Chapter 108 – The Duke is jealous

Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen

“*Cough, cough, cough*”

Xie Qingzhi suddenly let out a few awkward coughs, and a suspicious blush spread across his usually scornful face.

Fortunately, the silver mask covered it, making it less obvious.

“You… you Beta, how can you be like this? Speaking so bluntly, as if being treated as a collectible is something to be proud of.”

Tang Qing also belatedly felt a bit embarrassed and lowered his head slightly.

“Your Grace, I was just speaking my mind.”

The expression beneath Xie Qingzhi’s mask was quite a spectacle—a riot of colors, so to speak.

To cover his discomfort, he unusually offered an explanation to the question Tang Qing had raised earlier:

“Although I’ve offended many people on Imperial Star, you can rest assured, I know my limits. Those who seem to have suffered terribly at my hands have only endured some superficial wounds. The crimes they committed are too numerous to record. They have guilty consciences and don’t dare confront me head-on, fighting to the death.”

“As for the servants I’ve punished in the Duke’s residence… Hah, many of them are just spies sent from outside.”

Tang Qing was somewhat surprised by this answer.

So, Xie Qingzhi only tortured those people because he knew they were spies. He asked further, “Then why not simply expel these spies?”

If he didn’t like them, keeping them under his nose must be quite irritating, wasn’t it?

But Xie Qingzhi laughed, “Why should I drive them away? They can’t cause trouble under my watch anyway, and they can help me pass on the information I want to leak to their masters.”

“Not to mention, they’re terrified at the sight of me but still put on a loyal front. Heh. Watching them willingly endure my torment is just too amusing.”

Tang Qing couldn’t help twitching the corner of his mouth.

Using the spies to spread false information while tormenting them at the same time…

Xie Qingzhi really knew how to utilize every resource to the fullest.

Xie Qingzhi suddenly seemed to remember something and asked with clear disdain:

“That Zheng Nian was your former fiancé?”

Tang Qing nodded. “Yes, Your Grace.”

The disdain in Xie Qingzhi’s eyes was practically overflowing. “Really? Your eyes are so beautiful, yet are they blind?”

“That kind of Alpha—arrogant, selfish, mediocre in ability, with pathetically weak psychic power. And blind too, giving you up for that… what’s-her-name, Tang Shanshan?”

“Tell me, what was so good about him? What exactly did you like?”

Being grilled by his lawful husband, this Duke who looked down on everyone, about his past engagement…

It gave him a strange feeling.

Like a girl in the throes of love asking her boyfriend, “Who’s better, me or your ex?”

Tang Qing shook his head, trying to dispel the thought of ‘His Grace is a bit like a girl in love’ from his mind.

He opened his mouth somewhat awkwardly and said, “Because he’s an S-class Alpha, and the Zheng family is one of the Four Great Dukes¹Lmao they really started calling it the four great dukes from this moment onwards, so my father thought he was a good match for me. We met a few times, went on a few dates, and got along reasonably well at the time. That’s why we got engaged.”

Xie Qingzhi’s questions came rapid-fire, pressing aggressively:

“You had another ex too, right? What’s his name… Shen Yanxia, that general.”

“Aren’t you going to introduce him to your husband?”

Tang Qing pursed his lips slightly and explained, “He was my first fiancé. Although the Shen family had declined, General Shen was rising rapidly on Imperial Star—the youngest general in the empire’s history—so my father thought he was a good marriage prospect.”

“We knew each other relatively early and were together for over a year. Later, he got together with my half-brother, Tang Xiaobai, so we broke off the engagement.”

Xie Qingzhi said discontentedly, “So you were quite satisfied with him? You were together for over a year.”

“If not for Tang Xiaobai, you would have married him?”

Tang Qing thought for a moment and explained, “It wasn’t that I was very satisfied, just that at the time, I felt he was a suitable choice as a marriage partner.”

Xie Qingzhi snorted coldly.

“Oh, so you were making do. Pity neither of them chose you, otherwise you’d be living a happy married life by now.”

Even Tang Qing, as oblivious as he was, could tell his husband was being… sarcastic?

Tang Qing looked up at Xie Qingzhi and smiled, his amber eyes shimmering with liquid light. “Before meeting you, Your Grace, I did think they were suitable partners.”

“After meeting you, I realized I was wrong.”

Xie Qingzhi’s expression finally improved a bit, though his tone remained unfriendly. “With their qualifications, only someone as unrefined as Tang Moyang would think they’re good.”

“Just a pathetically weak S-class Alpha, the most worthless of the Four Great Dukes, and a general working for the royal family. With credentials like that, they aren’t even fit to shine my shoes.”

Tang Qing quickly nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right, Your Grace. Compared to you, they’re like fireflies trying to outshine the bright moon—not even one ten-thousandth of your worth.”

Xie Qingzhi still seemed very dissatisfied and pressed further, “How old were you when you were engaged to Shen Yanxia?”

Tang Qing explained, “I was just over sixteen when I first met General Shen Yanxia.”

Xie Qingzhi looked at Tang Qing—his delicate features, pretty and refined, the very picture of a classic beauty.

It wasn’t hard to imagine Tang Qing at sixteen, his features not fully matured, his figure slender and slight, carrying a youthful innocence, his skin pale and tender, already hinting at the beauty he would become.

He must have been extremely beautiful.

“Did you let them touch you when you dated?” Xie Qingzhi asked, his face darkening as he stared at Tang Qing’s pretty, clean face, his thoughts unclear.

“No, no. We went on very few dates, and I was underage at the time. I also didn’t like intimate contact, so it was always just superficial, like ordinary friends.”

Xie Qingzhi’s expression softened considerably.

He snorted again, explaining haughtily, “It’s not that I’m jealous of your exes. With their status, they aren’t even fit to be mentioned in the same breath as me.”

“I just don’t like others touching my collectibles.”

Tang Qing smiled and said, “Your Grace, I know. Of course you wouldn’t be jealous of those two.”

“Good that you know.”

Xie Qingzhi remembered Tang Qing’s earlier words about being buried with him and felt slightly awkward, his face warming. He added:

“Enough about those unlucky Alphas. Just improve your taste from now on and don’t be blind again.”

Tang Qing nodded. “Yes, Your Grace, I won’t so much as glance at them again. In my eyes, they aren’t even worth one strand of your hair.”

Only then did Xie Qingzhi look somewhat satisfied, nodding with an air of superiority.

After this heart-to-heart conversation, Tang Qing felt he truly understood Xie Qingzhi a little better.

So, all this time, his seemingly violent and unpredictable behavior was actually just an act—playing the fool. When it came to power struggles, he was actually sharp and clear-minded.

Compared to his pre-wedding anxiety, Tang Qing now felt much more at ease.

It seemed that, aside from liking to nuzzle him like a cat, his current husband was quite good in other aspects. He also didn’t seem to favor green-tea white lotus types like Tang Xiaobai or Tang Shanshan, making him far superior to his two former fiancés.

…

When it was time to sleep that night, perhaps because he had just revealed his normal side earlier that day, Xie Qingzhi didn’t bury his face in Tang Qing and inhale deeply as usual.

“Goodnight, Your Grace.”

In the quiet of night, Tang Qing’s voice, usually clear and cool, carried a sweet tone.

Rarely having a night off from forced “work”, Tang Qing pulled up the covers and closed his eyes to sleep.

In the darkness, the man lying beside him tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

By the moonlight, Xie Qingzhi glanced at his new wife.

After their conversation earlier, his young wife seemed to have finally set his mind at ease. His brow was relaxed, and he was no longer afraid.

His fair face pressed into the soft pillow, long eyelashes resting on his eyelids, his nose delicate and cute, the corners of his lips slightly upturned in a hint of a smile.

He looked like he was sleeping deeply, peacefully and sweetly.

Xie Qingzhi himself hadn’t fallen asleep yet, but Tang Qing was already sleeping soundly and contentedly.

He moved closer to the elegant, slender nape of Tang Qing’s neck and couldn’t help but inhale the scent there.

So fragrant.

Was his wife really a Beta?

Wasn’t it said that only Omegas had scent glands that produced pheromones?

Yet, the back of Tang Qing’s neck always emitted this faint orchid fragrance.

The scent suited him—cool, light, and elegant.

Not cloyingly sweet, deliberately seductive.

But the longer he smelled it,

The more he found its sweetness just right.

Pure and clear, stirring restless thoughts.

If he hadn’t confirmed that his young wife had just turned eighteen, he might have wondered if he was an Omega who had yet to present.

Before marrying Tang Qing, Xie Qingzhi had never imagined his future spouse. Whether Beta or Omega, it was all the same to him.

But after marrying Tang Qing, he felt that compared to delicate, simpering Omegas like Tang Xiaobai and Tang Shanshan, a Beta like Tang Qing—composed, gentle, and clean—suited him perfectly.

Yet now, a darker thought crept in.

If Tang Qing were an Omega, couldn’t he just claim him outright?

Make Tang Qing completely forget those two foolish exes, stain his fair, clean neck with his own SS-class pheromones, entwine the orchid fragrance with his own cedar scent, branding every part of him.

So that anyone who looked would know at a glance: Tang Qing was his wife.

…

The next day, Tang Qing slept deeply and woke up rather late.

He walked to the living room but didn’t see Xie Qingzhi.

While eating breakfast, he casually asked, “Butler Li, has His Grace gone out?”

Butler Li’s expression was grim. “Madam, the Duke is in his study.”

Tang Qing, puzzled, asked, “Did something happen?”

Butler Li thought about the Duke’s attitude toward the Duchess these past few days, weighed the pros and cons, and decided to be frank with Tang Qing:

“His Grace’s rut has arrived²the firecracker’s period has arrived.”

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• 1
  Lmao they really started calling it the four great dukes from this moment onwards
• 2
  the firecracker’s period has arrived