Where the Heart Returns
Yaoxian was very obedient. She neither resisted nor complied. She let Yifei do whatever he wanted. As she ate, she tasted salty on her lips. Yifei looked at her face. Her eyelashes trembled on her tightly closed eyes. A tear slid from the corner of her eye into Yifei's palm. It tasted salty and hot.
Yifei thought she was in pain, so his movements became much gentler.
Yifei slept very comfortably that night. The bed in Yaoxian's room was not big, but he slept without any dreams, which was very refreshing.
From that day on, Yifei never went to the winding alley again. As if possessed by a ghost, he only thought of the fragrant room in the villa.
The playboys he used to hang out with joked with him, "The exotic beauty's charm is so great that she has trapped the prince, who was looking for pleasure everywhere, so tightly that he has no interest in other women anymore." Everyone burst into laughter.
One of them patted Yifei on the shoulder and said, "Hey, tell us quickly, what is so good about that exotic beauty? What amazing skills did she use to make you so obsessed with her?"
He couldn't explain what was good about it. Speaking of prostitutes, he had seen a lot of things in the entertainment industry, and he had even spent a lot of money to win the most beautiful courtesans. Yaoxian never tried her best to please him like the girls in the perfumed clothes. Several months passed, and every time they were close to each other, she was still the same, neither resisting nor accommodating, like a fish on the chopping board waiting to be slaughtered. It was really boring, but he was obsessed with that part of her. He heard that foreigners were good at using scent poison, so could it be that she had used poison on him?
Yifei thought about it and smiled foolishly. If this was true, he would be willing to do it.
This look was seen by the playboys, who burst into laughter and joked, "Oh, oh, you have really been bewitched by beauty and lost your mind, you foolish child, brother will wipe your saliva for you."
Yifei punched back but was not angry.
Thinking about Yaoxian who had devoted herself to him from afar, he felt that he had neglected her for so long. As a married girl, due to the rules of her family, he could not get married with a formal matchmaker such as three letters, six betrothals, and eight sedan chairs. Now she could only live in a small courtyard. He felt really guilty towards her, so he asked the old nanny to pick out many jewelry made of gold, jade, and flowers, and also prepared a big red wedding quilt and sent them to her room.
"In our Han customs, when a woman marries, she is extremely particular. When a man marries a wife, he must first complete three letters and six engagements, three letters and six ceremonies, and a ten-mile red wedding ceremony before he can officially marry her..."
Yaoxian listened in silence. He was talking about "marrying a wife." Then she heard Yifei say, "You don't know, there are many rules and regulations in the royal family. Marriage is a tool to bind families together. When I married my wife, I just thought it was a show, a show to show off, and I didn't put my heart into it. I asked the nanny yesterday and found out that in folk weddings, they always prepare several wedding quilts to add to the goodwill."
Yifei pointed at the wedding quilt on the bed and asked her, "Do you like it?"
Yaoxian walked to the bedside and saw a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water on the bright red wedding quilt. The flowers were in full bloom, and the embroidery was lifelike. "It's mandarin ducks!"
Yi Fei scratched his head and smiled awkwardly, "I've heard that mandarin ducks are the most loyal of all birds. The male and female birds stay together for life, and if they are separated, they will fall in love. I think... this is a very good implication."
Just like how I treat you, when I was in the court, thinking of you at home, I would feel itchy, irritable, and unhappy. I was scolded by my father several times. Thinking of this, Yi Fei scratched his head again, but saw that Yao Xian's lips trembled slightly, and there seemed to be crystal tears in her eyes. She tried hard to hold back her tears, but she only raised the corners of her lips and said softly: "I like mandarin ducks."
When Yifei recalled this, his heart was like spilled honey sauce, overflowing with sweet fragrance. His steps gradually became lighter and he clenched the purse in his hand tightly. His new possession was wrapped with dried flowers pickled with secret ingredients, which had a long-lasting fragrance, just like the smell that filled Yaoxian's room at dusk that night, making him feel at ease and comfortable. He ordered someone to embroider a pair of mandarin ducks on the purse, and gave it to her today, hoping she would be happy.
Yifei has been following a regular schedule recently, getting up in the morning to work on government affairs and returning home at sunset. The princes and other nobles thought he was a prodigal son who had finally turned over a new leaf, while King Ping thought he had just gotten something new and was still in the heat of the moment, with no time to care about anything else.
Yi Fei thought to himself, it is said that a man will only know how to return to the right path after he gets married and has a career. Now I know that home is where the heart is.
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