Zhuo Wei caught the signal from her princess, patted Cai Qing on the arm to indicate that she should calm down, and simultaneously stopped her from stepping forward to serve the dishes.
The frozen atmosphere eased slightly at last.
With all this commotion, the matter of the aphrodisiac was completely pushed to the back of Shen Yu’s mind.
Noticing the atmosphere softening, Shen Yu let out a quiet sigh of relief and unconsciously stole another glance at Song Shiwei.
Noticing Shen Yu’s gaze, Song Shiwei wore a look of mild incomprehension. What is it this time?
Seeing that Song Shiwei was bewildered, Shen Yu could only make her hints more obvious. She glanced first at Song Shiwei, then toward the delectable dishes on the table, the plea in her eyes brimming with a desperate longing for food.
She understood the rules, but not entirely.
Song Shiwei’s brow smoothed out as she vaguely caught on, but she had no intention of letting him know that she understood.
Perhaps the vibrant energy radiating from Shen Yu breathed a rare spark of life into Song Shiwei, stirring her to be playfully mischievous for once.
She arched a brow, bit down on the inner flesh of her lower lip, and put on a look of utter perplexity.
Shen Yu grew anxious.
She was genuinely starving. Having labored all day yesterday, slept for only half the night, and woken up when the sun was already high in the sky today, not to mention that the day before yesterday, to ensure the wedding ceremony went off without a hitch, she had gone half a day without eating; all in all, she hadn’t touched food in two whole days.
Urgency crept into Shen Yu’s eyes, and her pleading gaze deepened to the point where she might as well have been clasping her hands together in prayer to every deity in heaven.
A rare smile tugged at the corners of the mischievous princess’s lips. Watching her newly wedded husband’s anxious and pitiful expression, she reined in her teasing impulses.
Dignified and graceful, she lifted her chopsticks, hovered over a nearby vegetable dish, and mimicked Shen Yu by taking a single bite.
Song Shiwei chewed slowly and deliberately, savoring every bite, whereas Shen Yu moved with far greater speed. Shoveling a large portion straight into her mouth like a little hamster, though Song Shiwei had no idea what a hamster was, she couldn’t help but think that Shen Yu’s puffed-out cheeks looked utterly adorable, seeming entirely different from the impression she had made yesterday.
Yesterday, she had carried herself like a refined gentleman; today, she was like a vibrant youth.
As soon as Song Shiwei finished a bite, Shen Yu stared fixedly at her, or more accurately, fixedly at her chopsticks, as if trying to calculate which dish she would target next.
Following the direction of her gaze, Song Shiwei raised an eyebrow, feeling another wave of mischief bubble up inside her.
She extended her chopsticks forward, and Shen Yu’s gaze tracked right along with them. Just as they hovered over a dish, Shen Yu’s own chopsticks twitched with eager anticipation, poised to strike.
Song Shiwei chuckled inwardly, executing an unexpected feint as she landed her chopsticks on a completely different vegetable dish instead. Shen Yu’s pupils dilated slightly, but overwhelming hunger seized her brain, leaving her no time to ponder why the Grand Princess’s chopsticks had suddenly changed direction. Her body reacted a split second faster, lunging to follow suit.
For the rest of the meal, Song Shiwei played with her like a cat toying with a mouse, darting to this dish, then that one, deliberately avoiding whatever dish Shen Yu actually had her eyes on.
After several rounds, it became glaringly obvious which dishes Shen Yu favored: whenever she passed by a meat dish, Song Shiwei simply refused to pick it.
It wasn’t entirely intentional on Song Shiwei’s part, though there was certainly a degree of playfulness involved; she had always possessed a bird-like appetite. Combined with the fact that she was just recovering from a major illness and lacked much of an appetite to begin with, she was naturally indifferent to meat, even more so now. After a few rounds of teasing, whether Shen Yu was full or not was anyone’s guess.
As for herself, she was thoroughly done. Even on a normal day, this was the absolute limit of what she could eat.
She put down her chopsticks, preparing to declare an end to this little game.
Shen Yu was having none of it. Panicking, she hastily picked up a piece of poached white-cut chicken and brought it right to Song Shiwei’s lips.
“Won’t you try some more? It’s really good, have a bite!”
The young man pleaded in a soft, coaxing tone, urgency stamped across his features.
Looking into Shen Yu’s glowing brown eyes, Song Shiwei parted her lips almost as if under a spell.
Opening her mouth slightly, she bit down on the piece of chicken Shen Yu was holding out.
True to form, she chewed slowly and deliberately, savoring every morsel.
They completely ignored the ghostly expressions of the maids standing behind them.
Cai Qing and Zhuo Wei felt as though the world was spinning upside down, as if they were meeting their princess for the very absolute first time.
This.
Was this really their princess?
They felt like everything happening today was straight out of a fantasy. How could their princess act like this? Not only was she smiling, but she was actually eating a lot, and eating meat at that! No, the most incredible part of all was that their princess had actually eaten meat fed to her by someone else!
Did that make any sense at all?
Their princess had always been excessively fastidious. Even His Majesty the Emperor, ever since the proper boundaries between men and women were established, rarely enjoyed such casual intimacy with her.
This.
And this was just a newly wedded groom!
The two maids leaned against each other for support, both finding it utterly impossible to believe.
Shen Yu lowered her gaze, seemingly indifferent to such ambiguous tension, and asked with genuine sincerity,
“Is it good?”
Song Shiwei nodded earnestly.
“Delicious.”
The Imperial Kitchen’s reputation was well-earned.
A satisfied smile spread across Shen Yu’s face as she turned back to feast with gusto, thoroughly enjoying her meal.
Watching Shen Yu devour her food with total dedication, something seemed to melt away from Song Shiwei’s gaze.
She stood up and walked behind a screen. Zhuo Wei sensibly called upon the servants waiting outside to clear away the princess’s meal remnants.
After a flurry of activity, Song Shiwei emerged from behind the screen looking refreshed and brisk.
“The Lord Husband can take his time eating whatever is left. If you can’t reach something, just have Cai Qing help you. When you’re done, remember to come to my quarters.”
With that, she departed, taking Zhuo Wei with her.
As soon as Song Shiwei left, Shen Yu dramatically accelerated her eating pace. Eyes, mouth, and hands coordinated in perfect harmony, wasting no time whatsoever.
Bolstered by Cai Qing’s assistance, Shen Yu ate her fill with absolute contentment.
Leaning back against the sandalwood chair, she narrowed her eyes slightly, looking like a drowsy cat dozing off in the sun.
Shen Yu’s stomach was packed to the brim, filling her entire being with a lazy, languid warmth.
Yet she hadn’t forgotten Song Shiwei’s parting instructions.
After resting for a short while, she had Cai Qing guide her over to the Yikun Pavilion.
Speaking of which, this Yikun Pavilion was supposed to be her residence; she never expected the Grand Princess to waltz right in and take over.
Tsk!
Shen Yu pressed her lips together in a slight pout.
“Did Your Highness summon me for something?”
Shen Yu settled onto the imperial concubine couch where she had slept the previous night, maintaining a serious expression on her face while secretly and stealthily scouting the surroundings with her eyes, searching for that little brown bottle.
Though she hated to admit it, Shen Yu felt that out of the entire estate, this room had the highest probability of holding it!
While her actions looked covert, they were completely transparent to Song Shiwei. Watching those restless, shifting eyes, Song Shiwei quickly figured out what he was up to.
“Can’t this palace summon the groom unless there’s an emergency?”
The woman’s voice carried a spoiled, haughty edge, landing softly on Shen Yu’s ears.
“Your Highness jokes. Being able to share space with Your Highness is Shen Yu’s great fortune.”
With her attention divided, Shen Yu’s tone carried a fair bit of perfunctory politeness.
“The groom is standing so close to that couch, do you like it that much? If you’re fond of it, I can have someone move it to your room.”
“Huh? What?!”
Shen Yu froze, failing to process the words for a beat.
What did she say?
To my room!
Perhaps Shen Yu’s shock was a bit too obvious, as Song Shiwei arched an eyebrow and asked with simulated confusion,
“What is it? Is there a problem, Lord Husband?”
“I, this!”
The words she wanted to hurl got stuck in her throat, refusing to form a single syllable for the longest time.
In the end, she could only swallow her speechlessness and offer a polite, forced smile.
Song Shiwei was in high spirits, looking like a triumphant rooster strutting with its chest puffed out.
In stark contrast to her, Shen Yu was inwardly launching into a furious, unbroken tirade of complaints.
This Grand Princess has a truly black heart! She has a house of her own yet refuses to live in it, forcibly squatting in mine and even trying to evict me!
And now she’s talking about my bed!
Black-hearted!
Unhappy!
The more she thought about it, the more indignant she grew. As if reading her thoughts, the Grand Princess said softly,
“Shen Lan, thank you.”
This time, her tone was exceptionally solemn. The summer light outside filtered through the lattice paper windows, casting a gentle, pure warmth into her eyes and lending a rare softness to the newly wedded pair.
Shen Yu offered a faint smile.
Naturally, she knew what the Grand Princess was thanking her for.
“Your Highness need not stand on ceremony. This subject is merely fulfilling her duty.”
Shen Yu stood tall and straight like a pine, sturdy as a cypress, radiating a brilliant glow in the sunlight. Her mere presence alone seemed capable of instilling a boundless sense of security in anyone nearby.
Song Shiwei’s heart instantly settled into a profound quiet.
Though she said those words, she ultimately owed Shen Lan a debt. No matter what, it was she who had delayed Shen Lan.
She had ruined his promising future.
The Shen family had only produced a single unicorn prodigy in all these years, only for him to be cut down at her hands.
With that thought, the peace that had just settled into her heart began to sink away once more.
While she was lost in thought, a crisp, clean scent of bamboo swept over, and a shadow fell across her.
Lifting her gaze, she saw that Shen Yu had somehow approached right before her, emanating an understated sense of pressure.
“Lord Husband, is something the matter?”
As she spoke, her right hand gripped the bedsheet so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Are you nervous?
Shen Yu pondered internally, keeping her expression completely blank.
“Your Highness need not entertain such groundless thoughts. Shen Lan has never once felt aggrieved by marrying Your Highness.”
The young youth spoke at a slow, measured pace, calm and unhurried, offering just the right amount of soothing comfort to Song Shiwei’s sensitive heart.
Song Shiwei turned her face away in silence.
The atmosphere fell still for a moment.
Shen Yu didn’t speak either, quietly standing her ground as her gaze traced the contours of Song Shiwei’s face.
Full philtrum, a high and straight bridge of the nose. Perhaps because she had just finished eating, her complexion had improved significantly; her skin was crystal-clear and white, her lips carrying a delicate, pretty pink hue.
Shen Yu possessed exceptional eyesight, able to clearly make out even the peach fuzz on Song Shiwei’s face.
Gradually, a faint blush crept up the young woman’s cheeks.
“What are you doing?”
Song Shiwei snapped angrily.
Throwing all decorum to the wind, she gave Shen Yu a hard shove.
Thump.
Shen Yu was knocked backward onto the floor like a clumsy goose, a look of utter bafflement still frozen on her face, seemingly failing to understand why she had suddenly ended up down there.
It wasn’t until she caught sight of Song Shiwei’s blushing, mortified face that it finally dawned on her.
Perhaps just now, she and Song Shiwei really had been entirely too close.
Her nostrils flared slightly as she caught a faint lingering trace of that fleeting, refreshing fragrance.
“Your Highness, why don’t we give it a try?”
Song Shiwei’s pupils constricted in shock as she stared blankly at him, for a fleeting second genuinely wondering if he was still drunk from the night before.
Yet her gaze was so earnest, laced even with a touch of bafflement.
Baffled by what? Baffled by why she won’t try it with him!
Song Shiwei felt that Shen Lan must have lost his mind!
He! He!
How could he even have such a thought!
Yet… why shouldn’t I have this thought? A voice piped up from the depths of her heart, striking her with a powerful jolt.
“Your Highness possesses beauty that sinks fish and startles geese, and this one is hardly lacking in looks either. Your Highness is a branch of golden leaves and precious jade, while I am well-versed in poetry and literature, capable with blade and spear alike. Moreover, since Your Highness and I are married, interacting day in and day out is unavoidable. Instead of living together in name only with separate hearts and mutual polite distance in the future, why not give it a try with me? What if we genuinely turn out to be a match made in heaven?”
Shen Yu spoke with ringing force, her logic clear and impeccably structured, leaving absolutely no room for picking flaws.
Song Shiwei was left speechless. This time, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to reply, but that the words simply wouldn’t come out.
Why indeed?
Shen Yu’s earnest, unwavering eyes seemed deeply carved into her mind, impossible to erase no matter how hard she tried.
With a dazed wave of her hand, Song Shiwei signaled for him to leave.
“Wait a moment.”
Shen Yu’s heart skipped a beat as she turned back, her gaze brimming with eager anticipation.
“This is what the Lord Husband dropped, yes? Zhuo Wei found it on the couch.”
Song Shiwei watched as the little brown bottle landed in Shen Yu’s hands, something she had originally kept aside specifically to make things difficult for Shen Lan, never expecting…
A complex expression crossed Song Shiwei’s face.
Shen Yu gave a respectful bow and departed with a calm, unbothered air, sleeves fluttering in the breeze untethered by worldly dust, as if nothing in the world could ever trap her.
Silence.
It felt as though she were sinking into a bottomless mire.
Gradually, she drowned within it.