Chapter 52 The Crown Princess.
Shen Mi glanced at that gaze and was so frightened that she turned her head away.
She had never seen such an expression on Gu Zhan's face before. Even when he treated her badly, whether he was indifferent, perfunctory, or domineering, he had never shown such an expression.
For no apparent reason, Shen Mi recalled the scene in Yanzhou when her father dealt with the rebels in the army, beheading them with his sword. She was fourteen years old that year, not yet of marriageable age, and she secretly slipped into the military camp to play, where she witnessed that scene.
In her memory, her father was extremely kind and loved his soldiers like his own children. At that time, the soldiers of Yanzhou all said that it was their good fortune to follow a general like her father. However, when faced with a traitor in the army, her father did not show any mercy.
If Father treats those with ulterior motives this way, how much more so Gu Zhan, a ruthless and cold-blooded person?
Sure enough, the next moment, Gu Zhan forcefully turned her face towards him, forcing her to look directly at him.
Gu Zhan gripped her shoulder tightly with one hand and pinched her chin with the other, his whole body hovering above her.
Beneath Shen Mi was a soft and thick quilt, the cover of which was also made of the finest and softest Hangzhou satin. However, the kesi weaving technique on it made half of her face ache.
Gu Zhan's thumb brushed against the red mark on her cheek left by the silk tapestry on the brocade quilt, but the pressure was not light. "Have I spoiled you a bit too much these past few days in Runzhou, hmm?"
"Do you think that by using some trivial tricks and saying a few nice words to me, I will feel pity for your repeated betrayals?"
Although Gu Zhan's hand was only on her face, Shen Mi felt a shiver run down her spine.
She had gotten caught in the rain on her way back to the boatman's house from the riverbank. Although she dried herself off, Gu Zhan forcibly took her away not long after. Along the way, the wind blew through the drifting raindrops, which almost seeped into her collar. Although her hair was dry, her clothes were indeed soaked and now clung tightly to her body, making her feel uncomfortable and drenched all over.
Gu Zhan continued to question her coldly, his breath falling on her neck, mingling with the dampness of the rain on her body. Shen Mi couldn't help but turn her head away, both to avoid Gu Zhan's touch and to avoid his breath.
But her chin was held tightly, preventing her from moving an inch.
Seeing that she pursed her lips and didn't say a word, and even frowned and avoided his touch, Gu Zhan laughed angrily, "It seems that you have been away from the palace for too long and don't know what rules are anymore."
After saying that, the hand that was holding Shen Mi's shoulder slowly moved down and instead gripped her waist. "Fine, since you are mine, I will personally teach you the rules."
Upon hearing the sound, Shen Mi immediately felt the ties on her skirt being pulled open, and her waist was instantly freed from restraint.
Her eyes widened as she looked at Gu Zhan in disbelief, almost instinctively pleading, "Your Highness, I know I was wrong. I will never dare to do it again. Please don't do this..."
We are currently on the ship returning to Bianjing. Tonight, a storm has started, so we need to be extra careful when sailing. As a result, there will probably be a lot of people coming and going on the deck. It is not like the small courtyard in Runzhou, let alone the Eastern Palace.
If someone overheard this, would she want to lose face?
So Shen Mi subconsciously tried to use her free hand to stop Gu Zhan's movements, but she was easily restrained.
"If I remember correctly, the last time you tried to sneak out the back door, you looked at me with these same eyes and said you knew you were wrong. But did you really know you were wrong?"
Shen Mi's lips trembled as she tried to come up with an explanation and apology, but her lips were sealed by those cool lips that covered hers, silencing her and forcing her to swallow her words.
Gu Zhan kissed her urgently and fiercely, as if he wanted to steal all her breath and suffocate her to death immediately, leaving her no room for resistance.
Her ears were ringing from the kisses, and her mind was blank. Not to mention the strength to resist, for a moment, she almost forgot how to spell the word "resist."
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Zhan finally allowed her to breathe.
Before she could bring her thoughts back, her hands were raised above her head.
Gu Zhan saw that the red string with gold beads that he had tied to her wrist earlier was still loosely hanging on her wrist. However, with his push, the red string slid up her smooth and delicate arm.
He had tied the knot loosely, and now that he wanted to untie it, he gently flicked it with his fingertips, and the red string slipped off her forearm.
Gu Zhan held both of her wrists with one hand, and with the other hand picked up a red string from her black hair that was spread out on the quilt, letting the red string with the twin lotus golden beads sway in front of her eyes.
A blurry red shadow flashed before Shen Mi's eyes, and then her wrist tightened, hitting the hard wooden headboard.
Gu Zhan used the red rope to tie her wrist to the headboard, even making a tight knot. She struggled several times, and the protruding wrist bone was rubbed painfully by the wooden headboard.
Gu Zhan stared at her movements, a low, almost malicious chuckle escaping his throat. "Since tying on these twin lotus blossoms can bless us to grow old together, we can't let this symbolism go to waste, can we, Zhi Niang?"
Sizzle—
Before she could even finish her sentence, she heard this sound, and then her legs were immediately exposed to the cold air.
Just then, Yang Qing's voice came from outside the cabin.
"Your Highness, as you instructed, Qian Zhen intercepted Cuiwei when she left the city and just sent someone to put her on our ship back to Bianjing."
Upon hearing Cuiwei's name, Chen Mi's lips trembled slightly.
She thought that even if she failed to escape, Cuiwei, who was not noticed by many people, might be able to escape smoothly. However, she did not expect Gu Zhan to act so quickly and capture Cuiwei before she even left the city.
Gu Zhan took in her stunned expression, then held Shen Mi's ankle with one hand, leaned closer to her, and whispered in her ear, "If you behave, Cuiwei can come back to Bianjing with you, and I will make an exception and let her stay by your side to serve you." He paused slightly, "If you don't behave, I will pretend that she got lost on this boat and fell into the river. Zhi Niang, you choose one?"
Shen Mi's breath trembled. Gu Zhan wasn't asking her to choose at all; he was clearly certain that she wouldn't be able to give up Cuiwei, thus forcing her to obey.
She had no choice at all.
So she stopped struggling, closed her eyes, and whispered, "Your Highness, please spare Cuiwei. I will never dare to do it again..."
She didn't see Gu Zhan's expression, but she vaguely heard him chuckle softly, "That's a good boy."
However, she didn't have a chance to close her eyes for long before being forced to open them by a piercing pain.
Gu Zhan didn't laugh at all; his face was terribly cold. "I think you just don't know what 'the husband is the head of the household' means. You'll never learn your lesson unless you're punished."
That night, as the boat sailed on the river, she too was like a small boat adrift in the vast ocean, forced to rise and fall, until finally even her vision became a blur.
The bedding was soaked in large patches, and the strands of hair were stuck to the face with sweat, making even breathing intermittent.
When her waist and abdomen tightened again, she had neither the strength to meet it nor the strength to resist.
Gu Zhan noticed the woman's lips were glistening and she seemed unexpectedly docile.
After he had completely possessed her, his anger at being betrayed and deceived subsided somewhat. He was about to lean down and give her a comforting kiss, but the woman turned her face away and whispered, "Your Highness, if you do this, I would rather die."
Gu Zhan's breathing became labored, and the kiss that was about to fall stopped in mid-air.
He then realized that Shen Mi was not obedient, nor was she tired; rather, she seemed to be in despair.
He inexplicably recalled the four years he thought she had truly perished in the fire, those sleepless nights, those days when no one asked him if he had a warm meal, and a subtle, persistent pain welled up in his heart.
He only wanted to punish her slightly, to make her remember her place, and to prevent her from ever disobeying him again. He never intended for her to die.
He withdrew and finished the matter hastily.
When he turned around, he saw that the room was in complete chaos.
Gu Zhan picked up his outer robe from the ground, put it on, straightened himself up, and then pushed open the cabin door, where only a river breeze blew in.
When the servants on the ship heard the woman's voice from inside the cabin, they tacitly retreated, each staying at least three feet away from the cabin.
Gu Zhan closed the cabin door from the outside. "Yang Qing."
Yang Qing, who was standing not far away, approached and awaited Gu Zhan's instructions.
While adjusting his sleeves, Gu Zhan said, "Go and call Cuiwei over to help her wash up."
"yes."
Gu Zhan recalled Shen Mi's last words before leaving and added, "Also, find someone to keep an eye on her and don't let her try to kill herself."
"Understood."
Gu Zhan went to the next cabin, bathed in the hot water that the servants had prepared, changed into new clothes, and then returned to his original cabin.
It seemed that Cuiwei had already helped her wash up, and she had fallen into a deep sleep. Cuiwei was by her bedside, her eyes swollen like two walnuts.
Gu Zhan waved his hand impatiently, signaling Cuiwei to push the covers off. Then he lifted the covers, lay down next to Shen Mi, wrapped his long arm around her, pulled her into his arms, stroked her hair, and pressed his forehead against hers. "Being obedient like this is so good."
As long as she continues to be obedient, he can give her whatever she wants and satisfy her every whim.
Even the position of Crown Princess was merely a matter of submitting a memorial to the throne after he returned to the capital.
Perhaps frightened by the fire she caused four years ago, Gu Zhan didn't leave her alone this time. Even when dealing with the documents that had accumulated during this period, he moved everything to Shen Mi's side, holding her in his arms with one hand and flipping through the documents with the other. He didn't even hide Yang Qing's reports from her.
Although Shen Mi lay quietly in his arms, she often remained silent. Many times, even when he asked her a question, she seemed to be lost in thought for a long time before answering.
Of course, in those matters, Shen Mi never resisted him again, and she gave him whatever he asked for.
He felt that Shen Mi, who was not making a fuss at all, suited his taste perfectly, just like when she was eighteen years old and married him, but he always felt that something was missing.
The boat traveled north from Yangzhou along the Grand Canal, arriving in Bianjing seven days later.
On the day they arrived in Bianjing, Shen Mi was perhaps a little seasick and did not speak. When she returned to the Eastern Palace, her face was even paler.
Gu Zhan had other matters to attend to, so she asked Sun Cheng to arrange for someone to take care of her so she could rest, while she herself returned to the Hall of Diligent Governance.
Faced with a table full of official documents, Gu Zhan ignored the tedious official business and instead wrote a memorial requesting that Shen Mi be made Crown Princess.
From then on, they will surely be able to love each other for a long time.
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Author's Note: Thank you all for waiting so long, I'm here! [Please][Please]
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