The breeze was blowing, and petals were falling from the tree above. Yuan Xi, with tears still on her face, suddenly fell into his arms, and was suddenly confused about the situation.

It was almost evening, the busiest time for the servants in the mansion. The maids and servants stared with wide eyes, watching the Marquis with a stern face, carrying the lady who was said to be treated coldly in his arms as he walked towards the main courtyard. Each of them suppressed their excitement at discovering gossip, and only whispered excitedly when they walked a little further away.

Yuan Xi felt the gazes from all directions and then she remembered that she had just cried for a long time and must look very ugly now. She was sad and annoyed, so she simply turned her head and wiped all her tears and snot on his clothes.

Xiao Du felt her face moving back and forth in front of his chest. He looked down in confusion. When he realized what she was doing, his face darkened and he growled in a low voice, "If you move again, I'll throw you down!"

Yuan Xi was startled and quickly grasped his collar tightly, her head leaning on his thick chest, the familiar ambergris lingering on her face, with his unique masculine breath, making her feel comfortable and at ease. Her emotions had just been up and down for a long time, and now she relaxed in his arms, she felt her eyelids a little heavy, and she almost fell asleep in a daze.

But this road... Yuan Xi secretly looked at her from his arms, and her heart began to be in turmoil again: Why did he carry her into his room in broad daylight!

As soon as Xiao Du entered the main courtyard, the maids and servants all exchanged glances with sly smiles when they saw this. Xiao Du didn't bother to pay attention and directly carried Yuan Xi into the bedroom. Before he could say anything, the servant who opened the door for him and led the way quickly lit the incense in the stove, put down the bamboo curtain on the bed, and then ran out quickly, not forgetting to turn around and close the door tightly.

Xiao Du raised his eyebrows, and sighed that he was surprisingly efficient today. He bowed slightly, and Yuan Xi gently sat on the bed, and took off her shoes and socks for her, then turned around and said, "You have to do the rest yourself."

Yuan Xi stared in amazement as he took off his outer robe and opened the cabinet, looking for something. She felt her heart almost jumping out of her throat. She made up her mind, thinking that this would happen one after another, and began to unbutton her clothes calmly.

Xiao Du had just changed his clothes and found a box of ointment. He turned around and found Yuan Xi with a red face, reluctantly hanging his head, and half of his shirt unbuttoned. He stared at her for a moment, and finally couldn't help laughing, saying, "I asked you to roll up your trouser legs and help you apply the ointment, what on earth were you thinking!"

Yuan Xi felt that she was about to lose all her face today. She groaned, pulled a quilt over her head, and dared not say anything to him again.

She covered her face tightly, still feeling the aftermath of the shock, and although she knew she was hiding something from the victim, she couldn't think of any other solution. At this moment, she felt a warm and cool sensation at her ankle, followed by a burning pain, and she couldn't help but scream.

Xiao Du frowned and asked, "Does it hurt?"

Yuan Xi stuck half of her face out from under the quilt, and shook her head with a grin. Xiao Du saw that there were still tears in her eyes and a faint blush on her face, and suddenly he felt that he could not be angry anymore. He continued to rub her ankle and said softly: "Just bear with it. This ointment is something I brought back from the Western Regions. It is very effective. Now we need to rub out the blood clots so that it can heal faster."

Yuan Xi clutched a corner of the quilt and slowly sat up. Seeing him rubbing her swollen ankle very attentively, she felt a surge of warmth in her heart, but at the same time, her eyes felt a little sour. She sniffed, hesitated for a long time, and still didn't know how to start the conversation.

Outside the window, there were birds singing softly, and in the incense burner, the smoke from the burning Suhe incense curled up slowly, just like the girl's thoughts, twists and turns, hard to figure out. Yuan Xi summoned up her courage and finally said softly: "Before the young master came to the school, I was always lonely."

Xiao Du paused for a moment, but his eyes did not shift at all, and he continued to rub her ankle. Yuan Xi looked at his focused profile, pulled the corner of her mouth, and said, "You must not know how many icicles can form under the eaves in winter." Her eyes dimmed, and she continued, "But I do know. Every New Year, my brothers and sisters would get together in groups of three or four to build snowmen and set off firecrackers, but they didn't want to play with me. I don't have a mother, and I can only see my father from a distance when I eat New Year's dinner. Although Seventh Aunt will try her best to accompany me, she also has her own work to do. Sometimes I really feel bored, so I will sit on the steps and count the icicles under the eaves for fun. I still remember that there were 153 icicles one year, 120 icicles one year, and the most one year, 176 icicles."

Xiao Du's hands slowed down, and he felt an inexplicable pain in his heart. He imagined how that small, lonely figure must have felt as he counted the icicles one by one to kill time amid the noise of firecrackers and laughter.

Yuan Xi recalled the past, and her eyes were red again. She sniffed and said, "Later, I went to the Imperial College with my sisters to audit classes, and that's when I met the young teacher. He was very kind to me, and would tell me about the places he had been to and the interesting things he had seen. At that time, I realized that the outside world was so big and there were so many things to learn. Later, he gave me many books, and I read those books over and over again, and the days were no longer so difficult." She paused and said, "I don't want to throw away those books, not because of him, but because those books have accompanied me through many difficult days, and they are more important to me than anything else."

Xiao Du's heart had softened, but when he heard this sentence, which was more important than anything else, he couldn't help but frown again. With jealousy boiling in his heart, he finally said, "Since he is so important to you, does that mean you will still think about him all the time?"

Yuan Xi shook her head quickly, stared at him and said firmly: "Since I'm marrying you, I want to be your wife sincerely. I want to accompany you through good and bad times, and treat you with my whole heart. Although I haven't completely forgotten the past, I will definitely work hard to let it go. Are you... willing to believe me?"

Xiao Du couldn't help but laugh again. She was just so blunt that she couldn't even make a nice oath. At this time, Yuan Xi's ankles were no longer so swollen, so he helped her put down her trouser legs. Turning his head, he saw her eyes full of tears, nervously waiting for his answer. He then took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, seemed to think seriously, and said, "Kiss me, and I'll forgive you."

Yuan Xi was stunned, not understanding why the topic changed so quickly, but he was staring at her intently, and it didn't seem like he was joking. A blush crept up on her face, and after struggling for a long time, she finally leaned over and kissed him on the lips quickly.

Xiao Du's heart seemed to be scratched by something, and it felt soft and itchy, but he also felt dissatisfied. He rubbed his lips, smiled slyly and said, "It's just like this, it doesn't count."

Yuan Xi had just done the most daring thing in his life. His face was red and his heart was beating like a drum. He was even a little breathless. When he heard that he didn't admit it, he immediately said unconvincedly: "Then what do I have to do?"

But she soon regretted it, because a pair of warm lips quickly pressed against hers. Unlike the last time when the kiss was just a light one, this time the kiss was as hot as fire. He pressed her against the corner of the bed, put his hands in her hair, and kept sucking and twisting her lips, with a frightening and predatory breath, as if he wanted to swallow her whole. She felt as if her breathing stopped for a moment, her head was dizzy, and all her senses were focused on the four lips that were tightly pressed against her. But this feeling was not too unpleasant, and it was even a little intoxicating.

The two of them tangled for a long time before Xiao Du was willing to let her go. He stood up, looked at her and said with a hoarse smile, "Remember, it has to be like this for it to count."

But this sight made him suddenly lose his mind. Her fair face was still red, her big eyes seemed to be covered with mist, and her beautiful red lips were slightly swollen from being kissed, which made her look indescribably charming.

She had forgotten to fasten the clasps on her chest, and from his angle, he could just see the spring scenery inside. His eyes were filled with the reflection of her snow-white skin, and a fire was rising in his belly, making it almost impossible for him to control himself.

Yuan Xi was frightened by his eyes. She followed his gaze and was immediately embarrassed and frightened. She quickly reached out to fasten the button, but he held her down and gently opened it. He leaned close to her ear and said in a hoarse voice, "I'll help you."

It was just an ordinary sentence, but at this moment it sounded extremely charming. Yuan Xi felt his hand on her chest, stroking the buttons bit by bit, and also stroking the skin on her chest through the thin silk dress. Suddenly, she felt her whole body tremble, and she grasped his wrist tightly, almost digging her nails into his flesh.

Xiao Du was very dissatisfied with her resistance, so he went to her lips again and kissed her fiercely. This time, he was no longer satisfied with just lingering on her lips, but slipped his tongue into her when she was not prepared. Yuan Xi was startled and wanted to push him away, but it was too late. She had to be pulled by him and lost her direction.

The two people who were just getting to know each other were lost in the process. The hands that were still on the clasp could not help but change from clasping to understanding, and they reached inside without any instruction. Yuan Xi was a little awakened at this point, and quickly pushed him away with all her strength, whispering, "It's still broad daylight!"

Xiao Du frowned, feeling very unhappy about being interrupted by her, and said, "Who said it's not okay in broad daylight!"

Yuan Xi was angry and anxious, and tried to push him down with his hands and feet, but he accidentally touched his ankle and gasped in pain.

Xiao Du was startled and quickly pulled away to look at her wound. When he looked up, he saw her buttoning up her clothes quickly. He couldn't help but feel angry and amused. He thought again, it was their first time after all, he couldn't be so rash as to let her go through with the wound. He could only sigh in his heart, and then ravaged her lips unsatisfiedly, then smiled and said, "Then I'll charge you some interest this time, and sooner or later, I'll ask you to pay me back with both the principal and interest."