Du Heng had initially suspected it was a fake marriage pact, but who could blame him for misunderstanding when the girl called him Lord Consort the moment they met?
How could he not misunderstand?
Yun Shuyu turned her head away from him. “Mm… yes and no. This princess does not want to talk about it anymore.”
Du Heng’s mouth twitched.
What was this all about?
Of course Yun Shuyu could not say it. Was she supposed to say that she had already been promised to him?
Yun Shuyu was proud and not the type to accept an arranged marriage, but she had indeed taken an interest in Du Heng, so she did not dislike him either.
Nothing had been settled yet, so she naturally would not tell Du Heng everything.
Yun Shuyu said seriously, “Then what do you want? To break off the engagement with me, return to Ruo Xian Pavilion for peace and freedom, and live your lazy, idle days?”
Du Heng’s expression grew strange. How did she seem to know him so well? Could that old man have tipped her off?
He temporarily suppressed his doubts and nodded.
“That is exactly what I intend.”
Du Heng did not tell Yun Shuyu that he actually planned to return to the mountain only after his coming-of-age ceremony, and after his father, Marquis Zhenyuan, finished his war.
“This princess can let you return to the mountain, and the marriage pact can also be dissolved.”
“But not now. You will serve as my shield and assist this princess by my side for five years. After that, I will let you leave safely. How about it?”
“My cultivation is so low. How could I possibly help Your Highness?”
After all, any shadow guard casually dragged out of the palace would be at the third-tier Illumination realm.
When Yun Shuyu heard that, she stared at him without letting up, continuing to look even when it made him feel uneasy.
She answered a different question entirely. “Young Lord, have you ever wondered why your master has the surname Yun?”
“What’s so special about the surname Yun…” The moment the words left his mouth, Du Heng wanted to slap himself.
Good heavens, could my master, who taught me for five years and then vanished, be a member of the Great Luo Dynasty royal family?
Du Heng had only learned that morning that the Great Luo royal family bore the Yun surname. Before that, he had known nothing about it, nor had he looked into Master Yun Tianyi’s background.
After learning Yun Shuyu’s private name, he had also thought of Yun Tianyi, but that old man had been staying in Ruo Xian Pavilion ever since taking him in, so he had not thought much of it.
After all, the Eastern Region alone was absurdly vast. The world was enormous, and having the surname Yun did not necessarily mean one was part of the Great Luo imperial family.
But he had never expected…
Yun Shuyu continued speaking, smiling as she dropped another bombshell and confirmed his guess.
“My second Imperial Uncle is named Yun Tianyi.”
“Do you know him, Young Lord Du?”
Du Heng’s heart tightened. He stumbled back in shock and fell into the chair beside him.
Could it be that he had been sold out by more than one old man from the very beginning?
Was Uncle Ye Mingshan actually an accomplice, and the mastermind his already departed master, Yun Tianyi?
Du Heng said weakly, “Of course I know him.”
Yun Shuyu walked up to him, bent down to look at him, gently tucked her falling black hair behind her ear, and said softly, “So, I know very well what Junior Brother Du is really capable of, don’t I?”
Yun Shuyu did not call herself this princess, nor did she address Du Heng as Lord Consort or Young Lord. That meant she was speaking to him as someone from the cultivation world.
Her second Imperial Uncle was his master, so it was not wrong for her to call him junior brother.
Du Heng still refused to give up. “I do not have any real ability. I am always being teased by junior brothers and junior sisters in the sect for having a trash constitution.”
“Hm? A trash of the ninefold realm?” Yun Shuyu teased him mischievously.
Du Heng sucked in a breath.
Well, that was it. His secrets had been completely exposed.
So those two old men had known all along?
And they had even gone out of their way to cover for him when they tested his bone constitution.
How wicked! So they had been playing with him all along, just for fun?
Du Heng’s mind was hit with an enormous shock, and he felt dazed all over.
Yun Shuyu also knew he needed time to process it, so she left him sitting there alone to calm down.
She had not revealed these things on a whim. Rather, her Imperial Uncle had once told her:
“When the Du kid comes to your side, do as you please. He will satisfy you.”
He came, and she found that he really was interesting, and somewhat different from what her Imperial Uncle had described.
No matter what she thought of him, Du Heng was a rare talent.
In short, Yun Shuyu wanted Du Heng to stay, and she could not stop herself from wanting to get closer to him.
But she had always conducted herself openly and aboveboard, and she did not want to keep lying to him, so she told him everything.
Du Heng was now digesting the shock brought on by the truth.
Toward Master Yun Tianyi, he felt neither grief nor anger, only a sense of loss. What he had just said earlier had been nothing more than a moment of anger.
Du Heng felt that his second life truly had very good luck. He had both parents, and he had two sect elders who knew everything yet were willing to help him cover it up.
He had always believed that if people discovered his true strength, they would accuse him of wasting his talent and cultivation. He had never expected anyone to be so accepting of him.
He spent every day at Ruo Xian Pavilion slacking off and tormenting the junior brothers and junior sisters, and those two old men were happy to joke with him, but they had never truly been angry with him.
After a while, Du Heng collected himself and saw Yun Shuyu brewing tea nearby.
“Your Highness, why are you brewing tea yourself?”
Yun Shuyu rarely shot him a glare. “This princess has hands. There is no need for everything to be done by servants.”
Hearing that, Du Heng could not help but change his opinion of this Eldest Princess, whom he had thought to be utterly spoiled and willful.
“So, how about it? Have you made up your mind?”
Yun Shuyu was referring to her earlier proposal that Du Heng assist her for five years.
“How about three years?”
“Seven years!”
“Four years?”
“Ten years!”
Du Heng froze. How was the price going up the more he bargained?
Yun Shuyu said in an uncompromising tone, “If you keep haggling, I’ll tie you up for the rest of your life!”
Du Heng collapsed in his chair and did not get up. Since his secret had been exposed, he could not be bothered to keep pretending.
Time to give up and lie flat.
“Your Highness knows my cultivation, so are you not afraid I might use force?”
Yun Shuyu smiled calmly, unsurprised.
“You won’t.”
“How can Your Highness be so sure? My family is the Marquis Zhenyuan residence, the court’s foremost military household. Who knows, there may be a million soldiers hidden beneath the estate. Add my cultivation, and one day I might rebel.”
Yun Shuyu walked up to him with graceful steps, carrying the tea tray. She did not care in the slightest about his treasonous words, bent down, and handed him a cup of spiritual tea.
“You won’t. I just know it.”
Yun Shuyu reached that conclusion with complete confidence.
She also did not care about Du Heng’s outrageous nonsense.
Du Heng first took a sip of the spiritual tea in the cup. The liquor was bright, the taste mellow and fragrant. The tea was good, but Yun Shuyu’s tea-brewing skill was clearly even better.
“Even if I would not lay a hand on Your Highness, how do you know I would not simply run away?”
Yun Shuyu was equally confident. “You still won’t.”
She stood beside him holding the tea tray, waiting for Du Heng’s answer. Her plain white dress and the ribbon fluttering lightly in the wind suited each other, making her look gentle and charming.
Du Heng’s heart stirred. This was yet another side of Yun Shuyu he had never seen.
She looked just like an ordinary young lady from a scholarly family, without her usual fierce edge, and without the willful arrogance she showed when she played tricks like a little demon.
She simply stood quietly beside him, waiting gracefully.
In a daze, he felt like a poor scholar studying for the imperial examinations in the capital, while she was the proper wife adding fragrance to his sleeves.
Yun Shuyu. The character Yun was gentle, Shu was graceful, and Yu was elegant.
She really did live up to her name…
Thinking of this, Du Heng took another sip of tea and actually bit his tongue.
Hearing him cry out in pain, Yun Shuyu leaned closer to look at him. “What is wrong?”
Du Heng looked up at that, and the flawless beauty did not have time to turn away. Their noses nearly touched.
The two stared at each other. Du Heng saw himself reflected in her clear, shining eyes.
How could the version of himself in her eyes look so foolish?
Yun Shuyu had also never been this close to anyone else. Her breathing grew slightly quick, but Du Heng did not notice. She wanted to keep holding the upper hand in front of him, so she quietly pressed a hand to her chest and calmed herself down.
After a long while, the two separated in a fluster.
Du Heng turned his head away, not daring to look at her.
Yun Shuyu, holding the tea tray, turned her back to him. But then she felt that this did not fit the image she had always presented, so she quickly collected herself and turned back around.
“Well? Junior Brother Du, have you decided?”
“Do you want to help your senior sister out?”
“Hm? Help?”
“Yes, help! I think I pressured you too much just now, Junior Brother, and you must be in a difficult position. I will not force you anymore, Junior Brother Du.”
“Your senior sister is alone and cannot make progress at court. Junior Brother, how about helping your senior sister?”
He would not answer, so Yun Shuyu changed her approach and made him agree.
Yun Shuyu’s repeated calls of junior brother made Du Heng’s bones go soft, as if a spoiled little cat were scratching at his heart.
“Is Your Highness asking me for help?”
Yun Shuyu bit her lower lip.
“Hm… if junior brother likes that, then yes.”
She feigned a timid look.
And Du Heng was the type who yielded to softness rather than force. Besides, because of what had happened with Yun Tianyi, he had already planned to agree, so under Yun Shuyu’s sudden softening, he simply nodded along.
“All right… then junior brother will help senior sister this once.”
The situation had been rising and falling, and by the time Du Heng was leaving the palace to return home, his heart was still restless and his mind somewhat hazy.
Before sending him out of the room, Yun Shuyu leaned in with a wicked smile at the corner of her lips and whispered to him.
He had agreed to her request, but she was still not satisfied and decided to tease him again.
“Oh, by the way…”
“Hm… actually, one of the two things I just said is false: the reason for suppressing the rumor, and the excuse that I was annoyed by memorials and wanted you as a shield.”
“Guess which one it is.”
Du Heng snorted inwardly. He had guessed it long ago. How could the overbearing Eldest Princess possibly care about what other people thought?
Her methods were extraordinary, enough to suppress those civil and military officials so they did not dare act rashly. How could she be bound by feudal decorum?
“Then it must be the rumor.”
Yun Shuyu revealed a brilliant smile of success and waggled her jade-like finger left and right in front of Du Heng.
“Wrong. Both are false!”
Du Heng was speechless. Was this person really so fond of making him laugh at her mercy?
“But since Young Lord once regarded this princess as a flood beast and could not wait to break off the engagement, then this princess will not interfere in the matter of the rumor. Young Lord, you had better handle it properly!”
“Do not disappoint this princess, my good junior brother!”
Du Heng froze. Yun Shuyu had already walked far away and returned to the bedchamber hall.
Mingzhe and the other maidservants all pretended to be blind and deaf to it.
“Young Lord, this way, please.”
Du Heng got into the carriage leaving the palace, grinding his teeth as he thought about how to recover his dignity next time.
But that seemed very difficult…
When that bad woman got close to him, he was completely helpless.