Chapter 50
"Your Highness is well!"
Cui Hu bowed to Prince Shou, who was standing in the courtyard with his hands behind his back. He gave him a slight support, then turned around and saw the woman lying on the windowsill with a lazy look like a cat.
When she saw him coming, she didn't stand up, but kept dangling one arm by the window.
Upon seeing this, Cui Hu quickly apologized, saying that she had drunk a lot of wine and was still not sober.
Prince Shou smiled and waved his hand, saying that it was nothing serious, so Cui Hu walked in first to coax her to wake up and meet His Highness, but Prince Shou saw through the window that she was very reluctant.
This was probably the first time she acted like a spoiled brat in front of him. Her usual respectfulness seemed a little boring. This time she acted like a wild cat that was unruly and untamable, and dared to show her claws towards him.
Under the gap left on the other side of the window, the woman's slightly pink half arm was exposed to the eyes of her lover and the uninvited guests outside the window.
He watched quietly as the white arm climbed up the man's shoulder blade, slid easily from the side of his face to his chin, and made soft circles, causing the hot-blooded general to press the man tightly in his arms. His heavy breathing could not be suppressed and overflowed from the windowsill, which also stopped him from moving forward.
Prince Shou stood in front of the door for a while without saying a word. After listening to her being pulled up by Cui Hu with persuasion, he slowly lifted the curtain and went in.
As soon as she entered the room, she knelt crookedly and perfunctorily across a long desk. After he called her, she did not come over, but leaned weakly against the curtain, and her red little face was mostly blocked by the green curtain.
He looked at her from afar, the smile on his face never reaching his eyes. He felt a slight itch in his chest, as if he couldn't help coughing but it was stuck in the middle, making him feel suffocated and unable to move forward.
"Qingning, come here."
Cui Hu opened his mouth to lead the person over, but she remained silent despite his kind words of advice, as if she knew that she would speak nonsense if she opened her mouth at this moment. Although she looked lazy due to being drunk, he looked at her and found that she was very sober.
Prince Shou sat upright in front and smoothed his robe inconspicuously. Wang Xuan, who was always observing his master from behind, immediately understood what he meant and walked up behind Cui Hu and asked.
"Has the Duke of Protectorate arrived?"
Cui Hu didn't expect that the prince had never met his father before coming here, and responded in a panic.
"He's here. Perhaps he's having a good time drinking, so he and his father-in-law are going to the backyard to get some fresh air."
These two people are always drunk when they meet their good friends. Now they meet each other and are very drunk. Perhaps they have even ignored his highness.
After hearing this, Prince Shou shook his head slightly as if nothing had happened, which prompted Cui Hu to stand up immediately.
"Your Highness, I will invite you two here. Please wait for a moment."
As he spoke, he glanced back at Yue Qingning, who was still drunk. She was clutching the curtain separating the inner and outer rooms, with her head hung down with an unclear expression. He didn't know how awake she was.
Cui Hu had no choice but to go and come back quickly. Fortunately, Prince Shou was kind and would not make things difficult for the drunk little girl.
Just as he was thinking this, Wang Xuan behind him quickly dismissed the people around him as he walked out of the inner courtyard, leaving the entire space in the room and even the entire courtyard to the two of them.
The yard was so quiet that not even the chirping of birds could be heard. Yue Qingning only felt the frost growing thicker, and the cold air blowing in from the window swirled around her shoulders and arms, making her feel almost unbearable due to the cold.
But closing the window would mean being alone with him in a closed room.
The last time they met, this "uncle" had saved her life. She seemed to still remember the strength of his grip on her shoulder. Yue Qingning silently twirled her earlobe, feeling awkward but decided it was better not to care.
Prince Shou sat quietly there for a while. Seeing that she had no intention of coming over for a long time, he also saw that the window behind her was wide open, and some frost and snow were blown in by the wind.
The frail and delicate figure stood by the window, rubbing her hands even though she was so cold, but she refused to close the window.
He clenched his teeth while thinking, then stood up and walked towards Yue Qingning. She seemed to be afraid of him and hid behind the curtain again, as if trying to hide herself in the gap.
Prince Shou could no longer force him. He took two steps and stopped where he was, rubbing the ring on his thumb calmly.
"You blame me," he said.
Although the tone of voice was flat, Yue Qingning could sense a lot of emotion in it.
She didn't want to upset this important person, but she didn't have the energy to say anything against her will. She was indeed angry, but the good liquor numbed her senses, forcing her to face her true self.
She even forgot why she married him. She only knew that it was his fault and that was why she had to face the choice she had now.
Seeing that she didn't answer, Prince Shou understood. He seemed to frown and ponder for a while before he pushed aside the curtain and stood in front of her.
One hand was still supporting the soft, drooping green tent. Yue Qingning looked at the back of his hand. The hand was pale, clean, and cold as ice. The slight fluctuation caused by just passing in front of her was as cold as he was.
A little weight fell lightly on his head. Yue Qingning frowned, not knowing what was messing with his head.
She was very slow in thinking. When she looked up, she saw the almost compassionate look on His Royal Highness Prince Shou's face, and she couldn't tell where his hand was.
It was not until his hand passed over her head and touched the silver pendant on her ear, making a crisp ding sound, that Yue Qingning woke up as if from a dream and took two steps back.
When she swayed, the alcohol in her head and her brain became confused and she could not stand up. She grabbed the long table with her hands several times but still could not pull herself up.
However, as the world spun around, the expected pain did not reach her body. She did not open her eyes, but only felt a hot hand gripping her arm tightly, and then exerting a slight force, she was pulled up.
The palm pressed against his wrist emitted a calm and regular heartbeat. Yue Qingning finally regained consciousness from his stupor and tried to pull his hand away.
Just as she was about to shake off his hand, he realized something was wrong and let her go, then muttered to himself.
"Blame me! Take the blame for today's injustice on me. I will definitely make it up to you in the future."
This unclear sentence made Yue Qingning even more confused. She raised her head without knowing what was going on, and saw her "uncle" staring at her with his eyes lowered. For the first time, his eyes were not concealed, and he revealed some secret thoughts to her directly.
She was so frightened that she sobered up immediately. She took two steps back in embarrassment, but accidentally bumped into the edge of the desk, knocking the thick ink in the inkstone and spilling it onto the pile of books on the side.
Yue Qingning came back to her senses and looked at the ink stain helplessly. She wondered how she would explain this to her father.
The hand that reached out from the side got there first and took the two books in front of her.
"Your Highness, please don't dirty your hands."
She was anxious not to have anything to do with him anymore, and didn't even want him to touch her belongings.
However, these words seemed to have a different meaning in the eyes of Prince Shou. She was nervous about his every move, fearing that he would be tainted by her fault.
But she got the priorities wrong. It was he who frightened her with his strange expression first, and it was he who first designed the marriage between the two families that made her so unhappy.
In short, it's all because of him.
Prince Shou stared at the book that was so stained with ink that the words could not be seen. His long fingers scratched the edge, leaving a sparse sound, as if he was thinking.
After a long time, he finally looked at her panicked face again.
"The book... I'll have someone deliver it again."
"I promise it won't take long."
There was a long pause between his two sentences, which almost made Yue Qingning think that it was not the same thing. She was already dizzy, and her head was like a paste at this moment. She could not tell whether it was a dream caused by her drunkenness.
So I had no choice but to agree casually and get through the current awkwardness first.
Cui Hu walked around the mansion but couldn't find his father-in-law and the other man. He caught a horse-feeding servant and asked him, only to find out that the two men had been drinking to their heart's content, and the Duke of Huguo insisted on performing wrestling for Yue's father. He even ordered a carriage to go to the military camp, as if he wanted to find someone to compete with so that he could show off his skills to Minister Yue, and finally settled the matter today.
He lamented and hurried back to the inner courtyard to apologize to His Highness. However, before he entered the courtyard, Wang Xuan at the gate saw him coming back and hurried inside.
Cui Hu felt a little strange, but he didn't think much about it. He walked a few steps across the courtyard with his long legs, lifted the curtain and entered the study.
At first glance, Qingning didn't seem to be here. He lowered his head in surprise to report the matter. Prince Shou seemed not to care at all. He turned his head and stared at the snow-covered pine trees outside the window in a daze.
"Qingning didn't want to join us today, but seeing my father was in high spirits, she joined us for a few drinks. Your Highness, please don't blame her!"
After Cui Hu finished speaking, he waited for a while, but Prince Shou did not show any intention of asking him to stand up. He became suspicious, thinking that Qingning might have really angered the prince with her inappropriate words and deeds. His heart skipped a beat, and he hesitated whether to kneel down and apologize.
Prince Shou paused for a moment, then recovered his composure and waved his hand. Wang Xuan immediately came in and explained, "The eldest daughter of the Yue family has been sent back to the courtyard. The Third Young Master has nothing to worry about. His Highness is also fine."
It turned out that the person had already gone back. His Highness must have seen that she was very drunk and sent someone to send her back.
Cui Hu felt relieved and then bowed to Prince Shou.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for coming to my engagement party. Your presence is such an honor to my humble home! I would also like to thank Your Highness for bringing me and Qingning together. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to have this happy occasion today."
He spoke sincerely, but to people with ulterior motives, his words sounded more like sarcasm than thanks.
Xiao Heng was well aware of the necessity of winning over the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion, otherwise he would not have chosen a woman so eagerly to win her over. Although he felt disgusted, he knew that if he didn't seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the current situation would change, and he didn't know if he would have the same opportunity again in the future.
Even my aunt said that this trip must succeed, otherwise her daughter would have sacrificed herself in vain.
He had clearly planned everything out, but now, hearing Cui Hu's overjoyed tone, he felt so annoyed and even a little angry.
The clear and white jade-like face is still before my eyes, and the angry and tearful voice seems to still linger in my ears.
He always liked to understand what he meant and obeyed his exquisite mind, even without saying much, and she would not embarrass him by exposing her true feelings. They maintained just the right level of intimacy from beginning to end.
He enjoyed her obedience and loyalty so much that he was reluctant to give her to Cui Hu.
But he hesitated, looking at the branches covered with snow outside the window and thinking for a long time, but still couldn't think of any other way to win over the Cui family.
It was all because Cui Hu was so picky. After returning to the capital and selecting so many girls for him to look at, he chose Qingning. But it was a good thing it was Qingning. If it was someone else, he would not be able to let go of this idea.
With Qingning around, he doesn't have to worry about the Duke of Huguo's Mansion not supporting him in the future.
As for Cui Hu, it is still early. There will come a day when the Cui family is no longer needed, and what has been presented to him will naturally be returned.
If she doesn't get what she wants, it won't be difficult for her to ask for a thousand times more compensation.
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