Yuan Qingling gave Yuwen Hao a beating, then bit him once, which relieved much of her anger. She was indeed also dizzy, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed on top of him in a faint.
Seeing that she had suddenly become still, Yuwen Hao pushed her and said, "Hey!"
Yuan Qingling mumbled indistinctly and buried her head on his shoulder, murmuring, "I want to go home. I can go home after I sleep."
Yuwen Hao was exasperated. She had thrown a drunken tantrum and then directly fell asleep. Go home? Fine, he would send her back tomorrow. It was truly bizarre how attached she was to that ghostly Marquis Jing Manor.
He pushed her off with difficulty and looked at her lying on the cold floor. She unconsciously curled up into a ball. Although furious, Yuwen Hao couldn't help but feel pity.
He slowly bent down to pick her up. Her whole body seemed weightless. His injuries were still quite severe, but it didn't feel difficult to carry her.
He brought her to the bed and thought for a moment before tucking her in with a quilt. Looking at her bright red face after her bout of madness, he gently shook his head. "What a crazy woman."
He got up and opened the door. Gu Si and Tang Yang hurriedly came over and peeked in.
"No need to look, she's asleep!" Yuwen Hao said impatiently.
"Then is Your Highness okay?" Xu Yi asked while rubbing his ear vigorously.
"What could happen to me?" Yuwen Hao saw him rubbing his ear and asked, "Do you have a vendetta against your ear?"
"The consort stamped on my foot. It hurts to death." Xu Yi said aggrievedly.
Gu Si and Tang Yang both laughed at the pitiful and ridiculous Xu Yi.
Yuwen Hao couldn't help asking Tang Yang, "How much did she drink in Qian Kun Palace?"
Gu Si said, "I heard Steward Chang say it was one cup of osmanthus wine."
"How big was that one cup to get drunk like this?" Xu Yi widened his eyes in surprise.
Gu Si spread his arms to demonstrate an embraced shape and said, "This big..." As he spoke, his encircling arms suddenly shrank, hands clasped together to form a one inch cup size.
Xu Yi was stunned. "Just that small cup? Just one cup? It couldn't be osmanthus wine, right?"
"That's what Steward Chang said."
Tang Yang was also incredulous. "Could she be pretending to be drunk?"
Yuwen Hao thought it very likely she faked intoxication to act out.
Gu Si still had lingering fears as he said, "Pretending to be drunk is highly unlikely. After all, she did throw a drunken tantrum in Qian Kun Palace. You don't know, when I went in, everything breakable in the Retired Emperor's bedchamber had been smashed. The Retired Emperor was huddled on the Arhat Bed. The consort vomited all over Steward Chang. She herself stood on the table cursing up a storm, just unclear what she was cursing since it didn't seem to be Northern Tang language."
The three men looked at each other, all with astonished expressions.
Xu Yi slowly raised his thumb and said in a trembling voice, "The consort is mighty."
It was unprecedented for someone to run amok in Qian Kun Palace like this. Yet the Retired Emperor did not punish her, and even had Gu Si personally escort her back to her manor. How strange!
Yuwen Hao was shocked inside, but just what about this ugly woman had caught his grandfather's dragon eyes? He actually indulged her over and over.
Wouldn't she become even more unbridled from now on?
Tang Yang said, "Doesn't this make Premier Chu hate Marquis Jing even more?"
"He took one look at the consort, and it seemed he almost wanted to chop her to pieces." Gu Si said, looking at Yuwen Hao, "Was it the consort who didn't want to or you who didn't want to?"
Yuwen Hao calmly said, "It was this prince who didn't want to."
"Why?" Gu Si didn't understand. Marrying the second daughter of the Chu family, even if the Chus didn't assist him, they wouldn't make a move against him. At least that would eliminate a powerful enemy, the most powerful enemy at that.
Moreover, she was said to closely resemble the Princess Qi.
Yuwen Hao's gaze was cold. "This prince never thought about marrying Chu Mingyang."
"She...I heard she looks a lot like Princess Qi." Gu Si said softly, staring at him the whole time.
Yuwen Hao's gaze flashed like lightning. "So what if she looks exactly the same? She still isn't her."
Gu Si couldn't help but say, "Even if she really was her, you still couldn't marry her."
Yuwen Hao was silent for a few seconds, slowly glaring at Gu Si. "You're meddling too much."
Gu Si shook his head. "I am meddling, but it's well-meaning. Pining for someone you shouldn't will put you in great danger, and it will also hurt your relationship with Prince Qi."
Tang Yang badly wanted to applaud, but seeing the Prince of Chu's ominous expression, he held back.
"Let it go!" Gu Si said.
Yuwen Hao didn't speak, his face unsightly.
Gu Si knew it was pointless to continue and got up. "Alright, I should head back to the palace too since I'm on duty today."
After speaking, he cupped his fists in farewell and turned to leave.
Tang Yang actually hoped he would say more. There were some things he couldn't appropriately discuss, but Gu Si was the prince's friend. The prince wouldn't truly be angry with him.
Yuwen Hao then sank into lengthy silence, sorting through things. Many events had recently occurred, yet they made his mind clearer. One by one, people with ulterior motives emerged, as if they were staging an elaborate play.
He didn't want to get dragged in, but he was already at the eye of the storm. By carrying Yuan Qingling out this time to block the marriage proposal, whether intentional or not, he had thwarted her.
He had assumed she would at most yell at him a few times. He didn't expect her to have a drunken outburst and even dare to come at him with a cleaver to settle scores. Recalling her utterly crimson face twisted in anger, he couldn't help a faint smile.
She had schemed against him once before, so now they were even.
Tang Yang had seen how furious he was earlier, so kept silent. Unexpectedly, as his anger simmered, he actually smiled.
Today was really a day of bizarre events.
Yuwen Hao got up. "I'm tired, going to my room to sleep. You all can do as you please, no need to keep standing guard and waiting on me. This prince's injuries are no longer critical."
"Why not take that Purple Golden Pill from Prince Sun as well?" Tang Yang suggested.
"No need. Let's keep it for now. Who knows when someone will plot another assassination. This prince is now beset by enemies both outside and within." Yuwen Hao said heavily, but his tone was lighthearted, as if he had suddenly gained a backbone, an ability to resist everything dishonorable.
Even the simpleminded Xu Yi could see it.
Back in his room, Yuwen Hao paced around before finally unable to resist sitting by the bed looking at the sleeping Yuan Qingling.
Disheveled hair covered her face. Her mouth hung open, the corners...eh, this ugly woman even drooled in her sleep!
Looking at her sprawled every which way, her sleeping posture was completely inelegant. He really wanted to slap her awake. Did she even know she was the Prince of Chu's consort, disgracing him like this?
As he internally criticized her, Yuan Qingling kicked away the quilt with both feet and turned her body. Her hand swung over and directly slapped Yuwen Hao's head.
Yuwen Hao was furious. She had something in her sleeve that hit him hard and painfully.
He suddenly recalled that day in Qian Kun Palace when they had entered the tent together. Her box...
Yuwen Hao's eyes fell upon her sleeve as he hesitated a moment before rolling up her sleeve and rummaging her pocket.
