Chapter 8 Departure
Chapter Summary: Arguing in bed? I haven't even reached the edge of the bed.
On her first day off, Liu Shiyu slept on the floor. Who knows what the rest of the days will bring...
Worries entered her sleep, and her tightly furrowed brows remained furrowed from the moment she lay down.
"Your Highness, wake up. It's dawn, time to get up." Liu Shiyu was awakened by Lian Yue's calls. She sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes, and couldn't help but ask when she saw the empty bed, "Where is he?"
Lian Yue glanced back at the inner room and replied, "Young Master Xu said he bathes every day, so he called a servant to boil water early this morning. He's bathing right now."
"A bath?" Upon hearing this, Liu Shiyu's gaze involuntarily drifted towards the cubicle. Amidst the rising steam, Xu Luchuan appeared, his figure both near and far. A fleeting, dreamlike blush washed over her. Just as she regained consciousness, Liu Shiyu hurriedly lay back down, burying her head in the covers.
"Do you need a bath? Perhaps I could..." Lian Yue said, turning around and seeing Liu Shiyu's appearance, she asked in confusion, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Liu Shiyu sniffed herself under the covers and replied loudly, "I smell good, I don't need to bathe. You can go out now, remember to tell the servant to prepare breakfast."
Liu Shiyu spoke, and Lian Yue had no choice but to step down.
The room was quiet, and Liu Shiyu's flushed face, hidden under the covers, gradually returned to normal. But not long after, her shoulder was pushed twice from under the covers.
Perhaps the two pushes were a bit too forceful, because Liu Shiyu suddenly threw off the blanket and said impatiently, "Didn't I tell you to go out first?"
"Your Highness, did you sleep well last night?"
Clearly, the person before her was not Lian Yue. Her gaze followed a loose sash upwards, finally landing on Xu Luchuan's flawless chest hidden beneath white robes. Liu Shiyu froze, a blush spreading across her face once more.
"I slept very well last night." Seeing that Liu Shiyu did not answer, Xu Luchuan got up and left her bedside.
Hearing him deliberately showing off, Liu Shiyu immediately came to her senses and stood up to retort: "Such a big bed, for one person to sleep in. Of course, Master Xu can sleep well! How dare Master Xu let a woman sleep on the floor."
Xu Luchuan found this amusing and turned to Liu Shiyu with interest, saying, "Such a big bed? Sleeping alone? Does the Princess want to sleep with someone?"
Feeling offended, Liu Shiyu grabbed a pillow and threw it at him, shouting, "I'll never sleep with you in my entire life!"
After straightening his clothes, he put on his outer garment. Xu Luchuan reached out and pushed open the door. "Enough nonsense. If you want to get to Guangling before 9 AM, get up now."
After saying that, Xu Luchuan left without looking back.
After everyone had gone, Liu Shiyu lay back down, seemingly in a fit of pique. She raised her fists and gestured angrily in the air twice, then shouted, "Xu Luchuan, you just wait! I can handle those old fogies, but I can't handle you!"
...
Thus, it wasn't until three quarters of an hour later that Liu Shiyu came downstairs.
When having breakfast with Xu Luchuan, the two ignored each other and even glared at each other.
The kind-hearted innkeeper, seeing this, couldn't help but offer words of comfort: "It seems the lady and gentleman have quarreled? But as the saying goes, couples who quarrel in bed reconcile before they get out of bed. Why do you two have such a deep grudge?"
"Arguing in bed? I haven't even reached the edge of the bed," Liu Shiyu said, her lips practically pouting to the sky. Xu Luchuan ignored her and instead smiled at the shopkeeper, "Thank you for your concern, shopkeeper. We're fine. Please go ahead with your work."
Seeing this, the shopkeeper said no more and wisely left.
Xu Luchuan's smile froze for a moment, then he slowly put down his chopsticks and said in a deep voice, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
"What? Is my lord afraid of being accused of mistreating his wife?" Liu Shiyu rested his chin on his hand, mimicking Xu Luchuan's amused expression from earlier.
Xu Luchuan suddenly laughed and said in a threatening tone, "The guard who kidnapped me yesterday is gone, leaving only that one maid. Aren't you afraid I'll go back on my word and refuse to go to Guangling with you?"
"You mean Lian Yue?" Liu Shiyu gazed quietly at Xu Luchuan. "That young man yesterday was trained by her personally. Does my lord still think she's just an ordinary maid?"
The two were on the verge of battle, and even before they reached Guangling, the air was already thick with the smoke of war.
Lian Yue, having already prepared her carriage, approached. Standing before the two of them, observing the people coming and going around her, she tentatively called out, "Wife? Husband?"
Before she could finish speaking, Xu Luchuan and Liu Shiyu turned around and glared at her.
Startled, Lian Yue hurriedly clasped his hands in a fist and replied, "We can set off now."
Upon hearing this, the two snorted coldly, flicked their sleeves, and rose, leaving the bamboo garden one after the other. They then boarded the carriage one after the other.
Once the two were settled, Lian Yue rode his horse toward Guangling City.
...
The carriage was completely silent on the way.
Xu Luchuan turned to the side, and to avoid communicating with Liu Shiyu, he simply closed his eyes and sat quietly with his fists on his knees. Liu Shiyu, on the other hand, lay on the soft couch, looking bored.
She was so bored that she even glanced at Xu Luchuan. But as she looked at him, Liu Shiyu couldn't help but sigh that the man in front of her was quite handsome even without saying a word.
Recalling his wet hair that morning, Liu Shiyu blushed again. Sensing something was wrong, she shook her head frantically. She quickly tried to convince herself that no matter how handsome Xu Luchuan was, he was still that domineering and annoying Xiao Lü.
But women's minds are hard to fathom. For some reason, Liu Shiyu suddenly sighed.
She began to think that she was already eighteen. The other princesses in the royal family, younger than her, were already married. She, however, had never even held a man's hand, and this inevitably brought her sorrow. But then she thought of the young emperor and the increasingly enlightened court of Shaoyuan, and she felt a little comforted.
Perhaps it was fate. Liu Shiyu gradually began to accept it. After all, on this path to becoming an emperor, someone always has to sacrifice.
With her arms outstretched, Liu Shiyu felt drowsy.
On this rare day off, she had planned to sleep on the couch in the princess's residence until the end of time. But things changed unexpectedly, and even that couldn't stop her from wanting to sleep.
Before closing her eyes, Liu Shiyu glanced at Xu Luchuan and was surprised to find several mottled wounds on the back of his hand.
So, without thinking too much, she grabbed Xu Luchuan's hand and held it in front of her to examine it closely.
"What are you doing?" Xu Luchuan opened his eyes in surprise, and when he looked down, he saw Liu Shiyu holding his hand and leaning close to him.
Liu Shiyu gently placed her fingertips on the back of his hand and said seriously, "Xu Luchuan, tell me the truth. Was that punch you delivered to the gatepost of the Princess's residence?"
Xu Luchuan was stunned and remained silent.
Liu Shiyu looked up and seemed to read the answer in his eyes, "I didn't expect you to be so strong. You even drew blood. Do you hate me that much?"
Xu Luchuan did not answer Liu Shiyu's question, but stared at the hand she was holding and said sternly, "Let go."
Liu Shiyu realized what was happening and looked down, only to find that she was holding Xu Luchuan's hand tightly in her palm. Seeing this, Liu Shiyu quickly let go and said apologetically, "Sorry."
Xu Luchuan remained silent and closed his eyes again.
Liu Shiyu awkwardly retreated to her original position, staring blankly at her palm.
Is this what holding hands feels like? His palms were warm, without rough lines or sweat. His delicate, clean knuckles were as refined as his appearance.
Slowly withdrawing her palm and placing it under her sleeve, Liu Shiyu was no longer sleepy. She could only tilt her head towards the window and casually look at the passing scenery.
...
The carriage entered Guangling City at exactly 3:45 AM.
Liu Shiyu raised her hand, picked up the bronze mirror, and spoke to the person in front of her about Liu Shijin, "Xu Luchuan, do you still remember your elder sister?"
Xu Luchuan slowly opened his eyes and said softly, "I remember."
How could he not remember Liu Shijin? In their youth, the relationship between noble families and imperial heirs was close. He had visited the magnificent Wanshe Palace countless times. In Xu Luchuan's memory, Liu Shijin was forever that domineering, self-important eldest princess.
But after Liu Shiyu was knocked unconscious by her own actions, Liu Shijin was the first one to rush up and teach him a lesson.
"Eldest sister, you married into Guangling six years ago. Two years later, you lost your husband. Because this marriage was arranged by the late emperor, you can never leave Guangling again in your life. Although it is no longer surprising that she has kept male concubines over the years, I still want to remind you to be prepared."
Liu Shiyu set down the bronze mirror and sat upright, the brightness in his eyes gradually fading. In its place came a pair of deep, unfathomable eyes. Xu Luchuan didn't answer; he knew what was going on. Besides, his goal was to stir things up; what happened to Liu Shijin was none of his concern.
The carriage traveled along the main road in Guangling City. It wasn't until a huge mansion gate came into view that Lian Yue reined in her horse and stopped.
Once the carriage came to a stop, Liu Shiyu and Xu Luchuan alighted from it.
Looking around, Liu Shiyu noticed that the gates of the Guangling Marquis's residence were tightly shut, and apart from the heavily guarded soldiers, there was no one else there. Just as she was wondering about this, Qiu Shibai, the princess's steward who had been waiting on the steps for a long time, saw Liu Shiyu and hurried forward to greet her: "This humble subject greets the Protector-Princess, may Your Highness be well."
"Where is my elder sister?" Liu Shiyu asked, looking towards the gate of the mansion.
Qiu Shibai replied with a forced smile, "In response to your question, His Highness was still hungover yesterday and is probably not up yet. However, His Highness instructed that if you arrive, I will temporarily receive you, and then I will personally receive you once His Highness has sobered up. Rest assured, I have already sent someone to the backyard to inquire. You and this young man, please come with me to the mansion to settle in."
After speaking, Qiu Shibai dared to look at Liu Shiyu's expression, but he couldn't discern any joy or sorrow. He then turned to look at the person beside her, who was just as indifferent as she was.
Qiu Shibai remained silent. He had a feeling that these two were even more difficult to serve than the one inside.
Liu Shiyu stood solemnly, his eyes fixed straight ahead, and said sternly, "No need for trouble, just take me to see my elder sister."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Shibai broke out in a cold sweat. He had no idea what the backyard was like now and was completely unsure of the situation. But seeing Liu Shiyu's appearance, Qiu Shibai dared not delay for a moment and could only bow and lead the man into the residence.
"Then...please come with me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com