Chapter 4 Sharing a Bed
The old lady saw that Zhao Jue was irresponsible and wanted to put the blame on Shen Qingtan at this time.
She was so angry that her chest was choking. She sneered, "Although Qingtan got on the wrong wedding sedan, she married the right man. From now on, she is the eldest daughter-in-law of our Duke's Mansion."
The old lady made the decision immediately, patted Zhao Yi's arm comfortingly, and left the study with her crutches.
The second master's face changed. To be the old lady of the Duke's Mansion, she must be no ordinary person.
The old lady said this, probably because she saw through their tricks.
Zhao Jue did not miss the old lady's disappointed look, but things had come to this point and he had no choice.
He glanced at Zhao Yi with a subtle look, then pushed the door and left the study.
The second master followed Zhao Jue away.
Only the eldest master and Zhao Yi were left in the study.
The master could never have imagined that such an absurd thing would happen to his own son.
He wanted to say something to comfort her, but he had never done that in his life. He couldn't come up with a single word for a long time, and finally said dryly, "Yier, you've been wronged."
"It's not a grievance, my son, it's a blessing in disguise." Zhao Yi was glad that he didn't marry the restless Shen Mingzhu. Thinking of his mother's temper, he was worried that she would vent her anger on Shen Qingtan, so he deliberately said, "Tell mother about this. She is the one I love."
The eldest master stared with wide eyes. His eldest son actually coveted his brother's wife. No wonder it was said to be a blessing in disguise.
He felt complicated, not knowing whether he should feel sorry for his son or be glad that he got what he wanted by luck.
——
Zhao Yi was in poor health, so his other brothers entertained the guests on his behalf, and he only had to go through the motions.
The more angry the old lady was about the stupid things done by the second wife, the more distressed she felt for the first wife.
In order to avoid being laughed at by the guests, she cancelled the bridal chamber disturbance on the grounds that Zhao Yi was not in good health.
Zhao Yi came down from the banquet and went straight back to the bridal chamber.
He saw Shen Qingtan sitting gracefully on the wedding bed, with her heavy makeup removed. Her fair face looked like a gorgeous peony covered in dew, charming and attractive.
Shen Qingtan stood up: "Second Master."
She didn't know how Zhao Yi would deal with it or what plans he would make.
Zhao Yi dismissed the maidservant who was serving Shen Qingtan and closed the door: "The Second House is concerned about your sisters' reputation and has decided to stick with it."
Shen Qingtan lowered her eyes, which was completely within her expectations.
It would be rare if the second wife was willing to change.
Zhao Yi said gently, "The man you were originally going to marry wasn't me. I'm frail and won't live long. If you have other plans, you can tell me and I'll make arrangements for you."
"My previous marriage with Zhao Jue was merely the will of my parents and the matchmaker. Now I am getting married to Second Master, and from now on I will be your wife." Shen Qingtan raised her eyes as she spoke, looking at him with a smile, "Or... Second Master doesn't want to?"
Zhao Yi caught a glimpse of uneasiness in her watery eyes. She had maintained her composure all night, but now there was a crack, as if she was worried that he would not be willing to accept this marriage.
When she left Duke Zhao's mansion, her fate was foreseeable.
Zhao Yi sighed softly and said helplessly: "No, go wash up and have a rest."
Shen Qingtan didn't move, glancing at the two wine glasses on the table.
Zhao Yi followed her gaze and realized that he had missed the drinking of the wedding wine.
He walked to the table, poured two glasses of wine, and handed one to Shen Qingtan.
Shen Qingtan took the wine glass with her bare hands and linked arms with Zhao Yi. She felt that his arms were stiff and he seemed to dislike being touched by others.
She hesitated and was about to let go.
Zhao Yi drank the wedding wine first.
Shen Qingtan was stunned, pursed her red lips, then raised her head and drank.
Zhao Yi calmly withdrew his hand and put down the wine glass: "I'm going to the study to wash up."
Shen Qingtan nodded slightly: "Okay."
Before leaving, Zhao Yi worried that she might overthink things: "Grandmother already knows what happened today. She has decided that you are my wife, so you don't have to worry."
Shen Qingtan was stunned and looked at Zhao Yi in surprise, only to see his tall figure disappear at the door.
Although Zhao Yi was frail and sickly, many wealthy women in the capital were willing to marry him, but he had no intention of getting married.
Later, for some unknown reason, he agreed to get married, but he had never met Shen Mingzhu.
Shen Mingzhu returned to her ancestral home, and the Marquis's Mansion hired a nanny to teach her etiquette and rules. Before the wedding, Shen Mingzhu had never appeared in public.
It was normal that Zhao Yi did not recognize the bride. Even if he noticed something strange when he returned from the wedding, he could not have guessed that Zhao Jue was so bold as to change the bride.
Faced with this change, did Zhao Yi accept it calmly and defend her in front of the old lady?
Shen Qingtan thought about the touch between the two of them just now, and Zhao Yi's instinctive reaction should be to reject her.
Her thoughts were in a mess. She took a bath with Qiu Chan's help and changed into a bright red middle-length dress.
Chunjiao cleaned up the longans, red dates and peanuts on the bed.
Shen Qingtan sat on the wedding bed and said, "You are the dowry of my second sister. You can go back to her now."
Qiu Chan and Chun Jiao were delighted. They didn't expect Shen Qingtan to let them go so easily.
The two of them then bowed and hurriedly left the main room to find their master.
Shen Qingtan lifted the quilt and lay on the inside of the wedding bed, smoothing out the wrinkles on the quilt, and then he heard the sound of the door being pushed open.
She subconsciously turned her head to look at the door, and saw Zhao Yi wearing a red wide-sleeved brocade robe, which made his eyebrows and eyes look picturesque, noble and elegant.
Perhaps due to his illness, his body was thin and frail, and even though his eyes were calm and gentle, they revealed a coldness and alienation that made it difficult to get close to him.
Shen Qingtan remembered that Zhao Yi had resisted her approach before, so she did not get out of bed to undress him.
Zhao Yi glanced at Shen Qingtan lying in the quilt. The fiery red quilt made her bright face look charming.
Perhaps his gaze was too direct, making her a little nervous, and she shrank her head back.
His gaze paused, he lowered his eyelids, took off his outer robe and hung it on the clothesline, lifted a corner of the quilt and lay down on the outside of the bed.
Shen Qingtan smelled the cold plum fragrance on his clothes, which could not cover up the faint bitter smell of medicine.
Her body tensed up instantly, her heart pounding.
In her previous life, she died when she was less than eighteen years old.
She and Zhao Jue were only in name only, and she had never been so close to a man before. It was impossible for her not to be nervous.
"Go to sleep." Zhao Yi noticed Shen Qingtan's emotional ups and downs, and explained in a calm tone: "My body cannot have sex. The elders in the mansion all know it."
Shen Qingtan pulled the quilt to cover half of her red face: "...Oh."
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