The two argued for a while, then suddenly fell silent. They probably felt their unhappiness had dissipated from their bickering and they were able to calm down.
Wei Li felt that he was a man after all, and it wasn't shameful for him to speak first. It was just that Zhao Xiheng kept making fun of his lisp today, which made him feel embarrassed and annoyed.
“I didn’t want those people. If I wanted to keep a concubine, would I need the people Zhao Mingjin sent? I called them here to see what other stupid ideas your foolish cousin could come up with, and then give me a reasonable excuse to kill them.” Besides, he doesn’t like any of them. He’s not an animal that gets lustful every time he sees a woman.
Wei Li disliked rambling and unclear explanations. If things weren't explained clearly, Zhao Xiheng would be seething with anger, and Wei Li himself would feel uncomfortable.
After thinking it over, Zhao Xiheng could understand. She grabbed Wei Li's collar and pushed him away slightly, finally letting go of the suffocating feeling of watching her possession being defiled by someone else. If Wei Li really had a concubine, she wouldn't argue and get angry with him every day. Anger is also a kind of emotion; it's not something she can exclusively possess anymore, and it's not worth getting emotionally involved.
No matter how beastly Wei Li is now, he is clean and tidy. Although he is a bit of a bear, at least his body doesn't make her feel uncomfortable. It's quite comfortable to hug and kiss him usually.
Zhao Xiheng didn't like to carry today's problems into tomorrow; if she had a question, she would ask it directly, "Then why didn't you let me go out today?"
Wei Li, “…” If she had even once a few months ago considered stepping out of this courtyard, she wouldn’t have had this doubt.
He patted Zhao Xiheng's head and smirked, "Not today, but from the very first day you moved in, I never intended for you to leave."
Zhao Xiheng suddenly realized that Wei Li had been imprisoning her all along without her noticing.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Wei Li, “…” What’s the point of telling you?
His plan was to lock Zhao Xiheng up and torture her, and when she tried to escape, he would grab her chin and threaten her, telling her she would never be able to get out. But now things were going in the wrong direction.
Wei Li had a premonition that if he didn't say it now, he might never have the chance to say it again.
He patted Zhao Xiheng's cheek and said, "You'll never have the chance to step out of this courtyard in your entire life. If you dare to take a single step out, I'll break your legs."
"I just came back from outside the yard." Zhao Xiheng moved her legs. Was Wei Li going to break her legs now?
"If you dare to go out again, I'll break your legs." Wei Li pursed his thin lips, threatening her menacingly.
He had a bad voice and spoke in a harsh tone, with everything he said carrying a sinister and threatening air. Zhao Xiheng had been listening to him for several months, but now it no longer affected her at all.
Wei Li is a paper tiger. He only ever tries to scare people. Next time, she'll just walk out of the yard right in front of him and make him furious!
They want to imprison her? No way!
After Zhao Xiheng finished asking her question, Wei Li pursed his lips. Although asking a question would make him look stupid and embarrassed, he still spoke up, "That pretty boy..."
“They have names,” Zhao Xiheng interrupted him.
Wei Li took a deep breath. "When did you meet Xie Qingyu?"
“I don’t remember. I’ve known him since I can remember. My father likes him.” Zhao Xiheng thought for a moment.
They had known each other since childhood; they were from aristocratic families, childhood sweethearts, and crucially, Zhao Xiheng's father also liked them very much—a true friend, a friend of over ten years. As for Wei Li, Zhao Xiheng had only known of his existence for less than six months.
Wei Li tightened his grip on Zhao Xiheng, holding her tightly.
He felt something warm and hot surging from his chest, aching and painful, like it was going to kill him; it also felt like ants biting him, and he wished he could cut open his chest and rip his heart out.
"So, are you and he really just old acquaintances?" Xie Qingyu could call her by her childhood nickname so openly, but Wei Li had never called her that before, only in her heart or when it came out unconsciously.
Wei Li never admitted that he was actually afraid Zhao Xiheng would mock him, look down on him, and treat him like others. A timid thought was suppressed deep in his heart: he was unwilling to reveal even the slightest bit of his affection for Zhao Xiheng.
Just as Zhao Xiheng was about to speak, Wei Li said, "If you don't tell the truth, I'll throw Xie Qingyu into Chagan Lake and drown him."
"If I tell you, you'll let him go." Zhao Xiheng was afraid that if she didn't say anything, Wei Li would beat the man to death.
"Hmm." Wei Li nodded listlessly.
He didn't actually want to hear Zhao Xiheng tell him in person that she and Xie Qingyu were childhood sweethearts.
“He is the fiancé my father arranged for me.” After saying this, Zhao Xiheng quickly grabbed Wei Li’s waist tightly, afraid that he would jump up and chop Xie Qingyu.
"But, but later I wanted to marry into a foreign power, so we dropped the matter."
Wei Li's body stiffened for a moment. He didn't get the "childhood sweethearts, innocent and carefree" response, but rather a more intimate relationship. He was silent for a while, then asked, "If you hadn't been sent on a political marriage, would you be married to him by now?"
"No, my father didn't want me to get married so early. He said I should wait until I was eighteen to get married." Zhao Xiheng didn't dare to say the rest.
She was unhappy in the palace and couldn't wait to get married and get away from Zhao Mingxin and the others. If it weren't for the political marriage, Xie Qingyu would be a really nice person. Whether she liked him or not was unimportant.
“Then you…” Wei Li suddenly felt that asking Zhao Xiheng whether she liked Xie Qingyu was a pointless thing to do.
He recalled Xie Qingyu being led into the study from outside. Sunlight shone on Xie Qingyu, who was dressed in white and looked very handsome. The only flaw he could find in Xie Qingyu's appearance was that his lips weren't red enough. Wei Li wearing white looked quite out of place.
Xie Qingyu's voice was also very pleasant, and he subconsciously put his legs off the table.
Xie Qingyu was the fiancé chosen for Zhao Xiheng by her father. How could her father, who loved her so much, choose someone Zhao Xiheng didn't like as her fiancé?
She must like it.
Xie Qingyu's gaze towards Zhao Xiheng was unmistakable; it revealed a pure and unadulterated affection, admiration, and tenderness.
Of the three, Wei Li was the third party who had forcibly entered the picture. Thinking about it, he felt very humiliated, as if he had been slapped in the face.
He couldn't think of any reason why Zhao Xiheng and Xie Qingyu didn't like each other.
"Why aren't you asking anymore?" Zhao Xiheng patted his back.
"Zhao Xiheng, do you know that you are my wife now?" Wei Li said, as if he wanted to squeeze her into his flesh.
Zhao Xiheng tilted her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed, and gently whispered in his ear, "Wei Li, do you like me? Are you jealous?"
"Nonsense, Zhao Xiheng, you're always so self-deluded. Do you really think everyone likes you? You're my wife, remember that!" Wei Li raised his voice. He had said it to himself many times: he didn't like Zhao Xiheng, he really hated Zhao Xiheng.
Even though he subconsciously ignores the fact that many of his actions contradict this idea, he will never admit that he likes Zhao Xiheng.
Wei Li's inferiority complex was so intense that it formed a fragile sense of self-esteem. He could not accept ridicule from anyone, and he was especially unwilling to let go of this almost shameful pride in front of Zhao Xiheng.
Or rather, it's about not allowing oneself to lower oneself or lose face. To admit to liking someone who doesn't like you is like tearing off your last shell of shame, revealing the soft flesh inside, allowing that person to grope you at will.
"Oh." Zhao Xiheng puffed out her cheeks. Wei Li, is this a man's possessiveness and pride at work?
"Zhao Xiheng," Wei Li called her again, suppressing a strong sense of shame.
"What?" Ugh, what does he want me to do now?
"Whose are you?"
Zhao Xiheng rolled her eyes at the sky, "If you have a lisp, then shut up."
A rather ambiguous phrase that young couples use to flirt, but Wei Li is now saying it vaguely, and she really doesn't feel anything at all.
“Say something.” Wei Li pinched her waist.
"Is yours okay?" Zhao Xiheng asked, her waist tickled as he pinched her. She quickly begged for mercy.
"Zhao Xiheng".
"..." What for now?
"Your ex-fiancé is no good person. Do you know why he brought people here?" Wei Li thought. He was slandering the person Zhao Xiheng liked, and she would probably be very angry.
But Xie Qingyu is not a good person.
"What are you doing? Didn't I bring you a beauty?" Zhao Xiheng's words seemed to show no anger at all.
“He was sent by Zhao Mingjin to exchange those people for you.”
Zhao Xiheng couldn't sit still any longer. Should Zhao Mingjin take her back?
Why go back? She didn't believe it was simply a matter of asking her to go back.
"Just those people? Nothing else?"
"It's gone."
Zhao Xiheng was still a little angry. So, this little princess wouldn't even spend a penny if she went back.
She hugged Wei Li tightly around the waist, saying sweetly, "I'm not going back. I want to stay with my lord."
Going back will surely bring trouble.
Wei Li felt a shiver run down his spine at her call, and he hugged her tighter. "Zhao Xiheng."
This time, when Wei Li called her, she didn't seem impatient; instead, she happily responded.
“I have money,” he said.
"I know."
You can buy whatever you want.
"good!"
“Pingzhou is also a large territory.”
"Um."
"I still have many soldiers."
"hold head high."
“Zhao Mingjin doesn’t have that many, and neither does Xie Qingyu.”
"yes."
"Mmm, you're the best." Zhao Xiheng hooked her arm around his neck.
She's incredibly affectionate and sweet when she needs someone's help.
"Last time, the two warehouse keys I gave you were for two hundred chests of gold." Wei Li's lips curled up slightly, and he added that he really was very rich.
So don't leave.
Two hundred boxes of gold. Zhao Xiheng glanced at the drawer on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the distance. How wonderful.
Wei Li moved, and with a clink, something fell onto him.
Zhao Xiheng squinted and looked at it. It looked familiar. It was a small brass key with words engraved on the end.
Wei Li followed her gaze, his expression stiffening. He licked his lower lip, picked up the key, placed it in Zhao Xiheng's hand, and then smiled, "Is this the key you were looking for? What a coincidence."
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