Towards evening, Gu Tingye still hadn’t returned to the mansion. Minglan then asked the kitchen to keep the dishes warm. Mama Ge, as sensitive as she was, had already figured out what Minglan’s food preference over these days. So she served a bowl of the silver anchovy ball soup in orange flavor. The silver anchovy was small, so the fish ball which was made from its meat was only as big as fingers. And with the sour and sweet flavor of the orange, this dish could satisfy Minglan’s hunger and wouldn’t let her be full at the same time. Minglan enjoyed the soup very much.

However, after she had only taken a few bites, Gu Tingye strode into the room. Then Minglan put down her spoon and got up right away, preparing to help him get changed and wash himself. However, the moment he smelled the delicious soup, he stopped right there without entering the inner room and grabbed the bowl to drink the soup. He just took a long swig from the bowl without using a spoon. And in no time, he drank all the fish ball soup.

“Eh, I have just finished half of it…” Minglan opened her mouth widely while thinking, ‘Why does this guy look like a hungry ghost?’

Gu Tingye put down the bowl and then stroked Minglan’s small face, saying, “You are my wife, I don’t mind eating your leftovers.”

After Minglan followed him into the inner room, she began to help him undress himself. Every time she stood in front of this tall man, she always felt a sense of pressure. As she concentrated on unbuttoning his coat, she suddenly felt warmness on her left cheek. She then realized that Gu Tingye had just kissed on her cheeks. She raised up to look at him and saw a joyful look on his face. “My wife is so pretty.” He praised.

Hearing that, Minglan blushed slightly while having no intention to be modest, “You have a good taste.”

Gu Tingye was dumbfounded for a second. Then with a loud laugh, he held Minglan’s delicate body up and turned around in two full circles. Minglan looked at the ground from his shoulders, feeling a bit scared. Then she pounded on him heavily. However, her movements seemed to have evoked Gu Tingye’s passion. After that, he just started to kiss on her cheeks and her neck at random.

Being rubbed by Gu Tingye’s rough moustache for a few rounds, Minglan felt her tender skin numb and itchy. Then she put forth her strength to push his head away and said in anger, “Are you a dog?!”– Every day he got off work, he would do this to her. Alas, she was about to have a skin allergy!

Gu Tingye laughed loudly after hearing her words and then put her on the ground. But he was reluctant to let her go and still shook her slightly in his arms. Having kissed on her lips, he lowered his head to press his chin against Minglan’s forehead with his breath sprayed to her face. After that, the man said in a low voice, “Dumb baby.”

His tone sounded so intimate, which made Minglan’s face burn again.

After Gu Tingye had washed himself, Minglan broke all of Gu Tingye’s hair buns and suggested, “Leave your hair like this. No one would see you in our own room.”

At first, Gu Tingye still had some scruples. However, he did feel his scalp very uncomfortable wearing the hair buns all day. Also, Minglan had already inserted her hands into his hair and started to massage his scalp with her delicate and flexible fingers. That gave him an especially comfortable feeling. Then he just followed her advice.

The dinner table was set out in the side room. In the center of the spacious room was a round rosewood table carved with seasonal blessing pattern. Three of the large windows on the south were already opened. At the moment, the color of the sky was half bright and half gloomy. The sunset glow was like fire, casting golden light on the ground. The cherry-apple tree gradually became blooming with half opened buds on all of its branches. Although cherry-apple tree couldn’t send out fragrance, it still gave a fresh and cool scent which wafted into the room with the gentle night breeze. Gu Tingye was in a long snow satin robe with his bushy hair down now. While he was walking to the table and took a seat, he only felt a moment like this made him so pleased. Even the daylong tiredness of him just disappeared right away.

There were not too many dishes on the table, only five plates of dishes and one bowl of soup. In the middle was a Turbot Soup in truffle angelica root flavor. The chopped spring onion were overspread on the milk white soup. The dishes included the sour and hot meat ball with fried lotus root starch, the crisp fried sirloin with sizzling hot cake, the ribs with glutinous rice in lotus flavour, the preserved chai chicken in soy sauce flavour and the sauteed spinach with sesames.

Gu Tingye’s appetite had been worked up right away. Then he started to gorge himself with the dishes. Minglan stopped eating after she had only taken a few bite. In the meantime, he had already eaten up two large bowls of rice and half plate of the crisp fried sirloin with sizzling hot cake. However, all of the plates were in small sizes. After he had finished eating, he was still longing for more of the food.

Seeing him enjoying eating the dishes, Minglan also felt cheerful. She pointed to the fish soup and praised herself, “I have angled this fish by myself! Perhaps the fish in our pond have lived at ease for too long. They all seemed a bit dumb. I only used a little bit of the baits and they were easily hooked… Our back garden is quite large. I planned to plant some evergreen flowers and trees. What kinds of plants do you prefer? Tell me quickly, I’ll send someone to buy the seeds…”

Gu Tingye saw Minglan being in high spirit quietly, feeling touched deep down–

Xiaotao led the maids to clean up the table while Danju served two cups of green tea to Gu Tingye and Minglan. After all the maids had been dismissed, Gu Tingye stared at Minglan and suddenly said in a heavy voice, “Don’t tolerate everything. Anytime you feel wronged, just tell me.”

Minglan was stunned. She didn’t know why he had said that.

“As long as anyone in this mansion irritates you, you can punish them as you want!” With the corner of his mouth curved fiercely, Gu Tingye put on a gloomy look in his eyes, saying, “You don’t need to be afraid of anything! Just let them bring it on to me! I’d like to see which one is so bold to fight against me!”

Minglan blinked her eyes and said, “I… wasn’t irritated by anyone.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about the thing with Fifth Aunt yesterday?” Gu Tingye asked her with sullenness on his face.

Minglan finally realized what had happened. She then replied, “I’ve told you that Fifth Aunt had come to visit me.”

“Visit? I don’t think so. More like come to pick a quarrel.” With the expression in Gu Tingye’s eyes turning even more gloomy, he snorted, “Her son has stirred up so many troubles at the outside. Before, other people could still let him get away with his mistakes for the sake of Marquis Ningyuan’s title. Now even the plaque of their mansion has been taken off. If it were not for me who has supported them, Fifth Aunt won’t live at ease at all! Huh! What a reckless woman!”

Minglan smiled and then sighed. She held his hand while saying, “Relax. I’m not so easy to be bullied. That day Fifth Aunt has scolded me with a few words but I have also retorted her.” Seeing that he still hadn’t cooled down, Minglan continued, “Don’t lose your temper like this. Now you are an official after all, there are so many eyes being fixed on you. Don’t give others causes for gossip. And don’t worry about me. The tricks your uncles and your aunts have played mean nothing to me. I know how to play dumb. That’s the thing I am best at.”

Gu Tingye couldn’t help laughing secretly. After he had stared at her for a long while, he said, “Fine, I didn’t marry you to let you be wronged.”

Minglan was very moved inwardly. However, that feeling only lasted until she got to bed. Gu Tingye didn’t let anyone else bully her, but he never went easy on Minglan in bed. Every night, Minglan was pressed on the bed by him. The continuous sex almost made her waist broken. Only after she had moaned for a long while did Gu Tingye put a satin cushion under her waist. With his eyes turning red, he kept rubbing her body while breathing heavily.

After she didn’t know how long, they finally stopped. Minglan held a pillow in her arms while moaning. Meanwhile, Gu Tingye pressed on her with half of his body while touching her tender skin carefully with a joyful look on his face.

Minglan’s voice came through off and on, “Have a rest, you still need to go to the imperial court in the morning.” With his head lowered, Gu Tingye kissed her and then said with a smile, “I asked for a day off tomorrow. I don’t need to go to the imperial court.”

“Why?” Minglan suddenly got alarmed.

Right now Minglan was like a kitten which had just taken off its foetal hair. Although this kitten had babyish talons and fangs, it still wore a rather defensive look on her face. Seeing her being like this, he said smilingly, “Tomorrow someone from the imperial palace will announce the imperial edict to us. After that I’ll accompany you to the imperial palace to express our gratitude.”

“What… edict?” Minglan was still in a daze.

Gu Tingye stroked her little nose and said smilingly, “Your husband has asked for an imperial mandate for you.”