couldn't help but think that he had been too awful to impulsively and selfishly marry Yuanyuan, dragging her down with him.
If that day ever comes, the only way he can save her is to sever all ties with her completely beforehand.
Therefore, rather than giving her unrealistic hopes and causing her to struggle and suffer like his mother in the future, or being implicated by him, it would be better to teach her how to survive in the Cui family and the capital from the beginning, giving her enough support, rather than letting her indulge in emotions.
Even without him, she can still live freely.
He could scheme so calmly and even coldly, yet he still felt sorry for Yuanyuan.
Seeing her reddened eyes, Cui Xintang kissed the top of her head and said to her, "Yuanyuan, just remember that no matter what, your brother Tang will always love you the most."
Meng Yuanxiao sniffed and pursed her lips without saying a word.
Cui Xintang sighed softly, "Yuanyuan might be scared, but so am I. I'm six years older than you, and I've thought about what I would do if one day you thought I was old and ugly."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "The day after our wedding, as I came out of my mother's room after serving tea, I was actually terrified. I was terrified that in the future, you and I might end up like my father and mother, hating each other."
"This is also my first time being a husband, and many times I didn't know what to do. In the first few days after the wedding, my mother..."
He paused, swallowed his words, and then said, "Those few days, I didn't know how to treat you, whether I should get close to you, or how to get close to you."
After saying that, he looked down at Meng Yuanxiao and teased her, "If Yuanyuan is really worried, then keep a close eye on me in the future, just like I did when I was watching you at the county office that day, not allowing you to covet other people."
Meng Yuanxiao: "...If you really have other thoughts, I don't want you."
Cui Xintang laughed, "If that day ever comes, I don't know what I'll look like by now, and Yuanyuan will definitely be tired of me by now."
As they were talking, Village Chief Sun's voice came from outside the courtyard, "Is Lord Cui here?"
Sun, the village chief, doesn't usually bother them, so his visit to Cui Xintang must be for official business.
Cui Xintang glanced outside, but didn't rush out. He gently bounced Meng Yuanxiao on his lap, pinched her waist with his large hand, and asked with a low laugh, "Yuanyuan, are you still angry?"
Meng Yuanxiao ignored him.
Cui Xintang didn't urge her, but just smiled at her. It wasn't until the village head called out again from outside that he kissed her on the lips and then gently patted her waist.
"Yuanyuan, you are very magnanimous. I will remember this for now and apologize to you when my husband returns."
When Cui Xintang returned, it was already dark. After dinner, he went to the village chief Sun's house to borrow an extra stove, which made the room much warmer.
Soon, Sun Lizhang's second daughter-in-law, Mao, brought over another bucket of hot water. Meng Yuanxiao was surprised, and Cui Xintang raised an eyebrow, "Hasn't your period ended?"
Meng Yuanxiao's face turned slightly red.
Due to limited conditions in the countryside, and the fact that she had started her period a few days ago, she had not been able to bathe during her stay in Huai Shu Village. She could only wipe her body with a handkerchief soaked in hot water each day.
She had long been unable to bear it any longer, but she didn't want to trouble the Sun family, since firewood was very precious in the countryside.
I didn’t expect that Brother Tang had already thought of this for her.
He always does this: first he strikes her hard, then he gives her a sweet treat.
Meng Yuanxiao didn't want to talk to him. She just waited for him to bolt the door, add water to the bath tub they had brought, extinguish one of the oil lamps, leaving only a dim lamp, and then move to a corner before taking off her clothes to bathe.
Cui Xintang didn't want to trouble the village chief's family to boil another bucket of hot water for him, so after Meng Yuanxiao finished washing, he simply used the water that Meng Yuanxiao had used to wash himself.
The room was simply furnished, without a screen, and the bedroom was not big enough, so the bathtub was placed not far from the bed.
Meng Yuanxiao lay on the bed, listening to the rushing water, and looked through the curtains at the person taking a bath outside.
An oil lamp was lit in the corner, casting a faint shadow of Cui Xintang's tall figure on the curtains. Meng Yuanxiao saw water flowing down his body, along the thin, firm muscles of his chest and abdomen, and back into the bathtub.
Through the thin curtains, I could vaguely see the cleavage on his chest, and further down...
If Meng Yuanxiao didn't know Tang Gege well enough, she would have thought he was deliberately seducing her.
Her heart suddenly raced. She stared at that spot for a moment, then swallowed hard before quickly looking away.
Then he shook his head, trying to banish those unpleasant images from his mind.
She was surprised that her brother Tang would use the water she had used.
After all, she knew that her brother Tang was also a clean person.
He would change his clothes if they got muddy, and he would never touch the food that others offered him.
But Tang-gege never complained about the leftovers she ate.
She still remembers some things from before.
Her mother was strict with her and her two brothers, forbidding them from wasting food.
She was a picky eater with a small appetite. Whenever she didn't want to eat anymore at mealtimes, she would push her bowl in front of her second brother for fear of being scolded by her mother.
Her second brother grew quickly and ate a lot, but he never complained about her eating. So when they were at home, most of what she left over ended up in his stomach.
She developed this habit: she couldn't eat what she didn't want to eat, but she refused to waste it.
Once, when she went out to play with her older brother and Tang-gege, she habitually pushed the leftovers in front of her older brother, wanting him to eat them, but he refused to eat them no matter what.
She was unhappy and pushed the bowl in front of her brother Tang again.
Tang-gege was equally disgusted. He didn't say anything, but just frowned slightly and looked down at the leftover food in front of him.
She was young then and quite willful. When she saw that her brother Tang refused to eat, she felt a little wronged and asked directly, "Brother Tang, do you also dislike me?"
She wanted to take the bowl back and not let him eat anymore, but Cui Xintang didn't say a word, picked up the bowl and ate all the leftovers.
Because of these things, she was always willing to be close to him, and even believed that Brother Tang loved her no less than her older brother.
So she might not believe anything else, but she believed what Brother Tang said just now: "No matter what, Brother Tang will always love you the most."
Just as she was lost in thought, Cui Xintang had already finished bathing, tidied up the area in front of the bed, and then lifted the bed curtains to get into bed.
Meng Yuanxiao hid under the covers, his eyes blinking as he looked at her.
Once on the bed, Cui Xintang pulled the person into his arms.
Meng Yuanxiao's hand naturally slipped inside his clothes, landing on his chest. She then looked up at him and deliberately gave him a light pinch.
Cui Xintang felt rather helpless. That day, Yuanyuan had drunk fruit wine and was so bold; he suddenly had the urge to tease her.
That night, he held her hand, mischievously refusing her refusal, looking at her with smiling eyes. The more embarrassed she became, the deeper the smile in his eyes grew.
He originally just wanted to tease her, but he never expected that it would lead her to develop such a peculiar habit.
Meng Yuanxiao deliberately played a trick on him, and after she had had her fill of playing, she giggled and said, "Brother Tang, I want it now."
Cui Xintang lifted the person onto his lap and asked with a half-smile, "What does Yuanyuan want?"
Meng Yuanxiao mustered her courage and kissed him on the lips, blushing as she said, "I want this."
After saying that, he added, "We live in a separate courtyard, so we shouldn't be considered as Chief Sun's family, right?"
Not only did she want it, but Cui Xintang, having held back for so long, could no longer resist.
He pressed the person down on him, his voice slightly hoarse, "Um, it doesn't count..."
Half an hour later, Meng Yuanxiao lay on Cui Xintang's body, too exhausted to move.
Cui Xintang gently stroked her back with his large hand and said with a smile, "Weren't you quite bold just now?"
Meng Yuanxiao hummed a few times, rested for a quarter of an hour, and then suddenly said, "Brother Tang, tell me about the sister you were engaged to."
Cui Xintang: "...Aren't you tired yet?"
Meng Yuanxiao, however, was unusually stubborn. The dim light of the oil lamp shone through the curtains, and she looked at him with her clear eyes, "Brother Tang, what's that sister's name?"
Cui Xintang clearly didn't want to say more, only saying, "I don't remember the name, I only remember the surname Lin."
Meng Yuanxiao's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly remembered that the older sister's surname was indeed Lin.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of Lin's younger brother and the words "brother-in-law" he had uttered that day.
But she quickly rejected this idea herself.
Even if Lin's younger brother was adopted, he was likely adopted from a similar family within the same clan.
How could a family like the Lin family, with such a prestigious lineage, possibly be related to the Cui family in the capital?
She suppressed the thought and asked again, "Then why did you break off your engagement with Miss Lin in the first place?"
Cui Xintang said helplessly, "What's the point of talking about something that happened a long time ago?"
Meng Yuanxiao puffed out her cheeks, "But I just want to know."
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