Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen

Jemin smiled and watched Aya busy in the room.Wherever she went she always seemed to think that she had to do something--not money, but behavior, thoughtfulness, or favors--to be liked.She never seemed to believe that anyone liked her because of her; as if she had some flaw and had to try to make it up. But now, as Jemin looked at her, he knew she wasn't flawed at all.Her every move, her lovely butt, the contours of her breasts... "Come here," he said hoarsely. "But, Jemin, I've got to get the clods off your clothes, and I've got to—" "Come here, now!"

After the hasty wedding, they returned to the inn for their luggage and a boiled chicken, which Jemin tore in half and they ate as they rode.A few hours later, as the sun was gradually setting, they came to another inn, and Aya went to the kitchen to see what could be prepared for dinner, and was - not surprised to Jemin - "asked" out of the kitchen by the boss, Because Aya said a bunch of better management that the boss didn't appreciate. "Keep her with you," said the boss displeased. "With pleasure." Jemin pulled Aya into a chair and sat down. "He'll lose money if he doesn't manage well," Aya muttered, but Jemin just smiled and kissed her forehead.

Now, the two were alone in the room, and he pulled back the quilt and stretched out his hand to her. He was naked under the quilt.When Jemin was undressing just now, Aya turned her face away, blushing at the sudden intimacy between the two. Aya looked at his outstretched hand hesitantly. "Come here, little witch," he coaxed. "Are you afraid of me? You once beat me, burned me, and cursed me. Now I am the same me as I was back then!" Aya has always done things without whining, and she is amazing, so she flew into his arms. "Oh, Jemin, I'm so scared. I don't know how to be a wife, even for a while. You've met so many women, and every single one of them fell for you. My God! How I'm going to talk to France What about women and court ladies competing? I'm only a merchant's daughter, and that would be an impossibly difficult task."

When Aya said these words, Jemin had already skillfully removed her clothes and kissed every inch of her skin. Aya stopped talking. "Oh, Jemin, you kiss me so well, aren't you experienced?" Jamie smiled. "No, I'm new, so if I make a mistake, you have to tell me." "Liar!" Aya said happily.She closed her eyes as his lips slid onto her arm. "If I could, it was my wife who taught me," Aya chuckled, not thinking about anything as Jamin's kisses rained down and his hands flicked all over her body. "Tell me how to please you," she whispered.

"You've been pleasing me, but you don't know it." His lips were buried on her neck. Jemin knew that Aya thought he knew a lot about bedtime, but the truth was that he had never slept with any woman for more than one night.He didn't want the involvement and entanglement that a long-term sexual relationship would entail, and he'd never been attracted to sexually experienced women, so maybe he was telling Aya that he was new.Other men may laugh at him, but as his sister Pei Ling always said, he is a real romantic, or maybe he has been waiting for a woman he really loves.

He was sure he had never enjoyed being with Aya more than he did now.He wanted to touch her whole body, and he liked to think that he was the only one who had touched Aya. He even liked that Aya grew up in an isolated environment, and few men had seen her. This kind of possessiveness surprised him. The first time he made love to her on their wedding night, he was too fast, because he wanted her so much, so the second time, he stopped rushing and teased her growing passion slowly, savoring her He lay down on the bed with Aya sitting on top of him when she started biting his neck. "Oh, Jemin, you're so smart..." she murmured with her eyes closed, moving up and down instinctively.When her butt met his, he thought he might die of happiness.He held Aya with both hands, helping her move more quickly, until he pressed her back on the bed, and the pleasure exploded inside her as if part of him died.

Aya hugged his limp body happily. "I like it so much, Jemin. You're not asleep, are you?" Jamie smiled and turned to kiss her. "Let's see who wants to sleep first." He put his hand on her belly. Aya yawned and tried to get on the horse, but she was too sleepy to see where the lantern was.After she missed it three times in a row, Jemin had to put her feet in the lantern and push her on, still yawning when he handed her the reins. Jemin couldn't help smiling.As a soldier, he is very used to fighting without sleep, but Aya is used to a fixed sleep time every day. She has not closed her eyes for two consecutive nights.

Though Aya was tired all day—even falling asleep at dinner—she was as wide awake as he was whenever the door was closed.Their clothes fell off in a few seconds, and then the two were entangled like snakes, neither wanting to let go of the other. Towards daybreak they would sleep in each other's arms until the sun and the noise of the inn woke them, then reluctantly rose and dressed and went downstairs to breakfast. The morning after their wedding night, Jemin woke up with a panic to find himself empty, and then he found Aya asleep on the only chair in the room.The candle next to her has burned out, and construction paper is strewn all around her.Jemin quietly got out of bed curiously, and looked at the sketches with the morning light coming in from the window. All the pictures were of him, but he was bigger in the pictures than in real life.There are a few pictures of him fighting against the bandits: he bent down and pulled out the dagger in his boot, she held her breath in fright when she saw the knife flying towards her, Jemin stabbed the gangster with a sword, Jemin picked up the unconscious Ai elegant.

At first, Jemin couldn't believe it, and then he smiled and felt stronger, braver, and wiser.He put away the painting carefully, and gently carried Aya to the bed.As he neared the realm of sleep, it occurred to him that Aya might be right about one thing: that he would give his life to protect her. But now Jemin knows their "honeymoon" is coming to an end.Today they will arrive at the house, and the two will not be able to be alone.He glanced back at Aya and couldn't help laughing as she rode her horse in her sleep. He bent over to grab her reins, but Aya was so sound asleep that she didn't wake up when the reins slipped from her grasp.To Jemin's left was a large field of daisies, which, like the one they had passed in the past few hours, belonged to his relatives.A narrow dirt path leads up the hillside to a quiet glade where the Meng family's ancestors once built a small stone house. Its roof is missing and one wall has collapsed, but as children, Pei Ling once said that it was the most romantic place in the world, so now Jemin is going to take his bride there.

Aya was still fast asleep when he stopped his horse and took Aya into his arms.He carried her into the ruins and sat down in the shade. Jemin had slept through the fire of bullets before, so holding his wife with his back against the stone wall didn't bother him now.He put his arms around Aya and soon fell asleep. When he woke up, the sun was about to set, and the temperature was gradually dropping, so he hugged Aya tighter, let her continue to sleep, and looked at the daisies in the distance alone. "Still think I'm trying to kill Fran with daisies?" Aya murmured. "I thought you were asleep."

"Yes and no. Jemin, these past few days have been the happiest of my life. You have been so kind to me. Do you think your family will like me?" "They'll like you." Jemin said confidently. "Won't they be disappointed about the money? I'm not the heir after all." Or rather, not the heir anymore, Aya thought. Jemin smiled. "They will accept you." Her head was still resting on his shoulder; she wanted to keep it that way forever, but Jemin opened his mouth and broke it. "What are you hiding from me?" he asked softly. "No—no!" She hadn't expected Jemin to ask that question. "You, Fulan, and Todd hid something from me; I can feel it. I've seen the three of you exchange glances, and I've seen Fulan threaten you." "Threat me? What do you mean?" That remark made Jemin push her away abruptly, but she grabbed him immediately. "Don't be mad at me, please, Jamie, I love you, love you so much. I told you that when you thought I was Diana." Jemin sat down beside her, but didn't turn to her. "You lied to me from the beginning. I didn't know who you were in the tent that night, only that you were special and unlike women I'd known before. Maybe I should have guessed who you were because you and Diana even—” "What's going on?" Aya asked in a low voice, suddenly realizing that Jemin had never said he loved her. "It made me feel intimate," he said. "I don't know how to describe it. Ever since I met you, I feel very similar to you, as if you belong to me. To answer your question just now, no, I don't think you want to kill Fulan, and I didn't either Think like that. I know I said something like that, but frankly, I just think you betrayed me." He turned to Aya, took her by the arms and continued, "You don't know how I felt when I first saw you, the day I slipped over the wall into the garden and hid behind the hedge to watch you paint. Your skills amaze me." Very shocked, I must have stood there watching you paint for an hour. Every movement of yours was quick and precise and perfect." Aya was very surprised because she didn't know that Jemin had observed her that day. He stroked her cheek. "I don't know how to describe how I feel about you, but I feel that I have met a woman who can live together, not just marry or fall in love. At that time, I thought, if I put my father and eldest brother, or Tell this woman about Mother, Pei Ling, or even Xiao Qiu, and she will understand what I'm talking about. I feel like I can discuss anything with you, I've never felt that way, never felt like I could..." He looked into her eyes. "I never felt like I could trust anyone completely, whether it was Les or Tom or my family. I usually only told them half the story - the half I wanted them to know. But when I stood there watching When I look at you, I know I trust you." "You can trust me, Jemin," Aya whispered. "I would rather die than betray you." "Betrayal, that's how I felt when you lied to me to give you daisies." "I have no idea--" "I know you don't know, I know you don't want to kill anyone, but I feel deeply that you betrayed me. I care so much about you, and you—" He let go of Aya and turned his face away. "That's how I feel right now," he said, looking back at her. "Aya, you betrayed me." "I've never met another man! You're my only man!" "Don't get me wrong!" he roared angrily. "What secret are you keeping from me?" "I..." Aya wanted to tell him the truth, but if she did, their time together would be cut short.Jemin would be very angry, and would throw her in the hideous saddle, and the two would gallop to her father.Will Jemin apologize to her father?Because he married her without permission? "I can see that you still don't want to tell me the secret." "That's nothing, Jemin, it's just a child's secret—" She stopped because Jemin got up and walked over to his horse.Aya caught up to him, grabbing his arm. "Can't you accept me now?" "Do you mean to accept that you are a liar?" "No, of course not, I mean—" She paused at the look on Jemin's face, "I am who I am now, nothing more and nothing less. I never meant to hurt you or anyone Man, I just want you to accept me as I am now." "And I ask you to trust me!" Jemin looked at her pleadingly, "Aya, please tell me what secret you have, I've always felt it, you live every day as if it's you The last day, why? Is there some bad fate waiting for you? Do you get an incurable disease? You always say our marriage is temporary, but I don't understand why your guardian would object to a poor merchant's daughter marrying noble." He grabbed Aya's upper arm again. "Aya, please tell me what makes you uneasy, what makes you so afraid?" "I can't tell you," Aya said. "Please, I can't say, I just want now, today; I don't want anything else, our marriage will be over soon, so please don't let it end sooner, please .” Jemin let go of her arm and rubbed his eyes. "Well, whatever you want. Don't tell me, and don't trust me." "I really trust you!" Aya tried to grab his arm, but he turned away. "Get on the horse, my house is almost here." His cold tone made Aiyawen want to take his place.She turned and mounted the horse for the first time without Jemin's assistance, and as she rode, Aya was battling whether to tell Jemin the truth, maybe he'd forgive her, maybe... When they stopped by the side of the road to rest, Aya could see that Jemin was still mad at her because he barely looked at her when he handed her the cheese and bread.Aya struggled to find something to say. "You haven't told me about the Mei's carriage." When the word "Mei" was mentioned, Aya almost bit her tongue.But to her delight, Jemin smiled. "You should take a look at the appearance of Xiao Shinan disguised as a woman, that is the ugliest woman in the world." "It's a pity I didn't see it." Jemin didn't seem to hear her. "Even so, Xiao Shi showed me a whole box of proposal letters and love letters, and also told me what happened on the way." Cheese and bread stuck in Aya's throat. "What happened?" "A woman believed that the hand of the heir could cure all diseases, so she carried her sick child and followed the convoy for three days." "What about Xiao Shi?" Aya asked in a low voice, because she saw Jemin frowning. "In the end he had to give in and hugged the child for half an hour, and finally..." His voice faded away, he looked at Aya, but then turned away. "The child died. The woman cursed Xiao Shi and spat at him. She said that the child would die because Xiao Shi was too stingy, and that the heir of the Mei family possessed so much supernatural power, but he was too stingy to distribute some of it to others, and even rescued him." Not even saving the life of a child." "What nonsense is that! Just because the heir has money doesn't mean she will have any supernatural power!" "That's right," Jemin turned to her, smiling slightly at her. "So I'm glad I didn't marry the heir of the Mei family." "real?" "I know you're worried that I want to marry an heir, but that's all my family's idea. I don't want the rest of my life to be peaceful. Marrying an heir will bring a lot of responsibility and speculation," he laughed mouthed. "So you see, I'd rather marry you than an heir." Aya swallowed. "But if you get a letter from Mayboken agreeing to marry his daughter, you might change your mind." To Aya's astonishment, Jemin threw back his head and laughed.He opened the leather bag and took out a folded paper. "I didn't post the letter." Aya almost stumbled. "That was a letter to Mayboken? You didn't send it? But Fran said—" Jamie kissed her on the cheek. "Fulan isn't very bright, is she? When she insisted that I give her the letter to post, I got suspicious, so I told her I had sent it, to see how she reacted—and sure enough, she Horrified face. I guess she doesn't want to marry me at all, she just wants to make you jealous, what do you think?" Aya grabbed his neck. "I don't care what Fran wants! Oh, Jemin, do you know what that means? It means we have more time, more time! That's what money can't buy! Oh, Jemin , I love you to death!" Jamin didn't quite understand why she was so happy that the letter hadn't been delivered, but he was glad Aya had reacted that way.While he's still hurt by Aya's refusal to tell him the secret, he knows only time will make Aya trust him. But a minute ago he was thinking about kissing her, and a minute later he was thinking about nothing but kissing her even more frantically.He dragged Aya behind a hedge beside the road, as if he were the bandit who robbed her. Jamin was amazed by his growing passion, as if he had to have her now or die; and Aya seemed to feel the same way.The two hurriedly and frantically undressed each other and rolled under the slag hedge, desperate to hold each other tighter. After a few minutes, their passion ran out, and Jemin collapsed on Aya's body, dripping with sweat.Aya stroked his hair, thinking how much she loved him - and how happy she was!If Father hadn't received the letter, he wouldn't have come to her now with a large army to take her away from Jemin. "No matter what happens, Jemin, remember I love you," Aya murmured. "I love you with all my heart, even if—" "Whatever?" Jemin asked, turning to her. Aya smiled slightly, managing to sound joking. "Even if I have to marry someone else in the future." But Jemin didn't smile. "You belong to me, not to anyone else!" "Yes, no matter what happens, I will always be yours." Jemin waited for her to say something, but she didn't.Again he was frustrated by her silence, by her distrust of himself.He stood up, indicating that it was time to go. Aya wanted to change the subject so he wouldn't go on asking about her secret.When Jemin helped her to the horse, she said, "Tell me about your family. I know you have a twin sister. Is she as ugly as you?" Jamie smiled. "Pei Ling is beautiful, even if she's blind—" Jemin stopped, one hand on the saddle, and he was about to get on the horse, but he stopped and looked at Aya.Thinking of Aya's love for Todd, Jemin knew he didn't have to worry about Aya rejecting Pei Ling or Xiao Qiu or his tranced mother. Thinking of this, Jemin smiled at Aya, his eyes were full of love. "Do you think they'll like me?" Aya asked again. "Won't they be disappointed?" "No, of course not," Jemin said confidently. "I have already sent someone to inform them, so they are planning a grand welcome party, and they will like you." After speaking, he rode to the front of Aya to lead the way. Aya, who was riding behind, was not so sure.While Jamin is romantic, she is practical.If she had been in Jemin's family, she might not have been too thrilled to find out that instead of marrying an heir, she brought home the poor merchant's daughter.Maybe they were just as romantic as Jemin, though.Aya didn't expect Jemin's family to be so poor.In front of her was a dilapidated house, maybe a hundred years old - but it would be nice if instead of history it had a new roof.Aya evaluated the house with a businessman's eye, and it would take a lot of money to completely restore it—perhaps it would be more cost-effective to remove the heavy building.She couldn't imagine how cold this place would be in winter.She rode up to Jemin and asked him how much land he had, only to be shocked to learn that he had less than five acres.Perhaps turning this pitifully small piece of land into a productive orchard would make up for it a bit, Aya thought to herself, and if there was a good harvest, maybe she could make cider to sell—she sighed.Don't think about it, because she won't be here, Aya reminded herself, she might be somewhere else by Xia Wei, maybe someone else's wife; she would be the role her father wanted her to play. "Is it that bad?" Jemin looked at her and asked.Aya could see that Jamin wanted her to like his home. "No," Aya said, forcing a smile. "not bad!" "Is your lying skills getting worse, or is my ability to detect lies greatly improved?" Aya smiled. "I'll try to improve your situation." That made Jemin laugh, and he leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. "My little wife, I'm sure you can do it. Hopefully by this time next year you've tripled the value of the place." "Ah, then I should give you a cut," Aya muttered, making Jemin laugh again. "My sister will like you." "What about your mother?" "She, uh, I was going to tell you about her. She, uh..." When Jemin was thinking about how to tell Aya that his mother's mind was gradually lost, an arrow flew through the air and landed on Li Jie A yard from Ming's feet.That spooked both horses, sending their forefeet off the ground.He leaned over and grabbed her by the bit, reining in both horses at the same time.He grinned when he saw Aya's terrified look. "Will that earn me more paintings?" "Oh, yes..." Aya said in shock. Jemin smiled and dismounted, pulled out the arrow on the ground, and opened the paper tied to the arrow.As expected, it was from O'Henry, and the content of the note made him frown, but he would not tell Aya what the note said. "He didn't hurt Fulan, did he?" Jemin helped her off the horse, she asked fearfully. "No, but—" He closed his mouth, still frowning. "I have to go. I'm sorry, but you have to meet my sister alone, and I'll be back later." "Okay..." Aya wanted to be brave and mature, but the thought of seeing his sister alone made her frightened. "Don't look so scared, they'll like you, and I'll be back in a few hours." "I will go with you--" "No!" he snapped. "There's danger there! Something must have happened, and you won't tell me!" "No, Fulan is fine, but I have to go." "Okay," Aya said, taking a leather pouch from the saddlebag and handing it to Jemin. "There are some herbs in it. You must give them to Fulan. She never takes care of herself. One pack is for colds; one pack is soaked in hot water and pasted on the chest for coughs; the third pack is The potion she likes to drink when she suffers from insomnia, the fourth pack—” Jamin sealed her mouth with a kiss. "I will make sure she is healthy and safe, and bring her back to you. Now go to my house and wait for me to come back." He kissed Ayala in his arms for a long time. "Wait for me," he said, and Aya could only nod.Then he jumped on his horse and galloped away, leaving behind a cloud of dust. Aya stood by the road, watching him disappear into the woods.She knew the situation must be serious, otherwise he wouldn't have left her in a strange place. She turned and looked out over Jermyn's house.It seemed like a friendly place when she was with Jaymin.But now clouds were covering the sun, and a cold wind was blowing that gave her goosebumps.She looked up at the sky, thinking that there might be a storm brewing. When her eyes returned to the dilapidated house, she felt as if a storm was brewing in the house.Maybe she was just superstitious, but she could feel the hostility emanating from the room.Jemin's family wouldn't hate her, would they?No, of course not, she told herself, there was no way they could hate her, because there was no reason to hate her, not at all.