The laughter from the outer courtyard had not yet faded, but the backyard had quieted down. The idle maids and guards had all returned to their rooms, leaving the night to the bride of a few days.

Sitting in the bridal chamber in the back courtyard, Wu Xin’Er was composed and proper, a red veil covering her head, and she hadn’t moved for quite some time.

Her hands were twisted at her waist, straining to listen, trying to discern the noises around her, a mix of ambiguous apprehension and nervousness in her heart.

In truth, there wasn’t much affection between her and Chen Mo. Instead, Chen Mo’s repeated rejections made her somewhat resentful; she was a pure and innocent young girl of the Wu Family’s lineage, yet he treated her with such disdain.

But despite the resentment, she also had a fondness for Chen Mo. He was handsome, not much older than herself, exceptionally skilled, and held a status at the pinnacle of the Great Song Dynasty. Faced with such a man, which young girl wouldn’t feel a sense of admiration?

Therefore, under Wu Lu’s repeated persuasion, Wu Xin’Er agreed.

From the moment the marriage was arranged, Wu Xin’Er had imagined the scenes of her wedding night with Chen Mo countless times, but having never experienced such things, she didn’t know how to deal with them.

After all, her understanding of matters between men and women was mostly from books or what others had told her, mere theoretical knowledge. But theory was just theory; it needed to be practiced.

About to transition from girl to woman, it was impossible for her not to feel even a hint of nervousness.

When he comes, should she be more reserved and shy, or should she be more assertive and go straight to the point?

Didn’t Momo say that men like their women to be gentle as noble ladies outside but wanton in bed...?

But if she really did as Momo said, would it appear too wanton? What if he misunderstood?

Thinking of this, Wu Xin’Er once again took out the Spring Palace Album that Momo had given her, studying it seriously.

Whether reserved or wanton, she decided it would be better to learn more from the "knowledge" in here. If he felt his experience was unsatisfactory and she lost his favor later, wouldn’t that be worse?

However, after flipping through just two pages, Wu Xin’Er’s face turned crimson and felt extremely hot. The illustrations on the pages were embarrassingly explicit for someone who had yet to experience the taste of flesh.

And that name, Old Tree...

Just as Wu Xin’Er was earnestly studying, a sudden light creak came from the door.

"?"

Wu Xin’Er shuddered all over, hurriedly grabbed the red veil beside her to cover her head, then recalled the Spring Palace Album, frantically hiding it behind her.

"You... you’ve come?"

Wu Xin’Er’s body became somewhat stiff. She quickly straightened up, trying not to let Chen Mo notice anything unusual.

"What are you hiding?"

Chen Mo closed the door and walked over curiously.

"Noth... nothing..." Under the veil, Wu Xin’Er’s cheeks were as red as if they were about to drip blood, as she racked her brain for an excuse. But before she could say anything, the Spring Palace Album hidden behind her back was pulled away, and she heard Chen Mo’s surprised "Oh" sound.

Wu Xin’Er was so embarrassed she wished she could dig a hole and hide in it, hastily explaining, "I... I don’t know why there is such a book in this room, so... I was just curious and picked it up to take a look. I... I swear, it was not on purpose..."

Chen Mo flipped through it briefly, tossed it aside casually, and then jokingly said, "How about we try everything on here tonight?"

"Ah... ah..." Startled, Wu Xin’Er raised her head, and the red veil slipped off her head. She quickly covered it back up, saying, "But... but I still... still don’t know how."

"If you don’t know, you can learn."

"But... but I..."

Though Wu Xin’Er was an intelligent and independent woman, she was almost brought to tears in this situation.

Chen Mo slowly lifted her veil, revealing her fresh seductive lips and prominent nose, her eyes resembling peach blossoms shyly that lost their usual coolness, shedding some of her youthful naiveté, and under the dim candlelight, exuding a mature woman’s captivating allure.

Chen Mo stared at her closely, smacking his lips in admiration, "It’s only been three days!"

"Hmm?" Wu Xin’Er was puzzled.

"Since I last saw you." Chen Mo put down the veil, lifted her chin, and smiled, saying, "My dear, call me husband."

"Ah... oh..."

Wu Xin’Er recalled the process, calmed herself a bit, glanced at Chen Mo’s peerlessly handsome face, and with a slightly red face seriously said, "Husband."

Chen Mo nodded in satisfaction, then reached for her waist, attempting to untie the ribbon. Wu Xin’Er quickly stopped him, saying, "Hus... husband, we haven’t drunk the wedding wine yet. Let’s follow the procedure."

Chen Mo was merely joking. He nodded, turned to the table to fetch two cups of wedding wine, handed one to Wu Xin’Er, and then sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her slender waist.

"Don’t be so nervous; I’m not going to eat you." Feeling Wu Xin’Er’s slight trembling, Chen Mo chuckled lightly.

Encouraging herself silently, Wu Xin’Er lifted her hand, interlinked her arm with Chen Mo’s, and drank down the wedding wine.

Before she could swallow, her red lips were sealed, the passionate breath from the other intruding her mouth, plundering everything.

"Clink..." The wine cup fell from their hands, landing on the ground.

Kissing and kissing, Wu Xin’Er succumbed to the momentum, falling onto the bed as Chen Mo seized her hands and raised them above her head.

"Is it going to happen?" Wu Xin’Er murmured, her body trembling, "Husband, please be gentle... I am a little scared."

But at that moment, Chen Mo suddenly moved off her, lay down beside her, and laughed, "I’m a bit tired; why don’t you take charge, my dear..."

"Ah..." Wu Xin’Er’s eyes widened with surprise.

"My dear, you’re so smart. You can comprehend martial arts classics just by looking at them. The Spring Palace Album shouldn’t be too challenging for you either."

"Is... is it the same?" Wu Xin’Er became a bit flustered.

Yet she saw Chen Mo lay down like a lord, doing nothing but watching her amusedly.

With no other choice, Wu Xin’Er gritted her teeth, just as she was about to climb onto Chen Mo, he stopped her, saying, "Alright, alright, I’m just teasing you. Let me handle it."

With a swift motion, Chen Mo flipped over, pinning Wu Xin’Er beneath him, lowering his head to capture her red lips.

His hands skillfully undid her clothes and his own garments.

As they were about to complete the final step, Wu Xin’Er pushed against Chen Mo’s chest, "Hus... husband, wait..."

"What’s wrong?" Chen Mo asked, puzzled.

Wu Xin’Er took out a piece of white silk from somewhere, placed it underneath herself, then wrapped her arms around Chen Mo’s neck, whispered, "Husband, please be gentle!"