Marrying a treacherous official

The white-glazed, string-patterned tripod incense burner in the main room was filled with incense smoke, which rose straight up without any wind.

Half an ashes fell, filling the room with a sweet fragrance, occasionally punctuated by the sound of flowing water; the room was eerily quiet.

After several passionate kisses, Cui Zemin gradually began to enjoy the sweetness of the moment.

He braced himself on the warm kang bed with his hands behind him, lazily letting her lean forward and kiss him deeply.

He would occasionally respond to her kisses, just to elicit a soft sigh from her lips.

After calming his temper, Yunji bit his lip hard when he was completely engrossed and unguarded, then withdrew.

Cui Zemin felt a sharp pain, and his gaze suddenly became sharp.

He pressed the tip of his tongue against the gash at the corner of his lips, spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, and his mouth was filled with the taste of blood.

"Madam has stopped pretending and started biting people right away."

"So my husband does know how to feel pain after all."

Yunji coldly got off the heated kang, her face as cold as frost, all traces of the shy blush she had shown during their tender moments gone, as if the previous affection had never existed.

She tidied up the four messy boxes of auspicious patterned jackets and said, "My husband should remember this pain so he won't ask for a beating again next time."

Cui Zemin bent one leg and leaned his body against the chicken wing wood coffee table, no longer covering the gap at the corner of his lip, letting the blood seep into his mouth bit by bit.

He watched her straighten her clothes; her face was cold and aloof, devoid of any tenderness. However, her lips remained as red as maple leaves, glistening with moisture, which inexplicably pleased him.

"I'm fine as long as you enjoy yourself, Madam. I'll do as I please."

Yunji didn't look at him again. She walked out inexplicably irritated. When she pushed open the door, she saw all the maids and servants in the courtyard kneeling on the ground. She was so shocked that she stopped at the doorway.

"What happened?"

"Madam...why did you come out first?"

Chunxuan knelt outside the main room door, both surprised and delighted, and whispered, "This servant thought it was Master who came out. I'm kneeling here to plead for Madam."

"What are you begging for? Get up!"

Yunji walked out of the main room, slammed the door behind him, and said, "Have Huo Xi come over and invite the master to rest in the outer courtyard."

Chunxuan instructed a maid to fetch someone, and followed behind her mistress with trepidation, asking timidly:

"Madam, is the master no longer angry with you?"

"What is there for him to be angry about?"

"Does this servant mean that Master will not pursue the matter of leaving the city?"

"Investigate what?"

Chunxuan rarely saw her mistress so enraged, and every word she uttered was a rebuttal. Being exceptionally reasonable, she shut her mouth and dared not say another word.

After Yunji entered the tent, he gave the order, "Have someone bring in water so I can wash up and relieve my fatigue. Don't leave anyone in the room."

Chunxuan replied obediently, "This servant obeys."

She quietly retreated outside the door, ordered the maid to fetch water, and saw Huo Xi quickly enter the inner courtyard through the long corridor.

The two exchanged a glance, and Huo Xi walked straight toward her.

"Why did the First Madam summon me in?"

"Please escort the old man out of the main room."

Chunxuan didn't give him a friendly look and shooed him away, saying, "Why are you still standing here? Hurry up and go invite the master."

Huo Xi stood in front of her, showing no intention of leaving, and said in a low voice:

"Who dares to ask the general to leave? If anyone is to leave, it's him who will leave on his own."

"And what about the task the lady assigned you?"

"I'm standing here in this courtyard to report to the madam."

Seeing that she turned away and suddenly fell silent, Huo Xi deliberately started a conversation:

"Did the old man smash any porcelain items in the house?"

"no."

Chunxuan was already suspicious and puzzled about this matter. When he asked her this, she couldn't keep it to herself and said, "But what Madam implied was that this matter was resolved. I just can't understand why Master would let Madam off so easily."

Seeing that she was getting confused again, Huo Xi secretly slipped a gold hairpin into her hand and said, "I can help you."

"Don't think about it anymore. Here, take this as my apology."

Chunxuan's hand was itchy from being pricked. She raised her hand and saw that it was a gold hairpin. She was in a hurry to put it back to him when she saw him walk forward quickly and call out "General".

She hurriedly hid her hands behind her back, but then realized it wasn't appropriate, so she simply tucked the hairpin into her narrow sleeve and curtsied to the old man who was walking towards her.

Cui Zemin walked out of the inner courtyard, turned around, raised his foot, and kicked Huo Xi hard.

"No wonder you always speak in favor of the inner court; so that's what you're thinking."

"Every word I told you, General, is true; I dare not conceal the slightest truth."

Cui Zemin kicked Huo Xi hard again, knocking him to the ground.

"And what was the meaning behind the hairpin you gave to that maid?"

"That was... my... personal motive."

Huo Xi was in so much pain that the veins on his forehead bulged, but he still endured the pain and knelt on the ground.

Cui Zemin had considered transferring him back to the Tiger Wing Army, but seeing that he had fallen for the maid, he protected the inner courtyard in every way and temporarily put the matter aside.

"Find Judge Wu and receive twenty strokes of the military rod."

"Yes, General."

Huo Xi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the general had only punished him with military rods.

Yunji soaked in the bathwater, lost in thought. The surface of the water remained still, and her thoughts remained still as well.

The impulsive and outrageous actions taken at the time, once completely calmed down, became shameful and indignant memories.

She regretted arguing with him and kept kissing him endlessly.

The bathwater cooled down, but her face remained flushed and warm.

Yunji didn't know what Cui Zemin was thinking, that he would humiliate her like this. In her previous life, after leaving on their wedding day, he hadn't set foot in the main room for three whole years. His boudoir was so neglected, how could he possibly touch her?

How did this life end up like this...?

She racked her brains but couldn't figure it out. Just then, she heard a noise outside the door, and then Granny Kong called out to her through the door:

"Madam, this old servant has brought you the bathwater."

"No need, I can wash myself."

"The First Madam has been washing for a quarter of an hour; the water will get cold if she continues."

With a barely perceptible hint of joy in her voice, Granny Kong patiently advised, "This old servant will change the bath water for Madam, so that she won't catch a cold."

She had been keeping a close eye on the inner courtyard, anxiously watching over them, afraid that the master and mistress would start arguing again, and ready to rush in and admonish them at any time.

But there was no sound from inside the house; there was neither the sound of the two arguing nor the sound of the old man smashing the antiques.

She had been standing for too long, and her legs began to tremble. She had to be helped by Hua Chao to rest in the outer courtyard.

When she went out again, she saw the old man coming out of the inner courtyard, with a cut on the corner of his lip and a noticeable scab.

Looking at the old man's expression, there was not a trace of the murderous look he had given in the main room. Instead, he had the calm that comes after a storm. As someone who had been through it all, she suddenly understood everything when she recalled all the unusual behavior before.

Upon hearing what Granny Kong said, Yunji felt a chill run down her spine and said helplessly, "Thank you for coming in, Granny."

Granny Kong led the maid into the room, set out the bathwater, sent the maid out, and personally served the lady with her bath.