Gu Ying had never intended to be his wife for long. Her heart still belonged to Jiang Yin.
Zhao Changdu just smiled and said, "Make the best of your situation. As long as you and Jiang Yin remain unmarried, you should graciously accept this."
Gu Ying was left speechless.
In the past, when she had married Jiang Yin, she was treated even worse than Jiang Ling'er. She had to pay a dowry to the Jiang family and was left penniless in the end, dying miserably in a dilapidated temple.
But now that she had married Zhao Changdu, after just one night, she was as rich as a country.
Zhao Changdu didn't wait for her to refuse again. He ordered Huai An to store all these things in Gu Ying's dowry room.
In his words:
"We military men could die on the battlefield at any time."
"Money is just a worldly possession."
"Just take what I give you."
Gu Ying gave a helpless smile. Hearing about dying on the battlefield made her heart twitch.
The Prince also ordered all the servants of Changfeng Pavilion to come pay their respects to her. From now on, she would be the lady of Changfeng Pavilion.
Gu Ying had never been treated so solemnly before. It stirred up inexplicable feelings in her heart.
Although the Prince said he would give her everything, he didn't say what he wanted from her in return.
She knew about reciprocity. If she only received without giving back, their relationship would become unequal like her past one with Jiang Yin.
So last night before falling asleep, she had decided to be a proper good wife before parting with Jiang Yin.
She always slept late. Although the Prince was resting, he still had official duties to handle.
The study was to the left of the bedroom. A man busy with work was attractive. Gu Ying didn't want to disturb him. She specifically called over the Prince's personal guard Huai An to ask about the Prince's preferences.
But Huai An just laughed and said the Prince was very easy to serve. Gu Ying could just do whatever.
Gu Ying didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She remembered what Huai An said, that the Prince had been stationed on the border for years with his brothers, eating poorly, sleeping poorly, dressing poorly. So he didn't care about food, clothing, or anything else. As long as his stomach was full, it was fine. He also had a meticulous personality, overseeing everything personally.
When they had first arrived at the border, he had worked hard with his brothers all by himself to build their achievements.
He had personally taken risks many times, infiltrating deep into enemy territory to take enemy generals' heads. That was the heroism forged from seas of blades and blood.
Huai An said the Prince was easy to serve, but it made Gu Ying feel distressed and helpless.
She could only fumble to learn the man's preferences herself. Seeing the study lamps still lit, she had food and snacks prepared and brought over.
If he liked to eat something, she would have Yin Lan take note.
She had just finished bathing when the Prince came back, his robe draped around him.
The Prince's body was burning hot. As a virile man in his prime, when he came back he wanted to hold her and read together.
Gu Ying sat in his embrace. How could she concentrate on reading? Her heart thumped erratically, and her eyes landed on the pages without taking in a single word for a long time.
After chatting for a while, she asked what he liked to eat. He merely said to just arrange whatever she wanted.
He also said that late-night snacks were good, but not as sweet as the beauty in his arms.
And then somehow, she ended up in bed.
He held her and caressed her for a while, kissing her cheeks. His large hands clasped her jaw, gently lifting it up, and his thin lips kissed down from the tip of her nose.
In the end he didn't do anything, just stifled a groan next to her ear. "Go to sleep."
Gu Ying really did fall asleep. When she opened her eyes again, it was the scene now before her.
It felt cool down below... Although she had been sleeping hazily, she had felt someone applying medicinal ointment to her swollen injury in the middle of the night.
Her face grew hot. She wanted to escape the man's embrace.
But she didn't expect to touch something...
She was so shocked that even her earlobes turned red.
"Mm, awake?" The man was woken up. His long arms lazily hugged the woman in his arms, accurately finding her tender lips to kiss without even opening his eyes.
Gu Ying had been married before, but never one so sweet. Jiang Yin rarely slept with her.
So she hadn't known that men could get so easily aroused in the mornings.
Soon she was kissed until she couldn't breathe.
Zhao Changdu heard her cry out in pain and woke up fully.
His handsome face was so breathtakingly beautiful in the mingled light and shadows of the bed curtains that it was indescribable.
Gu Ying lifted her flushed eyelids, her long fluttering lashes rising tremulously to meet his deep, infatuated gaze. Her voice was as soft as a pool of spring water. "Changdu, I should go pay my respects to Madam Cheng."
Zhao Changdu gave a controlled hmm, looked outside at the sky, gathered her soft and charming body, and closed his eyes again. "It's too early. Sleep a while longer."
Gu Ying said, "I asked, and big sister-in-law usually goes at this time."
Zhao Changdu knitted his brows and opened his eyes, saying lightly, "That's her. You're not the same as her."
This was the first time Gu Ying had heard that a daughter-in-law going to pay respects to her mother-in-law should be accompanied not by maids, but by a guard.
Gu Ying said, "Isn't that a bit excessive?"
Zhao Changdu's lips quirked up. "Not giving you the Qilin Army to accompany you is already my greatest restraint."
Gu Ying: "..."
But Huai An was the commander of the Qilin Army...
...
And so Gu Ying went to the Baomo Hall where Madam Cheng lived, accompanied by Huai An and Yin Lan.
All along the way, Huai An spoke to Gu Ying, telling her about things she needed to be aware of in the Duke's estate.
There weren't actually many people in the Duke's estate who wanted to cause trouble. Just Madam Cheng, who loved fanning the flames and sowing discord.
The two aunties didn't often come to the estate after Mrs. Lin's death either, just living off the Duke's influence and naturally not causing any trouble.
That left only Huo Qiyun, who had suffered many years of mistreatment in the estate.
The night colors had not yet completely faded when Gu Ying entered Baomo Hall. She immediately saw that Huo Qiyun was already attending to Madam Cheng, surrounded by two maids and an old maidservant.
She alone was pouring water, holding the spittoon, and handing over handkerchiefs.
On such a cold day, she had broken out into a thin sweat from sheer exertion.
Seeing Huo Qiyun's nervous yet careful expression, Gu Ying wrinkled her brows.
Madam Cheng was sitting at the bronze mirror combing her hair. At a glance, she saw Gu Ying come in and laughed. "Ah Ying, you've come early today. Not tired from last night?"
Gu Ying bowed courteously and smiled calmly, "The Prince doted on his concubine last night and let me sleep early. As a daughter-in-law, I naturally should come early to pay my respects to Mother. Ah Ying pays her respects."
