Chapter 106

 

At this time, Pei Xiaoyuan was smiling as he leaned in, pressing down on his new bride who had been flipped onto the bed by him but was still struggling. When he heard He shi’s words, the two people looked at each other and stopped their actions. Pei Xiaoyuan’s smile froze for a moment, and his expression subtly changed. He immediately released her.

Then, before Xuyu could fully react, she saw him abandon her, quickly jumping off the bed and hurriedly searching for his clothes.

Xuyu feeling a bit awkward, slowly sat up on the bed, wrapped in the blanket, secretly watching him scramble through the chaotic heap of clothes they had both left on the floor. He quickly found his pants and hastily put them on, but when he looked for his inner clothing, he couldn’t seem to find it. He seemed to be getting more anxious, and his eyes were looking everywhere. Unable to hold it in, she couldn’t help but laugh softly.

He suddenly realized something, looked at her, and was about to come over, but after thinking for a moment, he signaled her not to bother taking off her clothes.

“It’s still early, you can go back to sleep!” He reminded her while walking towards a trunk where clothes were stored to get more clothes.

“Don’t take it.” Xuyu said behind him.

He turned his head to meet her two dark eyes that were cast upon him, and thought for a moment, as if puzzled, but still obeyed her words. He then turned back, and stretched out his hand to ask for his clothes from her.

Xuyu didn’t give it back to him. Instead, she hugged her knees, folded her arms, and pulled her clothes tighter.

“Why are you panicking? Didn’t you make a grand exit last night, breaking things and storming out?” She snorted.

Pei Xiaoyuan understood. She was taking this opportunity to make things difficult him because of what happened last night.

The emperor sent someone to summon him so early at the first sound of morning drum. Both of them understood that most likely, the events of last night had somehow reached the emperor’s ears. The only question was how much he knew.

Pei Xiaoyuan had never feared the emperor, but ever since he had decided to become the prince consort, he found that whenever he thought of that cold, unsmiling ruler with his shadowed gaze, his former confidence seemed to wane without reason. Now seeing her like this—her long hair scattered on her shoulders, clearly sulking at him yet exuding undeniable charm—his chest grew warm again. If not for the fact that the person summoning him carried too much weight for him to ignore, he wouldn’t have gone out for anyone at this moment.

“Can you return it to me first?” He picked out her clothes and placed them beside her. “Once I return, I’ll make it up to you—you can do whatever you want with me,” he coaxed softly.

She turned her face away from him.

The more she thought about how she had completely forgotten about last night matter—while he, on the other hand, had remained utterly silent, doing nothing but that—the more frustration welled up in her heart. She was angry at herself for being so useless, and at him for his audacity.

Outside, He shi was probably not sure whether the princess and prince consort were awake yet. She waited for a moment but, hearing no response and seeing no one step out, hesitated before lightly testing the door. It was only ajar, not latched, but she dared not enter without permission. After hesitating for a while, she knocked on the door several times and raised her voice: “Princess, Prince Consort, the messenger from the palace seems a little anxious. His Majesty seems to be urging you…”

“Got it! Ask the messenger to wait a moment, I’ll be right out!”

Pei Xiaoyuan replied loudly.

“Princess, you heard it too…” He pleaded again in a low voice.

“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have lost my temper, thrown things, and gone out drinking, making you angry and worry.

“Please return my clothes to me first, and allow me to answer His Majesty’s summon, okay?”

But no matter what he said, she remained unmoved.

He paused, looked at her, and suddenly smiled.

“Forget it!” He changed his tone and said in a low voice.

“Since the Princess doesn’t allow me to wear it, then I won’t wear it. The worst that can happen is that I will be discovered by those nitpicking people in the Censorate when I enter the palace, and they will accuse me of being untidy and disrespectful to His Majesty. A court flogging it is, then.”

After saying this, he took his outer robe and strode to open the door.

Xuyu choked. On one hand, she hated him for being a scoundrel who always try to manipulate her, but on the other hand, she couldn’t bear to really embarrass him to this extent, so she let it go.

“Come back!”

She lowered the canopy to create a layer of cover, quickly took off the clothes she was wearing, and pushed it out through the gap in the canopy.

“Take it.”

Pei Xiaoyuan smiled and looked at the hazy and delicate figure inside the canopy, finally got dressed. Turning his head, he saw that she was also putting on her clothes. He soon understood.

“Princess, go back to sleep! You really don’t have to go with me–”

Xuyu covered herself with the clothes he had just taken for her and opened the canopy.

“I’m not sleepy. I’ll go with you.”

Xuyu knew what kind of person her father was. Especially this morning, he came to ask for people so early in the morning. Joking aside, how could she let Pei Xiaoyuan go alone?

Pei Xiaoyuan couldn’t stop her and could only let her do what she wanted.

He shi came in with the maids and the servants.

Although she had already overheard some commotion last night, stepping inside now, she was still taken aback. The outer screen had fallen to the ground, the water jar had broken, and the floor was covered with water stains, leaving no place to stand. Not to mention Zhu’er, Jiu’er, Luyu and the others, even He shi herself found it difficult to imagine just what had transpired during the night to make the place so messy. Quickly regaining her composure, she directed the others to clean up outside while leading a few trusted maids inside to attend to their mistress.

The princess sat on the edge of the bed, her hair in disarray, her clothing barely covering her body. Her face was flushed, with a lingering trace of tear-stained redness at the corners of her eyes. One embroidered shoe dangled from her foot, while the other was nowhere in sight—prince consort seemed to searching for it. The garments she had worn when she return last night lay in a disorderly heap on a small side table at the foot of the bed. Among them, a white silk undergarment appeared to have been torn. As for the red brocade quilt, specially laid for their wedding night, it was now utterly crumpled, as though someone had kneaded and twisted it over and over through the night, leaving it in complete disarray by morning.

This scene was entirely different from the mornings of previous days—everywhere lingered traces of intimacy and lingering affection. There was no need to speak of the atmosphere between the princess and prince consort. Previously, the two had either remained silent or exchanged only polite courtesies. But now, as the princess directed prince consort to find her missing shoe without success, she was softly complaining about how it had inexplicably vanished. Listening carefully, her tone was a bit coquettish.

Among the maids, except Zhu’er, Jiu’er and Luyu were all older. Considering that there was such a big noise in the bedroom last night, yet neither the princess nor prince consort had summoned anyone to clean up, was already rather unusual. Seeing this scene again, the two maids immediately understood and quickly averted their gazes, not daring to look further. Only Zhu’er, still entirely oblivious, heard the princess’ complaint and eagerly moved to help prince consort search for the missing shoe.

He shi hurriedly called Zhu’er back and went to look for it herself. With her back to the maids, she quietly took out the shoe and silk stocking that she had picked up outside the door last night and hid in her sleeve, put them down and said that she had found them.

Pei Xiaoyuan and Xuyu finally realized that the missing shoe must have fallen outside early last night. As they recalled the events of that moment, they exchanged a glance, both feeling a subtle heat rise to their faces, and fell into silence.

He shi pretended not to see it and led people to help the two of them change clothes and wash.

While they were busy, Yang Zai’en’ voice came again from outside, urging them once more, saying that the messenger asked him to pass on the message again, asking prince consort to leave as soon as possible.

At this moment, Pei Xiaoyuan had almost finished dressing. He fastened his belt and slipped on his boots. Xuyu had also finished changing her clothes, with her long hair was styled into a simple low bun, secured only with a pair of half-moon-shaped gold hairpins. She wore no makeup and took the thick brocade arm wrap handed to her by a maid, draping it over her shoulders to ward off the morning chill. Hastily, she ate a few bites of the breakfast that had just been brought in. Just as they were about to leave together, Pei Xiaoyuan instinctively raised his hand to touch the side of his belt. His steps slowed slightly, remembering his fish talisman.

The empty pouch was there, but the talisman itself had been flung under the bed last night. The bed was a low-legged, four-sided, solid-panel design, leaving less than a foot of space between the floor and the railings. Not to mention an adult man, even a thin figure like Zhu’er would find it difficult to crawl into.

He shi could not care about anything else. Hurriedly, she knelt before the bed railing, took the candle from a maid, and leaned in to search for the talisman beneath the bed. At last, she spotted it lying in the farthest corner against the wall—completely out of reach without a tool. She quickly called for someone to fetch a long bamboo pole from outside.

Luyu answered at once and dashed off. Just then, Pei Xiaoyuan stepped forward, telling He shi to move aside. He crouched down, gripped one of the bed’s legs with both hands, and, with a sudden burst of strength, dragged the entire heavy sandalwood bed forward. With a creaking sound from the friction of the wooden joints, the bed curtains trembled violently. But in the end, he managed to shift it enough to expose the fish talisman hidden in the deepest corner.

Xuyu was frightened by his action, and her first reaction was his injured shoulder. She immediately walked up to him quickly and scolded him in a low voice.

“My injury is fine. I know it myself. I don’t want to keep His Majesty waiting any longer.” He replied softly.

The messenger had urged him several times. Not to mention Pei Xiaoyuan, even Xuyu, who had originally not taken it seriously, knew that the emperor was probably really furious this time.

She also saw that Pei Xiaoyuan was somewhat afraid of her father, so she could not bear to make things difficult for him and even quickened the pace of dressing up.

“You! You are really—”

She wanted to continue to scold him but ultimately fell silent. As she watched the Pei family’s young master before her, a wave of fondness and heartache welled up inside her. Shaking her head, she let out a soft sigh.

“Oh! The fish talisman is damaged!” Zhu’er, who picked up the fish talisman, shouted in surprise.

Xuyu hurriedly took it and saw that it was true. It turned out that the fish talisman was made of gold and was soft in texture. After it was smashed, it become deformed and one edge was a little twisted.

“It’s all my fault…”

As she furrowed her brows and absentmindedly rubbed the talisman with her fingertips, she heard him mutter. She raised her eyes and saw a look of regret on his face.

She bit her lip, then, taking advantage of his tall frame as a shield from He shi and the maids behind him, rose onto her tiptoes. Leaning in close, she whispered into his ear, her breath warm and reassuring: “It’s alright. Don’t be afraid of Father, I’m here.”

His eyes flickered slightly, and a faint smile passed across his lips.

“We’ll have to make do with it for now. When we get back, I’ll call a goldsmith and we’ll fix it quietly!”

After comforting him, Xuyu stuffed the deformed fish talisman into the fish pouch, tightened the opening of the pouch, and personally hung it firmly on the leather belt around his waist. Then she took his hand and hurried out amid the surprised or smiling gazes of He shi, the maids, and Yang Zaien and others outside.

It was obvious that the usually composed prince consort was not used to the princess’s intimate behavior of holding his hand while walking in public. Though he did not pull away, at first, his shoulders and back were held rigidly upright, his gaze fixed straight ahead, and his strides were measured and stiff, looking completely serious and formal.

However, after walking out of Ziming Courtyard, he quietly turned his face, stealing a few glances at her beside him. After a brief hesitation, he subtly shifted his grip, using his sleeve as cover to discreetly reverse their hands—so that it was his hand whose holding hers. Without a word, he led her forward, continuing their way.

It was still dark. As they passed the lane gate, they were the only people on the street. When they arrived at the palace with the sound of morning drums, the sky was already slightly bright, the lanterns that lit the streets were extinguished one by one, and people had started moving in and out of the lane gates.

A new busy day had begun in Chang’an.

Xuyu and Pei Xiaoyuan entered the palace smoothly and rushed to Ziyun Palace. When Xuyu wanted to go in with him, she was stopped by the palace guards. They bowed respectfully and said that His Majesty had asked to summon the prince consort. Pei Xiaoyuan immediately took her to the side and asked her to wait outside.

“I’m really fine. Princess, please don’t make His Majesty more furious because of me.”

He looked sincere, and she knew in her heart that if she forced her way in, she would be fine, but afraid it would make her father hate him even more.

She suppressed her worries, looked in the direction of the inner hall, and had no choice but to give in: “I’ll watch from the entrance of the hall. As long as Father doesn’t do anything excessive, I won’t go in.

“If he uses what happened last night to make things difficult for you, no matter what it is, you can say that I was the one who started it!”

He agreed repeatedly and finally calmed her down. After straightening his clothes, he followed the mute eunuch who had come out into the hall.

Just as Xuyu predicted, last night, although Yang Zai’en did not dare to report what happened in Yongning Mansion to the emperor because of her, the emperor had already arranged a lot of spies in the house to monitor whether the prince consort treated the princess badly. Given the commotion of the previous night, news had swiftly reached the emperor. He was so angry that he wanted to call prince consort into the palace immediately. It was only through Zhao Zhongfang’s desperate persuasion that he was temporarily held back. However, the emperor’s anger was still hard to dissipate. Unable to sleep through the night, he fumed until the fifth watch, at which point he could no longer endure. At the earliest hour, he sent people to summon prince consort. Meanwhile he was pacing restlessly in the hall. At the sound of approaching footsteps, he abruptly turned, his sharp, hawk-like eyes snapping to the young man walking toward him, his gaze was cold and unrelenting.

“This minister, Pei Xiaoyuan, kowtow to Your Majesty!”

With this greeting, the emperor’s anger, which had been boiling in his heart all night, could no longer be suppressed. He turned around and walked over, habitually picked up the small incense burner with burning charcoal on the table and was about to smash it towards him.

When this Pei family’s young master bowed to the emperor, Zhao Zhongfang, who was on guard against the emperor’s actions by the side, hurriedly said when he saw this: “Your Majesty, please calm down! Why don’t you listen to Prince Consort’s explanation first!”

The emperor was about to smash the incense burner when he was suddenly reminded by the old eunuch.

No matter how annoying this guy was, his status had now changed. He was no longer an outsider, but the husband of his beloved daughter…

The thought swung back and forth several times in a flash. The emperor was still hesitating when he was suddenly awakened by a burning sensation in his hand. Instinctively, he was about to throw away the incense burner when another voice sounded. Looking up, he saw his daughter striding in, her gaze sharp and accusatory as she fixed her eyes on the incense burner in his hand.

“Father, what are you doing with that incense burner?” She glanced at prince consort, still kneeling with his head bowed before the emperor, and questioned him pointedly.

The emperor paused. His expression remained impassive as he slowly turned the incense burner in his hands, as if merely toying with it. In an even tone, he replied, “The autumn cold comes early this year. Just now, Father’s fingers felt cold. The braziers in the hall have yet to be lit, so just took it to warm the hands…”

As he spoke, he slowly put the extremely hot thing back on the table.

Then, the emperor put his hands behind his back and looked at his daughter. He scanned her face and finally stopped at her ears that were exposed under her hair. He closed his eyes and his expression became extremely serious: “Father didn’t ask you to come in. Get out!”

Xuyu was worried that he would hit Pei Xiaoyuan with the incense burner again, so she couldn’t help but come in to stop him. Seeing this, she guessed that he would not do it. On the other side, Zhao Zhongfang had already urged her to leave. When she glanced at Pei Xiaoyuan, he kept using his eyes to signal her to listen to the emperor.

She bit her lip and finally backed out slowly.

“Stay away!”

The emperor spoke up and ordered the old eunuch to guard the door of the inner hall and not allow the princess to enter again. After everyone left, he and the Pei’s son were the only ones left in the hall. He was so angry that he could no longer bear it. Although he did not hold the incense burner this time, he flicked his sleeves and threw the silk paper, purple brush, pine soot ink, jade seal, and dozens of memorials on the imperial desk to the ground.

With a loud noise, the emperor scolded: “You ungrateful wretch! You have only been married to the princess for a few days, and you dare to do such a thing! Do you think Zhen is dead?”

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