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

"Apologize to my mother." Xiao Jingye's voice was icy. He tilted his head slightly, his sharp eyes piercing Chunfeng like blades, and a sense of oppression was overwhelming.

Yang Chunfeng pursed her lips, reluctantly stepped forward, and said to Zeng Yumei in a low voice, "I'm sorry."

Qiao Qingyan gently held her mother-in-law's hand and looked at Yang Chunfeng: "This apology is only for the matter of you wrongly accusing my mother-in-law of destroying the fields. Just now you insulted and humiliated the Xiao family and mocked an innocent child who was slow to develop. You still have to bow solemnly and apologize again."

"Don't push your luck!" Yang Chunfeng said angrily.

Qiao Qingyan glanced around at the villagers watching and said, "Everyone heard what happened just now. This fat woman insulted my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, humiliating our Xiao family. She kept calling them idiots and morons. Shouldn't she bow and apologize again?"

Yang Chunfeng clenched her teeth in anger, feeling both annoyed and regretful.

In the past, when Xiao Jingye was not at home, she would occasionally mock and ridicule Zeng Yumei, but the other party would not say a word.

Unexpectedly, the Xiao family now has such a sharp-tongued and protective daughter-in-law.

Zeng Yumei was kind-hearted and gently tugged at Qiao Qingyan's hand, indicating that it was alright and she didn't want to offend people too much in the village.

Qiao Qingyan turned around and quietly patted the back of her hand, whispering comforting words:

"Mom, it's okay. We didn't do anything wrong, and we don't owe her anything. She deliberately bullied us, so we should get justice."

The word "Mom" melted Zeng Yumei's heart.

Seeing this, Xiao Jingye lost all patience. He stepped forward, his large, powerful hand grabbing Chunfeng's collar, a short knife pressed against her neck: "Bow and apologize to my mother immediately!"

This action startled the usually arrogant Yang Chunfeng, who hurriedly cupped her hands and said, "I will tell you, I will tell you..."

She bowed deeply to Zeng Yumei and said, "Yumei, we're from the same village. I'm not good with words, so please don't take it personally."

"Mom, do you forgive her?" Qingyan asked.

Zeng Yumei nodded. The other party has already learned their lesson by now that things have escalated to this point.

Moreover, with her son and daughter-in-law standing up for her so strongly today, no one will dare to provoke them easily when she and Duoduo go out in the future.

Qiao Qingyan declared, "Let's leave it at that for today. My mother-in-law is magnanimous and won't hold it against you. But if there's a next time, it won't be so easy to let this go."

After saying that, she carefully took Zeng Yumei's arm and turned to Xiao Jingye, saying, "Let's go home."

Xiao Jingye glared coldly at Yang Chunfeng again, and under her gaze, he deftly shoved the short knife into its sheath at his waist.

He then bent down, picked up Duoduo with one hand, and followed behind Qiao Qingyan. The group then turned and headed home.

-

Back home, Qiao Qingyan first helped Zeng Yumei rest by the kang (a heated brick bed).

The old man felt wronged today, and his heart was heavy the whole way home; his complexion was also not good.

Xiao Jingye went into the kitchen, cooked porridge and boiled eggs, and served them in a bowl to his mother's bedside.

Zeng Yumei managed to eat a small bowl of porridge and half an egg, then took her medicine and went to bed early.

At the dinner table, Xiao Jingye mashed an egg and mixed it into the porridge, then gave Duoduo a small bowl and spoon so she could eat by herself.

Then he picked up an egg and placed it next to Qiao Qingyan, "Here, have this."

Qiao Qingyan didn't refuse. There were four eggs, one for each of them. Since they were going to live together, there was no need for pretentious formalities.

As she bent down to peel the eggshell, she suddenly heard Xiao Jingye's deep voice: "Thank you."

Qingyan realized he was referring to what happened that afternoon and immediately replied, "You're welcome."

She thought for a moment and felt she needed to remind him: "In the future... don't be so impulsive. Don't use a knife lightly. What if you accidentally cut someone's skin one day and they try to hold you responsible?"

"I understand, wife," Xiao Jingye said, bowing his head.

When Qiao Qingyan heard him call her "wife," her ears suddenly burned.

She glanced at Duoduo, then at her mother-in-law's closed door, and whispered, "There's no one else here, you don't need to call me like that."

There are different occasions for acting, and there are no audience members here.

Xiao Jingye gave a faint reply.

While eating, he secretly glanced at Qiao Qingyan out of the corner of his eye, finding her quite remarkable.

He muttered to himself:

His wife's mouth is so small. She eats like a little squirrel, taking tiny bites and chewing slowly and gracefully.

So good it's been made into a movie and shown on the big screen.

After a while, once dinner was finished, Xiao Jingye stood up and started clearing the table of dishes: "Wife, I'm going to wash the dishes."

"I told you not to call me that!" Qiao Qingyan glared at him helplessly, her ears burning again.

"Okay, wife." Xiao Jingye finished cleaning up the dishes and took them into the kitchen.

Qiao Qingyan was helpless, but there was nothing she could do about it. It was good to let him practice in advance so that he wouldn't be exposed in front of outsiders later.

As dusk settled, a dim yellow light bulb illuminated the small courtyard.

Qiao Qingyan took Duoduo's hand, preparing to take her to take a bath.

The bathroom was a makeshift shed built in the corner of the yard, separated only by an old curtain; it was simple but fairly clean.

Every time we took a shower, we would fill two buckets of well water into a basin beforehand. After showering, we would splash the water against the wall, and the water would flow out of the yard through the drain at the base of the wall.

Qiao Qingyan took out a bar of soap and carefully lathered it all over Duoduo's body. Without any disgust, she helped Duoduo blow her nose and then washed her fair and tender little face with warm water.

Duoduo was mischievous and playful, blowing bubbles all over her arms, splashing them all over Qiao Qingyan.

Qiao Qingyan scooped up warm water to rinse her body while keeping an eye on her to prevent her from moving around.

She was quite patient, neither angry nor annoyed, and pinched Duoduo's little nose, pretending to be angry:

"If you misbehave again, your sister-in-law won't bathe you anymore."

Duo Duo seemed to understand what she meant, and quickly hugged Qiao Qingyan's arm, innocently pleading, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law..."

Qiao Qingyan smiled helplessly and used a towel to wipe the water droplets off her skin.

"Duoduo, you have to be good. Your mother is getting old and her legs aren't very strong. If she's bathing you from now on, you can't be so naughty, okay?"

There was no response; the mentally challenged Duoduo couldn't understand.

Qiao Qingyan dressed Duoduo, took her hand, and lifted the curtain to walk out of the bathroom.

As soon as she stepped out, she bumped into Xiao Jingye, who was coming out of the kitchen.

The man saw her, paused for two seconds, and then a blush suddenly rose on his handsome face, as if he were burning.

Qiao Qingyan felt uncomfortable under his gaze and subconsciously looked down at herself.

Only then did I realize that when I bathed Duoduo earlier, her top was soaked through with water, clinging wetly to her skin and outlining her slender waistline.

Even more embarrassingly, the buttons on her chest had somehow come undone, and the fabric had shifted to one side, revealing a large expanse of her fair and rounded curves...

Xiao Jingye saw everything.

This was the first time she'd experienced something so embarrassing, and in shame and anger, she cursed, "You filthy scoundrel!"

Xiao Jingye snapped back to his senses after being scolded and hurriedly turned around and rushed into the kitchen. In his panic, he forgot to lower his head, and his head slammed hard against the kitchen door frame with a loud bang.

Qiao Qingyan ignored him, glared at him angrily, hurriedly gathered her clothes, and pulled Duoduo back to her room.

In the kitchen, Xiao Jingye rubbed his head, which was throbbing from the impact, and stood there in a daze for a long time.

Suddenly, he smiled, and his dark eyes seemed to deepen in expression.

Disgusting, hooligan...?

Xiao Jingye couldn't help but savor the memory; his wife's voice was so sweet.

The two mounds of breasts on her chest were also beautiful, like steamed white buns, making him dizzy.