Thousand Verdant Mountains – Chapter 97
Chapter 97
The maids came in one after another, carrying wash basins, plain towels, tooth salt and other toiletries, and raised the curtains behind the windows.
The bright sunlight from the entire courtyard suddenly penetrated into the bedroom, reflecting the pearl curtain that were shining brightly and sparkling with a cloud-like pearlescent color.
He shi knew that her master was meticulous and reserved, so she sent the maids who were waiting to serve the princesses to the outer room, while she and a young eunuch named Zhao’er brought by Yang Zai’en helped the prince consort wash, change clothes and comb his hair. Watching him fumbling awkwardly, his gaze constantly darting toward the doorway, almost impatient enough to urge them to hurry, she couldn’t help but find it amusing. Yet, beneath her smile, she felt a faint pang of sentiment—this was such a far cry from the composed and steady figure she had come to know so well.
“Master, please don’t worry. The princess has sent someone to the palace to deliver the message first. She also ordered people not to disturb your sleep. It doesn’t matter how long you sleep.”
Although she knew that it was inappropriate to leave so late this morning, it was the princess’s intention, which showed that she really cared for the master. He shi naturally pleased by this, and seeing her master in such a state, she comforted him.
Pei Xiaoyuan tried to calm himself down, but the self-blame in his heart was not alleviated in the slightest by He shi‘s words.
The princess must bring her husband back to the palace to express her gratitude the next morning after the wedding, which was also an important part of the wedding. Overtly and covertly, there were countless eyes watching. This morning, everything was messed up because of his mistake!
Thinking back to last night, he still felt as though he were caught in a dream. He couldn’t quite make sense of himself—first being led inside in a daze, then climbing into bed, and even being made to sleep on the inner side. She had explained it was for convenience, as his limited mobility made it easier for her to care for him. His protests had been futile, leaving him no choice but to comply. Then, perhaps it was the effect of the medicine, or perhaps it was the process of waiting for the wedding in recent days that made him feel physically and mentally exhausted, but his constant tension began to ease. Initially, he had been uncomfortable with the unfamiliarity of sharing the same bed, but as time passed, the steady rhythm of her soft, even breathing at his side brought him an unexpected sense of calm. At some point, without realizing it, he had slipped into a deep and dreamless sleep. When he woke, it was already this late in the morning!
The maid brought in the medicine and he hurriedly picked it up, tilted his head back and drank it in a few gulps without even touching the small dish of candied fruit on the tray. The maid was stunned and then she couldn’t help laughing.
He shi raised her hand to his forehead, wanting to test his temperature today, but he turned his head away. He just smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Amu, I don’t have a fever anymore.”
Since he was thirteen or fourteen years old, he refused to accept similar physical touches from He shi. She had long grown accustomed to it. Although his face was still a little pale due to lack of blood, it was indeed much better than when he fainted last night. He shi also knew that the princess was very considerate to him and would take good care of him today. With a small shake of her head, she withdrew her hand.
At this time, he was almost dressed, except for a fish pouch that mark his identity. The eunuch brought the prince consort’s red and silver fish pouch. He shi picked it up, intending to fasten it to his waist for him, but Pei Xiaoyuan took it himself, tied it casually, and walked out.
“Master, you haven’t had breakfast yet!” He shi called from behind.
“I’m not hungry!” Pei Xiaoyuan strode out.
Although He shi was concerned about his health, she had to give up when she saw that he was in such a hurry.
The place chosen as the bridal house in Yongning’s residence was the Ziming Courtyard, the very place he had once brought Xuyu to stay temporarily. It seemed that she had chosen it herself, except that the courtyard next door where he originally lived was also connected to this place, the partition wall was removed, and the two courtyards were merged into one, so the place was extremely spacious. Previously, for the sake of privacy and her safety, he had ordered all the surrounding trees to be cleared. Yet in the short span of barely half a month following the confirmation of their wedding date, the place had undergone a complete transformation. Not only were there lush flowers and trees, even a long-dry fish pond nearby, along with the Qiushuang Pavilion at its edge, had been restored and enclosed within the grounds. Now, dozens of colorful koi of different sizes were released there.
Pei Xiaoyuan passed by the narrow couch in the hall outside the bedroom, stepped out of the door, and asked the maid waiting in the corridor. She told him that the princess was in Qiushuang Pavilion. He hurried along the courtyard path, turned around the chrysanthemum garden, and paused slightly.
She was wearing a nine-paneled skirt of sunflower yellow that she was going to wear when she entered the palace. Under the skirt, inner skirt of deep emerald silk was exposed. The double-layered skirt hung down to cover the tops of her shoes. Draped over her shoulders was an autumn cloak of embroidered damask in a soft cloud hue. As expected, she was standing by the pavilion at the pond’s edge, watching the fish vying for a few chrysanthemum petals that fell on the water. Yang Zai’en waited respectfully below the pavilion and, upon seeing Pei Xiaoyuan approach, called out with a cheerful greeting, “Prince Consort.”
She turned to look too.
The sunlight spilled onto the pond, reflecting a brilliant shimmer across its surface, casting golden ripples of light onto her radiant face. Her eyes, as clear and luminous as autumn waters, caught and reflected the dancing brightness.
“You’re up?”
She came out of the pavilion, and Pei Xiaoyuan hurriedly went to meet her, opening his mouth to apologize for the delay. But before he could speak, she unexpectedly raised her hand, reaching toward his forehead. He froze as if under a spell, unmoving, as her soft hand brushed against his brow and lingered there for a moment before retreating. Then, testing her own forehead temperature, her eyes showing worry, her brows knitting ever so slightly, “It feels like you still have a bit of a fever.
“How do you feel? If you still feel weak…”
Without waiting for Pei Xiaoyuan to respond, she turned to Yang Zai’en who was standing beside her and said, “Eunuch Yang, please go again and just say that it’s still inconvenient for me to come. I will not enter the palace today, and ask His Majesty not to wait.”
When Yang Zai’en heard this, he felt extremely embarrassed and remembered the scene when he entered the palace in the morning.
This morning, the prince consort was in a deep sleep and the time for departure had passed, so Yang Zai’en rushed into the palace first to apologize to the emperor on behalf of the princess.
When he arrived, the emperor was furious, having just flung a censer from his desk and now raging at the Old Father, cursing the Prince Consort as shameless and vowing to peel off his skin. Old Father could only mediate softly on the side, saying that it was only natural for young newlyweds to lose themselves on their wedding night.
Yang Zai’en understood immediately that the emperor had misunderstood. He believed prince consort had been overly indulgent during the wedding night, leaving the princess so exhausted that she missed the scheduled time to enter the palace this morning. Alarmed, Yang Zai’en hurried forward to clarify matters.
However, he himself only knew that prince consort had fainted the night before and that an imperial physician had been summoned. As for the rest of the details, he didn’t know, and the princess didn’t tell him. In fact, before he left, she told him to just tell the emperor that prince consort was feeling unwell, so they would have to delay entering the palace this morning. He was to withhold any additional information to avoid needlessly worrying His Majesty, leaving her to explain everything once she arrived at the palace.
The princess had already given the order, and since he himself did not know the details, he dared not fabricate details when the emperor pressed him for answers.
The emperor fell silent upon hearing Yang Zai’en’s response, but soon his expression changed again. He frowned and complained to the Old Father about prince consort, calling him useless—, —grumbling that even on such a momentous day, the man’s body had failed him.
The emperor was moody. Having served closely during the old father’s absence from the court for over a decade, Yang Zai’en had long since grown accustomed to such outbursts. Still, these particular remarks were not something he could repeat back to the princess.
Yang Zai’en didn’t know whether prince consort, being older, could sense the emperor’s anger and dissatisfaction with him this morning due to misunderstanding. But the princess, although she was extremely smart, was obviously still very immature in this regard. It seemed entirely beyond her consideration that the couple’s delayed departure this morning could have provoked such conjectures.
In his heart, Yang Zai’en only hoped that prince consort could enter the palace with the princess as soon as possible, putting an end to the countless speculations that were likely already running rampant. After all, if even the emperor had initially misunderstood, not to mention the rest of the people in the palace who were preparing early for the arrival of the newlyweds.
When he heard the princess speak like this, his mouth could only grumblingly comply, while his eyes kept glancing at prince consort.
Fortunately, prince consort, who caught his gaze, immediately rejected the proposal, and urged them to set off.
“Princess, you should have woken me up earlier. I’m really fine. If we were delayed because of me, I’ll be too ashamed to show my face.”
There was an unsuppressible look of annoyance between his brows, and his tone was firm.
Xuyu saw that he was very anxious, and his forehead seemed to be sweating, so she had no choice but to comply with him. Just as they were about to leave, she suddenly remembered and asked the maid who followed her whether prince consort had eaten. She heard from the maid that He Amu had just asked him to eat, but he left without eating. So she asked him to eat first, as they were not in a hurry.
“I am indeed not hungry, and I cannot eat. Princess, please set off!”
Although Pei Xiaoyuan was not one to indulge in frivolities like Chengping, he was far from being an inexperienced youth unaware of the ways of the world.
In the past six months since he came to the capital, he had seen several young men from various guards getting married. He knew well how nosy onlookers would scrutinize every detail in the aftermath of a wedding night. By the next morning, they would analyze not only the time the couple left their chambers but also whether their shoulders had brushed, whether their gazes had met, and even the bride’s walking posture would be inspected in detail to judge the private happenings of the bridal chamber last night. Wagers would be placed on whether the couple had consummated their union harmoniously.
If such speculation plagued the marriages of ordinary soldiers, how much more attention would he attract? Countless pairs of eyes were undoubtedly watching and waiting for news of him and the princess this morning. He was well aware of the grave misstep he had already committed by delaying their departure. Seeing the sun creeping closer to its zenith, he was afraid of rumors and wished he could fly into the palace immediately. And so, he urged her yet again to hurry.
Xuyu glanced at him and said, “Usually it would be fine, but you are not well yet, so how can you go out without eating? Besides, we’re already late, adding more time won’t be a problem. Don’t worry, I’ve already told Father, he won’t blame you!”
When she spoke, her eyes looked so pure, without any crooked thoughts. Pei Xiaoyuan, caught between helplessness and self-reproach for the dirty thought that had briefly surfaced in his own mind, found himself at a loss for words. At this time, He shi hurriedly handed over a bowl of crispy milk flower dumplings. He hurriedly took it, and without sitting down, finished it in just a few mouthfuls.
“Princess, let’s go on our way.”
Only then did Xuyu give the command to set out. Yang Zai’en breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly called for people to prepare for the trip. The servants and the newly-appointed guards of the Prince Consort’s residence had already been waiting in the front hall. Qingtou had also brought Jinwuzhui from the equerry’s quarters, and personally changed a brand-new gold-inlaid bridle and saddle for his master, which were naturally the princess’s dowry, and then waited eagerly.
Pei Xiaoyuan followed Xuyu to the gate of Yongning Mansion, helped her step on a golden horse stool, guiding her into the carriage, then carefully gathered the trailing edges of her skirt and placed them inside, neatly arranging them at her feet. Just as he was about to close the carriage door, he heard her invite him to sit with her. He froze for a moment, realizing that she was still frightened by his fainting last night, and was worried that he would not be able to ride on the horse today.
He quickly glanced around, and saw at least dozens of neighbors gathered nearby, all looking at them. Whether it was truly the case or just his own sense of guilt, Pei Xiaoyuan couldn’t shake the feeling that the smiles on the faces of the onlookers hid some deeper meaning.
Going out so late was already eye-catching enough. If he abandoned his horse and sat with her in the carriage, who knows what kind of speculation and discussion it would cause.
Not to mention that after a night’s rest, he felt that his physical strength had indeed recovered a lot this morning. Even if he was still as weak as last night, he would still climb onto the horse’s back and ride the whole distance by himself.
He declined politely, then closed the door, took the whip from Qingtou, and mounted his horse. Surrounded by He Jin and a group of guards, they escorted the princess’s fragrant carriage out of the lane gate, heading north. The awkwardness of being watched, whispered, and pointed at by countless people on the street was indescribable, but he couldn’t show it at all. He kept his expression stern and composed, his gaze fixed firmly ahead, enduring the discomfort in silence until they finally arrived at the palace.
In front of the palace gate, all the eunuchs, the attendants, the ladies-in-waiting, and the female officials had all taken their positions early, waiting to welcome the princess and her prince consort into the palace. To their surprise, they had waited for half a day, growing weary, sore, and parched. When the pair finally arrived, everyone quickly stepped forward to offer their greetings, then led them into the palace.