He Yue chuckled, nudged him with her elbow, and glared at him reproachfully: "What do you mean by 'destined to be together but not meant to be'? You're really something! You can even make up something like that."
Thirteen shushed him, and He Yue immediately shut her mouth, widened her eyes, and looked at him in confusion.
He smiled broadly and said in a low voice, "Be careful not to let anyone hear us. There are also Father Emperor's men protecting us in secret. But with you, my jealous wife, around, I'm destined to be apart from Yuzhu that year."
Hearing his first words, He Yue's heart pounded wildly, truly afraid of being overheard. Then, hearing his teasing remark, she pinched his waist in anger, gritting her teeth: "Nonsense! Who's the tigress?!"
Thirteen grabbed Heyue in a hug, and the two rolled around on the bed, soon accompanied by discordant sounds.
After a long while, Heyue was panting heavily. Thirteen stroked her back and smiled, "No one would be so tactless as to peek into what happens in the boudoir. Otherwise, they wouldn't have a place to live."
He Yue was relieved, but annoyed that he had lied to her, her face full of anger: "Fine! You tricked me!" She wanted to pinch his waist again.
Thirteen quickly grabbed her hand, breathed into her ear, and chuckled mischievously, "How dare I? I'm just trying to make you happy, my wife. If you're not satisfied, so be it. Why make your husband angry?"
As he spoke, he reached his hand inside her clothes again.
He Yue sighed that Thirteen was becoming more and more charming, especially with his sweet words that made people feel extremely happy.
He teased her until she felt weak all over, her eyes glazed over, and she forgot all about being angry.
That night, despite Thirteen's provocations, He Yue finally surrendered and let him have his way.
As a result, I felt weak all over the next day, and I only felt better in the afternoon.
Because it was close to the end of the year, the group did not set off immediately, but instead rented a house in Sichuan and planned to spend the New Year there.
This is not the western plateau region of Sichuan, but closer to the east. Although it is winter, it is still warmer than the north, so it is quite comfortable.
During this period, Thirteen accepted Nian Gengyao's invitation to visit his residence on several occasions. They developed a mutual respect and soon became sworn brothers.
At first, Heyue was unhappy, worried that Nian Yuzhu would use this opportunity to get closer to Thirteen. But after a few days, Heyue was relieved.
Since Nian Yuzhu didn't appear in front of Thirteen at all, it was unclear whether the other party was sensible or simply that He Yue was overthinking things.
In short, He Yue was not a petty person. Since the other party did not intend to cause trouble, He Yue let Thirteen and Nian Gengyao associate with each other.
On New Year's Eve, the house was decorated with couplets and hung with red lanterns, giving it a fresh new look and filling it with the festive atmosphere of the New Year.
At night, the lanterns in the courtyard cast a festive glow, and candles burned brightly and warmly on the table inside the house.
Heyue and Shisan were both used to lively gatherings. It was their first time spending the New Year away from home, without relatives or friends, only Heyue and Shisan as a couple, and the servants who came to take care of them. At first, they were quite unaccustomed to it.
However, its advantage lies in its simplicity and few rules. Masters and servants sit together to eat hot pot and stay up all night, which brings them closer together and makes them quite happy.
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), the Nian government sent some festive gifts, ostensibly to congratulate them on their first New Year's celebration here.
He Yue and Shisan did not refuse and gladly accepted the gifts. They thanked Nian Gengyao for his kindness and rewarded the servants who delivered the gifts with a few taels of silver.
The servants happily went back to report.
The New Year's Eve gifts included some food, snacks, and good wine, so the New Year's Eve was very pleasant, except for a little bit of missing relatives in the north and feeling somewhat sentimental.
As midnight passed, the New Year's Eve vigil was over. The group, having drunk a bit too much, cleared away their belongings and went to rest.
The candlelight in the room made their cheeks glow red. Thirteen cupped Heyue's face in his hands, his eyes were dreamy, and his expression was joyful. The two of them seemed to have returned to their wedding night.
Thirteen treated Heyue with great tenderness and affection, but Heyue thought of her children and hugged Thirteen even tighter, wanting to draw more warmth from him.
Before they knew it, the 48th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign had arrived. After the New Year, He Yue and his entourage bid farewell to Nian Gengyao and Lady Nalan, left Sichuan, and headed east.
In February, news came from the capital that the emperor had once again bestowed titles upon his sons: Prince Yong, Prince Heng, Prince Chun, and Prince Lian were made princes of the first rank; the tenth prince was made a prince of the second rank; and the ninth, twelfth, and fourteenth princes were made beile.
Among them, the thirteenth prince remained a Beizi without any promotion, while the tenth Beizi surpassed the ninth Beizi to become a Junwang (Prince of the County). These were the only two unexpected events.
However, this was not unexpected for He Yue. Thirteen was only saddened for a moment before returning to normal.
The Tenth Prince is now the Prince of Dun, after all, he is the son of Consort Wenxi, of the Niohuru clan, so it is normal for him to be ranked before the Ninth Prince.
To everyone's surprise, Prince Lian was not disliked by Emperor Kangxi because of this incident, and was still promoted along with the other princes.
After a moment's thought, Heyue understood. It was probably her sister's doing. Since she wanted to change Prince Lian's fate, she naturally had to prevent certain things from happening.
However, not long after, Heyue and Shisan received the news.
Prince Lian was reprimanded by Emperor Kangxi for being too lenient in interrogating Ling Pu, the head of the Imperial Household Department, and was dismissed from his post in the Imperial Household Department.
Lingpu was the husband of the Crown Prince's wet nurse. He was also implicated in the deposition of the Crown Prince. Prince Lian, however, insisted on being kind and winning people's hearts, and ultimately he was the one who suffered.
Or perhaps this was simply Emperor Kangxi's way of suppressing Prince Lian, who was too flamboyant.
The removal of the crown prince implicated not only officials from his faction, but also the lineage of Suo'etu of the Hesheli clan. Suo'etu's two sons, Gerfen and Algishan, were executed, and the rest of his descendants were dismissed from their posts.
The other branches of the Hesheli clan fared well and were even appeased because they were Empress Hesheli's maternal relatives.
Fortunately, although Aunt Wuyunzhu was Suo'etu's daughter, she was still a married daughter. Yisang'a had previously supported the Crown Prince and had now retired from officialdom, so the Irgen Gioro clan was not affected too much.
But Ito-ri and Yeon-eul, who are in Kyoto, still find themselves in a difficult situation.
Since leaving the capital, He Yue had been constantly asking Thirteen about their situation. He heard that they were all doing well. Yi Duli was also a smart man and didn't care about the matter, focusing only on his work.
He Yue knew that as long as they didn't get involved in the princes' struggle for the throne, everything would be fine, so she felt at ease.
The only thing to be happy about these past few months is that Heyue receives a letter from Prince Yong every month, informing her of Hongchang and the others' recent situation.
They did cry a few times at first, but with Prince Yong's personal care and the servants' diligent attention, they recovered after a while, so Heyue and Thirteen didn't need to worry.
Heyue didn't know how to make clothes before, but these days, because she's often free, she asks Hailan and the others to teach her how to make children's clothes, shoes, and hats.
Although Thirteen was always pricking her fingers and felt very sorry for her, Heyue still enjoyed it.
She only hoped that her children could wear the clothes she made by hand, so that they would know that she missed them and that she didn't abandon them.
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