Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Nothing to Wear
Shen Qingchen didn't hug her, and didn't even glance at her sideways.
But he didn't push her away. He closed his eyes and looked like he was getting ready to rest.
Jiang Hexue only felt that her fist was hitting cotton, and she cast a seductive glance at the blind man.
She was silent for a while, then couldn't help but call out, "Zhaohua."
Shen Qingchen opened his eyes: “Yeah.”
"Do you usually wear a shirt when you go to bed?"
"……And you?"
"I don't usually wear anything." Jiang Hexue added considerately, as if she was afraid he didn't understand. "Nothing at all."
The young man beside him suddenly breathed heavier.
"So Zhaohua, you see, I take good care of you."
"I'll send someone to dry another quilt tomorrow." Shen Qingchen responded.
Jiang Hexue widened his eyes in disbelief: “Chen Qingchen!”
"Did you marry me to make me a widow?" She placed her hand on his chest and sat up. "Even a marriage of convenience wouldn't be this bad! There are so many couples with marital discord, but are there any couples as bad as ours? Others have children galore, and you..."
"Qiong Qiong." Shen Qingchen suddenly called her.
Jiang Hexue's words were interrupted by him. After a while, he slowly rubbed his ears and said, "Qiong Qiong?"
Ever since her mother passed away and she was driven out of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, she has never heard of this title again.
"How do you know my handwriting?"
"You told me."
"You have a really good memory," Jiang Hexue muttered. "After all these years, you still remember. It's only fitting that you can memorize things so much faster than me."
"Is it okay?" Shen Qingchen asked.
Jiang Hexue reacted and nodded: "Okay. What do you want to call me?"
Shen Qingchen didn't respond.
He thought that if she didn't agree, he could practice in private and say words like "sweetheart" and "baby" reluctantly.
She seemed to like this warm and affectionate name very much, and disliked his cold nature.
It doesn't matter, he can change it for her.
But Jiang Hexue and he had never thought alike. She stared at him for a few seconds, then spoke word by word, "Jiang, Shi?"
"You dare!" She put more strength into her hands that were supporting his chest.
Shen Qingchen frowned unbearably.
"No, that's really terrible," Jiang Hexue said. "It sounds so similar to the mythical 'zombie', so scary."
"Qiong Qiong." Shen Qingchen called again.
"Tell me, what did you want to say just now?" Jiang Hexue said, satisfied with his address.
"You don't need to fulfill your duties as a princess." Shen Qingchen spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully. "You don't need to worry about managing the household, raising children, serving the queen mother, or attending palace banquets except for the New Year."
"You don't need it, but I do!" Jiang Hexue lowered her eyes to look at his cold face, feeling increasingly aggrieved. "Let's not talk about anything else, even having children is fine, but you make me stay with such a beautiful husband all day long, unable to kiss or sleep with him. Aren't you asking me to suffer?"
Shen Qingchen was speechless.
"We are married. We are husband and wife." She stroked her fingers against his cheek and said frankly. "I need my husband to fulfill his obligations, to be close to me, to satisfy my desires."
"Zhaohua, it's not like you're incapable of it, so why are you so repulsive? Would you rather relieve yourself than be with me?"
Jiang Hexue was genuinely puzzled: "I'm not pretty? Why don't you take another look?"
"Not really." Shen Qingchen sighed helplessly.
"Love and desire have a sequence," he whispered. "Love must come first before we can have a harmonious relationship."
"You don't love me." Jiang Hexue understood.
"You don't love me." Shen Qingchen corrected.
"Love or not is not that important to me. If the person I marry today is someone else, as long as he is useful to me and good-looking, I will treat him the same way." Jiang Hexue did not deny it.
"You must stick to your principles, so try hard and fall in love with me." She withdrew her hand and lay down again unexpectedly.
"Qiong Qiong..."
"I don't want to talk, go to sleep. I need to get up early to dress, and you don't have to." Jiang Hexue closed her eyes and covered his mouth with her hand. "Stop talking."
Shen Qingchen really didn't speak again.
"I'm trying hard too." Jiang Hexue closed her eyes for less than a cup of tea before opening them again and kissed the corner of his lips lightly.
Trying to make him fall in love with her.
"Sleep kiss." She took the initiative to clear up Shen Qingchen's confusion.
"Sweet dreams, my husband."
In the thick night, the girl rested her head on his arms, her breathing gradually becoming even and long.
Shen Qingchen lowered his eyes and looked at her, smiling silently.
A very painful slap.
But there is a sweeter date.
She is also willing to work hard to fall in love with him.
Then he would definitely make her realize that there was more to him than just his appearance.
"Sweet dreams." Shen Qingchen lowered his head and kissed her fingertips lightly.
-
Jiang Hexue was awakened by the irregular sound of golden bells.
She stretched reluctantly, and after twisting her waist twice, someone grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her away.
She opened her eyes unhappily, but before she could utter a word of complaint, she was awakened by the lewd scene before her.
The young man's shirt was completely open, revealing his entire chest and abdomen. His lines were smooth and beautiful, his muscles were clearly defined, and his cold white skin was faintly pink.
The hand on the outside of the couch was fiddling with the curtains, making the sound of golden bells. The hand on the inside of the couch, which she had just used as a pillow, was still resting loosely on the back of her neck.
And her hands were pressed tightly against his chest.
Jiang Hexue instinctively touched it, then reluctantly withdrew her hand and squinted at him: "Why are you holding my neck?"
"Like picking up a kitten."
Shen Qingchen had already pulled out the arm that had been pressing on her all night, sat up, fastened the belt, and when he heard the words, he pointed at his clothes with his finger.
Jiang Hexue glanced down and suddenly remembered that he had only worn a small piece of clothing to sleep last night.
When she thought of this, she also remembered his words about bringing her a new quilt, and she said angrily: “Chen Qingchen!”
Shen Qingchen stopped in her tracks as she was about to go outside to change clothes and looked back at her.
"I can't untie the laces." Jiang Hexue lied with his eyes wide open. "Zhaohua, can you help me?"
"Send a servant."
"I'm so clean. If the servants see me, they will know that we are not getting along, right?" Jiang Hexue refused to compromise.
"No one dares to guess what you and I are thinking, and there is an ointment."
Seeing that he was about to walk out again, Jiang Hexue came up with an idea, shrugged, and sneezed.
Shen Qingchen really stopped and turned around: "Caught a cold?"
Jiang Hexue huddled under the covers, saying listlessly, "It's okay..."
Shen Qingchen stopped beside the couch, looked her up and down, and saw that the tip of her nose was really red, so she said softly: "If you feel uncomfortable, I will send someone to tell you that you will not enter the palace today."
"No." Jiang Hexue just wanted to hook him and coax him, and didn't want to go that far, so she hurriedly refused.
She was still thinking about going to the palace to see her brother.
Her voice suddenly lost its muffled nasal tone, and Shen Qingchen looked over suspiciously: "Did you really catch a cold?"
"You're the one who's freezing me." Jiang Hexue grabbed the edge of his sleeve, tugging intermittently, her eyes sparkling. "I gave you a goodnight kiss last night, but you didn't even give me a goodnight kiss this morning. You didn't even say 'good morning' to me, and you even grabbed my neck..."
"Fortunately, we are newlyweds, full of love and affection. I dare not think that we will have nothing to say to each other in the future."
"In this huge palace, there's not even a single person I can talk to. I'd better go back to North Third Street and open my incense shop... No, how can the princess show her face in public? If you treat me coldly, I have no choice but to be trapped in the palace and depressed for the rest of my life..."
"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have agreed to your request..."
"Do you regret it?" Shen Qingchen finally spoke, his tone a little low.
It was Jiang Hexue's turn to tease him without saying a word. The corners of her lips drooped slightly, her eyelashes drooped, and she looked like she was about to cry.
After a moment of stalemate, Shen Qingchen leaned over, gently clasped her hand, and took her entire hand into his palm.
Her emotions came and went quickly, but he couldn't let her process them on her own... and certainly couldn't let her regret them.
"I didn't treat you coldly," he said slowly. "You can go back to the shop anytime. Just be back before curfew."
Jiang Hexue waited for a while, but when he didn't say anything else, she raised her eyes and asked, "Is that it?"
"It's one o'clock in the morning. Do you still want to listen?"
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why did you wake me up so late?" Jiang Hexue pinched his fingers in anger, threw off the quilt and was about to get out of bed. "I won't listen anymore. It's too late."
Shen Qingchen still held her hand without letting go.
Jiang Hexue stopped in front of him in her slippers: "Relax..."
The hand that was shaking his was suddenly lifted up and brought to his lips.
A kiss as light as a feather falls on the fingertips.
"Good morning."
-
This was the first time Jiang Hexue put on makeup without rouge.
He hurriedly jumped into the carriage according to the time, and saw Shen Qingchen already sitting upright on the chair, holding a copy of "The True Secret of Yao Xiang" in his hand and reading.
"You're not in school anymore, but you're still studying so hard." Jiang Hexue sat down beside him and wanted to lean on his shoulder, but was stopped by the jeweled hair on her head, so she could only mutter.
Shen Qingchen closed the book and looked at her sideways.
"What's wrong? Are you fascinated by it?" Jiang Hexue blinked and smiled cunningly.
Shen Qingchen didn't respond, but just raised her fingertips and pulled the sleeve of her wedding dress a little.
The sight of two pieces of light red fabric with the same embroidery patterns placed next to each other makes one's heart soften for no reason.
"I'm taking my marriage leave from my brother today," he said. "What are your plans for the time being?"
"No." Jiang Hexue played with his fingers. "It's been pretty much the same these past few years."
"Selling incense, looking for Ah Ye, and studying the complicated relationships of noble people." She added. "Cursing the Marquis of Zhenbei to a bad death."
Shen Qingchen seemed to raise the corner of his lips.
"How many days can you take leave?" Jiang Hexue asked. "If you take leave, you must stay with me."
"According to the rules, it's three days."
Jiang Hexue understood the hidden meaning in his words.
"Then you have to take a few more days off to stay with me." She hooked her arms around his neck and kissed the corner of his lips. "Husband."
Shen Qingchen's earlobes were red.
-
There was a curl of green smoke in Kunning Palace, and the musk was so strong that it was almost pungent. As soon as Jiang Hexue entered the palace, he couldn't help but wrinkled his nose.
Empress Dowager Su sat at the top, Emperor Hengshun sat on her right, and Empress Xie stood behind him.
"Your son pays homage to the Queen Mother."
"Your humble servant greets the Emperor, Brother and Aunt."
Shen Qingchen took Jiang Hexue to the front of the hall, let her go, and bowed.
Jiang Hexue followed his instructions and knelt down to salute: "Daughter-in-law pays respects to the Queen Mother."
"My sister-in-law pays homage to my brother and aunt."
She had barely straightened her knees and hadn't had time to straighten her back when she heard Empress Dowager Su at the top of the table slam the teacup down with a dull thud.
"A common woman, how rude!" she snorted coldly.
“Kneel down!”
The author has something to say:
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"1" The title of the book is fictitious. Any similarity is purely coincidental.
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