TSWRLM -Chapter 50 Are You Truly Ready?

There was no banquet at the marquis’ residence. Shen Qingyuan simply took Chun Xi to the ancestral hall for a bow, and that was considered the completion of the ceremony.

When Shen Qingyuan lifted her bridal veil, Chun Xi still found it hard to believe. “That’s it? Don’t we need to kowtow to the marquis and his wife?”

“No need. He’s at the estate keeping a mistress company—he didn’t come back.”

Shen Qingyuan replied calmly, naturally raising his hand to remove the silver hairpin from Chun Xi’s head.

Chun Xi opened her mouth, still not quite used to his blunt honesty.

On his son’s wedding day, the father didn’t even show his face because he was with a mistress—and he could casually tell her, a newly married outsider, something like that?

Noticing her thoughts, Shen Qingyuan raised a brow. “Don’t want to hear it?”

“I do,” Chun Xi admitted quickly, “but… am I really allowed to hear these secrets?”

And besides, what kind of newlyweds spend their wedding night gossiping instead of consummating the marriage?

“You are now my wife. Everything about me, you may know.”

With that affirmation, Chun Xi immediately said, “Just listening like this feels a bit dry. How about we have some food and wine while we talk?”

Since he didn’t treat her like an outsider, she certainly wouldn’t stand on ceremony either.

Dressed in her wedding clothes and carefully made up, Chun Xi had been unusually quiet along the way. Shen Qingyuan had thought she might change due to her new status, but hearing this, a smile flickered in his eyes.

This was still the Chun Xi he knew.

Even though there was no banquet, Shen Qingyuan had Qing Shu order a full table of dishes from Zhaixing Tower. The food arrived quickly.

Chun Xi hadn’t eaten anything all morning and was already starving. As soon as Shen Qingyuan picked up his chopsticks, she followed suit eagerly. After just a couple of bites, she heard him say: “I am the late-born son of the Xiao family’s old master and old madam. The late Marchioness of Qingyuan was my aunt.”

“……”

Chun Xi’s hand trembled, her chopsticks nearly falling.

Such important information—couldn’t he at least build up to it a little?

Shen Qingyuan might not be a great storyteller, but Chun Xi was an excellent listener. She quickly suppressed her shock and asked, “Why did they send you to the marquis’ residence?”

“Qingyuan Marquis came from humble origins. After being granted his title and achieving many military merits, he could no longer be promoted, so a political marriage was arranged. The noble families knew that once the wars ended, he would no longer be valued, so none were willing. But the marquis had high standards—at a banquet, he took a liking to my aunt and used his military achievements to request her hand…”

Though the nobles looked down on the marquis, war had not yet ended at the time, and the emperor needed him to stabilize the army. With such merit, the emperor had no reason to refuse, and the Xiao family could not disobey an imperial decree.

Thus, the marriage was granted.

But the marquis was a crude man, full of bad habits, and his relatives were equally uncouth and unreasonable.

For Xiao Shi, the marriage was like falling into hell. Not long after the wedding, she secretly took medicine to prevent herself from ever bearing children.

The marquis, having won many battles, understood that only a legitimate son born to Xiao Shi could secure the Xiao family’s backing. After years without children, he eventually discovered the truth.

Enraged, yet unable to act against Xiao Shi directly, he forced the Xiao family to compensate him. Otherwise, he threatened to report them to the emperor, accusing them of harboring ulterior motives.

Everyone knew it was baseless, but the emperor at the time was old and suspicious. With another Xiao family daughter serving as a consort in the Eastern Palace, the Xiao family dared not take the risk. They had no choice but to send the newborn Shen Qingyuan to the marquis’ residence.

However, Shen Qingyuan’s arrival could not prevent the marquis’ decline.

Once the wars ended and the realm stabilized, the marquis quickly lost his military power. No longer valued, he went from a celebrated hero to a crude brute with nothing but strength. He tried to recover his status but failed.

At that time, Madam Mo’s schemes dealt him a fatal blow.

During a birthday banquet for Old Madam Mo’s mother, the two were discovered together in bed. Xiao Shi, already despondent, fell ill and passed away. The marquis, once a hero, became known as an ungrateful, lustful man.

Though Madam Mo succeeded in marrying into the household as the second wife, the marquis treated her with violence. After losing all hope, she presented him with two beauties, and from then on, he indulged himself in wine and women, neglecting everything else.

Madam Mo had long coveted the heir’s position. To brand Shen Qingyuan as a “wife-killer,” she first arranged for him to marry the frail second daughter of a high-ranking official, and later, while he was away solving a case in Yizhou, she married him off to her own niece.

On that wedding day, Shen Qingyuan wasn’t even in the capital.

After the ceremony, Madam Mo sent her niece to Yizhou to join him, but she was killed by bandits along the way.

Shen Qingyuan spoke about the marquis’ household secrets for most of the night. Though Chun Xi listened with great interest, she couldn’t help growing sleepy.

When the lights were put out, she vaguely felt like she had forgotten something—but before she could recall it, sleep overtook her.

Early the next morning, Shen Qingyuan was already up.

Chun Xi opened her eyes, still yawning, and saw him dressing with his back to her.

She had seen his body before while tending to his wounds, but that had been an emergency. Now, seeing him like this, she noticed his well-defined, strong physique.

Her mother’s pre-wedding instructions echoed in her mind, and suddenly she remembered what she had forgotten.

She had forgotten to consummate the marriage!

Chun Xi instantly woke up completely. Just as she was about to say something, there was a knock on the door, followed by Nanny Jia’s voice: “Young Master, Young Madam, are you awake? Madam sent me to collect something.”

Naturally, Madam Mo had sent her to collect the proof of consummation.

Chun Xi panicked, unsure how to explain, when she saw Shen Qingyuan calmly take a prepared cloth from under the pillow and hand it over.

After Nanny Jia left, Chun Xi spoke softly, “How did you prepare that in advance? I may have taken care of Young Master Wei for three years, but I never crossed any boundaries…”

Unexperienced, her ears turned red as she lowered her head, not daring to meet his gaze.

Before she could finish, Shen Qingyuan’s large hand rested on her head, gently patting it.

“I know you’re innocent. But there is an age difference between us—I should give you time to adjust.”

“What is there to adjust to?” Chun Xi blurted out. “Since I agreed to marry you, I’ve already prepared myself for everything.”

The hand on her head paused, then slid down to cradle the back of her neck.

Before she could react, an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his broad chest.

The next moment, Shen Qingyuan leaned down, so close their noses almost touched, their lips nearly meeting.

It was already daylight, sunlight streaming through the open window.

His breath brushed across her face—hot, like molten metal.

At this moment, Shen Qingyuan no longer had the reassuring uprightness she was used to. His eyes were dark, like a hungry wolf.

Chun Xi unconsciously held her breath, her palms damp with sweat.

Then she heard his low, amused voice: “Have you thought it through? Are you truly ready?”

“……”

My lord… I take that back—I was just talking big!