Chapter 75 Pearl …Zhuzhu…

Chapter 75: Baozhu ... Zhuzhu ...

There were way too many guests outside, and Zhong Yao waited forever, but Xie Chi still hadn't come back. A maid brought her some soup and asked if she wanted to bathe first.

Zhong Yao thought the whole wedding ceremony was just plain weird. She had to get up before dawn to do her hair and makeup, and after getting all dolled up, she had to stay covered by the bridal veil the whole time, until she was led into the bridal chamber before the groom could even get a single look.

He'd take one quick look, and then she'd have to wash it all off.

It's just so weird.

She said this to the maids. The ones who came with her from the Zhong Mansion all laughed. The ones from the Marquis's household just looked at each other, not knowing what to say. They kind of reminded her of Shu Feng back in the day.

Shu Feng was still over at Wuyin Mountain, helping Wang Linyue run the city. She was a tough girl, good with both a pen and a sword. And she had a great personality too.

Zhong Yao figured most people in the Marquis's household were decent.

Thinking about that, she asked, "How come I haven't seen your young master?"

She was talking about Xue Fang. It was only then that Zhong Yao realized she hadn't heard Xue Fang's voice at all.

That's not right—he loves being in the middle of the action.

"The young master went with the heir to pick up the bride. Maybe you didn't see him because of the veil, ma'am," a maid replied.

Suddenly being called "Madam" instead of "Third Miss," Zhong Yao wasn't really used to it. After a moment, she asked, "Was he really that well-behaved today?"

The maid thought back for a second. "Ever since the heir started talking about marriage, the young master has been a lot more disciplined. He's been reading and writing every day like a good boy. And a couple of days ago, he even started paying his respects to the heir morning and evening."

Zhong Yao was totally shocked. But after the shock, it kind of made sense.

He was probably having another one of his crazy episodes.

People in their Marquis's household were always going crazy—for whatever reason.

Zhong Yao said she wanted to take a bath. After sending the Marquis's household staff away, she quietly asked her own maids, "Was Old Madam Xie really mean today?"

The maids had been warned by Madam Zhong. At that, they immediately said, "She was all smiles at first, but when you bowed to her, miss, she got all serious, like she had something on her mind."

No big deal—she knew she'd be tough to handle. Zhong Yao was already prepared.

What her mom said about making Xie Chi catch a cold to intimidate the old lady—Zhong Yao couldn't bring herself to do that. But she wasn't about to take any crap either. Later, she'd settle all the scores—old, new, and future—at once. First, she'd just beat Xie Chi up.

Then they'd consummate the marriage.

Zhong Yao thought this with renewed vigor. In the steamy bathing room, she slowly undid her clothes. After undoing them, she glanced at herself first, then quickly pulled them back together.

Lost in thought for a moment, she stole a shy smile, then finally shed her garments and stepped slowly into the clear, hot water scattered with petals.

On Xie Chi's side, things were easy to handle. The elders wouldn't force him to drink, his peers dared not, and the younger ones even less so.

But unfortunately, the Crown Prince was there, making it hard for him to leave easily.

Fortunately, the Fourth Prince arrived later, and the Crown Prince didn't linger, taking his leave with Xie Chi.

Xie Chi had drunk wine and didn't want Zhong Yao to say he smelled bad on their wedding night, so he went to bathe before returning to the bridal chamber.

He was used to being alone and headed straight for his usual bathing room. When he arrived, he saw it brightly lit, with faint sounds of water coming from inside.

Xie Chi froze. Just then, a maid came out holding clothes, saying Zhong Yao was inside.

That simple sentence threw Xie Chi's mind into chaos, nearly causing him to embarrass himself on the spot.

He immediately turned and left, ordering a simple tub to be prepared for bathing elsewhere.

After washing, he returned to the room. Zhong Yao was lying on the couch, propping her chin on one hand while flipping through the gift list.

Her posture was relaxed. Her thick, jet-black hair spread over her back like silk, outlining the curves of her shoulders, neck, and waist, reigniting the dying flames in Xie Chi's heart.

He dismissed the maids and walked in.

Hearing his voice, Zhong Yao quickly closed the gift list and sat up. She scrambled to the corner of the bed and hastily pulled the bedcover over her chest.

Xie Chi walked over and sat down without a word.

He looked at Zhong Yao, and she glanced back at him.

Xie Chi noticed her cheeks were flushed—whether from the bath or shyness—a rosy white that was very pleasing.

After a few glances, he suddenly reached out, grabbed a corner of the bedcover, and yanked hard. Caught off guard, Zhong Yao felt her chest go bare as the cover slipped away.

"Ah!" she cried, lunging to grab it back. Xie Chi caught her arm and pulled her forward, landing her steadily in his embrace.

"What's there to hide?" Xie Chi's voice sounded by her ear.

His chest was broad and firm, radiating heat, pressing against Zhong Yao and instantly warming her face.

Zhong Yao's hands braced against his shoulders, trying to push back. The moment she moved, his arm tightened around her waist, forcing her to press tightly against him again.

...Zhong Yao's face nearly caught fire.

Embarrassed, she scratched at Xie Chi's neck and said, "...Heir Xie, you're like a lecher."

Though his actions were bold, Xie Chi was pursing his lips, watching to see if Zhong Yao was angry.

Hearing this, he said, "How is this being a lecher?"

When aroused, his thoughts were far more indecent than this.

"Besides, we're already married," Xie Chi added.

Holding Zhong Yao, he found her soft all over—soft and fragrant—and only wanted to press her onto the bed and knead her freely.

His voice unconsciously deepened as he added, "Don't you know tonight is for consummating the marriage?"

Zhong Yao knew, of course.

Her face red, she pressed her hands against his shoulders and pulled back slightly. Her glistening eyes glanced at him a few times, then she suddenly sighed. "...Heir Xie, have you ever thought, if ten or eight girls all ruined your innocence, what would you do?"

Xie Chi: "...?"

"Would you marry them all? If you married them all, holding them face-to-face like this, you could only hold two at most... count one on your back, that's three," Zhong Yao said seriously. "But that's still not enough..."

The lustful thoughts in Xie Chi's mind vanished entirely. His face darkened. "Do I have to be ruined like that?"

"You didn't deny you'd marry them because of it," Zhong Yao said quickly. "Is it because I..."

Too embarrassed to admit she'd kissed Xie Chi in a daze, she mumbled, "...Because I ruined you, that you wanted to marry me?"

"..."

The wording is just like Xue Fang’s—it has that suffocating vibe of someone who never cracked a book.

Xie Chi said, “Have I ever said I like you?”

“Yes,” Zhong Yao said.

Xie Chi asked again, “Have I ever said you’re an idiot?”

“You have.”

“Then why are you rambling on like this? Which of those two sentences do you want me to repeat a few more times?”

Zhong Yao: “Hmph!”

She raised her hand and punched Xie Chi in the shoulder.

Xie Chi shot her a glare, let go, stood up, and pulled the bed curtains shut on both sides.

The curtains fell like clouds, gently enclosing them in the narrow bed.

Zhong Yao’s heart pounded as she eyed Xie Chi’s tall frame, quietly bending her knees and scooting back. She murmured, “You definitely want to marry me because I defiled you.”

Xie Chi’s second proposal to Zhong Yao was partly for that reason.

But hearing her say it was too weird, and he refused to admit it.

He said, “No way.”

“Yes,” Zhong Yao said with a sorrowful sigh. “If someone else had defiled you, you’d definitely marry them too… and you still dare to say you like me? Men are all trash!”

With that, she smacked him on the shoulder again.

Xie Chi, having been hit twice in a row: “Are you just using this as an excuse to take it out on me?”

Zhong Yao sure as hell wasn’t going to admit that. With a look of grievance, she said, “I’m baring my soul to you, and you accuse me of making things hard on purpose…”

As she spoke, she pushed herself up with both hands on the mattress, as if to leave the bridal chamber.

Xie Chi wasn’t about to let her do that. With one sweep and a grab, he trapped her in the corner of the bed.

Zhong Yao flailed, trying to push him away, but he grabbed her hands.

He didn’t want to admit it, but on their wedding night, sweet talk was in order.

“Fine, I admit it,” Xie Chi sighed, collecting his thoughts. “I proposed to you three times. The first was to trick you, the second was out of duty and for your honor, but the third time, this time, it’s for real. Zhong Yao, I’ve never liked a girl this much before…”

Even though he still didn’t know what he saw in her.

Maybe it was that she never shut up, driving him crazy eight hundred times a day.

“I said I like you, and you hit me. Happy now?”

Zhong Yao didn’t answer. She just lifted her face and kissed Xie Chi on the mouth.

It was her first real kiss, quick, and all she felt was how soft his lips were.

Xie Chi’s eyes darkened from the kiss, and he almost pounced on her.

But he held onto a shred of sanity and said, “You’ve had your say. Now it’s my turn. Zhong Yao, there’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but never got the chance. Now I finally can. You know what it is?”

Zhong Yao didn’t know, but she could take a guess.

She thought for a moment and said, “You totally want to hit me.”

Xie Chi nodded. “Right, but that’s not it.”

Zhong Yao looked at him mournfully and added, “You want to sleep with me…”

“Right, but that’s not it.”

“So you want to kiss me?”

“Where do I want to kiss you?” Xie Chi said.

Where else but the mouth?

But before Zhong Yao could answer, Xie Chi suddenly pulled away from her. While she was wondering, he grabbed her ankle.

A shiver ran through her, and before she could react, he yanked her down. With a yelp of “Ah!” she fell flat on her back on the bed.

She propped herself up on her elbows to get up, but Xie Chi pressed down from above, gazing at her and saying, “There are two places I want to kiss. Let me show you now.”

He suddenly lowered his head, his handsome face moving toward her lower belly.

Zhong Yao’s scalp tingled. Instinctively, she bent her knees and tried to curl away, but as soon as her legs moved, Xie Chi pressed her knees down flat against the mattress.

She let out a startled cry, then covered her mouth, trembling as she shut her eyes.

Then, a coolness at her waist as her nightgown was pulled down a little. A warmth touched her hipbone, something soft pressing against it, along with a scorching breath that pulsed against her waist, making her whole body tremble.

Zhong Yao opened her eyes and saw Xie Chi crouched at her waist, his chin resting on her lower belly, kissing the spot on her hip where she had once bruised herself.

She finally understood the two places Xie Chi wanted to kiss most.

But the sight before her was too scary…

…It wasn’t like the pictures… but it was too similar…

Flushed, she reached out to push Xie Chi away.

He looked up from below, his gaze deep, burning like fire, making her whole body hot.

She stared at him, her lips slightly parted as she panted. Xie Chi’s eyes darkened, and he followed her pull, pressing down gently, cupping her face, and kissing her hard.

In terms of lust, Xie Chi wanted to pin Zhong Yao down and kiss every inch of her skin.

But deep down, what he most wanted to kiss, what he had thought of many times, was one spot—the hip where she had once bruised—and the other—her back, marked by a hideous scar.

Tonight, he could finally let loose.

But some things were never meant to go his way. As Xie Chi lifted Zhong Yao’s long hair, his lips roamed down her shoulder blade, kissing along the fierce scar, she suddenly trembled violently, struggling to get away.

Xie Chi, caught up in the moment, wouldn’t let her escape. He grabbed her hands and pinned them to the mattress, continuing his fierce kisses.

Zhong Yao whimpered.

When Xie Chi sensed something wrong and abruptly stopped, he looked down at the trembling body beneath him. He forcefully turned her face and found her already drenched in tears.

Xie Chi’s heavy breathing paused slightly. His voice hoarse and low, he asked, “Did I hurt you grabbing… or kissing?”

Zhong Yao gripped the bedsheet tightly, turned her head, and looked at Xie Chi with tearful eyes, her voice hoarse and whiny: "...It tickles to death..."

It was just as Xie Chi had said—she was ticklish, and even her husband couldn't touch her there.

But Xie Chi wouldn't have it, saying, "Suck it up!"

He continued, and Zhong Yao shivered, crying and squirming away.

Xie Chi talked a big game, but in truth, he couldn't bring himself to be harsh.

He stopped, grabbed her chin, and glared at her.

Zhong Yao said nothing, just hunched her shoulders and wept silently. After a while, once the maddening ticklish feeling on her back faded, she grabbed the bedding and cautiously looked back at Xie Chi, frozen in place.

This was a total buzzkill, but she couldn't help it.

A bit embarrassed, Zhong Yao lay quietly for a moment, then said, "...What if... what if you just force me?"

Xie Chi: "...I won't force you."

"You forced the marriage, so why act all shy now?"

Like she didn't know it was forced?

Xie Chi said, "Would you just shut up?"

Zhong Yao fell silent, traced the mandarin ducks on the pillow with her finger a few times, then stole a glance behind her. Spotting Xie Chi's strained expression and thinking of what had just happened, she blushed but couldn't help letting out a soft giggle.

Xie Chi, hooked by her sly look, couldn't hold back any longer. He pounced again, pinning her down hard on the bed.

Zhong Yao was ticklish, and when it got too intense, she couldn't stop trembling or crying.

Seeing her cry and shake all over, Xie Chi initially held back. But every time he stopped, Zhong Yao would start laughing through her tears. After a few rounds, Xie Chi's kisses turned ruthless.

Zhong Yao, still crying, was slowly overtaken by a different feeling. She kept crying, but now it wasn't from the tickling on her back.

The wedding candles flickered. After who knows how long, when Xie Chi finally stopped, Zhong Yao's eyes were red and swollen, barely able to open.

Xie Chi still hovered over her back, one hand clasping her fingers, the other brushing the sweat-dampened strands of hair at her cheek.

The bed curtains had parted slightly from the earlier commotion, letting a sliver of candlelight fall on Zhong Yao's face.

Xie Chi saw her flushed cheeks and the lingering tears on her lashes, like a pearl freshly plucked from water.

His heart softened. He stroked her cheek, kissing her forehead, nose, lips, and chin softly, murmuring as he kissed, "Baozhu... Zhuzhu..."

Zhong Yao, dazed, heard him and thought, Xie Chi is so awful—on their wedding night, seeing her sleep deeply, he secretly called her Piggy-pig...