Chapter 17 Lingering
Inside the main hall of the East Palace, there was a sandalwood throne screen inlaid with enamel and featuring the Five Cardinal Relationships pattern, standing by the window on the west side. Yang Manyan and the Crown Prince sat side by side on a soft huanghuali wood couch behind the screen.
At some point, the palace maids and eunuchs had quietly left the hall, leaving only the newlywed couple, leisurely chatting about the past and present in the silence.
Xiao Yan looked at the spirited girl beside him. The warm afternoon sun shone through the window, casting a soft glow on her pretty face.
His heart suddenly skipped a beat, as if it was gently poked by invisible fingertips.
Immediately, he couldn't help but sigh that it was because of his lack of experience and limited vision that he almost mistook this "female scholar" who was well-read, talented and beautiful for a girl from a poor family with little talent and knowledge.
Xiao Yan asked gently, "Besides reading, do you have any other hobbies?"
Seeing how approachable he was, Yang Manyan gradually relaxed and said with a smile, "I usually play chess with my sister to relieve my boredom at home."
Yang's father came from a poor family, but Yang's mother, Xue Shulan, was the daughter of the former magistrate of Gaoyang County, Baoding Prefecture, and the Xue family was a well-known scholarly family in the local area.
If Yang Qianxing had not passed the imperial examination and become a scholar at the age of fourteen, and had not been handsome and elegant, how could the county magistrate's daughter have been able to marry a poor peasant family?
Yang Qianxing and his wife had only two daughters, and naturally treated them like the apple of their eye. Not only did they not impose any restrictions on them, they also personally taught them to read and write.
Xiao Yan chuckled when he heard this: "I also love playing Go, and I often play against my father, Bo Xuan and others."
As soon as he said this, his smile froze.
Boxuan was the courtesy name of Xu Chengzong, the son of Duke of Wei who was studying with him.
And there seemed to be a rift between this Prince Xu and his Crown Princess - on the day of the re-election, Xu Chengzong even criticized her in front of him.
Yang Manyan's eyes also flashed slightly.
A few months ago, the Yang family moved out of the Duke of Wei's Mansion and moved to the Minister's House. She almost forgot that Xu Chengzong was the prince's companion.
In her mind, the impression of Xu Chengzong was really bad.
Although she was indeed drunk and out of control when they first met, she immediately apologized and explained sincerely, but every time they met afterwards, he mocked her and even inexplicably proposed to take her as a concubine...
For a moment, the two of them were speechless. The only sound in the hall was the interlaced breathing, sometimes light and sometimes slow, which gradually gave off a somewhat ambiguous atmosphere.
"Do you... have a nickname? How should I address you in private?" Xiao Qing was the first to break the silence.
Yang Manyan shook her head and said, "I really like the name my parents gave me, so I didn't give myself a nickname. The elders in my family all call me Manyan or Yuanyuan."
Wish fulfilled? Xiao Yan silently chanted these two words in his heart.
This name means the fulfillment of wishes. Although it is a bit straightforward, it reveals the parents' deep love for their daughter.
"My courtesy name is Zi'an. You can call me that in private." His voice was clear and pleasant, like pearls falling on a jade plate, and Yang Manyan's ears felt hot when he heard it.
Her face flushed and she answered "yes" obediently.
When Xiao Yan saw her snow-white skin turned red, like the sunset reflecting on the snow, the scene of last night came to his mind.
He hurriedly looked away, picked up the tea on the table that had already gone cold and drank it all in one gulp, only then did he barely suppress the heat in his heart.
"Just now I said I would take you to visit the East Palace. Do you want to go with me now?"
Yang Manyan hesitated for a moment and said, "Can we do it another day? I'm still having some...inconveniences."
Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment, and asked with concern: "Where do you feel uncomfortable? Do you want to call the imperial physician?"
Yang Manyan hesitated, a blush spreading from her cheeks to her neck.
Xiao Yan's mind moved, and he understood instantly. His throat tightened: "Does it still hurt? Do you want me to give you another dose of medicine?"
Yang Manyan's eyes widened and he shook his head hastily: "Your Highness, don't! I applied medicine last night and it doesn't hurt anymore!"
But when she looked up and met the man's burning gaze, her heart trembled violently and she even forgot to breathe.
Before she could come to her senses, the man's cool thin lips had already placed a lingering kiss on her lips.
Yang Manyan was stunned again. She really couldn't understand how His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was as gentle as the breeze and bright moon, could be so skilled and experienced in kissing?
Could it be that he already had a concubine?
Yang Manyan felt inexplicably depressed.
In fact, she should have known that she couldn't be the only woman as the crown prince of a country, but she still felt uncomfortable.
It has nothing to do with love, I just simply feel that his lips may have been kissed by other people, and that makes me feel uncomfortable.
Xiao Yan keenly noticed the subtle change in her expression and asked with concern: "What's wrong?"
Yang Manyan bit her lower lip lightly and then shook her head.
A trace of confusion flashed across Xiao Yan's eyes, so he could only kiss her flushed cheeks a few times as if to comfort her.
At this moment, the sound of chaotic and hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince and Crown Princess! The Director of the Imperial Household Department is here with the imperial edict and will be here soon. Your Highnesses, please leave the palace immediately to receive the edict!"
The expressions of Xiao Yan and Yang Manyan both changed slightly, and they were full of surprise when they looked at each other.
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