Chapter Five: Irresponsible
After the guests had all left, Gu Jingxi returned to his own courtyard, which was brightly lit.
He had drunk quite a bit today and was already five or six parts drunk. He rubbed his temples and glanced at the main house. He himself found it absurd. It was supposed to be his son getting married, but by some twist of fate, he ended up marrying his future daughter-in-law.
This was the most outrageous thing he had ever done in his twenty-nine years. When Meng Jinyao resolutely chose him and insisted on marrying him, he didn't know what was going on in his mind, but he agreed without thinking.
Meanwhile, Meng Jinyao had already removed her makeup, bathed and changed, and was sitting nervously in the room waiting. When she heard the door open, she loosened her tightly clenched hands and looked up to see the man standing tall and straight like a pine tree, walking in with steady steps.
Even though there were no other spectators watching the play, her state of mind was no calmer than when there were. She pretended to be nonchalant and stepped forward, fulfilling her duty as a wife, and asked compliantly, "Would you like to take a bath first, my husband? I will have the maid prepare the water right away."
That "husband" sounded perfectly natural.
Gu Jingxi glanced at her in surprise. He hadn't expected her to remain so calm and composed when she was alone with him, as if he, not Xiu Ming, was the one she was going to marry all along. It was he, a grown man, who felt a little awkward. He said calmly, "No need to bother. I'll come back and get a change of clothes. It's late, you should rest."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao frowned, mustered her courage, and looked up at him. Seeing the man's indifferent expression, she asked, "Husband, is it true that the irresponsible men of the Gu family are all from the same lineage?"
Gu Jingxi didn't react for a moment and asked, "What?"
Meng Jinyao clenched her fist in her sleeve, then relaxed it, and accused, "Your son eloped with someone on his wedding day, and you left your wife alone in the bridal chamber on your wedding night. Isn't this a case of 'like father, like son,' a trait of irresponsibility passed down through generations?"
She knew that Gu Jingxi was probably unhappy with the forced marriage and wanted to leave her hanging, but what could she do? Gu Jingxi was a bad father. If he didn't want to marry her, he should have broken off the engagement earlier instead of making her a laughing stock on her wedding day and leaving her in a dilemma.
She didn't think that letting Gu Jingxi marry her was a heinous crime. After all, the Gu family had wronged her first, and Gu Jingxi himself had agreed to it at the time. Now, on their wedding night, Gu Jingxi was going to leave her alone in the house. If word got out, how could she maintain her position in the household?
Since he married her, he had to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband; otherwise, he shouldn't have married her at all. Anyway, Gu Jingxi was impotent, so they could only sleep under the same blanket; she wasn't afraid to share a bed with Gu Jingxi.
Gu Jingxi understood, but then smiled and said casually, "Before you married me, didn't you know why I would adopt a child from the clan?"
Seeing that he didn't mind bringing up his hidden illness at all, Meng Jinyao guessed that it was an open secret among everyone, and admired that he could mention it so calmly. Other men would probably feel ashamed, or even angry.
Since Gu Jingxi didn't care, she said frankly, "My husband only has a hidden illness, not some strange disease that prevents him from sleeping in the same bed with a woman. Besides, since I know the situation and still firmly chose to marry my husband, why would I care about these things?"
After hearing this, Gu Jingxi gave her a strange look, wondering if he was overthinking it, but he felt that she was only marrying him because she thought he was no good.
Thinking of this, Gu Jingxi frowned almost imperceptibly, but seeing a hint of grievance hidden in his newlywed wife's eyes, he was slightly taken aback. It was only natural for her to feel aggrieved being alone in her room on her wedding night, especially after what had happened today. It was a miracle that she hadn't broken down in tears. In the end, he nodded and softened his tone: "Since Madam doesn't mind, then let the maid prepare some water."
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