After everything had calmed down, Hua Ru Chu was still thinking about whether she should get up to fetch a towel for her husband to wipe himself clean. Qi You sat up, lowered his head and looked at her with an expressionless face that seemed exceptionally gentle at this moment. He brushed aside the half-damp hair on Hua Ru Chu's forehead, and his hand remained there without leaving.

  When her body didn't ache so much, Hua Ru Chu planned to get up. Not to mention wanting to salvage a virtuous reputation, she herself was extremely uncomfortable with the sticky and dirty state of her clothes, and she couldn't sleep without cleaning up.

  Qī Yòu slightly used some force to press her down, not saying a word. He walked naked behind the screen, and after a faint sound, he came back with a handkerchief, hesitated for a moment, and still handed it over to Huà Rú Chū.

  "Thank you."

  She tried to avoid eye contact, and Huajun held a wet handkerchief and shrank into the quilt, her lower body aching dully. If she could, she really wanted to take a bath.

  Qī Yòu's line of sight followed for a while, and his desire began to stir again. His eyes dimmed slightly, and he hooked the middle garment to wear it back to bed, closing his eyes to rest. Tonight, he really looked like a young whippersnapper.

  Feeling someone beside him getting dressed, Qi You opened his eyes and looked over, "Not tired?"

  Hua Ru just felt her old face turning red, can't you not say such unorthodox words so seriously? "It's okay."

  Qiu You looked at her insisting on getting out of bed and no longer stopped her, also cooperatively retracting his legs to see what she wanted to do.

  The candle had only a small piece left, and after adjusting the wick to make the flame brighter, Hua Ruochu sat down at the edge of the table, poured herself a cup of water and drank it, then picked up another cup, poured another one and walked back, handing it to the person on the bed.

  "In our Yangzhou, there is a custom of guarding the nuptial candles, you go to sleep first."

  Qī Yòu looked at her and took over the cup, drinking it in a few gulps. "Do you need me to go with you?"

  Hua Ru was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted and said: "No need, you sleep first, the wedding candles won't last much longer."

  Qī Yòu didn't persist, handed the cup back to her and lay down, closing his eyes to listen for any movement in the room. He only opened a slit of his eyes after feeling the gaze on him withdraw, but his line of sight fell on empty space, with only a faint residual light falling on the woman sitting at the edge of the table.

  He was certain that Ru Shi was a martial artist, and people like him were sensitive. When someone stared at them, they would feel it.

  In her line of sight, she just sat there stupidly, occasionally raising her head to look at the two red candles, or using her fingers to dip in water and write something on the table, thinking for a while before erasing it and rewriting it. Her emotions seemed to have completely returned to the round house, carefree, calm, and composed.

  The room suddenly lit up, Hua Ruochu raised her head, and one of the candles had already gone out. The other was still left with a good length, without hesitation, she picked up the scissors and stood up to cut off the remaining candle wick, and the room instantly returned to darkness.

  She doesn't ask for a loving relationship until old age, nor does she ask for a smooth and easy life. She just hopes that the two of them won't be too far apart. She died too early, Qiyou remarried and replaced her, she didn't want to. He died too early, leaving her a widow, she also didn't want to.

  It's best if they can walk together for a long time, she being his legitimate wife, taking good care of her own children, and he, whether he wants to take on a concubine or not, she won't interfere. It's not that she doesn't care, but rather, only by not seeking those things that she clearly cannot get will she not have any desires, will not be moved. This is her way of self-protection.

  From the moment she decided to obey her parents' arrangement and get married, what she wanted from Qi You was no longer related to love.

  She fumbled her way back to bed, trying not to touch the sleeping man as much as possible. The discomfort in her body combined with the exhaustion of a day's struggle made her fall asleep quickly. At this time, she thought that the sleeping man opened his eyes.

  The faint light obscured the inexplicable joy in the man's eyes, but couldn't hide the slight curve of his lips. The Yangzhou custom was not unknown to him; on the contrary, because this custom was too warm and had been intentionally mentioned and sighed over, he knew it all too well. But seeing it with his own eyes still overwhelmed him with shock and joy.

  At this moment, he finally had a sense of stability after getting married. Wherever this person was, that was his home. From now on, when he returned to the Qi house, he no longer needed to go to the study to rest. When he wanted to find someone to comfort him, he didn't need to look for those women who only knew how to fight for favor. He had a home now, right here. When he was tired, he could come back at any time and talk to his wife, no matter what they talked about. The silence between them was getting thicker day by day, which wasn't what he wanted, but it was the only way things could go on for now. The crown prince's situation had become increasingly dangerous. The hidden chess pieces buried underground couldn't be moved yet. He had too many things to consider, and his heart was tired. It wasn't that he didn't want to find someone to confide in; it was just that he hadn't found the right person before. Now, he was willing to believe that Ruhuai was that person.

  Carefully pulling the person into his arms, he gazed at this face unscrupulously through the faint light, and the more he looked, the more he felt it was to his liking. The more he thought that this was the most satisfactory order he had received so far.

  Before falling asleep, Qiyou thought, the feeling of being full in his arms was great.

  Qī Yòu woke up before dawn, staring unblinkingly at the person nestled in her arms. A stranger just yesterday, now felt like a natural fit, as if this embrace was meant to be hers all along.

  The place where the fingers touched was smooth and delicate, and the tightness of the naked body made him more stimulating to men's nature. Qiyou felt that his self-control had decreased, and he had never had a daytime affair in his life.

  Besides, today is not the time to be wilful. The two of them have to go pay respects to their ancestors and offer tea to their elders. Those women in his house also need to come and pay their respects to Ruchu, can't let Ruchu get too tired.

  Suddenly thought of last night, like the beginning said those words, 'As long as you are good to me, I will definitely be good to you', this sentence left a deep impression on him, and he still remembered the expression when Ruo Chu said it, she actually had worries in her heart.

  Afraid of being treated coldly by him, afraid that he would favor his concubines, afraid that he wouldn't trust her...

  This is probably what all women worry about before they get married, his wife was only seventeen years old after all.

  "Uh..." Hua Ruochu stirred and opened her eyes. Being stared at like this, if she could still sleep, that would be a strange thing.

  "What time is it?"

  "It's still early, go back to sleep." Qi You pulled her closer, gently stroking her back with a soothing gesture.

  Hua Ruo initially felt his change, although she didn't understand where the change came from, but she liked this change. People who have to live together all the time are better off getting along than being polite and distant.

  She leaned in closer to him and said lazily, "I'm not sleeping. I have to get up early today. You stay with me and chat."

  Qī Yòu was enjoying this intimacy, and his tone of voice softened, "What do you want to say?"

  "Do you have an older sister?"

  "This direct line doesn't have one, but there is a collateral branch, are you asking about Qi Tuan?"

  "It's her." After mentioning it briefly last night, Hua Ruyi asked in detail: "In the Southern Dynasty, the main and secondary branches were heavy, according to reason, the main branch would not allow the side branch to step on their heads, or did she have something special?"

  She gave a sideways glance at the person in her arms, and Qi You didn't expect that this young madam would see through the trick so quickly. "If it were before, she wouldn't dare, but two years ago, she entered the Xiang Wang Fu as a concubine for the king and gave birth to a son within a year. It's said that the king is very fond of her, and because of her status, the main branch has become more lenient towards them. Originally, it was giving them face, but now they're becoming more and more arrogant, even daring to interfere in my affairs. Humph, does she really think that Xiang Wang will dote on her for a lifetime? The Qi Manor may be declining, but it's not something that their branch can compare to. In the future, if our branch doesn't help prop them up, Qi Rui will find it difficult to keep her child safe."

  "Is your concubine not a concubine?"

  "Of course."

  "What does she have to be proud of? Qi You, you can't expect me to coax her like your other sisters. I only submit to those with real abilities. If one day she overthrows the King's Concubine and becomes the Queen herself, then I wouldn't mind bowing down. But for now, it's impossible for Hua Ruochu to lower her head to a concubine."

  "In front of outsiders, don't call me by my name directly, lest people gossip and our parents and elders won't be happy." Qi You reminded, paused for a moment and added, "It's okay when it's just the two of us."

  "I'm frugal." Hua Ru Chu rubbed against him, coquettishly playful.

  Obviously Qi You was taken in by this, his eyes softened a bit more, continuing the previous topic, "You don't need to coax her, nor do you need to bow your head to her, you are my wife."

  Because she is his wife, shouldn't she bow her head to Qi Tui? Hua Ruochu was very satisfied with this answer. Although she knew that the Qi family's current situation would inevitably lead to bowing their heads and paying respects to others in the future, she didn't mind bowing her head to truly powerful people, whether it was in her past life or this one. She had always been someone who recognized the situation clearly.

  Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west bank. Who knows if those people will bow their heads to her in the future? Consider this a time deposit, it will earn interest.

  He rubbed against him again and felt the man's tense back relax as he sat up, "Get up, still need to tidy up, it's not good to be late."

  After a while, the man finally replied, "Okay."

  PS: These few chapters are not written smoothly, it's not stuck, the outline of this book is very complete, but it's written very awkwardly, I don't know what's wrong. To ensure quality, the speed is extremely slow, I'm about to collapse. Finally, an old saying, asking for recommendation votes.