Before Jiang Yunshen could even excitedly express his feelings.
Bai Liuyue pulled the curtains open with a swift swish right in front of him.
The two grown men behind the curtains instantly stopped their fighting. Their bodies stiffened, and for a moment, their eyes met in silence.
The air seemed to freeze.
After a long while.
The three men sat around the round table in the small living room, looking at each other in dismay.
Bai Liuyue sat at the highest seat, looking down at the three men before her.
"It is the middle of the night, what are each of you trying to do?"
Jiang Yunshen blinked innocently and whispered, "Little Yue, you called for me, so I came."
Bai Liuyue: "I was not talking about you."
Jiang Yunshen immediately let out a long sigh of relief.
He looked at the other two men with gloating satisfaction.
Pei Yu was indignant. Showing a wronged expression, he tilted his head back and asked, "Sister Liuyue, why can't I be the official husband?"
Beside him, Xie Chengxiao poured cold water on the idea, "Because you are too stupid."
Pei Yu retorted, "You are the stupid one! Your whole family is stupid!"
Xie Chengxiao rolled his eyes and pointed out, "I am your cousin, so aren't you still calling yourself stupid?"
Pei Yu: "..." He was at a loss for words.
He looked at Bai Liuyue with a whimpering expression.
Bai Liuyue nodded at him soothingly and said, "Be good. Then you can be the second husband, okay?"
"Really?" Pei Yu was instantly coaxed. Just as he excitedly tried to stand up, Xie Chengxiao immediately pressed him back down.
He looked at Bai Liuyue, his lips pursed.
"Then why won't you marry me?"
Bai Liuyue curled the corners of her lips, pointed at Pei Yu, and smiled. "Pei Yu is right, you are a secondhand man, so you can be the third husband. Do you agree?"
Xie Chengxiao glanced somewhat unwillingly at Jiang Yunshen, and then at the overjoyed Pei Yu.
"If you are all calling me a secondhand man, then I want to be the second husband."
Pei Yu instantly got excited and tried to stand up again, anxiously saying, "You are not allowed to steal my spot as the second!"
Jiang Yunshen was a bit dumbfounded.
He did not even have a chance to show his worth.
Just a moment ago, he was worried that these two would try to crash the wedding.
Now, watching Xie Chengxiao and Pei Yu fight over the second position... did that mean his status as the official husband was completely secure?
After listening to them argue for a while.
Bai Liuyue gently clapped her hands, interrupting them.
Revealing a distressed look in her eyes, she said:
"As you all know, I am a traditional woman. I have to get married eventually."
"After careful consideration, Jiang Yunshen is already my fiancé, so it is perfectly normal for me to marry him."
"However, I have also made the mistake that all women make, which is that I cannot bear to let go of Pei Yu..."
Pei Yu's eyes instantly lit up, and he happily tilted his head back.
Then he heard Bai Liuyue continue, "...and I cannot bear to part with Chengxiao either."
Xie Chengxiao pursed his lips, his narrow phoenix eyes tilting up slightly.
His affection level had hit 100 three years ago, and it had not wavered a bit in all that time.
"Therefore..." Bai Liuyue let out a long sigh and tactfully expressed, "This is unfair to both of you. If you are not willing to be the second and third, then..."
Pei Yu hastily shouted, "I am willing! Who says I am not willing! It is my cousin who is not willing!"
Xie Chengxiao was always elegant, but upon hearing this, he could not help acting like Pei Yu.
"Bullshit! I am willing! It is just being a concubine for Liuyue, I will be the third."
After saying that, he muttered to himself in a low voice, "My father used to dote on his third concubine the most. The lowest-ranked one gets the most favor."
"This must be because Liuyue likes me the most."
Fortunately, the other two men did not hear this.
Otherwise, a fight would have broken out again.
Bai Liuyue nodded in satisfaction and looked at them.
"Then tomorrow when I marry Jiang Yunshen, will you still argue and make a fuss?"
Pei Yu and Xie Chengxiao both shook their heads at the same time: "No arguing, no fussing."
"Yunshen, what about you?" Bai Liuyue cast a sidelong glance at Jiang Yunshen, who had been watching the show the whole time.
"I am willing to accept my two younger brothers."
"Very good." Bai Liuyue looked at the group, telling them all to place their hands on the round table, stacking them one by one.
Finally, she wrapped her hands around theirs, a faint smile curling on her lips.
"From now on, we are all one family. We must get along well. No being jealous, and no fighting, understand?"
The three handsome men exchanged glances, dark currents surging in their eyes.
But when they looked at Bai Liuyue, they all became exceptionally well-behaved and nodded one after another.
(End of this world)
...
Extra 1
Five years later, Bai Liuyue was officially promoted to a female parliamentarian of the National Political Council, formally stepping onto the highest political stage.
When people from the outside mentioned her, no one dared to call her the President's Wife.
Most called her Minister Bai, and now, Parliamentarian Bai.
At the Political Council Secretariat.
Bai Liuyue was looking down at some documents.
A rustling sound suddenly came from behind her, but she did not pay it any mind. The fountain pen in her hand landed on the paper.
Writing with a swish-swish sound.
Immediately after, a head rested on her shoulder.
Pei Yu said in a delicate, whiny voice, "Parliamentarian Bai, you promised to come home after work and spend my birthday with me."
Bai Liuyue nudged him away without looking up.
"I am not off work yet. Stop messing around."
Pei Yu gave a soft hmph. Deciding to actually mess around, he grabbed her other hand that was resting on the desk and slid it toward his chest.
"What I am wearing today... is very thin..."
Only then did Bai Liuyue finally look up and glance at him.
It seemed he really came prepared today.
His sharp, layered hair was neatly styled, slicked back with pomade. He wore a white dress shirt that perfectly accentuated his figure, with the top three buttons left undone.
Revealing a large expanse of fair chest and abs.
Pei Yu smiled smugly and said, "How about you work on my shift first, okay?" His peach-blossom eyes blinked.
He looked exactly like a seductive, bewitching second concubine.
Bai Liuyue put down her pen.
She rubbed her forehead and sighed softly, finally understanding why warlords in the past always took two concubines.
In her shoes, her willpower was not holding up too well either.
"Let's go." She tapped her fingertip against his rolling Adam's apple.
The next second, she was swept up into his arms, Pei Yu's face written all over with triumphant delight.
...
Extra 2
Late at night.
Bai Liuyue was sleeping in bed when the mattress beside her suddenly dipped.
She groggily rubbed her eyes and saw an exhausted Jiang Yunshen about to take off his coat. She asked softly:
"Done with work?"
Things had been chaotic in the east recently, and as the President, Jiang Yunshen had not been home for almost three days.
"Mm." Jiang Yunshen lowered his head and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I missed you."
Bai Liuyue shook her head in mild disgust and said, "You stink. Have you not washed in three days..."
She was just about to push the man away when he pulled her into his arms.
He headed straight for the bathroom.
Jiang Yunshen's voice was low and husky as he said, "Yes, I have not washed in three days. Madam, help me wash clean, alright?"
...
Extra 3
Rumble.
The thunder outside was deafening. The room was pitch black, devoid of light.
Due to the thunderstorm, the electrical equipment in the villa had all broken down.
Even though there were candles in the room, Xie Chengxiao stubbornly squatted by the bed, wrapping himself into a ball and shivering in the pitch-black darkness.
He stubbornly kept his head raised, looking expectantly toward the main door.
Just earlier, he and Pei Yu had gotten into an argument, but Liuyue had only coaxed Pei Yu and had not comforted him.
Didn't everyone say that the third concubine was always the most favored? Why was it so different when it came to him?
Xie Chengxiao was a man who cared deeply about his pride. He had a tough mouth but a soft heart. He forced himself to hold out and not be the first to call for her, yet his gaze remained fixed on the door while his body trembled with fear.
Rumble—
Another clap of thunder echoed.
In the pitch-black room, Xie Chengxiao shrank back in fright, his eyes turning red.
In the past, whenever the power went out, Liuyue would always come to keep him company.
Where was she spending the night today? Jiang Yunshen was busy with work and hadn't been home for days, so was she in Pei Yu's room again? A wave of sour bitterness washed over him.
He could feel his eyes growing wet.
Damn it! He was a strong man. How could he get jealous and feel like crying over such a trivial thing?
But the more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt.
Just as Xie Chengxiao was biting his lip and puffing out his cheeks, his eyes on the verge of brimming with tears...
The door opened.
A warm light accompanied a figure stepping into the room.
Bai Liuyue was wearing a white nightgown, holding a candle protected by a clear glass shade. The warm glow refracted through the glass, casting dappled light across her face.
She walked over, stopped beside Xie Chengxiao, and slowly crouched down.
A fond yet helpless smile seemed to play on her lips.
"Be good, were you scared? Don't be afraid, I am here."
Feeling incredibly wronged, Xie Chengxiao bit his lip and whispered, "I thought you weren't going to come looking for me. I thought you were angry."
"Silly, you are my man. How could I be angry with you? In my heart, you are more important than Pei Yu."
"Really?" A faint smile touched Xie Chengxiao's lips, though he still looked at her with a hint of doubt.
"Really."
Bai Liuyue smiled softly, not batting an eye.
In her heart, she thought: Silly man, don't you know that when a woman whispers sweet nothings, it's all a lie?
(End of Extra)
-
Republican Era World ends.
Darlings, please give a nudge to the other readers who were waiting at the beginning of the arc, thank you ⌯ᵔ⩊ᵔ⌯ಣ
New World Preview: It's the apocalypse now, so it's perfectly reasonable for me to keep a few fiercely devoted young men around, right?
