After I traveled through the book, I fought back in the Hou Mansion

Chapter 453

After breakfast, the group set off as usual. Just like yesterday, Chun Xing sometimes rode a horse and sometimes drove with the guards, while Luo Shuiyao and Ye Yunzhou sat in the carriage.

Today, Luo Shuiyao continued to embroider her unfinished work and had no intention of talking to Ye Yunzhou. Ye Yunzhou sat to the side, absorbed in reading "Taoyuan Chronicles".

Luo Shuiyao stole a few glances at him, seeing him clutching the book, his expression remaining solemn and serious, as if he were holding not some sleazy tale circulating in the marketplace, but something as serious as a military mission. This look, when she saw it, and recalled his usual dignified demeanor as the eldest son of the Loyal and Brave Marquisate, was so jarring that she couldn't help but laugh.

Perhaps it was because he was wearing a mask that he no longer needed to maintain his usual image. As she was thinking this, Luo Shuiyao forgot to look away. When she came back to her senses, she saw Ye Yunzhou had put down his book and was looking back at her with a half-smile.

Luo Shuiyao hastily averted her gaze, as if trying to cover her ears while stealing a bell. She lowered her head and continued embroidering. The needle moved back and forth across the silk, but her mind was completely elsewhere. Her fingertips trembled slightly, nearly pricking her finger. The stitches on the embroidery frame were crooked, completely devoid of their previous neatness.

"If you don't want to embroider, then don't embroider."

Ye Yunzhou stroked the spine of the book with his fingertips and suddenly said, "If you ignore the romantic details, this book can be considered a record of strange stories. If you want to read it, why not come with me?"

Luo Shuiyao's hand trembled, and the silver needle pierced her fingertip with a "puff". She withdrew her hand with a soft hiss. But the next second, Ye Yunzhou, who had been sitting opposite her, had approached. Suddenly, she felt a warm and moist touch - her finger was actually taken into his mouth.

When she looked up and met his slightly frowned eyes, Luo Shuiyao felt a strange sense of familiarity in her heart, without even a trace of shame, as if his action of sucking her injured finger was a natural thing.

After a moment, Ye Yunzhou released her fingers. He stared at the white fingertips. Though no longer bleeding, they still bore a faint red mark. Ye Yunzhou frowned slightly and whispered, "Don't embroider it. It hurts your eyes. If you really like it, I'll find more embroiderers when we get back to Kyoto. You can have them create any pattern you want."

Ye Yunzhou's gentle, soothing voice reached her ears, and Luo Shuiyao instinctively looked up. Her heart suddenly trembled as she saw the pain welling up in his eyes, and she unconsciously closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the dodging and hesitation that had been lurking for days had completely vanished.

Ye Yunzhou was so perceptive that he instantly caught the change in her eyes. The moment their eyes met, the air seemed to suddenly freeze.

Luo Shuiyao looked at the person in front of her, her throat tightening: "Ye Yunzhou, what do you want to do?"

The question was asked in an obscure way, and others might not understand it, but Ye Yunzhou seemed to have been waiting for it for a long time, and his gentle eyes were filled with unquestionable determination.

"I thought you always understood."

He reached out and gently pulled Luo Shuiyao's hand back, his voice low and hot, "I want to marry you. No——"

He paused, then held her hand tightly in his palm. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, year after year, never apart."

Seeing that she was hesitant to speak, he tucked her hair behind her ears, a smile in his eyes, "If you want me to marry into your family, then I will. As long as it's you, anything is fine."

Luo Shuiyao's breath hitched, stunned by his blunt, fiery words. Initially, she'd proposed marrying into his family just to embarrass Ye Yunzhou and put him off. But as soon as she'd spoken, the thought took root in her heart—this world was too harsh on women. Even if she married into a prominent family, love could change so swiftly. If her husband's affections faded, wouldn't she be a floating duckweed at the mercy of others? But if she invited her husband to marry into her family, the situation would be completely different. If their fate ended, at least she could still maintain her roots and have the confidence to escape unscathed.

Luo Shuiyao was silent for a long time, her throat choking as if with a ball of cotton wool. She spoke with difficulty, "But you are the eldest son of the Loyal and Brave Marquisate, and you hold a high position at such a young age. Marrying into my wife's family would be ridiculed by your colleagues, and even my aunt and uncle...would they ever agree to it?"

She drooped her eyelashes, her voice became lower and lower, and the last few words almost dissipated in the air.

Ye Yunzhou saw through the hesitation in her eyes and gently embraced her with his long arms, holding her firmly in his arms. His chin rested lightly on the top of her head, his warm breath brushing against her ear. "Since I dare to say this, I have a foolproof plan. Why would I care about other people's ridicule?"

He tightened his embrace slightly, a hint of laughter escaping his voice, "As for my parents, you can rest assured. Big Brother will never make any mistakes. When the time comes, they will definitely not stop me."

As he spoke, his slender fingers gently lifted Luo Shuiyao's chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. Those eyes, tender and lingering like spring water, held a firmness as solid as a rock. "Trust me and leave everything to me, okay?"

His thumb unconsciously stroked her flushed cheek, and his words carried a bewitching power, as if as long as she nodded, all the unrest in the world could be crushed in the arms of tenderness.

Perhaps she was bewitched by the ardent promise, or perhaps the dormant desire somewhere in her heart broke out, Luo Shuiyao made a soft "hmm" sound as if possessed by a ghost.

A smile instantly spread across Ye Yunzhou's lips, a fiery light igniting in his eyes. The next second, he leaned forward to kiss the bright red. Luo Shuiyao's hands, held in his arms, shoved frantically, but like spring catkins brushing against a bronze wall, they only added to the allure. Ye Yunzhou remained motionless, instead clasping his hand around the back of her neck, deepening the kiss that carried a promise of love.

The push and pull gradually lost its strength. Luo Shuiyao's hand had wrapped around his neck without her noticing, her palm pressed against the warm skin at the back of his neck. As their breaths intertwined, the sound of their heartbeats made their eardrums burn.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Yunzhou finally let her go, but still held her half in his arms.

Luo Shuiyao felt weak all over, her cheeks flushed red, she leaned on his shoulder and panted lightly, the magnolia hairpin in her hair was half crooked, and her hair was messily stuck to her sweaty forehead.

Ye Yunzhou lowered his eyes to gaze at the person in his arms. His slender fingers gently brushed aside her messy hair, and his fingertips wiped away the glistening beads of sweat on her forehead. His heart trembled as his fingertips touched that delicate, warm skin. His Adam's apple rolled, and he sighed softly. He pulled her closer to him, as if to immerse all his cherishment in this embrace.

Luo Shuiyao was hugged too tightly by him, feeling overwhelmed with heat. She reached out to push him away, glanced at him coquettishly, and then began to tidy herself up. Fortunately, he had prepared daily necessities in the carriage. She simply adjusted her hair and clothes, and she was the steady Luo Shuiyao of the past again.

Ye Yunzhou's eyes were fixed on her every move, and the corners of his eyes and eyebrows exuded a sense of satisfaction at having achieved what he wanted. There was no trace of his usual cold and hard demeanor, and now his whole body exuded endless tenderness.

…………

Here, Ye Yunzhou and Luo Shuiyao were affectionately engaged, whispers drifting through the carriage. But they were completely unaware that three miles away, a carriage was slowly moving along the same road. The wheels rolled over gravel, making a subtle sound that was soon lost in the rustling of leaves.

The driver was dressed in a dark suit and a wide conical hat. A dark gray curtain hung down, almost completely obscuring his face, revealing only a pair of hawk-like eyes that scanned the area ahead with a cold gaze. Even as the rustling of fabric and suppressed groans occasionally emanated from the carriage, his grip on the reins remained motionless, his back erect, like an emotionless stone statue.

The seemingly ordinary carriage resembled a sealed wooden box. Yet, a sweet aroma seeped quietly from the cracks in the window lattices. The embroidered curtains were carelessly torn aside, revealing the tangled figures within the messy carriage. Nacre-stained fingertips rested on the mahogany walls, and the silver bracelet on the wrist shone with each movement, creating a sharp contrast with the scenery outside.

"Don't... don't do this, Brother Chen." The woman's delicate panting mixed with breathy sounds drifted out from the carriage intermittently. She twisted her body slightly, trying to avoid the hot breath in front of her.

Instead of stopping, the man held her tighter. His hot breath sprayed on the woman's red earlobe, and his deep voice was wrapped in temptation: "Be good, call me husband."

His palm caressed her slender waist with irresistible force, "From now on, you can only call me this."