The Beauty Within the Gates
Chapter 86
What kind of words was his little wife saying? Bleeding? What blood could he possibly be bleeding…
Deep inside, his heart was extremely unwilling.
His little wife was right before him, within easy reach, and she was willing to let him have her, too. Once again, the timing, the place, the mood, everything was perfect. A moment so thick with tenderness and passion, so ideal for taking things further with his beloved, and yet he had to be this useless.
A breath of frustration lodged in his chest, making him feel even worse than the pain in his shoulder wound. His expression turned sour beyond words.
In truth, consummation wasn’t out of the question. He was not afraid of pain. At worst, they would stitch him up with two more needles.
The thoughts in his head surged ever more wildly. The way he looked at the young lady grew darker and deeper, as if he were ready to throw all caution to the wind.
Wen Shuse’s heart began to race under his gaze. After all that biting and stirring, her lips and tongue were now numb and sore. She quickly comforted him. “Husband, you really should focus on healing first. Once you’re better, what won’t you have? I’m right here beside you. It’s not like I’m going to run away.”
His little wife spoke in earnest.
Ordinary husbands and wives consummated their marriage on the wedding night, but she and her husband had not married willingly at the start. They had not performed the rites of husband and wife then, and now, after enduring until her husband liked her and she liked her husband too, consummation was only a matter of sooner or later. For the sake of this one time, making her husband lie in bed for another ten days or half a month was truly not worth it.
What his little wife said was also right. She was his wife. Sooner or later, she would be his. But he was also afraid that after she slept and woke up, she would suddenly change her mind. Would he not then regret missing this chance tonight until he died? He first had to make things clear. “Does Wife mean that once my injury heals, anything is allowed?”
He had seen her slippery ways before and had already mentally prepared himself. If she hesitated even the slightest bit, then even if he had to split open that bloody gash wide open again tonight, he would still settle the matter properly.
But his little wife nodded very simply. “I’m yours, Husband. You can do whatever you like.”
What sweet, lovely words those were. What husband could hear it and not be moved? At last, the little gap of regret in his heart was filled. The obsession in his eyes slowly dissolved, and he reached out to stroke her head. “Sleep.”
Wen Shuse had spoken very boldly, but in truth, her heart was very uncertain.
Her marriage to her husband had happened so suddenly that she had made no preparations at all. She had no mother, and that night, her grandmother had been heartbroken and had no attention left to teach her the rules of the wedding night.
The little she knew came from a single illustrated booklet she had secretly looked at with Ming Wanrou…
The two of them had thought it was merely an ordinary collection of romantic poetry and paintings. Who would have known that the moment they opened it, they would see a man and a woman in disheveled clothing? Though both of them had been extremely curious at heart, because of face, they quickly threw it away and, together with Ming Wanrou, condemned the bookseller for having no conscience, daring to sell such indecent things.
Afterward, she was not sure whether Ming Wanrou had picked it back up to look, but she herself had truly been curious and went to buy another identical copy.
At first glance, it was quite shocking, making one blush and one’s heart race. But after looking carefully, there was really nothing much to it. It was only a husband embracing his wife, either her robes slipping off her shoulders or his collar falling open, but nothing that should be exposed was ever actually exposed.
It was nothing special…
She did not know, but her husband should know. After being kissed by him like that, she could not sleep no matter what. She turned onto her side, wanting to chat with him for a while. “Husband, are you sleepy? If not, let’s talk for a bit.”
The restless heat in Xie Shao’s heart had not yet gone down. Where would sleep come from at such a time? He turned his head to look at her. “What does Wife want to talk about?”
“Have you ever been to a pleasure house before?”
This single sentence was earth-shattering. The remaining heat in Xie Shao’s chest was instantly extinguished into smoke, and for a long while, he could not come back to himself. He had never expected that at a time like this, his little wife would start settling old accounts with him.
Fortunately, over the past eleven years, though he had visited places of wine and women, he had never done anything to wrong her.
“What one hears may be false; what one sees is true. Wife must not believe those rumors outside.” There was nothing he could not be honest about with her. “I have been to pleasure houses, but only to drink. I have never called for a girl…”
His little wife looked surprised.
Xie Shao’s heart tightened, and he was nearly ready to swear to the heavens. “Wife must believe me. Chancellor Xie is strict with himself and places great importance on moral conduct. Since I was young, he set three rules for me.”
His little wife asked curiously, “Which three?”
“Do not indulge in lust, do not take advantage of others, and do not gamble.”
“Women of the pleasure houses must not be touched.”
“Without the legal wife’s consent, no concubines may be taken.”
His little wife grew even more astonished. She stared at him for a while, then murmured, “Then… Husband, you have never touched… a girl before?”
Such a question would have been humiliating if asked in front of his brothers, but before his little wife, it was different. It was proof that he had kept himself clean and pure, steadfast and faithful to her alone.
Pleased with himself, he nodded. “Mm.”
She had thought his little wife would be pleased, but instead, she suddenly looked vexed and sighed. “Then what are we supposed to do?”
Xie Shao was taken aback, not understanding where this melancholy of hers had come from. Then he heard her say, “Husband has no experience, and I don’t understand these things either. Then how are we supposed to consummate the marriage…”
That head of hers was simply impossible to fathom. So this was what she’d been fretting over all this time.
The restless heat in her husband, which had just been suppressed, began showing signs of rising again. He answered vaguely, “Wife needn’t worry. Some things don’t need to be learned. Once the water flows, the channel naturally forms, and everything will happen as it should.”
Once the water flows, the channel forms. But how exactly did it form…
His little wife still did not quite understand, but she was somewhat embarrassed now and did not ask anymore.
Each of them went to sleep with their own thoughts, and neither knew when they finally drifted off. Early the next morning, while his little wife went to the washroom to freshen up, Xie Shao called Minzhang in and whispered an instruction into his ear.
Minzhang started, then looked worriedly at his shoulder. “The imperial physician instructed that Master must not exert yourself…”
Xie Shao shot him a cold glance. “Do I need you to remind me?”
When the master spoke, the subordinate only needed to obey.
Very soon, Minzhang returned. Arriving beside the bed, he flicked a glance from the corner of his eye at Wen Shuse behind him, who was currently fanning Xie Shao’s medicine to cool it. Then he sneakily took a little booklet from inside his robe and quickly handed it to Xie Shao.
The instant his little wife glanced over, Xie Shao moved with quick eyes and quick hands, stuffing it beneath the pillow in one motion. His expression did not change, and not the slightest hint could be seen.
Wen Shuse did not notice. The medicine had cooled enough, so she carried it over to him. “Husband, drink your medicine.”
After Second Madam and Chancellor Xie had swept away several hundred taels of his gold yesterday, neither of them was home today. Early in the morning, they had gone to the new mansion, planning to move over there first.
In this whole big residence, aside from the servants, there were only him and his little wife.
Once distracting thoughts arose, his heart grew restless, and his thoughts galloped like a runaway horse. Even when he swallowed the medicine, he could no longer taste its bitterness. Since his little wife did not understand, it was not too late to learn now. “Does Wife have anything to busy herself with today?”
Wen Shuse shook her head. “No.” Taking the bowl, she glanced at the wound on his shoulder. Fortunately, it was not bleeding. She asked in puzzlement, “Isn’t my greatest task to nurse your wound back to health?”
His little wife spoke with all seriousness, completely unaware of how stirring those words were.
Although nothing had happened last night, it still counted as breaking his long abstinence. Once an opening had been made, he became reckless along with it. Seeing that his little wife was about to turn away, he suddenly reached out from behind and wrapped an arm around her waist.
The bowl in her hand nearly fell to the floor. She dropped back onto the bed, looking alarmed. “Husband, what are you doing?”
His shoulder was injured, but his mouth was not. Shamelessly, he looked at his little wife. “Give your husband a kiss.”
Wen Shuse’s face suddenly flushed red, and quickly turned her head to look outside. Minzhang had just turned around, having surely heard every word, his face full of astonishment. “Husband, how have you suddenly become so shameless?”
Who would have thought this would only earn her even thicker skin from him? “I’m kissing my own wife. What shame is there?”
Before she could struggle, her husband considerately eased her mind. “Father and Mother are both not here. Wife can rest assured…”
What sort of words were those? Just because Father and Mother were not here, he could…
“Is Wife unwilling?” he murmured, tightening his arms and drawing her into his embrace. Their eyes met, intimate without the slightest gap between them, their gazes separated by only a hair’s breadth.
Daylight was brighter than the dim light of night, allowing her to see her husband even more clearly. Those features were carved as if from jade. No wonder his beauty had already been widely known back in Fengcheng. At this moment, faint ripples stirred in the depths of his eyes as he looked at her with thoughts hidden beneath them, looking exactly like some soul-snaring demon come to steal a person’s soul.
They had spent so much time together, yet it seemed only today that she truly came to know this person. Part of her thought him utterly without propriety; part of her felt her heart leap with delight. He was so close that she hardly dared breathe, and little by little, she sank helplessly into the lure of his beauty.
Her eyelids lowered gently. With her face flushed red, under his gaze, she tilted her head up and pecked his lips. “Is that enough?”
Enough? It was surely nowhere near enough.
His little wife’s lips were fragrant and sweet that no matter how much he kissed her, it would never be enough.
But he had just drunk medicine, and he absolutely would not pass the bitter taste into his wife’s mouth. A person could not be too greedy; contentment brought happiness. He did not make things difficult for her again. Holding her waist, he said, “Wasn’t Wife worried about the matter of consummating the marriage? Husband has found a solution…”
She was still sitting on his lap and had not managed to get up. That kiss just now, in her understanding, was already improper enough. Now hearing him mention consummation again, the redness on her face deepened further.
At night, lying beside her husband with the dim lamplight lending her courage, anything was easy to say. But daytime was different. Once sunlight shone down, all the demons and ghosts in one’s heart revealed their true forms.
What young lady would have such lustful thoughts as to take the initiative to discuss consummation with her husband? “Since Husband already knows, then next time, I’ll rely on you…”
This matter did indeed have to rely on him.
But had she not been the one who asked about this problem first?
In any case, they had nothing else to do. It would not hurt for the two of them to understand it beforehand and be mentally prepared, so that she would not be frightened when the time came.
“Don’t you want to know?” Xie Shao leaned back slightly, his hand just reaching beneath the pillow, when Aunt Qing suddenly stood outside the beaded curtain and reported happily, “Young Master, Third Young Madam, Shizi Zhou, and Eldest Young Lady Ming have arrived.”
The two of them froze at the same time.
After a brief daze, the young lady immediately rose from her husband’s arms. The shyness on her cheeks vanished in an instant, replaced by delight. “Quickly invite them in.”
Xie Shao also withdrew his hand just in time, his attention diverted by the news as well. They had arrived rather quickly.
—
Since Wen Shuse had parted with Ming Wanrou last time, nearly a month had passed. When she left, she had not even had the chance to say goodbye. After experiencing a brush with life and death, she had nearly never been able to see her again.
Wen Shuse went outside to welcome them.
Shizi Zhou and Ming Wanrou had just been led by the servants to the inner courtyard. The two came through the passageway one after the other. Ming Wanrou wore a goose-yellow pleated skirt and had become much slimmer than before. She was asking the maidservant beside her, “Is Third Young Madam well?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a figure walking out of the room ahead. Lifting her head to look, she saw the face she had longed for day and night. Her lips suddenly pursed, and lifting her skirt, she rushed up the steps and threw her arms around her. Choking with emotion, she cried, “Gao Xian, I thought I would never see you again in this lifetime…”
On the road to the capital, Wen Shuse had narrowly escaped death. Ming Wanrou had not had an easy time in Fengcheng either.
The rebellion in Fengcheng, followed by the Crown Prince’s siege. War had raged everywhere, and even the city gates had been burned down. To be able to come to the Eastern Capital alive and see Wen Shuse again felt like a dream.
When old friends met, who could remain unmoved? Wen Shuse’s eyes also reddened. “A’Yuan, how did you become this thin…”
It was not quite as exaggerated as Wen Shuse said. Ming Wanrou had looked in the mirror before. Her face had simply gotten a little smaller, making her features more defined than before. She actually rather liked how she looked now.
On the contrary, Ming Wanrou looked Wen Shuse up and down, somewhat puzzled. “Gao Xian, you went through bankruptcy and fleeing disaster. How come I don’t see you lose any weight? You’re still as dazzling as ever.”
The first half of that sentence was not very pleasant to hear, but the last half was pleasing. The happiness on Wen Shuse’s face was completely unconcealed. “That’s because my husband has taken good care of me.”
Ming Wanrou was momentarily dazzled by the springtime pride on her face.
Behind her, Shizi Zhou had also come up.
Shizi Zhou had changed quite a bit since they last parted. His gaze was steadier, and his whole person had shed the impetuous air he once had. It seemed that this battle had truly not been easy.
Still, just as before, he smiled and called her, “Sister-in-law.”
After Jing Wang was appointed Crown Prince, Shizi Zhou had now become the Imperial Grandson, so she could no longer treat him as casually as she had in Fengcheng. She curtsied to him. “Shizi Zhou.”
While they were speaking outside, Xie Shao had already put on his robe inside. Just as Wen Shuse led the two of them in, Xie Shao happened to lift the curtain.
Since parting in Fengcheng, too much had happened. Looking again at this brother of his from the past, it felt almost like another lifetime. Zhou Kuang called, “Brother Xie!” His throat choked, and moisture also appeared in his eyes.
The two brothers reunited, with too much news to share. The two sisters met again and also had heartfelt words to say.
After each side exchanged greetings, they did not disturb one another. Wen Shuse brought Ming Wanrou into the inner room, while Xie Shao and Shizi Zhou sat before the tea table in the outer room.
The moment she sat down, Ming Wanrou began pouring everything out to Wen Shuse.
“Why are our fates so similar? Since we were little, every time something bad happened, you always went first. I’d barely finished worrying about you when I’d jump right into the same pit after you…”
First, Wen Shuse had married the good-for-nothing Xie Shao. Before Ming Wanrou could even properly comfort her, she herself had been betrothed to Zhou Kuang, who was equally famous as Xie Shao.
Then, after learning that something had happened to the Xie family, she had worried about where Wen Shuse would go. But before she could send anyone to inquire, she herself had been dragged into trouble as well.
If nothing unexpected had happened, she would already have married into the Prince Mansion by now. Who would have known that Eldest Master Xie would suddenly rebel and send troops to surround the Prince Mansion? As in-laws of the Prince Mansion, the Ming family had also been set upon the fire for a time.
The Ming family had three branches in total. Aside from Ming Wanrou’s own branch, the other two branches all began to hesitate the moment they heard that an imperial edict was coming to strip the prince of his fief.
If the imperial edict were real, then the moment the Ming family got involved, they would surely be dragged into the abyss along with them. If it were fake, the truth would reveal itself in a few days.
The best course for the Ming family was to protect themselves wisely and remain still.
But as the future father-in-law of the shizi, how could the Eldest Master Ming stand by and do nothing when the Prince Mansion was in trouble? Ignoring the objections of the Ming family’s eldest branch and third branch, that very day, he brought First Young Master Ming to the gates of the Prince Mansion to reason with Eldest Master Xie, Xie Daoyuan. In the end, they were driven inside by Xie Daoyuan along with everyone else.
Her future husband, her father, and her elder brother had all been locked inside the Prince Mansion. Ming Wanrou paced in desperation. With nowhere else to turn, she went to find Cui Nian.
Once Xie Shao and Pei Qing left, among those close to Shizi Zhou, only Cui Nian remained.
She thought he would certainly be able to help. As soon as she went to him, she happened to fill a gap. Cui Nian was being squeezed dry by Zhou Kuang, one moment needing all the fire oil in Fengcheng, the next needing all the blacksmiths in Fengcheng.
He had been conducting his secret operations and was in dire need of a reliable errand runner. With her arrival, she could not have been more suitable. Cui Nian arranged for her to be stationed at a hidden post, specifically responsible for exchanging messages with him and Zhou Kuang through the underground passage.
After going back and forth like this, although the two of them had not managed to hold their wedding, they had become much more familiar with each other.
During the chaos of the war, she had not rested either. She could not help at the city gates in front, but in the rear, with rescue and treatment, she did not stop for a single moment. From a complete outsider, she became a half-trained physician.
When the Crown Prince’s forces attacked Fengcheng, they came like a raging tide, setting up scaling ladders that nearly crested the city walls. Shizi Zhou personally led the soldiers of the Prince Mansion and the common people to fight at the city gate. When he returned, he was covered in blood, frightening her nearly senseless. She cared for him for two days without even loosening her clothes.
After news came that Jing Wang had been appointed Crown Prince, Madam Zhou and Zhou Kuang had no choice but to enter the capital. Zhou Kuang’s wounds had not yet healed, and someone needed to look after him along the way. There were plenty of physicians in the mansion, but Shizi Zhou wanted none of them. He specifically named Ming Wanrou to accompany him.
Though Shizi Zhou had many wounds, none were as life-threatening as the arrow Xie Shao had taken. He recovered while traveling, and by the time they reached the Eastern Capital, he was more or less healed.
Ming Wanrou began speaking from the day Wen Shuse left, all the way to how she and Shizi Zhou had arrived in the Eastern Capital. She then listened as Wen Shuse told her about the dangers she and Xie Shao had faced after leaving Fengcheng.
The two of them turned pale and gasped in shock at one moment, then looked at each other with admiration the next, praising how remarkable the other was.
Neither of them had managed to escape this storm. In another sense, they had gone through hardship together. There was too much to say, no order to it, each asking whatever came to mind.
Because of the rebellion, her wedding banquet with Shizi Zhou had been ruined. Wen Shuse asked worriedly, “Then what about the wedding banquet? Has a new date been chosen?”
Ming Wanrou nodded. “Yes, the sixth day of next month. The Crown Princess said the wedding will be arranged in the Eastern Capital. One of my older brothers came with me too. He’ll first find a place to settle in the Eastern Capital, so that I can marry with dignity. Father and Mother will come to the Eastern Capital after they’ve finished handling family matters…”
That made sense, too. Jing Wang had already become Crown Prince, and Ming Wanrou was marrying the current Imperial Grandson. They could not possibly leave her maternal family behind in Fengcheng.
Wen Shuse could not help sighing. “Before, you were still disdaining Shizi Zhou for being unrestrained and unruly, even setting dogs on him. Now, with one turn, you’ve become the Imperial Grandson’s Consort.”
Ming Wanrou widened her eyes, unhappy. “Who set dogs on him…?”
Once women began chatting, there was no end to it. Before they knew it, noon had arrived. The two husbands outside had already finished their conversation, but the two of them were still talking with great enthusiasm.
After hearing that Wen Shuse and Xie Shao had gone through life and death together, Ming Wanrou finally gave up completely. “Looking at it this way, you and I truly have no fate to become sisters-in-law.”
Wen Shuse had not expected that she still remembered this matter. “Didn’t you say we would become in-laws in the future?”
Ming Wanrou naturally remembered. Her gaze suddenly fell toward Wen Shuse’s belly, and she asked haltingly, “Th-then… do you have one yet?”
Wen Shuse was taken aback. Following Ming Wanrou’s gaze, she glanced at her own stomach. “I… what should I have?”
Ming Wanrou leaned back, her voice somewhat shocked. “You… you couldn’t possibly still not have consummated the marriage with Young Master Xie, could you?”
Outside, the two husbands who had finished speaking had just walked in. Their steps paused at the same time, stopping beyond the beaded curtain.
One was extremely curious and pricked up his ears.
The other found himself unconsciously holding his breath.
Wen Shuse looked at Ming Wanrou’s startled gaze and weighed things in her heart. If she told Ming Wanrou today, then once Ming Wanrou married Zhou Kuang, with that inability of hers to keep words hidden, she would definitely share it with Zhou Kuang.
What men cared about outside was face. They had been married for so long without consummating the marriage, and if his brothers found out, would he not be unable to lift his head?
She absolutely could not strip him of his dignity. Wen Shuse gave Ming Wanrou a glance, blaming her for looking down on people. “It’s been so long. How could we possibly not have consummated?”
Ming Wanrou let out a breath of relief, but her face slowly reddened. The two of them had secretly read no small number of romantic booklets together since childhood, and had always talked about everything. She truly was curious and could not help asking, “Then… what does it feel like?”
The old maidservants at home had told her the first time would hurt very much.
She had always been afraid in her heart.
Who knew what it felt like? Wen Shuse thought back to that kiss last night. It should be more or less the same, surely. She put on the seasoned manner of someone who had been through it before. “Well, how should I say it… It feels like you’re about to die, but also quite happy.”