Chapter 342: Impulse Is the Devil

Chapter 342: Chapter 342: Impulse Is the Devil

After pushing Ji Huan down, Dabao’s eyes were filled with obvious regret.

His small hands fidgeted, as if he wanted to pull her up. But after a moment’s hesitation, he turned his face away.

His shoulders trembled slightly, unable to hide his sense of grievance.

Ji Huan sighed, got up by herself, and dusted off her hands before cupping his little face.

Dabao pushed her again.

Braced for it this time, the push was nothing to Ji Huan.

"Dabao, your big sister really is married now. You have a brother-in-law, and from now on, this family of two will become a family of three.

"But don’t you worry. He’s not a bad person. He even saved you before, remember? And he won’t take your place.

"In your sister’s heart, you will always be number one.

"Have you forgotten what I told you last year? You are the most important person to me in this entire world. I would give up everyone else before I’d ever give you up, understand?"

If he didn’t believe her after hearing it once, she would just have to say it over and over until he did.

Ji Huan hugged Dabao, patting his back in silent comfort. Gradually, the tension left his small body.

He lifted his head from her embrace. His eyes were red-rimmed, his eyelashes glistening with tears.

His dark, dark eyes stared at her as he asked, "Really?"

Ji Huan held out her hand for a pinky promise. "If I lie to you, I’m a puppy."

Coming out of the west room, Ji Huan sighed. ’Kids are so hard to coax.’

Just as she was about to check the backyard, Aunt Wang and the others came into the front yard, all smiles. Each carried a basin brimming with vegetables. They chatted with Ji Huan for a while before heading back.

The main branch of the Ji Family and the Hu Liang brothers left with them. Widow Xie stayed behind to help heat up dinner.

Ji Huan wasn’t very hungry, and neither was Guan Shan.

Although Dabao had been placated, he was still sullen at the dinner table. There was suddenly an extra person—a permanent one at that.

After a hasty meal, Ji Huan washed Dabao up and put him to bed in the west room. Only after he was asleep did she come out.

Widow Xie immediately started ushering her and Guan Shan toward the bridal chamber—the auspicious time to consummate the marriage had arrived.

Ji Huan coughed, trying to change the subject.

"Um, Aunt Wang and Aunt Gao... Did they get their red envelopes? I heard the ladies who make the wedding bed are supposed to get..."

"Yes, yes, they’ve all been given out. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it."

Widow Xie waved her hand impatiently, cutting her off. She pushed both Ji Huan and Guan Shan into the east room, then pulled the door shut from the outside.

Ji Huan and Guan Shan stood in the room, looked at each other, then simultaneously averted their gazes.

From the other side of the door, Widow Xie instructed, "The large flower candles need to burn all night, so be careful not to let them go out. There’s a pair of small flower candles on the table. When those two go out, you two can... you two can..."

The words were a bit difficult to say, but if she didn’t... Widow Xie decided to just bite the bullet.

"When that pair of small flower candles goes out, you two can get on the kang."

"Er..."

Ji Huan turned her head to look.

The large flower candles were still long; they would definitely burn until morning. The small flower candles, however, had been lit by Aunt Wang and the others half a day earlier, timed just right. Now, only a faint glimmer remained.

Ji Huan glanced at Guan Shan, who seemed to be staring blankly at the candles, then cleared her throat and called out, "We know."

Widow Xie wanted to give Guan Shan some more advice, but she held it in for a long while before finally sighing and walking away.

She had been gone for less than a moment when she came back, holding the length of red silk they had held during the wedding ceremony. She tied it to the door handles of the east room, making a rather complicated knot.

This was a tradition from the older generation. Not only did one have to enter the bridal chamber at an auspicious time, but the door also had to be tied shut from the outside with a red silk cloth. It could only be opened the next day after the bride and groom had woken up.

Ji Huan pressed her ear against the wall. She heard the main hall door being closed, the footsteps in the yard fading away, and then everything fell silent.

"She’s finally gone..."

She let out a long sigh of relief and felt her way to the edge of the kang to sit down, massaging her shoulders and legs. If Guan Shan hadn’t been there, she would have thrown herself onto the kang and slept like the dead.

Looking at Guan Shan, however, he stood ramrod straight with his hands behind his back, not looking tired in the slightest.

Ji Huan was quite impressed. She pointed to a nearby armchair.

"Why don’t you sit there for a bit? I’m worried Aunt Xie might make a surprise return. Let’s wait a little longer. Once we’re sure it’s safe, you can leave."

"Back to the mud hut?" Guan Shan asked, not sitting down.

"Of course not," Ji Huan quickly explained. "You might have misunderstood me. I meant you can go rest in the east wing in a little while. The first room in the east wing has already been cleaned, but there’s no kang built in there, so you’ll have to make do. We have a wooden bed frame that we use in the yard to cool off in the summer. It’s perfect for you. You definitely can’t go back to the mud hut. The Ji Family might be watching me. If they discover anything, our fake marriage will be exposed."

Guan Shan stared at Ji Huan, his expression unreadable. "We are already married."

Ji Huan just smiled. "The marriage is fake, just for outsiders to see. Now that the audience has left and the doors are closed, there’s no need to keep up the act. We’re only husband and wife in name. There’s no need to..."

She paused mid-sentence, looking at Guan Shan warily.

"You’re not...?" ’He’s not getting any funny ideas, is he?’

Ji Huan scooted further back on the kang, her hand reaching under the pillow. There was a pair of scissors she had hidden there beforehand.

’I believe Guan Shan is a good person, but he’s a man first and foremost. And he drank today. I have to be on my guard.’

"You... you better not be thinking about anything you shouldn’t. Remember this: impulse is a devil. I have leverage over you. And... and, if you still want to get your face healed, then..."

Guan Shan’s back was to the flower candles, but even in the dim light, she could clearly see his face darken. His tone was as stiff as a board.

"I won’t do anything to you. You can rest assured."

He paused, then added, "But if we’re husband and wife and yet we sleep in separate rooms, aren’t you worried someone will find out?"

’So that’s what he was worried about...’

A little pang of guilt surfaced in Ji Huan’s heart, and her righteous, defiant expression quickly morphed into a smile.

"You don’t have to worry about that. Who has the time to just randomly come into my east room? Besides, I always lock up when I go out. As long as you remember to lock the door to the east wing during the day, there won’t be any problems."

Guan Shan stared at her for a moment before turning and sitting down in the round-backed armchair without another word.

Both of them fixed their gazes on the flower candles.

It was late and quiet. Sharing a room was already awkward enough, but with neither of them speaking, the awkwardness only doubled.

Ji Huan had to force some conversation.

"You probably don’t know this, but according to village custom, there’s usually supposed to be a round of wedding night games."

There’s a saying, "If people don’t make a ruckus, ghosts will." The main purpose of the wedding night games is to drive away evil spirits and ensure a peaceful and smooth life ahead.

It also livens up the atmosphere and dispels the quiet, which is why in some places it’s also called "warming the room." The more noise, the "warmer" it gets, and the better the start for the couple’s new life.

But the two of them had no close friends or relatives, and they lived in a remote spot. Although plenty of people came to watch the ceremony during the day, after seeing Guan Shan’s true face, it was likely no one wanted to join in this particular festivity.

Hu Dacheng and Hu Ximei had wanted to come, but a few kids couldn’t have made much of a scene anyway, so she had them go home early.

"It’s better that they didn’t come. Otherwise, we’d have people eavesdropping at the walls, and that would make acting our parts much harder... It’s been so long now, Aunt Xie probably won’t be back."

Muttering to herself, Ji Huan got off the kang and walked to the door.

She reached out to slide the wooden bolt, but the door wouldn’t budge.

’Locked from the outside? Doesn’t seem like it.’

Then Ji Huan remembered. The bridal chamber door was supposed to be tied with red silk from the outside.

"It’s fine. As long as it’s not a dead knot, it won’t be hard to break free."

Just as Ji Huan was about to use her strength, Guan Shan stood up and placed his hand on the door.