Chapter 41.41 Becoming a Real Couple
When the eunuch came in to deliver the message, the emperor's three trusted ministers had just left. The emperor was sitting in the Hall of Diligent Governance, frowning, preoccupied with the matter of the salt route inspection in Jiangdong.
The newly appointed top scholar entered the Ministry of Revenue, the second-place scholar entered the Ministry of Works, and the third-place scholar just entered the Ministry of Personnel.
Of the remaining people, most had already entered the Three Provinces and Six Ministries, but since the salt inspection and auditing involved the tax accounts of various prefectures, they always had to choose someone who was honest, loyal, and most capable.
Pei Heng lost track of time while thinking, and only after Jinbao reminded him did he call in the little eunuch waiting outside to report.
Upon learning what had happened at the princess's residence, he immediately forgot about the mess on the table.
"Cheng Yuan, quickly prepare the carriage, I am leaving the palace."
His salt inspection is scheduled for next spring. The current selection of officials is just preparation. However, if he doesn't hurry up with the affairs of the manor, Yuezhi will be coaxed away by Liang Zhang.
Sitting in the carriage leaving the palace, Pei Heng was extremely anxious. He suddenly realized the hatred and hostility in his mother's contemptuous eyes when she looked at the Imperial Concubine.
"How dare a mere concubine climb over my head? The Emperor's heart and eyes are now filled with her, and he listens to her instigation in everything. How could he have forgotten that he has me as his first wife?"
He was young then and did not understand what his mother was fighting with the imperial concubine for.
It's only when it happens to you that you feel the fear of having something you cherish taken away in an instant.
Yuezhi was not entirely without feelings for Liang Zhang; in fact, the beginning of their mutual attraction stemmed from the love poems they exchanged.
If this gentleman is honest and has no bad intentions, he won't pose a threat. But he forgot that Yuezhi is not a completely obedient person. She also has a true nature. If she meets Liang Zhang in private and they exchange a few words, he will be finished.
The beautiful dream of spending a lifetime with her, of knowing and loving each other, along with her trust in him as her younger brother, would all vanish.
Pei Heng became indignant.
He should have used some means to deal with Liang Zhang; how could he allow this man to continue staying in the princess's residence and spying on his Yuezhi?
"Faster, faster!" he urged sharply.
The guards driving the horse cracked their whips again and again. In the dark night of the capital, only this carriage traveled unimpeded on the road, all the way to the side gate of the princess's residence.
The mansion appeared quiet, but everyone was on edge. Some waited behind the side gate to welcome the emperor, while others gathered at a distance outside the small courtyard, whispering and brainstorming ideas. Huachun, who had been sent to the courtyard gate by Yuezhi, sighed anxiously.
The gate to the courtyard was ajar, and no one dared to peek through the crack to see what was happening inside.
Failure to perform duties and angering the Emperor will result in death; disobeying the Princess's orders and angering the Emperor will also result in death.
The crowd waited anxiously, watching the clouds drift and the moonlight brighten and dim, until a gentle breeze dispersed the clouds, and the bright moonlight illuminated the frost-covered roof tiles with a pure white glow.
In the stillness of the night, no candles were lit in the room. Only the woman's faint scent of gardenias and the man's aroma of wine intertwined and blended, filling the room with a warm fragrance.
Yuezhi nestled softly in his arms, her fingertips hooking around the pearl and jade belt at his waist.
It was a personal item she gave to her husband as a return gift the day before their wedding. She hadn't seen him wearing it for the past few days and thought it was being kept hidden away. But today, after his promotion, he's wearing it again.
A sweet feeling welled up inside her, and she asked in a soft, gentle voice, "My lord is in high spirits today and has drunk so much wine. Can we still consummate our marriage?"
Liang Zhang's body suddenly stiffened.
How could he not have thought about consummating the marriage? But if he had contacted the princess without consulting the emperor, and the emperor found out, he would probably be blamed.
His mind was on edge, but the soft, fragrant warmth in his arms was a hidden desire he dared not touch. He had only wanted to watch her from afar, but she seemed to be telepathically connected to him, and now she was truly leaning against him, the scent of gardenias from her hair filling his nostrils, easily burning away his reason.
They were ruler and subject, and also husband and wife. According to the etiquette between ruler and subject, he should not act rashly, but according to the etiquette between husband and wife... he should obey her wishes.
“I can.” His voice was hoarse, and he could barely hear what he was saying.
The person in his arms lowered their eyes shyly, and the blush rising on their cheeks fell into his eyes like sparks falling on a haystack, instantly igniting all his suppressed desires.
How could he not be moved by such a beautiful woman, with such a good nature, such a noble and pure person, who descended from her lotus throne to the mortal world for him? How could he not want to have her?
The man's Adam's apple bobbed, and his arms tightened suddenly, pulling her slender waist close to him and pressing her even deeper into his embrace.
He closed half the door and was about to carry her inside when he saw her shyly raise her face in his arms, close her eyes and wait, calming her disordered breathing, her lips slightly parted—a silent invitation from a young woman.
For this moment of deep love, he was willing to remain faithful and devoted to her for life, even at the cost of his life.
He cast aside his last shred of hesitation, bent down, and with all his love, went to embrace that blushing face.
Just a hair's breadth away, at the very moment their breaths were about to merge—
A bone-chilling cold surged in from outside the open courtyard gate.
A sharp intuition made Liang Zhang suddenly look up.
Outside the door, the night was deep and dark. A tall, aloof figure stood silently in the shadows under the eaves, unlit by the moonlight, like a demon blending into the darkness.
The moonlight behind him sparingly outlined his silhouette in a black robe embroidered with gold. His unfathomable eyes, sharp as ice-cold blades, pierced the darkness and were fixed on his face, silent yet carrying an immense pressure and a terrifying ferocity.
The air froze instantly.
Upon seeing the anger in the emperor's eyes, Liang Zhang froze in mid-air, his boiling blood turning cold inch by inch.
He instinctively wanted to hide the princess behind him, but the moment he met the gaze of the person outside the door, he lost all his strength—it was a predatory desire that made him want to kill her as soon as possible, which was definitely not the emotion a younger brother should have for his sister's husband.
The emperor did not regard him as a subject or brother-in-law, but rather... an enemy, a competitor, a weakling who could only be plundered and had no way to resist.
Liang Zhang felt a chill run down his spine, and in an instant, he understood many things.
The teahouse that day drove him away; the words spoken to him when he was summoned to the palace; even on his wedding night with the princess, the emperor did not appear at the banquet, but knocked him unconscious in the dead of night and spoke those words to him again.
There was no such thing as a "lover"; from beginning to end, the man beside the princess was the emperor...
A silent game of chess ended in an instant.
Liang Zhang attempted to use ethical rules to challenge Pei Heng, arguing that as the prince consort, he should have the right to meet the princess.
But in the face of unquestionable imperial power, the slightest resistance in his eyes was so insignificant and laughable. Under the gaze of those cold phoenix eyes, his persistence wavered, and in the end, all that remained was his disheveled state and defeat.
They shared a tender, devoted love, a love so intense it defied all societal norms, and they were determined to be together even at the risk of public condemnation. I was just an innocent bystander who was accidentally drawn into their relationship.
The hand that was holding the princess's waist finally loosened little by little, reluctantly but helplessly.
"The prince consort?" Yuezhi asked, puzzled.
She was waiting for a kiss, but why wasn't the prince consort making a move?
The next instant, someone behind her ripped off the clothes she was wearing and threw them on the ground, then draped a thicker, warm cloak over her.
Yuezhi was surprised and turned to look. In the vast moonlight, she saw a tall, dark, blurry figure.
The young man's dark robes brushed past the threshold, bringing in a chilly night breeze. The moonlight shining through the eaves illuminated his face, revealing his cold brows and a suppressed, damp chill in his calm eyes, along with an almost overflowing possessiveness.
As he walked out of the courtyard, he didn't look at Liang Zhang again, as if he were just an eyesore.
All the pressure and all the attention were focused on the bewildered Yuezhi.
She flinched slightly at his approach, her hazy eyes blinking as she looked at the person behind her, then at the person in front of her: the two were similar in build, both exuding the same aura of pine and ink, their breathing heavy, and neither of them spoke…
Yuezhi panicked slightly: "Who is it?"
The young man remained silent, his jawline taut. He bent down, slipping one arm under her knees and the other around her back. With a slight effort, he easily lifted her up from beside the other man.
"Ah!" Yuezhi gasped as her body was suddenly suspended in mid-air, instinctively wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her cheek against his clothes, which were damp with night dew.
Before she could resist, a familiar voice rang in her ears.
"Have you forgotten your husband's voice so quickly?"
Yuezhi paused. She had been chatting with him every night for the past few days, so how could she not recognize his voice? However, this voice was somewhat similar to the rough, hoarse voice she had heard when he was drunk.
If the man holding her right now is the prince consort, then who was the one who threw himself into her arms just now?
Yuezhi blushed and snuggled into Pei Heng's arms.
Pei Heng carried her, turned around and glared at Liang Zhang, who was standing there stunned and dared not utter a sound, then left with her in his arms, his movements swift and decisive, his attitude forceful.
That silent threat, that contemptuous indifference in his eyes, was more humiliating than any rebuke or glare, proclaiming who was the only one qualified to hold her in his arms.
The young emperor, carrying his beloved woman, strode into the deep night, leaving Liang Zhang standing alone in the cold autumn wind, facing their retreating figures, proud as bamboo.
This was the only time he didn't kneel to greet a nobleman, perhaps because he had seen through the emperor's unspeakable secrets, lost the love he longed for, and felt lost.
But he knew that the next time he saw the emperor and the princess, he would still bow down to them.
This is his duty as a subject, and the only belief he can still uphold to this day.
*
Back in the room, Yuezhi was placed back on the bed by the young man, who removed her cloak and placed her in the warm room. She was still not recovered from the embarrassment she had just experienced.
In the flickering candlelight, she looked at him with considerable guilt, "I came to find you, but somehow I ran into someone else. He was drunk and his speech was incoherent..."
She spoke softly, but received no reply, and felt uneasy.
"My lord, are you angry?"
“A little.” Pei Heng said, frowning as he unbuckled his belt. His cool palms brushed across her cheeks, and his thumb lightly touched the corner of her lips.
"I've been so happy spending time with the princess these days that I've forgotten she can keep male lovers as she pleases. If I'm not around, and some random man throws himself at her, and she takes a liking to him, she'll forget about me in the blink of an eye. What am I going to do?"
The anger in his eyes transformed into a damp, sinister desire. His gaze, like a venomous snake, crawled from her cheek to her neck, then meandered towards her chest, where her heart was pounding most fiercely, before disappearing into an even more hidden place.
Pei Heng exhaled softly and removed his outer garment.
Thinking back to what had just happened, Yuezhi blushed deeply.
What male concubines, what wild men? She couldn't even handle a prince consort, so how could she dare to think of anything else?
In a panic, she explained to him, "The maid told me that you got drunk at the banquet. I didn't want to sleep in separate beds from you after only a few days of marriage, so I went to the courtyard where you were staying to look for you. It just so happened that the person there was drunk, and his smell and voice were similar to yours. He didn't point out that I had mistaken him for someone else, so I thought he was you and lost my sense of propriety. I really didn't mean to look for someone else."
"Really?" Pei Heng softened his tone, leaned forward, and placed his hands on the edges of the bed on either side of her, his body tilting towards her.
Yuezhi was unaware of her current position, which confined her to the bed. She nodded earnestly, "Really, I don't know who he is or why he's in the manor."
“He was my new colleague. He was very drunk and had no servants with him. I didn’t know where he lived, so I brought him back to the mansion and settled him in the courtyard. I told him to sleep first, but it seems the servants made a mistake and thought I was sleeping there.”
Pei Heng covered up the lie without changing his expression, gently tilting his cheek towards her profile.
As he spoke, his lips brushed against her small earlobe intentionally or unintentionally, exhaling a soft, warm breath that brought a satisfying blush to her face.
“An hour ago, the Emperor summoned me to the palace to advise me on taking up a position in the Ministry of Personnel. When I returned, the effects of the alcohol had worn off. I heard from the maid that you went into that courtyard and threw a tantrum, refusing to let anyone else in. I rushed over and saw that you had mistaken a colleague for me…”
He paused slightly, his voice shifting to a plaintive and pitiful tone, "I thought you were upset that I was too busy to spend time with you, and that you thought your colleague resembled me, so you wanted to find him as your new love."
"No, that's not true." Yuezhi felt guilty because of his words. She thought that if she had drunk some calming soup and gone to bed early, she wouldn't have been so suspicious and upset her husband.
"Yuezhi, you are the only one in my heart."
Pei Heng cupped her face in one hand and kissed her lips with a devout expression. His lips, carrying the coolness of the autumn night, kissed her carefully, as if afraid of melting her.
"Me too, you're the only one in my heart." Yuezhi breathed softly, tilted her head back to respond to his kiss, and accepted all his grievances and anxieties.
Where she couldn't see, the young man slightly curled the corners of his mouth, and the fierceness in his eyes vanished without a trace.
He lifted her onto the bed, skillfully removed her nightgown, and took her hand to kiss, from her fingertips to her slender arms, her rounded shoulders, and her heart rising and falling with her heartbeat.
They were already familiar with each other's scent, and a restless heat surged wherever their rough hands touched.
"Husband, husband..." Yuezhi called out to her husband anxiously, opening her arms as if she wanted him to hug her.
“I’m here.” Pei Heng pulled her into his arms, giving her a sense of security.
He would create the most beautiful memories for her, covering up the little misunderstanding and interlude, so that when she thinks of this autumn night again, she will only think of him and will never remember that "unrelated stranger".
Her cheeks were flushed a beautiful rosy red, her eyes were full of desire, and her tightly clenched lips emitted intermittent, pleasant sighs.
Pei Heng felt a surge of heat in his throat. He kissed her from her cheek to her chin, then leaned in to kiss her lips, cruelly churning out all the moans from her mouth and swallowing them.
So sweet, so comforting.
He embraced the trembling person in his arms, held her tightly in the instant her body tensed, exchanged breaths with her, soothed all her panic, and kissed her eyebrows and eyes.
"Yuezhi, you are so beautiful..."
"Heaven bears witness, and I swear by the fortune I have achieved in this life, you are my one and only wife. I will give you everything I have and will never let you down."
"Don't be nervous, you can accept me."
The young man's deep, loving words echoed in her ears. The bed, now draped with curtains, was filled with warmth. Yuezhi's eyes were glazed over as she instinctively responded to his kiss. Even though she was exhausted, she still clung to his back with arms that refused to let go.
In the hazy darkness, his hands traced the outline of her body, his body heat ignited a fire within her, and his scent lingered around her nose. Layer upon layer of senses combined to bring her the most genuine and complex love, piercing through the fragile barrier and reaching the deepest part of her heart.
"Mmm..." Tears welled up in her eyes, her hands tightly clasped behind his back, almost overwhelmed by happiness.
It was everything he gave her that allowed her to still perceive her own existence even when she lost connection with the world, and to not forget what she looked like because of blindness.
Outside the window, it was late autumn with all the red leaves fallen, but inside the house it was as warm as spring.
As if a gentle spring rain had just passed, the newlyweds were damp, their bodies glistening with sweat and saliva.
The young man trembled slightly, his eyes no longer displaying the cold ruthlessness and cunning of an hour ago. Instead, his eyes were tinged with a hazy, vibrant red as he carefully kissed the person in his arms, as if holding a fragile jade statue.
He breathed softly and kissed her lips repeatedly.
The shallow love of the past has brewed into a richer and more profound feeling tonight. The innocent sibling affection can never be returned to. A deeper connection has been formed between him and Yuezhi.
She is his woman.
His wife.
He finally possessed her completely, no longer needing to argue with those irrelevant men. He was already her man, and no one else was worthy to compare with him.
The person in his arms had unfocused eyes, shrank in his arms, and took a long time to recover before turning their face away in embarrassment.
Pei Heng, however, did not want her to escape. He picked her up and kissed her lips deeply.
A gentle spring rain fell again inside the warm room.
*
I never knew that the long night could be so short.
In the early morning, the young couple were still inseparable in their room, their love filling the room with a spring-like atmosphere. The maids who were waiting outside to serve them blushed as they listened.
They called for water four times during the night, and now they have boiled the water and are waiting, but they don't know when the two noble ladies in the room will have time to bathe.
The maid tiptoed into the courtyard and found Huachun to deliver a message: "Sister Huachun, the people in the palace say it's almost time for court, and they're asking us to hurry them up inside."
Huachun pulled her out of the courtyard, glanced back at the tightly closed door, and replied, "Tell them to wait another half an hour and see. But judging from the Emperor's enthusiasm, he probably won't be able to hold the morning court today."
The young maid heard a few sounds when she entered the courtyard. Her face flushed with embarrassment, and she didn't dare to ask any more questions. She hurriedly went out to deliver the message.
The emperor is diligent in his duties, so it is normal for him to relax for a few days occasionally.
Hua Chun hoped that the Emperor would linger on the princess a little longer, so that he wouldn't remember their mistakes from the previous night and punish a bunch of people, especially her.
Fortunately, the princess softened the emperor's anger, preventing a storm from sweeping through the mansion. Furthermore, the consort Liang was a law-abiding citizen and did not cause a scene because of last night's events. He went to work this morning as if nothing had happened.
Overnight, the fake prince consort became the real prince consort, and the real prince consort became the fake prince consort. It's truly a sad story.
The morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the carved wooden window, scattering like shards of gold onto the embroidered quilt with a hundred children on the bed.
"..." Yue Zhi leaned weakly on the young man's shoulder, tears welling in her eyes, and opened her eyes from her light sleep.
Pei Heng sat on the bed, pulled her into his arms, gently rubbing her waist with his hand, and smiled tenderly: "Awake?"
He whispered in her ear, "The princess's health is still not good; she's fallen asleep so many times."
Yuezhi lowered her eyes and wanted to grab his back again, but when she touched it, she felt a scar. She thought she had scratched it herself and felt so sorry for him that she didn't dare to grab it anymore.
Her voice was soft and weak: "How can you be like this? You keep making a scene. I was already asleep, and you still..."
Pei Heng chuckled and lovingly kissed away the tears at the corners of her eyes. "I must have some kind of illness. I become incredibly energetic whenever I'm near the princess. I'm wide awake and feel extremely hot. The princess can feel it for herself and know that I'm not lying."
He took her hand and pressed it against his heart. The burning heat and his pounding heart made her hand go numb. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held it tightly.
“The princess said that I am the only one in her heart, and I have kept that in mind. Now that we are truly husband and wife, we cannot go back on the vows we made to each other.”
The young man spoke softly, his words and affection flowing into her body. Whether it was from being moved or from feeling her body go limp, tears welled up in Yuezhi's eyes.
No regrets in this life.
She responded softly, her slender arms wrapping around his neck from the front, nestled in his embrace, and succumbed to his charms.
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