During breakfast, the Prince of Zhenbei appeared as usual, but the Princess Consort had a hint of worry between her brows.
"Xiao Bai, we're likely to receive many visiting cards today. We've been away from the capital for a long time..." the princess gently reminded her.
Shu Bai put down her silver chopsticks: "Mother, don't worry, I know."
The Prince of Zhenbei snorted: "What's there to be afraid of? When has the Prince of Zhenbei ever had to consider the opinions of others? They're just opportunists who want to test the waters since His Majesty hasn't condemned the ghost marriage."
Sure enough, before noon, visiting cards arrived like snowflakes.
Some were simply curious and wanted to make friends, while others had ulterior motives and wanted to test the waters. There were even a few ladies who subtly mentioned that they had daughters or sons of marriageable age, implying that if the heir apparent was not satisfied with the ghost marriage, he might consider taking a son from another family or taking a concubine.
Li Yuheng held the invitation that hinted at taking a concubine and sneered.
He drifted back to the inner room and saw Shu Bai leaning against the soft couch by the window, casually flipping through a storybook with frayed edges, his fingertips twirling the corners of the pages.
The warm afternoon sun shone through the window, casting dappled light on his clothes.
A small pile of melon seed shells had accumulated in the white porcelain dish on the small table. He was engrossed in looking at them, and occasionally he would reach out and touch one. With a crisp sound, the shell would fall neatly into the dish.
Li Yuheng floated to Shu Bai's left and let out a snort through his nose.
Shu Bai didn't lift his eyelids, and turned another page.
Li Yuheng spun around to his right, this time humming in a roundabout way, with the last syllable swirling around: "Heh—humh!"
Shu Bai slowly cracked open a sunflower seed, popped the kernel into his mouth, and then lazily asked, "What's wrong? Did you get a chicken feather stuck in your throat?"
His voice was flat, and his gaze was still fixed on the page of the book titled "The Headless Bride Embroidering Flowers at Night".
Li Yuheng suddenly sank down, sitting lightly on the edge of the couch, and reached out to snatch the book from him.
Shu Bai flicked his wrist, the pages rustling as he avoided it.
“Some people are quite leisurely,” Li Yuheng said sarcastically, “and they even have time to read these rural tales.”
Shu Bai finally looked up, her gaze sweeping over his face: "Otherwise what? Should I learn from you and float around like a human-shaped ornament?"
"Do you know what that visiting card said?" Li Yuheng flicked his finger, and the gold-flecked card appeared out of thin air, hovering between the two of them.
"'Having heard that the Crown Prince's wife is not human, I specially recommend my daughter, who is intelligent and kind-hearted, to serve as a maid.' Serving as a maid! I'm not even completely dead yet, and you're already in a hurry to become a concubine!"
Shu Bai raised an eyebrow and read with great interest: "A woman of refined character and gentle heart... that sounds good."
Seeing Li Yuheng's eyebrows furrow, he slowly added, "What a pity."
"What's a pity?" Li Yuheng squinted.
"Unfortunately, we are both homosexuals," Shu Bai said, lowering his head to continue reading.
Li Yuheng's lips curled slightly, but he quickly suppressed it, his voice carrying a hint of sinister intent: "What if they recommend a man who is 'wise and virtuous'?"
As he spoke, he slowly leaned closer, his gaze fixed on her pale lips.
If Shu Bai dared to say something like "I'll think about it," he would bite him immediately, without hesitation.
Shu Bai turned a page of the book, not even bothering to lift his eyelids: "Just refuse too."
He was holding a plump melon seed between his fingers, intending to bring it to his lips.
Noticing the intense gaze beside him, he glanced up and saw Li Yuheng's taut jawline. With a gentle twist of his wrist, he presented the round melon seed to the other's lips.
"Knock."
Li Yuheng looked down at the melon seed that suddenly appeared at his lips and was slightly taken aback.
Sunlight streamed through the window lattice, casting a pale gold hue on her fair fingertips, making even the melon seed shells gleam with a warm luster.
He subconsciously opened his mouth and put the melon seed in his mouth. With a gentle snap of his teeth, the shell cracked open, and the sweet kernel spread its flavor across his tongue.
He chewed on the kernels, and the slight sourness from before unknowingly dissipated between his teeth and cheeks.
Shu Bai withdrew his hand without even looking, and with a flick of his fingertips, the two empty shells fell precisely back into the white porcelain dish on the small table, making a crisp, light sound.
Li Yuheng smacked his lips, tasted it, and realized it wasn't to his liking.
"No... Shu Bai, what is this? You think you can shut me up by just stuffing a melon seed in my mouth?"
"Otherwise what? What do you want to do?"
"What do I want?" Li Yuheng pointed at his nose. "Someone wants to give you a concubine! A concubine! I'm the rightful wife! Shouldn't I show some appreciation? I'm already jealous, and all you give me is a melon seed?"
Shu Bai finally looked up from her book, her gaze slowly landing on his face, scanning him up and down, her eyes filled with a hint of pity for someone looking at a fool.
“Li Yuheng”.
"ah?"
“You,” Shu Bai paused, his tone carrying a hint of incredulous seriousness, “are you bored out of your mind?”
Li Yuheng: "...Huh?"
"Hey, are you... bored out of your mind?"
He stretched out two fingers, picked up the two sunflower seed shells that Li Yuheng had just returned, and waved them in front of Li Yuheng's eyes.
“This thing,” he said, loosening his grip and letting the shell fall back into the dish, “is what you ate. Ren’er.”
He pointed to Li Yuheng's mouth, "You ate it. Did I put it on my mouth? Did you smack it just because I put it on your mouth?"
Li Yuheng was a little stunned by the barrage of questions and subconsciously answered, "...No, I didn't touch it?"
"That's outrageous." Shu Bai leaned back against the cushion and picked up the book. "What does it have to do with me the melon seeds you cracked and the kernels you ate? When others send invitations, they send them to the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, to my parents. I haven't even finished reading them, and you've already drunk your fill of vinegar for me."
"What, has the Crown Prince of the Underworld now taken on the role of gatekeeper for the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion? Even visiting cards have to pass your scrutiny, you old vinegar, first?"
Li Yuheng: "..."
Shu Bai looked at Li Yuheng's choked expression and a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.
He raised his hand and lightly patted Li Yuheng's cheek twice.
It feels surprisingly good to the touch, cool to the touch.
He paused for a moment, then rubbed his fingertips against the cheek, pinched a little bit of skin, and gently pulled it outwards.
Li Yuheng's face was slightly distorted by his pulling, and he spoke expressionlessly, his voice a little muffled from the strain: "...Shu Bai."
"Um?"
"You just finished eating sunflower seeds, didn't you wipe your hands? Did you use my face as a rag?"
Shu Bai paused, released his hand, and actually looked down at his fingertips.
It did indeed have a slight salty and savory flavor left from when I was eating sunflower seeds earlier.
Without changing his expression, he casually rubbed his fingers on the fabric of Li Yuheng's shoulder.
"I've wiped it off now."
“Okay,” Li Yuheng nodded, then suddenly grabbed the hand that Shu Bai had used to commit the crime, pulled it in front of him, and bit the back of his hand, leaving a shallow tooth mark.
"Now we're even. Your hand and my face, we've both defiled each other, so neither of us should look down on the other."
Shu Bai: "..."
…
Beyond the overt invitations, the undercurrents were even more turbulent.
Zhenling Division, Qin Lu's Study.
Zhao Wuwang stood with his head bowed, his face even more grim than before: "Commander, that ghost... that Crown Princess, is incredibly strange! The sorcerer at Gao Bi's villa is still insane, spouting nonsense, and we haven't gotten any clues from him!"
Qin Lu stood with his hands behind his back by the window, gazing at the withered tree in the courtyard: "It's not evil, it's skill. To be able to suppress an extremely yang body, it's no ordinary ghost or demon. We underestimated them."
"Are we just going to let it go like this?" Zhao Wuwang was unwilling to give up.
"Forget it?" Qin Lu turned around, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. "His Majesty's birthday is approaching, and all directions are coming to pay tribute. It is a time of great turmoil. The Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion bringing this 'auspicious omen' to the capital is already conspicuous. We only need to... observe the situation and add fuel to the fire."
He lowered his voice: "Go find 'those people' and tell them... a remarkable 'ghostly traveler' has arrived in the capital, who might be able to help them solve their problem of insufficient 'supplies'."
Zhao Wuwang was taken aback at first, then understood, and a sinister smile appeared on his face: "I understand! Using someone else to do the dirty work, brilliant plan!"
…
Meanwhile, in a luxurious mansion in the capital, there was an eerie and sinister atmosphere.
Several people dressed in strange clothes and surrounded by a faint aura of death were having a secret conversation.
At the head of the table sat a pale-faced, sunken-eyed young man in fine clothes, toying with a black jade thumb ring between his fingers, his voice hoarse:
"The Prince of Zhenbei married a ghost wife? And she can even harmonize the extreme yang body? Interesting... If we could get our hands on such a 'rare commodity' and present it to the sect leader, it would be a great achievement."
A gaunt old man at the bottom chuckled strangely, "Young master, that ghost is probably not to be trifled with. Even that old fox Qin Lu suffered a setback at its hands."
The elegantly dressed young man sneered, "Qin Lu? He's nothing but a lackey of the imperial court. What does he know? There's no 'material' we can't get our hands on."
—
I had a full day of classes today, so I took a short nap, but when I woke up it was almost noon. Oh well, I'll update more chapters tomorrow. The school has a sports meet on Friday, so I don't have classes then (~￣?￣)~
I'm going back to sleep. Goodnight, Makka Pakka!
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