On the messy bed, Bai Yan lay on Meng Huaiyi's waist and abdomen, a wedding dress draped over her fair shoulders.

She stretched her exhausted back, stood up, and her wedding dress naturally slipped off her smooth skin.

Meng Huaiyi was already awake, and when he looked up, he was greeted by such an eye-catching spring scene. His strong arms immediately wrapped around her slender waist, and he became passionate again early in the morning.

Bai Yan was pressed down on the couch again. Just as he was about to lean down, she kicked him in the chest with her leg.

Meng Huaiyi looked at her with a puzzled expression, his voice a little hoarse: "Do you want to change positions? You were too tired to move yesterday."

She kicked his hard chest: "Just because others call you a beast doesn't mean you'll become a beast yourself?"

"You almost tore my legs off. Do you think I'm some kind of toy?"

Meng Huaiyi was busy coaxing her, and she didn't get angry when she kicked him, saying, "It's my fault, I've made the princess tired."

"Your humble servant will help the princess relax."

He began pressing on several acupoints on the soles of her feet; as a martial artist, he was naturally very familiar with the meridians on the human body. Bai Yan had initially found the massage comfortable, her eyes almost half-closed, but the more he pressed, the higher his hand moved upwards—

Sensing something was wrong, Bai Yan kicked him, hitting him squarely in the chin.

But instead of hurting him, the kick pulled at her waist, causing her to writhe in pain on the bed.

Meng Huaiyi quickly came over to help her up, gently massaging her waist with his hand: "Where else does it hurt?"

Bai Yan glared at him angrily: "Isn't it all your fault?"

She then vented her anger, saying, "You are not allowed to touch me from now on."

Meng Huaiyi's expression changed, and he quickly explained to himself, "The princess is used to a life of luxury and is unwilling to move. After several dozen hours, it is inevitable that her waist and abdomen will be bloated and painful."

But Bai Yan grabbed her ear again and scolded, "You've been looking so beautiful these past few days, like a dog looking for a hole to crawl into, haven't you? You don't care about me at all?"

Meng Huaiyi repeatedly said he wouldn't dare, and held his little darling in his arms for a long time to coax her. He almost knelt down before she stopped making a fuss.

But you have to suppress the anger that comes with waking up in the morning.

Bai Yan sat at the dressing table, doing her makeup. Now that there were no maids to serve her, Meng Huaiyi, who was used to handling swords and spears, was quite skillful with a comb and easily tied up a beautiful bun.

"Hmm?" Bai Yan looked at his neatly combed hair with suspicion: "You've learned the skills of a palace maid too?"

He wore the same hairstyle she wore when she entered the palace.

Meng Huaiyi's face was right next to hers. One face was beautiful and noble, while the other was rough because he hadn't shaved for a few days, but the overall features were still handsome.

"Do you remember? The day we first met, you had this hairstyle."

Bai Yan couldn't remember; her hair was always styled by her maids.

She couldn't remember Meng Huaiyi, but she just smiled: in any case, the person in his dream was already by his side.

"Does the princess want to put on makeup? There's some snail-shell eyeshadow in the room, and I've also asked the servants to buy some lip rouge." Meng Huaiyi said, "Do you see if there's anything else you're missing? If so, I'll send someone to buy it. The night market here is lively tonight, let's go for a stroll."

Bai Yan held the priceless snail-shaped hairpin in her hand. She knew he was happy at the moment, but given the current situation, she could only dampen his enthusiasm for now.

"Huaiyi, it has been three days. I must return to the Princess's residence."

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Meng Huaiyi opened his mouth and said, "Princess... will you continue to work with the Meng family—"

Bai Yan turned around and cupped his face in her hands: "You really are silly. What are you still worried about? I told you this three days ago. I don't want to marry Meng Abao, I only want you."

"Once I finish what I'm doing, I'll give you a proper status, okay?"

Meng Huaiyi's worry immediately disappeared, and his face turned red like a young girl being coaxed by her lover: He used to love Akhal-Teke horses the most, but from today onwards, his favorite horse will be the prince consort!

...

Princess Tianfu was abducted from her bridal sedan chair three days ago. During this time, both His Majesty and the Jingji Prefecture government sent people to search for her, but they were never able to find the thieves who kidnapped the princess.

But three days later, the princess herself appeared at the gate of the princess's residence, and upon returning, she did not mention a word about being kidnapped to the mountain.

She naturally returned to the princess's residence, and both sides acted as if the marriage with Meng Abao had never happened, with no one mentioning it again.

But the fact that the marriage isn't mentioned doesn't mean it's not happening. Especially since others might not care, how could the Meng family not care?

After this incident, Meng Ruoyun's first thought was to cancel the engagement on behalf of her brother, and to do so publicly—otherwise, if things remained unclear, people might think that the princess had already married into the Meng family, which would tarnish the reputation of the Meng family.

Prince Duan naturally advised her that, in his view, a little bit of fame was nothing compared to the interests of the entire textile factory and the princess's favor with the emperor.

But Meng Ruoyun refused. "She was kidnapped for three nights! How can she still have a clean reputation? How can I allow such a woman to marry into the Meng family and tarnish the noble name of the Meng family?"

Meng Ruoyun shook her head: "Your Highness, please don't make things difficult for me anymore. I have my own principles."

"If it means losing one's dignity and composure as a human being, then I would rather not have this power."

Since Prince Duan couldn't dissuade him, he had to try another approach. He thought for a moment and said, "The matter of annuling the engagement cannot be brought up by the Meng family, nor can it be brought up by the Empress. Otherwise, His Majesty will always be angry."

Prince Duan then looked at Meng Ruoyun: "Moreover, once the engagement is annulled, the Meng family will be openly at odds with Tianfu. If that happens, the textile factory and the original positions in the Eastern Palace cannot be handed over to her."

With the Crown Prince deposed, the Emperor delegated the handling of some of the old people and affairs of the Eastern Palace to his daughter. Now, Princess Tianfu holds the Southern Dynasty's money and the power of the Eastern Palace. If she were to cause trouble for the young prince, she would not be easy to deal with.

Prince Duan's gaze was deep: "Therefore, Your Highness, if the engagement is to be annulled, the princess must never enter the court again."

Meng Ruoyun wholeheartedly agreed: "It's unacceptable for a young lady like her to cause such a scene."

He shook his head again: "His Majesty favors her and can't control her, which harms not only her but also others."

Even now, Meng Ruoyun still feels a knot in her heart when she thinks of Jin Chang'an. If it weren't for Tianfu's ruthlessness, how could Young Master Jin have ended up with his head separated from his body?

She will avenge him.

Meng Ruoyun lowered her gaze slightly.

...

Soon after, rumors began to circulate in the capital that the princess had offended the largest gang in Jiangnan when she was suppressing bandits there, and that the abduction of her wedding was orchestrated by that gang.

"Was it the bandit leader who captured Princess Tianfu and took her to the mountain? Otherwise, how could an ordinary person have such ability?"

"Those bandits captured the princess but didn't kill her, it was out of revenge!" the man said softly. "I heard that the princess returned disheveled, her body covered in suggestive marks!"

"In my opinion, how can a woman who has lost her chastity be allowed to come out? She should be spending her days with the ancient Buddha and the dim lamp!"

"That's right, it all comes down to the princess's own fault! If she hadn't gone out, she wouldn't have offended the bandits, and she wouldn't be in this mess today!"

"Yes! Women shouldn't go out; they should stay home and take good care of their husbands and children!"

At that moment, just a wall away, Bai Yan was strolling down the street with Meng Huaiyi. Upon hearing that someone was gossiping about her, Meng Huaiyi frowned and drew his sword to step forward.