Chapter 17, "Feelings for His Wife."...

==Chapter Seventeen: Husband and Wife==

A fierce wind blew outside, making the wooden windows creak faintly, and the study fell into an eerie silence.

In fact, Mu Ziyi was also surprised when he saw the fortune slip. After all, the underlying meaning of the fortune slip was that the phoenix perches on the parasol tree. But in theory, such a fortune slip should not appear in the fortune-telling tube. It was such a coincidence that Princess Cheng drew it. If someone was behind it, it would not be impossible.

"You should go back first," Xiao Yu said calmly, his eyes deep.

Mu Ziyi closed his folding fan, bowed, and left.

Xiao Yuyu tapped his fingers lightly on the table while closing his eyes and pretending to sleep.

In the early part of the fourth year of the Dingyuan era, the capital was still shrouded in the joy of the New Year. On the day of the Lantern Festival, a heavy snow fell in the capital. Xiao Yu got off the carriage, put on a dark-colored cloak with gold patterns, and slowly entered the Water Fetching Tower.

The guards they brought stayed at the door to keep watch. The tea room was elegant, with the sounds of the zither and the flute complementing each other, melodious and ethereal. As soon as Xiao Yu appeared, Luo Qi and the others stopped what they were doing and said jokingly, "Your Highness has arrived."

Xiao Yu glanced at them indifferently, "What are you talking about?"

"This is about the marriage alliance between Nanqiong and Beili. Today, an envoy from Nanqiong came to the capital and said that he was willing to marry Princess Weiyang to them."

Xiao Yurui narrowed his phoenix eyes but said nothing.

Having known each other for so many years, Luo Qi could easily see through the charade. He tentatively asked, "Judging from Your Highness's expression, you probably don't know yet, right?"

"I truly do not know."

Xiao Yu seemed indifferent to the woman he was going to marry, and was still playing with a teacup in his hand.

Xie Cheng, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "I've heard that Princess Weiyang is incredibly beautiful, but I wonder what her temperament is like."

Luo Qi smiled meaningfully, "That remains to be seen. Hopefully, she's not too spoiled and willful, otherwise even His Highness wouldn't be able to handle her."

Who in the capital doesn't know that His Highness Prince Cheng is not one to cherish women? And if Princess Nanqiong Weiyang is truly spoiled and willful, then the Prince Cheng's mansion will be even more lively in the future.

Later, the envoy told Xiao Yu: "Princess Weiyang is only seventeen years old. Her beauty is more stunning than a peony, her skin soft and supple, and her temperament is not without its quirks and eccentricities."

The envoy even claimed that Princess Weiyang had long admired him, but the truth was that his wife looked at him with no affection whatsoever. Xiao Yu certainly wouldn't mind such a trivial matter, but he was very curious whether she had a lover in her heart before marrying him.

Xiao Yu suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze as deep and unfathomable as a dark pool, like an endless veil of mist.

He seems to be paying more and more attention to her lately.

On the contrary, Su Wanyue was in a fairly pleasant mood because the Seventh Princess had brought her a storybook a few days ago. It was about a daughter of a prefect who fell in love and fought with the prime minister. The Seventh Princess told Su Wanyue that she must finish reading it, and Su Wanyue was unwilling to disappoint the Seventh Princess's good intentions, so she insisted on reading most of it.

At this moment, she was wearing a light green blouse and a smoky pleated skirt. She was lying on the chaise longue, flipping through the storybook in her hand, her eyes never leaving the book all morning.

"Your Highness, please try some lychees." Qin'er pushed open the door and came in, her clothes slightly damp.

"Let's leave it for now." Su Wanyue rubbed her eyes and stretched.

Seeing that her gaze was still fixed on the storybook, Qin'er asked with a smile, "How many times has the Princess read it?"

This storybook was a gift from the Seventh Princess to the Princess Consort, who seems to really like it and has been reading it all morning.

Su Wanyue picked up the book again and was about to speak when the guard Mo Yu knocked on the door and came in. "Your Highness, His Highness will be handling official business in his study tonight, so he won't be coming over."

Su Wanyue looked up at him and gave a soft "hmm".

Mo Yu waited quietly for her to continue, but the princess seemed completely indifferent to the prince. Mo Yu's expression shifted, and he returned to his study with his umbrella.

"Your Highness, the Princess Consort says she knows."

She didn't say anything else.

"there is none left."

Xiao Yu remained silent, his slender fingers gripping the vermilion brush as he continued processing official documents.

Seeing this, Mo Yu prepared to retreat, but His Highness suddenly stood up and walked out.

Mo Yu's eyelids twitched, and he quickly followed.

Su Wanyue was engrossed in her book when she suddenly heard a deep, magnetic male voice beside her, "What is Your Highness reading?"

Su Wanyue was startled, her almond-shaped eyes widening as she stared blankly at the person in front of her. "Didn't Your Highness say you weren't coming?"

"It was because he accompanied his wife home that the head of the household discovered she already had someone she loved. That night, the couple trimmed the candlelight by the west window together, and the head of the household asked with a smile, 'So the person you've always loved has always been him.'"

“The wife showed weakness in front of the master for the first time, and knelt down, saying, ‘My heart is like a reed[1], please grant me permission to be with him.’”

Su Wanyue followed his gaze to the storybook in her hand, and silently closed it.

Xiao Yu stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at her condescendingly. "Does the Princess Consort like to see this?"

Su Wanyue felt a pang of guilt and lowered her eyes to explain, "This is a storybook that the Seventh Princess brought to me. I only used it to pass the time; I don't like it."

The truth is that Su Wanyue really enjoyed watching it, but it was a pity he came tonight. If he hadn't come, Su Wanyue could have finished watching it. She sighed silently in her heart.

“If the Princess Consort were to put this kind of thought into other books, she could already write seal script and clerical script herself,” Xiao Yu said unhurriedly. “The Prince Cheng’s residence has a library. I will have the steward give you the key tomorrow.”

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Qin'er helped Su Wanyue to the side room to bathe. The faint scent of roses was refreshing and pleasant. The warm water covered the woman's delicate skin. Women take longer to bathe than men. By the time Su Wanyue finished bathing, it was already half an hour later.

Inside the hall, Xiao Yu held the storybook the woman had been reading, having read countless pages. In that instant, Su Wanyue's heart leaped into her throat.

Reading storybooks wasn't a big deal, but for some reason, Su Wanyue's eyelids kept twitching, and she felt uneasy.

She moved with the lightness of the wind and arrived in front of Xiao Yu. "Your Highness, aren't you going to take a bath?"

"Princess, please accompany me."

Qin'er quickly curtsied and said, "This servant will take her leave now."

As she closed the door, Qin'er secretly glanced at Su Wanyue, hoping nothing would happen.

Xiao Yu possessed exceptional bone structure, with eyebrows like ink paintings, and an equally impressive physique, with well-defined muscles and skin as smooth as fine jade. Su Wanyue didn't look at him, but asked softly, "Your Highness is not in a good mood today?"

Xiao Yu's voice was still hoarse as he slowly asked, "How do you know?"

"I noticed that Your Highness's complexion is not very good today, and I thought that Your Highness had something on your mind."

"There is indeed a small matter."

“Yes…” Su Wanyue feigned confusion and was about to ask when her wrist was gently tugged, causing ripples to spread. The woman’s undergarments were soaked, and she nestled in his arms.

The man's calloused fingers stroked the butterfly-shaped birthmark on her back, his breath tickling her neck. Su Wanyue wanted to dodge, but the man's arms were as hard as iron, and she couldn't break free. Then, his kisses landed, first on the birthmark, then on her collarbone, and then on her chest. Su Wanyue's eyes welled up with tears, and she could clearly sense that he was in a bad mood today.

Warm water makes it easy to lose one's balance, especially in their current positions. Su Wanyue's cheeks were flushed red from the steam, and her brows furrowed uncontrollably. With a "splash," Xiao Yu carried the woman in his arms out of the hot spring. Unlike the woman in his arms, his phoenix eyes held a hint of indescribable emotion.

The two returned to the bed, and the pink beaded curtain was lowered. Su Wanyue's pupils were unfocused, and she dared not look into the eyes of the person beside her, so she closed her eyes.

The next day at dawn, Su Wanyue opened her eyes. Only one candle was lit in the hall. Xiao Yu was just about to put on the white dragon jade pendant when he asked, "Why are you awake so early?"

"This concubine will assist Your Highness in rising."

Xiao Yu opened his hand and handed her the jade pendant. The cool jade pendant landed in Su Wanyue's palm. The woman bent down and tied the jade pendant on his wrist. Su Wanyue had many jade pendants, but she never wore them.

Qin'er asked her if she wanted to sleep a little longer or have breakfast. Su Wanyue chose the latter. After breakfast, Su Wanyue picked up the storybook again, but the desire to read it was greatly diminished. Su Wanyue closed the storybook and stared blankly at the nail polish. Her mind was in turmoil.

This chaos wasn't because of her nominal husband, but because...

At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), someone from the palace came to Prince Cheng's residence, saying that Her Majesty the Empress invited Princess Cheng to the palace for a chat.

Since Her Majesty the Empress had given the order, Su Wanyue, as the Princess Consort, naturally had no choice but to go. Before she left, Qin'er whispered to her whether she should inform the people around His Highness.

Su Wanyue shook her head. The Empress is the mother of the nation. Even if she dislikes her, she would never directly harm her in the palace.

Qin'er suddenly realized that the princess was now impersonating Princess Weiyang, and even the Empress of Beili would not dare to openly harm the princess.

At 3:45 AM, the Empress's lady-in-waiting, Li, led Su Wanyue into Kunning Palace. She went in first to announce, "Your Majesty, Princess Cheng has arrived."

"Please let her in."

Not only was the Empress present in the inner palace, but Princess Zhaoning was also there. Su Wanyue lowered her eyelashes, not daring to let her guard down.

She respectfully greeted the Empress, but Princess Zhaoning then picked up a pearl bracelet and showed it to the Empress. The Empress smiled and examined it for a long time. Princess Zhaoning laughed like a silver bell and said that she had other bracelets and asked if the Empress would like to see them. The Empress nodded.

The two seemed to have forgotten that there were other people in the hall. Su Wanyue seemed to be exhausted and her body went limp. Qin'er immediately cried out exaggeratedly, "What's wrong with the Princess?"

This loud shout startled the Empress, who thought something serious had happened to her mistress. She quickly coughed and said, "Oh dear, I forgot that Weiyang is here. Didn't you remind me? Quickly, offer her a seat."

After Su Wanyue sat down, the Empress asked again, "Are you alright?"

Could it be that Her Majesty the Empress invited her here today to deliberately put her in a difficult position? Su Wanyue looked like a spring flower in March, gentle and bright. She smiled and said, "It's nothing."

The Empress glanced at Princess Zhaoning and said, “Actually, the reason I called you here today is to discuss something with you. I think it’s too quiet with only you and Prince Cheng living in the Prince Cheng’s residence. Young girls your age love liveliness, so why don’t we let Zhaoning stay at the Prince Cheng’s residence for a few days and keep you company?”