Chapter 5: Bully

Lin Xingxue placed her left hand on Shen Hanxing’s wrist, silently calling him, “Husband.”

She could clearly feel the murderous intent emanating from Shen Hanxing. A fear of suffocation surged within her, a pain that seemed to come from deep within her bones. It was as if she had once experienced the unbearable agony of not being able to breathe.

Yet, she still looked straight at Shen Hanxing, her clear eyes suppressing the fear.

Despite her efforts, Shen Hanxing could still see her lingering fear.

The skin under his fingertips trembled slightly. The girl was clearly terrified, but she refused to plead for mercy, only silently gazing up at him.

Fear, yet persistence.

As if she was certain he wouldn’t really kill her.

The fingers gradually tightened, and the girl’s eyes turned red, like a docile kitten allowing him to do as he pleased, only looking at him with a hint of grievance.

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Shen Hanxing didn’t care much about this marriage, and others didn’t dare to mention it casually in front of him, therefore he knew very little about Lin Xingxue. He had no idea that she was mute.

The beads swayed slightly, caressing Lin Xingxue’s cheek, carrying a hint of coolness.

She looked up at him, nodded slightly, and then took out a piece of paper from her sleeve, unfolding it and handing it to him.

Lin Xingxue.

She had written her name on the piece of paper.

Shen Hanxing glanced at it casually, then suddenly chuckled, “A mute with a cripple, truly a perfect match.” He bent down towards Lin Xingxue, his breath warm but his tone extremely cold, “After all, no matter how I torture you, you can’t scream, can you?”

He casually swung the wedding fan, and the cold beads occasionally grazed Lin Xingxue’s neck and shoulders, tracing over the fresh red finger marks left just moments ago.

Lin Xingxue shrank slightly, but she wasn’t as scared as before.

He spoke harshly, but he hadn’t actually made a move just now. She wasn’t afraid of these intimidating words.

She stared at Shen Hanxing, slowly shaking her head, denying his words.

Shen Hanxing met her gaze, feeling like he was punching into cotton. He casually threw the wedding fan aside, and the beads hit the pillar, making a “crackling” sound as they scattered on the ground.

Those beads were definitely not fragile, however, he had merely used a bit of force, causing them to shatter one by one.

Lin Xingxue glanced at the broken wedding fan, blinked her eyes, looking at him puzzled.

He was threatening her, but she seemed clueless, as if she couldn’t understand his intentions.

Shen Hanxing looked at her, suddenly laughed lightly, the smile not reaching his eyes, “Quite bold.”

It was unclear whether it was praise or reproach.

Lin Xingxue looked at him smiling, and momentarily got lost in thought.

Shen Hanxing, having been on the battlefield for a long time, exuded an intimidating aura. However, his appearance itself was not frightening. On the contrary, he had a jade-like complexion, sharp features, and an attractive presence.

But he rarely smiled nowadays. This smile made Lin Xingxue feel like she once again saw the young General praised by everyone in the past. He rode a silver-white steed, galloping through the streets, free-spirited.

Lin Xingxue pondered for a moment, then regained her focus.

Coincidentally, a little maid walked in quietly, whispering outside the curtain, “General, it’s time for the meal.”

Shen Hanxing, upon hearing this, didn’t speak further and pushed the wheelchair forward.

Seeing him leave, Lin Xingxue breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Husband didn’t catch her daydreaming about him.

She entered the inner room, sat down in front of a bronze mirror, patiently removing the pearl hairpins and finally took off the not-so-light phoenix crown.

As soon as the phoenix crown was removed, her entire neck felt much more relaxed, but the red marks it had pressed out were not so easily dissipated.

She took a comb and slowly combed her long hair, suddenly seeing a round face reflected in the bronze mirror.

The little maid was only about twelve or thirteen years old, with baby fat still on her face. Her round eyes looked at Lin Xingxue with curiosity.

Lin Xingxue quickly recognized her.

It was the little maid who had sneaked in just now, unfortunately running into Husband waking up.

Lin Xingxue turned to look at her. When Luo Zhi realized she was discovered, her round face blushed a bit. She quickly explained her purpose, “Brother told me to come and help Madam tidy up.”

Upon hearing the term “Madam,” Lin Xingxue first paused, then her cheeks turned slightly red, and she smiled and nodded.

Wearing the phoenix crown while eating was inconvenient and painful for the neck, so she needed to tidy up first.

Luo Zhi, helped her comb her hair. At the same time, she openly peeked at Lin Xingxue several times, her eyes sparkling as if she was looking at some precious treasure.

When it came to styling her hair, Luo Zhi hesitated a bit, “I’ll call Nanny Jia to come. She’s good at styling various hair buns…”

As Luo Zhi was about to run out, Lin Xingxue grabbed her sleeve, lightly shook her head, and smiled.

She picked up a plum blossom hairpin that she had just taken off, circled it around her black hair, and within a few moments, she had tied up her long hair. A bright red plum blossom adorned it, adding a touch of stunning color.

Luo Zhi stared at her actions with wide eyes, not even seeing how she did it. The ink-like black hair was obediently tied into a simple bun, dignified and beautiful.

Luo Zhi, looking at Lin Xingxue, became even more delighted.

This bride was even more beautiful than she had imagined, and her hands were so skillful. She liked this bride.

Full of joy, Luo Zhi’s gaze fell on the finger marks on Lin Xingxue’s neck, and a hint of worry appeared.

With General’s unpredictable temperament, if he bullied Madam, what should she do? They were going to sleep together tonight, and the General won’t harm Madam, right?

Luo Zhi, full of worries, led Lin Xingxue to the side room. As she raised her eyes, she saw that the square table was already filled with food.

Each dish looked extremely spicy, and Shen Hanxing sat at the table, eating slowly, seemingly oblivious to the spiciness.

Luo Zhi’s heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t bear to look at Lin Xingxue.

How would Madam be able to swallow such spicy dishes?

She knew that the General would definitely bully Madam, and the little maid felt indignant.

Sitting at the table, Shen Hanxing heard the footsteps but didn’t lift his head, “Come over, arrange the dishes.”

Lin Xingxue obediently walked to his side, picked up the jade chopsticks, and started arranging the dishes.

Her fair fingertips occasionally swayed in front of Shen Hanxing, then quickly moved away. She arranged the dishes and quietly stepped aside.

Shen Hanxing didn’t ask her to sit, perhaps intentionally making things difficult for her.

The aroma of the food kept wafting into Lin Xingxue’s nose. She lowered her head, looking at her own stomach, silently telling herself not to embarrass herself and to endure it.

As she continued to remind herself, a faint rumbling sound from her stomach quietly emerged.

Shen Hanxing’s hand, holding the chopsticks, paused, and he turned his head to look at her.

The young girl kept staring at the tip of her shoe, too embarrassed to raise her head.

Throughout the day, she had hardly eaten anything, so feeling hungry now was quite normal.

However, being so hungry that her stomach growled loudly in front of her husband was making her too embarrassed to lift her head.

Shen Hanxing was about to say something when another round of stomach growling interrupted him.

Alright, now everyone knew she was very hungry.

Shen Hanxing glanced at her, suddenly too lazy to say any sarcastic remarks. He withdrew his gaze and calmly said, “Add another set of bowls and chopsticks.”

Lin Xingxue looked at him in surprise. When the bowls and chopsticks were on the table, she hesitated whether to sit down or not. Then she heard the person next to her coldly say, “I don’t need accompaniment¹When he says this, I think it means that he doesn’t need her to stand up and help him.”

Blushing, Lin Xingxue obediently sat down across from him. She didn’t dare to pick dishes too far away from her. Whatever was in front of her, she ate.

On her third bite, she suddenly felt the person across from her looking at her. When she raised her head, she saw Shen Hanxing studying her as if contemplating something.

Suddenly nervous, she saw the empty porcelain bowl in front of him and stood up to serve him.

However, Shen Hanxing waved his hand, signaling her to stay seated.

Glancing at the full table of dishes, he suddenly picked up a piece of fish and put it in her bowl, indicating for her to eat.

Lin Xingxue looked at him with bright eyes.

Her husband had served her food!

Happily, she picked up the piece of fish and finished it in small bites.

Shen Hanxing kept watching her, but she showed no change in expression, as if she couldn’t taste the spiciness.

He then served her more dishes, including tiger-skin green peppers, spicy chicken, mapo tofu, and others. The young girl obediently ate with her head down, her face looking perfectly normal.

With his efforts to feed her, Lin Xingxue quickly became full.

After finishing, she finally realized that her husband had been watching her eat the entire time, and she had finished more than he had.

Feeling guilty, she stood up and went to his side to serve him.

Shen Hanxing looked up at her and involuntarily frowned, seeming quite unhappy² 😭 buddy is just trying to make it difficult for her. “You can handle spicy food well?”

Lin Xingxue nodded, “Yes.”

She sensed that her husband was not happy, but she didn’t understand why.

Little did she know, many people in the capital didn’t like spicy food.

She grew up without much attention, and the chefs in the Lin Mansion always prepared meals with mild flavors, so she simply ate whatever was available. It wasn’t until she lived in Cangling Province for three years that she got the chance to indulge in spicy food, and only Wutong knew her taste.

Therefore, Luo Zhi habitually thought that Lin Xingxue also didn’t like spicy food. She was relieved when she saw Shen Hanxing persistently feeding Lin Xingxue.

Little did she know, Shen Hanxing was unique, and Lin Xingxue was also special.

Shen Hanxing’s brows furrowed, and he didn’t ask any further questions. He finished eating with a stern face, and pushed the wheelchair to the bathing area.

Lin Xingxue stared blankly at his back. When she turned around, she saw Luo Zhi discreetly giving her a thumbs-up, smiling and saying, “Madam, I’ll take you to bathe.”

The bathing room was filled with warm mist. Lin Xingxue immersed herself in the hot water, washing away most of the fatigue from her body and feeling the drowsiness creeping in.

She allowed Luo Zhi and another maid to attend to her, changing into Begonia red undergarments and wrapping herself in a warm cloak to ward off the cold.

She walked toward the inner room in a drowsy state, hearing Luo Zhi and the other maid bidding farewell. When she turned her head, she saw Shen Hanxing comfortably lounging on the bed, holding a book. He wore only a white undergarment, revealing a hint of his chest, and his ink-black hair was slightly disheveled, still carrying traces of moisture.

The bedding on the bed had been changed to a deep red color at some point, intricately embroidered with playing mandarin ducks³ also referred to as 鸳鸯(Yuānyāng), they are symbols of love, devotion, affection and fidelity in China .

Seeing that pattern, Lin Xingxue’s groggy mind suddenly became clear.

She became extremely awkward for a moment.

She was just too tired, so tired that she forgot that tonight was her wedding night with her husband.

Only one candle was lit in the inner room, and the dim candlelight added a layer of ambiguity.

The girl standing in front of the bead curtain blushed, nervously clutching the corner of her cloak, hesitant to approach.

Shen Hanxing looked up at her and waved, “Come here.”

Lin Xingxue, suppressing her embarrassment, walked over, standing obediently by the bed.

As soon as she stood still, the tie on her shoulders loosened, and the cloak suddenly slid off her shoulders.

Feeling a chill, she subconsciously hugged her arms, looking at the initiator of this situation. Wrapped in the begonia-red undergarment, the girl’s graceful and charming figure was accentuated, seductive and captivating.

Shen Hanxing, with deep black eyes, gazed at her. He reached out, pulling her with one arm, instantly laying Lin Xingxue down beside him.

Shen Hanxing’s deep black eyes stared intensely at her. He reached out and pulled her, his single arm encircling Lin Xingxue’s slender waist, pulling her closer to him.

Lin Xingxue looked up at him. The two were extremely close, their breaths intertwined, and the warm atmosphere caused her face to instantly flush.

“Husband,” she silently called out to him, feeling both nervous and fearful.