Upon hearing this, Mier widened his eyes in shock.
So, the wife master knew!
"Speak," Niley said, her lips curling slightly in amusement, but she didn't show it on her face.
Did her little husband think she didn't know anything?
Impossible, right?
Her little husband was too naive.
"How, how does the wife master want Mier to repay?" Mier shrank back, trying to distance himself from Niley, but his body was pinned by her. He couldn't escape.
In his struggle, his hands accidentally touched the wrong places, and he instinctively pressed down. Realizing this, he quickly pulled himself back into the blankets.
Niley, however, was not about to let him off easily. She pulled him back playfully and teased, "I didn't expect Mier to be this proactive."
She said this while pulling him to lie down.
Mier clenched his lips, closing his eyes, not daring to look at her.
The next moment, he noticed the surroundings becoming darker. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Niley had blown out the candle. For some reason, he felt relieved.
He didn't like doing such things in the light—it was too embarrassing.
"Go to sleep, I won't force you."
Seeing that Mier was unwilling, Niley didn't force him, though she certainly wouldn't let go of the soft and fragrant pillow in her arms.
Holding him close, she closed her eyes and prepared to sleep.
Mier, hearing this, felt a bit disappointed. He stared at the ceiling for a long while, then sighed helplessly.
When he felt her hand, placed on his waist, begin to move upward, he instinctively shrank back.
"Since Mier can't sleep, why not exercise a little?"
With that, Niley rolled over and pressed herself on top of Mier.
Though it was winter, the room felt warm and full of spring-like air. The sounds of soft moans and pleas filled the space.
It wasn't until the sky lightened slightly that the sounds began to quiet.
The next day.
Niley woke up early. Seeing that Mier was still fast asleep, she kissed his forehead gently. She had worn him out last night.
A satisfied smile crept onto her lips, and she quickly got up and dressed.
Not wanting to disturb Mier while washing up in the room, she stepped out carefully, then boiled some water, adding a little cold water to wash up.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Hearing the knocking sound, Niley was a bit surprised.
She didn't want to answer, but the knocking didn't stop. Worried that it might wake Mier, she reluctantly opened the door, holding a cup of water in one hand and a toothbrush in the other.
As soon as the door opened, she furrowed her brow and was about to speak, but then she saw four handsome young men and boys standing at her door.
One of them she had met briefly in town yesterday.
She watched them in silence.
But the youngest one couldn't hold back.
He sized her up from head to toe, then walked forward and spoke casually, "You're our wife master? You're quite good-looking."
He then flashed a satisfied smile.
Before Niley could respond, he walked straight into the yard.
"Second Brother, where are you?"
"Shut up!"
Seeing the young boy's rude and loud behavior, Niley quickly stepped forward to stop him.
But to her surprise, the boy pouted and looked at the three men standing outside. He said, sounding a little wronged, "Big Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, it looks like the wife master doesn't like me. She even scolded me."
"She doesn't know yet."
Lei, seeing the confused look on Niley's face, spoke up to clarify.
The young boy's words were followed by a slightly awkward silence.
Niley didn't want to talk. But since the noise had already woken her, she reluctantly led them into the kitchen.
Afterward, she quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face before instructing, "You all stay here for a bit. I'm going to check on Mier."
However, her mind was racing, remembering when she had heard someone call Mier "Second Brother" while they were riding the ox cart. She had thought it was just a title, but now, hearing the young boy's casual tone, she couldn't help but piece things together.
She couldn't understand how she had somehow become the wife master of five men.
Could it be because of the awkward expressions on Mier and his father's faces when they returned from town yesterday?
But why couldn't they just say something about it?
As she walked away, the four men in the kitchen began whispering.
"Big Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother, it seems like the wife master doesn't know about us!"
"And did you hear the way she spoke to Second Brother? She called him Mier. Hmm—what do you think, Big Brother?"
The young boy was making gestures with his hands, miming something.
Before anyone could respond, he received a light tap on his head.
He stomped his foot, "Big Brother, it's obviously true!"
"Second Brother is usually up by this time."
"Right? Third Brother, you think something's off too, don't you?"
...
Meanwhile, in the room, Niley sat at the table eating some snacks as she replayed the events in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more it didn't add up!
She realized she had been completely played by Mier and his father!
Tsk tsk, she had been too careless.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the noise coming from the kitchen. She sighed and grabbed a handful of snacks before heading out the door.
She entered the kitchen to find the four of them behaving like it was their own home—some were tending the fire, some were washing vegetables, others were chatting away, and one of them was sitting by the side looking sickly, occasionally coughing.
Niley couldn't help but smile wryly.
She handed the snacks to the chatty young boy.
"Wow, when did you get these pastries?"
The young boy took the snack, ate a piece himself, then handed the rest to the others.
The most mature-looking man didn't take any. Instead, he stood up with a hint of apology in his voice, "Wife master, we saw you hadn't made breakfast, so we decided to cook something for you."