Chapter 150:
He clearly knew that these two had already consummated, yet he couldn’t even bear to see them hold hands.
The clash between the two men left Xie Wanning with no time to worry, as she was now concerned whether Imperial Consort Shu would exploit Lu Ziyan’s care for her to stir up more trouble.
She had poisoned her in the past life, so how much better could this life be?
Thinking this way, Xie Wanning grew even more furious at the culprit Lu Ziyan.
If not for his relentless entanglement, daring to abduct someone even in a place like the Imperial Palace, how could Imperial Consort Shu have caught them…
“What are you thinking about?” Pei Yuqing slightly tightened his grip on her hand and said, “You’re so distracted.”
Xie Wanning stiffened for a moment, forcing a smile. “It’s nothing.”
She pulled her hand free from his, picked up the jade cup on the table, took a sip of wine, and only then slightly eased the anxiety in her heart.
The officials in the hall had long been toasting and drinking merrily.
The Emperor was advanced in age after all; with the ministers taking turns to toast him, he soon became half-drunk and left the banquet early with the Empress, less than an hour in.
He left an oral decree for several princes to host the latter part of the banquet.
Once the Emperor and Empress departed, the imperial consorts did not linger long either.
When Imperial Consort Shu rose to leave, Xie Wanning stood to see her off, and a pair of small feet in gold thread embroidered shoes stopped in front of her.
“Wanwan, if you have time on ordinary days, come to the palace to sit with your aunt and chat.”
Xie Wanning curtsied deeply, smiling as she agreed.
Her smile was somewhat stiff, and with the corner of her eye, she could still see Lu Ziyan across from them seemingly looking this way, making her expression even more rigid.
Fortunately, Imperial Consort Shu only thought this niece of hers was somewhat uneasy after being caught in an illicit affair by her, and had no other suspicions.
Once the others had left, Xie Wanning finally let out a long breath.
Seeing this, Pei Yuqing beside her chuckled. “Why so nervous?”
“…” Xie Wanning fell silent for a moment. This man was quick-witted, and she wasn’t sure if she could hide today’s events from him. Thinking this way, she gave an awkward smile. “Let’s head back too.”
Pei Yuqing nodded lightly, took her cloak from Er Qing’s hands, personally helped her put it on, then held her hand and bid farewell to his colleagues at his side.
His thoughtful care for his wife naturally drew a chorus of teasing remarks.
Xie Wanning felt somewhat uneasy at the teasing, slightly turning her head, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over Ji Chengfeng not far away.
…She hadn’t noticed him while seated earlier; only upon standing did she realize he was so close.
The young man in plain robes sat with proper, upright posture; amid the group of flushed, swaying officials, he stood out as pure and unsullied as snow, untouched by dust.
Seeing her look over, Ji Chengfeng shook the wine cup in his hand and tossed back the wine inside.
Xie Wanning stared in a daze. Just as she wondered if he was toasting her and whether she should reciprocate, her hand was gripped tightly.
She heard Pei Yuqing say, “Let’s go.”
Xie Wanning had no choice but to abandon the thought of returning the toast and left the hall hand in hand with him.
The moment the cold wind hit, she instinctively wanted to withdraw her hand into her sleeve, but the man gripped it even tighter, locking her palm with unyielding force.
Xie Wanning was helpless and could only let him hold it.
The two walked side by side along the long palace path, silent all the way, their ten fingers tightly interlocked like entwining vines, passing warmth to each other.
This scene inexplicably reminded Xie Wanning of last summer’s night of commitment at the suburban villa.
That was their first time holding hands like this; back then, he was still a proper young master who blushed at the ears with a single tease, while she was like a roguish bully who loved teasing good families, delighting in making him lose his composure.
In merely half a year, they had married, and though newlyweds should be in their honeymoon phase, it was far less sweet than back then.
Though neither had said it outright, they both knew estrangement had grown between them; things had changed.
The root cause was his lack of confidence, repeatedly scheming against Lu Ziyan and even using her in the process.
But ultimately, it was still Lu Ziyan’s persistent entanglement to blame.
If Lu Ziyan could let go of everything and stop obsessing over past love, she and Pei Yuqing wouldn’t have reached this awkward state.
They might have been the loving couple praised by all in the Capital City, and he wouldn’t have been forced to use her.
These past days, Xie Wanning’s anger from learning her husband had schemed against her had faded; after calming down, she could understand his actions.
However, understanding was one thing, but she truly dared not give him her full trust without reservation again, just as she couldn’t bring herself to turn back to Lu Ziyan.
Once harm occurred, it was hard to let go.
Forgetting the pain after the wound healed was something she couldn’t do.
At least, not yet.
Thinking of Lu Ziyan, Xie Wanning recalled that day at the military camp, his ruthless words when he let her go.
He had said that at the latest in a year, even if she couldn’t bear to part from Pei Yuqing, he would chop him up and feed him to the dogs.
That madman would absolutely do it!
He really could bring himself to kill and seize a wife!
She absolutely could not let things develop that way.
Xie Wanning thought in a daze, feeling that her circumstances in this life were no better than in the past life.
Each had its own difficulties.
Yet all the decisions in this life were her own, including marriage and consummation.
She couldn’t blame anyone else…
Once in the carriage, their clasped hands parted, and they sat facing each other.
Pei Yuqing poured a cup of tea and handed it over. “What are you thinking about? Why so distracted?”
As he spoke, his gaze swept over her waist and suddenly paused. “Where’s your sachet?”
Xie Wanning’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly said, “…Perhaps it fell off on the road.”
She picked up the teacup and took a sip, barely suppressing her nervous mood, about to say something more when the man opposite suddenly rose and sat beside her.
“Drunk?” He didn’t mention the sachet again but reached to touch her flushed cheek. However, before his fingertip could touch, Xie Wanning instinctively turned her head away.
That slender-fingered hand froze in midair, unmoving.
After turning away, Xie Wanning realized her reaction was hurtful and said regretfully, “Sorry, I…”
“Sorry for what?” Pei Yuqing lifted her chin, looking down at her slightly flinching gaze, his lips moving. “Can’t I even get close to you now?”
“No, it’s not that I won’t let you get close,” Xie Wanning shook her head in a panic. “It’s just that I… I…”
Her stammering, unable to explain, made the already odd atmosphere in the carriage even more awkward.
But Xie Wanning herself didn’t know why she had dodged just now.
It must be from dodging Lu Ziyan so often that it had become a reflexive rejection.
She had just reached this conclusion when an enlarged handsome face suddenly appeared before her…
Her pupils dilated sharply; in the instant she reflexively wanted to turn away, she forcibly stopped herself.
His kiss landed smoothly.
Pei Yuqing’s breathing paused briefly, then the hand clasping her jaw tightened slightly.
Trying to pry open her teeth.
Xie Wanning opened her eyes and saw his thick, long lashes trembling lightly beneath his closed eyelids.
Inexplicably, her heart ached a little.
She stiffly reached out to grasp his sleeve and parted her lips slightly.
In an instant, the hand clamping her jaw suddenly released, sliding to the back of her neck.
The usually gentle and reserved man suddenly intensified his force.
With a ferocity as if he wanted to devour her whole.
This was their long-overdue kiss.
Their first kiss since returning from the military camp that day.
Pei Yuqing kissed passionately, his panting growing rapid and heavy.
Their breaths mingled.
The air was utterly depleted; Xie Wanning could barely breathe and desperately pushed him away.
When he finally released her, she didn’t even have the strength to accuse him, slumping against his shoulder, gasping for breath.
“Let me move back,” Pei Yuqing stroked her slightly swollen lips, paused, then gripped her waist, pulled her onto his lap, and held her in his arms, his voice hoarse and strained. “Wanwan, I’ll move back tonight.”
Their bodies pressed closely together; Xie Wanning sat stiffly on his lap, struggling to steady her breathing, unsure what to say next, when she heard him add, “I want you, Wanwan. Don’t you want me at all?”
He pressed his lips to the hollow of her neck, his tone muffled, like a docile little beast coquettishly seeking favor from its master.
The thought had just surfaced when Xie Wanning’s dazed mind cleared instantly. “No!”
How could Pei Changqing, who devised strategies and left nothing to chance, be a soft and adorable little beast seeking favor…
Who knew what scheme he was plotting this time.
“You’re not allowed to move back. I don’t want you!”
Her voice was clear and firm; Pei Yuqing, so close, couldn’t pretend not to hear.
The lips pecking at her neck suddenly stopped; in the carriage, only their breathing sounds remained.
In such an intimate embrace, no one spoke another word.
Pei Yuqing did not.
Neither did Xie Wanning.
She even felt sitting on his lap like this was like sitting on pins and needles, so she tentatively shifted, trying to get off him.
But as soon as she twisted her hips, her waist was gripped tightly, his hand pulling her back against his abdomen, fitting together almost seamlessly.
Her body stiffened instantly…
Pei Yuqing gripped her waist and sighed. “Why don’t you want me?”
As he spoke, his hand began to gather her skirt hem; the teasing at the Hot Spring Villa was still fresh in her mind, and Xie Wanning reacted quickly, grabbing his hand. “Don’t mess around!”
Pei Yuqing let her hold his hand and stopped moving, only lowering his gaze to look at her. “If you don’t want me, Wanwan, who do you want?”
“…I don’t want anyone.” Talking about such topics always made Xie Wanning uncomfortable; she turned her face away, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum. “Don’t force me.”
That word “force” dimmed Pei Yuqing’s gaze; he stared at her fixedly, suddenly pressing her hand to his abdomen. “Last time you said you touched his waist and abdomen. Want to touch mine?”
With that, he tugged her hand lower. “And here. We’ve been married so long, Wanwan. Won’t you care if your husband is suffering lonely nights?”
His grip was strong; before Xie Wanning could resist, her hand was pressed there, her fingertips trembling in shock.
“No, no, no.” She shook her head repeatedly. “…Don’t!”
She had never seen him so domineering and unyielding; she felt somewhat panicked.
Besides, …this was still a carriage.
Just as she thought this, the wheels stopped.
The carriage had stopped directly outside Xuan Hua Courtyard.
Xie Wanning practically sprang up, hurriedly pushing him away and jumping out of the carriage.
This time, Pei Yuqing didn’t stop her, but after she got out, he lingered inside for a long while before descending.
By then, Xie Wanning had already undone her hair, washed up, and was preparing to sleep.
The door was pushed open, and Pei Yuqing walked in.
Xie Wanning was half-reclining on the bed flipping through a miscellany; hearing the door, she thought it was a maidservant and turned her head. Seeing it was him, her pupils widened slightly, and she instinctively sat up straight.
Seeing this, Pei Yuqing halted his approaching steps, standing three paces from the bed, lowering his gaze to her. “Sorry, did I scare you just now?”
In this short time, he had reverted from the lustful, aggressive man in the carriage to the jade-like proper young master from their first meeting.
Xie Wanning suddenly felt a pang of guilt; they were husband and wife…
She shook her head, digging her nails into her palm, refusing to speak, afraid that once she did, it would be to let him move back or join her on the bed.
Pei Yuqing walked to bedside, reached out to pat her head lightly, and sighed. “It’s my fault. I promised before marriage that I’d never force you.”
He had even promised that if she ever wanted to leave, he would write a bill of divorce.
Back then, to hold her openly in his arms, he would agree to anything.
But now, he found it hard to hold back.
Whether the pain of the unobtainable or of gain and lose was greater, no one could say clearly.
But since he had once fully possessed her, how could he not grow greedier, how could he continue to be desireless.
Wanting his own wife was not absurd, even if this wife was obtained through scheming.
…
Once the Lantern Festival passed, the couplets on every household’s door gradually faded, signaling the New Year had ended.
Common folk and nobles alike threw themselves into a new round of busyness.
Winter snow melted; tender buds sprouted in the courtyards, and the precious flowering trees meticulously tended by gardeners in the flower field swelled with buds.
Spring had arrived.
After a winter’s quiet, Duke Pei’s Mansion announced in early spring that they would select a husband for Princess Pingning of the household.
Husband selection naturally required a banquet, but Duke Pei’s Mansion’s first banquet of the year differed from the usual elegant flower-viewing and lake outings.
This time, the venue was at Princess Duanyang’s private manor, broadly inviting eligible young masters and noble ladies of the Capital City to enjoy.
This manor was at the foot of the Imperial Beast Taming Arena, reportedly housing many rare wild beasts, and had even borrowed several fierce ones from the Imperial Beast Taming Arena for a novel beast taming performance.
The Imperial Beast Taming Arena was only viewable by imperial clan princes and high officials, but this banquet was to recruit a son-in-law for Princess Pingning.
A commandery princess’s status was already exceedingly noble; for a higher marriage, the daughter would have to be remarried to the imperial family, which Princess Duanyang had no intention of doing. She even had no high demands for her future son-in-law’s background.
These years, with the Great Khan facing intensifying internal and external troubles, she as an imperial princess naturally understood more than ordinary inner-courtyard women.
After asking her daughter’s opinion, she resolved not to select a weak scholar who couldn’t carry anything on his shoulders.
If choosing, she would choose a man proficient in both civil and martial arts, able to protect family and country, and safeguard his wife and children.
