Chapter 3

Chapter 3

According to the customs of our dynasty, a new bride is supposed to return to her parental home with her husband on the third day after the wedding.

I hadn’t seen Cheng Xiu for two days straight, but I was happy to enjoy my leisure. I spent my time practicing martial arts and swordplay in the courtyard or strolling through the sprawling grounds of the Cheng Manor. Time flew by, and it wasn’t until the second evening that I remembered the scheduled visit home.

After some thought, I dispatched the little eunuch who had been tailing me to deliver a letter to him: [Tomorrow is the return visit to my family. Does the Director still remember?]

Cheng Xiu was on a three-day leave and should have been somewhere within the Cheng Manor at that moment. The little eunuch soon returned with a message: “The Director has already prepared the gifts. You may head back on your own tomorrow.”

As soon as I heard that, I understood.

He didn’t dare to go.

My Liang Family was full of rough-and-tumble people. My eldest brother despised the eunuch faction most of all, though for my sake, he would at least refrain from cursing Cheng Xiu to his face. My father was a military general who harbored a subtle disdain for eunuchs. However, my mother doted on me; she certainly wouldn’t let my father make things difficult for me.

As for my two sisters and their husbands, they were all wonderful people. No one should have any reason to target Cheng Xiu.

I looked at the little eunuch with a beaming smile. “Go back and ask him: what if someone mocks me? My reputation is his reputation. Does he no longer care for his own face?”

The little eunuch trembled, too terrified to move.

“Just go and say it. If he gets angry, tell him to come and hit me instead.” I took a sip of tea with an air of nonchalance, casting him a look that brooked no refusal. The little eunuch had no choice but to turn and leave.

When he returned, his face had turned pale and his voice was shaking. “The Director said… he said you have no use for a face anyway. If you’re afraid of being mocked, you might as well go jump into a well.”

Looking at how terrified the boy was, Cheng Xiu must have flown into quite a rage.

That dead eunuch and his foul mouth.

I remained unhurried. “Tell him that if he’s scared, he doesn’t have to go. I won’t force him.”

“Madam! I really don’t dare to pass that message along!” He collapsed to his knees with a thud.

Seeing I had no other choice, I wrote another short note: [Does the Director want the whole world to know you’re dissatisfied with this marriage? Or is it that you don’t dare return to the Liang Family with me? A grown man who doesn’t even dare visit his wife’s family-wouldn’t that be a loss of face? If others mock me for being out of favor or laugh at the Director for looking down on me, my heart will be utterly broken. And if I am sad, surely you will feel the sting of heartache as well.]

“Deliver this letter. Tell him if he has any grievances, he should come here and say them himself instead of making things hard for you.” I wrote it all in one breath and handed the letter to the little eunuch, adding one last instruction, “Tell him I’m waiting for him-so anxious that I haven’t eaten all day.”

In truth, I had just eaten too many snacks and had no appetite for dinner, but it was essentially the same thing if you rounded up.

A while later, the little eunuch came scurrying back alone. He knelt on the ground and reported, “After the Director read it, he said you should go ahead and be as sad as you like, and he’ll be as ‘heartbroken’ as he pleases. He said it would be best if you never ate again for the rest of your life and just starved to death.”

I nodded listlessly. “Fine.”

Let him be. I couldn’t exactly carry him back on my shoulders.

I turned and went into my room.

I slept until dawn. I’ve always loved sleeping in, and usually, it takes several people to wake me. In the end, it was Zhuling and Duruo, who had come with me from my parents’ home, who practically dragged me out of bed to help me wash and dress. Not long after I woke up, I stepped out the door with bleary eyes, only to see a man dressed in crimson robes standing at the courtyard gate.

He stood there like a tree of jade in a divine forest-composed and elegant. If he weren’t a eunuch, I feared many young women would have lost their hearts to him.

I rubbed my eyes.

Was this really my foul-mouthed, cold-hearted Director husband who loved throwing temper tantrums?

I had originally thought he wouldn’t come, so seeing him now sparked a genuine sense of joy. I couldn’t help but trot over and affectionately take his arm, chirping, “Director, you came?”

He jerked his arm back violently. The facade of calm he had just been maintaining vanished instantly, revealing his true nature-foul-mouthed and petty. “Have you no shame?”

I was in a good mood, so I simply adjusted my hairpins and replied nonchalantly, “Should I be ashamed of holding my own husband’s arm? It’s not like I’m holding someone else’s. Would you be happier if I went and held onto someone else instead of you?”

Cheng Xiu’s handsome face darkened immediately. He had pale skin and dark pupils; when he looked at someone with that sinister expression, he resembled a vengeful ghost. He let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Go ahead then. Why would I be unhappy?”

Your face is practically screaming how unhappy you are.

I thought he was a strange man, but I didn’t say it. Instead, I lowered my eyes, acting like a wronged little wife. “If the Director insists on pushing me away, what choice do I have? My heart is full of the Director, yet the Director refuses to even touch me…”

Before I could finish, Cheng Xiu suddenly covered my mouth. His face flushed from white to red and back again before he finally glared at me. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Who taught you to say such things?”
I settled down and blinked at him, attempting to brainwash him.

*I am innocent and adorable. If you’re angry with me, there’s something wrong with your head.*

Perhaps my brainwashing worked, because Cheng Xiu retracted his hand with a resentful look and said nothing. Seeing this, I hooked my arm through his again. “Director, you mustn’t dawdle any longer. We’ll be late soon.”

He didn’t push me away as forcefully this time, but he bristled at my words. “Who’s dawdling? The sun is practically at high noon and you’ve only just gotten up, yet you have the nerve to shift the blame onto me!”

Hearing this, I replied languidly, “I went to sleep late last night. You broke my heart, so I spent half the night grieving. Look, aren’t my eyes swollen?”

My eyes were indeed swollen, but it was from oversleeping. Plus, since I had just woken up, the skin around my eyes was still tinged with a faint pink, making it easy for someone to mistake it for the aftermath of a crying fit.

I had originally been worried about how to explain this to my mother later, but now it served a different, excellent purpose.

He glanced at me and sneered. “Aren’t they swollen from sleeping too much?”

I immediately let go of him. This man’s mind was far too dark. If I kept talking, I would likely slip up. I couldn’t help but take several large strides forward, pretending to throw a tantrum. “I’m ignoring the Director now.”

If I was sulking, he felt as though he had won a great battle. He sat in the carriage looking refreshed, far more cheerful than he had been a moment ago.

I have truly never lost in my life.

I definitely couldn’t let him have it easy.

Cheng Manor was quite far from my family home, about a half-hour journey. I stealthily shifted closer to him.

“Don’t move,” Cheng Xiu snapped, his sharp eyes catching me.

I played dumb. “Huh? I didn’t move.”

He fell silent.

I shifted toward him again. Cheng Xiu let out a frustrated laugh. “Say you didn’t move one more time?”

Ignoring him, I lunged into his arms. He was startled and tried to push me away, but I threw my arms around his neck and refused to let go. “You told me not to move.”

Cheng Xiu hissed in anger, “Don’t you dare act out here! Let go of me this instant, or I’ll…”

Being so close to him, I could see the fine peach fuzz on his face and his beautiful, thin lips.

In this world, only the imperial family and tigers are not to be provoked; aside from that, there was nothing I wouldn’t do.

Before he could finish his sentence, I gave his rosy lips a gentle nip. After biting him, I even blamed him: “It’s all the Director’s fault for being so handsome. You’ve quite dazzled me.”

…

Cheng Xiu wanted to kick her out of the carriage and then give her a few more kicks for good measure.

But for some inexplicable reason, his heart felt strangely uncomfortable, as if he wanted to dig it out and crush it to pieces before throwing Liang Yinliu to the dogs.

He reached out, intending to throttle her, but she slipped into his arms like a loach. She clung to him tightly. “You’re so wonderful. You prepared so many gifts for me to take back-more than both of my brothers-in-law combined. You’ve really given me so much face. It’s so good to have you.”

Her soft, gentle whispers drifted into his ears, and her warm, delicate body leaned against him. Liang Yinliu didn’t find him repulsive for being a eunuch; she dove into his embrace with pure joy. Her thick lashes veiled her sparkling eyes, but it felt as though the moment she looked up, he would see nothing but happiness in her gaze.

Who could possibly love a eunuch? She was clearly trying to deceive him!

Cheng Xiu gripped her waist, intending to push her off, only to find that her waist was so slender it could be encircled by a single hand.

He suddenly remembered the message she had sent, saying she had waited for him all day without eating.

Three days ago, she had grumbled for a long time just because she missed a meal, yet yesterday she hadn’t eaten a thing all day.

If she was this thin, wouldn’t she starve to death if she didn’t eat?

No, it would be better if she starved to death. Who cared if she lived or died?

When he received her message last night, he had been so angry he smashed several vases. Who would have thought Liang Yinliu would be so relentless, engaging in a long-distance war of words with him? He hadn’t done something so childish and meaningless in a long time. For a moment, his competitive streak had flared up. He had read her little note with a cold sneer, intending to burn it, but then, as if possessed, he had tucked it into a book instead.

He had sent word back, but he never received another reply from her.

“What did the Madam say?” Late at night, Cheng Xiu had summoned Santong, the young eunuch serving Liang Yinliu, and asked casually, pretending not to care.

The young eunuch knelt on the floor. “Madam didn’t say much. She just looked very sad and went into her room sighing.”

“Did she really not eat?”

Santong thought for a moment. Not eating dinner counted as not eating. Both were his masters; if the Madam gained favor in the future, she would remember his kindness. Thus, he nodded heavily. “Yes.”

Cheng Xiu was incredibly irritable. “Fine, leave!”

Who cared if she lived or died?!