CH 12

Seeing the mark, Xiao Yan’s throat tightened, silently spurning her rude behavior in her heart. Her arms trembled when she saw it. 

She gently released the person in her arms and said “I already told my mother that I wanted to marry you, and she didn’t object. She asked to seek my aunt’s opinion first on this matter.”

Xiao Yan stopped looking at A’Li and sat on the chair by herself.

Caressing the brocade box with her palm, she said, “These are not compensations for my wrongdoings, they are just little things used to replenish your body.”

After not being stared at by Xiao Yan, A’Li finally breathed a sigh of relief after the calamity.

As a result, he almost fell out of strength.

He took two steps back, resting his weight on the desk behind him while breathing slowly. 

A’Li lowered his head and listened to Xiao Yan’s words, the corners of his mouth curled into a small self-deprecating smile.

He lost his innocence, how could Xiao Yan now respect him and his mother’s choice?

It was said to ask for opinions, but in fact, he was forced to follow through with this.

Xiao Yan groped for a moment and opened the brocade box with a “pop” sound.

A’Li, who was thinking about things, was taken aback by the movement, and suddenly looked up at her. 

Seeing the woman sitting at the chair with her back to him, A’Li’s eyes instantly became darker and darker as if dipped in ink.

She was still alive, why should he die alone?? Even if he died, he would definitely pull her together!

Xiao Yan’s voice was a little surprised as if talking to herself, she lowered her eyes and softly chuckled, “This ginseng has grown like a radish.”

Fortunately, it was still tied with a small red rope on top.

It was said that if ginseng was not tied with a red rope, it would secretly open the box and run away at night.

Xiao Yan used to be young and energetic, so she didn’t like drinking ginseng tea. Other people’s thermos cups were full of red dates and wolfberries. 

But she only drank coffee every day. If she knew that she would suddenly die, then she would have definitely chosen to stay healthy and go to bed on time.

“I will propose our marriage to aunt, and I will agree to anything she asks…” Xiao Yan turned to look at A’Li with warm eyes, and said, “I will give you a grand wedding.”

Hearing it, A’Li’s back instantly straightened. Meeting Xiao Yan’s gaze, he didn’t shy away and let her look at him.

A’Li was the first to look away. He pursed his lips and swept his eyes out of the window. 

Mother Li was sitting on the steps of the pavilion, with a dustpan on her lap, looking down to pick up some herbs.

A’Li clenched his fingers and turned to write something on the paper.

Looking at the line of words on the paper, A’Li felt that half of the hatred in his chest had dissipated.

A’Li pursed his pale lips, sat in front of the desk with the paper in hand, and turned to show it to her. He no longer dared to bully her, obviously frightened by Xiao Yan’s actions just now.

— No matter what my mother asks to agree to this marriage, I only have one condition.

Xiao Yan raised her eyebrows, her eyes climbed up from the paper and landed on A’Li’s face, slowly staring at the pair of long and narrow phoenix eyes. 

Because of this game, there was a hint of happiness in those cold deep eyes.

Xiao Yan wanted to laugh, but she didn’t show it on her face. She nodded and in a clear voice said, “Let’s take a look at it.”

A’Li slowly revealed the next line.

— Kneeling in the yard to beg me to marry you.

Beg me to marry you.

At least in the eyes of outsiders, he did not marry her because he was raped, but because she begged him to marry.

If this matter was revealed in the future, his mother wouldn’t be ashamed, and their mother and son would not be despised and neglected in the Xiao residence.

(Translated by Beauty Brute.)