Chapter 85:
“Are you angry?” Xie Wanning looked at her own hand for a moment, then said faintly, “I think the one who should be angry is me.”
Pei Yuqing didn’t speak for a moment; he found that whatever he said now seemed wrong.
The room quieted down, their distance so close that they could hear each other’s breathing sound.
After a long time, he struggled to part his lips. “I was wrong about this matter.”
He shouldn’t have been so self-righteous, thinking that doing this would make Lu Ziyan completely give up, and that it would be good for all three of them.
Pei Yuqing raised his arm to hold the young lady’s hand by the couch, but she gently raised her hand to avoid it.
He stiffened for a moment, then smiled bitterly and withdrew his hand, saying, “I anticipated many things, but I didn’t expect him to be so stubborn.”
Given Lu Ziyan’s usual outward image, who would have thought he would act so shamelessly for a young lady.
Even after she explicitly refused, he still wouldn’t let go.
“Now not only do you know, but everyone in the capital city who should know also knows,” Xie Wanning said in a lightly mocking tone. “Your former fiancé caused a scene in the wedding night room. How am I supposed to face your parents and relatives tomorrow?”
As a new wife entering the door, she had to offer tea to her parents-in-law tomorrow morning and pay respects to the numerous relatives of the Pei Family. How would they look at her?
Their marriage was bestowed by His Majesty’s decree, and they still had to enter the imperial palace to express gratitude.
Thinking of this, Xie Wanning couldn’t help but feel grievance.
By doing this, what position did he put her in?
She trusted him so much, yet he completely disregarded her feelings—what difference was there from stabbing her in the back?
The young lady’s eyes were misty with water, as if tears would fall in the next second. Pei Yuqing’s heart suddenly clenched, both sour and painful. He reached out to pull her into his arms, but as soon as he lifted his hand, Xie Wanning turned her body to avoid it.
For the first time, Pei Yuqing understood what it meant to lift a stone only to drop it on one’s own foot.
He began to regret why he had done this.
Tonight should have been their wedding night. If Lu Ziyan hadn’t returned, this young lady wouldn’t refuse his embrace…
Thinking this way, he felt even more annoyed, but he still patiently comforted her. “Don’t worry about those things. You are my legitimately married wife. No one will say anything about you. As for my parents…”
He paused, then carefully expressed his feelings. “You are the young lady I admire. They will only love you as an extension of their affection for me and treat you well. They absolutely won’t make things difficult for you.”
Normally, if he said such words, Xie Wanning would be overjoyed, but at this moment, she just faintly said “oh.”
“Move over.”
Pei Yuqing was stunned and obediently scooted inward.
Xie Wanning lifted the quilt and directly got on the bed to lie down.
The person warming the bed was right beside her. The spot where she lay was full of his body temperature, and every breath she took was filled with his breath…
Apart from those bizarre dreams, this was her first time sharing a bed with a man.
Only at this moment did Xie Wanning truly realize what getting married meant and what decision she had made.
If nothing unexpected happened, from now on she would share a bed with the man beside her for life, forever surrounded by his breath. They would live and die together.
Thinking of this, Xie Wanning actually felt somewhat lost.
Meanwhile, Pei Yuqing’s heart was thumping uncontrollably. His beloved young lady was now legitimately lying on the same bed with him. She ultimately didn’t regret it. Faced with Lu Ziyan’s kneeling plea, she still firmly chose him.
He took a deep breath and finally lay down to sleep as well.
The two lay there quietly for a while. The girl’s fragrant scent kept wafting into his nostrils. Pei Yuqing swallowed, his gaze falling on the young lady’s face.
Inside the tent, the beauty was like jade, her vermilion lips pursed. Even just half of her side profile could make one’s heart race. There was still a hint of red under her eyelids—she was a treasure who had suffered grievance and was waiting to be coaxed.
This was his wife…
This realization made Pei Yuqing’s heart both soft and burning. He only wanted to trap her in his arms and love her with all his might.
But he couldn’t tell if the young lady was still angry, and he dared not let her get annoyed with him again.
In the midst of the silence, he finally couldn’t hold back. He tentatively reached out to touch her shoulder, but as soon as his hand touched it, the young lady suddenly turned over to dodge his touch and lay on her side with her back to him.
“…” Pei Yuqing’s gaze fell on her delicate neck, his eyes darkening.
This was the third time tonight she had refused his approach, all after Lu Ziyan appeared…
The room fell into complete dead silence.
………..
No matter how long the night, it would eventually pass. The sky gradually turned to dawn, and the sunrise peeked out bit by bit.
Xie Wanning opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was a smooth chest.
She was stunned for a moment, then slowly looked up to meet a handsome face.
Pei Yuqing was still asleep, his thick eyelashes casting a shadow on his eyelids. His nose bridge was straight, and his chin had a faint layer of stubble.
Even with some stubble, his face looked extremely clean, not at all like a twenty-seven-year-old man.
Xie Wanning looked for a moment, her gaze slowly sliding down to his chest.
…The buttons she had undone last night—this man hadn’t refastened them?
She had been so angry at the time, her mind full of thoughts that since he made her so angry, he should suffer along with her.
Driven by anger, she had actually gone so far as to undo someone’s clothes…
Xie Wanning pursed her lips. When she looked up again, she met a pair of deep eyes.
Seeing her look over, Pei Yuqing’s gaze instantly softened, and he smiled. “Did you sleep well?”
This smile was as gentle as ever, as if last night had been calm and they had no estrangement.
But in reality, they hadn’t even consummated.
Xie Wanning stared fixedly at him, somewhat unable to understand how he could still smile when they hadn’t consummated.
Didn’t he like her?
After abstaining from sex for so many years, with the girl he liked lying right beside him yet untouchable, he could actually still smile?
Xie Wanning wasn’t a girl who was truly inexperienced; in her dreams, she had seen Lu Ziyan…
So, was this man even a normal man?
Sharing a bed, yet no consummation on the wedding night—shouldn’t he feel frustrated?
Why did he act like nothing was wrong?
He…
Xie Wanning frowned, her mind a chaotic mess of thoughts, her distraction very obvious.
“What are you thinking?” Pei Yuqing gripped her shoulder and carefully pulled her into his arms, saying in a low voice, “Good girl, don’t be angry with me anymore, alright?”
Xie Wanning came back to her senses with a start and let him hold her, her hand resting on his waist. After a few breaths of silence, she couldn’t help but probe, “You have a heart condition and can’t have intense emotional fluctuations, so does that mean you can’t be too strenuous either…”
Pei Yuqing was stunned for a moment, then nodded decisively. “That’s right. A heart condition indeed can’t be overexerted, and certainly not grieved or mentally exhausted.”
Taking advantage of the ready-made sympathy ploy, he guided her hand to his chest and said somewhat weakly, “Last night I made you angry, and I slept restlessly all night. I’ll need to take a heart-nourishing pill later.”
“That serious?” Hearing this, Xie Wanning forgot everything else, her expression annoyed. “It’s all my fault. I just wanted to make you angry and didn’t consider that your body can’t handle anger.”
With that, she tried to get up to fetch his medicine, but the arm around her waist clamped down tightly, not at all like a weak patient.
Pei Yuqing lightly kissed her forehead and said pitifully, “Wanwan, can you forgive me this time for the sake of my weak body? I promise I won’t dare do it again.”
“…” Xie Wanning was silent for a moment, unable to describe what she felt.
She kept telling herself that this husband was her own choice.
He had long been upfront about his heart condition, as for the rest…
After a long time, she said “mm.” “I forgive you.”
She had heard that those inner servants in the imperial palace all had some quirks or another.
He already had it hard enough; she at least had to learn to be understanding…
The servants outside heard the movement inside and knocked on the door.
Xie Wanning responded quickly as if granted a pardon, letting them in.
Er Qing led the way, followed by one of the two grannies she had seen before, walking side by side. Behind them were several little maidservants like Yuan Zhu and Yuan Yue, each holding washing utensils.
The old wet nurse stepped forward to pay respects. “This old servant pays respects to the Young Lord’s Consort.”
Xie Wanning said there was no need for formalities. The old wet nurse smiled and said a few auspicious words, then curtsied again before walking toward the couch.
Her face full of smiles changed uncontrollably after taking the wedding sheet from the couch.
Pei Yuqing had already gotten up. He refused the servants’ assistance, dressed neatly on his own, and upon turning back to see this scene, said impassively, “Go report to Mother that we’re going for breakfast.”
“…” Xie Wanning, who had been somewhat uneasy, fell silent.
She began to wonder if her guess was really true…
The accompanying maidservants quickly surrounded her and dressed her deftly.
Pei Yuqing had no idea what his new wife had imagined him to be. He sat to the side, quietly watching the person surrounded by the maidservants.
This was the second day of their marriage. The young lady was still in a bright red peony dress, her figure graceful, especially her waist tied with a colorful silk ribbon, so slender it could be spanned by one hand.
The man’s fingers twitched unconsciously. In his mind, tantalizing scenes kept flashing: the girl revealing a section of tender waist, controlled entirely by his hand, he…
“Pei Changqing!” The young lady’s face was right in front of him. “I’ve called you several times. What are you thinking?”
Pei Yuqing snapped back to reality, realizing what he had been thinking. He gripped his hand hard, his nails digging into his palm to barely steady his thoughts. “All done? Then let’s go.”
“…” Xie Wanning looked at the man whose ear tips were emitting heat, puzzled, and shut her mouth.
………..
When the two went out, it was still early. Wanting to familiarize herself with the manor, she didn’t take a soft sedan.
Late September weather was somewhat chilly. Xie Wanning tightened the cloak on her body.
The autumn wind blew, scattering the withered yellow leaves. The two walked side by side, neither speaking.
Pei Yuqing’s gaze fell on their overlapping shadows, his heart stirring. He couldn’t help but reach out and hold her hand.
Passing through a long covered corridor and two hanging flower gates, they finally arrived at Qixiang Courtyard where Princess Duanyang resided.
Two little maidservants stood at the door. Seeing them approach, they hurriedly curtsied in greeting and lifted the curtain to welcome them in.
Inside, it was already bustling. As Xie Wanning stepped in, she heard a woman say, “It’s already this late, and the two newcomers still haven’t arrived. This cup of new wife’s tea has really kept us waiting.”
Xie Wanning was slightly stunned, feeling her hand tighten. The man beside her led her inside.
The originally lively room instantly quieted. Everyone’s gazes turned toward them.
Pei Yuqing ignored it, reaching to the young lady beside him under her neck and naturally unfastening her cloak’s ties, handing it to Er Qing behind him.
Xie Wanning hadn’t expected him to act this way in front of so many elders. Her face gradually flushed red.
The girl in the red dress had a graceful figure, her eyes wide round, staring straight at her own husband.
Even the most vibrant peony in the flower field couldn’t compare to her.
In the eerie silence, Pei Yuqing held her hand and stepped forward, bowing to his parents at the head seat.
Princess Duanyang smiled on her face and teased, “You’re quite attentive to your wife.”
Servants brought forward a tray with teacups.
Xie Wanning knelt on the cushion placed by the maidservant, and the person beside her also knelt down.
She was stunned, unconsciously recalling if, in her dream, when she offered tea to the several madams of the Lu Family, Lu Ziyan had knelt along with her.
Her mind was recalling, but her hands didn’t stop. She took the teacup with both hands, first offering it to Duke Pei, then to Princess Duanyang.
Hands overlapping, she properly kowtowed and called out “Father” and “Mother” respectively, then said, “Your daughter-in-law pays respects to you both.”
Duke Pei Pei Shurui had been able to marry the eldest legitimate princess back then, so he must have been exceptionally talented and handsome in his youth. Now nearing fifty, he still exuded an extraordinary demeanor.
His eyes were bright and wise. He took the teacup and sipped, stroking his beard with a smile.
Princess Duanyang beside him also smiled and drank the wife’s tea. “Get up and talk.”
Her tone was warm, without any imperial princess’s majesty. She looked like a very kind elder. Xie Wanning’s nervous mood instantly relaxed, and she was helped up by Pei Yuqing.
Having waited over ten years, she finally drank the wife’s tea. Even with last night’s incident known throughout the city and her confidant granny reporting this morning that the wedding sheet showed no blood, it couldn’t dampen Princess Duanyang’s good mood.
Seeing the young lady before her poised and elegant, respectful and courteous, with flower-like beauty and graceful charm, she increasingly understood why her eldest son, who had vowed never to marry, suddenly blossomed like an iron tree and poured his heart into her, going to such lengths to win her.
No wonder the Young Lord of Wuyuan Marquis’s Estate would shamelessly cause such a scene for this young lady.
Thinking this, she asked warmly, “Is your boudoir name Wanwan?”
Xie Wanning nodded in affirmation.
Seeing her ill at ease, Princess Duanyang smiled and held her hand, soothing her. “No need to be so restrained. I’m not a harsh mother-in-law who torments people. Since you’ve come through the door, I only hope you two will love each other and support one another until old age.”
Xie Wanning’s heart warmed, and she said, “Your daughter-in-law understands.”
Her quiet and obedient appearance was truly likable. Princess Duanyang took a brocade box from her rear granny’s hands and handed it to her as a meeting gift, then smiled. “We’ll chat more later, you and I. First, let your husband take you to meet people. All the family’s relatives are here today.”
Husband…
Xie Wanning’s face slightly reddened, and she curtsied in acknowledgment.
Duke Pei’s Mansion had a more complex household than Xuanping Marquis’s Estate, but compared to other prominent families in the capital city, it was still relatively few.
The old Duke Pei had two legitimate and three concubine-born sons. Pei Shurui was the second legitimate son. His elder legitimate brother passed early, leaving only a daughter under his knee, so the title fell to him.
Unexpectedly, when the old Duke requested the heir title for his second son, the eldest daughter-in-law was diagnosed with pregnancy.
Later, she gave birth to a posthumous child.
Two chapters combined~~~Received thirty chapters of Red Sleeve tickets yesterday, still need seventy chapters for extra updates~~~Dear ones, keep it up
