A farmer has a shrewish wife; he's busy making money every day.

Lu Chuci seemed surprised that she would ask such a question, and it took her a while to react.

"what?"

Ye Qingxue turned around and saw that his expression was somewhat confused, but not entirely ignorant.

She reached back and grasped his hand: "No, I'm not sure, I'm just guessing."

"What did you see?"

Lu Chuci's voice was devoid of emotion, though it trembled slightly.

He must know something, but Ye Qingxue didn't know how much he knew.

She squeezed his palm and asked him to sit down in front of her.

"That day, when Liang Xuan was showing me houses, I ran into her..."

Ye Qingxue slowly recounted what happened that day, including what she overheard later.

She thought about it for several days and still felt that Lu Chuci should know about it, so she told him everything in detail.

After all, this is a family matter, and he might know more about things that Ye Qingxue doesn't.

Lu Chuci remained expressionless after listening, but Ye Qingxue could tell for some reason that he was somewhat angry and sad.

"Lu Chuci, what are you thinking about? You can tell me."

Ye Qingxue gently placed her hand on his tense face.

Lu Chuci's gaze flickered for a moment as he looked at her. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse.

"It was just a bit of a surprise; I didn't expect our relationship to be so close, and that we even have a son."

Ye Qingxue touched his cheek, not interrupting him, and let him continue.

Lu Chuci closed her eyes and rubbed his palm: "When I was in the deserted village learning about the situation in the capital, I investigated the Duke's Mansion. At that time, the focus was on Lu Ying. I didn't investigate much about my father's affairs."

Ye Qingxue looked at him with heartache, knowing that Lu Chuci was actually afraid to investigate.

"I vaguely knew that he seemed to have a woman by his side, but I didn't think about it in depth. You said that since the original wife is gone, it's normal for him to remarry, right?"

By the end of his sentence, he could barely speak.

"I just can't accept that, after so many years since my mother passed away, instead of trying to clear her name, he went to find another woman."

Ye Qingxue was a little anxious and gently rubbed his face: "Don't think like that. Maybe your father has something he can't say about it?"

Lu Chuci reached out and placed his hand on Ye Qingxue's hand: "I know. Given my father's personality, that woman was most likely arranged by my grandfather for him to marry in order to benefit the family."

"He hasn't introduced that woman to anyone all these years. Even after I investigated carefully, I only know a little bit about her. He definitely doesn't like that woman."

Ye Qingxue breathed a sigh of relief: "It means your father still cares about your mother, and also about you."

"So what?" Lu Chuci said coldly, "He hasn't done anything for my mother all these years. He married her just because my grandfather told him to. He hasn't contacted me even once in all these years. What's the use of him caring about me?"

After saying that, she realized her tone might have been a bit off, so she lowered her eyes and took a breath: "I'm sorry, I..."

Ye Qingxue leaned over and kissed his lips.

"It's okay, I know you're sad right now."

She then kissed the corner of his lips again: "Not everyone has your courage to marry a woman with no power or influence. Your father must envy you, which is why he supports you marrying me. He must have also fantasized about how wonderful it would be if his father could support him as well."

“I guess you know about his difficulties, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have brought up our marriage at the first thing at the welcome banquet.”

Lu Chuci remained silent for a long time, then leaned forward against her as if all his strength had given out.

"He's a coward."

Lu Chuci's words were sharp, but Ye Qingxue could tell that he was in a much better mood.

She reached out and ruffled his hair, feeling a mix of emotions.

This was the first time she had seen Lu Chuci so vulnerable.

Although Lu Chuci was affectionate and loved to act cute, she possessed great inner strength.

Today was the first time he had revealed his inner vulnerability to her.

Although it was only a few words, Ye Qingxue felt that she seemed to be a little closer to Lu Chuci.

After letting him stay in her arms for a while, Ye Qingxue patted his back.

"Alright, seriously, you stepmother, you're up to no good. What are you going to do about it?"

Lu Chuci didn't look up, but leaned on her shoulder to talk.

"She's been in the household for so many years and hasn't been able to win my father's favor enough to introduce her to someone else. She'll never amount to anything."

Judging from the voice, Lu Chuci, full of youthful spirit, is back.

He drawled out his words lazily, "Once I return to my residence, her good days will be over."

Ye Qingxue chuckled softly in his ear.

Lu Chuci raised his head, his forehead touching hers, his eyes staring straight at her.

Ye Qingxue felt a burning sensation from his gaze.

"what happened?"

Lu Chuci smiled and said, "Qingqing, can I kiss you one more time?"

The moment Ye Qingxue was stunned, Lu Chuci kissed her.

It's not just a superficial attempt, but a complete and harmonious integration.

The room temperature gradually rose, and soft, close-knit kisses could be heard, occasionally interspersed with a few moans.

Lu Chuci's kiss this time was more intense than ever before, as if he was venting something, just like Ye Qingxue's last kiss.

Ye Qingxue understood him, and he was willing to soothe his inner unease.

So he reached out and touched his belt, slowly pulling it open.

The moment her clothes slipped, Lu Chuci's breathing became heavy. She leaned back and grabbed Ye Qingxue's wrist.

Ye Qingxue looked at him with unfocused eyes: "What's wrong?"

Lu Chuci lowered her eyes and gasped for breath: "Not yet."

As a modern person, Ye Qingxue doesn't have many concerns about this kind of thing. She doesn't care about whether the time is right or wrong; she only cares whether she wants to or not.

But Lu Chuci clearly didn't think so.

He felt that doing such a thing to a woman before marriage was extremely vulgar.

Ye Qingxue saw the struggle in his eyes and suppressed her surging emotions.

If I let him handle it himself this time, he might feel even worse.

Thinking this, Ye Qingxue didn't stop her hands. She took off his outer robe, then untied the belt of his inner garment and slowly slid her hand inside.

Lu Chuci didn't know what she wanted to do, and wanted to stop her, but for some reason, she also wanted to obey.

Right now, he's exhausted all his energy just trying to control his emotions.

Ye Qingxue whispered in his ear, "It's okay, I can help you."

Lu Chuci was somewhat surprised: "You can?"

Ye Qingxue smiled at him and said, "I know a little bit. You can teach me."

Lu Chuci paused for a moment, then suddenly hugged Ye Qingxue tightly, burying his head in her shoulder, covering her hand with one hand, and wrapping his other arm around her shoulder, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

Restrained breathing filled the quiet room.

I do not know how long it has been.

"hiss."

Ye Qingxue moved her shoulders, while Lu Chuci was biting there, trembling with a flushed face.

Once everything was quiet, Ye Qingxue let go of his hand and patted his back: "Okay, it's alright now."

Lu Chuci leaned on her shoulder for a while longer, then whispered, "I'll go boil some water and take a bath later."

Her voice was incredibly hoarse, and carried a strong sense of shyness.

After saying that, he got up and walked towards the kitchen.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed that his legs were still trembling slightly.