Chapter 46 "Kiss Me".
Xue Mingyao went to Xue Mingyu's courtyard, but Yu Niang was wiping away tears and refused to acknowledge her. Xue Mingyao had a terrible headache, not understanding how she had offended the Feng family by saying a few bad things about them, attracting a string of inexplicable accusations.
Her sister-in-law whispered to her that Yu Niang had recently gone to the garden and met Feng Sheng, and they had hit it off. Feng Sheng was very attentive to her, always running around trying to please her. Xue Mingyao didn't want to be the villain who broke up the couple, so she could only say to Xue Mingyu dryly, "It's never a bad thing to be cautious about marriage. Don't let yourself suffer."
Xue Mingyu kept her face turned away, "I know. Sister and General Xie are newly married, so you don't need to worry about me."
It was a reluctant reconciliation.
On the way back to the Xie residence in the evening, Xue Mingyao was carrying a large bag of rabbit jerky that she had brought from the Xue residence, and she was chewing it with a gloomy expression.
Xie Zhuo glanced at her, then looked at her a second time, and finally coughed lightly, "Are you still thinking about your sister?"
Xue Mingyao glanced at him, "Don't you have any objections to this?"
"It's alright. It's fate, and no one else can say anything about it."
Xue Mingyao's cheeks puffed out. "You're so magnanimous. I absolutely do not want our Xue family and the Feng family to become in-laws."
Xie Zhuo's brow furrowed. "Why do you despise the Feng family so much?"
"Why don't you despise the Feng family?" Xue Mingyao retorted. "Feng Wan and her father betrayed you and abandoned you for wealth and status, don't you have any resentment at all?"
Xie Zhuo was taken aback. "Are you standing up for me?"
Xue Mingyao was also taken aback. "Don't flatter yourself. I just can't stand people who only care about their own interests."
Xie Zhuo said "Oh", "But I remember that after you colluded with them, you praised them for being wise and sensible."
"That's sarcasm. You can't even tell it's sarcasm!"
Xie Zhuo scoffed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Xue Mingyao immediately said, "It's fine if my brother and sister-in-law don't know, but it's really strange that Feng Wan, who dislikes me so much, would agree to a marriage alliance with the Xue family."
"Since they only care about their own interests, why would they give up the opportunity to become related to the Xue family through marriage because of an old matter from many years ago? As for Feng Wan, she and Feng Sheng are not born of the same mother and their relationship is just so-so, so she probably can't object too much, or she is in the deep palace and doesn't know anything about this matter at all."
Xue Mingyao chewed on the dried meat and remained silent.
As the carriage turned into the Xie residence, Xue Mingyao suddenly remarked, "You seem to know your former in-laws quite well, analyzing them with remarkable clarity."
Xie Zhuo was about to speak when Xue Mingyao, without listening, jumped off the carriage with the rabbit jerky in her arms, walked briskly through the corridor into the courtyard, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
......
That night, Xue Mingyao neither locked the door nor the windows before going to bed.
Xie Zhuo calmly entered the bedroom, took off his outer robe, climbed onto the bed, and took half of the phoenix-patterned brocade quilt that was covering her.
He didn't turn off the lamp beside the bed. Xue Mingyao felt that the room was too bright, making her uncomfortable and uneasy, but she didn't think about turning it off.
Xie Zhuo lay very close to her, his shoulder almost touching hers. They shared the warmth of the same blanket, and she could feel his body's presence. But his body felt completely foreign to her.
In the past, when she shared a bed with him, she would always cling to him, arms intertwined, legs pressed together, skin to skin, firmly possessing him. Now, for the first time, she slept with him so consciously under the lamp, so close yet not as close as before, it was quite strange.
Xue Mingyao couldn't stand this strange feeling, so she turned around and put some distance between herself, which made her feel a little better.
Xie Zhuo was very quiet, making no sound or movement after getting into bed. Xie Qinglang had always been like this, very proper and well-behaved. Xue Mingyao clutched the corner of the blanket and faced the wall for a while, then, still feeling uneasy, turned around and glanced at him, meeting his cool and aloof gaze.
"Your brother told me today that you cried for days after I left," Xie Zhuo said in a low voice. "Is that true?"
Xue Mingyao's eyelashes trembled, and she lay down flat, saying, "Of course it's fake. When have you ever seen me cry? And why would I cry after you've left?"
Xie Zhuoyi murmured, "Hmm, I think it's fake too."
Why would my brother tell this lie? What did he tell you?
"Tell me how much you used to love me, how much you couldn't bear to part with me..."
"I understand." Xue Mingyao interrupted him, her face slightly flushed. "He said all this just to win you over and make you treat me better. Humph, he's actually siding with you instead of me."
"He wants me to be nice to you, so why isn't he on your side?"
“Because I don’t care.” Xue Mingyao glared at him. “You resent me, but I resent you too. Have you forgotten all the despicable, shameless, and vile things you, General Xie, did to me?”
Xie Zhuo felt that one of the most incomprehensible things about Xue Mingyao was that she was always self-righteous and had two sets of standards for herself and others.
He said, "What I did to you wasn't even a tenth as serious as what you did to me. Ask yourself honestly, did I lay a single finger on you?"
"That's not how it's calculated," Xue Mingyao said, clutching the blanket. "You forced me to marry you."
"This is to give you a proper status," Xie Zhuo said calmly. "Otherwise, we would just be engaging in illicit relations again."
"Hmph, now you're saying nice things, not that you're retaliating against me. I know you married me because you can't stand seeing me happy as a widow, and it's also an opportunity to take advantage of me. Otherwise, no matter how powerful you are, you wouldn't dare to force a princess like me to have an affair with you."
Xie Zhuo remained silent for a moment.
Seeing that she had rendered him speechless, Xue Mingyao couldn't help but feel a little smug, and a bright smile appeared on her lips.
Seeing her so animated, Xie Zhuo couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. Xue Mingyao's irrationality could sometimes be quite endearing.
Her eyes lowered, and her two slender, snow-white wrists, nestled within her sleeves, rested on the raised red silk quilt, her ten fingers delicate, warm, and white as jade. Xie Zhuo felt a warmth in his heart, and reached out to pull her close.
Xue Mingyao was startled. "What are you doing?"
"I'm taking advantage of you," Xie Zhuo said simply.
His hand slipped inside her loose neckline, and Xue Mingyao's cool skin gradually warmed up.
This time she didn't resist; instead, she moved closer to him, letting him do as he pleased.
"Be gentle, my breasts are swollen during my period," she said, nestling her face against his neck.
Xie Zhuo was taken aback for a moment, then laughed. Upon hearing her command, Xue Mingyao half-closed her eyes, her expression gradually becoming languid, and she uttered some very soft hums.
Suddenly, Xie Zhuo's movement became slightly too large, and Xue Mingyao cried out in pain.
Xie Zhuo raised an eyebrow and gave a wicked smile.
Xue Mingyao also smiled through gritted teeth, reached under the covers with one hand, groped her way down, pinched his lean waist twice, and then...
"You—" Xie Zhuo frowned, "What are you doing?"
"Let's get our advantage back," Xue Mingyao said in a coquettish voice. "Even though I hate you now, it doesn't stop me from having some fun with you."
Her hands moved freely, and her smile was equally unrestrained. "Do you remember how I used to love playing with young scholars like this? Oh, no, I should call them young generals now."
Xie Zhuo was momentarily stunned; the young princess from back then had initially been delighted to call him that.
"Hey, young scholar!"
He ignored her. When she called again, he said irritably, "Princess Yongning, aren't I a few months older than you?"
"Hey, you remembered my birth date."
His face stiffened as he heard her say, "I call you 'Little Scholar' because I respect you. Even if you were several years older than me, I would still call you that. Besides, you're quite cute. A cute scholar is a little scholar."
Later, Xue Mingyao hugged him from behind while he was reading, still calling him "Little Scholar." He told her to be quiet, and she laughed, "Who called you? Why are you responding? I'm calling it." Her hand directly grasped his most private spot, "It's much more obedient than you. It responds as soon as it's called. That's my well-behaved little scholar."
The title of "young scholar" was thus transferred.
Xue Mingyao's beautiful face was right beside him, her eyes sparkling with a sly smile, as if everything had returned to the way it was before.
"Hey, why is the young general even less responsive to teasing than the young scholar?"
The fire within him was ignited even more intensely by her, and Xie Zhuo finally felt his face flush.
Xue Mingyao thus began to challenge him to a duel. Whenever he tried to mess with her, she would report back to the young general, even more so than when she teased him in the past. She was utterly ruthless, and even Xie Zhuo, who was extremely patient, groaned twice.
Xue Mingyao's smile was even more malicious. "What, your willpower isn't what it used to be? You still have to bear with it. I'm not clean, so you can't have sex with me even if you want to."
Xie Zhuo asked in a hoarse voice, "We are husband and wife, how can you say it's an illicit affair?"
“Because we only have the title, not the feelings. In my heart, this is also a sham marriage,” Xue Mingyao said.
Xie Zhuo felt a sudden emptiness in his heart; the little princess was ultimately just his illusion.
He looked at her face, flushed and rosy under the lamplight, and asked, "So, you and General Cen were also having an affair before?"
Xue Mingyao disagreed, "Of course not, at least we have a marital bond."
It turns out he wasn't even as good as her ex-husband.
Xie Zhuo calmly chewed on the bitterness in his heart, removed his palm from Xue Mingyao's body, flipped over and pushed himself up to pin Xue Mingyao above him.
Xue Mingyao suddenly found herself facing Xie Zhuo's handsome face. His body was pressed against hers, and heat rose and surged beneath the quilt. She panicked slightly, "You're not going to force yourself on me again, are you? I'm still menstruating, you...you can't!"
Xie Zhuo smiled faintly at her, "It's alright, there are other ways to have an affair."
Xue Mingyao looked confused.
Xie Zhuo's burning gaze first stopped at her lips, then slid down a few inches.
Xue Mingyao vaguely guessed something, her eyes immediately changed, and she clutched her chest, "Don't even think about it!"
Xie Zhuo scrutinized the unease on Xue Mingyao's face. "Scared?"
Xue Mingyao neither said she was afraid nor that she wasn't. Her long eyelashes curled up, and the corners of her eyes were pink, giving her an expression that was both aggrieved and stubborn.
Xie Zhuo liked her like this. He stared at her for a while, then smiled and said, "I can avoid forcing you, but you have to do one thing."
"What are you doing?" Xue Mingyao asked warily.
"Kiss me."
Xue Mingyao was stunned for a moment. Seeing that his expression did not seem to be joking, and that he was not being coy, she lowered her eyelids and brought her lips up.
Xie Zhuo avoided it.
He rolled off her, lay flat on his side again, pressed his hands against the blanket, as if in a meditative state.
"This position is intimate," he said.
Xue Mingyao was indignant. She understood what he meant: he wanted to be the boss and had her serve him.
She moved to his side expressionlessly, reached out and hugged his chest. She paused for a moment, noticing how strong and warm his muscles were, completely different from Xie Qinglang's.
She couldn't resist pressing it; it felt so comfortable.
After she slowly pressed herself against him, Xue Mingyao stared at his well-defined, full lips and gently pressed them against hers.
Touch and then leave.
Xie Zhuo wouldn't let her leave, holding her back firmly with both hands.
Xue Mingyao had no choice but to continue the kiss, but Xie Zhuo sealed her lips tightly, blocking hers. Their four lips rubbed against each other in vain, burning hot.
Xue Mingyao was caught in a dilemma, and a surge of anger welled up inside her.
Is he crazy? Why is he putting on an act now?
In a fit of rage, she bit him before bursting into Xie Zhuo's mouth. Determined to make him suffer, she rampaged through that enclosed, warm place, stirring up a storm.
If the tongue could be used as a weapon, she had attacked him seven or eight times, like a murderous general, her moves chaotic but powerful and terrifying.
Xie Zhuo endured it without moving an inch.
It was hard to call it a comfortable kiss; his lips and tongue felt numb and sore from the kiss.
But Xie Zhuo was excited all over; he held her waist tightly and let her tease him to his heart's content.
When the female general was exhausted and bowed her head to catch her breath, it was like the lingering smoke of the battlefield after the retreat, and also a captivating melody, enticing people to continue.
Xie Zhuoqiang suppressed his desire to start the next war, loosened his grip on her, and let her go.
"Go to sleep."
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