From the day she left home until the day she returned to her parents' home, Shen Xiyin was busy every single day.
Xiao Yan was really clinging to her.
Regardless of whether it was day or night, or whether anyone was around, he would often approach her and whine as he led her into the room.
She noticed that he hadn't even gone to the morning court for those two days, which puzzled her. When she asked him why, he simply said, "Didn't my wife tell me to rest more?"
Shen Qiyin: "..."
She was telling him to rest more, not to stop attending court altogether!
Besides, when has he ever rested? Isn't he just fooling around all the time?
However, upon further reflection, she realized that he was already quite old when he finally found a wife, and it was understandable that he might indulge in a little self-indulgence after being single for so long. Unless he was so exhausted that he fell into a deep sleep, she would let him have his way.
On the day of her return visit, Xiao Yan accompanied her back home.
She had planned to stay at home for one night, but feeling his slightly "mournful" gaze beside her, she couldn't bring herself to say the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
In the end, she went back to the Duke's mansion with him and was pestered and teased for a long time until almost dawn before she finally rested.
Two days later, Shen Qiyin accompanied Xiao Yan to the palace to pay her respects to the Imperial Concubine. She also made a special trip to see Yan Shu.
Suddenly, she remembered the question she had asked Xiao Yan before their marriage, which he had not yet answered.
Therefore, on the way back to the mansion from the palace, the two sat in the carriage, and she brought up the old matter again, asking, "You still haven't told me why the Marquis of Qingyang would turn against His Majesty and help you deal with him?"
"He wasn't helping me, he was helping my aunt."
"he……"
Why did she feel like there was a story behind this?
“It’s a matter of past grievances and grudges.” Xiao Yan explained simply in a few words: “Initially, my aunt told me that if I needed help, I could go to the Marquis of Qingyang for assistance. As long as I presented her token, he would not refuse.”
As for the reason, my aunt never said.
However, the Marquis of Qingyang, drunk, kept talking to him.
It turns out that he had originally been interested in Consort Xiao and planned to marry her after earning military merit. However, five years passed quickly on the frontier, and by the time he returned to the capital, she had already married someone else.
Their love was deep but their fate was shallow, so there was no point in complaining. However, after what happened with Yin Shuang, he learned about it and began to hate Emperor Xuanwu.
Since then, he has sent messages to Consort Xiao.
No matter what path she chooses to take in the future, he will always grant her any request.
Over the years, Consort Xiao had never asked him for anything, but this one thing was enough to earn her this favor.
Xiao Yan held Shen Qiyin's hand and said in a low voice, "Now, everything has settled down. In a few days, some people will have to atone for their sins."
When he said this, Shen Qiyin understood his intention.
Sure enough, a few days later, news spread throughout the palace that Emperor Xuanwu had passed away.
Crown Prince Yuanzhan ascended the throne and changed the era name to Yongxing.
At the beginning of the first year of Yongxing, the Duke of Ningguo passed away, and his heir, Xiao Yan, was enfeoffed as a prince of a different surname by the new emperor, with the title "Su".
Many things have happened in the capital city over the past year, but the most talked-about topic among the people is still the matter of Princess Su.
Everyone is speculating that since the former doctor Er Ya from Guangrentang is now a princess, she probably won't treat poor people like them anymore.
Even if she were willing, the prince probably wouldn't agree.
In response, Shen Qiyin asked Xiao Yan as if it were a joke: "Now that you're a prince, are you planning to keep a mistress in a golden house and forbid me from going out in public to treat patients?"
She was just teasing him, but he said with a serious face, "Going out is fine, but there are conditions."
"What?"
“Outside the home, you can do whatever you want with me, but behind closed doors…” He paused, seemingly feeling that this statement was not specific enough, and then changed his words to: “But once the curtains are drawn, you must obey me.”
Shen Qiyin: "..."
He might as well just say, "I'm in bed now."
Despite her complaints, when Xiao Yan really got going, Shen Qiyin couldn't bear to refuse him even once.
Since their marriage, Xiao Yan has been considerate and attentive in every way, so much so that everyone envies him, to the point that she has almost no chance to reciprocate.
Therefore, she would let him act recklessly from time to time.
That day, after finishing her consultations at Guangrentang and seeing off her last patient, Shen Qiyin suddenly realized that Xiao Yan had arrived sometime earlier.
Without informing her, he casually sat at the entrance of the clinic, nonchalantly teasing Ah Huang.
As the sun sets, its afterglow shines brightly.
Noticing the figure standing beside him, he looked up as if sensing something: "Finished with work?"
"Um."
Shen Qiyin's gaze, however, fell only on the flower he was holding in his hand.
Since they met, he seems to have always had this habit of sending her flowers.
The two walked hand in hand toward the Prince's mansion. She gently twirled the peony in her hand and asked him curiously, "Why do you always give me flowers?"
He simply smiled and remained silent.
The warm yellow light cast long shadows of the two, and the cries of street vendors rose and fell, faintly drowning out his voice: "A gentleman and a lady, about to joke, offer each other peonies..."
"Um?"
"nothing."
He assumed she hadn't heard him clearly, so he didn't repeat it.
After a few steps, she suddenly smiled meaningfully and said, "Xiao Lang's affection is deep and enduring, and I am willing to be the one to appreciate it."
"My heart will never change."
"Me too..."
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