...

That night, Qin San Lang slept for just over an hour.

He was too happy, feeling it was unreal, fearing it was just a dream. Therefore, he dared not sleep. Once he fell asleep briefly, he woke up in shock, only finding peace after seeing Xiao Yu sleeping soundly in his arms.

"Xiao Yu, thank you... for all your hard work." Qin San Lang looked at Gu Jinli, who was still in deep sleep, and kissed her again.

Hmm, the taste of Xiao Yu was so lovely, he wanted more.

But he couldn’t. It was Xiao Yu’s first time, and he had asked the doctor. On the wedding night, a young lady shouldn’t overdo it. Once is the limit; any more would cause harm.

Remembering how Xiao Yu cried in pain last night immediately extinguished all his desires. He held her tight and said, "Xiao Yu, I’m sorry for making you suffer. It won’t happen again."

It’s said it only hurts the first time; by the second time, it gets better.

"Hmm?" Perhaps he was squeezing too tight; Gu Jinli felt uncomfortable and struggled to push him away. But he was too heavy, and she couldn’t budge him. She could only grumble in annoyance and fell back asleep.

Seeing this, Qin San Lang loosened his arms slightly, kissed her rosy cheek, and smiled: "Sleep well, Xiao Yu. I’ll wake you when it’s time."

However, he spent the night waking and sleeping, merely watching her. Unknowingly, he fell asleep again and didn’t wake even when Gu Jinli did.

When Gu Jinli woke, the sky was just beginning to lighten. But with the cold weather, thick morning fog hung outside the window. She guessed it was almost time for breakfast.

Fearing she’d overslept, she hurried to get up, but halfway through, she fell back. Her body was sore beyond belief... She was dazed, then looked at the long arm around her waist and Qin San Lang sleeping beside her, realizing: Oh, I got married.

Fortunately, she reacted quickly. Otherwise, she would’ve drawn the knife from under her pillow to stab him.

Gu Jinli glanced at Qin San Lang, seeing he was still asleep, breathing heavily, which reminded her of last night when he wanted her. Brother Qin had always been gentle with her, and she thought of him as a sunny and warm boy. But last night, she realized that was all a lie!

Though he promised not to hurt her, telling her not to be afraid, his actual actions were without hesitation. His body was as heavy as a mountain, as fierce as a beast, coaxing her, kissing away her tears, yet his demands were relentless. She was in so much pain!

In the end, she didn’t know how she fainted. Her last memories were the flickering dragon-phoenix candles and his low roars.

Thinking of these, Gu Jinli’s face reddened again. Looking at the sleeping Qin San Lang, she huffed: "You little rascal, sleeping so soundly?"

And I’m still in pain now!

She was so angry, wanting to stab him, but he is her only husband in two lifetimes. She couldn’t kill him, or she’d have to be a widow.

In the end, she chose a compromise and bit him hard on the shoulder!

But she dared not bite too hard. After leaving a red mark, she let go.

After biting him, she lay back down like a thief, afraid Qin San Lang would notice, and pretended to sleep.

But Qin San Lang had been awake for a while; hearing her lie down, he chuckled, put his long arm back around her waist, hugged her, gently kissed her earlobe, making her shiver, then laughed and asked, "Feel better now? Want to bite again?"

Gu Jinli grumbled angrily, "Pretending to sleep! You’re getting more and more mischievous!"

And about last night, pretending to find clean clothes, obviously looking for an excuse to indulge.

Qin San Lang kissed her neck, softly apologizing: "I was wrong last night. But I saw you were too nervous, so I could only think of this way to trick you. Otherwise, taking it slow, you’d only get more nervous."

Admittedly, his method was quite effective. Gu Jinli was indeed very nervous last night, but when he said he couldn’t find clean clothes and agreed, she relaxed a lot.

"Still hurt?" Qin San Lang suddenly asked, almost making Gu Jinli lose her temper.

"Not anymore! Don’t ask that!" Gu Jinli’s face was flushed red, covering her face with the blanket to avoid looking at him.

Qin San Lang felt like laughing; he adored her demeanor, feeling this was how a young girl should be, and only he could see this side of her.

His hand moved to her abdomen, gently pressing it, asking, "I wonder if there’s a baby?"

"Are you stupid? It’s only the first night; how could there be a baby? Having a bridal pregnancy is rare, like one in ten thousand!" Gu Jinli pulled down the blanket, glaring at him.

Qin San Lang felt relieved because she finally looked at him. He continued, "It’s better this way. We need to go to the Northwest, travel for months, and when we get there, there’s war. If there were a child, I wouldn’t be able to take care of you; it would exhaust you."

Gu Jinli furrowed her brow and said, "I’m married now. As a married woman, I can take care of the child. Don’t worry about that."

She knew the recipe for anti-fertility soup but didn’t want to take it... No one knew what it would be like after reaching the Northwest. She wished to have his child, as it could accompany her for the rest of her life if anything happened.

Qin San Lang understood what she was thinking, feeling an ache in his heart, and hugged her tightly, praising, "Yes, our Xiao Yu is amazing, not only earning money but also making medicine and taking care of children."

Gu Jinli laughed at this, "Of course, I’m very capable."

Qin San Lang chuckled, then looked at her solemnly, saying, "I won’t let Xiao Yu raise the child alone. In this lifetime, I will stay with Xiao Yu and our children. I will survive; our family will survive!"

He had said they were neither father nor mother, and they would both live through this, not die!

Gu Jinli looked at him, nodded, and said, "Yes, I believe in you. You should also believe in me. I’m not that weak, and after we reach the Northwest, you can confidently fight on the battlefield. Don’t worry about home; I will wait for your return."

Qin San Lang’s eyes reddened, and he kissed her fiercely... Grandpa was right; he was blessed with a good wife. If not, how could he have married such a beloved wife as Xiao Yu?

His kisses, like gentle rain, fell upon her body, lingering and passionate as last night, startling Gu Jinli. She pushed him back, "No way, it’s almost dawn. Madam Guo is coming soon."

Qin San Lang laughed, stopped kissing, lovingly caressed her face, and said, "I won’t do anything. Xiao Yu needs to recover well."

He asked again, worried, "Are you sure it doesn’t hurt anymore? I have medicine for you to use."

Gu Jinli was astonished, "Where did you get the medicine?"

"Madam Guo gave it to Nanny Tao, and Nanny Tao gave it to me," Qin San Lang explained, his face a little red too. But he didn’t want Xiao Yu to suffer, so he took out the medicine.

Looking at the medicine, Gu Jinli felt like dying, "No need, I have my own!"

Oh God, spare me! Please don’t bring this up again. Even if my shamelessness is at its peak, I can’t take this anymore.

Gu Jinli couldn’t bear it any longer and didn’t want to stay in bed. She wanted to get up to wash, but Qin San Lang stopped her, "Sleep for another hour or so. Madam Guo said yesterday that she has something to do this morning and will come by noon."