Chapter 431: Madam, please restrain yourself

Today's marriage arrangement at the Princess Mansion is absolutely an unexpected joy.

There was no grand banquet at the mansion; they only invited the usual acquaintances to come over for a wedding feast.

Cheng Ming was wounded, so he naturally couldn't come to offer a toast.

As the head of the household, the Eldest Princess, though merely a woman, usually handled affairs well enough to keep up appearances, but it was improper for her to toast with men at the table.

The Eldest Princess had a few respected elders from the clan drink a round with the many guests at the table, and then that was that.

The wedding ceremony's bowing rites were rushed; the Eldest Princess, feeling sorry for her son, didn't want him to kneel before her too long, so she didn't insist and simply sent the newlyweds straight to the bridal chamber in the rear courtyard.

At that moment, on the scarlet bedding, Lin Ru Jun sat obediently.

Opposite her sat Cheng Ming, covered in wounds.

Cheng Ming stared straight at his wife across from him, still unable to believe he had truly taken Lin Ru Jun into his household.

He endured the pain of his wound, braced his arms on the chair's armrests, gritted his teeth, and forced himself to stand.

He took a few steps toward Lin Ru Jun, about to lift her veil, when he suddenly groaned and collapsed toward her.

Lin Ru Jun snatched off the veil and steadied Cheng Ming, who had fallen onto the bed.

Cheng Ming's earlier injuries were severe, but now he relied on sheer will to push himself up.

But after all, he was merely a mortal flesh-and-blood body, and no matter how hard he tried, he could barely hold up.

At this moment, Cheng Ming trembled all over, the pain intense.

He looked at Lin Ru Jun sitting opposite; she was no better, her face slightly pale.

The two stared at each other like fighting cocks, each memorizing the other's sorry state, when Lin Ru Jun suddenly burst out laughing.

Cheng Ming joined in, and their laughter grew a little louder.

The maidservant guarding outside heard it and blinked in surprise, thinking her young master was unconventional, and now he had taken a wife who practiced spear and staff arts—future days in the Princess Mansion would surely be lively.

Cheng Ming stopped laughing, looked at Lin Ru Jun, and teased, "What are you laughing at? If you laugh again, my wound will split open—will you compensate me?"

Lin Ru Jun looked at the stubborn young master before her, then leaned forward and grabbed Cheng Ming's sash.

Cheng Ming's face changed instantly, his smile freezing as he nervously asked Lin Ru Jun, "What… what are you doing?"

"You're a woman; this sort of thing is something only a man can initiate. Tonight it won't happen—wait till I heal, and you'll see."

Lin Ru Jun snorted coldly, twisted her hand, and yanked Cheng Ming's sash clean off.

He flushed with embarrassment, wanted to resist, but his body was injured.

Besides, Lin Ru Jun's martial skill was not inferior to his; when they had sparred before, she had pressed him to the ground and beaten him badly.

That embarrassing incident is still something Cheng Ming refuses to mention.

Now, a proper man like himself was actually being toyed with by a woman pulling his sash, making him ever more indignant.

But this was the woman he had fought desperately to marry; no matter how she treated him, he could only endure it.

He merely glanced nervously at the door and window, hoping desperately that no eavesdropper outside would learn of his sorry state.

Lin Ru Jun tore at Cheng Ming's clothes, and the more she pulled, the easier it became; soon she had stripped him down to a thin inner garment.

Cheng Ming kept backing into the corner, looking at Lin Ru Jun and saying, "If you have something to say, let's talk properly—what's the point of tearing off my clothes?"

Lin Ru Jun's movements showed no hesitation; laughing, she yanked off his clothes, revealing his sturdy muscles.

There were also knife wounds and scars on his chest and abdomen; seeing the scar on his belly, Lin Ru Jun froze for a moment.

Everyone had always seen the Young Marquis of the Princess Mansion full of vigor; no one knew the hidden hardships behind him.

Lin Ru Jun gently stroked the scar on Cheng Ming's waist and abdomen, her expression turning dark and inscrutable.

Lin Ru Jun's fingers touched his scar, and Cheng Ming felt the fire in his chest flare higher, but he lacked the strength to respond; being teased by the woman opposite to this extent, he had no room to retaliate and could only watch helplessly as she slowly leaned over him.

"What… what are you doing?" Cheng Ming exclaimed, extremely nervous.

Lin Ru Jun snorted with laughter, got off the bed, walked to a side table, picked up the ointment prepared by the Eldest Princess, and returned to the wedding bed.

Lin Ru Jun raised her hand and carefully began to apply the ointment to Cheng Ming.

Cheng Ming froze there, realizing this woman was applying medicine to him, not implying what he had imagined; his ears burned red as he thought…

As if hearing his thoughts, Lin Ru Jun laughed softly, "Between husband and wife, wait till you're healed before doing anything—don't let your mind wander; just focus on recovering."

Those words warmed Cheng Ming's heart; he was arrogant, but not unreasonable.

On the other hand, Lin Ru Jun, this girl, had somehow learned such coquettish ways; Cheng Ming snorted, feeling a bit unsatisfied, and told the woman before him, "Forget it—just tend to my wounds properly; from now on, if anyone in Shang Jing bullies you, I'll certainly stand up for you."

Lin Ru Jun smiled, "No need for you to speak up; later, when my son grows up, he'll do it for me."

Cheng Ming immediately shut his mouth.

After a long while, he finally came to himself, steadily gazing at the woman carefully applying medicine to him, and slowly raised his hand to touch her smooth, fair face.

The sensation was like touching fine jade; he then laughed and said, "Madam, let's have a child."

"Really?" Lin Ru Jun glanced at him, liking how plain and direct he was, though she thought his mouth was hopeless and decided to discuss it later.

The maidservants outside heard the intermittent laughter from the room and all let out a sigh of relief.

One had assumed that, under these circumstances, the newlyweds would feel embarrassed or even torment each other, after all, the Lin family young lady was no pushover.

But after listening for so long, it turned out to be harmonious, the couple deeply affectionate.

It turned out these outsiders had overthought it; perhaps the husband and wife had long known each other and played together.

What they were doing now was merely a natural progression.

The next morning, Lin Ru Jun specially invited a grandmother who does hair to style an elegant, dignified coiffure for her.

Those healing medicines had been left by Gu Jiu Ling; after one night, Cheng Ming's wounds had surprisingly recovered well.

According to Gu Jiu Ling, he only needed to rest half a month to be completely healed.

The Eldest Princess looked at the newlyweds kneeling before her and couldn't help feeling deeply relieved.

However, Lin Ru Jun still fell short of a true aristocratic lady; she would need further training.

The Eldest Princess assumed the airs of a mother-in-law; today there were some principled matters she needed to discuss with her daughter-in-law.