After the curtains dropped on this farce, the Old Madam led her daughter-in-law and two granddaughters-in-law to send away Her Majesty, the Empress, and Princess ZhaoYang in embarrassment. The other people of the RuiDing Mansion looked at each other in dismay and walked away. Soon, the residence restored its former tranquility.
Gu Sui’er leaned on the bed with her heart full of restlessness.
Although Xiao Heng said he would not marry Princess ZhaoYang, she still couldn’t believe it.
She kept thinking about the words Princess ZhaoYang said before she left.
She said that she would marry Xiao Heng sooner or later.
If she married Xiao Heng, she would be Xiao Heng’s main wife.
No one in their Gu Family Village took concubines. However, there was a very wealthy landlord in the town who seemed to have a young concubine. She had given birth to a daughter for him. But later, when that landlord died, his wife sold off the concubine to a distant place.
Gu Sui’er thought for a while and managed to get a grasp on her situation.
If the Princess was really granted a marriage with Xiao Heng and became his main wife, she would also be sold off by the Princess.
If she was sold off, then her little tadpole… Wouldn’t her little tadpole lose its mother?
The Princess would definitely do her utmost to bully her little tadpole to death.
When she thought about it, she felt uneasy and apprehensive. Even the idea of sitting and lying down made her indignant.
At this moment, Xiao Heng came in silently. He fetched a low stool and placed it by the bedside before sitting down on it without uttering a word.
Gu Sui’er was still concerned about the previous matter and pondering over what she should do next.
Xiao Heng looked at Gu Sui’er as she lay on the bed in silence. Her delicate eyebrows were furrowed and her clear eyes were filled with mist as she stared blankly at the embroidery on the canopy of the bed. He had a feeling she hadn’t yet recovered from her initial terror.
“She’s already gone.”
“En..” She’s gone but she can still return. Gu Sui’er worried secretly in her heart.
“She will never step into this residence again.”
In fact, it would be impossible for her to step out of the Palace in the future.
Even the Emperor had begun thinking about finding a match for Princess ZhaoYang away from the YanJing City.
For the highly pampered, arrogant, and willful Princess ZhaoYang, this was already an enormous punishment.
“Yes…” She still didn’t believe it.
“You should sleep for a while.”
“I’m not sleepy.”
Gu Sui’er felt bitter in her heart. She had already begun thinking about what kind of hardships her little tadpole would have to suffer once she was sold off.
Will the Princess push him into the water and let him drown?
The more she thought about it, the more she got afraid, and finally, her face paled from her thoughts.
“Should I let the doctor prescribe some medicine for you?” Xiao Heng proposed.
Prescribe some medicine. This was his idea of resolving the problem.
However, Gu Sui’er didn’t want to take medicine. She was already full of bitterness. Why would she want to drink some bitter medicine again?
She thought about it and looked at Xiao Heng nervously.
“Third Master, can I ask you something?”
Xiao Heng lowered his head and looked at her.
Because of falling into the water, although her hair had been dried with a towel, it was still not put up in a bun. Rather, it was draped over her thin shoulders, making her white face appear as white as snow against the contrast of her black hair.
Since the people had left, Nanny An had helped her change into white inner clothing 1. Under this, she was wearing a soft embroidered red satin dudou2 which covered the pointed peaches inside.
The strands of hair fell over gracefully on the side of her cheeks, partly concealing her moist and tender red lips from view.
She had been looking at him with her misty eyes but now, they seemed to be overflowing. It was as if tears could spill out at any moment now.
With such an expression she nervously asked him a question.
Xiao Heng suddenly recalled that night. He still remembered the sensation when he grasped that peach’s tip.
He turned his face away and asked while gritting his teeth: “En, ask.”
Gu Sui’er inhaled deeply, bit her lip, and whispered: “In fact, I don’t want to ask you about something troublesome. I want to ask you about something… I want to ask… ask…”
Xiao Heng interrupted her suddenly: “Say it.”
Ah……
His voice was too harsh. Gu Sui’er was startled and her whole body trembled slightly.
From Xiao Heng’s point of view, he saw that the pointed peach tips draped in the red dudou also tremble a little.
He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth to calm himself down.
“What’s the matter? Just say it.” He slowly asked in his usual cold and cheerless voice.
After Gu Sui’er flinched, she felt scared. She didn’t dare to say anything now.
She really suffered too much today. First, she was intimidated by Princess ZhaoYang’s impressive authority. Then she was pushed into the water and almost lost her life. Later, Princess ZhaoYang bowed her head and apologized with resentment pasted across her whole face. Finally, she got scared by Xiao Heng.
She raised her face trembling with fear and opened her mouth slightly, looking at Xiao Heng timidly. She was unable to say anything now.
Looking at her being like this, Xiao Heng’s temples throbbed softly.
He knew he had frightened her.
She had fallen into the water today. Ordinary women who encountered this kind of incident would have nightmares during the night, not to mention that she seemed to be a little timider than the other women in the residence.
He took a deep breath again as he moved the stool closer to the bedside. However, he did not dare to touch her.
She was soft and delicate. She might have pain if he touched her.
“What’s the matter with you? Say it.” He lowered his eyes and looked at his hand before continuing to console Gu Sui’er: “Princess ZhaoYang will not come to TingZhu Courtyard again, nor will she come to Marquis RuiDing Mansion again. Perhaps you won’t even see her anymore, so you need not be scared of her.”
What he didn’t know was that, just now, Gu Sui’er was actually scared by him, not by Princess ZhaoYang.
But no matter what, Gu Sui’er sensed what he meant.
He was comforting her.
She furtively shot a glance at his same as before indifferent expression and felt much better.
She suddenly came to a baseless realization. She felt that now, she could really feel and differentiate between this expressionless face’s warmth and coldness.
If he is an ordinary person, he would have been looking at her with a gentle smile now.
Faced with Xiao Heng’s smiling face in her mind, Gu Sui’er’s anxiety and fear disappeared without a trace.
She finally had the courage to ask him the question.
This question had come into her mind a long time ago.
“Third Master.” Facing his cold profile, she muttered softly: “When will the third Master marry a main wife ah?”
When would Xiao Heng take in a main wife? It could be said that the answer to this question was a matter of life matter death for Gu Sui’er.
However, when Xiao Heng heard this question, he was taken aback and stared at her blankly.
“I also don’t know.” He didn’t expect that she would actually ask him this question. After thinking about it, he felt that it might have something to do with the things Princess ZhaoYang said today: “I haven’t thought about getting married till now.”
After hearing this, Gu Sui’er asked in a low voice, “Then, is it possible that the third Master will marry the Princess in the future?”
“Not possible.” Different from the previous answer, this time he replied with determination.
“Oh……”
All of a sudden, Gu Sui’er felt both relieved and satisfied.
He didn’t like Princess ZhaoYang, so he would definitely not marry Princess ZhaoYang and she would definitely not enter the residence. He didn’t intend to marry someone for the time being, so she won’t be kicked out for a while.
She pursed her lips and smiled lightly. She raised her eyes and looked up at the man in front of her.
When she laughed, her eyes twinkled. Anybody who looked at her at this time would feel that she had won a small advantage.
In fact, he just told that he didn’t want to take in a wife now.
He didn’t want it now and he might think about it later. But he had to marry sooner or later; His Majesty won’t allow him to not marry forever.
He stared at her for a while. Hundreds of thoughts crossed his mind in that small period. These ideas were something that could not have even occurred to the simple and pure Gu Sui’er.
After a long time, he finally lifted his fingers and placed them gently on the place that was wrapped in red dudou.
“I prefer a daughter so I hope you will give birth to a girl for me. But—” He paused. Gu Sui’er was unable to make sense of what he was going to say. Soon, he continued: “If it’s a boy, then that’s also very good. He will be my first son.”
“En?” Ignorance appeared in Gu Sui’er’s eyes.
She had been busy feeling happy secretly because he said he didn’t want to marry a wife now. Nevertheless, she didn’t expect him to mention anything about daughters and sons so abruptly.
She was so preoccupied with this question that she didn’t even realize where his fingers had touched softly.
At this time, Xiao Heng’s breathing suddenly tensed and his eyes turned as dark as the night before a thunderstorm.
He stared at her, exerting a little more strength to grasp the peach in his hand.
A slight of pain finally brought Gu Sui’er back from her thoughts and she discovered the present situation. With a low yelp and with a little grievance and doubt, she looked at him like a little lamb who was suddenly being bullied.
Xiao Heng saw this and felt that her voice had become even more delicate and tender.
This was how she was cried out at that time. This was really how she was cried out; it was exactly the same.
He couldn’t help thinking like this. Actually, he didn’t intend to do anything. Moreover, she was going to give birth in just two months. He certainly couldn’t do anything.
He would just… touch.
Hence, when Gu Sui’er was still stunned, not understanding what was going on, she found that the man sitting beside the bed was suddenly on the bed and had wrapped her in his arms. His hand slid inside from the lapel of her clothes as he lowered his head into her bosom.
Ah——
T/N: *Cough* Hopefully I won’t leave you guys hanging till next Wednesday since I have plans on posting the next chapter on Jan 1st as a new year gift. Till then, you’re free to guess what happens next. *smirk smirk*