The Ger's Contract Marriage [BL]
Chapter 163: Temporary Love

Chapter 163: Temporary Love

Xu Feng had entered this contract and the following relationship with a firm understanding: it was all temporary.

No fairy tale endings awaited him here. He wasn’t a princess. He wasn’t a prince. He wasn’t royalty at all, just a person bound by an agreement. He pressed back the urge to cry, resisting the tightening grip of Xuan Jian and the enveloping scent that came with it.

Crying wasn’t what he planned to do. This was all calculated, and so he needed to keep to his plan.

The aroma of roasted meat mingled with the scent of Xuan Jian, a fusion of sandalwood and mountain air. The sandalwood had a warm, woody scent that lent a sense of calmness, while the hint of mountain air brought in a touch of freshness and vitality to Xu Feng’s senses.

Despite trying to untangle himself from the embrace, Xu Feng found himself drawn back into the man’s arms, settling among a pile of plush pillows.

They were the only two sitting on the floor.

In this blurred moment, he noticed the hem of Xuan Yang’s robes, both men seemed determined to keep him rooted in that space, denying him the freedom to leave with the chill lingering in his eyes.

In the clasp of Xuan Jian’s hold, Xu Feng felt the weight of a realization that threatened to unravel him entirely. He fought back the tears that threatened to spill, caught in a struggle that began the moment the iceberg entangled him.

"Sigh." His arms were sore.

Xu Feng was weary; even though he had healed himself after the intimate moments with Xuan Yang earlier, the exhaustion of the day weighed heavily upon him. Cradled in Xuan Jian’s arms, there was a fleeting sense of comfort, yet it couldn’t veil the growing tension.

There was no denying it, this wasn’t just about making a fuss. Xu Feng struggled for a reason, for acknowledgment. He couldn’t allow himself to be treated this way any longer. Allowing them to just give him the silent treatment when they wanted to have their way.

There was no conversation, no compromise.

This wasn’t a genuine relationship, but there was still a deep sense of disrespect or disregard directed at him, a feeling that lingered despite the temporary nature of their connection.

It struck Xu Feng, an essential moment of realization about his role, his future, and the support he needed for himself and his people.

If he had a child that second and his role was fulfilled, or if he conceived over winter and his role was coming to an end, how would he support himself and his people going forward?

The Nanshan estate didn’t just include the estate as he previously thought. While studying the property deed that winter on a slow day, Xu Feng realized, all three mountains were included in the expanse of the property. He hadn’t registered this initially with everything that was going on.

The knowledge of this expanded territory was his revelation alone. Lady Xuan might not have been privy to this information, and there was a possibility that even Xuan Yang and Xuan Jian were oblivious to this fact, buried within the legal lingo of the deed.

The Xuan family, a sprawling and powerful clan, might have seen this property as insignificant. Yet, for Xu Feng, it was more than just a piece of land. It was his sanctuary, his refuge in this new, unfamiliar world.

The mountains stood as his own, a sign of fate seemingly favoring him. It wasn’t lost on Xu Feng that his abilities were rooted in wood, perhaps a sign of destiny itself. The mountains weren’t just public property, they were undeniably part of his domain.

Throughout the winter was spent, on the surface, preparing for the Xuicai exams, tending to his plants, and regularly getting his back blown out by his lovers. But in the shadows, Xu Feng was planning either an escape route or a way to survive in this new world.

Maintaining his Nanshan estate required over ten times what the average farming family made in a year. He couldn’t expect anyone in the nearby villages or towns to buy his estate.

Even the large families like the Bai, Sun, Kang families and so on couldn’t afford the Nanshan estate and the mountain range. It should be something willed to the Xuan family by a previous monarch.

The only families that could possibly purchase the land from Xu Feng were those of the same standing as the Xuan’s in the capital, Jinghua City. Xu Feng didn’t have any connections to these people, nor was he ready to get tangled in the politics of the capital.

He would need to explain how he was deeded the property and possibly get tangled in more bloodline disputes.

The Xuan’s were already planning to pass him around in the Xuan family as a breeding mare, what would other families want to do with him?

Selling the estate to live within his means and skills wasn’t really an option he could consider at the moment.

After wracking his brain, the most plausible option for Xu Feng was to make money with his abilities. Not by farming grain. That could be step two of his plan, but he needed farmland to do that and to be in charge of tenant farmers, or hire help.

It was a large ordeal and running a household with over a dozen servants was already the limit of his laziness.

The solution that seemed the easiest and used his capabilities to the limit would be farming rare plants. Not as rare as the Dragon Chrysanthemum flower, but other plants that were easier to come by, but in better qualities from Xu Feng’s garden.

This is where the problem comes in.

Seeds for plants like these aren’t sold in seed shops. As he’d learned, they’re sold in expensive and exclusive auctions, that Xu Feng couldn’t afford or be invited to with no official title or standing.

The Xuan’s couldn’t be trusted to claim him outside of birthing a few babies, they’d already proved that during his wedding ceremony.

The seeds he came by in the Yilin Seed Shop, were only possible because they were so strange, that people like the shop owner didn’t believe they were even real seeds.

His journey to find more seeds of the same or lower standard was not fruitful.

BUT Xuan Jian had come across Dragon Chrysanthemum flowers in their own backyard! The heavens had given Xu Feng an out, just because the men didn’t want him to go up the mountains, wasn’t going to keep him from using all the opportunities given to him to survive and thrive in this new world.

They weren’t even planning on staying with him for a lifetime, why should he trap himself for their unreasonable demands?

"I’m going up the mountain," Xu Feng stated in the silence, "I’ll take Erlang with me. There’s no need to come with us."

After a moment’s pause, Xuan Yang was the one to reply, "What about the child?"