Chapter 164: Marriage Proposal
Long Heng really liked her depending on him like this. With a happy heart, he carried her back to the room. He was especially excited tonight, so much so that Bai Xiangxiu almost couldn’t handle his vigor. However, she liked it for some reason and so left him to his own devices with her. She kept talking to herself in her heart. He was her husband, so whatever he did to her was as it should be.
Long Heng had never seen such an accommodating side to Bai Xiangxiu before. Previously, she would always cry out that it hurt when he moved a few times, and would continue crying out with pain until the end. However, she’d pandered to him this time around, making him feel strangely excited. This actually stoked his craving to rear back to life a few times more.
She really was just enduring the whole ordeal at the start. But near the end, she also seemed to be extremely happy too. As a man who’d just eaten and supped his fill, Long Heng felt strangely happy. He was a little like a young lad who’d just gotten to know the taste of love. This made him want to shove everything he possessed into Bai Xiangxiu’s hands, even wishing to hand over his secret stash of money. As a result of that, Bai Xiangxiu felt that she’d really struck gold.
He continuously sent taels of silver to her by the thousands and tens of thousands. In fact, if Long Heng needed to spend a large amount of money, he had to ask her for the silver. This wasn’t all that different when compared to the a modern day woman enjoyed. She didn’t need to mention how pleased she was having such an honest and capable husband. She was so happy that she even thought of chasing the female lead away.
This thought scared even Bai Xiangxiu herself. Did all women become unusually greedy when they had someone they loved? Forget it! Since things had escalated to this point, she wouldn’t be a woman if she yielded any longer. What’s more, she was a woman who’d transmigrated. Xiaoshi was helping her mistress get out of bed. As she did so, she felt that there was a distinctively fierce look in Bai Xiangxiu’s eyes today.
She was feeling much more positive when confronting matters compared to the day before. That was because everyone outside had spread rumors that she was a favored concubine, and an impressive one as well. Fine, let them talk! She was starting to pay these matters no mind anymore.
However, she never would’ve thought that something would happened just when she felt that she was about to turn into the female lead. The servants were all spreading news that Long Heng had actually escorted Miss Lin back to the Lin Manor. This matter wasn’t strange, rather it was that he’d wanted to go to the Lin Manor to ask for permission to marry their daughter. He’d even personally prepared the betrothal gift himself!
He had displaying his affection towards Bai Xiangxiu not too long ago, so why was he asking to marry the other woman in the blink of an eye? Bai Xiangxiu was feeling a mixture of anger, sadness, despair and incomprehension. It almost felt like all of these emotions had appeared in her head all at once. She didn’t know what to do anymore after she heard the news. She just stood there in the courtyard, letting the cold wind blow in her face. Her cloak slid off her shoulders, yet she was oblivious to it all.
Sigh, it’s really difficult to get into a sincere relationship. Just when she thought she would have a great duel with the female lead to win the male lead over, he had sent betrothal gifts over to the female lead instead.
Senior Madame and Second Madame happened to be right across the way and came to stir up trouble with her when they heard the rumors. They never expected her to really be emotionally affected by it. They were baffled by this, but seeing as they’d achieved their goal, they left with laughter merrily ringing in the air. But when they turned their heads, they saw Prince Li standing coldy behind them. He’d never thought of explaining this matter to Bai Xiangxiu because he thought that she understood him. Did she still not understand how he felt towards her?
“This prince hates women who gossip and meddle. Withdraw now and receive your punishment. If you offend me one more time, pack up and get out of my manor!”
Senior Madame and Second Madame were so shocked that they left shaking uncontrollably. The look in Long Heng’s eyes was indeed extremely frightening. They left with dust on their faces, but that was of no concern to Long Heng. He looked at Bai Xiangxiu, realizing that she’d actually left without turning her head in his direction. With a frown on his face, he thought, Does she not know that I’m not marrying that woman with heartfelt intentions?
He wasn’t willing to explain his intentions because he was wholeheartedly focused on exacting his revenge on those who’d harmed Bai Xiangxiu in the past. In any case, she was his. Explanations could wait until he had the time to do so.
But who would’ve thought that Song Jiaoyue from the Song family would flip the entire table over in anger when said news travelled to his attention. He really didn’t understand what Long Heng was thinking. This move of his was clearly an insult to the woman who’d treated him sincerely all this while! She was spoken of highly in the prince’s manor, but had been heartlessly abandoned in the end!
Fine, fine, fine. He might be heartless, but Song Jiaoyue couldn’t bear to see her abandoned in that cold manor from now on. “Yu Se… Yu Se! Come over here.”
“Yes…” Yu Se ran in after she responded and saw that overturned table, along with Song Jiaoyue’s face flushed hot with anger. She immediately knew that this was a matter related to Madame Xiu. She’d heard Song Jiaoyue mention before that although Bai Xiangxiu was called Long Heng’s favored concubine, remarkably beautiful and a charming seductress, she was actually pure in body even until this day. Long Heng was only behaving in a manner for appearance’s sake. That and he was just using her as a shield against other women.
She’d really felt very sorry for Bai Xiangxiu then. A woman like her to be destroyed in such a manner. Though her master liked her, he didn’t dare voice his feelings.
“Prepare some snacks and put heart meat in the stuffing. Send them over to her.” He wasn’t going to wait any longer. If he did, he really would go insane. He’d been thinking about the vegetarian food she’d cooked after tasting it at the death of the dowager empress. As a result of that, he hardly ate now because he felt that everything he ate just didn’t have the taste of her cooking.
“But, what reason shall I give?”
“Just say that you’re the one giving the snacks!”
“Understood.” Yu Se really did ask the servants to do as her master requested. She actually felt it strange. Why did he want the snacks to be stuffed with a heart? But, she obeyed his orders and finished the snacks. She then sent someone off to deliver them to Bai Xiangxiu.
Bai Xiangxiu was depressed. Was the plot progressing according to the actual novel now? In the main plot, she’d been beaten to death after Long Heng and the female lead married after the new year.
For some reason, she was only a little angry, but didn’t suspect Long Heng’s intentions at all. She rather thought the ripples caused by her transmigration had been quite impressive, they’d forced two people away from a path of mutual love. But, she couldn’t guarantee that Long Heng and the female lead definitely couldn’t be together either. Just as she was deep in her thoughts, someone reported that the Song residence had sent something to her.
“Mm, bring it in!” Bai Xiangxiu’s thoughts were jumbled up. She wanted to cry, but she felt that there was nothing worth crying about.
Not long after, Xiaoshi brought the Song family’s box of snacks into the room, explaining that Yu Se made it and wanted Bai Xiangxiu to give her some pointers. Actually, how would Bai Xiangxiu still have the heart to give others pointers about their food? Even so, she took a piece and ate it leisurely. She was completely oblivious to the fact that all the maids and mamas in Apricot Garden were extremely worried about her and were afraid that she’d do something stupid.
Thankfully, the Song Family had sent someone over at this point in time, distracting her from the matter. Who knew though, that Bai Xiangxiu would actually blank out when she ate half of that snack, not moving an inch for quite a while? The color on her face flushed constantly through different shades. She seemed to be even more horrified than just now when she knew that Prince Li was going to send the betrothal gifts.
How could Bai Xiangxiu not be surprised? She was shocked to the point where she almost wet herself! The snacks had stuffing in it, but more importantly, the stuffing contained meat from the heart of an animal. This clearly meant that the sender had feelings for her!
Moreover, Yu Se had been the one who’d brought this to her and was also an intimate figure by Song Jiaoyue’s side. Song Jiaoyue was clearly behind this all. So, was this his way of expressing that his heart belonged to her? This was too scary, alright?! Bai Xiangxiu had clearly given up on Song Jiaoyue a very long time ago, and had even given her body and heart to the male lead. Wasn’t it scary for him to suddenly play such a hand?!