Chapter 13 You are my darling
The Eastern Palace.
"My lord, is it really impossible for this nine-tailed fox to stay?"
Jiang Shuifu felt a pang of heartache as she watched the white ball of fur rubbing against her and begging for mercy. She didn't dare to touch or comfort it because she knew she couldn't save it.
As expected, Shen Jizhao issued the order:
“Your Highness, this is an auspicious omen and should be sent to the palace.”
Jiang Shuifu tried her best to achieve this:
"Could it stay in the East Palace for a few more days? It's not used to humans yet."
Shen Jizhao's gaze fell on her with a measured intensity, and he slowly raised his chin:
"If the Crown Princess wants the throne to change hands, she can simply sleep with this auspicious creature in her arms."
Jiang Shuifu had no choice but to shut up and give up.
Shen Jizhao entered the forbidden area to capture the auspicious omen, and he risked his life to encounter it by chance. It is indeed unfair to him to give up like this.
If he didn't have this auspicious omen, how would he explain it to his father, the emperor?
The little fox seemed to understand them, and frantically shook its nine colorful tails, swishing them across Jiang Shuifu's fair face.
She stroked its fur, smoothing its beautiful but knotted tail; that was all she could do.
The little fox froze instantly, its slanted fox eyes narrowed, and it pounced on Shen Jizhao, "Awoo!"
He was bitten, and Jiang Shuifu's eyes widened as she immediately went to rescue him. She stroked its fur and comforted it, trying to get it to let go.
During this time, Shen Jizhao did not make any move, letting it tear at him.
It only released its grip when his blood was spilled all over the ground, then listlessly wrapped itself up tightly with its nine tails.
"Why doesn't my husband save himself?"
With Shen Jizhao's abilities, shaking off the little fox would be a piece of cake.
He turned his gaze to the livestock that were in seclusion, his eyes as still as a pool of water.
"It is an auspicious omen."
Jiang Shuifu's heart skipped a beat. His eyes clearly regarded it as livestock, and he loathed it, but he still endured it for the sake of the bigger picture.
Because it is an auspicious omen, one must not be harmed.
Starting from the forbidden area, she seemed to realize that perhaps she didn't understand him at all; his methods, his temperament, and his whole being were all unfathomable.
As she bandaged his wounds, she subtly tested him:
"My lord, today is the Qixi Festival, and I would like to go out of the palace to take a look."
Shen Jizhao was going to bring auspicious omens into the palace, but she didn't need to go. It just so happened that today was Valentine's Day, so she asked for his opinion.
He remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Be mindful of your identity, don't let anyone recognize you."
She darkened her eyes. She wanted to go with him. This palace banquet was to reward those who had made contributions to the hunt, and he would be back soon.
*
"Have you heard? That daughter of the Gao family is incredibly filthy. In public, in front of many men, she was making love with the Second Prince. The sounds she made were so seductive, they made everyone swoon!"
"That's right! I heard that when the people arrived, the Second Prince had already played with the child until he was bleeding, and he still wouldn't let go. Ugh, what a disgrace to the royal family!"
"Yes, yes, the Crown Prince is upright and honest; he would never do such a thing."
Jiang Shuifu twisted her ankle, and Pantao caught her in time. Pantao really wanted to curse and expose all the things the Crown Prince had done.
When the young lady returned that day, her whole body was covered in red, purple, and blue marks, and her two breasts were swollen to twice their normal size. When she was cleaning and applying medicine to the young lady, her eyes were swollen like walnuts, and she wished she could stab the prince.
Jiang Shuifu had obviously thought of that matter as well. Fortunately, the streets were filled with the sounds of gongs and drums and the dazzling lanterns, so no one noticed her flushed face.
She was carried back to the East Palace. All the way, she clung to his arms, the blush that had just faded from their passionate encounter returning to her face. She hugged his waist, feeling his rare tenderness.
She often said she wasn't greedy, but she still wanted him to continue treating her like that, to always be so gentle.
She shook her head, banishing those embarrassing images from her mind.
The woman by the roadside who mentioned the Gao family girl was Gao Zhuxia. After entering the forbidden area, she didn't encounter Shen Jizhao, but the Second Prince.
She witnessed the Second Prince's humiliating scene firsthand and gave him a disdainful look. Soon, others also gave her the same look.
She was stripped naked by the second prince and forced into sexual intercourse by him.
However, the woman was wrong about one thing: the blood was not Gao Zhuxia's, but the Second Prince's. The guards present all saw the truth, and naturally, this could not be hidden from the Emperor either.
Therefore, the second prince has lost his qualification to compete for the throne.
The traditional Qixi Festival is really fun! Before meeting Shen Jizhao, Jiang Shuifu would have looked down on such a festival, but now she finds it to be quite lively.
Just a few steps away, all sorts of unique food stalls appeared, many of which she liked, such as crab meat lion's head meatballs, steamed assorted preserved meats, five kinds of wontons, and flat dumplings...
There's also the refreshing and cool plum juice in summer, which dispels all the summer heat with just one sip!
Jiang Shuifu casually sat down at a roadside stall with peaches in hand and enjoyed a delicious meal.
"Boss, four bowls of five-flavor wontons, no spice!"
The owner noticed there were only two thin young women and asked them if they had ordered the wrong thing.
Jiang Shuifu shook her head:
"We each have two bowls, boss, don't underestimate us!"
The boss smiled and worked hard making wontons, then launched into a praise session: "Good, good, I admire you. Kids these days are torturing themselves every day just to be like rich girls. Luckily, my dog sister is good-for-nothing, or I would have broken her legs!"
Jiang Shuifu smiled secretly; the most outstanding noble lady among noble ladies was standing right in front of her.
The peach felt sorry for her again: "Miss, today we must eat our fill and try everything we haven't been able to eat at home. I'll treat you!"
Jiang Shuifu smiled brightly, in an excellent mood. Those two bowls were hardly enough to fill her teeth. Anyone in the Eastern Palace who saw her like this would probably be shocked.
Since they were indulging in a feast, they couldn't just eat one thing; they ate almost all the street food.
The girls on the street looked at the two of them with puzzled, strange, and jealous eyes. Who eats like this on Qixi Festival? On such an important day, they look like they've been starved to death.
What's more, one of the women was incredibly beautiful. Why did such a beautiful woman have to come out on Qixi Festival of all days? Wasn't she stealing their thunder and their men?
Ignoring the stares, Jiang Shuifu walked resolutely toward a shop. She wanted to buy Qiaoguo, a tradition of Qixi Festival. Buying Qiaoguo is a gift for one's lover, symbolizing a lifelong and loving relationship.
However, she hadn't expected that the Qiaoguo (a type of fried pastry) would be so popular that it was sold out by the time it was her turn. Undeterred, she offered a large sum of money to the last man who had bought one.
Before the man could speak, the woman beside him, his lover, put her hands on her hips and mocked him:
"Hey, you're so flashy, no one's going to buy you Qiaoguo (a type of pastry)!"
The woman had noticed Jiang Shuifu long ago; to be precise, most people on the street had noticed her, including her lover, who had glanced at her several times.
The woman was naturally unhappy.
Just as Pan Tao was about to start a fight with her, the woman's lover eagerly offered her a Qiaoguo (a type of pastry), staring intently at Jiang Shuifu, his mouth practically watering.
Jiang Shuifu asked the peach seller to give them the money, and was about to accept the warm pastry when a large hand grabbed her arm, and a clear, cool voice rang out:
"We don't want it."
Jiang Shuifu was pulled back into the crowd, which was bustling with activity, but he didn't turn around.
But she knew it was him, Shen Jizhao, her husband.
She smiled so hard she bent over, then grabbed his sleeve with her other hand, in a rather coquettish manner.
"Did my husband also come for Qixi Festival? Did he come to see me? I'm so happy!"
Shen Jizhao was forced to stop and turned to look at the glittering figure, shattering her illusion:
"no."
Jiang Shuifu had actually guessed that if he were to take the initiative to come and celebrate the festival with her one day and say some sweet words to her, she would definitely faint.
She still looked at him with a smile on her face:
"Husband, did you come here specifically to take me home? Are you worried about me going out alone? Don't worry, husband, I can find my way home."
Shen Jizhao's face was about to fall, so she quickly straightened up and withdrew her teasing smile.
She was so happy that she couldn't help but make a joke.
Just as Shen Jizhao's expression improved, the next second, he tumbled backwards with the increasingly audacious woman in his arms.
Someone pushed her, and she immediately pressed herself against him. He hugged her tighter and tighter, until they felt like they were naked together, just like last time.
His eyes darkened, and he lifted her up and leaped onto a platform.
Jiang Shuifu's heart pounded. She really loved his embrace and loved being held so intimately around the waist by him.
Time seemed to stand still, with only a man and a woman leaning against each other and embracing.
The man held the woman tightly around the waist, as if he didn't want her to escape him, his eyes gazing lovingly at her beautiful face.
The woman also wrapped her arms around the man's neck, gazing lovingly at him from his embrace, a blush slowly rising on her cheeks.
At this moment, everyone in the audience covered their mouths, afraid of disturbing the loving exchange between the two perfect couples. The boss held down the hand holding the bronze drum tightly, unwilling to let this scene end.
Everyone leaned forward, eagerly anticipating what was about to happen.
The man was captivated by the beautiful woman. He slowly leaned down, pouting, and the woman also stood on tiptoe. The two drew closer and closer until they were completely pressed together and kissed!
In reality, Shen Jizhao warned Jiang Shuifu:
"Let go! What kind of behavior is this?!"
Seeing that things were going smoothly, the boss struck the bronze drum in his hand:
"The competition is over. I hereby announce that the winner of 'You are my darling' is this couple on stage!"
"Okay, okay!"
Everyone cheered and applauded, offering blessings and praise.
"Congratulations! You will receive a special gift from our store!"
Everyone was very happy and wished them a large family, but the two of them looked completely bewildered.
Jiang Shuifu reacted quickly and accepted the gift.
Shen Jizhao then led her away from the farce. His expression was relatively normal; the scene just now only made him feel disgusted.
He turned around, intending to let her go back, as he had important business to attend to. But he couldn't help but frown. Why was this woman's face so red, like a crab crawling on its face? Did she have a fever?
He stepped forward to confirm his guess, touching her forehead; it wasn't hot.
If the misunderstanding earlier had made her quite happy, his touch now made her heart flutter. "Husband, I had a very satisfying Qixi Festival. Did you find it boring? Then let's go see the lanterns together next time!"
Just as Shen Jizhao was about to nod, he heard the next sentence and helplessly rubbed his forehead.
She doesn't have a fever, she's been given aphrodisiacs.
He immediately withdrew his hand, his face turning cold: "I'll take you back; don't catch a cold."
To prevent her from actually having a fever and talking nonsense to him.
Jiang Shuifu was truly happy tonight. She hummed in agreement and followed behind him, but before she could take a step, she was knocked unconscious by the man in black.
A note from the author:
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The rural dungeon will be unlocked starting from the next chapter.
The previous chapter was locked multiple times. It was quite long and contained typos. I'll revise it later to avoid it being locked again.
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