Chapter 16 Xiao Mingzhang, am I important to you...?

It's late at night.

The nights in Yunzhou City after autumn are always cold. Water droplets condense on the flowers, revealing ice crystals, freezing the world in front of Xiao Mingzhang.

He sat in the courtyard, with the notebook that Yunzhu had originally intended to ask him for advice placed under the lit candlelight. Just as he put the notebook down, a guard came to report: "Your Highness, the Princess Consort is still sitting by the river and refuses to come back."

Xiao Mingzhang let out a long sigh.

Yunzhu has not returned home for two hours since storming out after the argument in the afternoon.

He wasn't worried about her getting lost, as Yunzhou City was vast and every part of it was under the control of the Prince Huan's mansion. However, he couldn't just stand by and watch her remain outside as the dew deepened.

Finally, Xiao Mingzhang got up and went to Qinshui River in person.

Yunzhou City is not a place that relies on major rivers or seas, and there are not many rivers flowing through it. The Qin River is the largest river in Yunzhou and the only mother river for the people of Yunzhou City.

Yunzhu's location was not hard to find. Xiao Mingzhang had only walked along the riverbank for a short while when he saw a slender woman sitting on the riverbank ahead.

The moonlight tonight was hardly gentle. Yunzhu wasn't wearing a cloak; she was only dressed in a light-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). The moonlight filtered through the dense locust tree leaves, falling on her and making the ruqun appear both thin and cold.

Xiao Mingzhang paused, and upon finding Yunzhu, he did not immediately step forward.

He stared at her figure, recalling the scene when he first met her.

The scene of Xiao Mingzhang and Yunzhu's wedding was truly the grandest celebration in Yunzhou City in the past decade. After all, it was the marriage of a prince, bestowed by the emperor, who was welcoming a princess from another country.

Despite the lavish wedding, no one in the Huan Prince's mansion could smile, including Xiao Mingzhang himself.

In front of the envoys sent by the emperor to offer birthday greetings, Xiao Mingzhang forced a smile all day long, and only when he could return to his own courtyard did he finally stop wearing that expression.

He stared indifferently at the bride in the room, his heart devoid of any emotion.

He did not heed the advice of his father and the strategists to eliminate Yunzhu directly, but it was even more impossible for Xiao Mingzhang to fall in love with a woman he had never met before.

He had no affection for Yunzhu whatsoever.

His marriage to her was merely a matter of duty, and at the same time, he couldn't bear to see an innocent woman die because of him.

Until the moment he lifted the veil, he saw Yunzhu and what an extremely beautiful yet extremely innocent girl was beneath it.

She opened her incredibly round eyes and looked him up and down curiously, asking, "You... are you Xiao Mingzhang?"

yes.

He is Xiao Mingzhang.

Xiao Mingzhang nodded, and Yunzhu smiled.

Her smile was radiant, like the fiery clouds spreading across Yunzhou City in summer, boundless yet scorching his heart.

That night, Xiao Mingzhang and Yunzhu did nothing. They simply lay on the same bed. Xiao Mingzhang's mind was filled with thoughts of Yunzhu's appearance and everything he would have to face after their marriage. Yunzhu, on the other hand, spoke a few words to Xiao Mingzhang in her still-unfluent Central Plains dialect before falling asleep from exhaustion.

She had come all the way from the Western Regions, and even traveling by carriage was a long and arduous journey.

Xiao Mingzhang turned his head; Yunzhu had already fallen into a peaceful dream.

The young girl from a foreign land was unaware that she had already been plotted against by many people, and she might have died on her way to a marriage alliance.

She was fast asleep and very quiet.

Xiao Mingzhang also forgot exactly when he fell asleep that night. He only remembered lying awake on the bed, with Yunzhu's obedient figure beside him.

In the following days, Xiao Mingzhang still didn't do much with Yunzhu.

Having just gotten married, he had a lot of things to deal with, leaving early and returning late every day. He rarely saw Yunzhu, and sometimes he even forgot that he had a wife at home whom he had just married but had never really spent much time with.

Until that day, he returned home early again, which was rare for him. He saw Yunzhu sitting under the locust tree in the courtyard. She was wearing a light lotus-colored dress and had her back to him. She was extremely sad.

He didn't disturb her. He only found out after calling someone to ask that the Crown Princess had been scolded by the Princess Consort today. The Princess Consort disliked her for not being able to speak the Central Plains language and humiliated her in front of many people.

The Crown Princess was not one to mince words either, and immediately retorted to the Princess, speaking in a mix of authentic Western Region dialect and broken Central Plains dialect. Although no one could understand what she was saying, it was clear that it wasn't anything nice.

The princess was furious and ordered the crown prince's wife to return to her courtyard and reflect on her actions.

Xiao Mingzhang understood perfectly. He knew his mother's temperament all too well. It was just that no one in Yunzhou City dared to provoke her, which was why she had always maintained a peaceful and amiable demeanor. This time, Yunzhu was like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, which forced out her true nature.

He ordered everyone in the courtyard to leave first, and went to Yunzhu alone.

The pear blossoms, wet with rain, are a sight to behold.

Xiao Mingzhang squatted on the ground, seeing Yunzhu cry for the first time.

Large tears slid down her cheeks and landed on his palm. Even though he had only met this wife a few times, he inexplicably felt that the tears were burning hot, just like the first day he saw her. She was wearing a wedding dress, radiant and passionate, almost burning through his heart.

"You've been wronged."

He gently stroked Yunzhu's hand and comforted her.

Yunzhu looked at him with her watery eyes. Through the layers of mist, she couldn't really see Xiao Mingzhang's face clearly, but she knew that this was her husband, the person she would spend her life with. Without saying a word, she threw herself into Xiao Mingzhang's arms, letting her hot tears pour directly into his heart.

Xiao Mingzhang remained silent for a long, long time before finally embracing Yunzhu.

He carried Yunzhu back into the house, wiping away her tears as he listened to her sobbing and speaking in a Western Regions dialect that ordinary people couldn't understand.

Although he couldn't understand her, Xiao Mingzhang nodded from time to time, agreeing with what she said.

Finally, Yunzhu was coaxed into calming down, and she said, "Actually, I also scolded you just now."

Xiao Mingzhang remained calm and asked in return, "Is that so?"

Yunzhu's face was slightly flushed from crying, but she nodded earnestly.

Xiao Mingzhang slowly curved his lips into a smile: "Actually, I also noticed something just now."

Yunzhu asked in surprise, "You can speak a Western Regions language?"

Xiao Mingzhang then said, "When I was negotiating with the people in your camp earlier, I learned a few phrases to make the conversation go smoothly."

So that's how it is.

Yunzhu stopped crying, but she also stopped talking. She sat down in front of Xiao Mingzhang and began to carefully examine her so-called husband.

She thought that the Central Plains was very annoying, the Ying family was very annoying, and the entire Yunzhou City and the entire Huanwang Mansion were all very annoying to her.

But Xiao Mingzhang seems to be doing alright.

She blinked slowly, then suddenly leaned forward and kissed Xiao Mingzhang on the cheek.

She had just been sitting under the locust tree, and some locust blossoms had fallen on her. The fragrance of the locust blossoms, mixed with the girl's natural sweetness, gave Xiao Mingzhang a tremendous shock.

Xiao Mingzhang put his arm around Yunzhu's waist.

He looked at her intently.

That day, Xiao Mingzhang finally stopped letting his princess consort go to bed early alone.

...

Yunzhu had been sitting under the locust tree for more than two hours.

As midnight approached, she still didn't want to return to the Prince Huan's residence.

It was a bit chilly on the riverbank at night. She hadn't brought a cloak when she came out, and now she was only wearing a thin ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), which offered no protection from the cold wind. She could only rub her arms together, trying to generate warmth.

If Xiao Mingzhang still hadn't come looking for her, Yunzhu wondered if she should stay there tonight.

The wind on the riverbank was cold; if she sat there any longer, she might catch a cold.

But is she really going to go back to the Prince's mansion by herself like this?

No, Yunzhu was unwilling.

She was clearly not the culprit; at most, she knew about it but didn't report it. Yet Xiao Mingzhang treated her so coldly and condemned her without saying a word. She would never go back to him willingly.

Xiao Mingzhang…

Xiao Mingzhang...

As Yunzhu thought about it, she quickly became disappointed again. She had thought that she would never really quarrel with Xiao Mingzhang in her life. She thought that although he was a bit cunning, he was good to her and knew how to think about her. But now the facts seemed to be telling her that this was not the case.

Xiao Mingzhang has many things he cares about. He cares about the people of Yunzhou City, his parents, and his sister. She is his wife, that's true, but compared to these people, where does her weight really lie?

Yunzhu didn't know, and she didn't know how she should know.

Even though she had already cried once when she ran out in the evening, as Yunzhu thought about it, tears welled up in her eyes again.

She didn't notice Xiao Mingzhang approaching at all until the cloak was draped over her shoulders. Only then did Yunzhu belatedly realize what was happening and look at the man sitting beside her.

"Don't you want to go home yet?" Xiao Mingzhang asked.

"..."

Tears were still welling up in her eyes when the person she had been longing for arrived before her. Yunzhu tried to hold back the tears that had just surged up, but the more she tried to hold back, the more the tears seemed to be defying her, and they burst out in an instant.

She quickly turned her face away.

Xiao Mingzhang paused, then grabbed Yunzhu's shoulders, forcing her to turn around and face him.

He looked at Yunzhu crying, and it was exactly the same as it had been two years ago under the locust tree. Xiao Mingzhang was already soft-hearted enough, but now, his heart softened even more.

He wanted to pull Yunzhu into his arms.

But Yunzhu refused to let him go.

She cried as she said, "I did nothing wrong, I'm not going home!"

Xiao Mingzhang had no choice but to agree with her, saying, "Okay, okay, you're not wrong. It's not your fault, it's all my fault."

"..."

How could he be so insincere in his attempts to appease her? So perfunctory!

Yunzhu was not satisfied with Xiao Mingzhang's answer, so she pouted and ignored him.

Xiao Mingzhang sighed helplessly and said to Yunzhu earnestly, "Yunzhu, I know what you're thinking. I was indeed too harsh today. But tell me the truth, shouldn't you have told me immediately after learning about Ming'an's matter, instead of hiding it from me?"

"..."

This seems a bit more reasonable.

Yunzhu didn't really want to completely extricate herself from this matter; she just wanted Xiao Mingzhang to talk to her properly.

She sobbed, "I was just worried, worried that you would stop them. I thought that since this person is a student of your academy, he must have a bright future. Let them get along first, and when he achieves success in the future, he can come and ask for my hand in marriage. That would be a good thing..."

So that's what she was thinking?

Xiao Mingzhang was both amused and exasperated, feeling both that his original guess was absurd and that he felt apologetic towards Yunzhu.

"Are the students of the academy destined for great success in the future?" he asked Yunzhu earnestly as he wiped away the tears from her cheeks with his rough hands.

"Then what's the point of your academy selecting people?" Yunzhu asked back confidently, her face trembling slightly.

"..." That's true.

Xiao Mingzhang was completely speechless.

He entwined his arms around Yunzhu's hand, finally managing to pull her into his embrace: "Anyway, Yunzhu, this time it was my fault. I didn't know you thought that way. I thought..."

His eyes darkened, and he lowered his head to kiss Yunzhu's brow, saying, "Alright, come home with me, and we'll discuss what to do next, okay?"

He came to find her and was so willing to apologize to her. Yunzhu glanced at Xiao Mingzhang, her eyes still wet with tears, but she nodded nonetheless.

When she got up, Yunzhu's legs were a little numb because she had been sitting for too long.

Xiao Mingzhang then bent down and lifted her onto his back.

As she lay on Xiao Mingzhang's back, a thousand thoughts flashed through Yunzhu's mind. The most important one was the question she couldn't bring herself to ask: what was her place in Xiao Mingzhang's heart?

However, this question cannot be asked aloud; Yunzhu can be replaced.

She nestled against Xiao Mingzhang's shoulder, their necks pressed together, and asked, "Xiao Mingzhang, am I important to you?"

"Hmm?" Xiao Mingzhang seemed to be disturbed by her sudden question, but Yunzhu immediately heard his affirmative answer: "Important."

Yunzhu smiled.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Xiao Mingzhang's neck and looked up at the cold, clear moonlight tonight.

But Yunzhu felt that this was one of the most beautiful moonlit nights she had ever seen since arriving in Yunzhou.

The mountain is high, and the moon appears small when it rises.

The moon is small, yet it shines brightly.

My thoughts are with someone far away.

A note from the author:

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[Let me see][Let me see][Let me see] I've written such a sweet chapter! So, since it's almost the end of the month, does everyone have any nutrient solution left? QAQ, please shower the author with it! Ahhhhhh, thank you so much!

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"The mountain is high...and lies far away." This line is from Zhang Yuniang's poem "The Height of the Mountain" from the Song Dynasty.