Chapter 114 The Day After the Wedding "What can you do? Kiss me to death...?"
Mu Chuan and Lin Daiyu returned to the main courtyard. Mu Chuan was worried that she was tired, so he leaned against the soft couch first and then reached out to Lin Daiyu, saying, "Come and rest."
Lin Daiyu hesitated. Although it was indeed very comfortable to lean against her third brother's chest, it was only the first day of their marriage. Wouldn't it be too indulgent?
"At least change your clothes, right?" Lin Daiyu said, feigning modesty. "You're still wearing proper clothes. Look at all the jewelry I have on my head, and I haven't even put away the bracelet my mother gave me."
Mu Chuan chuckled twice, then quickly got up, took off his outer clothes and trousers, and put on his home robe.
There were no buttons or embroidery, only a belt in the middle to hold it together. If you weren't wearing an undergarment, the belt would just hang loosely, revealing not only your chest but also your waist and abdomen.
Lin Daiyu wanted to watch but was too shy, so she stood to the side with a pout.
Mu Chuan sighed deliberately: "You don't see any work to do, you just stand there?"
Lin Daiyu blushed, thinking that even if she didn't pay attention to anything, it was better than staring blankly at her third brother.
However, upon closer inspection, one could see that although Third Brother had a stern face, he couldn't hide the ambiguous smile in his eyes—
"Oh, you're teasing me again."
Mu Chuan took out a robe that was the same style as his, but several sizes too small: "Don't be angry, there's one for you too, we can wear the same one."
"I won't wear this, what kind of decorum would that be?" Lin Daiyu refused with a smile.
Mu Chuan pulled her over, took off her coat, and removed her cumbersome skirt: "How could I bear to let you get cold? I'll wrap you up properly."
Mu Chuan was strong, and Lin Daiyu didn't really intend to resist. Soon, she changed into her home robe and leaned comfortably against Mu Chuan, who then removed the hairpins from her hair.
"I still have two maids who comb my hair that I want to keep. They've been used for many years," Lin Daiyu said softly. "These skilled maids were all bought from outside."
Mu Chuan nodded knowingly: "I understand. A place like the Jia family can't cultivate skilled craftsmen."
Lin Daiyu chuckled twice, and Mu Chuan added, "I've also invited two hairdressers from the palace for you; we can take turns using them later."
Lin Daiyu hummed in agreement. Mu Chuan reached for the box containing the gold bracelets on the table and said, "Aren't you hungry yet? We ate late this morning, so we'll have two meals today. Or you can eat whenever you want."
“Back in the Jia family mansion,” Lin Daiyu said, holding Mu Chuan’s large hand, “if you didn’t eat on time, you wouldn’t get a meal.”
“Your maternal grandmother and your second aunt certainly wouldn’t be like that,” Mu Chuan said sarcastically. “Even Jia Baoyu wouldn’t be like that.”
Lin Daiyu pinched his fingers and laughed, "Why are you still talking about him?"
"He's already a defeated opponent of mine, I'm going to laugh at him."
Lin Daiyu laughed a few more times. Mu Chuan, relying on his large hands, took some effort to open the box with one hand, took out a pair of gold bracelets given by Huang Guihua, and put them on Lin Daiyu's wrist.
"My mother is truly shrewd," Mu Chuan praised. "Just now I only felt it was heavy, but now that I'm holding it, this bracelet probably weighs about a pound."
"You," Lin Daiyu said, raising her hand. The bracelet was too heavy; it would definitely fall if she didn't hold it up. "It feels really strange to weigh a bracelet by weight."
Mu Chuan said, "I was originally planning to prepare two small sandbags for you to use when you practice, but my mother's bracelet saved me the trouble."
Lin Daiyu laughed, and Mu Chuan joked again, "You might find it tiring to carry a vase, but if you wear two big gold bracelets, can you manage for a while longer?"
Unfortunately, Lin Daiyu was nestled in his arms and couldn't glare at him with her bright, watery eyes.
After cuddling for a while, Lin Daiyu got up, put the bracelet away, and said to Mu Chuan, "We still have a while before we can eat, so let's practice our calligraphy for a bit first."
Mu Chuan never imagined his eyes would widen like that: "On our first day of marriage, you want me to practice calligraphy?"
Lin Daiyu laughed, her voice as melodious as a silver bell: "I can't stop practicing calligraphy even for a day."
"Did you practice calligraphy yesterday?"
"So we'll have double today." Lin Daiyu said, pulling Mu Chuan along. "Get up quickly, which room is the study?"
Mu Chuan was somewhat unwilling: "The west side."
"Alright, I'll practice calligraphy with you." Lin Daiyu's eyes shone brightly. "Now that we're married, I'll teach you in a different way. I can't hold your hand anymore, but you can hold mine, and I'll guide you through writing."
“Sure.” Mu Chuan immediately stood up. “I’m perfectly capable of that.”
The two went to the study. Mu Chuan enthusiastically prepared things and ground the ink. However, after posing for a moment, Lin Daiyu felt that she had been too hasty.
Not only was Mu Chuan holding her hand, but she also had to sit on his lap.
Although her third brother was tall, and sitting next to her didn't affect his writing, but—
Mu Chuan smiled. The beauty in his arms had jumped in on her own initiative. She was soft and smelled wonderful, so he stopped mocking her for her crooked handwriting.
"Have you even put any effort into your studies?!" Jia Zheng slammed Jia Baoyu's homework from the past two days down his hand. "What are you thinking about all day long?!"
In front of Jia Zheng, Jia Baoyu still maintained his timid and hesitant demeanor, keeping his head down and only occasionally offering a few words of explanation.
When Jia Zheng was young, he was a man who indulged in poetry and wine. He originally thought he understood what was going on with his son, but in the past six months, one thing after another happened, and he realized that his son was different from him.
He wasn't just indulging in poetry and wine; he was completely immature and couldn't even be considered a person yet.
Jia Zheng sighed, turned his back, and waved his hand dismissively: "Fine, fine, go keep the old lady company. That's all you're good for!"
Jia Baoyu carefully left the study with his head down. Only then did Jia Zheng turn around and look at Jia Baoyu's back. He felt even more disappointed in Jia Baoyu.
He actually dared to leave!
Upon entering the second gate, Jia Baoyu's steps became even lighter, almost as if he were about to jump up. He could finally relax a bit. He smiled all the way to Grandmother Jia's room: "Grandmother, I've come to keep you company."
To be honest, Grandmother Jia was quite tired, both physically and mentally.
The Jia family has lost many servants, and now only has six or seven hundred left. How can that be enough?
Furthermore, the Jia family's remaining assets, even if used frugally, would be exhausted in just three to five years.
Not to mention that in order to raise money for her granddaughter's dowry, she had to sell all the family's fields and shops, so where would she get any income?
For the past two days, Grandmother Jia has been dreaming about being kicked out of the Rongguo Mansion while still alive.
Even this beloved grandson, Grandmother Jia no longer finds him so pleasing to the eye.
The whole family knew that he and Lin were a couple, but he didn't say a word about it. He had already slept with so many maids. If he had said that he wanted to marry his sister Lin and the two of them had gotten married sooner, how could the Jia family have ended up in this state?
Thinking of this, Grandmother Jia picked out something he didn't want to hear and said, "Have you finished your studies? You're not young anymore. Your husband is doing this for your own good. Our family is counting on you to restore our honor."
Sure enough, Jia Baoyu immediately shrank back.
Grandmother Jia felt better.
Just as Grandmother Jia was trying to make amends through her grandson, the Rongguo Mansion was once again visited by government officials.
This time, it was Jia Lian who committed the offense again, this time for allegedly rigging a lawsuit. As for the outcome—
"Return the embezzled silver of 34,500 taels, plus a fine of 50,000 taels, and you're not going to let me inherit the title!"
Jia Lian used all his strength to slap Wang Xifeng.
Wang Xifeng was slapped so hard she fell onto the bed, stunned and forgetting to cry.
Ping'er went over to support Wang Xifeng and silently stood in front of her.
"Your Wang family are all wicked!" Jia Lian was furious, his face flushed red. "You and your aunt conspired to prevent me from inheriting the title. Who will get it? The phoenix egg in the family? I'm going to divorce you, you poisonous woman!"
"Bullshit!" Wang Xifeng snapped out of her daze and immediately started cursing. "I know exactly what I've done. Twenty thousand taels at most! You call me a poisonous woman? Then what are you? How did Jia Yucun lose his job? How did Lai Da's son become a prefect? Where did Master get that fan? Where did I learn all these tricks? I'm a bad seed, and what are you? We're both the same, so let's not laugh at each other!"
"You dare talk back!" Jia Lian stepped forward to slap her again.
Wang Xifeng stiffened her neck and headbutted him: "You bastard! If you have the guts, kill me! My uncle isn't dead yet!"
Even when drunk, Jia Lian only dared to threaten people. He declared, "If I lose my title, you won't have an easy time either. I'll divorce you sooner or later!"
He finished speaking and left, but Wang Xifeng shouted, "Master isn't even dead yet, and you're already thinking about inheriting the title. You're so filial!"
In the courtyard, Qiu Tong in one of the side rooms smiled, and You Erjie in the other side room also smiled.
With no outsiders in the room, Wang Xifeng finally burst into tears, and Ping'er took a wet cloth to wipe her face.
"grandmother……"
"He'll never have an easy time! He still wants to inherit the title? How can the Jia family possibly keep their title!"
The Jia family, already at its wits' end, suffered an even worse fate.
Wang Xifeng emerged with the slap mark on her face, making Grandmother Jia feel extremely uncomfortable.
With a sullen face, everyone else was too afraid to make a sound, let alone speak, and even when picking up food, they were too careful to make a sound.
Everyone started having stomach aches after the meal, and naturally, they couldn't sleep well that night.
Lin Daiyu slept well; she got sleepy as soon as it got dark.
After washing up, the newlyweds, who were only married for the first time, lay side by side on the bed talking.
"Third Brother, before I could eat whatever was available, but now I can have whatever I want to eat. It's only been a day, and I'm already worrying about what to eat tomorrow."
Mu Chuan raised an eyebrow: "You mean you want me to be stricter with you?"
Lin Daiyu chuckled: "No, you have to be good to me, good to me for the rest of your life."
"I'll treat you well in the next life too." Mu Chuan took her hand and said in surprise, "Why is it so cold? Let me warm it up for you."
Mu Chuan pulled Lin Daiyu's hand and pressed it against his chest.
Lin Daiyu curled her lips; no one could place their hand on Third Brother's chest and remain unmoved.
She slowly opened her palms, trying to make as much contact as possible.
"How can it still move!"
The unfamiliar sensation startled her, making her want to pull her hand back. However, Mu Chuan, being an excellent general, reacted quickly and pressed Lin Daiyu's hand back in time: "You'll get it with practice. Is it fun?"
After all, this was the second time they had met, and Mu Chuan felt that this shouldn't be considered rushing things.
"...It's fun."
After Lin Daiyu finished speaking, her whole body turned as red as a shrimp, and she almost jumped up like a shrimp. What had she said?!
"I'll teach you." Mu Chuan took her hand, moved it to her shoulder first, and then touched down on each muscle.
"Move here first, keep your shoulders relaxed, otherwise your whole body will shake."
He held Lin Daiyu's hand with one hand and slipped the other hand under her waist, groping upwards.
"Move a little, and I'll see if you're applying the force correctly."
Lin Daiyu felt the temperature inside the tent rise, and her third brother's voice was deep and his palms were burning hot.
Her palm, pressed against her third brother's chest, was even hotter.
"Third Brother..." Lin Daiyu hesitated for a moment, intending to pull her hand away first. After all, holding her third brother's chest, any refusal would only make things more obvious.
“You just said you have a deficiency of kidney essence, you can’t—um.”
"Don't you think you ate a bit too much tonight?" Mu Chuan whispered seductively in her ear, "We need to move around a bit. My dear Daiyu, you don't want people to say you've gained weight, do you?"
Then... maybe we should move a little?
Lin Daiyu quickly forgot about everything else, but she still felt that something was not quite right.
...Third Brother doesn't look like he has kidney deficiency at all!
He's a liar!
It's all Third Brother's fault!
In short, Lin Daiyu did not blow out the candles today.
The next morning, the two of them overslept as usual.
Mu Chuan preemptively said, "His Majesty has granted me a half-month wedding leave. After the leave is over, I will probably have to stay in the military camp every few days."
Upon hearing this, his soft-hearted wife indeed fell silent.
After having breakfast, Mu Chuan changed his clothes and said, "Let's meet the people you brought first."
Lin Daiyu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "I thought you were going to dress like that again."
"What would that be like?" Mu Chuan countered. "Dressed like that just for you to see... well, just for you to pinch."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lin Daiyu, now flushed pink, weakly retorted, "Who pinched you?"
"Okay, okay." Mu Chuan indulged her, "I'll just warm your hands."
Lin Daiyu spat and said, "I brought five people with me. Xueyan, Qingwen, and the two maids who comb hair, which you have all met before, and Granny Wang."
Mu Chuan asked, "Wang Mama, who's supposed to send her back to Suzhou?"
"Exactly."
As the two were talking, five other people came in.
Starting with Xueyan, they all stepped forward to bow to Mu Chuan, their expressions growing increasingly solemn.
They all know how many servants Grandmother Jia arranged for Miss Lin—who is now Lady Lin—even if the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion is large, it's impossible for more than two hundred people to not see a single one.
Who knows where they've gone?
After they had finished their greetings, Mu Chuan nodded to each of them, then gave them a few instructions, and made a point of keeping Granny Wang with him.
"I won't keep you any longer. It's almost the end of July. If you go back now, you should still be able to eat mooncakes with your son."
Upon hearing this, Granny Wang burst into tears and quickly knelt down to kowtow to Mu Chuan and Lin Daiyu: "Thank you, Miss, thank you, Young Master."
Mu Chuan quite liked this way of linking him with Lin Daiyu, so he improved Wang Mama's treatment a bit: "The Imperial Household Department has boats going down to Jiangnan almost every day, I'll find one that goes along the way for you. I also have people from my household going to Jiangnan on business, you may not have been back for many years, I'll have them take you home."
Granny Wang then kowtowed several more times.
Lin Daiyu handed her the indenture and said, "Here are two silver notes, keep them safe. These are some loose silver and copper coins for your journey, keep them separate."
Granny Wang thanked her again.
Mu Chuan turned his head and looked at his wife in surprise: "My people sent her back. Who are you guarding against?"
Lin Daiyu clearly understood, and what was originally a little sad turned into a state of bewilderment, leaving her with nothing but a mixture of laughter and tears.
Having already done things that disrespected the husband's authority, and with Granny Wang kneeling and unable to see, she reached out and straightened Mu Chuan's head before continuing to instruct Granny Wang: "Be careful on the road. You've lived in the capital for so many years and are already used to the water and soil there. Take some water back with you; if you have any problems adjusting to the climate, you can dilute it and drink it."
Granny Wang went out wiping away her tears.
Lin Daiyu sighed with emotion. If it weren't for her third brother, whether it was Xueyan or Granny Wang, they would probably have died far from home, just like her.
But seeing her tall and burly third brother on the side made her lose her melancholy.
"Third brother, where are those people? The people from the Jia family who were part of my dowry."
“They should be training,” Mu Chuan replied. “Pulling a cart also requires learning how to pad it, how to exert force, and what to do if blisters appear on the hands, feet, or shoulders. The servants of the Jia family are indeed skilled, but it will save some time if they learn all these things before setting off.”
"You sent these people here," Mu Chuan said with a smile. "Later, I'll give you half a percent of the profits from Pingnan Town."
Lin Daiyu chuckled: "Third Brother is so stingy, only giving me half a percent? I'll give you ten percent of the profits from all the fields and shops under my name—"
As she spoke, she secretly shrank back, clearly intending to do something mischievous: "So that Third Brother can have some good nourishment."
Without hesitation, Mu Chuan grabbed the man.
"Before we were married, I couldn't do anything to you, but now that we're married—"
"What can you do?" Lin Daiyu interrupted him with a laugh, "Kiss me to death?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com