Chapter 110

Chapter 110

In her first direct confrontation with Zhou Shi, Jiang Chun won hands down, thanks to her thick skin and nimble, resourceful nature.

Although she painfully lost one thousand taels of silver, her sense of accomplishment was through the roof.

After returning to Dangui Courtyard, she immediately asked Mother Li to prepare a bowl of ginger soup for her.

Despite being bundled up, sitting on the roof for half an hour in the freezing wind inevitably let the cold seep into her bones.

So, she needed to drink the ginger soup to ward off the chill and avoid catching a cold.

Thinking that Song Shian was also out and about, she amended her request, “Make it two bowls. When Song Shian gets back, make sure he has a warm bowl ready.”

Preparing ginger soup was a time-consuming task, so it was better to have it ready in advance rather than scrambling to make it on the spot.

Thus, by the time Song Shian returned from the orphanage, he was able to drink the hot ginger soup immediately.

He handed the empty bowl to Gui Zhi and went behind the screen to change into casual clothes.

As he came around from behind the screen, he said with a smile, “My dear, you’re so thoughtful to have prepared ginger soup for me in advance.”

Thinking of his previous life, no matter when he returned to Dangui Courtyard, he was greeted only by a few rough servants and a few female servants who weren’t allowed into the main rooms.

If he wanted ginger soup, he had to ask for it and wait at least twenty minutes.

It was nothing like now, where someone was always waiting for him at home and had prepared the anti-cold ginger soup in advance.

The treatment was like night and day, a world of difference.

He sat down next to Jiang Chun, put his arm around her, and rested his chin on her shoulder, sincerely saying, “I’m so lucky to have you.”

Jiang Chun first curled her lip in pride, then said with a smirk, “If you knew what I did today, you probably wouldn’t think so.”

Zhou Shi was his own grandmother, and her granddaughter-in-law had faced off against Grandmother. As the person caught in the middle, he would inevitably be in a dilemma.

Song Shian didn’t even move his chin, using a lazy and casual tone, “Oh? What did you do that was so earth-shattering? Go on, tell me.”

On such a festive day, with the ice and snow outside making it difficult to even go out, what big thing could she have done?

Jiang Chun grinned and said, “Today, I faced off against Madam Zhou.”

Song Shian frowned, puzzled, “Grandmother’s temperament has been the same for decades. In the past, you couldn’t be bothered with her. Why did you challenge her today?”

Jiang Chun huffed, “I couldn’t be bothered with her, but if she was going to make an example of me today, do you think I would just obediently bow my head and let her chop it off?”

Song Shian let her go, looked into her eyes, and asked seriously, “What exactly happened?”

Although Jiang Chun usually acted on her own terms, she was a calculated person in her heart and knew how to balance the level of trouble she caused, so the elders mostly turned a blind eye and didn’t bother with her.

Why had Madam Zhou, who had always been indifferent, suddenly started to take things seriously with her today?

Jiang Chun didn’t embellish the story but used the most straightforward words to recount the entire sequence of events.

Upon hearing this, Song Shian immediately turned serious and said coldly, “You sat on a rooftop covered in snow for half an hour in the cold wind?”

Jiang Chun: “???”

You’re missing the point. The real takeaway is that I stood up to Grandmother, and for once, she had to back down.

Jiang Chun nodded honestly, "Yeah, sure."

Only after nodding did she realize that Song Shian's expression looked off.

After a moment of contemplation, she understood why.

He was clearly angry that she hadn’t taken care of herself, using a method that harmed her own body to anger Old Lady Song.

She felt a pang of guilt and shrank back, saying softly, "Don't worry, as soon as I came back, I asked Mother Li to boil some ginger tea for me. I'm perfectly fine now."

"Perfectly fine?" Song Shian glared at her, his voice as cold as a thousand-year-old glacier, "Do you understand how delicate a woman's body is? It can't withstand cold, especially when it could affect our offspring!"

He had been worrying about having children daily, even planning to look for a divine doctor next year, yet she didn’t care at all.

Not only did she not care, but she also sabotaged his efforts!

Jiang Chun replied, "I'm not stupid. Why would I sit directly on the snow? My butt isn't made of steel!

Before going up to the roof, I took Old Lady's silver wolf-skin rug. That rug is waterproof and cold-resistant, so sitting on the snow wasn’t cold at all."

She even threw a flirty glance at Song Shian and boasted, "So, am I clever?"

Song Shian: "..."

Clever, huh? He was almost killed by her antics.

He clutched his chest, struggling to catch his breath, and managed to say, "Jiang Chun, if I die before my time, it'll be because of you."

At this rate, he estimated it would be hard to live as long as he did in his previous life.

Jiang Chun quickly came forward to help him calm down, and while doing so, scolded him, "You always overreact. I said I didn’t catch a cold, yet you still worry so much.

You know my body—how could it be so easily affected by cold?

Stop worrying so much. I’ll definitely give you babies, two even, one with the Jiang surname and one with the Song surname."

Song Shian: "..."

If he could really relax, he wouldn’t be this angry.

Anything that could affect their offspring was, in his eyes, an extremely serious matter.

To prevent Jiang Chun from daring to do this again, he pushed her hand away and said coldly, "Jiang Chun, this is the last time. If you don’t take care of yourself properly next time, I will..."

Jiang Chun looked at him sideways, "You will what?"

Song Shian slowly said, "I’ll go tell your father and let him deal with you."

Jiang Chun immediately felt a headache coming on.

She glared at him and said exasperatedly, "Why drag my dad into our personal business?

Dad's busy planning his new meat stall and doesn't have time for this nonsense."

Jiang He was also waiting to be a grandfather. Though he never outright pressured her, every time she visited her parents, his eyes would sneak a peek at her belly.

If he found out she had risked her health just to argue with Old Lady Song, he would definitely lose his temper and scold her severely.

"No big deal?" Song Shian said incredulously.

He had just lowered his hand, only to cover his chest again.

Did she actually consider something as important as having children to be a trivial matter?

He sneered coldly, "Whether it's trivial or not, your father will be the judge, not you."

Jiang Chun stretched out her hand and wrapped her arms around Song Shian's waist, playfully saying, "Alright, alright, I know I was wrong. I won't dare to do it again. Husband, please be merciful and spare me this once."

Song Shian pushed her away, coldly saying, "Let go. Stop being clingy. I don't fall for your tricks."

Jiang Chun hugged him tighter, a playful smile on her face. "Not falling for it, huh? Last night, someone was clinging to me, whining and insisting on marital duties. Luckily, I was strong-willed and not swayed by beauty, staying true to my principles."

Twisting in Song Shian's arms like a pretzel, she continued with a grin, "But today, my willpower isn't that strong. If you coax me a little, I might just give in."

Unmoved, Song Shian coldly replied, "Don't use our marital duties to mess with me. If I don't clarify your mistakes, I won't touch you, even if you beg me."

"Well, well, husband is indeed very angry with me," Jiang Chun said with a playful grin.

Then she sweetly coaxed, "Alright, alright, you know I have a simple mind and well-developed limbs, often acting rashly when my brain heats up. If you hold a grudge, you'll have more than enough to deal with.

I truly know I was wrong. Next time, if I challenge someone again, I'll choose a safer method, so you won't worry."

Song Shian wanted to play hard to get but lacked some confidence.

He privately suspected that the reason they didn't have children was because of the freezing water torture he endured in the imperial prison.

However, he couldn't reveal this concern.

Firstly, it was just his private suspicion without any evidence.

The Imperial Doctor even said that his physique was strong enough for child-rearing.

Secondly, revealing it would only make Jiang Chun worry with him, without any practical benefit.

After all, she wasn't a divine doctor.

So he could only sigh helplessly and take the step down Jiang Chun offered, "If you break your word again, I won't hide your actions anymore. I'll tell your father everything."

Jiang Chun immediately reiterated her stance, "I definitely won't do it again. After today's incident, unless Zhou Shi has lost her mind, she won't try to mess with me again.

Because if she did, I'd come out unscathed, and she'd only end up losing face. She'd have to be crazy to do something so disadvantageous!"

After a moment of silence, Song Shian suddenly reached out and hugged her, whispering in a hoarse voice, "Wife, keep your word. Tonight, we'll fulfill our marital duties."

Jiang Chun immediately changed her expression, lifting her chin and snorting, "Not so fast. You didn't even coax me, and you want to fulfill marital duties? Dream on."

Song Shian chuckled, "It's fine if you're stubborn, wife. Tonight, I’ll make sure you’re thoroughly pleased, and you'll give in."

Jiang Chun glared at him. "Sly!"

Then she snorted, "If I keep my distance, you won’t stand a chance."

Song Shian looked at her sideways, a smile curling his lips. "So, wife wants to play the forced scenario again. No problem, I'll satisfy you."

He even leaned in to ask, "I wonder, wife, do you prefer restraints or ropes?"

Without waiting for Jiang Chun to respond, he went on, "Oh, so you like everything? Then we should try them all."

Jiang Chun was both amused and angry. "What are you muttering about? Are you losing your mind? Should I call the Imperial Doctor to give you a few acupuncture needles?"

Song Shian said with a meaningful look, "I don't need any needles, but my dear, you need a few good pricks."

Jiang Chun: "..."

She often wondered if she had ended up in the wrong story, since she didn't feel lewd enough for this world.

Maybe she had landed in fanfiction instead of the original novel.

*

After spending some time in Dangui Courtyard, they put on their cloaks, grabbed their hand warmers, and headed to the main courtyard.

Today was the Winter Solstice, and there was a banquet in the main courtyard that they needed to attend.

Despite her physical activities, Jiang Chun wasn't really hungry.

This was because she had eaten quite a lot during the family banquet at noon, stuffing herself until she was full.

She probably hadn't fully digested that meal yet.

Still, she went.

Even though she wasn't very hungry, she could still eat a little more.

When they arrived at the main courtyard, they found that everyone else had already arrived, except for Zhou Shi.

Noticing Jiang Chun looking at Zhou Shi's empty seat, Madame Zhuang smiled and said, "The old lady ate too much at lunch and isn't hungry, so she’s skipping the banquet."

Her mother-in-law, who had always been so domineering, must have felt humiliated after losing to Jiang Chun today.

The old lady was hiding out of shame.

This should keep her quiet for a while.

Song Shian nodded slightly. "Hmm."

After the banquet, Song Shian planned to have Jiang Chun prepare a gift to send to Pine Crane Courtyard via his servant, Guipi.

It was a gesture of apology on Jiang Chun's part.

Although Jiang Chun had triumphed over the old lady, from another perspective, when a granddaughter-in-law has a showdown with a sixty-something grandmother and wins, causing the old lady to lose her appetite out of anger, it did seem a bit inappropriate.

If one were to scrutinize it, Jiang Chun didn't quite come out looking good.

So, they worked as a team: Jiang Chun took the heat, while Song Shian smoothed things over behind the scenes.

It was quite perfect.

Feeling pretty proud of himself, Song Shian asked, "Since I cleaned up your mess, how are you going to reward me, my dear?"

"What reward do you want?" Jiang Chun rolled her eyes, knowing that intimacy was inevitable tonight.

She actually didn't mind it much. She hadn't been intimate for five days since her period started a few days ago.

My cycle finished up yesterday, so there's no issue with intimacy today.

I have no idea what's going through Song Shian's head.

Seriously, all he did was help me out with something small, and now he’s already demanding a reward like a businessman.

Song Shian leaned in, his long, slender finger brushing her lips gently as he gave her a sidelong glance.

In a soft voice, he said, "I miss my wife's warm mouth."

She knew exactly what he meant, even if others might not. Jiang Chun was at a loss for words.

This guy, really...

Thinking about his... well-endowed physique, Jiang Chun hesitated, worried her jaw would be sore in the morning.

But...

In the end, she gave in to Song Shian's request.

She had a soft spot for him and couldn’t resist his pleading eyes, especially when he looked so damn good.

However, Song Shian then made additional requests.

He asked her to kneel, tie her hands behind her back with hemp rope, and bind her ankles together.

He also blindfolded her with a sweat towel.

Then he had her kiss him there in that position.

Jiang Chun: "..."

He really knows how to play the game.

But...

With her hands and feet tied and her vision blocked, the sensation in her mouth became overwhelming.

As Jiang Chun kissed, she couldn't help but become aroused.

She pulled back, breathless, and whispered, "Husband, I need you..."

Song Shian, who was in the height of pleasure and almost floating to the peak, replied coolly, "Keep going, don't slack off. Don't forget, this is the reward for helping you clean up the mess."

Jiang Chun thought to herself, "Who asked you to help clean up the mess?" and then lowered her head to continue kissing.

Well, since she had already started, she might as well see it through to the end.

Unexpectedly, Song Shian, for some reason, held his breath and refused to release, exhausting her to the point where her jaw ached.

When it finally ended, she nearly choked again.

Without giving her time to recover, Song Shian pushed her forward and joined with her from behind.

Jiang Chun cried out in surprise.

There was a slight discomfort, but it was mostly pleasurable.

To be honest, the forced scenario that Song Shian came up with was still thrilling the second time around.

Honestly, it felt a bit addictive.

Sure enough, humans are contradictory beings. When not treated gently, they long for someone to be considerate of them.

When treated with care for too long, they can't help but crave some excitement.

And this guy, Song Shian, when he's gentle and patient, he can drown her in his gentleness; when he's occasionally rough, he brings an entirely new experience.

Jiang Chun felt like she had won the lottery.

However, the next day, when she got out of bed with her legs shaking and almost knelt to the ground because her knees went soft, she didn’t feel that way anymore.

Damn, Song Shian even called her a spirit that drains people's essence, but he was the one draining her energy!

Even someone as strong as her was left weak-legged and unsteady on her feet.

The forced scenario was thrilling, but who could handle two rounds in one night, each time pushed to the edge ten times?

Jiang Chun thought she might become kidney-depleted and needed to get some black wolfberries from the system warehouse to make a tonic and nourish her kidneys.

Otherwise, she really couldn't handle Song Shian's endless demands.

On any other day, Jiang Chun could have rested in Dangui Courtyard and recovered after a day.

But today was a day for banqueting at the Song family.

After finishing her breakfast, Jiang Chun, with trembling legs, leaned on Gui Ye's hand and headed to the main courtyard.

Madame Zhuang, seeing her state, was at a loss for words.

She silently cursed her eldest son.

Knowing that Jiang Chun had to help entertain guests today, he still left her in such a state. Was it due to his young age and poor self-control, or was it intentional?

The former was self-explanatory, but the latter...

Hmph, was he secretly showing off to the guests?

When did her eldest son become so immature?

Was it a case of "birds of a feather flock together"? He spent all his time with Jiang Chun, who was semi-literate, so he must have picked up some bad habits from her.

Madame Zhuang complained inwardly for a while but pretended not to notice and said to Jiang Chun, "There are many guests today. You are responsible for entertaining the young ladies. I'll have Shanhu follow you. If there's anything you don't understand, ask her."

Jiang Chun smiled and replied, "Yes, mother."

Then she grabbed Zhong Wenjin, "Second sister-in-law, I'm not feeling well today, you must help me, or I definitely won't be able to complete the task my mother assigned."

Zhong Wenjin twitched at the corner of her mouth.

This wasn’t the first time her elder brother-in-law, a civil official, had left her elder sister-in-law weak and trembling.

Elder sister-in-law was decisive and formidable in other matters; no man could match her in decisiveness, but she indulged her elder brother-in-law without limits.

She was truly a complete sucker for love.

If Jiang Chun knew about Zhong Wenjin's thoughts, she would definitely have three large question marks popping up above her head.

Am I love-struck?

That’s ridiculous! I’m just being a good mother (or at least trying to be)!

In addition to Jiang Chun, who is the madam and future clan leader’s wife, Song Shichu and two other young ladies were tasked with hosting the young misses from various families.

Even Zhou Shi, the elderly matriarch, had the duty of entertaining the elderly ladies from various families.

Every female member of the Song family, except for the three gentlemen who had gone to the yamen and Song Shian, as well as Song Shiqian who had gone to the Guozijian, was busy as a bee.

As the Marquis of Jinxiang's household had a close relationship with the Song family, their ladies were the first to arrive.

Lady Xiao, the heir’s wife, smiled and said, "We came early so we could lend a hand. I hope you won't mind our eagerness?"

Lady Cao also smiled and said, "I may be clumsy, but I can still do some physical work. If there's anything that needs doing, just give me orders, Sister Jiang. Don't hesitate to ask."

"No way! I’d be thrilled to have your help. I’m swamped right now!" Jiang Chun replied with a playful smile, exaggeratedly letting out a long sigh of relief.

That being said, she didn’t dare to actually assign tasks to the pregnant Lady Xiao.

If anything happens to her, it could easily result in a miscarriage.

This child was the hope that the couple had been waiting for many years. If anything went wrong, Lu Shuyu might fight her to the death.

So she directly led them to the large flower hall at the back where guests were received.

On the way, seeing that there were no outsiders, Lady Cao lowered her voice and said, "Sister Jiang, have you heard about Eldest Miss Cheng's marriage to Fan the Butcher?"

Many people secretly speculated that the scandal involving Cheng Wenyuan and Fan the Butcher was orchestrated by Song Shian, because only the Crown Prince’s brother-in-law could command the servants of the Marquis of Anyuan’s household, who held an imperial pardon.

But there was no evidence.

Lady Cao was genuinely curious, but she couldn’t ask directly, so she could only beat around the bush.

Jiang Chun smiled and said, "The Cheng family has spread the news all over the Imperial City. It’s hard for me not to know."

Not seeing any clues from Jiang Chun's attitude, Lady Cao, still not giving up, asked again, "Do you think there's something fishy about Eldest Miss Cheng and Fan the Butcher’s situation?"

Seizing the loophole in her words, Jiang Chun asked with a grin, "Do you think there’s something fishy, Sister Cao? What exactly do you think is fishy? Why don’t you tell me?"

Lady Cao: "..."

Weren’t warriors supposed to be simple-minded but strong? Jiang Niangzi doesn’t fit that stereotype at all!

Lady Xiao lightly coughed and interrupted, "Sister Cao, Sister Jiang is busy today. Let’s not ask about these unimportant matters. Anyway, these are just trivial matters."

Hearing this, Lady Cao immediately smiled and said, "Look at me, I’m so scatterbrained! I just wanted to see if Sister Jiang had any insider information. I didn’t mean anything else. Please don’t take it the wrong way, Sister Jiang."

Jiang Chun smiled and said, "It’s just some idle chat. I won’t take it personally. But I hardly ever leave home, so I don’t know many people or have any insider info. I was actually hoping you sisters could share some insider news with me."

Lady Cao subtly pouted.

She couldn’t share the inside scoop on Eldest Miss Cheng, but she could have at least mentioned the fight between Princess Jincheng and Princess Fortunes.

Hmm, a bit stingy, aren’t you?