So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, a loud bell rang out outside. The sound was deep and resonant, with nine long and five short tones. Ning Yu was awakened by the bell and looked out of the tent with drooping eyelids.

The man beside her had woken up at some point, but he was no longer there. The deafening noise echoed across the hunting grounds that stretched for more than ten miles. Ning Yu suddenly remembered that today was a state banquet.

She hurriedly got up to get dressed, inwardly cursing him for not waking her up when he got up.

He had torn all of yesterday's clothes to shreds. A begonia-colored dress lay by the bed. Ning Yu glanced at the flamboyant color and frowned.

She couldn't wear such flashy clothes since the prince had just passed away; she usually wore plain clothes.

She glanced at the silent outside, thought for a moment, and then put her clothes on.

"Young lady, the governor wants you to wait for him inside the tent."

Qingfeng was guarding the entrance. Ning Yu looked into the distance and saw that there were patrolling soldiers all around. If she were seen walking out of his tent so swaggeringly, she would be in deep trouble.

With that thought, she slipped back into the tent, lifted a corner of it, and asked, "When will the Commander return?"

"It will probably take another half an hour for the patrol to finish."

"Could you please find me a simple set of clothes?"

Qingfeng paused for a moment, then quickly changed his mind, hummed in agreement, and left.

Ning Yu breathed a sigh of relief and went to the washroom in the back to wash up. When she came out, there was already a tray on the table with a soft white dress on it.

The fabric of the skirt is very comfortable, cool and refreshing. The light and thin fabric has a pearly luster when worn. Upon closer inspection, the satin skirt hem is embroidered with delicate patterns, as thin as a cicada's wing.

The state banquet was scheduled for the afternoon. Finally, an hour later, when Xie Xun was about to return, the outer curtains were lifted, and a stream of food was brought in.

Looking at the table full of delicious food, Ning Yu couldn't help but feel hungry.

"Why didn't you have someone bring you food if you were hungry?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the doorway. Ning Yu looked up and saw a man in military uniform.

"Wait for the governor to return."

She wasn't waiting for him; she had no intention of dining here at all.

Xie Xun looked at her clothes and said, "Wearing all white every day, who are you trying to impress?"

"My husband just—" Seeing him look over, Ning Yu suddenly changed the subject, "The young master just died in battle. If I dress flamboyantly, it will attract criticism."

Xie Xun put down his complicated and demanding tasks and came back to have dinner with her, not to listen to this. The word "husband" sounded jarring for no reason.

He didn't want to hear that, and said coolly, "Go change it."

Feeling bewildered, Ning Yu gave a perfunctory smile, took off his cloak, watched him go to wash his hands, and then sat down at the table to wait for her meal.

During dinner, that bastard, whether intentionally or not, asked her, "Why didn't you change it?"

Ning Yu stirred the porridge in the bowl with a spoon. "Change it later."

Why do you have to control what he wears? Why doesn't he just die?

The tent was filled with the faint scent of incense, which should have been a calming atmosphere, but the surrounding air was inexplicably tense.

Xie Xun stared at her without saying a word. She lowered her head, her black hair casually tied up with a hairpin, revealing her delicate neck, where there were still marks left by him.

Ning Yu felt uneasy under his gaze, so she coughed lightly and placed a piece of lychee flesh on his plate.

"The person is dead. Don't ruin your future for someone who's dead." Xie Xun's voice was as cold as ice. "Be sensible, and you'll live a more comfortable life."

That scoundrel who only knows how to scare people all day long, threatening her every day, made Ning Yu unhappy, but she didn't dare to show it on her face. She said with difficulty, "The young master has just passed away---"

Xie Xun had had enough of her constantly mentioning Xie Yan. He could barely suppress the malice in his heart and said, word by word, "If you want to observe mourning so badly, you can go down and keep him company."

"You—" Ning Yu's hand holding the silver chopsticks trembled violently with anger, and her eyes suddenly reddened. "How could you say that?!"

Xie Xun looked at her, his elegant and aloof face devoid of any warmth.

Ning Yu seemed to be furious, her slender shoulders trembling slightly. "You are the future head of the Xie family, and you are used to being carefree. No one dares to say anything about you, but I have to be careful in everything I do so that I don't give anyone anything to talk about in order to live a peaceful life."

"I'm only just past the age of twenty-nine, a time when I love bright and sunny days. Do you think I want to be in the dark all the time?"

She had already said that, but Xie Xun acted as if he couldn't hear her and insisted that she wear the clothes he had chosen, completely ignoring the difficulty in her words.

"Ning Yu, I don't want to hear you say these things. What I want is for you to be obedient. You have to do whatever I tell you to do."

All the women in the world are more sensible than Ning Yu; asking her to change clothes is like taking her life.

He wanted her to change it today, to something that would make him feel comfortable and look pleasing to the eye.

Ning Yu didn't know where his temper came from or what was wrong with him. She secretly glanced at his face out of the corner of her eye, covered her forehead with a handkerchief, and didn't say anything.

Listening to his sobbing only made him angrier. Yesterday he argued with him over a sickly person, and today he's making a scene over a dead person. Xie Xun felt suffocated during the meal, and he slammed down his chopsticks and got up.

Ning Yu was startled when he suddenly picked her up. She cried out and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Whether it was this action that pleased him or not, his tense jaw relaxed.

Ning Yu knew she had to change her clothes today, so she didn't argue with him anymore. She figured she could just go through the trouble and change when she saw other people.

As the thought crossed her mind, she felt somewhat resentful. She had only provoked him once, yet she had been subjected to a lack of freedom for the rest of her life, with everything being controlled by him.

Ning Yu was slammed onto the bed, and in her anger, she tried to pull him down with her, but he seemed unwilling to indulge her anymore. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pull him away, and instead clung to him like a koala.

"You want it?"

Ning Yu let go and rolled onto the bed.

He unbuttoned her dress, and Ning Yu shrank back inside, stopping him. "I'll change myself."

Seeing that she was obedient, Xie Xun let go and allowed her to do as she pleased.

The begonia-colored dress was elaborate and gorgeous, with layer upon layer. It took Ning Yu quite a while to put it on before she came out. She looked at herself in the mirror and was slightly stunned.

Hearing the noise, Xie Xun looked up. She was already charming, but this outfit made her even more alluring. The cinched waist accentuated her tall figure, and she swayed her slender waist as she walked towards him. Her beautiful and passionate face was just as captivating as it had been the night before.

Xie Xun felt relieved; after all, he wasn't dead, and he was dressed in white for his funeral every day.