Runaway Bride in a Marriage Substitute Story 28

At dinner that evening, there was a dish of squirrel-shaped mandarin fish.

The whole fish was fried until golden and crispy, arranged on the plate like a fluffy squirrel's tail, topped with a colorful sauce and seasonings. It looked absolutely delicious.

Chen Yao didn't dislike fish, but she hated dealing with bones. Even if the bones were supposedly fried crisp, she still couldn't bring herself to eat it.

"Try some, my lady." Xie Qingyan deliberately placed a piece of fish in her small bowl.

Before she could say anything, he explained, "I already picked out the bones."

Only then did Chen Yao hesitantly pick up a small piece and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly. She found that the bones had indeed been completely removed.

"It's pretty good." She blinked, looking quite pleased.

So Xie Qingyan, with great patience, spent the entire evening picking out fish bones for her.

He could have had a servant do it, but seeing his wife's bright, sparkling apricot eyes, he felt it was more worthwhile to do it himself.

*

Candlelight flickered in the room.

Chen Yao sat before the dressing mirror, removing her hair ornaments one by one, then slowly combing her long hair that reached her waist.

Through the blurry bronze mirror, she saw Xie Qingyan, who had already shed his outer robe, leaving only his inner garment, approaching from behind.

He naturally took the green jade comb from her hand, his long, elegant fingers gently gathering her waterfall of black hair, combing it for her slowly, stroke by stroke.

Since he was willing to serve her, Chen Yao let herself relax, and even bossily warned him, "Don't hurt me."

Xie Qingyan felt his wife's soft hair between his fingertips and replied gently, "Yes, my lady."

Every time he called her "my lady," his tone was particularly tender, making Chen Yao's ears tingle.

After they finished washing up, Xie Qingyan leaned over and scooped his wife into his arms, carrying her to the bed.

He seemed so refined and gentle, but on the bed he was especially energetic.

Chen Yao was pressed down onto the bed, her beautiful apricot eyes misted over, her body kissed until she was dazed and enchanted.

When the kiss ended, she couldn't help but climb up and retaliate by gently biting his neck, then angrily warned him, "Tomorrow is the return visit. You're not allowed to—"

"Newlyweds, my lady—would you bear to see me suffer?" Xie Qingyan's voice was low, carrying a hint of hoarseness.

His long, slender fingers gripped her slim waist, and he deliberately rubbed against her, letting her feel his body's obvious change.

"Then you can't be so frequent." Chen Yao complained in a muffled voice.

After all, they were already married, so it was unreasonable to refuse Xie Qingyan entirely—especially since she actually felt a little pleasure in the process.

"Then... only once tonight." She took a step back, trying to set rules with him.

"Is my lady underestimating your husband?"

Xie Qingyan lowered his head and pressed his thin lips to hers again, nibbling lightly on her slightly swollen lips.

"That..." Chen Yao parted her lips slightly, feeling the eager outline pressed against her, and could only reluctantly change her words again, "Three times, no more."

Xie Qingyan's tongue pushed past her lips and, in the last moment before she lost her voice, replied, "Alright."

Tomorrow she would need to get up early for the return visit, so naturally he couldn't bear to overwork his wife too much.

But when it actually happened, Chen Yao found that even if the number of times was set, a shameless man could still...

The corners of her eyes were red, her beautiful apricot eyes shimmering with rippling light. Unable to bear it, she bit his shoulder, wanting nothing more than to curse out loud.

But when she opened her mouth, all that came out were soft, broken fragments of sound.

*

So on the second day, during the return visit,

even sitting together in the same carriage, Chen Yao kept her face tense, and the occasional sidelong glance she shot him was frosty.

"My lady, it was my fault." Xie Qingyan reached out and gently wrapped his arm around his wife's waist, dutifully admitting his mistake in a low voice.

Chen Yao unhappily pushed at him, and when she found she couldn't push him away at all, she became even more sulky, turning her face away and refusing to speak to him.

Then when they arrived at the Pingyuan Hou mansion, it was naturally taken for granted that Lady Hou thought she was still being restless even after getting married.

The matter of Chen Yao's runaway marriage had never been revealed, so Lady Hou was still kept in the dark to this day.

"Yao Yao, it's not that your mother wants to scold you. But since you're already married, you shouldn't throw tantrums like this anymore. Just properly live your life with Qingyan."

Since mother and daughter needed to have a private chat, Lady Pingyuan had brought Chen Yao to her own room.

At this moment, she was patiently and earnestly advising her troublesome daughter.

Chen Yao sat on the round stool, pouting her lips in displeasure and retorting, "How am I throwing a tantrum? I did marry him properly."

"Then why are you giving him a cold face?" Lady Pingyuan sighed, stroking her daughter's hair with a bit of heartache. "Once you're married into another household, you need to learn to restrain yourself a little. How can you act the same as you did in your own home?"

Chen Yao wanted to pout: Since she knew her daughter might suffer after marriage, she still forced her to marry—she really didn't understand.

But she didn't say anything in the end, just following her mother's touch, softly leaning against her shoulder and rubbing against her affectionately.

"Mother, I know what I'm doing. Anyway, if Xie Qingyan dares to treat me badly, I'll just divorce him."

"Nonsense!" Lady Pingyuan reached out and tapped her forehead lightly but firmly, scolding in a low voice. "Don't ever say such things again, especially in the Xie mansion."

"Besides, I can see that Qingyan treats you well. Just behave yourself, and once you give the Xie family a grandson, your days will be even more stable."

Just looking at how Xie Qingyan's gaze had been fixed on her daughter the entire time in the front hall earlier, Lady Pingyuan felt a bit relieved.

"I know." Chen Yao pressed her lips together and dragged out the words, sounding dejected.

If having a child was the requirement, then her days were probably not going to be stable at all.

Seeing her lazy and listless expression, Lady Pingyuan couldn't help but gently tap her daughter's nose with her finger, her tone full of affection. "You're so undisciplined."

Chen Yao curved her eyes and then clung to her mother even more coquettishly, rubbing against her.

But because of this posture, when Lady Pingyuan glanced down slightly, she vaguely saw, through the slightly loosened collar of the girl's clothes, faint red marks that should have faded quite a bit but still remained.

"Alright, you're this old and still acting like a child." She reached out to help adjust her daughter's collar, her tone mildly reproachful.

Although this daughter of hers had been spoiled into being overly naive, at least it seemed that their married life was quite harmonious.