Ding Xuan knew that her husband was a military officer with excellent martial arts skills, but he was very refined and gentle in front of her. In addition, he was handsome and slender... Of course, this was when he was wearing his official robes. He looked much thinner than those fat men. It was a different story when he took off his clothes... So she felt that there was no difference between military and civil officials.
But when her husband angrily shouted, she instantly felt as if a gust of air had struck her brain, and the whole world seemed to shake three times. Tears streamed down her face.
"..."
Seeing his frail wife crying, Bai Zhankai realized that he had been rash just now, and had no choice but to quickly comfort her.
Ding Xuan sobbed, "I was already marrying into the Marquis's family, and I knew that. How could I dare to domineeringly favor him?"
Bai Zhankai replied: It's not that you're doting on me, it's that I'm doting on you.
Ding Xuan sobbed, "My sister-in-law is going to poke my spine to pieces. I don't even know how outsiders will poke it. I haven't been able to sleep well these past few days."
Bai Zhankai comforted him: "They're just jealous, don't fall for it."
Ding Xuan sobbed, "But my mother also hinted that during my pregnancy, I should let my husband take a few concubines, so that he can't suffer through it."
Bai Zhankai had no choice. His mother was widowed young, and he couldn't argue with her, so he decided to delay: "How about this, I'll go and discuss it with my mother. Let you have four children first. Once you've had enough, I'll take a concubine."
Ding Xuan stopped sobbing: Can it be done like this?
Bai Zhankai said firmly: Of course you can. In the future, whether your sister-in-law or your mother says something to you, just answer her like this: say that it's a rule I set and you can't persuade her otherwise.
He thought to himself: with four children, it's impossible to have one a year, at most one every two years. It would be eight years by the time all four are born. They should be used to it by now. He'll think of another way to delay it.
Eight years in a row, that's enough!
And so, Ding Xuan agreed.
The young master, Bai Qingzhou, was rosy-cheeked and handsome, a combination of the best features of both his parents. He was also clever and quick-witted, and began to babble even before he was a year old, which made the old lady very fond of him.
Sometimes when she couldn't sleep at night, she would simply ask the wet nurse to bring her grandson to her yard and sleep with him at night.
Ding Xuan is also recuperating, preparing to have a second child.
But instead of a second child, they received devastating news—the young marquis was ambushed by bandits while on a mission to suppress them. Unfamiliar with the mountainous terrain, he fell off a cliff and was in critical condition.
They were kept in the local area for almost half a year before they could be barely sent back to the capital.
From that point on, the Marquis's mansion underwent a dramatic transformation.
The dashing young marquis was gone, replaced by a sinister, eccentric, and capricious man who threw tantrums all day, beating and cursing those around him.
After all... it's unbearable for any young man with superb martial arts skills to lose sensation below the waist and become paralyzed.
The old lady spent her days in tears, and before two years had passed, she too had passed away.
The Marquis was dealt another heavy blow, and his personality became even more obsessive and violent.
Whether it was the old lady's prayer of "exchanging her own life for her son's leg" that came true before she died, or the young marquis's good fortune, he miraculously stood up in the third year after his injury, and was able to walk in the fourth year after his injury, and even practice martial arts.
But... in one place, there was still no sensation.
The young marquis was impotent, so the heir, Bai Qingzhou, became his only child.
When Bai Qingzhou was five years old, Marquis Anning began to train his only son, and he was very strict with him. He had only one thought in his mind—as long as his son was talented in both literature and martial arts, he would not have lived in vain. Whether he could have children or not was irrelevant.
But if the son is incapable, who will inherit the marquisate? Our ancestors fought with their blood and lives to earn the title, and now that my father has died young, the line is about to end with him.
The more he thought about it, the greater the pressure became; the greater the pressure, the more desperately he trained his son.
His son was his only hope. Only when he saw his son training hard could he forget his physical disability and his mother's passing.
But fate still seemed to have no mercy on the Marquis of Anning's family. The only son, Bai Qingzhou, was born with the appearance and physique of a woman. He was delicate, effeminate, and so weak that he would cry easily and catch a cold from a gust of wind.
To this end, he tried everything he could, taking his son to soak in ice springs and drenching in waterfalls.
This still couldn't change the fact that the Crown Prince was physically weak.
Finally, after many stumbles and falls, the prince turned nine, and he mustered up his courage to enroll his son in the martial arts examination.
He had been training his son for four years, and no matter how many setbacks there were, he still believed that his son would definitely have no problem handling the first exam.
However, things didn't go as planned again.
The crown prince not only failed the exam, but also lost face.
Upon returning home, he lost his temper and beat the young master half to death. Shortly after, a servant came to report that the lady was vomiting blood and was in critical condition.
He rushed to the room in a panic, only to find his wife pale and frail. The doctor examined her and said that this was not the first time she had been like this; she had fallen ill from depression and that the Marquis should prepare for her funeral.
At that moment, he seemed to see a scene in his mind of a girl, accompanied by her younger sister and others, picking out goods at a street stall, her face beaming with smiles.
Did he ultimately harm her?
How can you destroy the most beloved flower in your heart until it withers?
At that moment, he broke down again.
This breakdown was different from the usual ones. He lost his temper and his hope, becoming like a walking corpse, with no motivation to live anymore.
My mother is gone, my beloved is gone, and my only son was injured by me. He is impotent. What is the point of living?
He sent someone to the palace with his nameplate to summon the imperial physician. While the physician was treating him, he was in the outer room, and a series of images flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
He kept recalling the amazement and admiration he felt when he saw the girl downstairs from the second floor.
His mother's secret joy at trying to get the truth out of him and making him happy.
And when the prince was born, the little baby was so beautiful that he looked like a piece of jade. When the full moon celebration came, every lady who came would hold him and coax him.
In the blink of an eye, everything was gone...
He then recalled that his mother had said that she had consulted the horoscopes before the marriage, and that he and his wife would be born into the same bed and die in the same grave. Was this an implication that... if anything happened to Xuan'er, he would follow her?
But what about Qingzhou?
Bai Zhankai's mind was in chaos and confusion; he couldn't find his way.
Three imperial physicians, along with five renowned doctors from the capital, went to great lengths to finally save Ding Xuan. However, they instructed the Marquis not to let his wife lose her temper again and to take good care of her.
After seeing the doctor off, Bai Zhankai thought for a while and finally came to a complete understanding—just live life as it is. It's already this bad, can it get any worse?
After that,
He applied for a job transfer, not wanting to work in the capital. Considering the situation of the Marquis's family, the Ministry of War applied for a job for him in a military camp in the suburbs of Beijing.
I get two days off per month, each lasting three days.
Bai Zhankai takes office.
Since leaving the capital and arriving at the military camp, I have been in an unfamiliar environment.
He felt much better and for a moment forgot about the misfortune at home and his physical disability.
But as time went by, Bai Zhankai, having calmed down and accepted reality, faced another problem—should he just let his wife live like a widow? Or should he simply set her free?
His childhood friend, knowing about this, came to find him, dismissed everyone around him, and mysteriously pulled out a small booklet.
Bai Zhankai opened the booklet without any suspicion, and then beat up his childhood friend.
Because that booklet... was a booklet about how eunuchs served women...
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