Chapter 6 Xiao Mingzhang, you got beaten up? (Minor revision)...
The setting sun casts its last rays across the sky, the river ripples, reflecting the vast expanse of maple leaves on the banks.
Yunzhu sat in the main hall of the Prince's mansion, looking at the sky outside again and again. Finally, she saw Ayan run back once more, panting and shaking her head, saying, "The young master still hasn't returned..."
She had no choice but to go see Ying again.
Ying's face was sullen, her displeasure evident.
Yunzhu held her breath, lost in thought, wondering where Xiao Mingzhang would go.
Normally, Xiao Mingzhang was always the most disciplined and punctual person. If he said he would arrive at a certain time, he would always arrive earlier than that time. Yunzhu had been in Yunzhou City for two years, and she had never seen him late for any banquet, big or small. But this time, he was having dinner with Ying Shi, and he had even told her to go home early, yet he was nowhere to be seen.
"Perhaps something happened at the training ground that delayed them..." She wanted to speak up for Xiao Mingzhang, but she knew that the possibility was actually very slim.
Both were going to the training ground, but her father-in-law, Prince Huan, Xiao Shao, had already returned by mid-afternoon, so there was no reason for Xiao Mingzhang to stay there.
Ying glanced at Yunzhu but didn't respond.
Yunzhu then fell silent.
However, Xiao Ming'an, who was standing to one side, couldn't wait any longer and said, "Mother, why don't we eat first? Maybe my brother has been drinking with someone and has forgotten the time..."
Is your brother that kind of person?
Before Xiao Ming'an could finish speaking, Ying interrupted him.
She could only sit there awkwardly, just like Yunzhu, without saying another word.
Madam Ying was seething with anger. She looked at her good-for-nothing daughter and then at Yunzhu. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and vented all her anger on Yunzhu: "What's wrong with you? You don't even know where your husband went?"
“My husband only said this morning that he was going to the training ground,” Yunzhu replied.
Madam Ying was displeased: "Now that the prince has returned, how can Mingzhang be left alone at the training ground? He must have other plans!"
"..." If Xiao Mingzhang doesn't tell her about his other arrangements, how can she find out his whereabouts?
Yunzhu could never quite understand Ying's unreasonable behavior.
She gets angry because Xiao Mingzhang doesn't tell her his itinerary in detail. If one day Xiao Mingzhang really tells her his daily itinerary in detail, she'll probably get restless again.
Oh no, at that time, I'm afraid their entire royal palace will be in an uproar!
Don't stoop to her level.
Don't stoop to her level...
Yunzhu reassured herself a thousand times in her heart before she was able to temporarily suppress the small flame that had already risen in her heart.
She gave a forced smile and was about to respond when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a group of people appearing out of the corner of her eye in the courtyard corridor in front of the flower hall.
The group of people, surrounding the tallest person in the middle, were heading towards the flower hall.
Even though they were all facing away from the blood-red setting sun, Yunzhu could still recognize at a glance that the person being escorted towards the flower hall was none other than her husband, Xiao Mingzhang!
She was immediately overjoyed and wanted to tell Ying the good news, but just as Xiao Mingzhang approached, she saw that he was soaking wet.
His black hair was heavy and solemn. As he walked, water droplets dripped from his body, his hair and clothes were wet, and the water droplets fell on the cold floor tiles of the flower hall, and also in front of Yunzhu's eyes.
Yunzhu was extremely surprised.
Upon seeing Xiao Mingzhang enter the room, he first bowed to Ying Shi.
"Mother."
Ying stared at Xiao Mingzhang in astonishment.
Seeing her son in such a sorry state, all the resentment she had accumulated while waiting vanished, leaving only endless doubt and heartache.
Xiao Mingzhang then explained the specific reasons for his lateness today.
It turned out that he left the training ground this afternoon, intending to go straight home, but unexpectedly encountered a child falling into the water on the way. So he went into the river himself, pulled the child out of the water, and took him home.
"...The child was frightened and couldn't say anything. I originally wanted to let him go back by himself, but after thinking it over, I decided to send him back myself. That's why I'm late. I hope Mother will forgive me."
Since he had such a valid reason, how could Ying possibly blame him?
She only said with concern, "Alright, alright, you should go back and change your clothes! It's just a meal, it's not a big deal. Just don't catch a cold!"
"Yes." Xiao Mingzhang bowed and greeted Ying Shi again, his every move conforming to the most standard etiquette for a prince.
If one could ignore the fact that he was covered in so many messes.
He stood in the hall, finished speaking with Madam Ying, and then came to look at Yunzhu.
Yunzhu was caught off guard and met his gaze. Knowing that Xiao Mingzhang was going back to the courtyard, she knew she would definitely go with him.
She then quickly left the flower hall with Xiao Mingzhang.
—
I didn't get to eat dinner.
On the way back to the courtyard, Yunzhu walked along, touching Xiao Mingzhang's heavy, soaked clothes and muttering to herself, "If I had known this would happen, you should have called someone back to inform us first. I could have had someone prepare hot water for your bath and chosen some clothes for you. Now you're all in such a mess. My mother and I are worried about you. Xiao Mingzhang, you can't do this again..."
"Yes, Princess Consort, I know I was wrong."
Concern can cloud judgment, and Yunzhu talked much more than usual the whole way.
Xiao Mingzhang wasn't very quick to respond, but the sudden mention of "Princess Consort" made Yunzhu look up and glance at him in surprise.
In fact, Yunzhu was often dissatisfied with Xiao Mingzhang's taciturnity, because in her opinion, people should talk and communicate more so that they can know each other's true thoughts.
Xiao Mingzhang was not talkative, so she could never quite understand his thoughts.
Fortunately, what he said was always pleasant to hear.
Whether he truly realized his mistake or not, as soon as they returned to their courtyard, Yunzhu pressed Xiao Mingzhang down and made him sit in the bathtub first.
Xiao Mingzhang was now soaked from head to toe. The once dignified gentleman had a few stray hairs spilling out from his temples because of the water, giving him a unique and unruly charm that was not usually seen.
Yunzhu rarely gets to see Xiao Mingzhang like this, so after pressing him down, she took a newly lit candle in her hand, wanting to take a few more glances while it was still fresh in her mind.
Unexpectedly, as she approached Xiao Mingzhang, holding the candle, she saw a sudden, unsightly scar on his face as he turned around.
It was a very long red mark, hanging on Xiao Mingzhang's left cheek. She hadn't even noticed it as she walked with her back to the setting sun.
"Xiao Mingzhang!" Yunzhu held the candle flame in one hand and bent down with the other to cup Xiao Mingzhang's face, her fingertips tracing the red mark, and asked, "How did you get this scar?"
As expected, it still couldn't escape Yunzhu's eyes.
Xiao Mingzhang looked at Yunzhu with a sense of helplessness.
He had already guessed that it would be easy to hide the whip mark from his mother, but it would be almost impossible to hide it from Yunzhu, his bedmate.
I'm not afraid of her finding out, but I'm afraid of her worrying.
Fortunately, he had already prepared his response.
He said in an as casual tone, "While underwater, I encountered a dead branch that had fallen into the water."
Was this made by an underwater tree branch?
Yunzhu was somewhat suspicious, feeling that the tree branch shouldn't have made such a deep scratch.
But if it's not a tree branch, what else could it be?
Yunzhu is a princess of the grasslands. In fact, if Xiao Mingzhang hadn't said that the scars were from tree branches, she would have suspected that they were from being whipped.
The Western Regions are different from the Central Plains. Compared to the various punishments in the Central Plains, whipping is the most common form of punishment. From childhood to adulthood, Yunzhu has seen many marks left by whips on people's bodies. The one on her cheek is similar to the scar on Xiao Mingzhang's face.
But a whip... seems even less likely.
What a joke! This is Yunzhou, the territory of the Huan Prince's Mansion. Xiao Mingzhang is the heir of the Huan Prince's Mansion. Tell me, in the entire Yunzhou City, besides the Huan Prince, who else would dare to lay a whip on his face?
Since he said it was scratched by a tree branch, then it must have been scratched by a tree branch.
Yunzhu thought and thought but couldn't come up with a better answer, so she could only ask Xiao Mingzhang, "Have you applied any ointment to this scar? Does it hurt? Should I get you some ointment?"
She said this and then turned to leave.
Xiao Mingzhang, quick-witted and agile, grabbed her wrist and said, "It's already been applied."
Yunzhu then stopped where she was.
She still held the candle in one hand, looking back at Xiao Mingzhang, but after a moment, her gaze moved down to the scar on his cheek.
Xiao Mingzhang's forehead hurt a little.
He could see the concern and worry in Yunzhu's eyes.
Without making a sound, he placed both hands on hers, took the candle from her hand, and told her to sit back down beside him. He said, "It's nothing, it doesn't hurt much. I've practiced martial arts since I was a child, and the injuries I've suffered are much worse than this."
"That's not the same," Yunzhu muttered softly.
Xiao Mingzhang then gave a slight smile.
"How are they different?" he countered.
"..." Yunzhu then said, "The injury you suffered when you were young was for the sake of learning, so that you could become stronger in the future. It was a necessary part of your growth. But this is not. This was an accident. How can you compare them?"
"So, if you had seen me injured when I was younger, you wouldn't be as concerned about me as you are today, nor would you feel as sorry for me as you do today? Is that right?"
Hmm? When did she mean that?
Yunzhu had no idea how Xiao Mingzhang could connect these cause and effect events.
She wanted to argue, but then she thought that Xiao Mingzhang was always like this, with his own set of sophistry. She knew she couldn't win an argument with him in the Central Plains dialect, so she decided not to argue with him.
"I didn't care about you at all..."
She just kept putting on a brave face, reached out to test the water temperature, and seeing that it was acceptable, urged Xiao Mingzhang to quickly wash his hair and body clean.
Now that autumn has arrived, the river water is icy cold. If it's not cleaned up as soon as possible, one will catch a cold.
Xiao Mingzhang listened to her in this regard.
"Aren't you going to shower with me?" Xiao Mingzhang asked calmly, holding Yunzhu's hand as she seemed about to leave.
"Hmm?" Yunzhu was unaware that she had given such a hint.
"I thought that you accompanying me into the clean room was a hint to me."
"..."
His words were truly justified and confident.
Yunzhu didn't understand why Xiao Mingzhang wouldn't speak when she wanted to, and why he always said so many things she didn't want to hear when she didn't want him to.
She was furious and pinched Xiao Mingzhang's arm hard.
Xiao Mingzhang was not ashamed at all. In fact, the moment Yunzhu grabbed his arm, he gripped her hand even tighter and let out a slight chuckle.
Yunzhu finally understood his mockery.
With her face flushed with embarrassment, she threw all the prepared clothes at Xiao Mingzhang's face, then strode out of the clean room.
Pooh!
Xiao Mingzhang tried to trick her into serving him a bath, but she refused!
A note from the author:
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I'm so sorry, I've been incredibly busy lately. So many things have happened that caught me completely off guard. I wanted to update earlier, but my condition was just too bad, and it wasn't a good time to update, so I've been adjusting until now. I'm finally almost fully recovered! I should be able to update regularly from now on, and I'll let you know in advance if I need to take a break, and it won't be more than a day.
Without further ado, I'll be giving out red envelopes in the comments section of this chapter to thank everyone for waiting. Love you all!!!
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