Gu Chaodong stood outside in a daze, unable to recover. Not only was his entire body covered in tea, but his face was also full of tea leaves. After wiping his face in bewilderment, he saw the window before him had closed again.
He didn’t quite understand—the woman who had always been gentle and pleasant with him, how could she turn around and treat him so heartlessly? Their affection hadn’t reached the point of complete estrangement, had it?
Only when the tea water seeped into his collar did he realize it had cooled. Somewhat annoyed, Gu Chaodong angrily left the Shen residence and returned home with smoldering rage.
Shen Guiya was sitting in the Prime Minister’s residence examining her jewelry box. Coming to ancient times was wonderful—gold, silver, pearls, and jade in abundance. She wondered how much she could take back with her.
Generally, female leads had a fixed pattern—they’d encounter male lead one and male lead two, and also encounter detestable supporting female characters. Shen Guiya considered herself the protagonist, which meant Shen Guiyan must be the supporting character. She was determined to establish her own male harem in this ancient world. Those who stood in her way would naturally meet no good end!
Setting down the jewelry box, Shen Guiya picked up a large bottle beside her, filled with something she’d had people seek out.
She had already prepared a wedding gift for Shen Guiyan—to send her to hell from the very start, lest she do something harmful to herself later.
Just as she was thinking this, the door was pushed open. Shen Guiya jumped in fright and turned to see Gu Chaodong enter with an unpleasant expression.
Regarding this ancient husband, Shen Guiya had little affection. She’d originally thought him acceptable, but compared to Gu Chaobei, he lacked a certain flavor. Moreover, he wasn’t loyal to her, constantly running to Shen Guiyan’s place. After too many times, Shen Guiya stopped liking him. However, even without liking him, she couldn’t slack off—after all, in ancient times, one’s husband was heaven.
“You’re back?” She stood up with a smile and very gently helped him change clothes. “Time to rest.”
Gu Chaodong grabbed her hand, somewhat pained. “Why does Yan’er resist me so much now?”
Shen Guiya’s smile stiffened, then she pressed her lips together. “Women are all reserved and make themselves precious. Someone like me who throws herself at you naturally won’t be cherished by you.”
Gu Chaodong paused slightly, glanced at her belly, then embraced her. “Who doesn’t cherish you? It’s just that Yan’er… after so many years, I still can’t quite let go.”
“This concubine understands and empathizes with you.” Shen Guiya secretly rolled her eyes but smiled brilliantly. “This concubine can wait for the day when you completely fall in love with me.”
A man’s self-esteem needed to be satisfied. The setback Gu Chaodong suffered at Shen Guiyan’s place was completely recovered at Shen Guiya’s. His brow relaxed, and he looked upon Shen Guiya more favorably. “Mm, that day will come. Let’s rest.”
Shen Guiya smiled sweetly and helped him to bed.
The next day when Shen Guiya rose, she planned to inspect the terrain of the north courtyard. Not surprisingly, she ran into Gu Chaobei.
“Where is Chaobei going?” Shen Guiya asked with a smile.
Gu Chaobei glanced at her, stopped, and said with a curve to his lips, “Just walking around casually. What brings elder sister-in-law to this side so early in the morning?”
“I’m also just walking around casually.” Shen Guiya looked around, and Yushu behind her tactfully withdrew to keep watch.
“Since I’ve run into you, there’s something I want to tell you.” Shen Guiya didn’t understand ancient terminology and immediately used informal pronouns. Fortunately, Gu Chaobei was someone who didn’t follow rules and was somewhat curious about what she had to say, raising an eyebrow. “What is it?”
Shen Guiya sighed lightly and moved closer to him. “Recently your elder brother has been returning very late. He’s probably been going to the Shen residence again to see Third Sister. If Third Sister weren’t promised to someone, it would be one thing, but considering she’s betrothed to you, I can’t stop your elder brother. You should advise him properly.”
Gu Chaobei raised an eyebrow. “He’s still going?”
He hadn’t gone anymore, yet that bastard was still sneaking over?
Shen Guiya nodded and sighed. “Probably Third Sister hasn’t refused him either, so he keeps going.”
Gu Chaobei pressed his lips together and thought for a moment, then glanced at Shen Guiya’s face and chuckled lightly. “I understand. Thank you for the reminder, elder sister-in-law.”
Shen Guiya shook her head. “You should be more careful too.”
Then she bowed in the ancient style and left.
Communication in ancient times was inconvenient, so the most fearsome thing was malicious gossip. Shen Guiya knew Gu Chaobei might not believe her, but slowly—if not the first time, there would be a second.
Gu Chaobei watched her retreating figure, snorted with a laugh, and turned to head for the Shen residence.
Before marriage, the couple shouldn’t meet, so Gu Chaobei didn’t use the main gate but scaled the wall again. Drawing on years of experience scaling walls and roofs, he entered Swallow Tower.
It was still morning with few people about, so no one saw him. Once Gu Chaobei entered Swallow Tower’s territory, he swaggered right up.
Baoshan saw him and was so frightened she nearly dropped her basin. “Fourth Young Master?”
“Here to see your young miss.” Gu Chaobei smiled at her, and taking advantage of her daze, he bounded into Shen Guiyan’s room.
Shen Guiyan had just gotten up and was sitting on the bedside in a half-awake state. After last night’s disturbance with Gu Chaodong—though she’d successfully thrown him out—she’d suffered some insomnia, making it hard to rise today.
Her head swayed, about to fall back into the bedding, when Gu Chaobei laughed quietly and supported her shoulder. “Were you out stealing cattle last night?”
Shen Guiyan half-opened her eyes to look at him. After a long while, she couldn’t recognize who this was and drowsily uttered one word: “Sleepy…”
Even with sleepy eyes, she remained a beauty. Gu Chaobei coughed lightly twice, reached for the cloth in the basin Baoshan held, wrung it out, and carefully wiped her face.
Baoshan stood frozen to the side, staring at Fourth Young Master Gu’s profile and swallowing hard.
Only after her face was completely clean did Shen Guiyan come to her senses. Seeing clearly who was before her, she gasped in shock. “Why is it you!”
Instinctively looking toward the door—this shameless scoundrel always running to her room at the wrong times!
“Did you miss me?” Gu Chaobei looked at her with a cheeky grin. “I woke up this morning feeling I missed you a bit, so I came.”
Shen Guiyan pushed him away with one hand and pulled Baoshan toward the screen. “Fourth Young Master Gu should save his sweet words for others. This young lady prefers to see people’s actions, not hear their words.”
Baoshan set down the water and hurriedly helped her change clothes. While changing, Shen Guiyan glared through the gap at the outside, afraid the scoundrel would suddenly rush in on a whim.
Gu Chaobei sat very obediently on her bedside and tutted. “Yan’er, you’re too unromantic. If I said such things to others, anyone would reply that they missed me too.”
“I cannot say such things.” Shen Guiyan changed into a green long dress paired with a yellow contrasting vest, looking very fresh and refined.
Gu Chaobei’s eyes lit up as he pulled her over. “This outfit is perfect. Come out with me today?”
Shen Guiyan jumped in fright and shook her head without thinking. “I can’t leave the residence. I still need to embroider my wedding dress later.”
“Have your maid cover for you.” Gu Chaobei pursed his lips. “I wanted to take you to Sunset Mountain to look around.”
Sunset Mountain? Shen Guiyan raised an eyebrow. That place was full of graves—what was there to see? Gu Chaobei always acted outrageously. She didn’t want to go mad with him. If they were punished together, it would look terrible.
“I should still…”
Before she finished speaking, something was stuffed in her mouth, her hands were gripped together, and the world spun before her eyes.
“Mmph mmph mmph!” Gu Chaobei!
Gu Chaobei smiled at the startled Baoshan. “Good girl, I’m taking your young miss out to have fun, so she won’t be gloomy every day and unhappy even as a bride. Just cover for her here. I guarantee I’ll bring her back before dark.”
“This…” Baoshan wanted to say this wouldn’t work, she couldn’t cover for her. But before her was only a blur of movement—Fourth Young Master had already fled swiftly with her young miss.
One person entering the residence undetected was already lucky—how could two people leave together without being discovered? Shen Guiyan opened her eyes in horror and watched as Gu Chaobei produced two black cloths. He tossed one over her head and wrapped his own face securely with the other.
Then right in front of the back gate guards, he rushed out.
The gatekeeper had probably never seen such a thing and stood frozen for a long while before chasing out. Gu Chaobei had already lifted her onto a horse outside the gate and galloped away.
“Someone’s been abducted!” Not knowing what else to shout, the gatekeeper could only yell these three words.
Sitting on the horse, Shen Guiyan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This was causing too much trouble. A check at the residence would reveal she was missing—what use was covering their heads?
“Hahaha.” Gu Chaobei looked back at the pursuers and laughed heartily. Shen Guiyan pulled the cloth from her mouth, threw it away, and angrily bit down hard on his arm.
“Tsk, your bite isn’t strong enough. Haven’t they been feeding you meat at the residence?” Gu Chaobei glanced down at her and laughed loudly. “Come on, big brother will take you to eat meat!”
Shen Guiyan was about to cry from anger. She had always followed rules properly—where had she ever encountered such a rogue! Leaving the residence like this today, what good would come of returning?
“You bastard!”
“Oh my, you can actually curse?” Gu Chaobei raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were a bodhisattva made in a temple, so gentle and mild. Who knew you could curse aloud?”
Seeing all her spirit pressed beneath heavy rules, he’d thought it would stay suppressed forever.
Shen Guiyan snorted coldly through gritted teeth. “If I don’t curse at such excessive behavior, you’ll think you’ve done nothing wrong. Fourth Young Master, turning back now, there’s still time.”
“We’re already out—why go back?” Gu Chaobei laughed derisively. “Just do what makes you happy. Why distinguish right from wrong?”
Shen Guiyan frowned, thought for a moment, then used all her strength to drive her elbow hard backward.
“Oof!” This truly hurt. Gu Chaodong’s face paled as he glanced at his left shoulder, both angry and amused. “What are you doing?”
“Isn’t it ‘do whatever makes you happy’?” Shen Guiyan said coolly. “Then when I’m happy, killing you wouldn’t count as breaking the law either.”