Ch13 – Demonstration of Authority

“Daughter-in-law hopes Mother-in-law has been doing well”

With both arms placed in each of his side according to the etiquette, Gong Zhuoliang wore a faint smile on his face as he lowered down his head with relaxed eyebrows in front of Madam Qiao in a courteous manner; However, his demeanor was neither haughty not servile. He only had this impression of a true well-bred lady. 

Speaking of which, this has to be due to the influence of Madam Gong. This kid had to do lots of woman-like activities, and study all kinds of etiquettes and customs day by day, which resulted in the current actions of Gong Zhuoliang.

“Mhm….By the way, the coming-of-old age celebration for Old Zhao is due this year, and so the ceremony ought to be more grandiose than the previous years. And you. You’re in-charge of managing the preparations”

With regards to Gong Zhuoliang’s formal greetings, Madam Qiao merely shot a glance at him, before making further instructions to the people around her.

Concubine Sun, her dowry maid, and her eldest daughter― Qiao Yuanyin; as well as the Manager’s daughter in law, all had their respective work that was arranged by Madam Qiao, until a maidservant came to tell her that the Old Madam had already woken up, only then her attention shifted to the behaved Gong Zhuoliang who had been treated like a backseat driver. 

“It is finally time for us to visit the Old Madam’s courtyard to pay our respects. Come and hold onto that bowl. This is a honeyed-broth in which the Old Madam had talked about yesterday that she wanted to eat”

As Madam Qiao sat up and allowed the maidservants to arrange her clothes, she pointed to the bowl of soup over the table, and then watched Gong Zhuoliang walk towards it and carry the bowl to the tray, before walking over behind her in an obedient manner.

A small bowl of soup is actually not that heavy, however, there’s no way he could endure carrying this for a long time, ah! Not to mention, with Gong Zhuoliang tiny body as a twelve year old, and his feeble strength as he carried this large tray; his limbs began aching and feeling limp, while he tried to keep up with the pace of Madam Qiao, all the way to the Old Madam’s courtyard.

The whole time, he had endured maintaining an apathetic face. Otherwise if he showed any reaction right now, everyone would immediately regard him as an arrogant person. Not only is he extremely tired of carrying this bowl of soup for his grandmother-in-law, he would also be depressed to death.

“Just place it over there”

As soon as they arrived inside the dining hall of the courtyard, Madam Qiao raised a finger, and pointed out a certain table. The maidservant who was arranging the dishes over that table instantly stood up, and went to Gong Zhuoliang to take the tray from him.

Recently, when they saw Gong Zhuoliang carrying a tray of soup by himself, everyone was instantly aware of the current situation, however, they only chose to pretend that they had not seen anything at all. After all, there’s nothing really special about it.

Not an hour has passed yet, the Old Madam had already walked in the hall in a conspicuously good spirit. She then walked to Gong Zhuoliang and took his hands to her, giving him a few sentences of praises. Then as soon as the Old Madam finished her meal while Gong Zhuoliang and Madam Qiao kept serving her; Madam Qiao started talking about matters regarding the family’s expenditures. 

Towards the end, the one who made decisions was Old Madam. Then afterwards, Madam Qiao brought Gong Zhuoliang to her so they could petition for a withdraw together. Recalling the events today, they did not really spend more than an hour here, and surprisingly, Gong Zhuoliang never really did any complicated things anymore.

As soon as they arrived to Madam Qiao’s courtyard, Gong Zhuoliang served her once again as she took her meal. Honestly, he had been extremely guarded towards Madam Qiao’s further troubles for him the whole time, but he did not expected that everyone here would literally ignore him until the meal was over, then after that, he was just casually dismissed from the table.

He had just tired himself out for nothing.

Gong Zhuoliang could feel his stomach starting to ache. Now he could sympathize with the saying ‘I stand, they sit. I watch, they eat’. Not only he had to stand the whole time, but he also had to serve others with their meal and pour them some water! Moreover, he’s now required to do this 6 times a day from now on!** Just let him live! 

“As our family’s Eldest Daughter-in-law, it’s a must for you to learn the ways of maneuvering every matters revolving the household. The Gong family isn’t like our Qiao family. Every family relatives, and those of our acquaintances you will encounter from time to time were all properly disciplined behind your back. You should stand by my side all the time, and observe more to learn from us”

Allowing the maidservant to retire without saying anything to Gong Zhuoliang who’s still standing in front of the table, only means― You do not need to go back. Be a good kid and stay here with me..

“Daughter-in-law understands”

Forming a fake smile on his face, Gong Zhuoliang respectfully acquiesced to Madam Qiao before allowing the maidservant to lead him to the outer room, and then to the table for them to have their meal. After the maidservant finished arranging the tablewares on the table, and then left them― Gong Zhuoliang’s stomach slowly started sinking in, and then pain instantly overwhelmed him once again. 

There’s absolutely nothing he could say about the Qiao household’s delicacies. It’s exquisite and looked mouth-watering. But aren’t the dishes and bowls way too small, ba?

In front of him, there’s a small plate of barbecue with different kinds, as well as it’s honeyed-gravy; four prawn dumplings inside a small container; a small plate of fruit kernels, and a few strips of spinach; and then a small bowl of cabbage, rice, and tofu soup which is absolutely not sufficient for Gong Zhuoliang.

Lifting the soup ladle, Gong Zhuoliang took small sips of the dough drop soup while quietly choking to himself. Then he thought in his mind― Qiao Yingze ah… Are you aware that your family’s little wife is being thoroughly abused right now? Not only was he forced to do labor recently, but he was also not eating enough… wuu wuu..

Meanwhile, his little husband Qiao Yingze― who’s currently inside Gong Zhuoliang’s Qinzhu Courtyard― was sullenly looking down on the table filled with delicious foods while wondering to himself― 

Staying inside Madam Qiao’s courtyard for the whole day, she never beat him up nor did she take this opportunity to curse him with hurtful words. Whenever she’s idle, she simply glances at him with contempt. But other than that, Gong Zhuoliang was utterly ignored as though he was a mere air under her presence. Such a conspicuous mental abuse, ah! Poor Gong Zhuoliang… he had to be sentenced to stand up all day without having the chance to eat enough meal at all.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

In a blink of an eye, it was already Dinner. When Madam Qiao relayed a word that they were tired and that no one had to attend to them anymore, only then Gong Zhuoliang finally released a sigh of relief in his heart. Since Madam Qiao would have to eat soon, then please just let him leave already, ba! He couldn’t bear to stay here any longer…

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After the Old Madam’s maidservant left, Madam Qiao gracefully leaned on the divan, and allowed her maidservant to pound on her legs, when her line of sight landed on Gong Zhuoliang. She then slowly sat up from the divan, and looked as though she was about to say something. Seeing that, Gong Zhuoliang instantly twitched and became very eager to listen, until another maidservant suddenly came in and reported that the Second Young Master had finally arrived and came to greet the Madam.

“Ah! Xuan-er is back! Come here quickly, haven’t you been moving around for the whole day? Are you tired?”

When Madam Qiao heard the name Qiao Yingxuan, her expression instantly brightened up and a gleeful smile appeared on her face. She affectionately looked at her dearest younger son who had walked in, and immediately invited him to sit by her side.

“Greetings to Mother…. And oh, Sister-in-law is also here. Don’t worry, I’m not tired at all” 

Walking inside the room, Qiao Yingxuan gave them a bright smile and the side of his face was still emitting out sweat, before he walked towards Gong Zhuoliang and gave him a casual salute; his cheerful demeanor radiated so brightly.

“Big Brother-in-law…”

Gong Zhuoliang smiled faintly as he saluted back at him. But in his heart, he is quite envious to Qiao Yingxuan’s freedom.

Just how long would it take for Gong Zhuoliang to fight for himself? 

“The weather is turning cold, yet you’re still wearing such thin clothes? Your servants absolutely don’t know how to put more clothes on you”

After Madam Qiao pulled Qiao Yingxuan towards her and let him sit on the divan, she raised her hands and wiped the sweat from her son’s face with a handkerchief; scolding him with an undisguised love and care, while she checked out his robes.

“This son thought that it’s a hassle to wear more clothes. I always practice my martial art skills everyday, and I also attend to horse race competitions, and so it’ll only make me feel more uncomfortable if I wear too much clothes.”

As Qiao Yingxuan accepted the teacup from Madam Qiao, and then took a sip of it; he started gleefully narrating to his mother about the adventures he had went through today, and Madam Qiao, who was so deeply enthralled as she listened, laughed cheerfully with him from time to time. 

“………..”

Watching Madam Qiao giving her full attention to Qiao Yingxuan, Gong Zhuoliang instantly recalled the desolate look on Qiao Yingze, as well as how Madam Qiao didn’t even gave Qiao Yingze any attention when they came to serve tea to them yesterday.

Gong Zhuoliang felt deeply resentful for Qiao Yingze.

Isn’t he also your own son? Just how could you be so biased towards him, even to this point? 

“Does Mother still have something to talk about with Sister-in-law? Should this son leave and give you two a space to talk?”

Qiao Yingze couldn’t help but take a look at Gong Zhuoliang, who had his head lowered down and so he couldn’t discern what expression he’s making at the moment. Yesterday, when he looked at his Gege, he felt like his Gege was somehow in a good mood at that time. He guessed that this is definitely his little sister-in-law’s doing, and at least his first impression of her is already good. He was also the one who helped her cross through their threshold for his Gege, and so he actually felt a lot closer to her.

“No, it’s fine. There’s nothing at all. Ze-er’s young wife, you can leave now, ba. Xuan-er will be the one to accompany me for dinner” 

Seeing Qiao Yingxuan fixing his gaze on Gong Zhuoliang, Madam Qiao subconsciously frowned. And when she saw Gong Zhuoliang’s ‘bashful’ appearance, she felt even more displeased, that’s why she immediately ordered him to leave. In her mind, she thought― These pairs of sisters and brother-in-law should not meet frequently in the future…..

Leaving Madam Qiao’s courtyard, Gong Zhuoliang resisted the smile that was about to creep up from his face, and so on the surface, his expression looked quite apathetic. The whole time, he was wearing a cold look on his face, until he caught sight of Han Shu standing, and waiting outside their courtyard. He immediately regained his original expression and walked over to greet her.

“Is Young Madam feeling okay?”

As soon as she saw the figure of Gong Zhuoliang, Han Shu immediately smiled at him, then she carefully checked on his appearance for a moment, before she finally sighed in relief after determining that he didn’t look like someone who had just cried at all or been brutally punished a moment ago. 

“I feel quite good. Have you been standing here for a long time?”

Since he had already been ordered to come out this morning, Gong Zhuoliang knew that they would be giving him a hard time today…. And so he told Ruo Lan that they didn’t need to wait for him, and he would just call for them to pick him up once he was about to go back.

“When the Young Master saw that it was already noon yet you haven’t come back yet, he immediately ordered Qiao Ming to look for the Second Young Master who’s already back since this morning. Actually, the Young Master rarely take the initiative to look for the Second Young Master”

Han Shu examined her background, before approaching Gong Zhuoliang and whispered in his ears; telling him that their family’s Young Master doesn’t really like taking the credit and so he mustn’t tell him. 

As she was whispering to him, Han Shu was smiling and had a cute dimple on both of her cheeks that made her look very cute.

“Okay”

Gong Zhuoliang found Han Shu’s actions really amusing. On the other hand, he felt a little moved in his heart. He knew that Madam Qiao would certainly assert her authority over her new Daughter-in-law any time soon, and so he had already mentally prepared himself beforehand. But it never came to his mind that Qiao Yingze would do something for him- who actually sought help from his Younger Brother just to save him, and in the end, Madam Qiao’s tricks got interrupted.

Just as soon as he walked inside their Qin Zhu courtyard, Gong Zhuoliang immediately saw Qiao Yingze― who heard the news of his arrival― already standing outside their room and was waiting for him. Gong Zhuoliang also noticed the other measuring him up and down with a serious face, and then after a short while, he sighed in relief when he finally determined that there was nothing wrong with him. 

Gong Zhuoliang blinked his eyes, then ordered all the maidservants to retire themselves before walking inside the room and shutting off the door himself. After that, he gazed towards Qiao Yingze with a sad look.

“What happened? Did my Mother hurt you?”

Qiao Yingze got very alarmed and immediately pulled Gong Zhuoliang over to his side to examine him once again; his heart that had just sighed with relief a moment ago, started beating fast with fear once again.

“I’m… hungry…” 

Gong Zhuoliang was being examined by the other for a long time, and when he saw that Qiao Yingze still looked very worried, he quickly said those two words.

“……”

When Qiao Yingze saw Gong Zhuoliang’s small face giggling with his eight teeth exposed, he held his breath for a long time, and could not help but massage the space between his eyebrows before releasing a large huff. But in the end, he only shook his head and smiled helplessly.

“But you didn’t know how hungry I really am!” 

Gong Zhuoliang took advantage of his small figure, and hugged Qiao Yingze’s waist; complaining about the sufferings he had encountered today, as he shook him on all sides. Recalling that insufficient amount of food that they had fed him, it had long dissolved inside his stomach. Right now his belly felt so empty that it had been making rumbling sounds for a while!

“I’m so sorry….”

Qiao Yingze remained silent as he listened to Gong Zhuoliang’s complaints for a while before he suddenly held him in his embrace; tightly hugging him and buried his face on the other’s neck, before uttering a genuine apology.

“You shouldn’t be apologizing to me, rather, a certain someone should be the one to do that instead. However, taking into account that, that person is your Mother, I’ll certainly have to endure whatever she does to me. But one day, we’ll retaliate on them” 

Gong Zhuoliang rubbed Qiao Yingze’s head soothingly and spoke reassurances to him. He may sound like he was just joking around, but from a perspective where Qiao Yingze wouldn’t see, an evil smile had already creeped up on Gong Zhuoliang’s face.

Gong Zhuoliang is a greedy person, yet he never suffers from it.

“Alright…”

Gong Zhuoliang’s serious tone had amused Qiao Yingze. Slowly loosening his tight hold, Qiao Yingze hung his head down to look at the person below him, and then he thought to himself― This child is really different. He’s undoubtedly much older than him, but he had such unique personality and could easily come up with lots of ideas. Everything about him is just so attractive to him. 

“But I’m really telling you the truth-!”

Gong Zhuoliang groaned to show that he was indeed telling the truth, but then his words were still interrupted by a long rumbling sound of a stomach.

Qiao Yingze blankly stared at his own stomach, then he looked at Gong Zhuoliang with an embarrassed face. That little face then gave him a big smile, before he immediately called out for the maidservants to prepare their dinner.

In a flash, they finally filled their empty stomachs with food and drink, and then afterwards, Gong Zhuoliang was already rolling around the bed and he didn’t feel like getting up again anymore. God knows how he had been ordered to stand all day, to the point that his legs had already swollen as his whole body was aching all over. He badly wanted someone to massage him right now. 

“How about….. I give you a massage, ba”

Qiao Yingze watched worriedly as Gong Zhuoliang continued to roll around uncomfortably. He was shy and felt hesitant for a while, but in the end, he still approached the bed side and offered help. Unexpectedly, Gong Zhuoliang looked as though he had regained spirit, and instantly leaned close to him; looking at him with his big eyes brimmed with anticipation.

As a result….

“…there…. mhm…. do it a little harder…. that felt good…. right there…. and there… ahh…” 

Gong Zhuoliang―who had just finished taking a bath― was currently laying down on his stomach in a vertical position, groaning and humming with satisfaction. And beside him, Qiao Yingze, who was inclined to his side and massaging the other’s waist, already had his entire face flushing red.

Even if there was a thin layer of robes that distances from his touch, he could still form out the beautiful curve of the other’s body….

Qiao Yingze suddenly felt something uncomfortable between his legs, but then he realized after a while that it was actually a reaction.

“Husband…. Tomorrow… when we were about to greet your parents… make sure you remember what I told you to do, ah…” 

As he enjoyed the service that Qiao Yingze had offered him, Young Master Gong Zhuoliang was making up his scheme for tomorrow, and so he did not manage to take notice of his little husband’s abnormality for a while.

“Mn…”

Although he doesn’t know how far his little wife’s going with his plan, his mission is quite simple, and so Qiao Yingze did not hesitate to comply with him.

“My dear Husband is really a nice person!” 

Gong Zhuoliang hadn’t really thought yet that there was something weird about him, and so he only turned around to him again and immediately praised Da Qiao until he finally noticed the other’s blushing face that looked way too strange, and his sitting position also looked a little……

Gong Zhuoliang’s eyes slightly narrowed.

TL/N:

There’s quite a lot of things happening in this chapter… ◉‿◉

In the first half of this chapter, I was feeling quite pained when Madam Qiao’s attitude immediately altered at an angle of 90 degrees as soon as she was with Qiao Yingxuan… like… poor QYZ..
On the other hand, I’m also glad that the pampered and spoiled Qiao Yingxuan wasn’t like those rich second generation cannon fodders from other stories who grew up into an arrogant and scheming minor antagonist.
He may or may have not notice how his parents treated his Gege (but he should have..), yet he still genuinely cared for his Gege~
Maybe it’s because QYZ is his brother from the same Mother so his heart is more attached to him? But sadly, their parent’s favoritism caused QYZ to alienate his younger brother •́ ‿ ,•̀·. 

Anyway, about today’s GZL.… he’s kinda slowly reminding me of that 4th prince from the novel ‘The Disabled Tyrant’s Pet Palm Fish‘ who was very good at acting and low-key at first, but then afterwards, the impact of his attack would be much greater XD

In any case, the amount of level of how these two suffered today will certainly par to the level how they retaliate to their enemies any sooner~ <(￣︶￣)>

Finally the last scene… I… *wheezes*
Usually, when we see some situations like ‘that’ from any BL stories, the Gong would be the one to get stimulated by the Shou’s seductive body and their moans, which then caused them to have more urge to ‘doing’ their Shou hahahaha xd
But it seems like GZL and QYZ were in different cases!
It’s just… so novel for me to witness the Shou getting hard for the Gong’s seductive body and their moans.. (ʘ‿ʘ)

Hopefully you enjoyed today’s chapter~ (๑♡⌓♡๑)