Coming out of the carpenter’s shop,

Xie Wenyuan hurried towards the meeting place while playing with the exquisite wooden comb in his hand, feeling quite satisfied with his masterpiece. He believed that the young man would like it once he received it.

That’s right. This wooden comb was a gift for Qiao Yujing. Just like Qiao Yujing planned to give Xie Wenyuan a purse to cultivate their husband-and-husband relationship, Xie Wenyuan also intended to make Qiao Yujing fall for him.

As the saying goes, for officials, an unstable household is a major taboo! Although his engagement with Qiao Yujing was a transaction under threat, since he had decided to bring the person home, he wouldn’t just leave him locked up in the backyard.

Wouldn’t that be a waste of his rightful position as a husband? Officials need their husbands to maintain social connections outside, and if Qiao Yujing had any ulterior motives and made a little trouble, it would be enough to cause him some headaches.

Otherwise, why is there a saying: “A wife who is not virtuous brings chaos to the family”? The quality of a wife is crucial for a husband’s career.

As for worrying about Qiao Yujing causing trouble, he could actually take a few concubines to balance things out. This method is simple and allows him to enjoy the benefits of having multiple partners.

But Xie Wenyuan had no intention of doing that. The reason was simple: he was afraid of a fire breaking out in the backyard!

You see, in his previous life, the strategy he used most often against those old foxes was to look for weaknesses in the backyard.

Things like favoring a concubine over a wife, disharmony between wife and concubines, and a concubine’s family bullying him… all of these were excellent excuses for attack.

Xie Wenyuan didn’t care for beauty; if possible, he didn’t plan to take concubines in this life. He wanted to emulate his cousin from another world, creating a lifelong love story with just one wife, preventing others from using concubines to plant spies around him.

It’s not that he couldn’t guard against it, but no matter how much he guarded, the person next to him was the hardest to defend against!

Xie Wenyuan was confident in his ability to stand firm in the court and didn’t covet the familial power that concubines brought. He wouldn’t underestimate the risks that came from conflicts between wives and concubines.

So, it was very necessary for him to make Qiao Yujing like him, or even love him. Although the other party already knew his true nature, who said that a bad guy couldn’t be loved?

Xie Wenyuan never accepted fate; as long as it was something he wanted, he would do everything in his power to fight for it. Even when it came to people’s hearts, he could still scheme!

Thinking about how the young man would only have eyes for him, Xie Wenyuan felt inexplicably good. His steps towards the meeting place quickened a bit.

…

The place where the two agreed to meet was still the peach grove from last time.

Firstly, it was quiet and secluded, and secondly, the peach grove was a well-known place for secret meetings. If anyone saw them, they would only think they were lovers meeting in secret and wouldn’t guess that they were plotting something.

When Xie Wenyuan arrived, Qiao Yujing was already waiting there early. Today, he had sneaked out, so he was naturally dressed in a plain, unremarkable outfit of an ordinary commoner.

However, with a good figure, no matter how ordinary the outfit, as long as he didn’t deliberately hide his charm, he still looked quite pleasing to the eye.

The only regret was that today Qiao Yujing was wearing a bamboo hat, so his face was hidden.

Although the young man’s appearance was only delicate, his eyes were beautifully shimmering with water-like brilliance.

Xie Wenyuan wanted to see. Unfortunately, the other party wouldn’t let him.

Suppressing his disappointment, Xie Wenyuan walked over with a light smile, “Why did you come so early again?”

Could it be that the young man had fallen for him at first sight? Otherwise, why would he be so eager to come and wait for him twice in a row?

Thinking about it, it wasn’t impossible. Back then, on the back mountain, in the wild, he had heroically saved the beauty; what a poetic first encounter that was! He was handsome and had a gentlemanly demeanor, so it wasn’t surprising that the young man fell for him at first sight.

Xie Wenyuan felt quite good about himself.

Fortunately, Qiao Yujing couldn’t hear his thoughts; otherwise, he would have spat at him twice.

In their two meetings, the first time he had been extorted for help, and the second time he had almost been killed to keep quiet. And he still thought he had a gentlemanly demeanor?

What a shameless thing to say!

Luckily, Qiao Yujing didn’t know all this, so he quickly got into the mood.

Seeing Xie Wenyuan appear, he hurriedly ran over joyfully, his voice filled with excitement.

“Xie Langjun, you’re here!”

If you want others to like you, you naturally have to show that you like them too; otherwise, they aren’t fools who would stick around in front of a cold face.

Sure enough.

Hearing the young man’s obviously excited voice, Xie Wenyuan’s already good mood improved even more.

He cheerfully said, “Are you so happy to see me? Didn’t you say there was something important to discuss? Hurry up and tell me. Since you’re about to be my husband, as long as it doesn’t cross my bottom line, I will help you solve it.”

His people could only be bullied by him; no one else could.

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yujing’s eyes lit up.

Isn’t the bottom line of a treacherous minister that there is no bottom line? As long as it doesn’t harm his interests, the lives of others are of no concern to him!

Having a husband who is a bad guy has this advantage; he doesn’t have to pretend to be virtuous and kind because he simply doesn’t care.

“Hubby, you’re so good! Luckily, you’re here, or I would have to marry an old man…”

Qiao Yujing didn’t hold back and immediately cried in Xie Wenyuan’s arms, starting to complain.

As for the idea that men shouldn’t be too close, that didn’t apply here.

They were about to get married; this was his future husband, so what was wrong with acting a little spoiled? What was wrong with calling him hubby in advance?

He had been a ghost for decades, so he had a bit of shame, but not too much!

“…”

At first, Xie Wenyuan felt a bit stiff when being hugged.

But soon, he was drawn in by the soft warmth in his arms, unable to resist wrapping his arms around the young man’s slender waist, leaning down to inhale the fresh fragrance coming from him.

His heart couldn’t help but ripple with feelings.

He had never thought that a young man would be so nice to hold.

In his previous life, many beauties had thrown themselves at him, but he had never felt anything special; he even found them rather bland. No matter how beautiful they were, they just looked like that.

So, in his youth, he had put all his energy into the court, and later, when he climbed to a higher position, he was too old to take a wife or concubines, wasting the young girls and boys.

Now, with this young man in his arms, he actually felt a ticklish sensation in his heart, both sweet and delightful.

In short, he really liked it.

Xie Wenyuan held onto the young man’s waist, reluctant to let go, his eyes revealing a tenderness he had never discovered before.

However, after hearing Qiao Yujing’s complaints, his expression turned cold.

The wife of the Earl of Yongchang was, after all, the young man’s biological mother. How could she treat her own son so cruelly? The young man was clearly so likable.

“Even if the Zou family doesn’t like you as a son, there’s no need to use your own son as a stepping stone for the son of a rival, right? Is there some hidden story behind this?”

Xie Wenyuan was greatly shocked and confused as he asked.

He knew that some infatuated people would do many absurd and crazy things, but he really didn’t see any love in Zou’s actions; he just thought her mind was problematic.

Qiao Yujing had already come to terms with it.

But to make Xie Wenyuan feel sorry for him, he still spoke in a despondent tone.

“In my mother’s eyes, I am just a mistake; she deeply despises me. If it weren’t for my grandmother managing the household, there would be spies everywhere. She fears that if she casually gets rid of me, it would expose my background, and she would have sent me to my death long ago.”

“All these years, she couldn’t mistreat my second brother, couldn’t blame her beloved husband, and couldn’t win against the concubines and the illegitimate children, so she could only bully the weak and fear the strong, venting all her resentment on me.”

“She only cares about the Earl of Yongchang; as long as it pleases him, she would do anything…”

“Now, sending me far away to marry an old rich man not only brings in a large sum of money but also solves the evidence that I could expose her for cheating on her husband. It’s a win-win situation for her.”

“What does it matter if I’m her biological son? I’m not the bloodline of her beloved man.”

As he spoke, warm tears began to fall onto Xie Wenyuan’s hand.

It made him feel quite uncomfortable inside.

Xie Wenyuan had seen many tragic people and tragic events, but the young man in front of him made his heart uneasy.

He tightened his arms around him, “Is the marriage already settled?”

“Not yet; they are still discussing it. The other day, I took a sword and went to the main courtyard, smashing things around and threatening them that if they dared to arrange this marriage for me, I would perish with them.”

After saying this, Qiao Yujing realized that being so fierce and rude seemed inappropriate.

He quickly added an embarrassed explanation, “I was really pushed to the edge to act like that; I’m not usually like this.”

“I understand.”

Xie Wenyuan nodded with a smile.

Qiao Yujing thought he was just trying to comfort him, and the laughter in his voice was completely unhidden!

But thinking about how he had previously sat on the ground and begged for mercy, now this little joke didn’t seem like much, and his mindset immediately stabilized.

Qiao Yujing continued, “In short, after I had a big argument with them, I threatened them by saying I had a powerful and influential lover, which temporarily made them give up on the idea of marrying me off to Jiangnan.”

“But I can’t stay in the Earl’s residence any longer. Hubby, I don’t want to marry an old man. Please think of a way to bring me home, okay? Wuwu…”

The young man leaned against his chest, crying sadly and helplessly.

It was as if they were deeply in love but unable to be together.

However, in reality, during their last meeting, they had almost ended up in a murder and silence situation.

Xie Wenyuan shook his head, finding it amusing in his heart: What a good little actor at playing the victim!

But indeed, he needed to hurry and bring him home.

Whether it was because the other party was also a reborn person like him or because of the feelings that had emerged in his heart, this person could only marry him.

Fate had made them a perfect match.

Xie Wenyuan pondered, “How much longer can you delay over there?”

“At most half a month.”

After saying this, Qiao Yujing took off his bamboo hat, revealing his true appearance.

Xie Wenyuan’s pupils slightly contracted, and his breath momentarily halted.

Then he broke into a smile.

He suddenly felt that it wasn’t that he didn’t love beauty before; it was just that those beauties didn’t catch his eye.

The young man in front of him was a perfect match for him.

The author has something to say:
Xie Wenyuan (greatly shocked): So it turns out I’m not lecherous; I just have high standards?!