After getting married, she spent every night alone in her room; when she asked for a divorce, he kne

Xiao Jinghan laughed upon hearing this. "Grandmother, what do you mean by that?"

"What do you mean? What do you think I mean?" The old lady sighed repeatedly. "Granny Xu and Granny Tian have been listening outside for three whole nights! For three whole nights, there hasn't been a single sound from your room! Even toads mating would make some noise, right? You two clearly haven't consummated your marriage yet!"

Xiao Jinghan was stunned, unable to utter a word for a long time. The old lady glanced at him and said, "What's wrong? Speechless? Are you really sick? If you are, go get treatment!"

Xiao Jinghan was utterly helpless. "Old man, who are you cursing? You're already so old, how come you have no sense of propriety at all?"

"You're about to die without an heir, so what am I afraid of?"

"Where have I gone without an heir?" Xiao Jinghan pointed towards the pavilion in the middle of the lake. "Didn't you just see Yan'er?"

"Alright, stop with your little schemes! You can't fool me!" the old lady said. "Just tell me, are you sick or not?"

Xiao Jinghan stared at the old lady for a moment, then revealed a meaningful smile. "Old lady, you're quite something. However, I'm truly not ill. Besides, even if I were ill, there's still Jingzhuo, isn't there? The Xiao family line won't end!"

"So you're saying there will be no heir, and you're just going to make that girl live like a widow?" The old lady smacked Xiao Jinghan with her cane. "You wretched child, you're two-faced, heartless, and ungrateful! You're going to drive me crazy!"

Xiao Jinghan was given a solid slap by the old lady, but afterward he smiled as if nothing had happened. "Grandmother, are you calmed down yet? If not, hit me again!"

"I wouldn't be satisfied even if I beat you to death, you wretched child!" The old lady withdrew her cane. "Tell me honestly, what are you thinking? You married her, but you make her stay in her room every night. It won't sound good if word gets out!"

Xiao Jinghan remained silent for a moment.

What were you thinking?

He hadn't really thought about that.

He never wanted to marry Liu Yuansheng; it was the old lady who forced him to do so. Later, the old lady told him to treat her well, so he suppressed his various grievances against Liu Yuansheng and tried to get along with her harmoniously. Otherwise, given his intolerant nature, he would never have stepped into Liu Yuansheng's room.

Fortunately, Liu Yuansheng was sensible and never bothered him. Her aloof demeanor was completely different from the shameless and vain woman rumored to be. Xiao Jinghan had no intention of uncovering her true nature. Anyway, Yan'er liked her, so it was fine as long as they could get along peacefully.

As for what the old lady expects, let alone him, I'm afraid even Liu Yuansheng wouldn't agree.

Then why did she climb into his bed in the first place?

A flicker of doubt flashed across Xiao Jinghan's eyes, then he smiled and said, "These things require mutual affection and a natural progression; you can't rush it. Please wait a little longer."

"How long will I have to wait? Three or five years? Or ten or eight years? Han'er, I'm an old man, and the happiest thing for an old person is to see their children and grandchildren. Please understand me and let me have my wish sooner."

"Okay, okay."

Xiao Jinghan gave a perfunctory reply and was just about to find an excuse to change the subject when he suddenly saw chaos in the pavilion in the middle of the lake. Xiao Jingzhu ran out like a madman, shouting for the royal physician as he ran.

Xiao Jinghan sensed something was wrong. Looking into the pavilion again, he saw that Li Nanny and several maids were circling around Liu Yuansheng. Liu Yuansheng was holding Yan'er in a strange position, her wrists constantly hitting his chest, muttering something unintelligible.

Xiao Jinghan was shocked and left behind the words "Protect the old lady" before using his lightness skill to leap across the water and enter the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

The willows by the lake swayed, and a graceful figure flashed behind the old lady, while Xiao Jinghan appeared in front of Liu Yuansheng.

The servants were so frightened by Xiao Jinghan's arrival through the water that they knelt down. Only Liu Yuansheng remained holding Yan'er in that strange posture, anxiously murmuring, "Good child, spit it out, quick! Spit it out!"

Xiao Jinghan frowned at Liu Yuansheng, "What are you doing? What's wrong with Yan'er?"

"Spit it out, spit it out now!" Liu Yuansheng was sweating profusely and completely ignored Xiao Jinghan.

Seeing that the child was unable to spit out what was stuck in his throat, Liu Yuansheng steeled her heart, placed the child on her lap, and struck him hard on the shoulder blade. With a "clink," a chickpea fell out of the child's mouth and landed on the ground. Liu Yuansheng let out a long sigh of relief, then slumped to the ground, holding the child.

Exhausted, she used her last bit of strength to patiently coax the wailing Yan'er, "Don't cry, don't cry, it's alright, it's alright now."

Yan'er had been through a lot and was extremely aggrieved, crying uncontrollably in Liu Yuansheng's arms. Xiao Jinghan felt heartbroken and snatched Yan'er away, asking, "What exactly did you do to Yan'er?"

Liu Yuansheng looked up at Xiao Jinghan, but she was too exhausted to speak.

"Speak!" Xiao Jinghan roared, his anger barely contained. "What do you mean by pretending to be mute?"

"Your Highness, please don't be angry. The young master just ate some chickpeas by mistake and choked on them. In a moment of panic, the lady patted the young master."

"Yes, yes, yes, the Third Young Mistress did that to save the Young Master! If it weren't for her timely intervention, the Young Master would have been in grave danger!"

"Shut up! How dare you curse my Yan'er? Are you tired of living?" Xiao Jinghan said sternly.

The maid who had spoken up for Liu Yuansheng immediately lowered her head and dared not say another word.

Xiao Jinghan glared fiercely at Liu Yuansheng, who was still sitting on the ground, her face deathly pale. He said, "Yan'er is so young, are you trying to kill him by feeding him chickpeas? Don't tell me you didn't expect the chickpeas to choke him; you said it yourself. You helped take care of abandoned infants when you were at the nunnery. Since you know how to take care of children, why did you do that? What else could it be but trying to hurt my Yan'er?"

Liu Yuansheng's ears were ringing; this was a symptom of her qi and blood deficiency, leaving her physically weak and exhausted. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, too lazy to explain, "Think what you want."

After speaking, he slowly stood up, intending to leave the pavilion in the middle of the lake.

Seeing that she was about to leave, Xiao Jinghan stepped forward, holding Yan'er in his arms. "You want to leave before we've even explained ourselves?"

Liu Yuansheng looked away. "What else do you want me to say?"

Xiao Jinghan scoffed, "Look at the defiant look on your face. What? Did I wrong you?"

"They just explained it for me, do you believe them?" Liu Yuansheng turned to look at Xiao Jinghan, "None of you believe me, my father is like that, and so are you."

Xiao Jinghan shuddered, feeling utterly guilty under the gaze of those eyes, as still as a deep pool.

The two stared at each other coldly. In the silence, Xiao Jingzhuo ran back, followed by the family physician and the panting Ying'er.

Xiao Jingzhuo froze upon seeing the scene at the pavilion in the middle of the lake, standing there dumbfounded, not daring to approach any further. Ying'er, her hands and feet trembling, came up behind Liu Yuansheng and asked, "Miss, how is the young master?"

"It's alright now." Liu Yuansheng came to her senses and walked down the steps. "Let's go back."

Ying'er glanced at Xiao Jinghan, whose face was even more unpleasant than the King of Hell, and then at Liu Yuansheng, who looked like a ghost. In the end, she didn't ask anything, just said "Oh" and left with Liu Yuansheng.

"Stop right there! Who gave you permission to leave!"

Xiao Jinghan called out to Liu Yuansheng again, "You almost made my Yan'er choke on a chickpea, and you think you can just leave like that?"

Liu Yuansheng had no choice but to stop again. Ying'er, who couldn't bear to see Liu Yuansheng being wronged, mustered her courage and stepped forward, saying, "Who said my young lady gave the young master chickpeas?"

Xiao Jinghan stared at Liu Yuansheng. "If it's not her, then who is it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Jingzhuo walked over awkwardly and said, "Brother, um, I fed Yan'er chickpeas."

"What did you say?" Xiao Jinghan asked in surprise, "You fed Yan'er chickpeas?"

"Yes, it was me." Xiao Jingzhuo said with a long face, "When I was eating chickpeas, I saw Yan'er drooling. I thought he wanted some too, so I fed him one. I didn't expect him to choke on it."

"Are you stupid? How old is he? Can he even eat chickpeas?"

"I...I don't know," Xiao Jingzhuo tried to explain. "These chickpeas are crunchy and easy to chew, and I thought it was okay for a child to eat them, so I gave him one..."

Xiao Jingzhuo spoke in a lower voice, no longer daring to look Xiao Jinghan in the eye.

Xiao Jinghan closed his eyes, feeling a lump in his throat, unable to rise or fall.

He assumed that no one but Liu Yuansheng would dare to feed Yan'er, so he immediately blamed her without distinguishing right from wrong, forgetting that his foolish younger brother was also there.

He opened his eyes, glaring at Xiao Jingzhuo with annoyance. Xiao Jingzhuo's eyes were clear, his expression carrying a hint of fear and grievance. Xiao Jinghan pressed his lips together, then kicked him, "Get lost!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Jingzhuo covered his backside and ran away.

Xiao Jinghan breathed a sigh of relief and said to the family physician, "Please examine the young master."

"Yes."

The physician stepped forward, gently pried open Yan'er's mouth to examine him, and said, "Young Master, rest assured, the foreign object in the young master's throat has been expelled, and he is fine. Infants have narrowed tracheas; if it weren't for the Third Young Mistress's timely intervention, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Upon hearing this, a hint of guilt flashed in Xiao Jinghan's dark eyes. He waved his sleeve at the physician, handed the sleeping Yan'er to the wet nurse Li, and said in a deep voice to Liu Yuansheng, "Thank you for your trouble. Also, I apologize for what happened just now."

Liu Yuansheng lowered her eyes, neither blaming Xiao Jinghan for his extreme behavior nor expressing her own grievances. She bowed slightly and left the lakeside pavilion with Ying'er.

-

The night was as dark as ink. Liu Yuansheng changed into her nightgown early, combed her long hair, and prepared to go to sleep.

Nanny Li took Yan'er to the bathroom to bathe and hadn't come back yet. Liu Yuansheng tidied up the bed for them and then straightened Yan'er's rocking bed before sitting on her own bed.

But she still can't sleep.

Because Xiao Jinghan was sitting in the armchair next to the antique shelf, flipping through the medical books she had brought back from the Prime Minister's residence.

Liu Yuansheng didn't chase him away. He read his book, and she stared at him. Finally, Xiao Jinghan put down his book, but instead of rushing to the warm pavilion, he lifted the beaded curtain and walked up to her.

"Did you change into your pajamas early this morning?"

Xiao Jinghan looked Liu Yuansheng up and down, who was wearing a lotus-root-colored Shu brocade nightgown with a diagonal front and knotted buttons. "Are you getting ready for bed?"

Liu Yuansheng nodded.

Xiao Jinghan chuckled and sat down on the round stool in front of the bed, saying, "Something unpleasant happened during the day. Will you be able to sleep tonight?"

Liu Yuansheng gazed quietly at Xiao Jinghan, a hint of doubt in her misty eyes. "Isn't Your Highness going to sleep in the warm pavilion?"

Seeing that Liu Yuansheng ignored his question, Xiao Jinghan smiled slightly, slapped his thigh lightly and said, "I won't go to the warm pavilion tonight, I'll stay here."

Liu Yuansheng was startled upon hearing this. "Why?"

"Consuming the marriage."

Xiao Jinghan stared intently into Liu Yuansheng's eyes and said this.