Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Each with Something on Their Mind

Cui Hao was indeed the sole male heir to his family line.

After she married Cui Hao, Liang Wan had felt a deep aversion to consummating the marriage. On their wedding night, she lay awake until dawn, staring into the darkness, too afraid to close her eyes. Knowing he couldn’t force her, he agreed to sleep in separate rooms.

For the first day or two, it didn’t seem to matter. Gradually, however, things began to change. Her Mother-in-law started sighing heavily and slamming things around. Liang Wan didn’t understand the underlying meaning at the time, assuming the older woman was simply worrying over Cui Hao’s future or annoyed by her clumsiness in the kitchen.

Perhaps realizing that beating around the bush was getting nowhere, her Mother-in-law finally laid her cards on the table one day when Cui Hao was out. When she reached the most painful part of her speech, she burst into a mess of snot and tears, sobbing that the family’s sole lineage absolutely could not end in her hands. Otherwise, they would fail the Cui Family ancestors. She even grabbed a pair of scissors, threatening to end her own life right then and there.

Leaving aside her Mother-in-law’s threat of suicide, how could she be so selfish, given Cui Hao’s absolute devotion to her and how her Mother-in-law treated her like a biological daughter?

She had no choice but to nod in agreement.

That night, she took the initiative to suggest they share a bed. Cui Hao was astonished. He quickly took her hand and offered many sweet words, gently persuading her that intimacy between husband and wife was the most natural thing in the world. He promised it was nowhere near as terrifying as she imagined and that, once she tried it, she would understand its harmonious beauty.

Gritting her teeth, she endured him time and time again, yet she experienced absolutely none of the harmonious beauty he had spoken of. There was nothing but humiliation and torment.

Cui Hao would collapse into an exhausted sleep, while she lay wide awake from dusk till dawn. But she couldn’t afford to lose sleep every single night. Thus, from then on, he only entered her room when he had needs, dressing and leaving immediately afterward.

Later on, for the sake of carrying on the family line, he still sought her out occasionally. It wasn’t until she ruined her body by taking medicine that he stopped coming altogether.

She actually breathed a sigh of relief. But when Qing Yue gave birth and she looked at that tiny, soft bundle, a pang of envy still pricked her heart.

Thinking about it now, having no children was a blessing. In such a harsh and difficult world, why bring another soul into it to suffer?

She took a slow breath. It had been a while since she thought about the past.

Suddenly, a warmth spread across the back of her hand, like a block of ice surviving a harsh winter only to be met with the sudden, radiant sun of early spring, slowly thawing under its gentle heat.

Liang Wan looked over in confusion, meeting Lu Xiu’s deep, dark eyes. They were as soft and gentle as a placid lake in April.

The main hall was chaotic and buzzing with noise, yet Lu Xiu simply stared at her in silence for a long moment, his face betraying no emotion.

She glanced toward the group of people scuffling nearby. He had probably never witnessed a woman wailing to the heavens and throwing a dramatic tantrum like this before. She asked, "Do you find this noise bothersome, Husband?"

He suddenly smiled—a faint, barely noticeable expression.

"Where did these unruly commoners come from? What a scandal! Take them away at once!"

At this loud shout, the two of them looked over in unison. Gao Yi’s face was flushed with fury; he had finally reached the absolute limits of his patience.

With that explosive reprimand, not only did the wailing and shouting subside, but a squad of guards also rushed in.

Cui Hao ignored his mother’s bleeding head and immediately dropped to his knees. "My mother is but an ignorant woman! I beg Your Highness to spare her!"

Seeing this, Mrs. Cui stopped screaming. Reining herself in slightly, she restricted herself to low, whimpering sobs. "Oh, my son! Your mother is useless. Go and be a live-in son-in-law for them. I will go apologize to your Father right now—"

Unable to bear scolding her harshly, Cui Hao only turned his head to look at her. "Please, stop talking!"

Princess Lanling’s expression turned increasingly grim. In a moment of panic just now, she had wanted to shoo them away as quickly as possible. But if they forcibly threw these people out, wouldn’t it confirm the rumors that they were forcing Cui Hao into a matrilocal marriage? Were the Ladies of her Tangyi Marquis Mansion so unmarriageable that they had to force a man’s hand like this?

Princess Lanling was furious. She never imagined that Cui Hao had kept the live-in arrangement a secret from his family, abruptly turning a joyous occasion into a scandalous farce. She shot a resentful glare at Feng Qingyue, wondering why she had to attract such a spineless man.

Feng Qingyue felt both infuriated and wronged. She had already grown cold toward Cui Hao, but since they were matched anyway, and considering he was marrying into her family, it wouldn’t be impossible to carefully cultivate him in the future.

Moreover, she was fully aware of the situation in the Cui Family. Mrs. Cui was famously stubborn. It would be fine to keep her in the dark temporarily and let Cui Hao deal with her later. Who would have thought that Chun’er would instigate Mrs. Cui to show up at their door, deliberately picking the day of the formal banquet to cause a scene?

What infuriated her even more was that, after the Peach Blossom Banquet, Cui Hao had sworn he had cut ties with Chun’er. With a belly that big, did this look like cutting ties?! It was obvious he had been keeping it from her, secretly hooking up with the maid behind her back!

Feng Qingyue forcefully yanked Cui Hao over and pointed at Chun’er. "You better explain exactly what is going on with her belly!"

Cui Hao was tongue-tied.

"Yue Bai, you already have a wife and child! How dare you deceive us? This behavior of yours is truly—" Gao Yi said, his face masked in anger, his tone dripping with disappointment.

Gao Yi usually didn’t care if men were a bit absurd in their bedroom affairs, but this situation had turned far too ugly. Moreover, since he was the one who had played matchmaker and pulled the strings for this union, didn’t this drag him into the mess as well?

Cui Hao’s face went pale, knowing that today’s incident would likely ruin his future. He risked walking away with absolutely nothing. A wave of regret washed over him; he shouldn’t have been so soft-hearted as to keep that wretch, Chun’er.

He immediately denied it. "Your Highness, Princess, she is not my wife! She is just—"

"Just a maid."

The crisp, icy tone and perfectly enunciated words cut through the chaotic din of the main hall, sounding exceptionally cold.

Cui Hao turned his head just in time to see Liang Wan give him a barely perceptible smile.

A multitude of gazes shifted toward her.

Liang Wan stood up. "I will not hide it from you all. This woman was a maid who used to serve me back at the Liang Mansion."

The guests exchanged uncertain glances.

Gao Yi’s gaze darkened. "What is going on here?"

She let out a long sigh before speaking. "This maid received her deed of bondage and left the Liang Mansion back in March. I never expected to reunite with her here today!"

Frowning in deep dissatisfaction, she continued, "Cui Xiaolang, since you have been with her, why didn’t you inform me last time? Prince Guangping and the Grand Commandant arranged this marriage for you in vain. Not only have you squandered their good intentions, but you have also betrayed the trust they placed in you!"

Cui Hao’s face flushed bright red. He knew she was intentionally sabotaging him, but he couldn’t explain himself. He broke out in a frantic sweat.

Liang Wan suddenly shifted the topic, feigning curiosity. "However, Cui Xiaolang, looking at her pregnancy, she seems to have been expecting for quite some time now. When exactly did you two—"

As soon as she said this, the crowd couldn’t help but stare at the maid’s bulging stomach.

Among the guests, women who had given birth before began whispering amongst themselves.

Liang Wan looked awkwardly at Princess Lanling. "Don’t tell me it was back during your Peach Blossom Banquet, Princess..."

At the mention of this, Princess Lanling finally took a close look at the pregnant woman’s face, her expression instantly shifting. "You... you’re that—"

She had looked down on Cui Hao from the very beginning, but Ah Yue had been as obsessed as if she were under a spell. Later, perhaps because Ah Yue privately begged Song Tan, they figured they might as well secure an official position for him and see what happened.

Who would have thought that once Cui Hao obtained his official post, he barely visited Ah Yue? And Ah Yue seemed to lose interest in him as well, even agreeing to meet other prospective suitors. They wondered how that could not be considered a good thing.

But this good thing hadn’t even lasted two days before it was completely ruined at the Dragon Boat Festival banquet!

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