TSFLIP Chapter 820

When his daughter was rescued, Xia Chao brought a generous gift to thank her savior. But what he didn’t expect was that the young gentleman who had recently moved to Tong County refused to accept it. The man simply smiled and said,

“If Master Xia truly wishes to thank me, why not have Miss Xia marry me instead?”

Xia Chao was stunned. He never imagined that such a polite, well-mannered young man would say something so bold. Even for someone like him — a man who had seen his share of storms — it took a moment of silence before he could respond.

“Young sir,” he said stiffly, “my daughter is already engaged.”

“What a pity,” Zhou Xing replied lightly, teasing the bird in his bamboo cage without even looking up. He seemed to have given up on the outrageous idea.

But the next day, a scandal swept across the entire county. The magistrate’s daughter — Chen Hongdou, the only female constable in Tong County — was rumored to have gotten drunk while investigating a case with the coroner Yang Jie, and in her drunken state, she had supposedly lost control of herself.

The county magistrate, Chen, turned pale with fury as he tried to suppress the gossip, but a month later, word spread from the medical clinic that Chen Hongdou was pregnant. No matter how hard the family tried to keep it quiet, it was too late.

Yang Jie, to his credit, took responsibility. He personally came to the Xia residence to apologize and ask to dissolve his engagement with Miss Xia.

At that point, what else could Xia Chao do? A child was involved, and the scandal couldn’t be undone. With a cold face, he agreed to end the engagement.

But not long after, he noticed his daughter visiting the neighboring estate almost every day. The more he thought about it, the more wrong it seemed. He began to suspect that not only had Chen Hongdou and Yang Jie been played — but he himself had been fooled as well.

The realization left him bitter and frustrated.

His elegant wife, Wang Ci, offered no comfort. She merely gave him a cold glance before turning away to prepare her daughter’s dowry. To her, all his business success meant nothing — in her eyes, he was just a fool.

“The fifteenth of this month is an auspicious day,” Zhou Xing said as he handed the imperial marriage decree to the young woman sitting on his lap. She nestled obediently against his chest, and he found her so adorably docile that he couldn’t resist lifting her chin and pressing a kiss to her lips.

Fengguang parted her lips and shyly responded to his kiss. By the time the air in her lungs was completely stolen away, she was left breathless. “This month… isn’t it a little too soon?” she asked softly.

“It’s not,” he said, smiling against her lips. “We still have ten whole days.”

He brushed gentle kisses along the corner of her mouth, intoxicated by the pull she had on him. Every part of her seemed to hold some mysterious charm that drew him in. But before their wedding, he could not — must not — touch her beyond that.

“What if my father doesn’t agree?” she asked.

Zhou Xing’s eyes glinted with amusement. “In the Xia household, is it your father who has the final say… or your mother?”

“Of course, my mother,” Fengguang replied quickly. Her father might act domineering, but her parents’ relationship was strained — in truth, her mother made most of the decisions behind closed doors. Her eyes lit up in realization. “You convinced my mother?”

“Madam Xia is a reasonable woman,” Zhou Xing said smoothly. “She believes I can make you happy.”

He lifted a strand of her long hair and twirled it between his fingers, his smile gentle — but beneath that gentleness lay a quiet, dangerous confidence.

Indeed, Wang Ci had spoken with him once. Unlike her husband, she had easily seen through both her daughter’s affection for Zhou Xing and his interest in her. She didn’t fully understand the young man — he was calm, too calm — but one thing was certain: he was far better than that weakling, Yang Jie.

And yet… she feared her daughter might not be able to control a man like him.

At that meeting, Zhou Xing had smiled, his tone mild and almost tender as he said:

“Madam Xia, do you really think I would ever let Fengguang belong to another man?”

And as he spoke those soft words, the porcelain teacup in his hand crumbled into fine dust — scattering into the air as though it had never existed.