Wedding Night

"C-Can I ask you a question?"

Perhaps because of the ceremonial wine they had shared, Meng Hongchen was no longer quite so nervous.

She had even managed to gather the courage to initiate a conversation with Xia Yu.

Yet if one looked closely, traces of conflict and hesitation could still be seen in Meng Hongchen's eyes.

Clearly, she still could not face Xia Yu, her newlywed husband, with complete calm.

"Of course. Go ahead." Xia Yu smiled and nodded.

It had to be said that Meng Hongchen truly deserved her reputation as a noble lady renowned throughout the Sun Moon Empire. Her innate nobility and elegance could not be concealed by anything.

Even now, despite her poor state, her refinement and poise remained impossible to hide. Simply sitting there, she gave off an air of graceful dignity.

"Xia Yu!"

Meng Hongchen raised her eyes to meet those of her newlywed husband. Taking a deep breath, she spoke with a hint of seriousness. "I want to know why you agreed to marry me."

"As far as I know, you shouldn't have known about this marriage beforehand. So why did you choose me, out of so many people, to be your wife?"

Those words seemed to have drained all of Meng Hongchen's strength. Once she finished speaking, her entire body slumped.

Even so, she forced herself to keep looking directly at Xia Yu, waiting for his answer.

"So that's what you were curious about. Fine, there's nothing I can't say about it. I'll tell you why."

Xia Yu chuckled, calmly looking Meng Hongchen up and down before speaking in an approving tone.

"Because you were suitable. No matter how one looked at it, you were beyond reproach as a candidate for a wife."

"Suitable?" Meng Hongchen froze slightly at his words.

"That's right. Suitable."

Xia Yu reached out and lifted Meng Hongchen's chin. Looking at her exquisite features, he spoke casually.

"Since I had to choose a noble lady as my wife anyway, naturally I would choose the most suitable one. And you, Meng, were the most suitable."

"So that was it."

Strictly speaking, Xia Yu's words were not pleasant to hear. They were even somewhat harsh, as though he were selecting merchandise.

Yet after hearing them, Meng Hongchen inexplicably felt relieved.

She had never known what sort of attitude she should take toward Xia Yu. Now that she understood what he was thinking, things were much easier.

Since he had chosen her as his wife because she was suitable, all she had to do was become a qualified wife.

As for things like feelings, Xia Yu presumably would not care about them, so there was no need for her to worry about them.

At that thought, all the tension and panic in Meng Hongchen's heart vanished.

At once, she seemed to come back to life, recovering her usual lively and spirited self.

"Xia Yu, don't worry. I'll definitely become a qualified wife."

It felt wonderful to have no burden in her heart. Meng Hongchen smiled brightly at Xia Yu and made her promise with utmost sincerity.

Xia Yu could not help being stunned, genuinely surprised by Meng Hongchen's change.

Still, this was good. Compared with her earlier tense and gloomy state, he was more familiar with this version of Meng Hongchen and more willing to get along with her when she was so lively.

"Since you want to become a qualified wife, then let's start now. It's time for us to consummate the marriage."

Without hesitation, Xia Yu lowered his head, closing the distance between them.

Soon, their breaths became entangled, and the faint fragrance from Meng Hongchen's body filled Xia Yu's senses.

"Ah, ah, ah! Wait a moment! What I meant by being a good wife d-doesn't include this kind of thing. How about we talk some more?"

Seeing Xia Yu's handsome face so close to hers, Meng Hongchen panicked completely.

She truly had not considered this sort of thing and had subconsciously overlooked it.

Only when the moment was upon her did she realize that, perhaps, probably, becoming a good wife really did mean doing those embarrassing things with Xia Yu.

B-But she did not want to. What was she supposed to do?

For a moment, Meng Hongchen's mind was in such chaos that it felt ready to explode.

"Hm? You don't want to?"

Sensing Meng Hongchen's resistance and panic, Xia Yu's voice immediately deepened.

"Meng, you are my properly wedded wife. You can't run from this. Be good..."

The light and shadows cast by the red candles swayed continuously beneath the moonlight.

Just as Xia Yu had said, there were some things Meng Hongchen truly could not escape.

A battle was inevitable.

Though both of them were inexperienced, and Meng Hongchen possessed considerable talent in water-element abilities, being naturally adept at using water-element soul skills,

Xia Yu ultimately proved more skilled, firmly controlling the rhythm of the battle and holding absolute dominance.

Time passed slowly. Two hours later, the battle finally came to an end.

After the battle, Meng Hongchen's noble and stunningly beautiful face was inevitably filled with exhaustion.

She was so tired that she fell asleep.

As for Xia Yu, naturally, he went to rest and recover with a satisfied smile of victory.

The next morning.

When Meng Hongchen slowly awoke from her sleep, the first thing she felt was the soreness radiating from every part of her body.

After opening her eyes, she saw Xia Yu sitting on the bed and gazing at her tenderly, causing her to freeze once more.

The moment she saw Xia Yu, the scenes from last night inevitably surfaced in her mind, impossible to shake away.

They had been far too embarrassing. She wished she could find a crack in the ground and bury herself inside it.

"You're awake."

Xia Yu did not react to Meng Hongchen's bashful, crimson face. Instead, he naturally reached out and smoothed her disheveled hair.

"This..."

Meng Hongchen stared blankly at Xia Yu, unable to stop herself from falling into deep self-doubt.

Why could he face her so naturally?

They had just done those embarrassing things last night. Was he not the least bit ashamed?

Or was it because of the difference between men and women? Were men naturally so insensitive that they quickly stopped caring about such things?

While she herself was more delicate and sensitive, which was why she kept agonizing over it?

"Ah, what am I even thinking? This isn't the time to think about such things. I... how exactly am I supposed to face Xia Yu, my husband?"

Meng Hongchen's mind was filled with wild thoughts, leaving her feeling completely out of sorts.

In the end, however, she followed her instincts. Lowering her eyes shyly, she softly responded with a hum.

"Since you're up, go wash up. We still need to pay our respects to our teacher and the other elders later, so we can't keep them waiting too long."

Xia Yu gently pulled Meng Hongchen out of bed and took her to wash up with him.

Meng Hongchen naturally let him do as he pleased, obediently following behind Xia Yu as she got up to wash.

Before long, they had finished washing up. After breakfast, they went to pay their respects to the elders.