Chapter 26: Xiao Xu, having taken off his clothes, seemed like a completely different person.
Yun Sheng froze for a moment, then quickly recovered and strode toward Xiao Xu to pick up the fallen pills.
She walked quickly, her heart pounding.
Xiao Xu remained calm and, just as Yun Sheng was about to approach, suddenly bent down and picked it up.
Yun Sheng's breath hitched, and she froze in place, a few steps away from Xiao Xu.
Xiao Xu examined the pills for a moment, then asked again, "Sheng Sheng, what is this?"
"yes……"
Yun Sheng closed her eyes, and a variety of ideas flashed through her mind.
Before she could speak, Xiao Xu had already said, "It's a contraceptive pill."
The room fell silent instantly. The green bamboo standing not far away bowed its head, not daring to make a sound.
Yun Sheng didn't look up either, feeling a little flustered.
She didn't even have a chance to lie or hide the truth before it was exposed.
After an unknown amount of time, I heard a soft thud as something hard was placed on the table in front of me.
Yun Sheng subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Xiao Xu had placed the pill on the table next to him.
His movements were slow and casual, but the originally round pill's outer skin was broken, leaving thumb-sized dents on both sides.
"Do you hate me?" Xiao Xu suddenly asked in a deep voice.
Yun Sheng was startled and looked up in surprise.
Why did he use such strong words?
Her gaze, already raised, could no longer escape Xiao Xu's eyes.
Those deep black eyes held a dark undercurrent that sent shivers down one's spine.
Yun Sheng glanced awkwardly at the crushed pill, and after a long while, she answered in a low voice, "No, I don't hate you."
"But she doesn't want to have children with me."
"...I'm just not ready yet."
Xiao Xu remained silent for a long time after hearing this.
So long that Yun Sheng's posture became somewhat stiff as she stood still.
She could only bite the bullet and say, "I need some more time to prepare. I don't want children right now. What do you think?"
"You were already planning to take the contraceptive pill, and now you're asking me what I think?"
If he hadn't returned home early today and stumbled upon this, he would never have known that his wife had secretly taken contraceptive pills.
Yun Sheng had no way to refute it, because that was indeed what she thought.
At the beginning of their marriage, Granny Wenxin had said that as the heir of the Prince Zhao's mansion, it was especially important for Xiao Xu to have offspring.
Yun Sheng understood this principle and subconsciously felt that if she mentioned this to Xiao Xu, he would definitely not agree.
Rather than arguing with him about this, it's better not to let him know.
However, things didn't go as planned, and now both possibilities have occurred simultaneously.
The tense atmosphere was suffocating.
After a long while, Xiao Xu broke the silence, saying to Cui Zhu not far away, "You may step back."
Cuizhu dared not linger, yet she was worried about Yunsheng.
She hesitated for only a moment before suddenly feeling the air grow even colder.
She could only bow her head and quickly leave the room.
With Cuizhu gone, the spacious room felt even more oppressive.
Yun Sheng felt somewhat uncomfortable with the atmosphere. She had reason not to want to have children, and Xiao Xu also had reason to be dissatisfied with it.
This seems to be an unsolvable problem. Will this stalemate continue indefinitely?
Just as he was thinking this, Xiao Xu suddenly made a move.
He picked up the contraceptive pill again.
Yun Sheng saw that his gaze was fixed on the wooden box that was still open on the table not far away.
If you take one pill a month, that pill should keep her from getting pregnant for several years.
However, in reality, she couldn't even swallow one.
Xiao Xu walked to the table, put the pills in his hand into the box, and closed the wooden box with a click.
"Yun Sheng, come here."
"..."
Yun Sheng's heart sank, and she slowly walked towards Xiao Xu. She took the opportunity to steal a glance at Xiao Xu, whose already cold face now looked even more like it was covered with a layer of frost.
Xiao Xu sat at the table, and even though he was slightly shorter than Yun Sheng when she was standing, he did not suppress his imposing aura in the slightest.
He was angry.
The perfect peace they had maintained was torn open, creating a rift more serious than their previous minor squabbles.
For the first time, Yun Sheng felt a little scared.
It wasn't that she was afraid of him as a person, but she didn't know what she was afraid of either.
Yun Sheng lowered her eyes and clenched her fingers tightly in front of her.
Driven by her chaotic thoughts, she said slowly, "I only remembered this today when I saw Lan-ge at Ah-xian's place. I didn't mean anything by it; I just wanted to have some more time... to adjust."
She looked like a student who had made a mistake and was apologizing and reflecting on it to her teacher.
Yun Sheng didn't know if Xiao Xu thought so, but she herself felt a little wronged.
Her gaze swept over the empty seat next to Xiao Xu. She didn't want to stand like this; she wanted to sit down.
Just about to take a step.
Xiao Xu said, "I originally thought that if you had such thoughts, you would have told me first."
However, she planned to secretly take a contraceptive pill without his knowledge.
Yun Sheng paused, "But if I tell you, will you agree?"
What makes you think I won't agree?
“You are the heir apparent, destined to inherit the title. If you were to marry, it would naturally be for the purpose of continuing the family line and ensuring the continuation of your descendants. How could you possibly agree to this…”
Xiao Xu abruptly interrupted: "Yun Sheng, do you think I married you just to have children?"
Yun Sheng was stunned and remained silent for a long time.
She certainly didn't think that Xiao Xu married her just for this reason; otherwise, he wouldn't have waited until this age to start a family.
But with this marriage suddenly happening, she knew that she was a suitable candidate to be the heir apparent of the Prince Zhao's mansion. She was beautiful, capable, and of good character, and they were a good match.
Therefore, he needs to make amends for the trouble caused by Xiao Ling, and naturally he also needs to shoulder the responsibilities of being the heir of the Prince Zhao's mansion.
Otherwise... what else could it be for?
The atmosphere froze again.
Xiao Xu looked at her coldly, but Yun Sheng felt that there were complex emotions in his eyes, which she could not understand.
Yun Sheng wanted to say something, but didn't know where to begin.
Suddenly, Xiao Xu reached out and grabbed her wrist. Yun Sheng was caught off guard and stumbled forward half a step, thinking that he was going to pull her in front of him.
The next moment, Xiao Xu moved his wrist and pulled her to sit down in the empty seat next to him.
His movements weren't rough, but Yun Sheng's breathing still became slightly erratic, and her gaze, once calmed, fell directly on his chest.
For some reason, the empty seat I really wanted to sit in just now doesn't feel quite right now that I'm actually sitting down.
"Put these medicines away," Xiao Xu said.
He spoke in a calm voice, revealing no emotional fluctuations, and just as Yun Sheng was about to speak, he continued, "If you don't want children for the time being, I will take contraceptive pills in the future, so you won't need to take any medicine."
Yun Sheng was stunned again, unable to think of anything else for the moment, and her gaze moved up from his chest: "You said, you took medicine?"
Xiao Xu hummed in response, his expression still displeased, but he didn't want to talk about it anymore, and repeated, "Put the medicine away."
Yun Sheng glanced at the wooden box, remembering the black and smelly pills, and lowered her voice: "But you're still angry..."
He's angry, but what does that have to do with putting the medicine away?
The more he looked at the medicine box, the angrier he became.
Xiao Xu said coldly, "Put it away."
"Oh." Yun Sheng slowly reached for the wooden box.
As soon as he touched the wooden box, Xiao Xu suddenly stood up and strode away.
Yun Sheng, still holding the wooden box, wanted to ask him where he was going, but his cold, hard figure had already disappeared behind the screen.
Soon, the sound of water came from the direction of the bathing room, which must be Xiao Xu washing his hands.
Yun Sheng silently put away the wooden box and followed her outside.
As soon as she stepped out of the partition screen, her gaze was fixed on an embroidery piece displayed in the center of the antique shelf.
The embroidery was carefully framed in a nutwood frame. Several newly blossoming peach blossoms were embroidered on the plain white satin, with pink petals of varying shades surrounding pale yellow stamens, and the branches and leaves stretched out and drooped down.
This is... the painting that Manager Li sent to Hanqinxuan for auction a few years ago.
Why did I end up here?
When she returned to the house, the embroidery was not yet there; it had been auctioned off to some idle wealthy businessman several years ago.
The answer is obvious: it was Xiao Xu who brought it back.
At this moment, Xiao Xu came out of the bathhouse. Seeing that Yun Sheng had discovered the embroidery, he remained indifferent and showed no reaction.
Yun Sheng could no longer contain her emotions and hurriedly stepped forward to ask, "Chang Yu, why did you bring this embroidery back?"
Xiao Xu said calmly, "I thought it looked nice, so I brought it back."
He spoke in a more casual tone than when he mentioned buying pastries from Wuweipu on his way back.
"No, I mean, how did you find this embroidery?"
Xiao Xu slowly cast his gaze toward the embroidery on the antique shelf.
The peach blossoms are in full bloom, shining brightly in the sunlight; they are indeed very beautiful.
Yun Sheng said she liked embroidery, but he had only heard about this one piece of embroidery from her. Now that he knew about it, he wanted to possess it.
So last night he sent someone to find out the news. Fortunately, the news came back quickly: the wealthy merchant who bought the embroidery was in the capital.
He suddenly realized that if he hadn't wasted time retrieving the embroidery, he could have gone straight home after leaving the palace and wouldn't have witnessed that scene. Perhaps that would have dissuaded Yun Sheng from her idea.
But what good is giving up the idea of taking the medicine? The reluctance in my heart won't disappear just because he comes home early.
Xiao Xu said, "I happened to hear someone mention that a piece of embroidery like this was auctioned at Hanqinxuan."
Yun Sheng, of course, did not believe it.
How could an embroidery piece that had been auctioned off for only fifty taels of silver several years ago suddenly be brought up again a few years later, the day after she had told Xiao Xu about it?
But Xiao Xu was not interested and did not want to continue discussing the embroidery. He simply asked, "Shall we have a meal?"
“…Hmm.” Yun Sheng opened her mouth, but swallowed back all the words she wanted to say, only glancing at her embroidery out of the corner of her eye.
After Xiao Xu turned to call the servants, she looked back at him.
In fact, she had almost forgotten what the embroidery looked like, only vaguely remembering that it was about peach blossoms.
But seeing this embroidery again evoked some innocent and carefree memories of my childhood a few years ago.
At that time, she was only twelve or thirteen years old and had not yet reached the age of marriage. Every day, all she thought about was where to go to play, what stories to read, and how to embroider a beautiful piece of embroidery.
The only troubles were probably that the lessons in the girls' school were too difficult and the female teachers were too strict, but these things were not on my mind and were quickly forgotten.
Therefore, this embroidery looks simple and unrefined. She didn't actually think it was that pretty, but she liked it very much.
Lost in thought, Yun Sheng couldn't help but reach out, her fingers gradually reaching towards the wooden frame.
Just as they were about to meet, Xiao Xu opened the door and entered the house.
Yun Sheng abruptly withdrew her hand, turned to him, and gave him a slightly stiff smile.
Xiao Xu ignored her and sat down at the table expressionlessly.
During the meal, silence filled the table.
Yun Sheng had hardly ever paid attention to Xiao Xu at the dinner table before, but since they hadn't spoken much today, she ate her food in small bites, glancing at him every now and then.
He barely touched his chopsticks; he seemed to have little appetite.
As for the reason for not having an appetite...
Xiao Xu suddenly silently picked up a piece of pumpkin and placed it on her plate.
"Thank you," Yun Sheng said softly.
There was no response.
Yun Sheng pursed her lips, then stopped looking at him and said nothing more.
After lunch, Yun Sheng originally wanted to take advantage of the afternoon rest to talk to Xiao Xu about this matter again on the bed, perhaps in a more peaceful atmosphere.
There's really nothing to talk about. He's already said that, so her problem is completely solved.
But he was clearly still sulking.
After finishing his meal, Xiao Xu said, "I have official business to attend to this afternoon, so I'll go to my study first."
Upon hearing this, Yun Sheng swallowed back all the words she had prepared to say to him.
"Okay... then you can go ahead and get busy."
"Hmm." Before leaving, Xiao Xu calmly reminded her in a low voice, "Don't take any medicine indiscriminately. If anything happens, you can send someone to the study to let us know."
No sooner had Xiao Xu left than Yun Sheng slumped against the chaise lounge, her body going limp.
It wasn't enjoyment, but rather a frown.
Cuizhu bowed and entered: "Your Highness, this servant will attend to you during your afternoon rest."
Yun Sheng shook her head weakly: "I don't want to take a nap."
During the meal, the servants waiting in the room had already noticed that the two masters seemed to be acting strangely today, but no one knew why.
Only Cuizhu knew the truth, and at this moment she naturally understood why Yunsheng was troubled.
"Your Highness is a reasonable person. The matter was sudden, and he may have just acted impulsively. After he calms down, you can talk to him properly. He shouldn't force you to do things you don't want to do."
Upon hearing this, Yun Sheng sighed heavily: "There's no need to say anything more."
Cui Zhu's expression changed slightly, thinking that after she was dismissed, the two of them had some kind of irreparable argument in the room.
But Yun Sheng quickly revealed what happened next: "He didn't force me. He said I didn't need to take those black and smelly pills, and he would take the medicine from now on."
Cuizhu was quite surprised to hear this.
Let alone someone of His Highness's status, even an ordinary man would rarely be so considerate.
"His Highness treats you very well, so why are you still troubled?"
She was annoyed because he treated her well.
Yun Sheng still felt a little flustered when she recalled Xiao Xu's expression earlier.
She said sullenly, "But he seems very angry, and I don't know what to do."
"I heard from the nanny that it's normal for couples to quarrel. They quarrel in bed and make up before they get out of bed. Maybe they'll be fine in a while."
Really? Will it be fine in a bit?
*
Inside the study.
Xiao Xu was writing furiously at his desk. He had already reviewed more than half of the reports beside him. His red pen moved swiftly and decisively, and his actions in handling official business were not slow at all.
However, the melancholy between his brows was even more pronounced than when he was in front of Yun Sheng. His tightly pursed lips revealed a suppressed coldness and hardness. The only sound in the room was the rustling of pages turning and the scratching of pens. The air was so thick and suffocating.
Until a gentle knock was heard on the door.
He continued writing as if he hadn't heard a thing.
There was a moment of silence outside the door, then Mu Shan cautiously pushed it open and entered: "Your Highness..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Xu suddenly glared at him coldly and said, "Get out."
His voice wasn't loud, but it was so deep and stern that it made Mu Shan's breath tremble.
Mu Shan hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It's about the Third Young Master..."
After a long silence, Xiao Xu said, "Speak."
Mu Shan closed the door and quickly reported, "Your Highness, the Third Young Master's whereabouts have been confirmed. Our men arrived in time and have invited him to stay temporarily at Guiyun Manor outside Qingyuan Town."
Xiao Xu frowned slightly: "He didn't escape this time?"
Mu Shan: "There are guards inside and outside the manor. They did not lay a hand on the Third Young Master, but he has no way to escape. Please give your instructions, Your Highness."
"Remove the people."
Mushan: "...?"
Xiao Xu's voice was cold: "Didn't you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."
I don't really understand. Does this mean they want to release the Third Young Master?
Mu Shan dared not ask any questions, and after accepting the order, he bowed and left the study.
The study fell silent again, but the strokes of the vermilion brush were no longer as swift as before, sometimes pausing and sometimes slowing down.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Xu put down his pen and wearily rubbed his temples.
His official duties, unusually, failed to alleviate his inner turmoil.
Just then, there was another knock on the door, which was then gently pushed open.
"You'd better not be here to spout nonsense."
Xiao Xu looked up in annoyance, but then froze.
The figure peering into the doorway also paused.
Yun Sheng stared blankly into the room: "I... I don't know if this is nonsense."
Xiao Xu cleared his throat awkwardly: "Sorry, I wasn't talking about you."
Did I disturb your work?
Xiao Xu had already seen the food plate in Yun Sheng's hand, and there was a slight surprise in his eyes: "No, come in."
Upon hearing this, Yun Sheng breathed a slight sigh of relief and then walked towards Xiao Xu.
"Seeing that you didn't eat much at noon, I thought I'd have the kitchen make another batch of shrimp dumplings for you."
She put down the food plate and sat down beside the desk, her bright eyes smiling as she looked at me; she seemed very well-behaved.
"Would you like some?" she asked solicitously, offering chopsticks.
Xiao Xu reached out and took it, then thanked him.
Although he was being polite, Yun Sheng noticed that his expression seemed to have softened considerably.
Xiao Xu slowly and deliberately picked up his chopsticks, eating very elegantly.
Yun Sheng was initially observing Xiao Xu's emotions when she smelled the food, but somehow her gaze fell on it.
The fresh shrimp are wrapped in a translucent dough, white with a hint of pink, and look soft, tender, and delicious.
She couldn't help but ask, "Is it delicious?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a shrimp dumpling was placed in front of her.
Xiao Xu held up his chopsticks, picked up the shrimp dumpling, and quietly watched her.
Yun Sheng thought for a moment, then opened her mouth and took a small bite.
"Is it tasty?"
Xiao Xu asked in return, taking back the remaining half of the shrimp dumpling.
Yun Sheng watched helplessly as Xiao Xu ate the half-eaten shrimp dumpling that she hadn't intended to leave uneaten. She could only swallow her own food and reply, "It's delicious."
Xiao Xu nodded, seemingly in agreement.
Although she didn't get to eat a whole shrimp dumpling, Yun Sheng wasn't that hungry after the meal.
And judging from how quietly Xiao Xu was enjoying his meal, it seemed like they really had made up after their argument.
No, they didn't sleep together.
But it does seem like it will be fine in a while.
Just as Yun Sheng calmed down, Xiao Xu had already finished eating the shrimp dumplings on his plate.
He took a few sips of tea to rinse his mouth, put down his chopsticks and said, "I've eaten, you can go back now."
He then thanked her again.
Yun Sheng's expression hardened slightly, and she stood still.
This is not good.
If Yun Sheng had intended to let things slide like this, she wouldn't have come all this way.
"Changyu, please don't be angry."
She still didn't know how to coax him, so she reached out and poked his arm.
Xiao Xu's body was relaxed, his arms were flexible, and when poked, they left a slight dent.
He glanced at it sideways, but whether he condoned it or ignored it, he neither stopped it nor said anything.
Yun Sheng nudged him again: "Don't be angry."
She had only these meager words, repeating them over and over, and even she herself didn't think they sounded like she could appease anyone.
Xiao Xu let out a breath and looked at her again: "Do you know why I'm angry?"
"Because... I don't want children for the time being."
"Because you're not going to tell me."
Yun Sheng froze: "I'm afraid to tell you..."
"I am your husband."
Xiao Xu said, "Sheng Sheng, we are husband and wife."
He emphasized the words "husband and wife," and Yun Sheng's heart skipped a beat.
"Whether temporarily or permanently, I will not force you to do this, nor will I allow a child to be born out of expectation."
Yun Sheng seemed to see that unsettling expression on Xiao Xu's face again.
But it was fleeting.
She didn't know what it was or why Xiao Xu had that expression.
She was somewhat flustered by that momentary gloom: "I didn't mean forever, I just meant temporarily."
"I want you to tell me, not hide it from me."
Xiao Xu's voice was deep, making Yun Sheng vaguely feel that this was not just because she was secretly taking contraceptive pills, but because some other emotion was suppressing him.
Yun Sheng stopped poking his arm and instead reached down to hook his fingers: "I understand, don't be upset. I'll tell you everything from now on, I won't hide anything from you anymore."
Xiao Xu remained silent, not responding, seemingly lost in thought.
Even though they seemed to have opened up, the atmosphere felt like they had returned to what it was like in the dormitory earlier.
Yun Sheng thought to herself that it was hard to coax people, and even harder to coax Xiao Xu.
Seeing the atmosphere getting increasingly tense, Yun Sheng frowned, closed her eyes, and tilted her head back: "This time it was my fault. If you're still unhappy, then I'll let you take a bite."
Yun Sheng had subconsciously wanted to tell him to beat her up, as she always did when she was in a bad mood, but she quickly remembered his lewd remarks from yesterday and changed her mind.
As soon as I spoke, an inexplicable itch rose in my neck.
After a while, a low chuckle came from beside me.
Yun Sheng peeked out with one eye and saw Xiao Xu stand up.
Her gaze followed his upward movement, meeting his eyes.
Xiao Xu reached out and easily grasped her slender, delicate neck with his large hand.
Her skin was very hot; as soon as I touched it, a thin blush appeared on her skin.
He pressed his thumb against the pink patch and rubbed it slightly before withdrawing his hand: "Don't bite here."
Yun Sheng opened her eyes wide and tensed up immediately: "Where should I bite?"
Wait, is he really planning to bite her?
Yun Sheng regretted her words and wanted to take them back.
"Is anywhere okay?"
"Xiao Changyu, don't push your luck, or I won't coax you anymore!"
Xiao Xu said, "I want to kiss."
Yun Sheng's embarrassment and annoyance subsided slightly. She moved her lips, met his gaze, stood up, and whispered, "This is fine."
She was about to walk forward when Xiao Xu grabbed her wrist to stop her.
He tapped the table with the knuckles of his other hand.
"Come sit here yourself."
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[doge emoji] When will Xiao San be able to go home? So sad!
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