SGEIRS -Chapter 264 Won’t Change Their Heart

The arrival of the wedding procession pushed the banquet to yet another climax, making the scene lively and jubilant.

As both the welcoming and escorting parties departed, the peak of the festivities passed. By evening, the dinner banquet began. Hosts and guests exchanged toasts and chatted animatedly, the atmosphere buzzing with excitement.

After several rounds of wine and dishes, both hosts and guests were slightly tipsy. Some guests, unable to handle the alcohol, were already dead drunk and were escorted by the host’s household to guest rooms to rest.

When the dinner finally dispersed, everyone left satisfied and happy.

That night, Meng Jinyao didn’t drink much—only a little fruit wine—and wasn’t drunk at all. Thinking that Gu Jingxi had a lot of social obligations, drinking with colleagues and relatives, and that men usually drank more, she returned early to Weirui Pavilion to have the maids prepare sobering soup.

But with a careful and thoughtful maid like Chunliu in Weirui Pavilion, this had already been anticipated. Knowing the two masters might drink, she had long prepared two portions of sobering soup in the small kitchen. When she saw Meng Jinyao return, she immediately stepped forward to ask whether sobering soup was needed.

Meng Jinyao felt deeply comforted. As expected of a maid who had come from her mother-in-law’s household—meticulous and always thinking of her masters. She gently shook her head and replied, “I didn’t drink much tonight. The Marquis will probably need it. Have someone prepare water—I’m going to bathe.”

Chunliu responded at once and instructed the rough maids to prepare the bath.

After Meng Jinyao finished bathing, Gu Jingxi also returned and was drinking the sobering soup. She quickly told the maids to prepare water for his bath, then went to ready the sleepwear he would change into later. It would be best to rest early tonight—after entertaining guests all day, it was truly exhausting.

Gu Jingxi took the clothes his young wife handed him and went to the washroom to bathe.

Meng Jinyao entered the inner bedchamber. She had intended to sleep, but found herself wide awake. Unbidden, scenes from earlier in the day—Gu Xuanling interacting with Madam Chen—floated into her mind, leading her to think of her own mother, whom she had never met. Though she had never seen her mother, she still missed her in her heart and often imagined how they might have gotten along if her mother were still alive.

When Gu Jingxi finished bathing and returned to the bedchamber, he lifted his eyes and saw his young wife lying on the bed, propped on her elbows, chin resting in her hands, brows slightly furrowed as if lost in thought. He stepped forward, removed his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and pulled her into his arms.

Falling into his warm embrace, Meng Jinyao looked up at him, a hint of confusion in her expression. “Husband, what’s wrong?”

Gu Jingxi wrapped one arm around her waist and used the other to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, asking gently, “A-Yao, did someone bully you?”

She was startled. “Why would you ask that?”

“You don’t look too well,” Gu Jingxi said, caressing her face and lightly pinching her soft cheek. “Who bullied you? Tell me—your husband will get justice for you.”

Hearing this, a warm current flowed through Meng Jinyao’s heart, leaving her feeling cozy and reassured. A smile appeared on her face. “I’m the wife of the Marquis of Changxing. Who would be so blind as to openly bully me?”

Gu Jingxi was still doubtful. “Really? No one bullied you?”

Meng Jinyao gently shook her head and said softly, “No. I was just thinking of my mother. I’ve heard she was a dignified and gentle woman, but unfortunately I never met her. Sometimes I think—if my mother were still alive, I probably wouldn’t have grown up being bullied. They say children without mothers are like grass, and that’s truly so.”

After speaking, her expression dimmed again.

Gu Jingxi paused, momentarily at a loss for how to comfort her. He could only speak to her in a soft, gentle voice. “A-Yao, you have me from now on. I can’t replace your mother, but I can take her place in caring for you.”

Her spirits were low, but hearing his words eased much of the heaviness in her heart. Lying against his chest, she stared unblinkingly into his eyes, then suddenly smiled. “Husband, what should I do?”

Gu Jingxi looked puzzled. “What do you mean, what should you do?”

In a crisp, light voice, Meng Jinyao said, “I think I’m liking you more and more.”

Caught off guard, his heartstrings were plucked. Gu Jingxi felt his heart tremble, ripples spreading across the lake within. Looking into those affectionate eyes, his arms around her tightened unconsciously. When she frowned in discomfort, he hurriedly loosened his hold, embracing her with restraint and self-control.

She asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Jingxi looked at her delicate, beautiful face, still carrying a trace of youthful innocence, and asked warmly, “A-Yao, I’m so much older than you. In another ten or eight years, when I’m old and no longer handsome, and you’re still young—will you still like an old man like me then?”

Meng Jinyao countered, “Then will that old man still treat me as well as you do now?”

Gu Jingxi was momentarily stunned, then replied without hesitation, “I will.”

Her smile blossomed, eyes curving happily. “Then I’ll still like that old man. As long as the old man doesn’t change his heart, I won’t change mine either.”

Gu Jingxi pressed his lips into a smile. “I won’t.”

“Then you must keep your word.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Meng Jinyao leaned over and kissed his cheek. One kiss wasn’t enough—she made a soft smack and kissed him again. She had always been bold in this regard. Even if she felt shy inside, her actions never retreated.

With his wife taking the initiative, how could a husband remain still?

Gu Jingxi rolled over and pressed her beneath him, lowering his head to kiss her lips.

The kiss came fierce and urgent.

Meng Jinyao felt her lips ache slightly as she passively endured it.

Looking at the man’s handsome face, her thoughts gradually filled with him. Ensnared by his gentle, affectionate gaze, she slowly closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and began to respond.

Fiery and lingering.

When the kiss ended, Meng Jinyao lay in his arms, breathing softly. She didn’t know when her sash had been undone—her robe was already open, revealing the undergarment beneath, and several marks had been left on her exposed skin.

Skin as white as frost and snow, set off by crimson imprints—the visual contrast was striking, intimate, and alluring.

Gu Jingxi looked at the marks on that snowy skin, unmistakably his own handiwork. His gaze deepened, and he couldn’t help but continue his mischief, leaving a few more marks.

Meng Jinyao didn’t refuse, indulging him as he lingered over her.

In truth, they had already experienced this twice before. This was the third time.

She could vaguely sense that Gu Jingxi liked being this close to her, even if he couldn’t go all the way.

After a long while, it finally ended.

Meng Jinyao’s face was flushed, her beautiful eyes brimming with springlike warmth, like a pool of clear spring water. Her lips were slightly parted, as if wanting to speak yet hesitating—an image that made one’s heart itch unbearably.

Gu Jingxi’s gaze darkened. He lowered his head and kissed the corner of her eye, holding her naked body tightly against his.

Where she couldn’t see, the man’s expression carried a trace of frustration and loneliness, along with a faint, barely perceptible inferiority. In his heart, he couldn’t help but doubt Physician Wen’s medical skills, muttering silently to himself: Is Physician Wen’s medicine really effective?