Chapter 4 Without the Crown Prince's provocation, would she marry someone...?
Your humble servant, Wei Qin.
When the man paid his respects, he was neither humble nor arrogant, unlike a newly promoted official who had only been in office for three years; he was both composed and sharp.
Tao Qian, the Minister of Revenue, described him as a jar of aged wine that had been aged for more than ten years: profound, sweet, and delicate.
This was Tao Qian's statement in his letter of recommendation, which Wei Xichen had pondered repeatedly with great interest. Many of the senior officials in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were already old, and the Eastern Palace needed fresh blood. Yet, for some reason, Wei Xichen didn't have a strong desire to investigate Wei Qin's true abilities.
Wei Xichen glanced at Wei Qin's thin ramie shirt and said with a faint smile, "It's not yet the first month of the lunar calendar, Editor Wei should wear more warm clothes."
"Your Majesty, I am used to it. Thank you for your concern."
Jiang Yinyue stood up, brushed past Wei Xichen's smiling gaze, and quickly walked to Wei Qin. Her anxious heart finally settled down. "Wei..."
"I'm sorry, I'm late."
Wei Qin grasped Jiang Yinyue's hand and gently pulled her towards him. By the moonlight and the dim lamplight, he carefully examined the woman, unconsciously tightening his grip on her fingers. He asked in a low voice, "Are you injured?"
Recalling what happened today, Jiang Yinyue was still shaken. She frowned, but didn't try to put on a brave face, revealing a hint of grievance.
Wei Qin knew her temperament; even a fall would leave her with a sullen face, let alone what had happened today. He held her hand tightly, offering silent comfort.
Wei Xichen looked at them, his gaze falling on their clasped hands.
The wind and sand squinted his eyes, so he closed his eyelids slightly, smiled, and got up. He didn't say anything, and didn't even look at Jiang Yinyue again. He just raised his wide sleeves to avoid the many formalities when Wei Qin bowed to see him off.
Fu Zhongcai, who was guarding the door, bowed and followed closely behind, like a shadow.
Jiang Yinyue stared at the jade-colored figure disappearing into the night before belatedly pulling her hand back and rubbing her reddened palm. "You have such a strong grip."
Wei Qin didn't reply, but stared intently at Jiang Yinyue, revealing a rare emotion in this usually composed man.
Jiang Yinyue knew he felt guilty. When her father entrusted her to him, he repeatedly told her not to make any mistakes, but who could have predicted the unexpected situation?
"I'm fine."
To prove she wasn't just putting on a brave face, she even twirled around in front of him.
Wei Qin grasped her wrist again, looked at the small house in the side courtyard, and led her through the wooden door. "Miss, please rest first. I'll go find the carriage."
Jiang Yinyue looked surprised. The carriage was filled with their belongings, as well as the dry food and snacks that the Jiang family's cook had carefully prepared for her. It was all their possessions for this trip. Losing them would be a big problem. But then she thought that it was much easier to find someone in the mountains and fields by riding a horse than by car. Wei Qin had abandoned the carriage in order to find her as soon as possible.
Jiang Yinyue wasn't so unreasonable. As Wei Qin turned around, she grabbed him and said, "It's just material possessions. Don't bother with it. We'll go look for it together tomorrow morning."
Having experienced Wei Qin's stubbornness firsthand, she held onto him tightly, saying, "I'm tired and want to rest. I'll have nightmares if you're not here."
The darkness amplifies fear, and Jiang Yinyue was not very brave, so Wei Qin didn't insist any further.
In a moment, two shadowy figures, illuminated by the candlesticks, were projected onto the window frame, appearing and disappearing, sometimes in the dark and sometimes in the light.
Wei Qin knelt on one knee and was rubbing Jiang Yinyue's feet with soapberry.
To encourage the young couple to develop feelings for each other over time, Jiang Song forbade his daughter from bringing any maids. Throughout the journey, Wei Qin took on the role of servant, responsible for Jiang Yinyue's daily needs. In public, they addressed each other as husband and wife, but in private, Wei Qin called Jiang Yinyue "Miss."
Jiang Yinyue repeatedly asked him to change his address, but she couldn't overcome his insistence. Wei Qin seemed to be more submissive than other sons-in-law.
Submission is tinged with an untamed stubbornness.
A tickling sensation came from the arch of her foot, and Jiang Yinyue pulled her foot back, but Wei Qin held her calf.
The man's fingers were long, easily grasping the woman's calves. He looked up and reminded her not to move.
The night was long and endless. Wei Qin took out a set of inner garments from Jiang Yinyue's bundle. Just as he was about to untie the cloak for her, he noticed that the woman suddenly trembled uncontrollably.
Beneath the cloak, a jarring tear appeared at the collar of the plain dress.
Wei Qin didn't continue. He slowly sat down next to Jiang Yinyue and listened to her recount her experiences that day.
"I killed someone."
"He deserves to die."
Wei Qin did not mention the hunter's fate, not wanting to stir up further trouble in Jiang Yinyue's heart.
Shameless scoundrels deserve to die.
He picked up the undergarment, placed it in Jiang Yinyue's hands, and silently left the room. When he returned, Jiang Yinyue had already changed into the undergarment and was nestled in a corner of the small bed.
The small bed was just a couch, only big enough for one person. Jiang Yinyue, with her back to the door, patted her side with her hand and said, "There are too many people here, it's not convenient to sleep on the floor. Let's squeeze in."
During the three years of mourning, the two never consummated their marriage, but they often faced each other under the same roof, and Jiang Yinyue developed a brotherly and friend-like relationship with Wei Qinsheng.
Being a woman, Jiang Yinyue was a little shy. After extending the invitation, she secretly pricked up her ears to wait for a response, but then she heard a rustling sound behind her. She turned over and saw that there was a quilt on the floor.
Just now, he went out to borrow bedding from the post station worker?
Did you hear me?
Unlike the Jiang family's residence where heated floor lamps burned in winter, the post station was rudimentary. Not to mention heated floor lamps, even the bedding was just a thin layer, making it difficult to keep warm.
Wei Qin was used to it. He took off his black boots, lay down fully clothed, clasped his hands over his stomach, and calmly looked at the beams on the roof. "Miss forgot, I'm sensitive to heat."
Therefore, they would wear thin ramie clothes in the dead of winter and sleep on the floor year-round without complaint.
Jiang Yinyue naturally knew that Wei Qin preferred cold to heat. Although she felt embarrassed, she breathed a sigh of relief and lay back on the small bed, comfortably snuggling into the quilt to fall asleep.
After a short while, it began to breathe evenly.
Unable to sleep, Wei Qin rested his head on his arm. The long shadow cast by the oil lamp on the corners of his sharp eyes made them appear even more profound, concealing endless worries. After a while, he heard faint, intermittent murmurs coming from the small bed.
It's probably a reaction to not being relieved after being frightened.
Wei Qin got up and shook the woman in his dream. The woman in his dream started to cry. He hesitated for a moment, then lay down on his side on the edge of the bed, his long legs unable to stretch out.
Perhaps sensing the familiar scent of bamboo, Jiang Yinyue immediately began searching for the source of the aroma. Like a climbing vine, she entwined herself around the green bamboo that had sprung up in her dream, pressing her cheek against the bamboo stalk to draw warmth.
However, Wei Qin's body temperature was lower than normal.
Two bodies, one cold and one hot, pressed together in a friction that was perfectly seamless. Wei Qin could even feel the woman's exquisite body and the two heavy, imposing breasts.
The warm fragrance and soft jade ignite the restlessness.
He picked up Jiang Yinyue and sat against the wall by the bed, using the coolness of the wall to drive away the heat in his body.
He still vividly remembered the first time he formally met Jiang Yinyue, on the day the results of the palace examination were announced. The girl's proud yet fragile appearance remained fresh in his memory.
It was obvious that they were unwilling.
His colleagues at the Hanlin Academy once joked after drinking that if he were to set his sights on the Jiang family's power, he would be inviting trouble from a troublesome troublemaker, but if he were to set his sights on the person, he would be getting a great deal.
Without the stimulation of the crown prince, a beautiful and noble noblewoman would not marry a poor scholar.
Wei Qin touched Jiang Yinyue's warm face. This little girl, who could eat and sleep well, was very different from the pampered and difficult-to-serve daughter of a high-ranking family that her colleagues described. It would take time to realize this.
**
As dawn broke, Wei Qin, who had returned to his makeshift bed on the floor, was awakened by someone shaking his shoulder. He opened his sleepy eyes and saw Jiang Yinyue's clean-cut face close to his.
"Wei Qin, let's go find a carriage."
All their belongings for this trip were on that cloth. Jiang Yinyue didn't bother with breakfast and picked up a damp cloth to wipe Wei Qin's face.
Outside, everything was shrouded in gray. Wei Qin led Jiang Yinyue to the stable and led their horses out from a row of Akhal-Teke horses.
It snowed last night, and the mountains and fields were frosty this morning. The horses pulling the cart were no match for the mounts, and Jiang Yinyue was worried that the horses' hooves would slip while galloping, so she suggested walking.
Following her instructions, Wei Qin led the horse out of the post station, then released the reins, letting the horse gallop freely and stretch its limbs.
Jiang Yinyue asked with a smile, "Aren't you afraid it will run far away?"
"Won't."
Wei Qin whistled, and the horse that had disappeared turned back against the wind, its mane flowing.
This horse once accompanied Wei Qin to the capital for the imperial examination. Although it was not a rare breed, it was still one in a hundred. It was extremely intelligent and circled around the young couple once before letting go and running away without a trace.
Jiang Yinyue stopped worrying and walked forward, her steps uneven as she trudged through the snow.
It was broad daylight, but unusually cold. She rubbed her hands together and grabbed Wei Qin's sleeve to prevent herself from slipping.
Wei Qin suddenly squatted down in front of Jiang Yinyue and patted his own shoulder.
Jiang Yinyue shook her head, "I'm not tired."
"This way it will be faster."
"You think I walk too slowly?"
"The post station serves meals at Chenshi (7-9 AM), and I'd like you to have a hot soup meal."
Just then, Jiang Yinyue's stomach rumbled. She twitched her lips and immediately climbed onto the man's back. Only when he hooked her legs and carried her steadily did she truly feel Wei Qin's size.
Raise your gaze to a higher position for a wider field of vision.
Just as Wei Qin had predicted, their speed increased dramatically.
"Wei Qin, did you practice martial arts when you were young?"
"A little bit."
Jiang Yinyue patted his back; like his elder brother who guarded the border, he was strong and healthy.
No wonder her cunning father took a liking to her at first glance, and even fought tooth and nail with other powerful figures to bring her into the Jiang family.
"My son-in-law, Jiang Song's son-in-law, will surely rise to fame and soar to great heights!"
Remembering her father's words, Jiang Yinyue found it a little funny. She covered Wei Qin's ears, which were red from the wind, to shield him from the cold.
We mustn't let our future trusted advisors get frostbite.
In the vast, boundless mountains and fields, rugged and undulating, two overlapping figures moved through the landscape, leaving behind long footprints.
The wind blows away the snow without leaving a trace.
Smoke rose from the chimneys early in the morning. With His Highness the Crown Prince's arrival, the post workers dared not slack off. They took out the precious mountain produce they had picked during their daily mountain patrols and assisted the accompanying imperial chefs.
The imperial chef prepared the precious ingredients and mountain produce he had brought, and was about to cook a nourishing porridge according to the prince's taste when Fu Zhongcai, the steward of the Eastern Palace, walked in.
"Old Qi, make some desserts, especially mint cake and lion chestnut cake."
The imperial chef asked in confusion, "Does Her Highness mean that the Empress dislikes chestnut cake?"
"It is His Highness's will."
The imperial chef realized what was happening and turned around sheepishly.
Yan Liangdi disliked it, but some people did.
A note from the author:
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Our little Wei is so handsome! [covering face and peeking]
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