Chapter 43: Did you have fun? "This Miss Yun looks...
"This Miss Yun is unexpectedly beautiful. What kind of demon must she be to be in such a hurry to find someone to marry?" The young man in brocade clothes recalled the appearance of the woman just now and became more and more obsessed with her.
She's not a gorgeous beauty, but her eyes and eyebrows have a certain charm, especially when she raises her eyebrows and curls her lips in a faint smile, it's really tempting...
"That's right, Master! Miss Yun is prettier than any of your concubines!" the servant agreed. "But Miss Yun said she didn't want you to have another woman before she came home. You said no, so what about the other maids in the mansion? And what about Hong Ling? You promised her a concubine, and she's eagerly awaiting it..."
"You believe me, just trying to trick her?" the man said slowly, "Just sell those girls off and bring Yun Yang in first."
A woman's choked voice was heard, "Please, sir, please keep Lan'er."
The man sneered, "If you keep acting like that, I'll sell you to a brothel."
Yun Yang next door thought of the pleasant little girl who had just been serving tea. It turned out that she had already been waiting on the bed...
This was another young man introduced by the Fourth Madam. Yun Yang made an appointment to meet him at a teahouse. From the moment they met to the moment they parted, this man's every move was elegant and polite, but Yun Yang always felt something was wrong. When he turned his back and stood up, he always felt that the sticky gaze was real.
But when she looked up, the young man's smile was as gentle as jade, but the frivolous charm between his eyebrows could not be concealed.
Yun Yang was cautious and said goodbye to the man before going out and entering the private room next door.
A lazy, faint laugh came from the man next door. "Besides, when did I say I was sending you away? Didn't Yun Yang notice anything just now? Wait until she comes in, and then you and I can come secretly. Wouldn't it be more fun?"
I don't know where he pinched the woman, but she moaned in pain again...
Yun Yang stood up expressionlessly, opened the door and left.
Let’s leave it at that.
The next Mr. Liu came from a family of scholars and officials. Yun Yang did not hide the fact that he knew some martial arts. After sparring with him, she found that a person's character can be seen from his martial arts. This man was impatient and vindictive. At first, he looked down on her because she was a woman, and then he was defeated by her spear. However, he kept pursuing her, insisting that he had not performed well just now and would try again.
Yun Yang smiled with curved eyebrows and eyes like cold stars, "Of course, your martial arts skills are higher, and you gave in to me just now."
Young Master Liu was stunned for a moment as he looked at the deep smile on her rosy cheeks. This woman had looked at him coldly during the competition just now, but now her smile was so lively and charming, like a meticulously crafted landscape painting coming to life, and she was the only color between black and white.
Mr. Liu's heart immediately began to beat uncontrollably. He blushed and tried to strike up a conversation, but the beauty's smile was piercing. "Mr. Liu's family is aristocratic family, how can my family be worthy of him? Let's forget it."
The next one is a scholar who works as a scholar in the Hanlin Academy. Seeing that there is no hope of promotion, he prepares to take up a local position after the three-year examination period, so that he can return to Youzhou with Yunyang.
This scholar had a handsome face and spoke very sensibly, but he had an eighty-year-old mother and several younger brothers and sisters to support. He could take care of them, but he also wanted Yunyang to give birth to a boy.
Yun Yang felt like she was still a child. The idea of getting pregnant and having children, and having to wait until she had a boy, was a bit too shocking...
I've met young businessmen, scholars, and military generals, and they all have some inappropriate behaviors.
Later, she met a few handsome men who caught her eye, but they inexplicably found excuses to back off.
Yun Yang rested for a few days and looked a little tired. He was not in a hurry to meet the next one. He played chess with the young ladies in the mansion or went out for a stroll.
Sometimes I play for the whole day and don’t come back.
Xue Yu was busy preparing for the prince's wedding and returned home very late, but she was even later than him.
As Xue Yu entered the mansion, he saw her coming in from outside. His face was extremely gloomy. He stopped and glanced at her nonchalantly, "Did you have fun?"
Yun Yang straightened her slightly messy hair, said nothing, and the smile on her face slowly faded.
"Who did you go with? Why did you come back so late?" He asked again, looking at the two pale blue spots under her eyes, "It's not that I want to restrain you..."
"After the Crown Prince's wedding, the Princess will go on a journey. She's in a bad mood and wants me to accompany her." Yun Yang interrupted, looking up at the sky, lowering his brows and bowing, "It's so late, brother-in-law, please go to bed early."
Xue Yu felt half angry and half disappointed. She and he finally became the one who adhered to the bottom line and was polite.
Her face was flushed, she was drunk from drinking, her eyes were watery, her steps were unsteady, she was extremely exhausted.
The slight unhappiness in his heart disappeared, and he said slowly: "Go and rest."
Yun Yang nodded yes and turned to leave.
Her eyes passed over him without hesitation and she turned and walked away.
Xue Yu was a little dazed. Was it her who had been relying on him so affectionately and asking him if he would treat her well for the rest of her life?
The dim candlelight in the stone lamp was blown by the night wind, pouring out a swaying water color. When Yun Yang reached the edge of the Qinghu Lake, his staggering steps became steady and his misty eyes became clear.
Yun Yang was actually half awake and half confused. She had been drinking with her father since she was a child. The wine she drank with Princess An Ning was not enough to make her completely lose her mind, but for some reason, her heart seemed particularly sour.
Especially when I saw Xue Yu, I hadn't looked at him carefully for a long time. He seemed to have lost a lot of weight. Was he tired?
His thin jaw was set in a taut line, his expression gloomy, and he seemed to be suppressing his anger when he spoke to her.
Yun Yang stopped and leaned against the white stone beside the Qing Lake. The air was damp and cold, and she was no longer drunk.
The black tiles and white walls standing quietly in the center of the lake were lit up with dim candlelight, like a precarious and unreal dream.
After looking for a long while, she turned her head and sneered, her eyes as bright as snow.
Why, he is so unhappy just because he is allowed to sleep with other prostitutes while she goes out to eat, drink and have fun?
The night wind blew, and a line of clear tears flowed across the porcelain-white cheek. Yun Yang lowered his head, and his thin shoulders trembled slightly.
*
The prince's wedding will be here soon.
Many officials and their wives were invited to the palace to watch the ceremony. Yun Yang was not among the invited guests. Princess An Ning invited her again and again, persuading her to take this opportunity to come to the palace and take a look. It would be such a pity and shame to come to the capital but not enter the imperial palace.
And not everyone has the opportunity to enter the palace!
Yun Yang was persuaded. In fact, her reluctance to enter the palace had nothing to do with the prince. It was not because she was embarrassed by the prince's wedding, but because... she was afraid.
That's the imperial palace! How can you just walk in?
But the princess' words resonated deeply with her. If she had the chance to go in and take a look, why not? Wouldn't it be a pity if she missed out? She also wanted to brag to her descendants when she was old and gray that she had been to the palace and had been favored by the prince!
It is possible that the prince had already become the emperor at that time.
That day, Yun Yang followed the Xue Mansion's carriage into the palace.
The princess brought people to greet her at Shunzhen Gate. As soon as Yun Yang got off the carriage, she got on the princess's carriage again.
The weather was indeed very good on the day calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory. The window papers in the palace were replaced with thin gauze, and the bright red color of the entire courtyard shone through the sunlight, filling the palace with a heavy atmosphere of joy.
The princess pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped the leaves of the pot of exotic flowers in the center of the hall, lamenting idly, "These flowers were brought back for me by my prince from India. He's getting married soon, and I hear his new sister-in-law is a difficult person to get along with."
Xue Jin was very familiar with the princess's palace. She casually leaned on the couch and said, "She is very beautiful. I have seen her. She is also talented. I heard that she even took the imperial examination. She was a female official of Fengtai. If she said she would not do it, then she would not do it."
The leaves of the plant in the pot were thick and round, and felt strange to the touch. Yun Yang lowered his eyes to study the leaves carefully, and the princess saw a different feeling. The princess thought for a moment and said to him, "Yun Yang, the Crown Prince has feelings for you. The palace rules are strict, and I can still find loopholes when I leave the palace, but the Crown Prince is different. He is subject to many more restrictions than I am. It will take a lot of effort for him to leave the palace to see you. It is not as simple as you think. He had no choice but to get married..."
Yun Yang looked up at the guilty princess in surprise. Then he realized that his entry into the palace might be another plot by the Crown Prince. Could it be that he still hadn't given up? He was still trying to harass her after she'd already gotten married?
"Your Highness, I have no such thoughts towards His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Yun Yang said.
There was a purple bamboo curtain hanging on the door, and a slight warm breeze blew in through the gaps. Looking up, the majestic palace walls were divided into strips. Even so, the majestic momentum exuded by the vermilion walls and bright yellow tiles was hard to ignore.
Walking all the way from Shunzhen Gate, she had never seen the spaciousness and magnificence of the Forbidden Palace, and the inner palace was another world beyond her imagination.
"I have never thought of entering the palace," Yun Yang said sternly, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is now married. If he comes looking for me again, please have pity on me, Your Highness, and don't let me become a thorn in the Crown Princess's side."
The princess said, "The Crown Prince truly loves you deeply. Aren't you also looking for a husband? Wouldn't it be great to marry the Crown Prince? With the Crown Prince's devotion to you, becoming his consort won't be a problem in the future."
The princess continued to persuade him, "You are living a carefree life in the Xue family now. Although your brother-in-law is a second-rank official, it is indeed rare for him to reach this position at his age. But think about it, the Xue family cannot compare with the royal family. What's more, the prince is the crown prince, the legitimate heir, and will inherit the throne in the future. Marrying the prince is a thousand times better than marrying anyone else!"
Yun Yang remained silent. She felt nothing but respect and fear for the Crown Prince. No matter how precious he was, or how much he was worth, the thought of being his wife, engaging in the intimate acts depicted in the Spring Painting, darkened her vision. The Crown Prince was absolutely not within her consideration.
Oh, by the way, they are not husband and wife, but sharing a husband with other women.
The palace is magnificent, and the spices tributed from the Western Regions are intoxicating.
Seeing Yun Yang's determined expression, with no room for maneuver, the princess secretly worried about the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was getting married today, and he had taken a break from his busy schedule to instruct her to take good care of Yun Yang...
At this moment, my son, the Crown Prince, is probably paying his respects to the future Crown Princess.
Thinking about it carefully, Princess An Ning also felt uncomfortable with Yun Yang, who was such a free and easy-going person, being detained and forced to act like a noble lady.
In this case, the man has feelings for her but the woman has no intention, so she will not help the prince in the future.
The wedding ceremony is complicated and the evening banquet lasts a long time.
"Then let's take a stroll in the Imperial Garden, Yunyang. This is your first time in the palace, so I'll take you to see the scenery." said the princess.
"Princess! Princess! Oh no, something happened!" The palace maid rushed in in panic.
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