The bathroom was foggy. Chu Lian leaned against the wall of the bathtub with her eyes slightly closed, as if she was thinking about something.

From He Changdi's position, he could only see half of her snow white back and her head of black hair.

At this moment, his whole body suddenly relaxed, and the stiff expression on his face became more and more gentle.

Chu Lian seemed to hear some movement. She curiously turned her head and met He Sanlang's gentle gaze from a few steps away.

"Husband?" Chu Lian's voice carried a hint of confusion. She clearly didn't expect He Changdi to return so quickly.

He Changdi finally couldn't stand it anymore. He quickly walked to Chu Lian's side and reached out to stroke the top of her head.

He sighed in annoyance. "It's my fault for scaring you."

Chu Lian hurriedly shook her head. "I'm afraid that they already planned this before I even returned to the British Duke's Public House. Even if we were fully prepared, there's no guarantee that I wouldn't fall for it."

Chu Lian's words were a little absent-minded. The couple had just consummated their marriage, so she still felt rather uncomfortable being naked in front of him without any qualms.

Especially since she was soaking in the bathtub without wearing anything, while he was standing to the side, fully clothed.

She subconsciously shrunk back into the water, allowing the floating rose petals to cover as much of her smooth, snow-white skin as possible.

Her small movement still caught He Sanlang's attention.

At first, he was just anxious to confirm his wife's safety, so he rushed into the bathroom without a care in the world. When he noticed Chu Lian's small movements, he finally realized how intimate the couple's posture was.

The desire that had been suppressed because of his worry suddenly swept back up like a tidal wave.

He Changdi's slender fingers on Chu Lian's black hair couldn't help but slowly slide down, past her slightly red earlobes, her smooth cheeks, and finally to her beautiful collarbone.

He didn't know if it was because of the tonic soup, but Chu Lian's body was especially vulnerable.

His fingers felt hot all the way down, as if it was about to burn. He couldn't help but feel his breathing quicken …

Chu Lian closed her eyes slightly and suppressed the restlessness in the depths of her heart. She reached out her small hand and slapped He Changdi's hand away.

"There's a lot of steam in the washroom. You go out first. I'm almost done."

He Sanlang looked at the beautiful scenery in front of him and only felt that his throat was dry. His Adam's apple rolled twice. If it weren't for Nanny Zhong's repeated reminders, how could he still be willing to be a liuxiahui!

With great difficulty, He Changdi withdrew his gaze and returned his large palm to Chu Lian's hair. He gently stroked and patted it. "Your husband will wait for you outside. Although the water is still warm, soaking for too long isn't good for your body."

Thus, Chu Lian blinked as she watched He Changdi stride out of the washroom.

When He Sanlang disappeared behind the curtain of the washroom, she let out a sigh of relief. She felt strangely depressed, as if she didn't want him to leave at all.

Chu Lian was stunned by this thought that suddenly popped up in her mind. In that instant, her pair of misty almond-shaped eyes widened, and the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. Did she suddenly become thirsty?

However, other than that night in the bridal chamber, the two of them had never been intimate again. Even when they slept together at night, He Changdi only kissed and touched her. He was very patient and restrained, but he didn't take any further actions.

There were many times when she wanted to say something, but as a woman, she couldn't bring herself to say it. In the end, she could only force herself to close her eyes and sleep.

This situation had continued for nearly seven days.

Although Chu Lian wasn't passionate about that kind of thing, and her previous two experiences were terrible, if they didn't get together, how could they have a child?

After He Changdi left the washroom, Chu Lian's thoughts were a mess.

Then, she thought about the British duke's household.

Sister Su's warning, Sister Yuan's trap, and the jealousy of the married women in the British duke's household.

Now that she thought about it carefully, all of this was very wrong.

Not to mention Sister Yuan, just Sister Su alone was problematic.

She was the daughter of the first branch. After Chu Lian came to the Great Wu Dynasty, she had only interacted with her a few times. There wasn't much description of her in the original text, so she was probably a dispensable character.

However, in the few times she had interacted with Sister Su, she had left a good impression on her.

But as an unmarried girl, how could she know about the second branch's plan?

And even give her hints at the right time?

Was it really just for her own good?

Sister Yuan and the original Chu Lian were mortal enemies. Since young, the two sisters were like fire and water. But why would Chu Qizheng be so cruel as to harm his own daughter?

Even if her own mother wasn't liked by Chu Qizheng, she was still Chu Qizheng's flesh and blood. Even if he didn't care about her, he shouldn't harm her.

Was it really just so that Sister Yuan could marry Xiao Bojian by plotting against her own daughter like this?

Was his goal really that simple?

The more Chu Lian thought about it, the more confused she became. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

Suddenly, she heard Xiyan's call from outside the washroom's curtain. "Third Madam, are you done?

It's getting late. Third Young Master asked me to hurry you up. The water is getting cold. "

With Xiyan's reminder, Chu Lian felt that the water in the bathtub had become warm. She sighed slightly and shook her head helplessly. She hadn't expected time to pass so quickly when she was lost in thought.

"Come in."

Chu Lian stepped out of the bathtub. Xiyan hurriedly wrapped a large cotton cloth around her body.

Chu Lian changed into a simple cherry blossom colored blouse and a gold embroidered fairy dress. Holding her half-wet hair, she walked out of the washroom. When she looked up, she saw He Changdi sitting on the long couch by the window. There was a cup of tea next to him, and he was holding the book she used to kill time. His brows were slightly furrowed, clearly dissatisfied with something.

Perhaps he heard Chu Lian's footsteps, but he put down the book and looked up with a pair of bottomless phoenix eyes. He waved at Chu Lian and said in a low voice, "Come here."

Chu Lian blinked her large eyes and walked over without hesitation.

He Sanlang propped himself up and moved deeper into the long couch to make room for Chu Lian to sit. He took the dry cloth from Chu Lian's hands and gently wiped the ends of her hair that had gotten wet from the bath.

Chu Lian sat cross-legged on the long couch and glanced at the small table. She saw that his teacup was only filled with steaming plain water. She asked curiously, "Why aren't you drinking fried tea?"

Even if he wasn't drinking fried tea, he should be drinking honey water.

Since when did He Sanlang only drink plain water?

As she spoke, Xiyan offered Chu Lian a cup of warm honeydew. Then, she raised her eyes to glance at Third Young Master and Third Madam. Xiyan tactfully waved at the two young maids who were serving her on both sides and left together.

He Changdi's hands didn't stop moving. When he heard this, his eyelids lifted slightly and he glanced at his wife.

"It tastes awful. Too greasy."

Chu Lian was speechless. He Sanlang really was a man of few words. If she hadn't spent so much time with him and understood his personality, she really wouldn't have understood what he was saying.

The first half of his sentence was that fried tea tasted awful, and the second half was that honey water was too sweet …

Actually, He Changdi was used to drinking fried tea. After all, the environment in Shengjing was like this. Even the royal family, who were very noble, ate fried tea.

But after he married Chu Lian and heard from the servant girls why Third Madam didn't drink fried tea, He Changdi suddenly felt that the fried tea that he used to drink was now hard to stomach.

Perhaps this was the invisible influence between husband and wife.

However, He Sanlang also wasn't used to drinking honey water like Chu Lian usually drank. So now, he basically only drank plain water …

With this reminder, Chu Lian remembered the tea leaves she drank in the modern era.

When she was in the modern era, she liked to go sightseeing whenever she had time. The biggest tea-picking base she went to was Hangzhou's Longjing Village. She had even personally seen an old tea-roasting master cook tea.

Later, she went online to study the production process of Longjing tea. Even after so much time had passed, Chu Lian's memory was still very clear.

Counting the days, her eyes lit up. It was almost the end of February. In a dozen or so days, it would be the best time to pick spring tea.

"In a few days, I'll make tea for you to drink."

He Changdi didn't care about Chu Lian's words at all. He didn't even have any interest in the most expensive Zhengshan tea cake. What kind of tea could his wife make?

So, He Sanlang just gave a perfunctory response.

Chu Lian turned around and saw his cold and rigid face. She was a bit displeased. "He Sanlang, you don't believe me?"

"Of course I believe you."

"You're too perfunctory." Chu Lian rolled her eyes and sat up straight again. "When the time comes, I'll definitely surprise you."

He Sanlang's lips curved slightly. His wife really had an unimaginable obsession with food.

After wringing the ends of his hair, He Changdi threw the dry towel in his hand aside. Then, he stretched out his long arms and wrapped Chu Lian in his arms. He buried his head in her neck, took a deep breath, and asked, "What happened today?"

Chu Lian knew that he would ask sooner or later, so she told him the whole story.

After listening, He Changdi frowned and his expression became more and more unpleasant. It seemed that Xiao Bojian wouldn't give up easily. However, he wouldn't give him the slightest chance!

His other thoughts were the same as Chu Lian's. Why would Chu Qizheng plot against his own daughter?

He Changdi didn't ask this question in front of Chu Lian because he was afraid that Chu Lian would be sad.

"Lian 'er, maybe you don't know, but your fifth sister's marriage isn't going well."

Sister Su was older than Chu Lian. She was already seventeen after the New Year, but there was still no progress on her marriage.

Logically speaking, if Chu Lian married well, Sister Su's marriage should be easier. However, it was precisely because of Chu Lian's marriage that the first branch's doctor became more arrogant. The few families that they had their eyes on were all secretly rejected by the first madam.

It dragged until the New Year, but they still hadn't chosen a marriage. However, after the New Year, Sister Su would get older, and the range of choices would be even smaller … The marriage would become more and more difficult.

Chu Lian recalled the situation when she saw Sister Su at the British Public House today. She was thin and pale. Compared to the last time she saw her, she was much thinner.

Could it be that Sister Su was instructed by Eldest Aunt?

Just as she was lost in thought, she felt something wet and soft on her neck. Chu Lian immediately came back to her senses and tilted her body, trying to avoid He Changdi's intimate touch.