Chapter 117 The Wang Family's Secrets Can't Be Kept Hidden forever
As the father and daughter happened to walk to the four corner pavilions in the garden, Cui Yan took the opportunity to instruct his servants to lead Xiao Qiyu into the pavilion to meet them.
The pavilion stands by the water and beside the rocks, surrounded by lush flowers and trees, their fragrance wafting in the air. Before you know it, the sun sets and the moon rises, and the bright moon hangs high in the night sky, its light as clear as blue waves.
A tall, slender figure walked in under the moonlight, his steps unhurried, as radiant as a jade tree standing in the wind.
Xiao Qiyu climbed the steps and entered the pavilion. He raised his arms and bowed respectfully to Cui Yan, his voice clear and melodious: "This son-in-law greets father-in-law."
The pavilion was bathed in soft lamplight. Cui Yingben was standing by the railing, reaching out to pluck a pomegranate blossom that had drifted into the courtyard. Hearing the sound, she looked up and met a pair of dark eyes staring straight at her.
Xiao Qiyu had obviously changed his clothes before coming over. He was not wearing his usual clothes, but a bright persimmon-red robe with a ruyi pattern, straight sleeves, and a round neck. The cuffs were bound with black leather wrist guards, and his two long legs were wrapped in frosty white silk trousers. The red and white colors complemented each other, making him look particularly elegant and graceful, like a fairy in a painting.
Cui Ying rarely saw him dressed so flamboyantly, so she was stunned and took a second look.
Cui Yan sat on a stone stool, stroking his beard, and said, "You've come at the perfect time. I'm in a rare mood today. Since you're here, why don't you have a few drinks with me first?"
Upon hearing this, Cui Ying knew that her father was deliberately teasing her, and she couldn't help but frown: "What are you drinking for so late at night? Father, you're not being honest. I'm going to tell Mother right now!"
Xiao Qiyu agreed quickly; before Cui Ying could finish speaking, he had already blurted out "yes."
Cui Yan beamed with joy, his eyes showing no sign of his daughter's threat, only the delight of their upcoming drink. He turned and instructed his servants to prepare wine and dishes, and even requested several small appetizers to accompany the wine.
Just as Cui Yan was announcing the names of the dishes, Cui Ying had already quietly moved to Xiao Qiyu's side, her brows furrowed, and she looked up at him, whispering, "Why did you suddenly come?"
Xiao Qiyu's face remained expressionless, but he grasped Cui Ying's hand, hid it behind his back, and lightly patted it, his tone reproachful: "I was about to ask you the same thing. Didn't I say I'd go back for lunch with you? I rushed back in the middle of the day, only to find you hadn't arrived. How do you explain that?"
He originally wanted to come after her at noon, but then he felt that it would make him seem too stingy, like he couldn't even get his wife to go back to her parents' home and he was just following her around. So he forced himself to wait until the afternoon, but after waiting and waiting and waiting, she still didn't come back, so he finally came looking for her.
Cui Ying tried to pull her hand away, but the force held it tightly. She could only mutter, "It was wrong of me to forget that you were going back at noon, but it's not like it's my first time visiting my parents' home. Why are you so nervous? I've never seen you like this before."
“That’s different,” Xiao Qiyu retorted immediately, then paused, lowering her voice slightly, “What if you came back because you were angry with me last night…?”
Cui Ying was taken aback as a series of exciting scenes unfolded before her.
It's the toes curling and spasming in mid-air, the bed curtains creaking incessantly, the throat screaming until it can't make a sound, the fear that finally manages to subside only to be instantly filled again...
Cui Ying's face instantly flushed red, with wisps of smoke even rising from her head. She grabbed the culprit's collar, forcing the gaze of this person, who was so much taller than her, to be at eye level. Both ashamed and angry, she gritted her teeth: "I'm not just angry with you! I practically want to—"
She raised her leg, ready to kick Xiao Qiyu.
At this moment, Cui Yan turned his head and looked at Xiao Qiyu with a smile: "Seventh Brother, do you have any favorite dishes or wine?"
Cui Ying abruptly reversed her kick, nearly cramping her calf. She forced a smile, nudged Xiao Qiyu with her elbow, and dryly squeezed out the words: "Dad is asking you, what do you like to eat?"
Xiao Qiyu enjoyed watching her humiliated expression, suppressed a laugh, nodded to Cui Yan, and said in a proper and polite manner, "Everything will be as Father arranges."
Cui Yan nodded, then added two more dishes before stopping.
Before long, the food and drinks were served, and the father-in-law and son-in-law chatted happily, discussing everything from astronomy and geography to current events and anecdotes.
Feeling bored, Cui Ying returned to Fushou Hall to keep the eldest princess company.
The candlelight flickered, and Cui Ying nestled beside her grandmother. The two chatted idly, as if they had returned to the time before her marriage.
Speaking of the upcoming military examination, Cui Ying casually mentioned, "Xiao Qiyu often practices riding and archery at the Ministry of War's training ground. The Ministry of War official there, Wang Shaolin, is his maternal cousin, so it's convenient for him to come and go."
Upon hearing this, the eldest princess paused slightly in her teacup, her kind smile froze a little, and she said calmly, "Seventh Prince and the Wang family are still so close?"
Cui Ying replied, "After all, the Wang family is his maternal family. They are connected by blood, so it's inevitable that they would get close."
As far as she knew, if we go back twenty years, the Xiao and Wang families were also rivals. The Wang family controlled the military power in the northern desert, while the Xiao family commanded the imperial guards in the capital. The Wang family's influence even subtly surpassed that of the Xiao family.
However, the Xiao family produced many talented individuals, and they were gradually promoted to the northern frontier, replacing the Wang family. Wang Shaolin's father, Wang Shanxiao, was considered one of the more capable members of the Wang family. He had commanded thousands of troops in the northern frontier and fought alongside Xiao Qiyu's uncle, Xiao Yuanzhong. However, about ten years ago, he somehow broke his leg while riding a horse. Since then, he has returned to the capital, holding a nominal title and spending his days playing with stones and fighting cocks. He has never been given important responsibilities again.
After her thoughts drifted, Cui Ying noticed something was off about her grandmother and sensed that something was amiss. She gently asked, "Isn't the Wang family good? Xiao Qiyu's grandmother is also a member of the Wang family."
The eldest princess looked into her granddaughter's bright and clear eyes, remained silent for a long time, and then slowly spoke: "Third sister, you are now a married woman and an adult. There are some things that your grandmother thinks you should know."
Seeing his grandmother's serious expression, Cui Ying sat up straight and said solemnly, "Grandmother, please speak freely."
The eldest princess met Cui Ying's gaze and said clearly, "Your marriage to Qilang was not arranged by the Empress Dowager on a whim, but by Madam Wang herself who went to the palace to plead with the Empress Dowager."
Cui Ying was stunned.
Those clear almond-shaped eyes slowly widened, filled with suspicion.
"What?" Cui Ying was incredulous, and in her anxiety, she stammered, "No, why? Grandmother Wang knew that Xiao Qiyu and I had been at odds since childhood, why... why would she do this?"
The eldest princess sighed, knowing that the truth could not be kept hidden forever and that she had no choice but to speak out.
...
As the night deepens and the dew grows heavy, the night becomes as dark as ink.
Cui Yan and Xiao Qiyu drank until the fourth watch of the night, both of them completely drunk. In the end, with a dark face, Madam Kong ordered the servants to carry Cui Yan back to Jixiu Pavilion, while Cui Ying helped Xiao Qiyu into the carriage to return to the Marquis's residence.
Inside the carriage, just as Cui Ying laid Xiao Qiyu down on the soft cushion, her waist was tightly gripped by a long arm, and her body fell uncontrollably, crashing into a chest filled with the smell of alcohol.
Young people are naturally prone to heatiness, and when they drink too much alcohol, their bodies feel like they are on fire.
Cui Ying was suffocating from the heat and struggled to push him away, cursing, "Let go of me! You're like a mangy dog, you're choking me to death!"
Instead of loosening his grip, Xiao Qiyu tightened his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head. His originally deep voice became particularly slurred due to his drunkenness, and he said in a childlike, whiny voice, "I won't loosen my grip... If I loosen it, you'll run around again."
Cui Ying's heart skipped a beat, like water rippling after being struck by a pebble.
"I won't run around, I promise, okay?" Cui Ying tried to persuade him.
Xiao Qiyu remained unmoved, his long eyelashes rising and falling with his breath, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, as if he were holding some rare treasure that had been lost and then regained.
After struggling to no avail, Cui Ying gradually gave up and simply relaxed her body, lying in his arms.
The wheels of the car rolled, and the candlelight flickered up and down in the lampshade, casting a soft, hazy glow.
Cui Ying got tired of lying in one position, so she turned her head and changed to another position. As she moved, her eyes inadvertently fell on Xiao Qiyu's face.
Under the influence of alcohol, his face was already flushed red, his breathing was much heavier than usual, his eyelashes were lowered, and his thin lips were slightly pursed. He had lost some of the innate coldness and aloofness he had when he was sober, and instead showed a rare childlike quality.
"What an idiot," Cui Ying muttered, looking at his fluttering eyelashes. "If my dad tells you to drink, you'll keep drinking? If he tells you to eat shit, you'll eat it too?"
Xiao Qiyu: "..."
Xiao Qiyu: "I'm drunk, not dead. I can hear everything you're saying."
Cui Ying snorted, too lazy to pay him any attention. Her fingertips slowly twirled the crimson silk on his persimmon-red robe. As she twirled, she seemed to think of something and suddenly spoke softly, "Hey, Xiao Qiyu, promise me one thing, okay?"
Xiao Qiyu let out a hot, muffled groan from his throat as a response.
Looking into his hazy, drunken eyes, Cui Ying took a deep breath and said, word by word, "From now on, stay away from the Wang family."
Once the words were out of his mouth, Cui Ying was prepared to have a long, drawn-out discussion with him.
After all, who would easily abandon their family because of a single sentence?
Cui Ying felt that Xiao Qiyu would definitely ask for the reason, or at least hesitate for a long time.
The silence in the carriage lasted only a moment before Xiao Qiyu, without any hesitation, uttered a single word:
"good."
Cui Ying was stunned, blinked, and said in disbelief, "Aren't you going to think about it again? You agreed so readily?"
Xiao Qiyu lowered his head again, buried his face in her neck, and gently rubbed against her. His breath, carrying the scent of alcohol, warmed her skin, causing a slight shiver.
“From today onwards, whatever you ask me to do, I will do,” he said, his lips brushing against Cui Ying’s skin, inhaling her sweet fragrance. “If you tell me to go east, I will never go west; if you ask me to take my heart out and give it to you, I will do it right now.”
Cui Ying couldn't help but laugh, her cheeks flushed and hot, and she said with feigned disgust, "Who asked you to open your heart? It's so bloody and scary. Xiao Qiyu, how come I never noticed before that you talk so irritatingly when you're drunk?"
"Fine, don't listen if you don't like it." Xiao Qiyu lifted his face from the crook of her neck, his voice noticeably colder, but he tightened his arms around her, as if he were pleading.
Cui Ying rarely saw him so childlike, and her heart softened inexplicably. Suddenly, she found him pleasing to the eye no matter how she looked at him.
As if possessed, she tilted her head back and quickly kissed him on the lips, making a crisp "pop" sound.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Xiao Qiyu opened her eyes, her phoenix eyes shimmering with tears, clearly reflecting Cui Ying's triumphant expression.
He frowned: "Taking advantage of me while I'm drunk?"
Cui Ying raised an eyebrow, speaking with an air of self-righteousness: "So what if I ate it?"
Xiao Qiyu stared at her intently, his eyes, which had been glistening with tears, gradually darkened. Suddenly, he raised his head and returned the kiss.
His kiss was completely different from Cui Ying's fleeting peck. The young man's burning body temperature, mixed with the overwhelming smell of alcohol, was forceful and surging, lingering and conquering.
The temperature inside the carriage rose rapidly, and the flickering lights cast their intertwined shadows onto the carriage wall. Because the space was too cramped, it was as if they were having a tryst in a cage, with no way to escape and no way to fly away. Their bodies were completely under each other's control.
Xiao Qiyu only let go of Cui Ying when she was about to suffocate.
Their foreheads touched, noses to nose, as they breathed heavily, their warm breaths mingling together.
The girl's lips were swollen and red from the kiss, her almond-shaped eyes were misty with tears, and she looked at the young man in front of her with a dazed expression, as if her soul had been taken away.
Xiao Qiyu had originally planned to let it go, but the three times last night had already made her unable to recover, and if it happened again, she would have to wait at least a few days.
But when I looked up and met those dreamy eyes...
The taut string in my mind snapped with a "clang".
He quickly took the initiative, pinning her down and reaching for his waist to rip off the obstructing leather belt.
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A note from the author: It's so good to be young.
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