Chapter 21 No wonder they say even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman...
Lou Xueying had the most restful and deepest sleep she had had in a long time.
Without any tossing and turning, without any lingering dreams, it was as if the moment she closed her eyes and opened them again, it was the next day, and she saw the faint light of dawn.
She groggily turned over, intending to sleep a little longer, but as she turned, her nose bumped into something that was both hard and soft. She opened her eyes wide and realized that she had bumped into Li Pan's chest.
His belt was undone, his collar was wide open, and her head had somehow slipped under the pillow. As she turned over, her face was pressed against his chest.
She looked up and met Li Pan's gaze.
Lou Xueying: "..."
Li Pan: "Awake?"
Lou Xueying whispered, "No, no... I want to sleep a little longer..."
"Then go to sleep," Li Pan said. "It's still early."
Lou Xueying silently stepped aside a little, creating some distance between herself and the man in the early morning, then turned back and continued sleeping with her back to Li Pan.
Soon, I heard even, long, and shallow breathing beside me.
Li Pan, however, couldn't fall asleep no matter what he tried.
In fact, he hadn't slept well last night. His mind kept replaying the wedding night, which had ended abruptly after they had just tasted some pleasure. The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became. After she fell asleep, he got up and went to the bathroom to clean himself, which finally calmed him down.
Afterwards, he kept thinking, no wonder they say even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman. Although he knew before that beauty could easily lead to mistakes and often reminded himself of this, he had never actually put it into practice, so he didn't know just how tempting it was. Fortunately, the Quanrong were now pacified. If he had married before they were pacified, he might have been distracted on the battlefield.
Li Pan couldn't help but glance to the side again, only to see a head of messy, flowing black hair.
She, on the other hand, can sleep well.
Li Pan reached out, picked up a strand of her hair, and played with it around his fingertips.
He recalled the feeling of running his fingers through her hair and lifting the back of her head last night, and he began to feel restless again.
Li Pan withdrew his hand, closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment before finally sitting up, getting out of bed, dressing, and going out.
Lou Xueying took a nap and was eventually woken up by Cailing.
"Madam, Madam," Cailing nudged her, "It's time to get up and wash up. We need to serve tea to the old lady later."
"Cai Ling?" Lou Xueying opened her eyes, paused for a moment, and found the spot beside her pillow empty. She sat up abruptly. "Why is it you? Where is the Marquis?"
“The Marquis…” Cai Ling said with a strange expression, “The Marquis has already washed up and just finished a morning run around the Marquis’s mansion. He is now running his second lap.”
Lou Xueying: "..."
She tapped her head, but couldn't remember when Li Pan had left.
Cailing glanced at her expression and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Did the Marquis disturb the Madam when he left?"
Lou Xueying shook her head.
Cailing then smiled and said, "The Marquis is quite considerate." She leaned down, winked knowingly, and quietly asked Lou Xueying, "Madam, how was the Marquis's performance last night?"
Lou Xueying's ears burned, and she pretended to pinch her, but Cailing laughed and dodged away to get her clothes.
When Lou Xueying finished washing up and getting dressed, Li Pan was already waiting for her in the courtyard when she stepped out of her room.
He was wearing a new crimson robe, standing with his hands behind his back. He turned around when he heard the door open, and his gaze lingered on Lou Xueying for a long time.
Lou Xueying pursed her lips, adjusted the jade hairpin at her temple, walked to Li Pan's side, and asked him, "How do you look dressed? Will the old lady like it?"
She deliberately chose a dignified and simple dress and didn't wear much jewelry, thinking that the elderly person would like it.
Li Pan: "You are the Lou family's young lady that she has been longing for. She would love you even if you were dressed in a burlap sack."
Lou Xueying: "..."
"Don't worry, my mother is very easy to talk to," Li Pan said. "In my opinion, she's probably more nervous than you are right now."
Lou Xueying asked in surprise, "Why?"
Li Pan smiled but remained silent.
He walked side by side with Lou Xueying, heading unhurriedly toward the courtyard where Li's mother was. As Lou Xueying looked around the Marquis's residence, she couldn't help but ask him, "Does the Marquis have a habit of exercising in the morning?"
"It's not so much a habit, it's just that I used to train in the military for so long, now I have to find something to do when I have nothing to do," Li Pan said, raising his arm to sniff. "What's wrong? Does it smell?"
This young lady, she was saying she liked him yesterday, but today she found out he's a sweaty, smelly man, and her fantasies have been shattered? You can't blame him, he did warn her yesterday.
However, if she really dislikes it, he wouldn't mind taking another shower; he has plenty of time now anyway.
Lou Xueying paused for a moment, then chuckled and shook her head: "No, I was just asking. I thought the Marquis thought I was lazy, so he got angry and left."
“No,” Li Pan said. “You can sleep. If I can’t sleep, I’ll go for a walk. If it’s not for the tea ceremony in the morning, you can sleep until the afternoon.”
Lou Xueying couldn't help but laugh again: "I slept until the afternoon, so what is the Marquis doing?"
Li Pan: "Go to your house and question my father-in-law. See if they've been abusing you, not letting you sleep, otherwise why are you able to sleep for so long?"
Lou Xueying lowered her head, covered her mouth with her sleeve, and laughed so hard that her shoulders trembled.
Li Pan had never seen her smile so happily before; her eyes were curved like crescent moons.
His smile deepened unconsciously, and his voice rose with a hint of pleasure at the end: "What, so happy to marry me?"
"Yes, I'm happy." Lou Xueying nodded frankly, "I didn't expect the Marquis to be so interesting."
“If you can’t tell jokes, you won’t get along in the military,” Li Pan said. “Everyone in the military lives a tough and tiring life. You can only find joy in hardship to make it less oppressive. Especially if you become someone’s superior, if you can only use your power to intimidate people but can’t take a joke, then morale will definitely not be good.”
Lou Xueying said, "I knew it. The Marquis's achievements today are not due to mere brute force, but to his true strategic acumen."
"It's not so much about strategy, but I also rose through the ranks from the bottom, so I know what ordinary soldiers are thinking. If I had grown up in luxury like you, I would only know how to talk about war on paper and wouldn't be able to handle such details."
Lou Xueying recalled that he had only stayed in the capital for half a year in his previous life before leaving, and couldn't help but ask, "Does the Marquis dislike the capital and look down on us sons of officials? Does he think we are lazy, ignorant of farming, and contribute nothing to the country and its people, yet we still have no worries about food and clothing?"
“That’s true to some extent,” Li Pan readily admitted. “But the process of reincarnation is inherently unfair. Some people are lucky, and some are not. Accepting reality is the most important thing. If you feel it’s unfair, then fight for it. If you don’t even fight for it and just complain and blame others, then other people’s money won’t fly into your pocket, and you’ll just waste your time.”
Lou Xueying said, "Was it part of the reason why the Marquis was unwilling to marry me before that he thought I was the kind of young lady who was difficult to please?"
"Yes," Li Pan admitted as well. "Especially when I heard that you like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, I felt even more that you were difficult to please. I consider myself a rough man, and we are not suitable for each other at all. I worked hard to fight and become a marquis, not to end up accommodating a rich young lady. Of course, I understand that you have been spoiled since childhood and are unwilling to accommodate me, so I thought it would be fine if you didn't want to marry me either. But you do want to marry me, so fine, I can't disobey the imperial decree."
“It’s rare to hear someone speak so frankly like Lord Marquis,” Lou Xueying said.
"Guessing is a waste of time, it's pointless." After a pause, Li Pan said, "Aren't you angry after hearing what I just said?"
"What's there to be angry about? It's not surprising that you think that way, since you don't understand me." Lou Xueying smiled at him. "It's alright. I'm married to you now. You can get to know me slowly and then you'll know what kind of person I really am."
Li Pan: "..."
Sigh, what's going on? I always feel that Miss Lou sometimes speaks in a slightly slick and cunning way, as if she's deliberately trying to please him. But he seems to actually enjoy it and doesn't seem annoyed at all by those sycophants.
Could this also be part of the "beauty trap"? That's terrifying. Fortunately, the Quanrong have been pacified, and he doesn't have anything important to do right now.
They walked on until they reached Li's mother's courtyard.
Cui Cui was already waiting at the door. When she saw them arrive, she quickly smiled and bowed, saying, "My lord, my lady, the old lady has been waiting inside for a long time."
Lou Xueying couldn't help but glance nervously at Li Pan.
She had never met Li's mother directly, only heard a little from her own mother. Her mother said that Li's mother was an honest, gentle, and kind person, and shouldn't make things difficult for her after she married into the family. But this was all hearsay; how could a daughter-in-law not be nervous when meeting her mother-in-law?
Li Pan didn't notice the look she was giving him and strode into the main room ahead of her.
“Mother, Xueying and I have arrived,” Li Pan said.
This was the first time Li Pan had called her name, his tone gentle and smiling, and Lou Xueying's heart couldn't help but pound.
She lifted the hem of her skirt, stepped over the threshold, and looked up at the middle-aged woman sitting in front of her.
Mother Li was dressed in a new sandalwood-colored dress, her hair was slicked back and tied into a bun with a gold hairpin. She was actually only a few years older than Madam Lou, but she looked more than ten years older. More than half of her hair was gray, her skin was slightly dark, and her body was thin and small. Her shoulders were slightly hunched inward, making her clothes look a little too big.
But her gaze toward Lou Xueying was exceptionally bright.
"Oh my!" exclaimed Li's mother, "She really is so beautiful!"
Lou Xueying was taken aback.
Before she could even bow, Li's mother had already stood up from her chair, taken two steps forward, widened her eyes, and looked her up and down. She clapped her hands and said, "Shitou said you're a celestial being descended to earth. I was thinking that this young man doesn't usually praise people easily, so what kind of appearance must this Miss Lou look like to be praised as a celestial being? It turns out Shitou was right, you really are a celestial being descended to earth! I can't think of any other words!"
Stone?
Lou Xueying blushed and looked at Li Pan suspiciously.
Li Pan coughed forcefully, and called out with a rare hint of embarrassment and annoyance, "Mother!"
"Oh dear, oh dear." Only then did Li's mother realize her lapse in composure. She retreated to her chair, looking rather embarrassed, and gave an awkward smile. "Xueying, please don't be offended. This stone... well, this stone is Li Pan's nickname. In our rural area, nicknames are all so rustic, it's good for raising children."
Her Mandarin wasn't as standard as Li Pan's; it had a bit of a Northwestern accent. When she called out "Stone," it sounded particularly simple and honest, making Lou Xueying involuntarily imagine Li Pan toiling away in the fields.
Lou Xueying couldn't help but laugh.
Li Pan rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, "Fine, let you laugh if you want. You'll find out sooner or later anyway. This 'stone' isn't a nickname. My real name is Li Shitou (Li Stone). Later, General Hu told me that the name was too ordinary and that it wouldn't sound good if I made great achievements in the future. That's why he changed my name to Li Pan. My mother is used to calling me Shitou, so she didn't ask her to change it."
Lou Xueying suppressed a laugh and said, "Stone is also nice; it's a friendly name for me at home."
Li's mother already thought she looked kind and approachable. After hearing what she said, she immediately realized that she was not the kind of spoiled young lady who would look down on their rural background and act arrogantly. The more she looked at her, the happier she became. She held back her urge to go up and take her hand.
Cui Cui walked over carrying a red lacquered tray with a white glazed green teacup on it, and stood next to Lou Xueying.
Lou Xueying straightened her skirt and knelt on the brocade cushion in front of Li's mother.
She picked up the teacup from the tray, raised it above her head with both hands, and said softly, "Daughter-in-law Lou Xueying greets mother-in-law, wishing her good health and long life."
Li's mother looked at her with even more affection, happily took the teacup, took a sip, and said, "Good child, truly a good child. So beautiful and with such a good temperament, Shi Tou is so lucky!"
Li Pan: "..."
Lou Xueying blushed and said, "Mother-in-law, you are joking. Several years ago, the Marquis's reputation had already spread throughout the capital. I admired him then. Now that I am married to the Marquis, it is a blessing from heaven and my good fortune."
Li's mother took out the gift she had prepared beforehand, opened the box, and inside was a bright and clear jade bracelet.
Li's mother said somewhat embarrassedly, "Logically speaking, I should prepare some family heirlooms to pass on to you, my daughter-in-law, but as you know, our family didn't have many good things to pass down before. This bracelet is something I asked Lü Gui to buy from the best jade shop in the capital. Do you like it?"
Lou Xueying smiled and said, "How could I not be pleased with my mother-in-law's kindness? I will cherish it and live up to her love and respect."
Li Pan said from the side, "Why treasure it? Just take it out and wear it. Otherwise, what's the point of buying it?"
Li's mother glared at him: "I'm talking to Xueying, what are you interrupting for! Since I gave it to Xueying, she can wear it if she wants, or not wear it if she doesn't want to. What do you know!"
Li Pan shut up.
Lou Xueying looked at the two of them in surprise.
Li's mother smiled and helped Lou Xueying up: "Good child, don't mind him, sit next to me, let's talk slowly."
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Author's Note: Stone Bro: He's really forgotten his son now that he has a daughter-in-law [eye roll]
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