With Guan Mu and Tang Jiu gone, Tan Taisi gazed down at the unconscious Rong Xun resting on the cot.
He let out an imperceptible sigh. His consort’s constitution was truly far too frail. To be scared to the point of fainting simply upon witnessing a bloody scene, could someone of such timidity genuinely possess the daring to pull off anything else?
“Changning, stay here and keep watch over the Consort. If he wakes up, come inform me immediately.”
“Understood, Your Highness.”
As Tan Taisi stepped outside, he spotted Tang Jiu waiting near the edge of the tent, clearly lingering for a word.
“Still need something?”
Tan Taisi asked as he began walking toward a neighboring command tent.
Tang Jiu trailed closely behind him. “Your Highness, this subordinate has an important matter to report regarding the Consort.”
Tan Taisi paused mid-motion with his hand on the tent flap, murmuring, “Step inside before you speak.”
No one else occupied the interior of the tent.
Lowering his voice, Tang Jiu reported, “Your Highness, this subordinate discovered that for the first seventeen years of his life, the Consort was raised in a remote farming estate here in the capital. He was only brought back to the Yong’an Marquis’s estate three months ago.”
Three months prior was precisely when the imperial decree granting the marriage had been issued. At that juncture, Tan Taisi had not yet returned to the capital.
Tapping his fingers against the table, Tan Taisi prompted, “Continue.”
Tang Jiu pressed on, “This subordinate sent someone to make covert inquiries at that farming estate. I heard that the Consort attempted suicide three times three months ago.”
“Suicide?”
Tan Taisi absently traced circles on the tabletop with his finger. “Did you find out why?”
“Um.”
Tang Jiu scratched his head. “Word has it that he didn’t want to marry Your Highness.”
“Hah. So unwilling that he went as far as attempting suicide.”
Tan Taisi chuckled softly. “Yet, is the Consort’s temperament truly that fierce? Daring to commit suicide just to avoid marrying me? He hardly looks like he possesses that kind of courage.”
On his very first day back in the capital, he had crossed paths with Rong Xun. Though their conversation had been brief, he could tell that Rong Xun himself differed vastly from the profile Tang Jiu had dug up. After the marriage into the estate, that discrepancy became even more glaring. His consort appeared somewhat avaricious, dim-witted, and thoroughly terrified of death.
Still, uncovering Rong Xun’s true background now came as no surprise. To ensure Rong Xun was married off to the Prince’s estate without a hitch, the people of the Marquis’s estate could easily fabricate any public identity they pleased.
Tan Taisi temporarily shelved those concerns, as the matter that genuinely commanded his attention was the Zhuang family of Yaozhou.
“Have you made any headway into investigating the connection between the Zhuang family and the Consort?”
“Your Highness, this subordinate looked into it thoroughly. Although the Consort’s birth mother shared the surname Zhuang, she has zero ties to the Yaozhou Zhuang family. In fact, the Yaozhou Zhuang family doesn’t even have a daughter. As for why they traveled thousands of leagues to send wedding gifts to the Consort, this subordinate remains clueless.”
“That makes things rather interesting, then.”
Tan Taisi smiled faintly. “Keep investigating that matter.”
As for Rong Xun, he intended to probe the fellow himself.
Just as they finished discussing the matter, a guard’s voice echoed from outside the tent:
“Your Highness, the Consort has woken up.”
“Understood.”
Rong Xun had just regained consciousness, his mind still swimming in a heavy fog. Even a simple motion like sitting upright required Changning’s assistance.
Once again, he silently cursed his own useless, frail body in his heart.
“Your Consort, it is time to take your medicine.”
Changning picked up the steaming bowl of dark liquid from the side table and handed it to Rong Xun.
Even from a distance, Rong Xun caught the heavy, pungent bitterness radiating from it, and a wave of revulsion rose within him. “Medicine again? I’m going to throw up from drinking this stuff. Can we skip it?”
Before Changning could reply, Tan Taisi strode abruptly into the tent.
“Since when has the Consort become afraid of taking medicine?”
Hearing the newcomer’s voice, Rong Xun stiffened instantly, swallowing back the protests lingering in his throat.
Tan Taisi reached out and took the medicine bowl directly from Changning’s hands. “Come, this Prince will feed you himself.”
Naturally, the conditions in a military camp couldn’t compare to those of a royal estate, and the cot was considerably smaller than the grand bed back home. The moment Tan Taisi sat down, Rong Xun felt the available space on the bed shrink dramatically.
The memory of the gruesome fate dealt to the traitor moments ago flashed across his mind, and a searing, burning ache suddenly flared in his lower back and tailbone.
Terrifying. The price of betrayal is truly terrifying.
Tan Taisi watched with amused interest as the expressions on Rong Xun’s face shifted rapidly from apprehension to outright terror. His mood brightened immensely.
His consort looked remarkably guilty. What kind of mischief had he been up to this time?
“What is the Consort daydreaming about? Drink your medicine.”
With that, Tan Taisi picked up a porcelain spoon, scooped a mouthful of the dark liquid, and brought it toward Rong Xun’s lips.
Rong Xun dared not let Tan Taisi feed him another drop. He snatched the bowl out of the man’s hands in a flurry. “I wouldn’t dare trouble Your Highness! I. I can drink it myself. I’ll drink it myself.”
Perhaps spurred by the intimidating presence of Tan Taisi staring him down, the notoriously bitter medicine suddenly didn’t taste quite as agonizingly foul as usual. Rong Xun downed the entire bowl in a single, unbroken breath.
Seeing him finish the medicine, Tan Taisi produced a clean handkerchief and, with a beaming smile, gently wiped the corners of Rong Xun’s mouth.
His movements were tender to an absurd degree.
Rong Xun: “…………”
A violent shudder racked his frame.
Terrifying!
A smiling Tan Taisi was infinitely more terrifying than a solemn one.
Having finished cleaning Rong Xun’s mouth, Tan Taisi retrieved a food box from the side and unlatched it. “Changning mentioned that you came all the way over here specifically to bring me some pastries?”
“Ah. Yes. Yes, I did.”
“Oh? My consort is truly a model of virtue and wifely grace.”
Tan Taisi casually plucked a piece from the box. “Changning said you made these with your own hands?”
Rong Xun froze once more. “Er. Right. Made them myself.”
In reality, his personal contribution had been strictly limited to arranging them nicely on the plate.
“In that case, this Prince must sample them properly.”
With that, Tan Taisi popped a piece of the flaky pastry into his mouth.
Rong Xun watched him in stealthy apprehension. Tan Taisi ate with an unceremonious casualness, entirely devoid of the rigid etiquette typical of high nobility, yet every movement remained remarkably pleasing to the eye, perhaps largely owing to the sheer perfection of his face.
Beauties made everything they did look effortless.
Only, the beauty sitting right before him was a hardened veteran who had been slaughtering enemies on battlefields since his early teens, a ruthless man who had brutally disposed of a traitor just moments prior.
The thought made Rong Xun instinctively pull his gaze away.
Tan Taisi swallowed the bite, and noticing Rong Xun’s lowered head, he flashed a wicked, teasing grin. He reached out, hooked a finger under Rong Xun’s chin, and tilted it upward.
“To think the Consort’s culinary skills have improved at such a blistering pace. The pastries you baked taste identical to the ones made in the Prince’s estate.”
Rong Xun: “……..”
Does Tan Taisi’s palate have to be this freakishly sensitive?!
“Ha. Haha. Many thanks for Your Highness’s praise.”
Since Tan Taisi wasn’t exposing him outright, Rong Xun had no choice but to bite the bullet and play along.
The walls of the tent weren’t particularly thick, allowing the muffled sounds of soldiers drilling outside to drift inside. Feeling Tan Taisi’s fingers still lingering under his chin, Rong Xun shifted away slightly. “Your Highness.”
“Did the Consort travel this great distance simply to deliver pastries?”
Tan Taisi closed the distance, his fingers tightening slightly on Rong Xun’s chin to force eye contact.
“Y. Yes.”
Sensing his own heart rate begin to spike dangerously, Rong Xun scrambled to avert his gaze.
Refusing to let him off the hook, Tan Taisi purred in a deliberately seductive tone, “And here I thought the Consort was simply missing her husband and came to pay a visit.”
“As for that.”
Rong Xun offered an awkward, pained laugh. If he denied it, would Tan Taisi draw a sword and cleave him in two? But if he admitted to it, wouldn’t it make him look far too forward?
Desperate to escape the trap, Rong Xun abruptly changed the subject. “Since the pastries have been safely delivered to Your Highness, this subject will take his leave.”
“Why is the Consort in such a rush?”
Spanning both arms out, Tan Taisi boxed Rong Xun in, trapping him against the pillows. “Why don’t you try a piece of the pastry you made yourself?”
“Ah, I brought these specifically for Your Highness. I couldn’t possibly indulge myself.”
“Since we are husband and wife, why draw such clear lines between us?”
As he spoke, Tan Taisi picked up another piece of pastry. Softly, he coaxed, “Come, open wide. This Prince will feed you.”
Rong Xun felt like weeping tears of blood.
Why is this man so impossibly clingy and difficult to shake off?
Judging by the current trajectory, he wasn’t going to be allowed to leave until he ate that piece of pastry.
With a silent, inward sigh, Rong Xun parted his lips, preparing to accept the bite from Tan Taisi’s hand.
Just as he leaned forward, however, Tan Taisi suddenly withdrew the pastry.
“Actually, this Prince prefers the Consort to consume it in a different manner.”
Before Rong Xun could process the warning, Tan Taisi brought the pastry to his own lips, biting a small piece off and holding it between his teeth.
He stared quietly at Rong Xun, the intent burning in his eyes leaving zero room for misinterpretation.
He was demanding that Rong Xun take it directly from his mouth.
Rong Xun understood the assignment instantly, and a spasm of sheer disbelief twitched across the corner of his mouth.
Tan Taisi is genuinely out of his mind.
Flustered and irritated, Rong Xun attempted to duck low and dive right out beneath Tan Taisi’s arm. Instead, iron-grip hands clamped down on his shoulders, pinning him firmly in place.
Fine!
You want to play, I’ll play!
Pushed past his breaking point, Rong Xun abandoned all caution. Stiffening his posture, he leaned straight forward toward Tan Taisi.
The distance between them vanished in a heartbeat.
Close enough that Rong Xun could count every single one of Tan Taisi’s dense, dark eyelashes. Close enough that Tan Taisi could trace the tiny, delicate mole perched on the bridge of Rong Xun’s nose as it drifted directly into his field of vision.
Somewhere, a heartbeat hammered wildly against ribs.
Rong Xun closed the remaining gap, his teeth grazing the piece of pastry held between Tan Taisi’s lips.
As his lips accidentally brushed against something soft and warm, a sudden, searing heat flooded his cheeks, and he jerked his head backward in a panic.
Before he could retreat, a hand clamped firmly around his waist, using irresistible, dominating force to haul him back against the man’s chest.
Glaring up in exasperation, Rong Xun locked eyes with Tan Taisi.
Mirrored within each other’s pupils were their own reflections.
Thump, thump, thump.
Rong Xun’s pulse raced out of control, and the heat radiating from the hand gripping his waist felt like it was scorching right through his clothes.
The crushed pastry slipped from their lips and tumbled away unnoticed.
The sharp, piercing sharpness typically dwelling in Tan Taisi’s gaze had evaporated, replaced by a deep, blazing intensity.
He pressed his lips softly against Rong Xun’s warm, trembling mouth.
A strange, unfamiliar current surged through Rong Xun’s veins, locking his limbs in a rigid paralysis.
Why is it turning into this again? I clearly came here to handle serious business.
Just as things threatened to cross a line, a boisterous, unfiltered bellow erupted from the outer chamber:
“Your Highness! Your Highness, where have you gone?!”
Guan Mu’s booming voice tore through the tent. “Come on out, it’s time for roasted meat!”
Rong Xun was jolted violently out of his daze by the intrusion.
Shoving hard against Tan Taisi’s chest, he scrambled backward in a frantic blur of motion, rolling straight into the innermost corner of the bed and yanking the heavy quilt over his head to cocoon himself entirely.
Tan Taisi: “…………”
“Your Highness? Your Highness!”
Guan Mu’s persistent hollering continued from the outer room.
A deep, violent vein throbbed violently at Tan Taisi’s temple.
Furious, he stood up and strode toward the outer compartment.
“Your.”
Guan Mu froze the moment he saw Tan Taisi emerge from the inner sanctum, swallowing the rest of his sentence. “Oh, Your Highness, you were inside.”
Narrowing his eyes with homicidal displeasure, Tan Taisi spoke in an icy undertone: “Have you forgotten all basic manners? Who gave you permission to bellow like a stray animal? Did you forget the Consort is resting inside?”
“Huh?”
Guan Mu blinked stupidly, scratching his head in genuine confusion. “Your Highness, my apologies, this subordinate briefly forgot the Consort was here. Since he’s awake, why don’t we invite him to join us for roasted meat?”
Tan Taisi’s gaze turned murderous. “You still want to eat roasted meat?”
Guan Mu remained entirely oblivious to the dark clouds gathering over his commander’s face. “Yeah, didn’t we agree on it earlier?”
A tight, dangerous smile touched Tan Taisi’s lips. “Eat my ass. Get your backside down to the stables right now and shovel horse manure for the rest of the day.”
“Aah!”
Guan Mu wailed in pure despair. “Why?!”
“Because this Prince doesn’t feel like letting you eat meat today.”
The longer Tan Taisi looked at Guan Mu, the more he wanted to throttle him. “Get out of my sight right now. The Consort is resting, and I won’t have you disturbing him again.”
“Oh. Understood.”
Try as he might, Guan Mu couldn’t wrap his thick skull around the mystery.
Since when did His Highness become so fiercely protective of this nominal consort? Wasn’t he completely indifferent toward the fellow before?
Having banished Guan Mu, Tan Taisi turned on his heel and strode back into the inner chamber.
Noticing Rong Xun still buried tightly beneath the cocoon of blankets, he couldn’t help letting out a soft, amused chuckle. “How long does the Consort plan to stay hidden in there? Are you hoping to spend the afternoon taking a nap with me?”
“Not a chance!”
Rong Xun whipped the quilt aside and scrambled off the opposite side of the bed.
“Your Highness. I. I’ll take my leave now!”
“Hold on.”