Gu Ying swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Watching the man approach her, she caught a whiff of his unique scent of sunken incense, which made her heart itch.
"Ah Ying." He suddenly buried his head in the crook of her neck, his voice hoarse, "Can you give me another chance?"
Somehow, Gu Ying suddenly felt weak all over.
"Your Highness..."
Before she knew it, she was already in his arms, and then on the thick big bed.
The big red soft quilt, hibiscus scented canopy.
The man pressed down on her without hesitation.
Zhao Changdu was not usually an unbridled person, but after all this was their wedding night...
The long night passed as the red candle burned out.
...
Finally, Gu Ying gazed at the canopy above with misty eyes, exhausted and fainted.
Zhao Changdu, drenched in sweat, carried the girl who had fallen asleep to bathe.
After washing, he gently carried her back to bed and kissed her lips tenderly, "Sleep."
The little girl put her hand around his waist and mumbled pitifully, "No more..."
Zhao Changdu endured and suppressed his desire, nibbling her ear and coaxing her gently, "Alright, no more."
...
This was the most fulfilling and comfortable sleep Gu Ying has had since her rebirth.
If not for the man coaxing her dizzy with sweet words later, she might have slept even better.
Early next morning, she awoke, eyes clouded, her entire body aching as if run over by a carriage.
She bit her lip and let out a gentle hiss from the pain.
She recalled the dream she had later in the night.
In the misty hot spring behind Qingyun Temple, the young boy who saved her and laid her on the grass, then leaned down to give her mouth-to-mouth.
Thinking he bit her, she woke and kicked him away furiously.
Swallowing his anger, his childish cheeks still plump with baby fat turned icy as the snow atop mountains.
Later she realized he was saving her.
...
Gu Ying's face flushed red with guilt at the memory, not daring to think further.
She had always thought it was rebirth that gave them a second chance to meet, but it turns out they were not completely strangers before.
She had even met him before meeting Jiang Yin.
Gu Ying's heart ached, thinking of these old tales from the past, her heart knotted like thousands of knots.
She had always thought Jiang Yin was the pitiful yet cold and stubborn little boy she met in her youth, which was why she fell for him at first sight. But now it seems she had loved the wrong person before...
She felt like crying and laughing at the same time.
Complex emotions coiled around her heart like vines, suffocating her.
She shifted slightly, feeling herself nestled in a sturdy embrace, the man lying on his side behind her, his chest against her back.
With a gentle movement, the man behind her stirred.
"Awake?"
The man leaned in...
His voice husky and alluring.
Gu Ying realized it was too late to pretend to sleep. Her voice a little hoarse, she replied, "Yes, Your Highness—"
The man reached out and pulled her to face him, insisting gently, "Call me Ah Du."
Though it was still snowing outside, it was as warm as summer under the brocade quilt.
Gu Ying stiffly pulled her lips into a smile. She could clearly see the man's flawless sleeping face, and the sexy Adam's apple on his slender neck, and further down...his muscular chest.
The blatant masculinity frightened her into darting her eyes around.
"Ah Du, we should get up...today is our first day as newlyweds, we should go pay our respects early—"
The rest of her words were blocked by the man's mouth.
Turning over, he murmured indistinctly, "To hell with them, I married you just to make them uncomfortable."
"But—"
"No buts."
His thin lips pressed down...
Gu Ying closed her eyes and endured his increasingly skilled kiss...
Just then, an untimely knock sounded outside the door.
Gu Ying's eyes shot open, her pretty face flushed like spring, eyelashes moist with misty vapors. She gently pushed him, "Ah Du, get up...don't let others laugh at us."
Zhao Changdu's pleasure was disturbed and he frowned slightly in displeasure.
The sudden interruption irritated him.
He suppressed his annoyance and nibbled her cheek, coaxing like a spoiled child, "Ah Ying, stay with me a while longer."
Gu Ying felt her face was nearly scalding hot, eyes brimming with moisture. "Ah Du..."
Just one 'Ah Du' made him lose control.
Gu Ying's body stiffened.
He pinched Gu Ying's little face. "Ah Ying, relax a little."
But she was already very relaxed.
...
...
...
After knocking outside for a while without response, the servants understood and stopped.
"Why is Ah Ying not speaking?"
"Don't know what to say... Oh..."
"Tell me your thoughts on becoming a new bride."
Gu Ying sneered inwardly, what thoughts could she have, just one—pain.
She bit her lip, refusing to answer.
Zhao Changdu stared at her flushed eyes, determined to get a response from her.
Gu Ying glared at him indignantly. She had still feared him a little before last night, but now she even dared to ride on his head and act atrociously. Throwing caution to the wind, she complained resentfully, "You just like bullying me, don't you!"
Zhao Changdu teased her on purpose and she cried out.
Outside, the waiting maids and matrons heard her cry and asked, "My Lady, are you awake?"
Gu Ying collected herself before replying after a while, "Awake, wait a little longer... His Highness will wake soon too. You can come serve us then."
The man who was pushed under the bus was not angry, just chuckled softly.
He was comfortable while she...her face burned and her waist still ached.
...
Later, the sound of wind and snow outside gradually died down.
...
It was still dark with heavy winds outside, but the Cheng house had already sent people over to serve—under the guise of service just to probe for news.
The maids and matrons crowded outside the bridal chamber, occasionally complaining resentfully, not daring to complain about His Highness directly but poking at the backbone of the new wife with every word.
Amidst the wind and snow, Yanzhi was extremely irritated, standing until her legs went numb. She couldn't help asking Yin Lan softly,
"Sister Yin Lan, why is our young miss still not awake? Usually she would have her hair done by now."
Yin Lan had heard the embarrassing sounds from the room. Suppressing a laugh, she said, "Can't rush them this time, let's wait a little longer."
"But..." Yanzhi didn't understand, only feeling oppressed by the manner of the matrons sent by the Duke's estate behind her. "They're all watching our young miss. If she wakes late on her first day of marriage, who knows what they'll say. If rumors spread, they may say our young miss doesn't know etiquette."
Yin Lan was also worried, but since His Highness was not awake yet, it was fine for the young miss to not be awake either.
With His Highness present, the young miss should be alright.
Everyone waited quietly outside for a full hour before sounds of movement finally came from inside.
Soon after, Zhao Changdu's low voice came from inside, "Come serve."
Hearing this, Yin Lan quickly pushed the door open.
The room in the Changfeng Pavilion was more than twice as large as the main house of Musui Studio. Just past the door was a large screen, and turning past an extravagant, luxurious emerald gauze wardrobe, one could immediately see a large marble rosewood long table, upon which sat a celadon vase with freshly cut dewy plum blossoms.
Yin Lan and Yanzhi didn't dare examine closely, lowering their heads as they entered the inner bedroom.
The room was filled with a faint scent.
Gu Ying was still nestled in the quilts while the prince sat at the bedside, a big hand on the person's back under the quilt, doting and laughing, "Ah Ying, time to get up."
