Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 118

Chapter 118: Heartfelt Feelings

Jiang Mi and Cui Zi Xuan boarded the most luxurious and magnificent ship.

Shortly after they boarded, the fleet set sail, white sails rising in the golden sunlight, stretching to the horizon.

Jiang Mi stayed in her cabin for a while but finally could not resist and skipped over to Cui Zi Xuan’s cabin.

When she arrived, several scholars were emerging from Cui Zi Xuan’s cabin. Seeing Jiang Mi, they bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

Inside the cabin, Cui Zi Xuan was perusing a scroll, his brow furrowed, his expression very serious.

Jiang Mi thought for a moment, then quietly sat down opposite him. Sitting on the tatami mat, Jiang Mi rested her chin on her hand, gazing at Cui Zi Xuan. Just looking at him made her heart flutter with sweetness…

At that moment, Cui Zi Xuan, without looking up, whispered, “Are you bored? Be good; I will take you to play after I’m done.”

It really was the tone he used to coax a child.

Jiang Mi pouted and replied, “I… I was just wandering around and saw you here, so I came in.”

Hearing Jiang Mi’s answer, Cui Zi Xuan smiled and said, “Alright, do as you please.” After looking at the books for a while, Cui Zi Xuan thought of Jiang Mi and instructed, “There are some files on the bookshelf that are my records from the Cui Clan of Boling. You will need to know about them when you return to the Clan. Go take a look.”

Jiang Mi blushed and agreed, walking to the side and picking up a file to look through.

This file, however, was the Cui Clan of Boling’s genealogy. A thick stack, containing only records from the last fifty years.

Jiang Mi was engrossed in reading.

After an unknown amount of time, Cui Zi Xuan put down his book and began to rub his brow.

Jiang Mi turned around, saw him, and silently approached. She began to massage his brow.

Cui Zi Xuan leaned back, closed his eyes, and smiled.

Feeling her delicate fingers, carrying the scent of his wife, moving across his face, Cui Zi Xuan’s expression grew increasingly content. After a while, he said softly, “Ah’Mi.”

“Yes.”

“The Cui Clan of Boling is quite large; you will inevitably feel out of place going there all at once. The people I brought are familiar with all aspects of the Clan. Starting tomorrow, I will have them teach you individually. Listen carefully.”

Jiang Mi knew he was trying to help her integrate into his Clan. She nodded.

Hearing her soft “Yes,” Cui Zi Xuan chuckled, “Good girl.” After praising her, he added, “And those uncles and aunts back home. Remember their characteristics too, so you will not be caught off guard later.”

Jiang Mi responded again.

Cui Zi Xuan felt a surge of joy and could not resist reaching out to grasp her delicate wrist, gently rubbing her face against his. With his eyes closed, he whispered, “Ah’Mi, I will be good to you.”

Jiang Mi heard this again. A happy smile curved her lips as she lowered her head, pressing her face against Cui Zi Xuan’s, their breaths mingling. Jiang Mi whispered happily, “With Young Master Cui, I’m complete.”

Jiang Mi was reserved by nature, and it was rare for her to speak so emotionally. Cui Zi Xuan stared at her for a long while, then gently pulled her into his arms…

Three days after the fleet set sail, another fleet joined them.

The owners of this fleet were familiar to Jiang Mi; they were the siblings Lu Geng and Lu Li of the Lu Clan of Fanyang.

Two years ago, when Jiang Mi first saw Lu Li, she felt she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Now, Jiang Mi herself had blossomed into womanhood, but upon seeing her again, she was still momentarily intimidated by Lu Li’s aura.

From the moment she boarded the ship, Lu Li’s gaze remained fixed on Jiang Mi.

Upon seeing Jiang Mi meet her eyes, she reflexively lowered her gaze and stepped back, a very faint smile playing on Lu Li’s lips.

Since Lu Geng had come to see Cui Zi Xuan urgently, Jiang Mi excused herself and left.

Back in her cabin, Jiang Mi reviewed the day’s lessons. Seeing that about an hour had passed, and assuming the elder brother and sister should have already left, she hurried towards Cui Zi Xuan’s cabin.

Now that Jiang Mi’s status was different, upon seeing her approach, Cui Zi Xuan’s guards simply bowed and stepped back a few paces, neither obstructing her nor issuing a warning to those inside.

A moment later, Jiang Mi arrived outside the cabin.

Just as Jiang Mi approached, she suddenly heard a woman sobbing inside.

Jiang Mi paused.

At that moment, Lu Li’s choked voice came from inside the cabin, “Cui Zi Xuan, Ah’Li has thought about this for over half a year and still cannot understand. What does Ah’Li lack compared to Lady Jiang? You’d rather marry her?”

The cabin was silent for a while.

After a moment, Lu Geng’s voice came from the side, “Zi Xuan, I’m sorry, but this matter has become a thorn in my sister’s side.”

Cui Zi Xuan remained silent.

He remained silent for quite a while this time, until Jiang Mi thought he would make up some excuse to send them away. Then Cui Zi Xuan spoke, his voice low and deep, “In peaceful times, Lady Jiang would certainly be inferior to Ah’Li, but in this world…”

After a slight pause, Cui Zi Xuan continued, “Furthermore, ever since I first met Lady Jiang, I’ve felt a surge of joy whenever I see her… I’m sorry, Ah’Li.”

Almost immediately after Cui Zi Xuan uttered the phrase “I feel a surge of joy whenever I see her,” both Lu Li inside the cabin and Jiang Mi outside the door were somewhat flustered.

A series of banging noises erupted from the cabin, followed by Lu Geng’s urgent call for “Little Sister.” At the cabin door, Jiang Mi looked up abruptly, her face breaking into a radiant smile.

Frankly, not only was the world puzzled by Cui Zi Xuan’s decision to marry her, but Jiang Mi herself was as well.

She had considered that while she was beautiful, Cui Zi Xuan was never short of beautiful women.

She had also considered that while she was talented, Cui Zi Xuan had cultivated relationships with so many brilliant minds; her talents were simply insufficient for him.

She had even considered that while she was lucky, and some had predicted her good fortune, this alone was not enough for Cui Zi Xuan to use the position of his principal wife to win her over.

For some time now, Jiang Mi had been like someone who had suddenly found a chest of treasures—overjoyed, yet constantly plagued by anxiety, always afraid that one day she would wake up to find the treasure gone.

Because of this unease, although Jiang Mi was deeply attached to Cui Zi Xuan, she was always somewhat cautious and reserved when alone with him.

This was the first time she had received a clear answer from Cui Zi Xuan!

Although Cui Zi Xuan had said similar things before when they were alone, in those situations, a man’s words sounded the most appealing, and Jiang Mi did not dare to fully believe them.

Until this moment!

Suddenly, Jiang Mi could no longer bear it; she slammed open the hatch. As the three people in the cabin looked on in surprise, Jiang Mi rushed into Cui Zi Xuan’s arms like a puppy, clinging to him tightly!

Seeing Jiang Mi crying and rubbing her face against his clothes, completely devoid of any restraint or aloofness, Cui Zi Xuan was both amused and exasperated. He took out a handkerchief and wiped Jiang Mi’s face, then carried her to a nearby couch.

After sitting down, Cui Zi Xuan saw that she was still crying. He could not help but chuckle and said, “Why are you still crying?”

Jiang Mi sobbed, “I just want to cry.”

“Alright, alright, cry, cry,” Cui Zi Xuan said helplessly. He turned and gave an order, and after a maid brought in a hot towel, he took the wrung-out towel and gestured for the maids to leave. He lowered his head and began to gently wipe Jiang Mi’s face with the towel.

…Lu Geng and his sister stared blankly.

At this moment, Cui Zi Xuan clearly did not remember that there were two living people in the cabin. Seeing one wiping her face so diligently and the other weeping even more freely, Lu Li slowly turned her head and laboriously moved step by step towards the outside of the cabin.

Lu Geng quickly followed. After signaling the guards outside to leave, Lu Geng came up behind Lu Li and whispered, “Ah’Li?”

Lu Li leaned softly against the cabin wall. After a while, she whispered, “…I always thought that even if he valued her more, Young Master Cui’s wife could only be me…”

Lu Geng was speechless.

Lu Li sobbed uncontrollably, “Brother, I waited for him for so many years… Everyone thought I would marry him. How could he…”

…

Inside the cabin, Cui Zi Xuan faintly heard Lu Li’s sobs. He glanced back and then looked away.

At this moment, Jiang Mi, whose clothes were already soaked with tears, pressed her face against his chest, her voice muffled, “Ah’Lang.”

“Hmm?”

“I have no parents, so from now on your parents will be my parents too, right?”

Cui Zi Xuan chuckled softly, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Yes.”

Jiang Mi nuzzled her face against his chest, her voice hoarse as she added, “And I have no Elder Brother either, so from now on you will be both my husband and my elder brother, right?”

Cui Zi Xuan stroked her head, smiling gently. “Yes.”

Jiang Mi giggled in his arms.

As she laughed, she suddenly reached out and pulled open his shirt. Because of the hot weather, Cui Zi Xuan was wearing very little, and Jiang Mi’s action revealed his muscular chest.

Jiang Mi leaned in and gave Cui Zi Xuan a firm “smack” on his pectoral muscle. Seeing the cherry-red nipple on the left, she even gave it a little bite. Then, Jiang Mi happily said, “I know!”

She did not notice Cui Zi Xuan’s breathing quicken. After forcefully breaking free from his embrace, Jiang Mi exclaimed joyfully, “Ahhh, how can I be so happy? No, I have to tell the Three Mothers!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and darted away like a rabbit. Even as Cui Zi Xuan, his face darkening, reached out to grab her, she nimbly leaped away.

Seeing the hatch slam shut by Jiang Mi, Cui Zi Xuan’s outstretched hand fell limply to his side. He gritted his teeth for a long time, then locked the hatch with a dark expression…

…

The next day, the Lu Family’s elder brother and sister requested to leave.

To Jiang Mi’s surprise, after seeing them off, the fleet remained in place for a full half month. It was not until half a month later that Cui Zi Xuan returned with his crew.

Jiang Mi was in the throes of joy and passion, and her lover’s departure for half a month inevitably made her somewhat dissatisfied. But before she could confront Cui Zi Xuan, that very night she discovered the fleet was empty again; Cui Zi Xuan had disappeared once more.

Jiang Mi did not know what Cui Zi Xuan and the others were busy with. Considering that anything could happen in this chaotic era, she simply suppressed her restless thoughts and settled down to study what Cui Zi Xuan had instructed her to learn.

A great clan like the Cui Clan of Boling, with a history spanning millennia, possessed such profound depth that even with Jiang Mi’s excellent memory and strong comprehension, it took considerable effort to grasp even a fraction of its essence.

Twenty days later, Cui Zi Xuan and the others finally rejoined the fleet. They arrived silently on the ship in the middle of the night, and by the time the fleet set sail the next day, Jiang Mi discovered that all the ships were full again.