Chapter 8: A Stunning Love That Pierces to the Bone.

Yuan Mingjin woke up five days later.

Her eyelids were so dry they felt like they were glued to her eyeballs. She opened her eyes, turned her stiff neck, and glanced at her. There was a dark, round thing on her pillow. She reached out and touched it; it was quite soft.

Yuan Mingjin blinked, and her vision gradually cleared. She then realized that it was the top of a person's head, with thick, black hair and a hair whorl nestled neatly within it, showing no signs of hair loss.

Su Xiaotang lay on her side with her arms crossed, her fair face puffed up with soft flesh, her thick, long eyelashes hanging down quietly, like small fans covering the dark circles under her eyes, she was sleeping soundly.

He seemed to have gone without water for a long time; his lips were dry, cracked, and peeling, so red they looked like they were about to bleed.

She silently curled the corners of her lips, tiptoed out of bed, and went to the outer room.

When Zhang Mama saw Yuan Mingjin come out, she handed him a letter with both hands and bowed, saying, "The imperial physician said you would wake up in five days. It is indeed not a day earlier or later."

Yuan Mingjin nodded, removed the seal, and read the letter quickly. His gaze fell on the "Chen" seal in the lower right corner of the letter, and he sneered: "...Wu Lang, Wu Lang again. I should have thought of this sooner."

She burned the letter over the candle flame and asked Zhang Mama, "Is everything in the manor as usual?"

"Everything is as usual. It's just that..." Granny Zhang seemed a little hesitant to speak.

"Speak frankly."

"On the third day after the wedding, you should accompany your husband back to his father's home for a visit."

Yuan Mingjin suddenly realized.

“Indeed, it wouldn’t be good to let him be looked down upon.” She rubbed her aching temples. “You should send a visiting card to the Minister’s residence right now, and prepare some gifts. Do not ask anyone else to do it for you.”

"This old servant knows." Zhang Mama smiled. "These past few days, the King's husband has been watching over you without sleep, which has made this old servant much more relaxed."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Mingjin's hand rubbing his temples gradually slowed down. "...He is not Minister Su's eldest son."

Granny Zhang was instantly horrified: "Who...who is he?!"

She never dreamed that the real king consort was someone else!

Although Su Xiaotang had only been married into the family for a short time, seeing how he eagerly inquired about the prince's whereabouts as soon as he woke up, personally cooked for the prince, and stayed by the prince's side all night while he was unconscious, Zhang Mama already regarded him as one of her own. She was also very pleased that there was another person who genuinely cared for the prince. Who knew...

If this matter is exposed, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor!

The Su family is incredibly audacious!

“He doesn’t seem to be of servant birth.” Yuan Mingjin pondered, recalling what Su Xiaotang had said to her before she fell asleep on their wedding night, “Go and find out how many children Su Aoshuang has. If there are any other boys besides Su Yiyi, be sure to find out their names.”

"Yes." Granny Zhang accepted the order and left.

Yuan Mingjin returned to the inner room and saw Su Xiaotang still sleeping soundly in that awkward position. He couldn't help but sneer, "Sleepless nights? I doubt even being struck by lightning could wake you up."

She sat back on the edge of the bed, ruffling his hair like she was teasing a puppy, pinching his earlobe, and fluttering his eyelashes. When he still didn't wake up, she poked his cheek hard, turning the soft flesh that was squeezed by his forearm bright red. "Still not awake?"

"Hmm..." Su Xiaotang groaned twice as she was poked, her long eyelashes trembling as she slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing Yuan Mingjin sitting properly in front of him, Su Xiaotang's eyes lit up and the corners of her mouth turned up, but she suddenly froze halfway up, her face turning ashen.

"What's wrong?" Yuan Mingjin keenly sensed that his reaction was off.

"I...I have a stiff neck..." Su Xiaotang looked at her pitifully, on the verge of tears.

Yuan Mingjin chuckled and said, "Come here."

It's just missing two sucking sounds.

Su Xiaotang nestled on her lap, obediently exposing her neck to her eyes, feeling the warm, rough hand gently kneading the back of her neck. She comfortably squinted her eyes and whispered, "Why have you slept for so many days..."

He didn't even have time to let her try the dirty buns he made. He ran out of cocoa powder, and when he went to Wanqianlou to ask his teacher's wife for some, she didn't have any either. The merchants from the Western Regions had already left the capital.

He didn't know what to do.

Yuan Mingjin remained silent, staring intently at the slender neck beneath her.

The back of the neck is a very vulnerable area, with countless acupoints and meridians; it's no exaggeration to call it a vital point.

Given such a critical point, why would he so readily hand over his life to a stranger he had only known for a few days?

This is the first time she's been unable to see through someone.

She appeared innocent and well-mannered, yet she was pushed out by the Su family to be a substitute bride, and even managed to utter such pitiful words to Xiangye…

"I'll accompany you back to the Su family residence tomorrow to visit your relatives," Yuan Mingjin said intentionally.

She naturally didn't miss the momentary stiffness in the body beneath her palm.

"Can't we just not go?" Su Xiaotang asked timidly.

"Why not go?" Yuan Mingjin feigned surprise. "Don't you miss your parents, your sisters and brothers? If you don't go this time, who knows when you'll be able to go again? Returning to your parents' home isn't something you can just do whenever you want."

After marriage, a man's primary identity is that of a member of his wife's family, not his father's. If he frequently returns to his wife's family and goes to other people's homes, outsiders will inevitably gossip and criticize him for not being devoted to serving his parents-in-law, raising his children, or being unfaithful and disrespectful to his wife's family.

"I...I want to..." Su Xiaotang was startled and hurriedly tried to make amends.

He was racking his brains trying to figure out how to smooth things over and dispel his wife's suspicions.

Glug glug...

The two were startled and looked at Yuan Mingjin's stomach.

"Cough, I've been lying down for too long..." Yuan Mingjin said with a slight embarrassment, "What delicious food did you make for me back then? How did Xiangye manage to get it all gone?"

At the mention of the "dirty bun," Su Xiaotang looked dejected and said listlessly, "You came back too late, so we can't have any."

Yuan Mingjin asked curiously, "Why?"

"We're out of cocoa powder, so I can't make it anymore," Su Xiaotang said listlessly.

"It's a real shame." Yuan Mingjin couldn't help but pat his head; it was fluffy and felt wonderful to the touch. "I'm hungry now, is there anything to eat?"

"Of course!" Upon hearing about cooking, Su Xiaotang immediately perked up and flashed a sweet smile at her. "The weather's been a bit hot these past few days, and I saw some plump mandarin fish in the kitchen, so I marinated them..."

Yuan Mingjin had a bad feeling.

Unaware of anything amiss, Su Xiaotang excitedly pulled her into the kitchen, exclaiming, "Come and see!"

Upon His Highness's arrival, the kitchen staff all bowed in greeting. They watched as Su Xiaotang led Yuan Mingjin to a clay pot in the corner, reaching out to lift the wooden lid…

"No!" someone couldn't help but cry out.

Yuan Mingjin turned her head, questioning with her eyes, but it was too late—

"vomit!"

A strong stench of urine suddenly assaulted her nostrils. Yuan Mingjin was standing close by and couldn't dodge in time. The foul smell was abruptly inhaled into her lungs, causing her to feel nauseous and her abdomen to cramp. She leaned against the stove, feeling as if she was about to vomit.

Looking at the kitchen staff who were prepared, some quickly pulled up their clothes to cover their mouths and noses, while others retreated far away. Some even went straight outside the kitchen, avoiding it as if they were afraid of it. They all looked like they had been through a lot.

"My lady?!" Yuan Mingjin's reaction was so intense that Su Xiaotang was startled. She threw down the lid and rushed to help her, but Yuan Mingjin dodged her.

"Wash your hands first!" Yuan Mingjin shouted, his face pale.

After lying in bed for several days with an empty stomach, and then being forced to vomit by this foul odor, even an iron body couldn't take it. Yuan Mingjin was helped by several maids to sit down on a stone bench in the courtyard. He took deep breaths for a long time until the foul odor in his lungs was expelled, then sneered, "Su Xiaotang! You get over here!"

Su Xiaotang's legs went weak, and she almost knelt down. She rushed to her side in a panic and explained, "My lady, I ruined the mandarin fish while pickling it, that's why it smells so bad..."

"If you keep messing around with this disgusting stuff, you'll—"

Yuan Mingjin originally wanted to say something like "Get out of the Prince's Mansion" or "Go back to the Su Mansion," but after having a vague idea about his background and seeing how resistant he was to the Su Mansion, he couldn't bear to say such hurtful words. He rolled his tongue twice, and what came out of his mouth was "You're not allowed to eat."

"ah?!"

Su Xiaotang was struck dumb, her big almond-shaped eyes immediately filled with tears.

Depriving him of food is worse than killing him.

Seeing his expression as if the sky had fallen, Yuan Mingjin felt a pang in her heart and, for the first time, felt a sense of guilt.

Thinking back to what he had said to Xiangye... could it be that he often went hungry in the Su family mansion?

She quickly changed her words again: "You are not allowed to enter the kitchen."

Being forbidden from entering the kitchen is much easier to accept than being forbidden from eating. Su Xiaotang stopped crying and smiled, blinked away the tears that had accumulated, and whispered, "My wife is the best!"

His voice was filled with undisguised joy and excitement.

"..." Yuan Mingjin turned her head away and stopped looking at him.

Who is your wife/mistress?

This is a fake.

...

Tomorrow is the day to return to the Su family home for a visit. Su Xiaotang belatedly realized that she was so nervous that she couldn't sleep all night, tossing and turning like a pancake. Sure enough, she was scolded by Yuan Mingjin, who told her that if she didn't want to sleep, she should go out and run laps.

Su Xiaotang finally calmed down, lying flat on the bed like a plank, arms outstretched, palms pressed against her thighs, barely daring to breathe, her eyes wide like copper bells, staring blankly at the bed curtains above her head, listening to the increasingly heavy breathing beside her, but still unable to fall asleep.

After the marriage, Yuan Mingjin should have first entered the palace to pay her respects to the Emperor. However, due to the sudden assassination attempt on Yuan Mingjin and her subsequent poisoning and coma, the Emperor, out of consideration for his daughter, exempted her from the audience. He only told her to bring her husband with her next visit to the palace and to make up for the tea ceremony.

However, the Su family's visit to their relatives was unavoidable no matter what.

Su Xiaotang was terrified.

What if his wife discovers that he is not the real eldest son of the Su family who should have married her... No, he must not let her find out.

The wife's rightful husband can only be herself.

As dawn broke, Su Xiaotang got up, sporting dark circles under her eyes, and helped Yuan Mingjin change his clothes.

His fair complexion made the dark circles under his eyes even more noticeable, requiring a thick layer of powder to barely cover them. Yuan Mingjin pinched his chin, looked at his still handsome face from side to side, and felt a pang of heartache. She asked, "Didn't you sleep all night?"

"Please excuse my rudeness, my lady." Su Xiaotang wrapped her arms around her waist and carefully fastened her waist sash. She then took the five-clawed single-dragon white jade pendant that matched her outfit and hung it neatly around her waist.

Last night, she wouldn't let Su Xiaotang move around, so he really lay there motionless, like he was in a coffin, enduring it for several hours. After a whole night, his entire back was stiff and sore.

Knowing that Yuan Mingjin had a habit of practicing martial arts in the morning, Su Xiaotang didn't want her to see her looking like this, so she got up before her, washed her face and applied powder to barely cover up her haggard appearance.

Hearing her concern for her, Su Xiaotang felt both sweet and embarrassed, but she couldn't bring herself to say what was troubling her, so she could only pretend to be attentive to her and avoid the topic.

Yuan Mingjin, of course, knew why Su Xiaotang couldn't sleep at night. He smiled and didn't press the matter.

She could understand why the imposter was afraid of being exposed.

While things were calm and peaceful at the Prince's residence, things were in complete chaos at the Minister's residence.

"Look what you've done, you idiot!"

Su Aoshuang snorted coldly and threw the visiting card at Xin Yaning, who was kneeling below—

She used all her strength in this slap; although she was a civil official, she had considerable strength. The visiting card slammed hard onto Xin Yaning's face, leaving a neat, square red mark on her fair skin.

Xin Yaning cried out in pain, but dared not utter a word of complaint. Trembling with fear, she covered her aching face, tears streaming down her face.

On the wedding day, in the wedding hall, Su Aoshuang saw the groom acting so timidly and knew that Su Xiaotang had taken the place of the bride. However, the emperor was sitting right next to her, so she had no choice but to keep quiet and let the situation unfold.

"Do you know what the consequences of committing the crime of deceiving the emperor will be?" Su Aoshuang could no longer remain calm. She paced back and forth in the hall with her hands behind her back, then suddenly stopped, staring at Xin Yaning with bloodshot eyes, veins bulging on her forehead. "At that time, not only will I lose my official hat, but I will also lose my head!"

"It's ruined, all of it is ruined!"

Her decades of ups and downs in officialdom, her decades of painstaking management, her decades of wealth and honor, her decades of being second only to the emperor and above thousands of others... were all so easily destroyed by this fool!

Su Aoshuang truly wished she could devour his flesh raw.

"I have no regrets!"

Now that things have come to this, it's too late for regrets. Instead, Xin Yaning suddenly found a surge of courage. She raised her head and stubbornly looked directly at Su Aoshuang, "As a mother and father, what's wrong with making plans for my child! As long as Yiyi has a good home, I'm willing to risk my life! If you're afraid of being implicated, just divorce me and let my son and me go home!"

Snap!

Su Aoshuang slapped him again, trembling with rage. "Fool! Fool! Utterly stupid! Fine, you said you'd find a good marriage for your fine son, but look at you now! You've done such a disgraceful thing, and instead of hiding at home, you're brazenly sailing around the lake. Are you trying to make sure everyone knows you've committed the crime of deceiving the emperor?! A fool's son is just as foolish!"

"I, Su Aoshuang, am so intelligent all my life, how could I have given birth to such a fool!"

Xin Yaning, tears streaming down her face, protested, "Yiyi is absolutely not that kind of ungrateful fool! He was wearing a veil that day, completely covered up, how could he—"

"Fine, then as you say, he didn't let anyone see him that day—but what about now?!" Before he could finish speaking, Su Aoshuang interrupted him impatiently, "For a woman whose face you can't even see, you've lost your appetite, fallen ill with lovesickness, and been bedridden for days?"

"To act so foolishly and absurdly, is this the high-born nobleman raised in seclusion, the model citizen of the capital? It's utterly laughable!"

"father!"

Upon hearing that his father had been slapped by his mother, Su Yiyi quickly ordered her servants to help him come over.

He wore a plain robe without any patterns, and his black hair was tied up with a simple white jade hairpin. He was without makeup, and his sickly appearance was pitiful. He still walked with graceful steps, but his robe was much looser, indicating that he had lost a lot of weight.

Upon seeing his frail and sickly appearance, Xin Yaning couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and they streamed down her face as she sobbed, "My son, what are you doing here again? Your mother already dislikes us, so why are you making a fuss over this?"

"Mother, it's all Yiyi's fault. Please don't blame Father. It's all because Yiyi was willful and reckless..." Before Su Yiyi reached Su Aoshuang, she knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down her face, and crawled to her mother's feet.

How could an unmarried man like him understand the crime of deceiving the emperor? Having already kidnapped Su Xiaotang to marry in his place, he felt relieved. However, after being severely scolded by his mother upon her return from the Prince's mansion that day, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and lived in constant fear.

Seeing that he was depressed, his servant suggested that he go for a walk by the lake on the outskirts of the capital to relax.

He went as instructed and was leaning against the bridge railing, gazing absently at the willows and spring mist, when suddenly he saw a woman walking on the water. She was dressed in a neat Hu-style outfit, with a figure like a crane and a calm gait. She walked a few steps closer to the shore and landed steadily.

Looking at her boots, they were completely dry. Even the servants beside her couldn't help but marvel: "What amazing agility this young lady possesses! Walking on water is no different from walking on flat ground. She truly seems like an immortal descending to earth!"

Su Yiyi couldn't help but feel curious, so she looked up along the hem of the boot and robe and saw that the woman had a very shallow cleft chin, small and round lips with full philtrum, which made her look gentle and kind; her nose was round and straight, her pupils were like ink dots, and her sword-like eyebrows were heroic and imposing.

Even from just a profile view, Su Yiyi's heart skipped a beat.

Perhaps his gaze was too intense, for the woman seemed to sense it, and her eyes swept coldly in their direction—

In an instant, for some reason, Su Yiyi instinctively pulled the servant down to squat down and hide behind the stone bridge railing. She peeked through the openwork carvings and saw her turn to leave before helping the servant slowly stand up.

"Why is my lord hiding?" the servant asked, puzzled.

Su Yiyi was stunned and did not answer. Her mind was filled with those dark eyes that were like cold stars, and she could not get rid of them no matter what.

He had thought that his symptoms would improve once he returned home, but when he was embroidering, the image of the woman's trembling hands hanging by her sides kept flashing through his mind. While eating, he was thinking about why her lips were somewhat purplish. When he was removing his ornaments, the image of the five-clawed dragon pendant at her waist flashed before his eyes. Only when he was bathing did he suddenly notice that there seemed to be a faint scar on her slender neck...

It was clearly just a fleeting glimpse, yet every detail was magnified infinitely. It did not fade with time; instead, it became more vivid and lifelike, as if that ethereal woman were standing right in front of him.

Even if he had only seen it in stories, how could he not know what was going on with himself?

Love is so intense it's etched into my bones.

In just a few days, he had become emaciated, his waist so thin it could be encircled with one hand. The clothes that used to fit him perfectly now bulged out of shape with a gust of wind. It was as if the woman was some kind of captivating spirit, who had stolen his entire heart and soul the moment she left.

The father couldn't bear to see him like this, so he asked the mother to find the woman, but the mother sternly refused, scolding him for wishful thinking.

Having committed such heinous crimes, and not knowing how long he can live, to even think about marriage is truly wishful thinking.

"His Highness Prince Rui has arrived!"

When the summons to ascend the throne arrived, everyone in the hall straightened their expressions, rose and bowed, their hearts filled with unease.

However, His Highness Prince Rui was not as difficult as rumored. He quickly said "Rise," then walked through the crowd and led the nervous Su Xiaotang to the head seat.

Su Yiyi wiped away her tears in the crowd and slowly stood up as ordered, but her gaze suddenly froze.

As Yu Guangzhong passed by, a white jade pendant with a gold dragon design was pressed on the black python robe. The dragon was plump, with rounded claws, bright eyes, and its feet were on auspicious clouds. It was leaping and twisting, full of spirit.

No more, no less, exactly five claws.

A note from the author:

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"I, Su Aoshuang, am so intelligent all my life, how could I have given birth to such a fool!" This line is probably familiar to everyone; it's borrowed from a line by Dou Yifang in "Beauty's Rival in Palace." [pat on the head]

I updated a really long chapter today! Please comment and add it to your favorites! [pat on the head]

The salted wampee water is so delicious! I've bought it twice before, but recently my throat hurts and I wanted to order it again, only to find that wampee is out of season and no longer available. [crying emoji] It really is true that you should seize the day while you can. [crying emoji] I miss it, so I'll have to wait until next year to order it again.