SGEIRS -Chapter 94 Only Spoiling Her

Gu Jingxi returned from his duties and saw Meng Jinyao sitting quietly alone in the room. Her eyes were vacant, like a delicate puppet that had lost its soul.

He froze. He had never seen Meng Jinyao like this before.

This young lady’s personality was actually quite contradictory. She appeared dignified and virtuous, but in reality, she could be quite mischievous. Quarreling with Xiuming was clearly childish behavior, yet she seemed to enjoy it thoroughly.

And yet, this same mischievous girl was composed in serious situations. Even on the day of her wedding, when her fiancé ran off with someone else, she did not panic. She calmly and assertively found herself another husband.

For a sixteen-year-old girl to have such resilience was truly remarkable.

He had thought that nothing could break her, but today he saw her in a dazed, lost state. Whatever had happened must have been far worse than her fiancé eloping on their wedding day.

Gu Jingxi stood there for a moment, then slowly stepped forward and approached her. But she seemed unaware of his presence. Just as he was about to ask what had happened, he saw her tightly clenching her fists, her nails digging into her palms, drawing blood.

Frowning, Gu Jingxi squinted his long, phoenix-like eyes and thought to himself: this young lady is quite harsh on herself.

He sat down beside her and asked softly, “Madam, what’s wrong?”

Seeing her remain silent, clearly not hearing him, Gu Jingxi reached out, took her small hands in his, and forcibly opened her clenched fists. Her palms were already stained red. Frowning more deeply, he asked again, “Madam, did Xiuming hurt you?”

Meng Jinyao snapped back to reality and looked up at him in a daze, then shook her head.

Gu Jingxi, patient as ever, asked again, “What’s wrong? What happened?”

Meng Jinyao still didn’t speak.

She didn’t want to say, and Gu Jingxi didn’t force her. But he realized that doing nothing wasn’t a solution. After staring at her for a long moment, he stood up, left the room, and instructed Xiazhu to bring in a basin of clean water. He then fetched some common healing ointment and a pair of nail scissors from the drawers in the inner chamber.

Soon, Xiazhu returned with the basin. Just as she was about to ask what to do, Gu Jingxi took it from her and dismissed her.

He placed the basin on the small table and forcibly opened her clenched fists again. Seeing her struggle to pull her hands back like a sulking child, he said, “Whoever wronged you, you take revenge on them. Hurting yourself only makes those close to you suffer and your enemies happy.”

Meng Jinyao froze in her struggle.

Seeing her comply, Gu Jingxi applied some healing ointment to stop the bleeding. The cuts weren’t deep, so stopping the blood wasn’t difficult. Soon, the bleeding ceased.

He then dampened a handkerchief, wrung it almost dry, and gently wiped away the blood from her hands, avoiding the wounds, his movements soft and careful.

Meng Jinyao looked up, stunned. His ethereal, fairy-like face came into view. The man’s expression was gentle, lips curved in a faint smile. Next, his warm voice spoke: “Long nails look nice, they make your fingers seem slender. But they’re not very safe, so I’ll trim them for you. Is that alright?”

Perhaps it was his gentle tone that made it irresistible. Meng Jinyao, almost unconsciously, nodded in agreement.

Seeing her nod, Gu Jingxi finished bandaging her wounds, then didn’t hesitate to trim her nails. He trimmed all ten fingers and used a nail file to smooth the sharp edges, preventing any accidental scratches.

When a man took care of someone, his movements were gentle, meticulous, and confident, as if he had done this many times before.

Through Gu Jingxi, Meng Jinyao vaguely saw a shadow of her grandfather. Her grandfather had only spoiled her, trimming her nails, braiding her hair into little buns, and telling her little stories.

Gu Jingxi now resembled her grandfather, but he wasn’t him. He was gentle, whereas her grandfather was loving.

Meng Jinyao asked curiously, “Did you often take care of children before, Husband?”

She meant Gu Xiuming.

Gu Jingxi paused, then smiled at her: “No, this is my first time taking care of a child. Fortunately, the child is obedient and doesn’t fuss much, or I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Meng Jinyao lowered her head awkwardly and whispered, “Husband, you are a marquis. How can you do such chores? Let the maid do it.”

Gu Jingxi pressed his lips into a smile and said matter-of-factly: “If you wanted a maid to take care of you, would you have stayed alone in this room? Since I married you, I must take responsibility for you. Supporting each other and taking care of you when you’re unhappy is only natural. When I grow old and am bedridden, you’ll feed me medicine too, won’t you?”

Meng Jinyao looked into his phoenix-like eyes and said earnestly, “I will.”

Gu Jingxi nodded slightly: “Then that’s settled. It’s mutual; everyone has moments of difficulty.”

Meng Jinyao paused. She thought: Gu Jingxi really is the ideal husband.

From a noble family, handsome, talented.

Gentle and calm in temperament.

Responsible. Even without love, he would take care of his wife. Gentle, attentive, a warm ray of sunshine in the dark.

No wonder his name is Gu Jingxi—he truly lives up to it.

Any woman married to him would live well.

Yet thinking that anyone could receive this treatment made her feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

After Gu Jingxi finished filing her nails, he put down the file and asked, seeing her listless but no longer intent on harming herself, “Madam, are you feeling better?”

Meng Jinyao nodded: “Yes, much better. Husband takes care of people so well. Anyone in a bad mood would feel better with you around.”

At first, it sounded like a compliment.

But on reflection, it felt slightly off, almost sarcastic.

Gu Jingxi raised an eyebrow: “Madam, do you think I’m just a busybody, meddling in everyone’s affairs?”

Meng Jinyao was silent for a moment, then asked suddenly: “If I weren’t your wife, would you still care?”

The young lady stared straight at him, her gaze full of grievance, as if he had done something wrong.

Gu Jingxi felt puzzled but considered her question carefully and smiled: “Perhaps I would. Otherwise, what if the child cries?”

Meng Jinyao, who had thought herself unreasonable, suddenly felt comforted hearing him say this, though it still felt awkward. She murmured: “I’m not a child.”

Gu Jingxi chuckled lightly: “You’re even younger than my son. How are you not a child?”

Meng Jinyao: “……”

Alright, Gu Jingxi is undoubtedly responsible.

But beyond responsibility, he sees her as a child because of her age. Which elder wouldn’t care for a child in need?