Si Yiyuan was secretly very pleased with himself. Look at the girl he had chosen! How gentle! How considerate! She even managed to smile despite the Empress Dowager’s eccentric way of welcoming her. She was much better than those young ladies from wealthy families!
Completely disregarding the fact that, given his mother’s status, which young lady from a prominent family would dare not smile impolitely upon seeing her? The favoritism was utterly outrageous!
The Empress Dowager had no time to care about her two sons’ disdain and pride; she was busy scrutinizing her future daughter-in-law: “She is indeed a lovely girl! No wonder my son not only rejected the Prime Minister’s daughter but also dismissed all the concubines in his household! She is certainly much better than those young ladies from noble families!”
Si Yiyuan, finding it rare to resonate with his mother, immediately stepped forward and put his arm around her shoulder, saying like a close brother, “Isn’t it because I have good taste! I’ve chosen a daughter-in-law that you are extremely satisfied with!” Hua Yaoyao’s eyes flashed with a smile, and she blushed slightly as she humbly replied, “Your Majesty flatters me. I dare not accept such praise.”
Si Yiyue chimed in, not wanting to be left out: “Mother, people usually forget their mothers after they get married, but you’re the one who doesn’t care about your son after getting a wife! It seems Yiyuan is going to fall out of favor in the future!”
Si Yiyuan retorted, “That’s alright! As long as Mother likes Yaoyao just as much as she likes me! But you, my brother, should choose an empress as soon as possible, so that Mother can be happy too!”
The Empress Dowager’s attention was indeed diverted, and she nodded repeatedly: “That’s right, that’s right! Your younger brother is about to get married! Yet you haven’t even chosen a concubine. I don’t know what you’re thinking!”
Si Yiyue never expected that the flames of war would reach him so quickly. He cried out to the heavens, “Your subject is innocent! I am busy with state affairs every day. How could I have time to look for a wife! If I were like Yiyuan, going out for a stroll all day, I could also find a wife!”
Si Yiyuan was greatly displeased upon hearing this and retorted with a sneer, “Your wife is the one you picked up! This is fate! Fate! It’s destiny! Understand?”
Hua Yaoyao stared in disbelief as the group bickered and joked. Were these really royalty? It must be a lie! Si Yiyuan must have just hired a few random extras to fool her!
After a few playful exchanges, the Empress Dowager returned to the main topic: “Yue’er, Yaoyao and Yiyuan’s marriage cannot be delayed. Have the Ministry of Rites get things ready as soon as possible. But the Hua family…” The Empress Dowager hesitated and glanced at Si Yiyuan.
Hua Yaoyao quickly gave Si Yiyuan a wink. She wasn’t the real Hua Yaoyao, and she didn’t want Hua Wenye and his wife to travel all the way to her wedding and have to kneel down and worship them as her own parents!
Si Yiyuan assumed that she didn’t want to see the Hua family again, and he was also aware of her situation in the Hua family, so he stopped her, saying, “Forget it—it’s too much trouble to travel all this way. Besides, the Hua family is a major imperial merchant family, and they have to consider the thoughts of the royal family. They may not have the guts to come.”
The Empress Dowager nodded knowingly upon hearing this and didn’t ask any further questions. Instead, she turned to Si Yiyue and discussed other matters that should be noted during the wedding. Her tolerant and unmeddlesome attitude made Hua Yaoyao even more curious. She couldn’t believe that the Empress Dowager had accepted Si Yiyuan’s explanation so easily!
However, the Empress Dowager was clearly no longer interested in getting to the bottom of things. If she brought it up again, she would only make things difficult for herself. So she had no choice but to put aside her doubts and decide to wait until she got back to discuss it further.
The group chatted casually for a while, just like ordinary family members. There was no condescending look or criticism, nor any resentment or unwillingness to accept things as they were forced to. The private interactions between the members of the Great Yan royal family were more like a tea party in an ordinary family, where they spoke freely and without any reservations.
Before they knew it, it was noon. The young couple decided to have lunch in the palace before leisurely returning to the Prince’s residence. After their afternoon rest, it was time for Hua Yaoyao to settle the accounts.
Si Yiyuan was startled by the “props” in front of him as soon as he woke up: a knife, scissors, a fork, a rope, a saw, and even an axe! Although they were all small props, their gleaming blades were definitely not fake!
Swallowing hard, Si Yiyuan asked blankly, “Wife, what… what do you mean?”
Hua Yaoyao chuckled twice: “What do I mean? It’s naturally the Empress Dowager’s will!”
Si Yiyuan was even more confused: “Wife? When did Wife tell you to do this?”
Hua Yaoyao smiled meaningfully: “Do you still remember what the Empress Dowager said when she saw me?”
Si Yiyuan nodded: “My mother said you are much better than those young ladies from noble families!”
Hua Yaoyao was truly speechless: “Even male chauvinism can’t save you!” After a pause, she reminded him, “Think about what the Empress Dowager said before she said that?”
Si Yiyuan’s brain wasn’t just for show; after a moment’s thought, he completely remembered what his mother had said. He cried out inwardly, “Mother, you’ve ruined me!” and hurriedly began to explain, “I…”
Before he could finish speaking, Hua Yaoyao waved her hand to interrupt him: “But I’m not angry because you refused the marriage and dismissed your concubines. On the contrary, I am not only satisfied with what you have done, but also very moved.”
At this point, Hua Yaoyao revealed a sinister smile, which made Si Yiyuan break out in a cold sweat: “What angers me is that you came back and refused the marriage without telling me the truth, and even used the pretense of the Empress Dowager’s serious illness to deceive me! You certainly have a good plan!”
“Thinking about it, even if something really big happened and you didn’t have time to tell me, you could at least have Li Hao tell me. But you just had the heart to leave me alone in Dayu to worry and fret, while you secretly ran back to deal with your romantic entanglements!”
As she finished speaking, Hua Yaoyao couldn’t help but choke up slightly. Heaven knows how she spent those two weeks at the inn! During the day, she had to find ways to earn money to support herself and take care of herself, but at night she couldn’t sleep at all.
Although she told herself to wait for Si Yiyuan to give her an explanation, she knew nothing about him. She didn’t know his name, where he lived, or even whether he was just deceiving her and playing with her!
She thought every day what she would do if he never came. But that heartless bastard! He actually lied to her with the absurd lie of his mother’s serious illness! Trying to paint a rosy picture! Absolutely unforgivable!
Seeing the tears glistening in her eyes, Si Yiyuan dared not hide anything any longer. He immediately embraced her tenderly and confessed truthfully, “My wife, I didn’t mean to lie to you. I was tricked into coming back by the news of my mother’s serious illness!”
“At that time, I was worried about my mother and didn’t have time to explain to you. I was only thinking about rushing back to Yandu. Who knew that as soon as I got back, my mother and brother happily told me that they had arranged a very good marriage for me! I didn’t dare to tell you, so I asked Li Hao to lie to you for a few more days.”
“I know that you want a husband who will be with you for life and that you don’t care about my status or position. Therefore, I’m more afraid that you will stop trusting and loving me because of those women and only think about waiting until everything is resolved before I come to get you. My wife, I didn’t mean to deceive you and make you worry and anxious. I’m just worried that you will abandon me and that you will no longer want me.”
Si Yiyuan’s tone was both sincere and pitiful. Hua Yaoyao closed her eyes and enjoyed his warm embrace for a while before breaking free, her face displaying a domineering queen-like demeanor: “You think you can escape punishment by playing the victim? I’m touched by everything you’ve said, but your good deeds don’t outweigh your bad ones! They can’t erase the heartbreak and disappointment you felt when you abandoned me! Accept your punishment!”
After saying that, she picked up the scissors and knife and started cutting at Si Yiyuan, warning him as she cut, “Don’t make any rash moves. These are all sharp blades. If you hurt yourself by moving around, I won’t be responsible!”
As long as she didn’t get angry, Si Yiyuan would naturally obey. He leaned against the headboard and let her do whatever she wanted with his clothes, cutting here and there.
After a flurry of activity, Hua Yaoyao nodded in satisfaction: “Alright! From now until you go to bed tonight, as long as you don’t go out, you’ll wear this outfit! Of course, you’d better not try anything funny, or I’ll make you wear it for a whole week!”
Si Yiyuan didn’t know how long a week was, but even a fool could tell it was longer than a day, so he obediently nodded and got up to see how his clothes had been altered by his wife.
But when Si Yiyuan stood in front of the mirror, he was dumbfounded. Was this even clothes anymore? The front of his upper body was torn into strips of cloth, fluttering everywhere like curtains. The cuffs were almost cut into tassels. There were four large holes cut into the legs of his trousers, revealing his pale knees and thighs when he walked.
Wearing these clothes all afternoon, he wouldn’t even need to leave his room! Si Yiyuan looked at Hua Yaoyao with a pained expression and pleaded, “Wife…” Hua Yaoyao readily agreed, “Hmm? Want to wear them for a week?”
Si Yiyuan shook his head vigorously. He had already lost face after wearing it for an afternoon, but if he had to wear it for a week… who knew how long that would take! He still had some pride!
So, for the entire afternoon, His Highness Prince Yu stayed in his bedroom, not venturing out of the main gate. He would ask Hua Yaoyao to instruct the servants to handle anything he needed. Therefore, following Hua Yaoyao’s entire day spent in her room yesterday, the gossipers in the Prince’s residence were once again abuzz with discussion:
“I told you our Prince’s Mansion would have a mistress! You bunch of idiots wouldn’t believe me!” “What a joke! Wasn’t the Prince engaged to the Prime Minister’s daughter?” “Pshaw! Your news is outdated! The Prince rejected the marriage proposal from the Prime Minister’s family a long time ago!”
“Hey! I heard that this woman was married before!” A sneaky voice suddenly interrupted, full of contempt.
“How could that be? Our Prince would want a married woman?” “Exactly! Our Prince is the Emperor’s only younger brother. Even if the Prince were willing, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager would not agree!”
Seeing the disbelieving looks on everyone’s faces, the sly voice hurriedly said, “My second brother saw it with his own eyes! That woman threw an embroidered ball at Ruihe Tower to choose a husband! And she said it herself, she was married before, but her husband didn’t want her anymore, so she came to choose a husband!”
Everyone was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then erupted into even more enthusiastic gossip: “Really? Does that mean our prince is raising someone else’s wife?” “Absolutely! I really don’t know what the prince is thinking, why does he need a woman like that!” “Oh~ He might as well have you instead of a woman like that?”