Ch10 - Taking a Bite

“You are the woman chosen by the Old Madam, and so I will certainly expect a lot from you. Assuming that the Old Madam must have already explained a lot to you, then I shall not be verbose any longer. However, you must only bear one thing in your mind. Being a family member in my household isn’t any better than when you were still living with your own family. You must look out for your behavior and grant the proper attitude of a Wife.”

Madam Qiao sat upright on her seat and looked down coldly at Gong Zhuoliang with an impassive gaze. Today, she’s extremely unhappy. 

She was originally a daughter from one of the prominent households in the capital, but then she got married into the Qiao Family with a man who’s at lower status. It was still barely bearable at first, until her Eldest Son was arranged into a marriage with the daughter of a mere merchant. Now this time, she was totally ashamed of herself.

Actually, she had rather not allow her son to get married, and participate with this good-luck wedding. However, the persistence of the Old Madam left her helpless…

“Towards Mother-in-law’s indoctrination, Daughter-in-law will keep it in mind”

Although Gong Zhuoliang, who had his head lowered down, was wearing a chilly expression just now, it only appeared for a short moment before a soft smile emerged from his face again, then he replied in a respectful manner with his upright kneeling posture that hadn’t wobbled even a bit. 

“Mn. Now you must leave. Once you’re done greeting your siblings, come back to me again and wait in my room”

Madam Qiao coldly glanced at Gong Zhuoliang to see his response, then she motioned to the maidservants behind her to give them a red envelope. In her mind, she had already decided to train this kid about social etiquette, so as to not allow that stinking money all over his body from scattering.

“Replying to Mother, Grandmother told us that Mother and Father had already tire themselves today, and so they’re now exempted from engaging to further social etiquettes. She told us that we shall have a rest for today.”

When Qiao Yingze caught Gong Zhuoling’s looking at him subconsciously, he moved his gaze to his Mother’s direction and said those word with courteousness yet alienation. At the same time, Wen Shu, who’s been quietly standing behind Gong Zhuoliang stepped forward and took the small casket herself, before she stepped back once again then went back to her original position.

“…”

When Madam Qiao only made a single move, suddenly, there were two people who moved forward and blocked Gong Zhuoliang behind them. Gong Zhuoliang on the other hand, only blinked his eyes and made an innocent look, when in fact, his tail had already stuck up. He thought in his mind- If you really wished to assert your “mother-in-law” dominance here, then how about we ask for your own Mother-in-law to come and suppress you instead? Let’s see if you still dare to scheme on me next time.

“The Old Madam truly dotes on you, huh? Since the situation is like that, then you shall be excused from engaging to social etiquettes and can leave to take a rest”

As Madam Qiao narrowed her eyes, her face was showing a magnanimous smile on the surface, however, in secret, she had already clenched her teeth hard. 

Right after Gong Zhuoliang departed with the others, she glanced towards the direction of her husband with an expressionless look. As soon as Patriarch Qiao turned to her, he only gave her an apathetic goodbye, before he got up and went back to his Yamen.

“Back when I was still the newly-wed Wife, why was I not pitied by my own Mother-in-law? Now that I am the Mother-in-law, then I should obviously indoctrinate my own daughter-in-law! What goodness would result if I had shown her familial affection instead?!”

Right after she waved everyone to leave, Madam Qiao smiled bitterly to herself as she tightened her grip on her handkerchief.

She’s truly looking forward to teaching her daughter-in-law a lesson!! 

……….

On the way back from Madam Qiao’s courtyard, Gong Zhuoliang had been wearing a lovely smile ever since they left the compound. His pace of walking was also surprisingly languid, however, Qiao Yingze could somehow sense that not only was this kid fuming inside, but he seemed to be also….. agitated.

“.. Zhuo zhuo…”

As soon as they returned to their room, Qiao Yingze ordered all of the maidservants to withdraw, before he locked the door behind him then walked to the inner room, looking at Gong Zhuoliang; After a moment of hesitation, he spoke. 

“What’s up?”

Gong Zhuoliang, who had his head drooped down as he drank the water, suddenly stopped his actions, then he lift up his head to look at Qiao Yingze, before smiling at him.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Due to Qiao Yingze’s health, he’s prohibited from drinking wine and any soft beverages such as tea; and so, any water brought to this room was always boiled first. Gong Zhuoliang on the other hand, just happened to have no interest in tea at all, hence he was already satisfied with this.

“Po….Po sbe’gf ectjqqs, qifjrf vb cba xffq la ab sbegrfio. Ciatbeut P’w lcmjqjyif bo tfiqlcu sbe, sbe mbeiv jikjsr nfca sbeg jcufg ktfcfnfg sbe kjca…” 

Cr tf qbcvfgfv bnfg tlr kbgvlcur, Hljb Tlcuhf kjixfv abkjgvr Xbcu Itebiljcu jcv rja yfrlvf tlw, yfobgf ajxlcu atf ilaaif tjcvr bnfg tlr qjiwr lc bgvfg ab mbjz tlw.

“Oh!… You’re actually letting me take out my anger on you, ah! Then how were you so sure that I was feeling unhappy?”

Seeing Qiao Yingze’s reactions, Gong Zhuoliang instantly laughed out loud. He then couldn’t help but take the other’s chin with his free hand, swaying it side to side, while thinking― This small face is way too adorable! He couldn’t help but want to bite it, ah!

“I-In other words, I just have a feeling that my Mother might-….Just, whatever she does to you in the future, I hope you won’t take it to your heart” 

Qiao Yingze was very glad to see Gong Zhuoliang smiling at him.

Despite being the Eldest Young Master, he did not have any real authority in this household at all. Let alone those Elders of the family who he must revere all the time, he still had to be cautious towards those domestic servants so as not to offend them. Otherwise, if he failed to respect them, they might end up putting his own people in deep trouble without his knowledge at all.

About what the Old Madam had just complained about, Qiao Yingze will absolutely never do such a thing.

“Mhm….After all, a Mother-in-law and a Daughter-in-law were both typically rivals. Though I already had a plan in my mind, I am indeed feeling upset today. So how am I supposed to vent my feelings out?” 

Gong Zhuoliang turned towards Qiao Yingze and gave him an evil smile. But inwardly, he was helplessly lamenting over this guy’s delicate heart.

Since his childhood, he’s always been restricted to the matriarchal Grand View Garden. His temperament is sensitive, and he always over-thinks every matter. The fact that he could keep his current rational and gentle nature, and didn’t get driven insane; Gong Zhuoliang was quite amazed.

“W-What are you about to do?”

Seeing Gong Zhuoliang’s sparkling eyes, Qiao Yingze’s heart instantly sped up. He then hurriedly avoided the other’s hand that was holding his chin, feeling quite embarrassed. However, he had already made up his mind before that whatever his little wife wishes for him to do, he’ll acquiesce to it, as long as it’s within his capabilities. 

“Then….. You bite me”

Leaning over to him, Gong Zhuoliang stared at the young man’s delicate face, then wonderedーJust how much hard work had they done for them to be able to raise such an alluring young man, ah. Although he may look malnourished, his sickly appearance also had some advantages, in which it became his natural beauty.

This is truly the disparity of a dried turnip and a ginseng doll….

“So where should I bite?” 

Qiao Yingze’s face flushed red once again, then stared at Gong Zhuoliang’s small mouth; hesitating for a long time, but he really couldn’t bring himself to decline him.

“…To a place where anyone wouldn’t see”

Gong Zhuoliang slowly reached Qiao Yingze’s neck until he came into contact to his collar. He then lightly pulled it open, which slowly revealed a little bit of an exposed neck. Seeing it, Gong Zhuoliang started baring his sharp little fang, before he slowly made it touch to Qiao Yingze’s neck.

“…” 

As soon as Qiao Yingze felt Gong Zhuoliang’s breath from his neck, he tilted his head to the side to expose more part of his neck, however, he also couldn’t help but hold his breathe.

Just when Gong Zhuoliang’s teeth was finally touching Qiao Yingze’s neck, the visitor chose this moment to knock on the door. It was the voice of Han Shu, reporting to them that the Second Young Master and the Eldest Young Lady has arrived.

Qiao Yingze almost couldn’t help but smile. Gong Zhuoliang, who’s beside him, immediately sat up straight, then helped Qiao Yingze adjust his collar.

“Please come in.” 

Gong Zhuoliang sat with Qiao Yingze on the couch at the outer room, his tone of voice returning to its coldness.

Hearing Gong Zhuoliang’s cold voice, Qiao Yingze felt quite disappointed in his heart for a while. Realizing that they still had a little bit of time for themselves, Qiao Yingze took this opportunity to lean on Gong Zhuoliang’s ears, whispering a line of sentence to him. Then the little wife Gong who heard it, expressed that he was very pleased, and so he patted Qiao Yingze’s head.

What Qiao Yingze actually whispered to him was― Tonight, I’ll bite you back.

“Yingxuan greets Elder Brother and Sister-in-law. This one wishes that Elder Brother and Sister-in-law will live to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss, and be evermore devoted to each other” 

As soon as a dashing figure in blue robes entered the room, a clear and a cheerful voice was instantly heard by Gong Zhuoliang and Qiao Yingze.

Blinking once, Gong Zhuoliang immediately looked curiously to this ‘Brother-in-law’ from yesterday who had carried him and helped him cross though the threshold. As for Qiao Yingze, he only looked expressionlessly at the person in front of him, without even expressing any affection towards his brother, nor displeasure.

“Thank you, Big Brother-in-law”

While Gong Zhuoliang praised this handsome little sunshine in his heart, a faint bashful smile was only shown on his face. He took the pouch presented to him by Ruo Lan, before handing it over to Qiao Yingze, who then handed it to Qiao Yingxuan. 

Speaking of the Qiao Family’s two brothers, he just noticed that their similarities were only about 30%.

Qiao Yingze inherited the Old Patriarch’s countenance, who had the fine features of a Southerner. On top of that, due to him having been always studying throughout these years, he had completely gained this noble aura, which then made him look appear soft and gentle.

On the other hand, Qiao Yingxuan had completely took after Madam Qiao, who had a firm and resolute temperament. On top of that, by looking at him, he himself could tell that this young man has a potential of learning martial arts. Anyone would feel a lively and frank aura around him, which will cause anyone to have a favorable impression of him.

He couldn’t help but admit that, compared to the gentle and fragile Qiao Yingze; he felt that the lively and handsome boy like Qiao Yingxuan is more of a good match to him; since back in his original world, he used to have a similar appearance as him. 

Looking at Qiao Yingxuan, Gong Zhuoliang gave him a sincere smile for a while. However, he didn’t noticed that Qiao Yingze who’s beside him, slowly pursed his lips.

Afterwards, the person followed after Qiao Yingxuan was the Eldest Young Lady who was born of a concubine, Qiao Yuanyin, and then her mother on her side. He had a feeling that this girl could be one of those cowardly and introverted young lass, right after hearing her speak which could probably sound louder than a mosquito. In addition to them, was an another child from a concubine, the third young master, Qiao Yingzi and then his mother. He is a little radish, who is probably around 4-and-a-half years old. Although he wore plain clothes, he was dressed neatly. And as soon as Gong Zhuoliang saw the gentle attitude of the child and is smiling at him, he is became very pleased to this child and so he immediately offered him a big red envelope. Afterwards, the rest of the concubines and some of the aunts and maidservants did not speak any longer, as they all left the room.

After spending their whole morning moving around, their room was finally peaceful omce again. Luckily, there were already some fruits and pastries prepared for them while they were still entertaining guests, and so Gong Zhuoliang did not almost collapsed from hunger the whole morning, and besides him was Qiao Yingze who was able to hold out with him until the end. Right as soon as the people leave, they immediately went back to the inner room to have a rest.

“Husband… Please get up from the bed for a bit and have something to eat” 

As soon as the maidservants finished placing the meals inside their room, he told them to leave. With a rice bowl on his hands, Gong Zhuoliang was feeling very delightful. Having been able to finally eat a full meal really made him happy, ah!

“I am not hungry. You shall have your meal ahead of me”

Laying on the bed, Qiao Yingze had his back faced towards Gong Zhuoliang, and he did not move-even a twitch-when he heard the other’s invitation. He just responded indiferrently with his eyes still closed, as he kept feigning asleep. However, even after waiting for a while, he did not heard the other calling out to him again. Rather, he could only hear the quiet chewing sounds from the other side…… Qiao Yingze did no longer pursed his mouth, but began to bite his lower lip.

“..oh…” 

Gong Zhuoliang was utterly engrossed towards his delicious meal, and so he could not perceive anything amiss to his husband. He just kept picking foods with his chopsticks, one after another, like a hungry bird. There’s no doubt that his good eating habits had been truly developed for the past many years, and so he could simultaneously preserve a lofty and graceful mien as he gobbled up on his food, without making any noise.

While he was induging himself with his food, Gong Zhuoliang took the moment to finally ponder over his present situation. He had to admit that, as soon as he witnessed Old Madam Qiao’s amiable attitude towards him, he instantly felt like he could just stay in this household for a little longer. However, after meeting Madam Qiao, he really wanted to choke that woman to death. That kind of Mother-in-law is going to be an absolute menace for her own Daughter-in-law, ah!

On top of that, the immense number of flowers and silks around this place is literally suffocating him to death….

Although seeing a lot of green grasses around his surrounding is easily putting him at ease, it will certainly not work on him for a long time. Looking at his current situation, he really needed to hurry up and seek for a solution to regain his original standing, ah! 

As he thought of thus, Gong Zhuoliang turned his head towards Qiao Yingze who had his back towards him, and immediately, a realization popped up in his head. This is truly the prefect opportunity for Gong Zhuoliang to leave the Gong Family.

“Husband, our meal is turning cold soon… You must quickly get up and eat”

Having already come up with a plan, Gong Zhuoliang is in a good mood. He’s even in the mood to tease his family’s little Husband, and so he cheerfully called out to him, however, after waiting for a long time, he did not receive any reply from the other person. Gong Zhuoliang can’t help but feel like there’s something odd. He thought― Is he actually that tired??

“Do you feel unwell? Why don’t you drink the soup first to warm your stomach?” 

Lifting the lid off the small bowl to reveal the warm soup inside, Gong Zhuoliang carried the bowl over to the bedside and sat down on it, before he craned his neck over Qiao Yingze to look at his condition.

“I have no appetite. I won’t drink”

Sensing Gong Zhuoliang pressing close to him, Qiao Yingze’s eyes twitched. However, he still did not get up nor move, instead, he still had his back towards the other. But when he thought over his actions, he felt like he’s being quite unreasonable. He finally started moving his body.

“..huh?….” 

Now this time, Gong Zhuoliang could certainly tell now that the current situation is a little off, considering how this little guy was sulking for a long time! Just what on earth had he done to him, ah??

Looking back to the situation before, Gong Zhuoliang still had some question marks over his head. He really couldn’t remember provoking someone today, ah…..

TL/N:

Despite god-speeding to finish this chapter, I was still one day ahead of schedule aiyaaa…. 

Anyways, GZL here kinda gave me the impression of an old woman who’s favourite grandchild is Yingxuan since he had the resemblance of his dead husband…. or so at least for me it is XD
While QYZ is there, drinking vinegar, which is kinda making me sad (๑’•.̫ • ‘๑)
Now, GZL had to come up with a way to coax his little husband XD

And Madam Qiao is sort of understandable here…
Well…. villains… all had their reasons why they became crooked ;-;

Hopefully everyone enjoyed this chapter! ♡(ӦｖӦ｡)

P.S 

OMG school days here at PH is coming soon aaa….

I wonder if it’s a good idea to look for a co-translator now… ;-;