Chapter 34, Chapter 12: The Heir Apparent's Wife
Xu Qingzhou paused for a moment.
He suddenly remembered that Xi Qingyao had been married into the Marquis's mansion for so long, and apart from the gift the Marquis's wife gave her when she first married in, she hadn't received any other gifts.
The original owner didn't like her, so of course he wouldn't waste his time on her.
As for himself... he was simply faced with a chaotic scene as soon as he entered, and then he was overwhelmed by the knowledge of this world's books and didn't think about it at all.
Xu Qingzhou sighed, then suddenly felt something was amiss.
How do you know about this?
He doesn't even have a fiancée yet!
Logically speaking, Xu Mingche is at the age where he should be getting married.
However, as a son of a concubine, even though he had official rank, he was only a scholar.
In a capital city teeming with high-ranking officials and nobles, a mere scholar was hardly a figure to be proud of.
Marquis Chengqing and his wife wanted to wait until the results of the provincial examination were released before arranging marriages for him, so as to find another helper for the Marquis's family.
Xu Mingche was stunned for a few seconds before he understood what Xu Qingzhou meant. His face turned red, and he quickly waved his hand to explain.
"Brother, don't misunderstand, Auntie told me all of this!"
Marquis Chengqing was not interested in women; the concubines in his harem were all taken in for him by his late mother.
Lady Hou was a sensible woman and had no intention of tormenting these concubines who posed no threat to her.
The inner quarters of the Marquis's residence were peaceful and serene.
Xu Mingche's aunt naturally dared to say these things to him.
Xu Qingzhou blinked, but didn't ask any further questions. He lay on the horse's back, pondering carefully what he should send her.
A book?
Although she was very knowledgeable, he couldn't tell how much she liked these things.
She reads more to pass the time than to read books.
Are you suggesting I send them rouge and face powder?
But he doesn't know how to choose this thing. What if he picks a garish Barbie pink or something? Wouldn't that be a huge mistake?
A troublesome person.
The three of them had been lingering near the post station for quite some time, which had already attracted the attention of the post station staff, who would look at them warily from time to time.
Fortunately, Tinglan and the others arrived not too late. Just as the courier was about to step forward to inquire, the Marquis's carriage finally arrived, swaying and rattling.
Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, Tinglan couldn't wait any longer and jumped off, lifting her skirt as she ran towards Yu Wanwan.
"Miss!"
She stood in front of Yu Wanwan's horse, carefully examining her. Seeing that apart from her slightly disheveled hair, she seemed perfectly normal, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"You're too reckless! How could you just run off like that? If something had happened, how could I explain it to the Lord?"
Tinglan was truly frightened; her voice was choked with sobs.
Yu Wanwan's eyes changed, and her body tensed up.
No, why are you crying?
"I'm perfectly fine, aren't I?"
Tinglan remained silent, only sobbing.
Yu Wanwan was silent for a few seconds, then dismounted, handed the reins to her, and smiled.
"I'm tired, hurry up and hand in the documents."
Tinglan raised her eyes, and Yu Wanwan cooperated by pretending to be tired.
She stopped crying, nodded in agreement, and led her horse swiftly to the entrance of the post station to negotiate with the postman.
Yu Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief without making it obvious.
She's so smart! Give herself a thumbs up!
Xu Qingzhou observed their conversation and his gaze became somewhat strange.
He seems to have discovered something incredible!
Their travel documents were complete, and the courier quickly verified and registered them, arranging accommodations for the group.
This is the first stop after leaving Beijing, and the environment of the post station is not bad.
The awkward thing is that Yu Wanwan and Xu Qingzhou are husband and wife, so the courier prepared a room for them.
Since they came into this world, Xu Qingzhou has been living in the study under the pretext of copying books to study, and has never shared a bed with Yu Wanwan.
He no longer remembered the details of the previous world, nor how he interacted with his mission target in that world.
For him, this is the first time he has shared a bed with a woman.
This made him feel extremely embarrassed.
"Big brother? Why aren't you back in your room yet?"
Xu Mingche's questioning voice startled Xu Qingzhou awake.
He coughed lightly, keeping a straight face and showing no sign of anything unusual.
"I'm going now."
Xu Mingche didn't notice anything amiss either.
"Go back and rest quickly, we have to continue our journey early tomorrow morning."
I exchanged a few casual words with him, then took my things and went back to my room.
Xu Qingzhou resisted the urge to grab him and talk to him a little longer. He took a breath, pushed open the door, and went inside.
The inn was crowded with people, and the courtyard where guests stayed was not only occupied by them.
He's really not suited to be stuck outside all the time.
The room had been cleaned up by Tinglan, and the bed had been changed to the one they had brought themselves; it was spotless.
However, Yu Wanwan was not seen inside the house.
Xu Qingzhou was stunned for a moment, and before any doubt could arise, he heard a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.
"close the door!"
Then came the sound of pattering water.
Xu Qingzhou subconsciously looked in the direction from which the sound came.
A screen was placed in the center of the room, and from his angle, he could see her blurry figure behind the screen.
Judging from the posture, he was probably taking a bath while sitting in a tub.
"!!!"
Xu Qingzhou's breath hitched, and he abruptly turned his head away, unable to bear looking any longer.
The next moment, he hurriedly went to close the door.
The loud slamming of the door startled the person outside who hadn't yet returned to their room. They looked around blankly, completely bewildered.
Completely blocking out the outside view, Xu Qingzhou leaned against the door, head down, not daring to glance around, afraid of seeing something he shouldn't.
The blurry figure I glimpsed in my mind kept playing on repeat, gradually intertwining with the brief kiss on my lips during the day.
Xu Qingzhou closed his eyes, trying to brush away these enchanting images, but the effect was minimal; not only did he fail to brush them away, they became even clearer.
He could recall every smile and frown on her face with such clarity that even the slightest raised eyebrow or smile was perfectly clear to him.
Xu Qingzhou's cheeks burned, and it felt as if a fire was burning all over his body.
"How could you take a bath here?!"
Enraged and embarrassed.
Yu Wanwan was completely bewildered by his outburst.
"If I don't wash here, where will I wash?"
This is just a rest stop, a place to take a short break, and there are no separate clean rooms.
Does she wash in the yard instead of in the room?
Xu Qingzhou choked up, and then remembered where they were.
He gritted his teeth.
"Then why didn't you lock the door?!"
Yu Wanwan was even more speechless.
"Everyone knows this is where the Crown Prince and Crown Princess live. Besides you, who else would come in without knocking?"
Even if someone were to barge in without knocking, she would still have ways to deal with it.
"..."
That makes perfect sense and is completely irrefutable.
But he was just so frustrated!
Yu Wanwan belatedly realized something and glanced outside the screen.
"My dear husband, are you shy?"
"..."
Xu Qingzhou was embarrassed and annoyed, so he turned away and moved aside.
"Who's shy?! I'm just worried about your reputation!"
Okay, now we can be sure that he's just shy.
Yu Wanwan chuckled softly, feeling very pleased.
She laughed wildly, showing no sign of stopping.
Xu Qingzhou was furious.
Who is the girl here?!
She was the one who was almost completely exposed, so why does it seem like he's the naked young woman?
That's not right!
Unfortunately, Xu Qingzhou was completely helpless against her.
We can't just stand here and stubbornly confront and argue with her, can we?
That's too stupid; he couldn't do it.
He simply buried himself under the covers, covered his ears, and pretended not to hear.
He hugged himself and wept.
Xu Qingzhou didn't know when Yu Wanwan finished washing up, nor how she fell asleep.
When he woke up again, it was already dawn outside.
Xu Qingzhou was still a little dazed after waking up.
He clearly remembered that he was still indignant at the time, thinking about how to talk to her after she finished washing up.
How come it's already daylight when I opened my eyes?
and……
Xu Qingzhou looked down at the woman sleeping soundly in his arms and fell into deep thought.
When did she come up here, and how did she end up sleeping in his arms?
She was no different when she was asleep than when she was awake; she was always so serene and gentle.
Even when she's asleep, she exudes a faint sense of warmth that makes people inexplicably want to get closer.
Xu Qingzhou sighed and tapped her brow with his index finger.
Such a gentle person, but unfortunately it was all just a deceptive facade.
So hypocritical!
As soon as he moved, Yu Wanwan reacted.
Xu Qingzhou's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly withdrew his hand, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep.
Yu Wanwan never expected that she would wake up in Xu Qingzhou's arms.
However, he was only stunned for a moment before quickly regaining his composure.
Calmly climbing out of his arms, Yu Wanwan gave him a push.
"Stop pretending, I know you're awake, get up!"
"..."
Xu Qingzhou's ears burned, and he slowly opened his eyes.
What a good person! Why did they have to grow a mouth?
Sometimes I really wish she were mute. Doesn't she understand the principle of seeing through things but not saying them?
What are you doing?
Yu Wanwan hugged her legs, rested her chin on her knees, and was still a little sleepy.
Go find me some clothes.
The tone was so matter-of-fact, without the slightest hint of awkwardness.
"..."
Xu Qingzhou covered her eyes, resignedly threw off the covers, and went to rummage through the box where she kept her clothes.
Her suitcase wasn't small; it was filled to the brim with neatly folded clothes, which made Xu Qingzhou's scalp tingle.
I don't really understand. It's just a short trip, not like I'm never coming back. Why bring so many clothes?
Xu Qingzhou didn't know what she was going to wear, but thinking of her riding a horse yesterday, he chose a more casual outfit.
How about this one?
This is a pale yellow ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with narrow sleeves, clean and neat, yet still befitting her status as the Crown Prince's consort.
Yu Wanwan nodded casually without even looking at it.
"Just put it there."
Xu Qingzhou was silent for a few seconds, then put the dress on the side of the bed and turned to find the dress he wanted to wear.
Actually, it's not just Yu Wanwan who has a lot of clothes; his clothes have been around quite a bit too.
Xu Qingzhou gained a deeper understanding of the identity of the heir apparent.
He grabbed a few clothes and went behind the screen, leaving her the space.
Yu Wanwan didn't delay and didn't call Tinglan in to serve her; she tidied herself up herself.
By the time Tinglan arrived, the two had already finished packing, leaving her with no use for them.
After having breakfast at the post station and packing their things, the group set off again for Cangyan County.
Ancient roads were not easy to travel, even though they traveled the official roads the entire way.
After only half a month on the trip, Xu Qingzhou already felt like his whole body was about to fall apart.
If it weren't for the fact that Yu Wanwan, a noble lady, and Xu Mingche, a scholar, hadn't collapsed yet, Xu Qingzhou would really have wanted to just collapse without caring about his image.
At first, the three of them could occasionally go out for a horse ride to relax.
But the further south they went, the more rain they got. Gradually, the three of them could only stay in the carriage to read books and play chess to pass the time.
After a month, the Marquis's carriage finally arrived at the ancestral home of the Chengqing Marquis in Cangyan County amidst continuous heavy rain.
Although the Chengqing Marquis lineage moved to the capital over twenty years ago, their ancestral home has always been managed by dedicated personnel.
The person currently guarding the ancestral home is a member of a collateral branch of the Xu family, whom Xu Qingzhou must address as his Third Uncle.
When they arrived, Uncle San was waiting at the city gate with his men.
"Is this Ji Zhi?"
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