Chapter 187: After I’m Done Sleeping with Them, I’ll Come Back to Be with You

Chapter 187: Chapter 187: After I’m Done Sleeping with Them, I’ll Come Back to Be with You

"Yaoyao,"

He tightened his embrace around the woman in his arms and said in a low voice, "Can we stop fighting? You told me to take concubines, and I listened. Don’t try to provoke me on purpose anymore."

Cui Lingyao’s expression froze. The lingering anger in her chest transformed into a strange sense of helplessness.

’Six of them.’

’Six concubines...’

The girl in his arms looked dazed. A fine sheen of sweat coated her forehead, her hair was a mess, and her almond-shaped eyes had lost all their earlier vivacity.

"Tired?"

Xie Jinbai’s heart softened.

He reached out to smooth the stray hairs at her temples, then lifted her chin and leaned down to place a kiss between her brows. He coaxed her softly, "Let me carry you to wash up before we sleep."

"No need,"

Cui Lingyao closed her eyes wearily and said in a low voice, "I’ll move back to the rear courtyard tomorrow."

She’d been wanting to move back to her own courtyard for a while, but he had been coming back late these past few days, and she never found the right time to bring it up.

Now, the situation between them as husband and wife had become somewhat awkward.

From Cui Lingyao’s perspective, it wasn’t quite that a rift had formed between them.

But they certainly weren’t the picture of a loving, trusting couple either.

In any case, she really couldn’t bring herself to face him day in and day out as if nothing was wrong.

Especially since... concubines would soon be entering the manor.

All the more reason for her to stay away. Out of sight, out of mind.

Xie Jinbai didn’t speak. His thumb slowly caressed her closed eyelids, her long, thick lashes trembling softly against his fingertip.

It’s unclear what he was thinking, but his eyes gradually darkened.

"I’m very busy. Going to the rear courtyard to find you every day will cause delays,"

Xie Jinbai withdrew his hand and said, "Just stay here. I want to be able to see you every day. If you need anything at all, just tell the servants to arrange for it."

The implication was that he couldn’t bear to be apart from her for even a single day.

Cui Lingyao was filled with a mix of emotions, unable to identify the feeling in her heart.

It felt sour, and suffocating...

She decided to ignore it and said stubbornly, "It makes no sense for the main wife to live in the study. In the future, when the concubines arrive, if you don’t have time to go to the rear courtyard, will you summon them to the study to serve you? Am I supposed to just stand by and watch?"

Xie Jinbai fell silent.

The man, who prided himself on being calm and composed, unshakeable even in the face of a great disaster, pictured the scene she described, and his handsome face darkened considerably.

"You really think far ahead, don’t you! Are you trying to anger me on purpose?"

"No!" Cui Lingyao retorted in a small voice without even opening her eyes. "I’m just being practical."

’What a way to be "practical."’

Xie Jinbai truly gritted his teeth.

He stared down at the woman in his arms for a long moment before suddenly asking, "You said that even if I took concubines, you would never despise me. That still holds true, right?"

"..." Cui Lingyao slowly nodded.

"Really?" Xie Jinbai seemed unconvinced. "What if I actually sleep with all those women and you throw a tantrum at me again?"

"I won’t!"

Pushed to her limit by his repeated questions about such ridiculous matters, Cui Lingyao couldn’t help but snap, "Just go and sleep with them! Have lots of children. One or two isn’t too few, and three or five isn’t too many. After all, the survival rate for children in this world of yours isn’t high. Think of it as a precaution."

...

The room fell into a dead silence.

The atmosphere was strangely stagnant.

The man before her remained silent for a long time. Cui Lingyao, burying her head in the sand, covered her own face and pretended not to notice anything, determined to feign sleep.

Suddenly, her jaw was gripped tight.

Forced to open her eyes, she met a pair of cold, sinister-looking eyes.

Xie Jinbai stared at the woman in his arms and slowly squeezed out a smile. "Fine. You just wait. I’ll have you holding three to five a year!"

"..." Cui Lingyao was momentarily choked by his words. She quickly pursed her lips and forced herself to say, "That’s why I should move out first. To make room for you all."

"No need. They’re just a few concubines. Why would I need you to make room for them?"

Xie Jinbai looked at her with a smile. "After I’m done sleeping with them, I still have to come back to be with you. You know I can’t be away from you for even a day."

’After he’s done sleeping with them, he still has to come back to be with me...’

Cui Lingyao’s expression finally crumbled, her face a ghastly mix of green and white.

"What’s wrong?"

Xie Jinbai leaned in to meet her gaze, a smirk on his face. "Speechless with joy?"

He really knew how to push her buttons.

Given Cui Lingyao’s usual temper, she would have long since fired back with a few equally cutting remarks of her own.

But now, for some reason, her throat felt tight, and even her breathing became difficult.

The color drained from her face, bit by bit.

Xie Jinbai’s expression faltered. The smile, which had only been superficial, vanished completely. He reached out and pulled her tight. "My fault. I shouldn’t have said those things just to provoke you."

The emotions she had managed to suppress in the face of his cold sarcasm could no longer be contained.

A sharp, stinging sensation rushed to her nose. Cui Lingyao blinked rapidly, trying to force back her tears, and buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder, choking out, "Why are you making fun of me... I’m already in so much pain... so much pain..."

’He promised he’d let me have my way in everything.’

’That he’d let me bully him and never hold it against me.’

’How long has it been?’

’It’s only been a few days!’

’Does he think it’s easy for me, making him take concubines?’

’If I could have children, would I insist on it?’

’And he just had to say those things to hurt me.’

Her nightgown was soaked with tears.

’She’s crying...’

’Crying while trying to hold it back.’

’Not even a whimper.’

’Just buried in my arms, shedding silent tears.’

Xie Jinbai felt a wrenching pain in his chest and admitted complete defeat, utterly forgetting the so-called ’test’ he had been plotting with his brother-in-law for days.

He wrapped a hand around the small of her back, pressing her into his embrace, and coaxed her softly, "I was being a bastard. Don’t be upset. I would never do that to you."

’Sleeping with other women and then coming back to be with her...’

’He couldn’t even imagine such a cruel tactic.’

’How could he possibly do it?’

"No more concubines. We won’t have anyone else,"

Xie Jinbai pressed his lips to the crown of her head and whispered, "As long as you are safe and sound, I don’t want anyone else."

All he wanted was a single honest answer from her: was the completion of that task a matter of life and death for her?

The woman in his arms gave no response for a long time.

Xie Jinbai reached to lift her chin.

The moment their eyes met, her eyelashes trembled.

Her lowered eyelids were still tinged with red.

It was a sight that would stir pity in anyone, enough to make one’s heart melt.

Xie Jinbai pressed his lips against hers, his voice a gentle, alluring whisper. "Just shake your head, and I’ll believe you. We’ll call off the entire matter of the concubines."

A breath.

Two breaths...

The woman in his arms didn’t move.

Xie Jinbai’s heart slowly sank to the bottom of a valley.

After a moment of absolute silence, he suddenly laughed.

"You always manage to make me feel like a buffoon."

’Even worse than a buffoon.’

’I must be truly pathetic to...’

’To be so spineless.’

’A single look or a single word from her is enough to make me worry endlessly, to soften my heart time and time again.’

’Without even considering if she needs it.’

His smile was self-deprecating.

Hearing this, Cui Lingyao’s body stiffened. She looked up, wanting to say something.

But he gripped the nape of her neck firmly.

Not allowing her to speak.

Nor look up.

"Yaoyao..."

Xie Jinbai leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear. He gave it a light peck and said, "The words you’ve said... you’d better remember them well."

His breath was hot, his voice deep and cold.

As it seeped into her ear, Cui Lingyao’s body grew even more rigid.

For the first time, she doubted herself. Was this decision really the right one?