Chapter 33: Newlyweds

Du Ruo couldn't help but take a few extra looks.

The man was at least a meter tall, with a straight, upright posture. His eyes were long and narrow, the corners slightly upturned as if he were born with a smile, but upon closer inspection, those clear pupils reflected a sense of detachment and coldness that made him hard to approach.

While she was scrutinizing the man, he was also looking down at her. As their eyes met, Du Ruo's face burned inexplicably, though she quickly regained her composure.

"Didn't I lie to you, Sister-in-law? Eldest Brother really is very good-looking, isn't he?" Jiang Wan said, lifting her little head proudly.

Du Ruo gave an awkward smile: "... Yes, he is very good-looking."

Good-looking my foot; with a face full of whiskers and a body full of muscles, he looked like a midnight butcher.

Regardless, she and Jiang Li were husband and wife in name, and for the sake of the three little ones, Du Ruo was willing to give each other a chance, thinking that perhaps after spending time together and getting to know each other, they might find their personalities compatible.

Du Ruo tried her best to put on a virtuous face, stepped forward, curtsied to the muscular man, and called out, "Husband."

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Jiang Cheng and Jiang Wan were dumbfounded, their confused gazes darting between the three of them, not daring to make a sound.

Wang Bujiu pointed at himself with his finger, then looked at the man beside him who was slightly frowning; his chiseled, tough-guy face was filled with innocence and terror.

"Sister-in-law, what is this... I, Old Wang, have no grudge against you; why, why would you harm me like this?"

Fearing that Jiang Li might misunderstand something, he hurriedly explained, "Brother Jiang, listen to me! Things are not what you think! Last time, Sister-in-law and Brother Jiang Zhan came to the embankment to find you, and you were being summoned by the Magistrate and couldn't get away, so I spoke a few words to Brother Jiang Zhan on your behalf, that's all! I, Old Wang, dare to swear to the heavens that I haven't even said half a sentence to your wife!"

Du Ruo suddenly looked up.

What did that mean? Listening to the muscular man's tone, was the handsome guy next to him actually Jiang Li?

But didn't Du Mingzhu say that Jiang Li was coarse, ugly, and unbearable to look at? Where was the ugliness? He was clearly quite handsome!

Seeing her standing there like a wooden chicken, looking like she had just realized she'd made a blunder, Jiang Cheng was about to laugh himself into a fit.

"Oh my, Sister-in-law, how could you even mistake your own husband? Hahahaha."

Du Ruo was so embarrassed she could have dug a hole to hide in—a massive, vibrant green one at that—and hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, Brother Wang, it was my confusion."

Wang Bujiu waved his hand, "It's fine, it's fine. It's my fault too; I should have reminded Brother Jiang Zhan. You and Brother Jiang have never met, so it's normal to mistake someone."

He poked Jiang Li's arm and raised an eyebrow, "Right, Brother Jiang?"

Jiang Li smiled, "Right. Just don't mistake me next time."

He looked very good when he smiled; the detachment in his eyes seemed to be blown away by the wind, leaving only warmth.

Du Ruo couldn't help but take a few more looks.

It had to be said, Jiang Li was indeed her type: tall, straight, handsome, and refined. He also seemed quite steady; she just didn't know if their values aligned or if they would get along.

The night grew late, and as someone's rooster crowed for the first time, Jiang Wan, still young, finally calmed down from the excitement of seeing her eldest brother and began to doze off.

Jiang Cheng hurriedly took her to sleep.

Only three people remained in the main hall.

Du Ruo's eyes rolled, and she asked hesitantly, "Then tonight..."

There were only two rooms in the house. Du Ruo lived in one, and Jiang Cheng and Jiang Wan lived in the other, separated by a curtain. Now that there were two more grown men, there wasn't enough room.

"I'll just sleep on the floor with Brother Wang," Jiang Li said.

Du Ruo breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this body lived in ancient times, she was a modern person at heart. For her, eighteen was the bottom line; both physically and mentally, she resisted doing "that" too early.

Since Jiang Li had taken the initiative to suggest sleeping on the floor, she didn't need to worry about the issue of consummating the marriage for now. Future matters could be dealt with in the future.

Du Ruo obediently agreed, "Alright, I'll listen to you, Husband."

"How can that be?" Wang Bujiu rejected it immediately, then winked at Jiang Li with a wicked smile, "It's not that I'm saying anything, Brother Jiang, but you and your sister-in-law are newlyweds; how can you let her spend the night alone? That's not moral. I can sleep on the floor by myself; you should go back to the room and rest with your wife."

The couple looked at each other and simultaneously looked away.

The atmosphere was a bit subtle.

Du Ruo complained inwardly that this Old Wang was truly a talent; as a guest, couldn't he just obediently follow the host's arrangements?

In front of an outsider, Du Ruo couldn't very well say she didn't want to sleep with Jiang Li. In ancient times, women viewed their husbands as their heaven; if she said that, Jiang Li would lose face as a husband.

Seeing that Jiang Li didn't say anything, Du Ruo had to force a shy smile, "Then... I'll go back to the room first."

After returning to the room, Du Ruo specifically chose the most conservative undergarment, wrapping herself up tightly, and then sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

In her mind, the system sneered: "Host, it's midsummer right now. Are you sure you won't get heatstroke wearing so much?"

"None of your business!" Du Ruo retorted sharply.

The system's tone was very provocative: "Hey, in your previous world, there was a term called 'not knowing one's wife is beautiful,' right? Now, this system will give you a term: 'not knowing one is ugly.' Is it appropriate?"

Du Ruo: "... Get lost!"

She was ugly, but she was still Jiang Li's wife in name, and Jiang Li was at a hot-blooded age. Even if he didn't like her, there was no guarantee he wouldn't want to have children with her.

After all, in ancient times, there were three unfilial acts, and having no descendants was the greatest.

Du Ruo lay back on the bed, staring speechlessly at the ceiling.

There had been so many annoying things in the past two days: first, meeting the original owner's mama's boy childhood sweetheart, Xiao Liangchen, and getting a bizarre task to make him say thirty words; then, Jiang Zongbao from the main branch came in the middle of the night to steal things, and when he couldn't, he turned around and blamed her. Just as she finally sent him away, Jiang Li returned.

Although Jiang Li was unexpectedly handsome, they hadn't developed any feelings yet, and it was too awkward to be together.

Fortunately, Tie Dan was capable, and the big snake it caught sold for quite a bit of money...

"Ding-dong, new task initiated! Please become a landlord within three days and own at least two mu of arable land! Upon completion, you will receive points, successfully upgrade to level two, and open the system mall! Work hard, Host, a beautiful future is waving at you!"

Du Ruo sighed: "System, can you not stand me having money?"

And this wasn't much money; adding the three taels of silver from selling the snake, it was less than ten taels in total.

According to the prices of this era, good farmland was seven or eight taels per mu, and dry land was two; after completing the task, she would have nothing left, and might even be in debt.

"Host, you need to look at the long term," the system tempted her, "Land is real estate. Having land means having the capital to settle down and make a living. Isn't that more reliable than having children and raising them?"

That made sense, and Du Ruo was speechless.

Forget it, buy it if she had to. She would have to buy land sooner or later anyway; she just had to find a way to earn money again. The detoxification medicine at home was almost finished.

Just after accepting the task, the door creaked open, and it was Jiang Li.

He must have just finished showering outside, as he still carried moisture on his body. Like Du Ruo, he was only wearing a set of white undergarments. She didn't know how many years he had worn them, but the clothes were a bit small, which only served to highlight his broad shoulders and narrow hips, leaving his good physique fully exposed.

Du Ruo forced herself to look away.

This man was too stylish, not a bit inferior to those dazzling celebrity male models from her past life. Then she looked down at herself—sigh, the visual contrast was too strong. They were Beauty and the Beast; in her case, it was clearly Handsome Guy and Dinosaur.

She stood up, trying her best to act like a shy new bride: "Husband."