A delicate beauty takes a place in a marriage, while a cold, rough man seduces her every night.

Xiao Jingye remained silent, his handsome face still gloomy.

Qingyan recalled his previous resistance to the marriage and was afraid that he would disagree.

So he quickly added, "I can teach Duoduo to read."

"You know I'm a teacher. And through observing her these past two days, I've discovered that Duoduo isn't really stupid; she's just a little slow. If someone teaches her properly, your sister might be able to go to school someday."

Qiao Qingyan admitted that she had boasted, but if she didn't make Xiao Jingye a promise, she was afraid he wouldn't agree and might kick her out.

Sunlight crossed the threshold and fell obliquely and directly onto the old wooden table, forming a line of light and shadow that stretched between the two people.

Xiao Jingye's hawk-like black eyes stared at her sharply and intently.

After a long silence, he finally spoke:

I disagree.

Disagree? Qiao Qingyan's brows furrowed suddenly.

She never expected this man to be so heartless. She had laid everything out and told him about her situation, yet he still disagreed.

The thought that she might have nowhere to go and would have to be kicked out by her in-laws immediately made Qiao Qingyan's eyes redden.

In an instant, glistening pearls hung on her eyelashes, about to fall, making her look extremely pitiful.

Seeing this, Xiao Jingye panicked.

The first time a girl cried in front of him, he was at a loss for what to do.

Xiao Jingye quickly moved from opposite Qiao Qingyan to her side, his broad figure unintentionally blocking the clear line between black and white.

He raised his hand and then lowered it, looking very flustered.

"Please...please don't cry."

Large tears rolled down Qiao Qingyan's cheeks as she sobbed softly.

"I already told you, I'm just staying at your house temporarily, and I can even help you teach your sister, so I won't cause you any trouble."

The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. "If you don't agree, fine. I'll pack my bags and leave right now. I was originally thinking of helping you get the bride price back from my stepmother, so that no one would owe anyone anything. Since you're treating me like this, I'll just leave and leave your family penniless."

She was crying, and the words she spoke were strangely fierce.

Xiao Jingye's heart softened and felt itchy from crying.

Upon hearing that his wife was leaving, he panicked: "I agree, I agree, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Qingyan sniffed softly, her eyes brimming with tears as she gazed at his cold and deep-set face.

"You really agree?"

"Hmm." Xiao Jingye stared straight at her.

She gradually stopped crying: "You can't let your mother know about this, you can't let anyone know."

"it is good."

After thinking for a moment, she added another clause: "If anyone bullies me, you have to protect me."

"no problem."

"I won't freeload at your house. I'll give you fifteen yuan a month for living expenses. Fifteen yuan should be enough, right? I don't eat much. Occasionally, I'll also buy some grains, vegetables, and meat for the family."

"Need not."

Qiao Qingyan became anxious: "Yes, I do. I don't like taking advantage of others."

Xiao Jingye compromised again: "Okay." He understood that this was to make things clear so that he could leave cleanly and decisively in the future.

The girl smiled contentedly, a shallow dimple appearing on her cheek, so sweet it was almost sickening.

Xiao Jingye stared at her face, lost in thought for a few seconds.

He lowered his eyes, pushed the bowl of honey water towards her, and said in a deep voice, "This is wild honey I collected on the mountain. Try it."

"Okay, thank you."

Qiao Qingyan picked up the bowl, her rosy cherry lips touching the rim, and gently sipped.

The sweet honey water glides down your throat, instantly lifting your spirits.

She smiled kindly at her business partner and said, "So sweet."

The man's Adam's apple bobbed, and a dark red flush suddenly appeared on his wheat-colored cheeks.

"Then... it's settled, you can't go back on your word," Qiao Qingyan said.

"Okay," Xiao Jingye replied readily.

It's okay, he's never been a very trustworthy person.

Only after he agreed did Qiao Qingyan truly feel relieved. Her gaze towards Xiao Jingye was now filled with gratitude and tenderness.

A moment later, urgent shouts suddenly came from outside the courtyard: "Jinye, Jinye—"

Xiao Jingye looked up and saw that the person who came was Chun Ya's mother, Qing Mei.

"Auntie, what's wrong?"

Qingmei rushed over, bent over, hands on her knees, panting heavily, her expression panicked.

"Go quickly to Wangpo in the east and see what's going on. Your mother and Duoduo are being bullied there!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qiao Qingyan suddenly stood up from her chair.

Xiao Jingye turned around and met her gaze. Before he could speak, Qiao Qingyan had already walked quickly to his side, her tone urgent: "Come on, let's go over there quickly."

-

Many villagers had already gathered around the edge of Wangpo's field.

As the sun began to set and the heat gradually dissipated, villagers took advantage of the cool weather to weed and irrigate their fields.

In the middle of the crowd, Zeng Yumei stood there with a bamboo basket slung over her shoulder, her eyes red-rimmed.

Duoduo clung tightly to her leg, her face pale, her whole body trembling, her eyes filled with fear as she looked around.

Standing opposite was a tall, sturdy, plump woman, Yang Chunfeng.

She put her hands on her hips and shouted in a loud, harsh voice:

"Pah! Zeng Yumei, how dare you bully me! I've worked so hard to tend this melon patch, and you've almost ruined it all!"

Everyone's gaze fell on the melon patch to the side, where watermelons lay rotten on the ground, the vines torn to pieces, a complete mess and a terrible waste.

Zeng Yumei gripped the bamboo basket tightly, her knuckles turning white, and held her daughter's shoulder, her tone filled with grievance and stubbornness:

"I didn't, I've never damaged your land."

Yang Chunfeng rolled up her sleeves, her arrogance growing even stronger: "Oh ho, still won't admit it? I've seen you lurking around here so many times! The melon vines in the field have been trampled and uprooted, it's all your doing. Today I finally caught you red-handed!"

At that moment, a clear female voice suddenly pierced through the crowd: "What makes you so sure that my mother-in-law ruined your land?"

Qiao Qingyan hurried over, her chest rising and falling slightly.

"Mom." Xiao Jingye stepped forward, blocking his mother and sister, his cold eyes fixed on Yang Chunfeng.

When Yang Chunfeng met Xiao Jingye's eyes, which were brimming with anger and seemed to want to devour her, she felt a sudden tremor in her heart and subconsciously shrank back.

But with only villagers watching the spectacle around, she was certain that Xiao Jingye wouldn't dare to make a move in public, and her confidence returned:

"Why should I? Because she deliberately holds a grudge against me and doesn't like the look of me!"

"Who in the village doesn't know? I gave birth to my third child around the same time as her. There was only one midwife, and my husband called her to our house first. Later, she had a difficult childbirth and gave birth to a mentally challenged child!"

"She's held a grudge ever since. Before, when her husband went hunting in the mountains and distributed the spoils to the village, she always gave my family the smallest share! Don't think I don't know; she's been resentful of me for a long time. Now that she sees my melon vines growing well, she's jealous and envious, so she comes over every few days to ruin my fields!"

As Yang Chunfeng spoke, she glanced at the crowd around her, slapped her thigh, and began to wail and cry:

"I still have a lot of unripe melons in my field, and I was planning to sell them to help pay for my child's tuition! Now look what's happened, my whole acre of melon field is ruined, how am I going to survive?"

The surrounding villagers immediately began to whisper among themselves.

"Everyone knew about this back then, and anyone in that situation would probably have a grudge against it..."

"No matter how angry you are, you can't ruin the crops that people rely on to survive."

"Yu Mei seems honest, but what she did was really underhanded."

Zeng Yumei's face turned ashen with anger, and her voice trembled: "I really didn't! I was just leading Duoduo to dig some wild vegetables by the edge of the field."

Yang Chunfeng's words became increasingly harsh: "Zeng Yumei, have you no shame? Doing bad things with your daughter, aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning!"

"Hmph, and don't blame anyone else for your mentally challenged daughter! Your husband died young because your family spent so many years hunting and killing in the mountains, accumulating a mountain of bad karma. That's why Heaven punished him early, taking him away and leaving you with this idiot!"

"You..." Zeng Yumei trembled with anger at these vicious words.

Xiao Jingye's neck veins bulged, and his fists were clenched tightly.

He never argued with women, but their insults to his mother and mockery of his sister had crossed his line.

He took a large step forward, his eyes blazing with malice, wanting to beat this fat woman who was spouting nonsense to death.

Just then, a snow-white arm reached out and stopped him.