Foster Son, Don’t Be So Crazy (16)

"Uhh..."

Song Jia woke up in the middle of the night, her throat dry. Her hand reached for the bedside table, but encountered only empty air.

Song Jia frowned. It seemed that she forgot to bring her usual glass of water.

Song Jia got out of the bed. While she walked past the parlor, she suddenly saw a hunched form in the darkness, nearly giving her a heart attack. It was only when he turned around that she realized it was Nian Shou.

"What are you doing?!"

Did this man want to play midnight ghost? If you're going to be lost in thought, do it in the morning, not in the middle of the night!

Song Jia placed a hand over her racing heart and stood in front of him.

Nian Shou's eyes were heavy when they looked at her. He looked nothing like his usual laidback self that Song Jia became a little alarmed.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

He sighed. He propped his chin with his hand and said with a sorrowful tone, "Jia, why can't girls leave good-looking men alone?"

Song Jia: "..."

She patted his shoulder and said, "I'm going to get a glass of water."

But before she could walk away, Nian Shou grabbed her wrist. His grip was tight.

His eyes looking straight at her, he asked, "Jia, why don't you marry me as one of your husbands?"

This world was ruled by matriarchy for a reason. It was because nine times out of ten, the females of this world would give birth to a baby boy. For this reason, women became too scarce.

To have more offspring, the founder queen of the kingdom set down a royal rule that a woman should have a minimum of three husbands. One would be the official husband, and the other two would be her concubines.

To Nian Shou's question of asking her to marry him, Song Jia gave an equally direct answer.

"No."

She thought he was only joking, but when her quick rejection brought a hurt look in his eyes, Song Jia hastily explained, "I'm not planning to marry. Or if I'm going to marry, I only want to have a single husband."

This grandma doesn't have the leisure nor the energy to make clouds and rain with three men at the same time. Other women may be able to tolerate, but she couldn't. If she ever married, it would be like swans mating for life, never having more than a single husband.

Song Jia also didn't hesitate to share her thought to Nian Shou because he was already used to her unique ideas and thoughts.

"Only a single husband?" Nian Shou gave her a strange look. "Aren't you afraid that the queen would punish you?"

Since he had been born, he had seen women with several husbands in tow. For a woman to only have a single husband for life...it was a bit difficult for him to think about.

Song Jia lifted her chin arrogantly. "She needs to have the ability to punish me first."

I'm already the foster mother of the most OP killer of this world, what else should I be afraid of?

Nian Shou looked at her up and down. From that delicate-looking face to that slender body...where is the confidence of this girl coming from? Was she fed with leopard's gall since young?

He did not know how she could say such brave words without worrying of committing lèse majesté [1].

Song Jia crossed her arms and perched on the arm of the couch that he was sitting on. "So what were you thinking so heavily about? It's not like you to ask me to marry you all of a sudden."

Because of her movement, her long golden hair brushed his arm. Nian Shou caught a lock of her hair and rubbed it between his fingertips. He didn't know whether Song Jia frequently trimmed it, but it never went past her waist. It was just as long as when he first met her.

"You probably don't know, but there is a powerful merchant family that's living in the village. They're very wealthy, and anything they say goes. By chance, their daughter saw me and wanted me to become her concubine. I rejected her offer of marriage, but she became angry. She said that if I continued to be stubborn and not know how to differentiate good from bad, she would ask her parents to teach me a lesson."

He sighed heavily. "I don't think it's a lesson I would particularly want to learn."

He glanced up at Song Jia. Under the dim light, she looked even more ethereal and elusive, like a ray of sunshine. A passing shadow could easily pull her out of your grasp.

The women of this kingdom are tall and voluptuous, but she had a petite figure along with a tiny waist that seemed like it could be held by only one hand. These were not the type of women that Nian Shou found attractive before, but...his tastes had somehow changed.

He cleared his throat. "That's why I asked you to marry me. If I already had a wife..."

"She would stop pestering you," Song Jia finished for him. She pursed her petal-like lips. "Are you treating me as your meat shield?"

"Meat shield?" Nian Shou was not familiar with the term.

"Never mind," Song Jia waved her hand in dismissal. "Instead of marrying out of need, why don't you find someone that you love and marry her? This way all of your problems would be solved."

"I don't think that woman will give me much time to do that. Besides..."

I already have someone that I like.

Nian Shou completed his sentence silently inside his heart.

Song Jia was troubled. "Then, we'll find another way. Don't lose sleep over something like this. If she comes and pesters you again, I'll pretend to be your wife."

Her sky-blue eyes stared at him. "Okay?"

Nian Shou nodded back at her. "Okay."

Finally, Song Jia managed to get her glass of water and go back to bed. She thought of the five boys from the village that nearly discovered their house and Nian Shou's problem with the merchant's daughter. Xiang Feng wasn't learning anything from school either. Maybe they should consider moving into another place. She had enough wealth left in the castle's treasury not to worry about the costs of buying a new house.

After making this decision, Song Jia quietly pulled the quilt over Xiang Feng and fell asleep.

[1] the insulting of a monarch or other ruler; treason.