Chapter 32 "Testing His Wife" + Lu Qingchen: '...'
Chapter 32: It's Me==
Upon witnessing this scene, the Seventh Princess suddenly had an idea: she also wanted to find herself a husband.
The night breeze was cool, and colorful glass lanterns hung under the eaves. The Seventh Princess strode towards Su Wanyue and Xiao Yu, "Sister-in-law."
Su Wanyue was picked up directly and didn't even see the person standing at the door. When she saw the Seventh Princess and the steward looking over, Su Wanyue quickly pushed against the man's chest and struggled to get down, "Princess."
The Seventh Princess, completely disregarding her brother's expression, smiled and took Su Wanyue's small hand, saying, "I've been waiting for you for quite a while, sister-in-law. Let's go inside quickly."
Because there was a new mistress in the manor, the New Year's Eve vigil at Prince Cheng's manor this year was held in the main hall. Various pastries, fruits, and the popular pre-rain Longjing tea, as well as milk tea served in glass cups, were laid out on the yellow pear wood crescent table.
When the Seventh Princess heard from her sister-in-law that she wanted to play the leaf game, she had already asked the steward to prepare playing cards. Su Wanyue asked the Seventh Princess how many people planned to play. The Seventh Princess glanced at her brother, who was sitting comfortably and drinking tea, and whispered, "Brother probably doesn't know how to play."
To be honest, the Seventh Princess had never seen her brother play these things. Even when he had nothing to do, he would just play chess by himself. The Seventh Princess could guess what her brother was thinking. He must think that these things were "a waste of time and energy".
The Seventh Princess thought she had already spoken softly enough, but just then Xiao Yuchao glanced at her and asked Su Wanyue with his eyes, "What's wrong?" Su Wanyue had just finished shuffling the cards and asked cautiously, "Does Your Highness want to play together?"
Xiao Yu gave a soft "hmm," smoothed his sleeves, and stood up, so the number of people playing the leaf game suddenly increased to three.
Seeing this, the Seventh Princess suggested, "Then, Sister-in-law, you play your card first."
Su Wanyue glanced down at the cards in her hand, played one based on her intuition, the Seventh Princess played one next, and Xiao Yu played the last card.
Xiao Yu won the first game.
Seven Princesses won the second round.
Xiao Yu won the third round again.
Losing three rounds in a row ignited Su Wanyue's competitive spirit. Unlike the first three rounds, she carefully considered her cards in the fourth round. However, perhaps because she considered them for too long, her cards were not very good, and she still lost. Su Wanyue looked down at the cards in her hand, wondering if she had lost her touch or was just unlucky. Qin'er wanted to laugh. In fact, the princess was not good at playing leaf cards. Back in Nanqiong, when they played leaf cards, the Crown Prince and Prince Xiang would always let the princess and Princess Weiyang win, which allowed the princess to win many times.
In the fifth round, Xiao Yu played first, and Su Wanyue played last. She won easily this round, and the Seventh Princess did not hold back her praise, "Sister-in-law won."
Su Wanyue realized she wasn't very good at playing the leaf game anymore, and she sighed softly, "It was an unfair victory for me."
This was the first time she had shown such a vibrant expression in front of them. Xiao Yu smiled faintly and said in a gentle voice, "Let's play another round."
Su Wanyue shook her head and said she would just watch them play.
Xiao Yu lazily put down the playing cards in his hand. "Let's set off fireworks at the entrance."
Since returning from the palace, the sound of firecrackers outside the alley of Prince Cheng's residence had not stopped. Upon hearing this, the Seventh Princess immediately pulled Su Wanyue to the gate of the residence, where the steward was already waiting. "Your Highness, Princess Consort."
Colorful fireworks quickly exploded in the sky, the dazzling fireworks reflecting the light in the woman's eyes as if there were stars. The Seventh Princess tugged at Su Wanyue's brocade sleeve, urging her to make a wish quickly.
Infected by the Seventh Princess's joyful mood, Su Wanyue closed her eyes and made a wish: that her family and those around her would be safe and sound.
Besides Su Wanyue, this year was also Qin Jue's first Lunar New Year's Eve in Beili. The post station was quite a distance from the palace, and it was already late when Qin Jue arrived at the post station.
He didn't go back to his own room immediately, but went to the room on the far right. A melody of a zither drifted from the room, clear and expansive, completely different from the lively atmosphere outside.
Qin Jue paused, then instructed a eunuch to knock on the door. As soon as the knocking sounded, the music inside stopped. The next moment, Lu Qingchen opened the door and bowed, saying, "I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Qin Jue glanced at him, and through him saw the green zither placed on the wooden table. Qin Jue undoubtedly recognized that zither. A faint smile appeared on Qin Jue's face. "Have you eaten?"
"I used it." Lu Qingchen's gaze was distant, his voice gentle and warm.
Qin Jue had a handsome face and a kind demeanor. He instructed his servants to prepare some side dishes and wine. Lu Qingchen guessed that the Crown Prince had something to say, so she stepped aside to let him in.
After Qin Jue sat down, he went straight to the point, "When do you plan to see Wanwan?"
In fact, from the moment Qin Jue stepped into the city gate, he could not find a chance to speak to his sister alone, so Wanwan still does not know that Lu Qingchen has come to the capital.
However, they couldn't stay in the capital for long, and Qin Jue still hoped that Lu Qingchen and Su Wanyue could meet alone so that neither of them would have any regrets later, especially Wanwan, who was still so young, and Qin Jue didn't want her to bear too much.
From the moment Wanwan married into the Prince Cheng's mansion, it was impossible for her and Lu Qingchen to ever be together again.
Only when Su Wanyue was involved did Lu Qingchen's emotions fluctuate slightly. He looked at Qin Jue and said, word by word, "She should come out to release lanterns on the night of the Lantern Festival."
Qin Jue nodded and said he would help him then.
Soon, side dishes and fine wine were served. Qin Jue personally poured Lu Qingchen a glass of wine. Lu Qingchen looked like he was about to get drunk. His pale face was flushed with intoxication, and he finally lost his previous lifeless feeling.
Lu Qingchen and Qin Jue drank until very late. Qin Jue left first because he had to go to the Prince Cheng's residence the next day. Although Lu Qingchen had been drinking all night, he showed no signs of drunkenness, only his face was very red. His personal guard secretly glanced at him and said, "Young Master."
Lu Qingchen stared at the overturned wine cups in front of him, then suddenly smiled. "I just need to see her one more time."
In fact, Lu Qingchen had already found out about Su Wanyue's marriage in place of Princess Weiyang in the past half month. In particular, when he learned that he had personally escorted her to the bridal sedan chair, Lu Qingchen was so angry that he vomited blood. He wanted to go to the palace to seek justice from the Emperor and the Empress, but his father punished him with family discipline. When he woke up, his father said to him, "Chen'er, the emperor is the emperor, and the subject is the subject. Even if she is a princess, she has no choice, and neither do you."
Thinking of this, Lu Qingchen's eyes dimmed, and he warned himself...
Just one, just one...
Bei Li was supposed to stay up all night until dawn, but the Seventh Princess couldn't stay up any longer and fell asleep on the nanmu wood table. Su Wanyue's eyes softened, and she asked the Seventh Princess's maid to help her to rest.
After the Seventh Princess left, only Su Wanyue and Xiao Yu and his wife remained in the room.
Xiao Yu glanced at her and said that if she wanted to sleep, she should go to sleep first. Su Wanyue said she was not sleepy. The couple played chess until the hour of Yin. After dawn, the two were to enter the palace to pay New Year's respects to the Emperor. Xiao Yu went to bathe and change clothes first.
Su Wanyue told the servants to go and rest, and suddenly the surroundings became completely quiet. Su Wanyue suddenly thought of someone and stared blankly at the scenery outside the window.
"What is Your Highness thinking about?" Xiao Yu came out of the bath and saw his wife staring blankly out the window. His expression turned slightly serious, and he walked slowly toward her.
Su Wanyue shook her head slightly, saying that she wasn't thinking about anything.
Xiao Yu's expression clearly showed disbelief, but he didn't show it in front of her. Based on his own guess, the man slowly asked, "Does the Princess miss her family?"
"I do miss Father and Mother a little." His words clearly had a hidden meaning, so Su Wanyue didn't dare to be careless. She forced a smile and nodded slightly.
Xiao Yu suddenly felt a strange feeling. His wife made no attempt to hide her closeness to her eldest brother and her longing for the Empress of Nanqiong, but she never mentioned her second brother. As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night.[1] She was not close to her second brother, so why would she call out "second brother" in her sleep? Or was the "second brother" she was talking about someone else?
Xiao Yu quickly dismissed the latter guess. He reached out and pulled his wife into his arms, saying calmly, "When we have time in the future, I will accompany my wife to Nanqiong to visit my father and mother."
Su Wanyue was terrified. If he accompanied her to Nanqiong, her identity would definitely be lost. The woman's right eyelid twitched violently, but she smiled faintly and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
"Then I'll go take a bath first."
Xiao Yu watched his wife's departing figure and called Qingyi over, "How many days until Moyu arrives in the capital?"
"It will take anywhere from half a month to twenty days."
Xiao Yu gestured for the others to leave, casually glancing at the chess pieces on the board. After studying them for a while, he slightly curled his lips and removed a few white pieces, causing a dramatic change in the situation on the board.
Su Wanyue stayed in the bathroom for a while before Qin'er helped her into the room. As soon as she entered, she saw that the chessboard had been moved. Originally, the white pieces were surrounding the black pieces, and the black pieces were surrounding the white pieces, making it difficult to determine the outcome. However, after Qin'er removed a few white pieces, the black pieces had completely surrounded the white pieces.
What does he mean by that...?
Su Wanyue frowned slightly, then walked towards him with the lightness of a swallow. Xiao Yu didn't look up, and said leisurely, "It's best to just remove anything that poses a threat. What do you say, Your Highness?"
==Second Update==
Su Wanyue glanced at the chessboard again; he had removed a white piece…
Su Wanyue noticed his fluctuating mood today. Her eyes shone with understanding as she asked, feigning ignorance, "Does Your Highness intend to remove me?"
Xiao Yu suddenly laughed, "How could that be?"
Even if she were hiding something from him, he wouldn't hurt her, because she was his wife.
"Serve the Princess Consort with her hair and makeup." Xiao Yu's eyebrows were like ink paintings, and his phoenix eyes were slightly raised.
"Yes, Your Highness," Qin'er said hastily, realizing that the atmosphere in the hall was not right.
After all this commotion, it was almost dawn. Qin'er was worried that it was cold outside, so she draped a pink fox fur cloak over Su Wanyue and gave her a hot water bottle.
Xiao Yu was tall and slender. He glanced down at his wife, and the two went to the palace together.
They were the last to arrive at Chengqian Palace. Xiao Ruofei was still immersed in joy today. He smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Xiao Yu and Su Wanyue. He then mentioned that the Prince Cheng's mansion was too deserted now and specially "instructed" the two of them to hurry up.
"A magnificent land weaves a prosperous era, and the capital city is renowned for its respect for the virtuous and talented."
"Scholarship can bring peace to the country, and military force can secure its stability."[2]
Xiao Yu's expression was normal, but Xiao Ruofei was not happy. What did his father mean by this?
The emperor's eagle-like gaze swept over the crowd below without uttering a word.
Just as Su Wanyue and Xiao Yu were about to leave the palace, Zhang Mama, who served the Imperial Concubine, trotted over and handed Su Wanyue a brocade box and a sachet. Su Wanyue was a little surprised, and Zhang Mama explained with a smile, "The Imperial Concubine wanted to give these two things to the Princess yesterday, but because there were many things to do yesterday, the Imperial Concubine asked me to give them to the Princess today."
Su Wanyue: "Please thank Mother on my behalf, Granny."
Consort Qin gave Su Wanyue a set of jewelry made of pearls from the East, and the sachet contained two gold ingots. Zhang Mama said that this was Consort Qin's New Year's money for her. Su Wanyue was a little amused and exasperated. The last time she received New Year's money was when she was still a young woman waiting to be married.
Looking up, she met the man's narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes. Su Wanyue instinctively offered him a gold ingot, but Xiao Yu didn't accept it. Instead, he asked a completely unrelated question, "Does the Princess like children?"
child……
Su Wanyue's heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself not to look away. Instead of answering "yes" or "no," she asked, "Does Your Highness like children?"
Xiao Yu gave her a deep look, "I will love any child born to the Princess."
Su Wanyue had no intention of becoming pregnant at this time. Her mind was in turmoil, but her eyes remained calm. "But the matter of having children depends on fate. Your Highness and I have only been married for half a year..."
As perceptive as Xiao Yu was, he could easily see that something was wrong with his wife; she kept making excuses.
He came to the conclusion that his wife simply did not want to conceive his child.
"What if fate brings us together?" Xiao Yu's eyes gradually sharpened, but his tone remained leisurely.
He pressed on relentlessly, and Su Wanyue had no choice but to answer. Her fingers curled up, and she was about to give him a vague answer, "This concubine..."
Just then, the coachman's voice came in, "Your Highness, Your Highness, we have arrived."
Su Wanyue finally breathed a sigh of relief. Why did he suddenly bring up offspring? Was it because the Crown Prince had provoked him?
Before entering the mansion, Xiao Yu glanced at the coachman indifferently. The coachman looked puzzled, wondering if he had done something wrong.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, princes, nobles, and members of prominent families had no other arrangements besides paying their respects to the Emperor.
Su Wanyue didn't sleep a wink all night. She originally wanted to go back and rest for a while, but because of what the carriage said, she couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
Qin'er noticed something was wrong with her expression and asked her what was wrong. Su Wanyue gently placed her small hand on her flat stomach. As long as she didn't want to, she wouldn't get pregnant.
But if he really wanted a child, he could send the imperial physician to examine her pulse...
Upon arriving in the capital, Su Wanyue convinced herself that she must be a good princess and assist her "husband." However, she was not ready to have a child, as she was already deeply involved and could not afford to burden another child.
At the beginning of their marriage, they were just like they are now, living in harmony and mutual respect. However, Su Wanyue knew that he had no real feelings for her. He only respected her because she was the Princess Consort. But after spending more than half a year together, especially recently, he has begun to change.
His unusual behavior made Su Wanyue uneasy and caught her off guard.
Qin'er's heart sank as she listened. "Perhaps His Highness was just asking casually. Your Highness need not worry too much."
What the princess couldn't understand, Qin'er could. His Highness liked the princess and wanted to have a child with her. The problem was the princess's current status. If the princess had been the one who was betrothed to His Highness back then, they wouldn't be in this dilemma today.
Su Wanyue rubbed her eyes and brows, unable to calm her mind.
Because she understood that he wasn't just saying it casually; he was still testing her.
Mu Ziyi and the others arrived at Prince Cheng's residence early to offer New Year's greetings to Xiao Yu. Seeing his unpleasant expression, Mu Ziyi raised an eyebrow slightly, "On the first day of the Lunar New Year, why is Your Highness not happy at all?"
Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case. This year is different from previous years; his beautiful wife is by his side. What worries could he possibly have?
Xiao Yu didn't take Mu Ziyi's words to heart at all. He was just wondering why his wife didn't want to get pregnant. Was it simply because she didn't like children, or...?
Xiao Yu has sharp features and a striking profile, capable of commanding respect at a glance.
This person is definitely unhappy.
Seeing this, Luo Qi and Mu Ziyi exchanged a glance, roughly guessing who was behind his actions. They naturally shouldn't interfere in other people's marital affairs, so they finished their tea and took their leave.
Qin Jue arrived around noon. Xiao Yu sent someone to invite Su Wanyue over. Su Wanyue hadn't slept that morning and came to the main hall after changing her clothes. Qin Jue was already exchanging pleasantries with Xiao Yu, "Brother."
"Here, I brought some crabapple cakes for my little sister." Qin Jue smiled gently and handed her the warm crabapple cakes.
"Thank you, brother."
Qin Jue smiled and looked away, then asked while drinking tea, "Will Your Highness go to release lanterns during the Lantern Festival?"
Xiao Yu glanced in Su Wanyue's direction and said calmly, "Yes."
The steward was somewhat surprised, as His Highness had never released lanterns during the Lantern Festival before. But after only a moment of surprise, the steward realized that while His Highness did not like releasing lanterns, a young lady like the Princess Consort would certainly enjoy it.
Because of the arrival of the princess, their prince has clearly changed a lot.
Qin Jue made a special trip to the Prince Cheng's residence on the first day of the Lunar New Year to ensure that their plan would go smoothly. Now that he had the answer, Qin Jue smiled and said, "Then I can properly experience the atmosphere of the Lantern Festival in Beili."
"Is my brother going that day too?"
Qin Jue opened his folding fan, glanced at Su Wanyue with a smile, and said, "My sister doesn't want me to go."
"Of course not." Su Wanyue obediently shook her head. She just thought he wasn't interested in the lantern festival in Beili.
A lantern festival is nothing special; Qin Jue has seen them before in Nanqiong. He only went because he had to arrange for Lu Qingchen to meet Su Wanyue that day.
Qin Jue arrived at just the right time. After exchanging pleasantries for a short while, it was time for a meal. Qin Jue had a meal at the Prince Cheng's residence before leaving.
Before and after the meal, Qin Jue kept trying to find an opportunity to talk to Su Wanyue, but he couldn't find an opportunity because as long as he was there, his sister never left Cheng Wang's sight.
Qin Jue sighed inwardly; he would have to improvise when the time came.
Because of the conversation in the carriage, Su Wanyue thought he would be angry, but he seemed to have just asked casually and never mentioned the matter of offspring again. Su Wanyue also tacitly stopped bringing it up.
Life seems no different from before.
On the day of the Lantern Festival, Qingyi reported to Xiaoyu that Moyu was only one stop away from the capital, which would take no more than two or three days.
Su Wanyue hadn't slept well for several nights in a row, and she kept having nightmares. For some reason, she felt uneasy.
When Su Wanyue woke up today, her forehead was still covered in sweat. Qin'er lifted the screen and came in to wipe the sweat from her forehead. "If Your Highness is feeling unwell anywhere, why don't you ask a doctor to take a look?"
Su Wanyue felt physically fine, but for some reason, she had been feeling very anxious these past few days, as if something was about to happen, making it hard for her to breathe.
She didn't even want to go to the lantern festival tonight.
However, the Seventh Princess had invited Su Wanyue to release lanterns together early on, and she was already waiting in the main hall.
Qin'er dressed Su Wanyue in an extremely simple and elegant manner today, making her look beautiful and charming. When the Seventh Princess saw Su Wanyue for the first time, her eyes lit up. "I feel like my sister-in-law is like the fairy Chang'e."
My sister-in-law is very pleasing to the eye.
Seeing that Su Wanyue had arrived, the Seventh Princess pulled her away, but Su Wanyue smiled and reminded her that Her Highness would also be going later.
The seventh princess's eyes widened. "Brother, you're going too?"
Why was it that every year before, when her mother asked her to invite her brother to release lanterns, he would never go? For two years, he not only didn't go, but he also refused to see her.
Just then, the steward of the Prince Cheng's residence came in from outside, "Your Highness, Seventh Princess, the carriage is already outside, and His Highness is also there."
So the Seventh Princess's wish to ride in the same carriage as Su Wanyue was dashed. Su Wanyue was in the same carriage as Xiao Yu, and she was holding her breath, afraid that he would bring up that matter again. But this time, Xiao Yu didn't say anything, but just asked her if she wanted to play chess.
The carriage stopped in the busiest street in the capital. At the end of the street was a painted boat. Walking along the street, there were people releasing lanterns and guessing riddles. Su Wanyue couldn't help but smile when she saw the lively scene in front of her.
The Seventh Princess stepped down from the carriage and asked Su Wanyue if she wanted to guess riddles or release lanterns. Su Wanyue said she wanted to guess riddles, and the Seventh Princess immediately told Xiao Yu and pulled Su Wanyue to the vendors who offered riddles.
Just as Xiao Yu was about to take a step, a familiar and elegant voice rang out, "Your Highness Prince Cheng."
The newcomer was none other than Prince Qin Jue of Nanqiong.
Xiao Yu nodded slightly, his attitude still quite amiable, "Big Brother."
Qin Jue glanced at the little girl who was queuing up to guess the riddles and said with a smile, "Wei Yang used to love guessing riddles when she was in Nanqiong. I think it will take Wei Yang and the Seventh Princess a while to guess the riddles. Your Highness, why don't we find a place to have some tea?"
As he spoke, Qin Jue glanced at the four guards behind him and told them to go and protect the two girls.
If anyone else had said this to Xiao Yu, he would have ignored it, but since it was Qin Jue, Xiao Yu nodded.
Qingyi caught her master's gaze and walked towards the Seventh Princess and Su Wanyue. Qin Jue's heart sank, but she did not show it on her face.
"Your Highness, this way please."
There were too many people guessing lantern riddles during the Lantern Festival, and the Seventh Princess lost patience after waiting for a while. She pulled Su Wanyue to another place, with Qingyi and the others following behind.
To their surprise, every vendor they visited was surrounded by huge crowds. The Seventh Princess suggested that they release the lanterns first and then try the riddles later.
Su Wanyue nodded slightly. Just as they were about to buy lanterns, a large group of people suddenly rushed in one direction, shouting something about "lion dance." The Seventh Princess and Su Wanyue tried to retreat to the side, but they couldn't avoid it. The crowd of people split the two of them into two directions. The Seventh Princess and Qingyi and the others were on the right, while Su Wanyue was on the left. Surrounded by people, Qingyi and the others couldn't use their martial arts skills. In a panic, the Seventh Princess hurriedly shouted, "Then, sister-in-law, let's meet on the painted boat."
Anyway, the place where the lanterns are released is the same as the painted boat. They are going in different directions, but they all end at the same stream.
Su Wanyue had no choice but to follow the flow of people and pull Qin'er towards the painted boat. The closer they got to the boat, the fewer people there were. Qin'er quickly looked Su Wanyue up and down, "Is Your Highness alright?"
"I'm fine." Su Wanyue shook her head and was about to hurry to the painted boat to meet the Seventh Princess when her wrist was suddenly grabbed as she passed the corner and she was pulled to the corner.
Su Wanyue shouted sharply, "Who?"
"It's me." A deep yet gentle voice rang out.
Lu Qingchen.
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