Chapter 1363: Courting Disaster

Xie Cheng was utterly helpless. How did they always end up talking at cross purposes? He asked if her face hurt, yet she started telling him about the blood on her hand.

"Come here." Xie Cheng said.

"W-what for? D-don’t you mess around, I’ve got a knife!" Ms. Xie Ji was scared out of her wits, terrified Xie Cheng would kill her for revenge, yet she was also cowardly. She knew she’d done wrong and couldn’t openly go against him, so she shuffled over, slow as a snail.

Xie Cheng couldn’t help laughing at the sight. He pinched her chin, lowered his head, and kissed her: "Stop fussing, all right?"

Ms. Xie Ji was scared stiff, not daring to move a muscle. Only after Xie Cheng let her go did she stammer out, trembling, "Y-you-you... what are you trying to do?"

Xie Cheng chuckled: "Aren’t you the one in a rush to have a son to shore up your pride? Tonight I’ll go make a son with you."

With that, he dropped the carriage curtain, went to sit on the front board, and drove the carriage to catch up with the column.

Though Ji Zhenniang was like a soul‑claiming ghost, Xie Cheng just liked her. Even after being tormented by her over and over until his life was about gone, he still couldn’t bear to divorce her.

He even kept thinking, maybe once they had a son, her heart would finally settle down and life would get easier?

But he underestimated Ji Zhenniang. That night, when they stopped to camp and rest, he happily went to the carriage to find her. Yet when he lifted the thick quilt, what he saw was Hong Xiu, wearing nothing but a bellyband.

"M-my lord~" Hong Xiu was over the moon; she’d never imagined such a good thing would fall into her lap. Ji Zhenniang was truly a fool—she actually believed Xie Cheng coming to "make a child" with her tonight was fake, and that him coming to kill her for revenge was real, so she was too scared to come back to this carriage to sleep.

You couldn’t really blame Ji Zhenniang for being afraid. Nanny Ji had a nasty mind; after being angered by Ji Zhenniang, she would frequently go on about Xie Cheng having killed people.

Ji Zhenniang, a nineteen‑year‑old young lady from a Fu Family, really couldn’t handle that. It almost scared her crazy. Ever since she found out Xie Cheng had killed people, she’d been resisting sharing a bed with him.

Xie Cheng felt sorry for her and never forced her. The two of them dragged things out like that, becoming a huge joke in Nanny Ji and Hong Xiu’s eyes.

After Xie Cheng said during the day that he wanted to have a son with Ji Zhenniang, she’d been scared half to death. When Hong Xiu saw this, she told her she was willing to take this calamity for her tonight; even if Xie Cheng really forced himself on her, she wouldn’t become his concubine and would spend her whole life as Ji Zhenniang’s Maid, serving her wholeheartedly.

Ji Zhenniang actually believed it. With tears of gratitude, she sent Hong Xiu over to serve Xie Cheng.

All of Xie Cheng’s passion instantly turned to ice. He stared at Hong Xiu, as if looking through her at Ji Zhenniang, and clamped a hand around Hong Xiu’s neck, almost strangling her to death.

Hong Xiu had been thrilled, thinking she would finally get what she’d always wanted, but who knew that what awaited her wasn’t the embrace of the man she adored, but a chokehold that cut off her air.

She stared at Xie Cheng in terror. His eyes were filled with killing intent—he truly wished he could kill her!

Hong Xiu was choked until tears streamed down her face; she kept pounding on Xie Cheng. Just as she was about to stop breathing, Ms. Xie Ji, watching from a nearby carriage, noticed something was wrong. She hurried over to save her: "Xie Cheng, let her go, quick! This was my idea, it’s not Hong Xiu’s fault. Don’t kill her, wuwuwu..."

Hong Xiu had grown up with her since childhood; they were as close as sisters. If Xie Cheng killed someone at her side, she really wouldn’t be able to go on living with him.

When Xie Cheng heard this, he released Hong Xiu’s neck and turned to look at Ms. Xie Ji: "...Why?"

Why do something like this?

Did she really hate him touching her that much?!

Ms. Xie Ji was terrified of the way he looked now. She shrank back from him, crying as she begged, "D-don’t kill Hong Xiu, it was all my idea."

Smack!

Xie Cheng swung his hand back and slapped Ms. Xie Ji across the face, sending her sprawling to the ground.

This time Xie Cheng didn’t go to help her up. His eyes were bloodshot with rage. After glaring at her for a while, he turned and left, and once again didn’t come back all night.

However, what happened in the Xie Family Camp still got out. The gossiping women found out, and the news spread throughout the campsite in less than two hours.

Zhang Ermin’s wife and the others were so excited they could hardly stand it. They gathered to gossip: "I heard Lady Xie’s Maid climbed into the bed and was caught red‑handed by Lady Xie. She made a huge scene and almost strangled that Maid to death. Company Commander Xie got bewitched by that Maid, beat Lady Xie up, and saved the Maid."

Mrs. Kuang snapped, "Bullshit, where did you hear that nonsense? It wasn’t the Maid crawling into bed—it was Lady Xie herself who sent the Maid to serve Company Commander Xie. But Company Commander Xie only wanted to sleep with his own wife, and in a fit of rage almost strangled the Maid. It was Lady Xie who saved her. Company Commander Xie got mad that Lady Xie was protecting the bed‑climbing Maid, that’s why he hit Lady Xie."

"What? No way. What kind of wife sends another woman to her own man? You’d have to be brain‑damaged to do that." The women didn’t believe it.

Mrs. Kuang curled her lip and shot back, "Do you seriously think Ms. Xie Ji’s brain is fine?"

The moment she said that, the women fell silent. After thinking over all the stupid things Ms. Xie Ji had done, they burst into collective laughter: "Yeah, she really does look pretty far gone."

She was married, yet still acted like some clueless young girl, sulking over every little thing. Company Commander Xie had to manage the soldiers, look after the soldiers’ families, and still run around taking care of her—it was like he was raising a child.

And that wasn’t even the worst of it. The most outrageous part was that Ms. Xie Ji still thought Company Commander Xie treated her badly. She stayed constantly wronged and angry; sometimes she’d work herself up until she cried, then start cursing out Company Commander Xie.

Company Commander Xie was scolded for no reason at all. To avoid making a spectacle of themselves, he had to coax her again.

"Company Commander Xie ending up with a wife like that—he really is miserable." The women sighed a bit, and after excitedly dissecting the Xie Family’s gossip, they moved on to Qin San Lang’s: "Company Commander Qin has it rough too. Such a handsome young man, and he actually married an ugly woman. That Gu woman’s face is unwatchable, and she smells like rotten eggs. Could it be there are really worms growing on her face?"

Mrs. Kuang said, "If you want to find out whether there are worms on her face, just go stick your nose right up to it tomorrow and take a look."

Han Sansong’s mother let out a disgusted "ugh": "That’s disgusting. Your old lady here is not going to look."

Then she asked curiously, "Gu woman’s that ugly and still doesn’t hide in the carriage and cover up? She actually ran out to greet Company Commander Qin. Do you think she’s got a screw loose too? Between Gu and Ms. Ji, which one of them do you think is stupider?"

Fourth Son Gao’s wife said, "Who knows. They both look equally stupid to me. It’s just that Gu isn’t as dramatic as Ms. Ji."

Zhang Ermin’s wife, who loved stirring the pot, chuckled, "Let’s not bother ranking which of the two is dumber. Ms. Ji is older than Gu, so in terms of seniority, Ms. Ji can be Big Fool, and Gu can be Ersha. No need to argue."

The women burst out laughing: "Hahaha, that works. They’re both fools anyway."

...

And just like that, Gu Jinli got herself a new nickname. She listened, stunned: "They really know how to spin nonsense. What else did they say?"

"They also gave Master a nickname—Qin Ruofan. And Company Commander Xie’s nickname is Poor Xie." Daqing reported with a perfectly straight face.

"Hahahaha~" Gu Jinli almost laughed herself silly. "Qin Ruofan? Poor Xie? They really do have a talent for naming. Every one of them is a little nickname genius."