Chapter 41
Two days later, Consort Xue held a flower-viewing banquet in the palace under the pretext of praying for the Emperor's well-being.
The spring sun shines brightly, and in the Imperial Garden, crabapple blossoms are like brocade, and magnolias are like snowflakes. Noble ladies, dressed in various colorful spring clothes, gather in twos and threes under the shade of the flowers.
Li Wan, dressed in a light purple embroidered lotus-patterned ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), stood in the crowd like an elegant jade hairpin flower.
Princess Heshun was followed by County Princess Qiongying, who was surrounded by people like stars around the moon. When she saw Li Wan come over to pay her respects, she only nodded slightly, her gaze lingering on Li Wan's simple clothes before turning back to talk to the others.
A moment later, a young palace maid quietly approached Li Wan and led her to Shou'an Palace.
Consort Xue sat on the phoenix chair in the main hall of Shou'an Palace, dressed in a crimson palace gown embroidered with gold phoenixes, surrounded by pearls and jade, exuding elegance and nobility. Seeing Li Wan enter, she smiled and beckoned, "Come and speak with me."
Li Wan stepped forward as instructed, and as soon as she curtsied, she smelled a faint, exotic fragrance. The fragrance was crisp yet slightly sweet, and it felt strangely familiar to her.
Before she could think further, Consort Xue took her hand, her face gentle: "Don't worry, once everything is settled, Xian'er will treat you well." Her voice was gentle, but her fingertips tightened slightly, "The position of concubine will always be yours."
Li Wan feigned gratitude, her eyelashes fluttering slightly: "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty."
She lowered her eyes and rose, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the unfinished sachet on the embroidery frame beside the Imperial Concubine—a group of swimming fish embroidered with gold thread on the moon-white satin, their tails flowing gracefully.
Li Wan's heart skipped a beat.
She grew up on the border. Although the Great Jin and the Northern Qi prohibited communication, the border villages of the two countries were very close to each other, and it was inevitable that goods would be exchanged.
She had also seen many clothes and jewelry from the Northern Qi people, and what impressed her most was the "wagging tail carp" pattern that the Northern Qi people loved the most.
As I pondered, that strange floral fragrance wafted over again.
Li Wan suppressed her trembling fingers. She remembered that this exotic fragrance was also made from the Ice Flame Flower, a unique flower from Northern Qi.
What are you thinking about, Fei Wan?
Consort Xue suddenly asked, her eyes fixed on Li Wan.
Those eyes, large and deep, with long and thick eyelashes, combined with the thoughts I had just had, made an unbelievable yet certain idea explode in my mind.
Soon, Li Wan suppressed her thoughts and said calmly, "I was just thinking that Your Majesty and His Highness asked me to stay by Xie Qi's side, but now that Xie Qi knows my identity, he will not let me know anything about him anymore. So... what use is it for me to stay by his side?"
Consort Xue was taken aback when Li Wan asked the crucial question so directly. She paused for a moment, then smiled faintly, "This matter is of great importance. Please understand that I cannot say more for now. You will understand when the time is right."
Upon hearing this, Li Wan thought to herself, "By the time the opportunity arises, I might not be alive to understand."
A moment later, Li Wan walked out of Shou'an Palace. The warm spring sun shone on her, but she felt a chill down her spine.
Consort Xue was actually from the Northern Qi Dynasty.
In other words, Xiao Xian has foreign blood, and if others were to know about this background, he would have no chance of succeeding to the throne.
No wonder they would collude with the enemy, because the righteous path was blocked, so they could only plot for many years to seize the throne.
Li Wan looked up at the blinding sunlight.
Now, all that's left is to find one person.
...
In April, when the spring sun was at its peak, General Lin Shang returned to the capital as scheduled.
A few days later, Lin Shang sent a letter to the Marquis's residence to pay his respects to Madam Xie.
Li Wan waited all day, and as expected, Old Madam Xie sent someone to tell her to return to the Marquis's residence to prepare for the banquet.
Li Wan returned to the Ningyuan Marquis's residence alone the day before.
After dinner and a bath, she stood before the mirror, her hair disheveled. The mirror reflected Li Wan's clean-cut face, her nightgown collar slightly open, revealing a slender neck.
The door was suddenly pushed open.
Her hand holding the comb paused, and she met Xie Qi's eyes in the mirror as he pushed open the door.
He wasn't wearing official robes; his dark-colored casual clothes with subtle patterns accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist, making him appear extremely tall and imposing. His deep eyes were fixed on her, scrutinizing her while seemingly concealing hidden undercurrents.
He walked slowly closer.
Li Wan's fingers tightened; she thought that after their last argument, he must be utterly disgusted with her.
"My lord..." she began to speak, but he suddenly reached out and pulled her up from the embroidered stool, drawing her into his arms.
Li Wan was caught off guard and bumped into his chest, her nose filled with his scent. He held her waist tightly with one hand, lifted her chin with the other, and leaned down to kiss her.
She hurriedly turned her head away, his warm lips brushing against her ear. He paused, his eyes darkening, and pressed her back against him. Her waist pressed against the cold edge of the table, his burning body before her, leaving her nowhere to retreat.
"Why are you hiding?" he asked in a low, husky voice, his fingertips stroking her chin.
Li Wan placed her hands on his chest, clearly feeling his rapid heartbeat beneath. He looked down at her, his long eyelashes casting shadows beneath his eyes.
"What, you rekindled your old flame with Xiao Xian at the Jiang residence, so you're keeping yourself pure for him?" He moved closer, their noses almost touching.
"But don't forget, we haven't divorced yet, you are still my wife."
Li Wan was surprised that he knew about her secret meeting with Xiao Xian, but the man in front of her was radiating a strange aura, so she dared not ask and could only vaguely say, "I only met him once, nothing happened."
Li Wan meant that she knew they were not divorced yet, so she would not rekindle their old feelings.
But to the man, these words were a blatant provocation.
The hand gripping her waist tightened suddenly, and through the thin nightgown, she could clearly feel a change in him. She looked up and met his reddened eyes.
"Do it! What do you want to do with him!"
Li Wan was still in shock at discovering his changes and didn't think about the meaning of his words. She only instinctively wanted to escape his body.
In the struggle, her knee accidentally brushed against his clothes, and a very low groan escaped his throat.
Li Wan froze, too afraid to move.
Xie Qi stared at her pale face, his gaze finally settling on her slightly trembling lips.
His rough thumb replaced his gaze, gently and slowly caressing her lips. "We've been married for half a year but haven't consummated our marriage. If we divorce like this, people will think I have some kind of physical defect."
Upon hearing this, Li Wan's mind was shaken. Last time he forced himself on her, she thought it was because she suddenly brought up divorce and his pride got the better of him. But she never expected that he would still be so fixated on this matter today!
She looked up, her gaze fixed on his fingertips, and earnestly promised, "Rest assured, my lord, I will never tell any outsider... about such a private matter..."
The tip of his index finger, which had been deliberately poised, suddenly slipped in as she opened her lips and pressed against her slowly moving pink tongue.
Li Wan was struck dumb, her slightly parted lips unable to close.
The man's gaze suddenly turned deep and intense. In the next instant, he grabbed the woman's slender waist with his large hand, lifted her up with one hand, placed her on the table, spread her strong, long legs, and squeezed in.
"My dear wife, be good." He whispered in her ear.
The intense heat rushed in, and Li Wan's wide eyes suddenly lost focus, leaving her motionless.
An inexplicable emotion was pounding at her. She was Li Wan, a village girl from Niutian Village with slightly rough skin, unrefined features, no education, and no social status.
If Xie Qi knew what she really looked like, would he still be so close to her?
No, he would dislike it, he would be disgusted by it, she was sure of it.
So, she used all her strength to pull her right hand out of his grasp, opened her palm, and slapped him hard and mercilessly.
"Slap!" The sound of a slap echoed in the silent room.
The man slowly turned her slapped face back to its normal position, then gradually released her, took a half-step back, and his eyes cleared of anger and lust.
"This is the third time you've rejected me, so you truly have no feelings for me whatsoever."
He spoke slowly and deliberately, not asking her a question, but stating a fact.
Li Wan lowered her eyelids.
From the moment she transmigrated into Jiang Feiwan's body and entered the heart of the royal family and nobility—a place she never dared to dream of before—to marrying the man whose name she could only hear on the stage, her only thought was to prevent the tragic battle of Yugu Pass from happening.
Moreover, she was also keenly aware that in everyone's eyes, it was Jiang Feiwan, the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Revenue, who did all this, not her.
Xie Qi, he doesn't even know who she is, or even her name, yet he's talking about love with her. How ridiculous!
Therefore, Li Wan raised her eyes and said with certainty and clarity, "Yes, Lord Xie, there is no affection between us whatsoever."
"Boom!" A thunderclap resounded in the sky.
Xie Qi stared intently at her for a long time, then suddenly laughed, but said nothing, turned and disappeared into the night.
Li Wan didn't look at his back; she only got up and closed the door after his footsteps disappeared.
It rained all night, but the next day the sun shone brightly.
The black lacquered gate of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion was solemn and imposing, with armored guards standing beside the stone lions.
Xie Ye, dressed in fine clothes, stood in front of the mansion gate and welcomed the Lin family members in one by one.
When Li Wan helped Madam Xie into the main hall, a rosewood octagonal table was already set with jade bowls and plates.
Li Wan saw a man dressed in a dark Qilin martial arts uniform sitting to the right of the main seat. His silver hair was neatly tied in a martial arts crown, and his deep wrinkles were full of the marks of time.
Li Wan paused slightly. This man should be the same age as her father, but he looked as if he had been worn down by the years, except for his sharp eagle eyes.
"Madam!" Lin Shang stood up and bowed, his gaze pausing as he glanced at Li Wan.
Madam Xie smiled gently and waved her hand, "We're all family, no need for formalities at a family dinner."
Li Wan sat down at the women's table and quietly looked around, only to find that Lin Shang had only brought his eldest son, Lin Kanghuan, and Lin Youke was nowhere to be seen.
"Father, this is the fairy that Xiao Qiqi married!" Lin Kanghuan suddenly pointed at Li Wan and shouted loudly.
The main hall fell into complete silence.
All eyes turned to Li Wan, whose face suddenly flushed red.
Just as they were feeling awkward and at a loss, Xie Qi, who had been observing coldly, slowly spoke up, "General Lin, she is Jiang's daughter."
Li Wan quickly stood up, curtsied, and said, "Awan greets Uncle Lin."
Lin Shang stared at her for a few moments, his thick, long eyebrows suddenly furrowing.
He had heard that Xie Qi had married the daughter of Yue from Jiangnan when he was at the border. Although he was surprised, he did not think much of it and just thought that the young people were in love.
He noticed her when she came in with Madam Xie, and felt that she looked familiar, but he couldn't remember when he had seen her before.
But at this moment, he remembered that he had seen her before when she was with the Third Prince.
Then why did she marry Xie Qi?
Lin Shang's heart was in turmoil, but he couldn't speak frankly at the moment, so he only said, "Minister Jiang is an upright man, and a diligent and honest official, which is good."
"Thank you, Uncle Lin." Li Wan noticed the strange look in Lin Shang's eyes but returned the greeting calmly.
After a brief interruption, the banquet proceeded as usual.
Madam Xie was very polite and attentive, Aunt Yang was busy running around, Xie Ye occasionally joked with Lin Kanghuan, while Xie Qi and Lin Shang...
Although the two sat together, they rarely spoke. Xie Qi remained indifferent, while Lin Shang looked at Xie Qi with appreciation, but also with a hint of... guilt.
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