A Mei stared at An Sheng with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Though young, she knew there was a difference between men and women. But... to have her take off everything was truly embarrassing. She thought naively, could it be... that all women are like this after they marry?
A Mei bit her lip tightly. She remembered she had been sold to be An Sheng's wife. She thought of what her foster father had said before, and also of her husband's promise that he wouldn't treat her badly if she served him well in the future. A Mei secretly resolved that from now on, whatever her husband said, she would do. That couldn't be wrong.
Thinking this, A Mei mustered her courage. With trembling hands, she removed the rest of her clothes, then looked at An Sheng, unsure what to do next. "Husband, A Mei has finished undressing."
An Sheng's gaze fell on A Mei's smooth skin. He was silent for a moment, then, with a dark expression, he fetched a white handkerchief from somewhere.
"Spread this handkerchief in the middle of the bed and lie down."
A Mei did as she was told, then looked at An Sheng with confusion, timidity, and innocence, seeming to hold a trace of dependence as well.
An Sheng took in her expression, his heart filled with complex emotions. His gloomy face held an indescribable feeling; no one could tell what he was thinking.
Naked, A Mei huddled on the bed. She didn't know what An Sheng intended to do, only knowing he was her husband and she just needed to obey. But she was still afraid—afraid of the unknown, and more afraid that he might beat her.
Then she saw An Sheng turn, get onto the bed, reach out to let down the bed curtains on both sides, and sit down beside her. A pair of slender, long hands directly touched her body.
A Mei stiffened at first, then couldn't help but squirm and giggle softly. "That tickles."
An Sheng glared, his voice low as he scolded, "Be still for this master!"
A Mei immediately shut her mouth tightly, forcing herself not to laugh out loud.
Suddenly, An Sheng leaned over, pressing down on A Mei. One of his legs went between hers. Just as A Mei was about to cry out, one of his hands went into her mouth, muffling her sound, while the other hand reached to A Mei's... Before proceeding, An Sheng couldn't help but say one thing.
"Bear with it!"
A Mei only felt a heavy weight on her, then her husband's hand blocked her mouth. Before she could even react to what was happening, an intense, sudden pain tore through her below...
"Mmph!"
The pain was so sharp that A Mei instinctively bit down hard on An Sheng's hand. When the pain subsided a little and she caught her breath, she tasted the metallic tang of blood in her mouth.
Realizing what had happened, A Mei felt pain, shock, fear, and terror all at once. Oh no! She immediately burst into tears.
She cried because her husband had indeed hurt her, and she cried because she had bitten and injured him. What if he got angry?
A Mei finally released her bite. An Sheng's face was now contorted, enduring the pain in his hand. He pulled his hand from A Mei's mouth, then rolled off her. He glared at A Mei with annoyance:
"You little wretch, are you a dog? You nearly bit this master to death!"
An Sheng reached down and pulled out the handkerchief from beneath A Mei... now stained with drops of virginal blood. He casually wiped some of the blood from his hand onto it. Looking at the two patches of bloodstains, he felt a strange, inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
Then his gaze fell on A Mei, who was trembling and weeping. His eyes flickered, and his tone was unusually free of sarcasm.
"Enough, stop crying. Put your clothes on!"
Crying, A Mei glanced at the blood on the handkerchief in An Sheng's hand. Knowing she was injured, the pain between her legs seemed to magnify instantly.
With difficulty, A Mei sat up. The pain there was too shameful to speak of. Gritting her teeth, she slowly put her clothes back on.
An Sheng paid her no mind. Instead, he carefully folded the handkerchief and put it away. Turning back, he saw A Mei still kneeling on the bed, looking at him with teary, bewildered eyes, as if waiting for his instructions.
An Sheng shot her an annoyed glance, thinking to himself how his foster father could have bought such a foolish girl—one who understood nothing and only knew how to cry. He was about to scold her when the memory of the blood-stained handkerchief he had just put away flashed in his mind, and he swallowed his words.
An Sheng's sharp voice betrayed no emotion. "From today on, you are truly this master's person. This master is injured and will be staying home for a while longer. Later, when I return to the palace to resume my duties, given my current position, I can leave the palace for five days each month. On usual days, you will listen to Foster Father's instructions and take good care of him. For food, clothing, and expenses, this master will give you money every month. If the household lacks anything, go out and buy it."
"Foster Father prefers quiet, so we've never bought maids or servants. In the future, if you behave well, I'll speak to Foster Father, and we can buy a few maids then." At this point, An Sheng snorted. "Male servants are out of the question. If you ever dare to have contact with other men and put horns on this master's head, see if I don't skin you alive!"
This was the first time An Sheng had spoken so much to A Mei. She listened intently, perking up when she heard he would only be home five days a month. Then she heard he would give her money, let her go out shopping, and even buy maids in the future... Coming from a poor background, A Mei felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky, making her head spin.
Then she heard An Sheng's fiercely spoken final words.
A Mei shrank back fearfully, shaking her head repeatedly. In a pitiful voice, she said, "Husband, don't worry. A Mei will definitely listen to you from now on."
Now satisfied, An Sheng simply lay down on the outer side of the bed and pulled the quilt up. Seeing A Mei still too afraid to move, her eyes red and sniffling as she looked at him with a wronged expression, An Sheng gave her an impatient glare. "What are you staring at me for? Lie down and sleep!"
Only after An Sheng said this did A Mei dare to pull a corner of the quilt over herself and lie down.
In ordinary households, there was a rule for the man to sleep on the inner side. A Mei didn't know this, and An Sheng didn't mention it, so they just slept like that. After a while, An Sheng beside her had fallen asleep. A Mei felt uncomfortable and couldn't sleep. She stared wide-eyed at the bed canopy. She didn't know how much time passed before she finally drifted into a fitful sleep.
A Mei had a dream. She dreamed of her mother. But in the dream, her mother was very sad, holding her and crying heartbreakingly. A Mei in the dream cried too, but hers were tears of joy. She hadn't dreamed of her mother in so very long. Finally seeing her again, A Mei and her mother held each other, weeping with happiness.
An Sheng was awakened by being unable to breathe.
"Damn girl, get off this master!" An Sheng actually had a bad temper upon waking. Anyone would be furious being woken up by someone clinging to them like an octopus.
An Sheng's bed was not small, and the quilt was ample. Before sleeping the night before, there had clearly been a large gap between them. An Sheng's sleeping posture was always rigid and unchanged, so it must have been A Mei who had clambered over in the middle of the night.
A Mei had stayed awake until she couldn't hold out any longer last night and was now in a deep sleep. In her dream, she was still with her mother. An Sheng's shout didn't wake her; instead, she held on even tighter.
For a moment, An Sheng was both startled and angry. He looked down, about to forcefully shake off this presumptuous girl, when A Mei suddenly snuggled tightly into his embrace. She nuzzled her head against his chest in a sweet, compliant, and dependent manner, softly mumbling, "Mother... Mother..."
An Sheng froze for a moment, his expression turning complicated as he looked down at A Mei in his arms. The anger in his heart gradually dissipated.
A strange, complex, and subtle emotion washed over him. Well, this time it was An Sheng's turn to lie awake.
At dawn, A Mei finally woke up. She felt she was in a warm embrace, very comfortable. As she opened her eyes in a daze, she heard a voice gritting its teeth above her head: "How long are you going to cling to this master?"
That jolted A Mei completely awake, especially when she realized she was clinging tightly to her husband. She felt her head explode with a roar, and she wanted to cry.
A Mei immediately loosened her arms and rolled out of An Sheng's embrace. "S-sorry, A Mei didn't mean to."
An Sheng sat up, rubbing his stiff and numb arm, and shot A Mei a fierce glare. "Hmph! This master's arm is practically crushed by you!"
"Get up and help this master get dressed!" An Sheng had dark circles under his eyes and snapped at A Mei irritably.
A Mei promptly scrambled off the bed and obediently helped An Sheng put on his fine clothes.
After An Sheng stormed off in a huff, A Mei also hurriedly dressed and headed straight for the kitchen—she still had to prepare the meal!
The An family breakfast always catered to An Gui's tastes. A Mei cooked plain congee and made two small side dishes.
"What's wrong, didn't sleep well last night?" An Gui looked at An Sheng's livid face, then at A Mei, who noticeably looked a bit better, feeling somewhat puzzled.
An Sheng snorted coldly, glanced at A Mei, who was keeping her head down drinking congee and didn't dare look up, and twitched the corner of his mouth in what could have been a smile or anger. "Good, of course it was good. This master's wedding night, holding his wife to sleep—naturally it was good."
An Gui lifted his eyes and stated evenly, "Then why do you look so terrible?"
A Mei didn't catch the sarcasm in An Sheng's words. She timidly glanced up at him, knowing his bad mood was due to anger, and quickly apologized to An Gui. "Godfather, it's A Mei's fault for not serving husband properly and making him angry."
The way she put it... An Gui gave An Sheng a suspicious look.
Eunuchs were physiologically almost devoid of sexual desire; more accurately, their psychological desires were stronger than their physical ones. He had arranged a marriage for An Sheng not just because of An Sheng's competitive nature and possessiveness, but more so in the hope that there would be someone in Sheng'er's house to care for him, to offer psychological comfort.
An Gui was well aware that most eunuchs did have a rebellious streak, and knew that the more they lost their sexual ability, the more some eunuchs psychologically craved such matters. Due to certain deficiencies, many psychologically twisted eunuchs even subjected women to certain abuses. But at the moment, An Gui was a bit confused.
An Sheng had a patient temperament since childhood but also a cruel side. However... the An household was small, and his own room wasn't far from An Sheng's. If there had been any real commotion, he should have heard it last night.
Moreover, judging by A Mei's appearance, she didn't seem to have been mistreated.
A Mei naturally had no idea what her godfather was thinking. As An Gui didn't respond, she fell silent, not daring to speak, and finally couldn't help but glance at An Sheng.
That glance from A Mei held a trace of plea within her panic. An Sheng caught it, snorted with a cold face, and, as if moved by some unseen force, offered an explanation: "Had a nightmare last night, didn't sleep well."
An Gui nodded, speaking earnestly. "Mm, seeing you start a family makes this godfather very happy. You must live well together from now on."
An Sheng grunted in acknowledgment. "Understood, Godfather."
And so the matter passed. A Mei secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued holding her bowl to drink the congee.
