16 The Crown Prince's secret rendezvous was blocked at the door by an old widower.
It is against all reason and law not to repay a debt of gratitude.
As the saying goes, money makes the world go round, and Feng Ran has certainly seen this for herself.
A few days ago, she didn't buy many clothes or jewelry when she went out, since she didn't feel like she needed anything. She only bought some pastries and skincare products, but she used them only sporadically. Little did she expect that her husband would prepare such a big surprise for her today.
"Are all these clothes for me? How come there are so many?" Feng Ran stared at the four large trunks in front of her, her gaze somewhat blank. Good heavens, they were even more lavish than the dowry she had brought.
Beside her were four small chests filled with jewelry and ornaments. My goodness, what a blessed life she has! She must have accumulated so much merit in her past life to be so happy in this one. She should continue to work hard in this life, doing more good deeds, hoping to be reborn into a better family in her next life.
Feng Ran's eyes shone like stars as she looked at her husband with great restraint. "Husband, thank you so much. Marrying you is truly a blessing from my past life."
Duan Jingchuan blushed slightly at the word "good fortune" and felt a little awkward. He was about to say something but didn't know how to start.
Feng Ran chuckled and gently touched the hem of his clothes, whispering, "It's alright, no need to reply. I know you're very lucky to have married me."
This time, not only Duan Jingchuan, but also Xiong Qi and Xiu'er behind him couldn't stand it anymore. They never expected that the Crown Princess's skin was so thick. It must be hard for the Crown Prince. These romantic and frivolous stories had never been presented to him before. They wondered if the Crown Prince could handle them.
In the past, there were maids in the mansion who coveted the young master's good looks and always tried every means to get close to him, but the young master always avoided them as much as possible. Over time, these maids stopped daring to act recklessly.
Unexpectedly, this unexpected bride is quite different from ordinary girls. I wonder if the prince will like her.
Regardless of what others thought, Duan Jingchuan wholeheartedly agreed, nodding inwardly. Marrying his wife was indeed his good fortune. His lowered eyes held a smile, unseen by others, but his gaze became even more piercing.
He didn't really know how to get along with his wife, but what made him happy was that she never minded.
More than an hour later, Feng Ran finally finished trying on the four large trunks of clothes under Xiu'er's skillful hands. Her overly excited expression was a little tired, and she looked listless. "I can't take it anymore, Xiu'er, I don't want to try anymore. Clothes are all fine, I can wear anything!" She shouldn't have been so blinded by these beautiful women. Now, after trying on clothes for so long, she was covered in sweat in the winter and felt very sticky.
She wants to take a shower, but she doesn't even want to move a finger.
Having spent more time together, Xiu'er had come to understand Feng Ran's temperament to some extent. She brought over chestnut cakes that she had prepared in advance, saying, "Princess Consort, these are chestnut cakes that the chef has just made. Would you like to try them and see if you like them?"
Upon hearing that there was food, Feng Ran's eyes lit up immediately. She jumped off the bed and rushed towards Xiu'er. Just as she reached out to grab the chestnut cake, Xiu'er stopped her.
Xiuer skewered the chestnut cake with a small bamboo stick and handed the stick to Fengran.
Feng Ran looked embarrassed. She was just lazy, so she thought that if it wasn't clean, it wouldn't hurt.
The chestnut cake was indeed fragrant and delicious. This Xiuer is getting more and more shrewd, she has such a unique understanding of my taste. The chefs in this mansion have also improved. What can soothe a tired mood more than delicious food? Absolutely nothing.
The sky was gradually darkening, and the orange light under the candlelight gave off a warm glow. Feng Ran patted her stomach contentedly, wondering what to have for dinner.
She had once imagined that if she had the chance, she would be in the kitchen, directing the chefs and having them make all sorts of her favorite dishes. But the chefs at the Prince of Dingbei's mansion were just too good, so she preferred opening blind boxes, where every day was a surprise.
Xiuer suddenly shared a rumor.
"What? The Crown Prince met with Wu Fengqing in secret and was beaten by an old widower who was a drunkard and gambler?" What's the connection between these two things? Feng Ran was completely confused.
Xiuer whispered mysteriously, "That old widower has a lover who's unfaithful. He's always been a womanizer. The other day, when His Highness the Crown Prince was having a secret rendezvous with the second daughter of the Wu family, the meeting place was the same place his lover frequents. Maybe he drank too much and his eyesight got a little bad, because the old widower mistook His Highness the Crown Prince and the second daughter of the Wu family for adulterers and beat them up."
This matter has now spread throughout the court and the public, and even His Highness the Crown Prince is caught up in the gossip. Originally, the second daughter of the Wu family had a chance to marry into the Crown Prince's household, but after this incident, even if she did manage to marry in, she would at most be a concubine, and wouldn't even be able to become a secondary wife.
Whether she will be favored after marrying into the Crown Prince's household is still uncertain. After all, the Crown Prince lost face because of her, and seeing the second daughter of the Wu family will inevitably remind him of some unpleasant experiences. It seems that the second daughter of the Wu family's little schemes are doomed.
Xiuer was somewhat gloating. In her opinion, only their Crown Princess was a good person in the Prime Minister's mansion.
This made Feng Ran laugh heartily, until her fingers, clutching her stomach, turned white. It was truly bizarre and outrageous; she never expected Wu Fengqing to be so unlucky.
"Princess Consort, please stop laughing, or you'll get a stomachache." Xiu'er carefully escorted Feng Ran to the front hall for her meal, all the while worrying whether Feng Ran had laughed too much.
She hadn't thought things through. She should have brought this up as dessert. She hadn't expected the Crown Princess to laugh like that, completely disregarding any so-called family ties. She had thought the Crown Princess would be secretly laughing.
Feng Ran slowly calmed herself down, and upon hearing this, she looked up and said earnestly to Xiu'er, "It's alright, Xiaoxiao will allow me to eat more later. It's a bit strange, shouldn't His Highness the Crown Prince be surrounded by a large entourage, like a swarm of flies, when he travels?"
This was beyond Xiuer's comprehension, but they had already arrived at the front hall.
Upon receiving instructions from the Crown Prince, Xiong Qi immediately explained to Feng Ran, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but the Crown Prince is usually protected by guards. However, for some reason, there was an accident that day, and the guards were lured away, leaving the Crown Prince without anyone by his side, which led to this funny situation."
"They must have done too many disgusting things, and even Heaven couldn't stand it anymore, so it decided to teach them a lesson." Feng Ran didn't care why this happened; she only knew that she was happy.
Duan Jingchuan silently watched Feng Ran's happy appearance, his expression thoughtful, his eyebrows curving into a smile, thinking to himself that as long as she was happy, that was all that mattered.
Feng Ran was suddenly stunned when she saw the gentle curve of Duan Jingchuan's delicate eyebrows.
Her socially awkward husband is just too dazzlingly handsome; he's so good-looking he makes you want to eat!
She casually remarked, "My dear husband, you should smile more often. There's a saying, 'A good-looking person can eat three bowls of rice.'"
Duan Jingchuan's smile, which was halfway through, suddenly froze. How was he supposed to tell his wife that the idiom "秀色可餐" (xiù sè kě cān, meaning "beauty is food for the eyes") was actually something else? No, no, no, was he supposed to admit that he was "beauty food for the eyes"? At that moment, he was suddenly glad that he wasn't good with words, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to respond.
Duan Jingchuan's life was very regular. He would take a walk in the garden in the morning, have breakfast after the walk, and then stay in his study all day reading until dinner. His presence was really minimal.
Since Tong was staying at Jinghua Courtyard, Feng Ran mistakenly thought that she was the only master. Suddenly, she felt a little guilty.
The socially anxious girl prepared delicious food, beautiful clothes, cosmetics, and even gave her money to spend. She was treated better than a benefactor. It would be unfair for her to just take without giving anything back. What should she do to repay her gratitude?
But Xiao's personal life was so impoverished that she felt at a loss. They were only husband and wife in name, and Xiao didn't like to see people. Feng Ran mistakenly thought that as long as she behaved herself and didn't seek attention, she would be doing a great service to Xiao.
After much deliberation, Feng Ran decided not to make things difficult for herself and asked directly, "Husband, is there anything you need me to do for you? Or is there anything I can do for you?"
Upon hearing this, Duan Jingchuan paused, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head almost imperceptibly, "Madam, just do what you like."
Looking at the seemingly gentle and weak Duan Jingchuan, Feng Ran felt a headache for the first time.
The most detestable thing is this kind of person who takes advantage of kindness without expecting anything in return. If you owe too much kindness, you'll never feel justified in doing anything in the future.
If it doesn't work out in this life, I'll have to be his slave in the next. It would be against all reason not to repay such kindness.
Seeing the socially awkward girl's dull lifestyle, Feng Ran began to understand.
This person really had no needs. He ate, slept, bathed, and changed clothes every day, as if he were doing a task. If he hadn't been inexplicably forced into marriage, he probably could have lived like this for the rest of his life.
He looked Duan Jingchuan up and down, his gaze settling on his somewhat thin wrist.
Duan Jingchuan's hands were long and slender, quite beautiful, but his wrists were very thin. Feng Ran stretched out her own wrist and compared them. Well, the two of them were evenly matched, neither was better than the other.
In recent days, Feng Ran has been eating a lot in order to grow taller and fairer, but it's too early to see results. If she wants to be healthy, exercise is essential.
She had an idea of how to help the socially anxious child.
After dinner.
Feng Ran secretly grabbed Duan Jingchuan's sleeve and shook it.
Duan Jingchuan stopped and looked at Feng Ran with a puzzled expression, his eyes asking her what was wrong.
Feng Ran carefully observed the skin behind Duan Jingchuan's ears and on his neck. Unlike when they first met, he didn't seem to have any stress reaction. She thought to herself that she hadn't expected the little socially anxious person to be so adaptable. He had gotten used to her presence in the past few days, which made things much simpler.
"My husband, is it uncomfortable for me to hold you like this?"
Upon hearing this, Duan Jingchuan blinked and then looked at Feng Ran's hand holding his sleeve. The two were only a few fists apart, and their breaths could be heard between their nostrils. He looked down and could see that Feng Ran's hair was somewhat dry and yellow, and he really wanted to reach out and rub it.
It seems that raising a wife is a long and arduous task, and her hair color needs to be restored as soon as possible.
Seeing that Duan Jingchuan was lost in thought, Feng Ran had no choice but to shake her sleeve again. This time, she went a step further and placed her palm directly on Duan Jingchuan's wrist.
As she felt the warm body heat, Feng Ran thought to herself, "This wrist may be slender, but the skin is really nice."
Duan Jingchuan blushed and answered shyly, "No." Although his ears were burning red and his heart was racing, he didn't pull his hand back.
A note from the author:
Feng Ran: It would be against all reason not to repay a debt of gratitude.
Duan Jingchuan: Your act of repaying kindness is truly unforgivable.
Lord Duan: The Crown Princess may be abusive.
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