Chapter 45: Following Me Means Enduring Hardship

Before Chen An could even finish his sentence, Li Duo did not throw a tantrum or threaten to end her life.

Instead, she offered a gentle smile: "The guest room has already been prepared. If my husband wishes to sleep in the master bedroom, Duoer will pack my things right now."

"No, no, no, it's not like that." Chen An tried to defend himself, but Li Duo was far too clever a woman.

For a woman of the grasslands to stay out the entire night, suggesting nothing had happened between them would be an insult to anyone's intelligence.

"Husband need not explain. Just keep the noise down a bit; someone will be coming to discuss purchasing fabrics with me shortly."

Good grief!

Hearing this, Chen An felt as though his head was about to explode.

"No, things really aren't what you think. Siyu is the young chieftain of the Feather Spirit Tribe, and her younger sister is Sidan—didn't you meet her before? Now that the Feather Spirit Tribe is facing a catastrophe and the political balance is about to shatter, that is the only reason I brought her home."

Perhaps flustered in his haste, Chen An rambled on for half the day without hitting the mark.

Li Duo turned her head and gently wiped away a tear that traced the corner of her eye: "Very well, my husband is my heaven; you shall decide."

"Don't be like that! If you say it like that, aren't you just cementing my guilt?" Chen An turned to look at Siyu. "Say something! Hurry up and explain, or I'll jump into the Yellow River and never wash this clean."

To Chen An's utter astonishment, Siyu delivered the ultimate checkmate with her opening words.

"Siyu pays her respects to Elder Sister. I am a person of the grasslands and do not understand intricate plots. What Chen An said is true; nothing has happened between us yet. However, Siyu once swore an oath that if anyone could rescue her from the sea of suffering, Siyu would follow them through life and death, never to part. Since Elder Sister entered the household first, we shall follow the customs of the Central Plains, with Elder Sister revered as the mistress of the house."

*It's over. This knot is completely impossible to untie now,* Chen An thought, feeling a deep wave of depression wash over him.

Li Duo took a deep, steady breath: "Understood. Chen An is a good man; following him will not wrong you."

Seeing that Li Duo had stopped crying and even managed a faint smile, Chen An wanted to say a few more words, but Li Duo had already walked over to Siyu.

Unlike Li Duo's delicate and petite frame, Siyu was slender and tall.

To use a modern phrasing, one was a mature imperial sister, and the other was a cute maiden.

"Were you ever betrothed?" Li Duo asked, looking Siyu up and down.

"No, I am still a maiden to this day."

Hearing this, Li Duo completely cast aside the thorn in her heart. She walked back to Chen An, bit her lower lip, leaned close to his ear, and whispered in a voice meant only for the two of them:

"This girl is indeed lovely. Come to think of it, in less than two years, she will surely blossom into a woman of exceptional grace."

Chen An's weathered face turned red: "The grasslands are not yet pacified; how can I speak of a true home?"

"Such modesty," Li Duo teased softly.

"Then you two rest early. Once I finish up the logistics work, I will return."

Regarding Chen An taking concubines, Li Duo had already made her own plans long ago.

In the current turbulent era where men were exalted and women humbled, human life was as cheap as grass.

As the daughter of refugees, having journeyed thousands of miles, she had witnessed far too many matters of life, death, and the collapse of morality.

People would sell themselves into slavery for a mouthful of rice, or kill and disembowel corpses just to fill their stomachs.

Once they fell to Huyang Pass, if the refugee settlements were wiped out by the imperial government, she would inevitably end up reduced to a singing girl or a pampered courtesan.

Back then, Chen An had descended like a shooting star from the heavens. Being able to live the life she had now was already a blessing granted by the heavens.

"Keep your movements quiet tonight. The water in the bath is ready; take a bath."

Listening to Li Duo's parting instructions, Siyu nodded, looking exceedingly obedient.

At dawn, Chen An asked Siyu many questions about affairs on the grasslands. Knowing that Chen An intended to crush the Nine Li Tribe, Siyu held nothing back.

The dim candlelight cast two intertwined shadows against the window paper.

It was not until early morning, after Chen An let out a heavy yawn, that their conversation finally came to a close.

"Alright then, we've talked all night. You must be tired too, get some rest."

Just as Chen An prepared to find an excuse to rise and leave, the unexpected happened.

Siyu cast aside her feminine modesty and threw herself directly into Chen An's arms.

"A woman of the grasslands loves and hates fiercely."

Siyu's hair brushed against the crook of Chen An's neck, carrying a warm fragrance. It was like peach blossom water overflowing a riverbank in spring, silently washing over his tensed spine.

This overly rapid pace caught Chen An somewhat off guard.

"I know the rules." Her fingertips gently lifted Chen An's chin, her knuckles pale as she deliberately softened her tone.

With that, Siyu shed her garments. Her wheat-toned skin looked exceptionally healthy, and the proportions of her waist and hips were simply flawless.

Chen An's throat bobbed. In the wooden basin beside the bed, half a rose petal still floated—one that Li Duo had personally scattered there that evening.

He wanted to push away Siyu's suddenly pressing body, but her chest rose and fell against his back like a startled little sparrow, and that soft weight made his heartbeat skip a beat.

"Let go." The words left his mouth devoid of strength, sounding more like he was afraid of startling something away.

Instead, Siyu embraced him tighter, the pearl hairpin at her temple brushing against his earlobe and making him shiver: "My father once told me that to find a man, he must have a broad mind so he can lead the tribe forward. Now, I have chosen you."

The hot water in the wooden basin was curling with wisps of steam, casting a thin layer of mist across the mirror's surface.

Siyu said in a considerate voice, "The water is turning cold, let's bathe together."

The rosewood bed creaked and groaned rhythmically, and Siyu's fingernails nearly sank into Chen An's flesh.

Her breathing swayed in time with the rocking bed, and her soft moans brushed against his earlobe, sending a tingling numbness through him.

Words like "Harder, harder" tumbled from her lips, tasting like half-melted honey—so sweet it bordered on bitter.

Chen An's fingertips pressed against the back of her hand, feeling the rapid pulse throbbing beneath her smooth skin.

After a breathless cry of release, the room fell silent once more.

"The hour is late." Chen An's voice was as hoarse as if it had been ground on sandpaper, yet his movements as he turned were agonizingly slow.

Siyu seized the moment to raise her face, the warm sunlight casting crescent shadows beneath her eyes, making them look like pools of autumn water.

"I know." Her lips nearly brushed his jaw. "Are you worried about Elder Sister Li Duo?"

"I have a meeting scheduled with my subordinates today."

The clepsydra in the corridor struck three times, and Siyu's voice drifted in again, this time tinged with a hint of a smile:

"Do you need me to massage your waist?"

The gentleness in her words was like a tightly woven net, effortlessly capturing the lingering ambiguity that filled the room.

Chen An looked at Siyu's defined eye corners, exhausted from a night of revelry.

He finally sighed, raising a hand to brush away the stray locks of hair from her forehead.

"Following me will bring you hardship."

Siyu's eyelashes fluttered: "People of the grasslands do not fear hardship."