Du Heng thought to himself: should he be angry?
After all, the words he had written down to describe the obsession of the first half of his life and the life he had planned for the second half had been altered by her without the slightest regard.
And yet, he was not angry. He was not some pedantic scholar to begin with. If the words were changed, then so be it. His temper had always been good, and he did not care much.
But perhaps the reason he was not angry was not only that.
Because the few extra words she added sounded almost like a complaint that, when he first set his heart on something, he had only thought of himself.
Du Heng’s feelings about that were hard to put into words. Joy? Retreat? Or worry that he would never again live such a carefree life?
He could not quite figure it out.
What Du Heng did know was that, in truth, he did not reject her.
…
At that moment, Du Heng and Yun Shuyu were walking through the back mountain garden of the Yingtian Prefecture Academy. Yun Shuyu refused to let go, so Du Heng had no choice but to keep holding her hand.
“Today, Lord Zhao Gongnian of the Censorate will be back at the academy in the afternoon. You came here just to find him, didn’t you? Then why not stay and accompany this princess through his lecture this afternoon before heading back?”
Yun Shuyu spoke, but received no reply.
“Hm? Ah Heng? Young Lord? Du Heng?”
Seeing that he was still dazed and ignoring her, she let out a faint huff.
“So what if you’re angry? It won’t do you any good. This princess has always been this domineering.”
Du Heng nodded.
“I know.”
Yun Shuyu shot him an unhappy glare, her voice turning icy.
“What did you say?”
Du Heng tugged at the corner of his mouth and surrendered at once.
“I know… Your Highness has always been dignified and thoughtful.”
After all, she was high in rank and power, and her cultivation was unfathomable. He could not afford to provoke her… he truly could not.
“Aren’t you going to ask why the signature this princess wrote just now was different from my private name?”
“I assume Your Highness did not wish to write your private name in public, so you used an alias?”
Yun Shuyu shook her head.
“Right and wrong.”
Du Heng’s guess was only half correct. When Yun Shuyu had previously written those words for herself on the Stele of the Heart, she had used a signature like “The nth-generation Eldest Princess of the Great Luo Dynasty.”
But because the royal family was special, Du Heng had not been able to see her words.
She leaned in deliberately by his ear, and her warm breath brushed over him.
“Yun Ling is my childhood name, you know.”
Du Heng’s ears turned red at the heat of her breath. He took half a step back, feeling as though half his body had gone soft.
“What a lovely name…”
After Yun Shuyu changed the words, Du Heng had been lost in random thoughts and had not actually understood the meaning of her signature.
Now, hearing her say that, his eyes suddenly brightened as he thought of something interesting. In a soft voice, he said,
“Yun Ling: mild in nature, sweet in taste, non-toxic. It benefits qi, calms the spirit, strengthens the spleen and harmonizes the stomach, and dispels damp-heat. It can treat abdominal distension, qi deficiency fatigue, and edema.”
Yun Shuyu was slightly stunned. She had not expected him to understand pharmacology, and then she realized that his own name had a hidden meaning too.
She pressed her lips together and smiled sweetly, her vermilion lips parting as she said,
“Du Heng: warm in nature, pungent in taste, slightly toxic. It disperses wind and cold, activates blood and relieves pain, and dissolves phlegm while promoting diuresis. It can treat chills, phlegm-induced cough and wheezing, and edema.”
After hearing that, Du Heng was smiling from ear to ear. It was the first time he had heard someone interpret his name like that, and he even reached out to squeeze Yun Shuyu’s small hand.
What a coincidence that both of their names were medicinal herbs.
“How coincidental.”
“Yes, how coincidental.”
Yun Shuyu seemed tired from walking. She let go of Du Heng’s hand and went to sit on a large rock. With her legs crossed and slightly bent, her right hand behind her back and the other supporting her chin, she looked at Du Heng with interest, a smile at the corner of her lips.
“Lord Consort, you seem to be in a good mood today. You’ve also become much bolder. Just now, you even dared to pinch this princess’s hand?”
Because she was seated higher up, Du Heng could only look up at her.
Yun Shuyu’s ru-style skirt spread out to either side, and at the hem her smooth, pale ankles were faintly visible.
Du Heng unconsciously looked away.
“Your Highness offered your hand yourself. Of course I could pinch it.”
After spending more time with Yun Shuyu, Du Heng seemed to have grown used to her capricious, spoiled ways, and he was not nearly as timid or flustered as before.
“Hmph… when this princess offered her hand to someone, that person made this princess wait for a very long time.”
“…There won’t be a next time.”
“Hm? What are you looking at?”
“Nothing…”
Yun Shuyu’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.
“Come here!”
Du Heng walked straight over. Now that Yun Shuyu was close to him, she kicked him again with her little foot.
“The Lord Consort is really not obedient… Scoundrel, and you even looked there…”
Du Heng said in shame and annoyance, “I didn’t look at anything. Your Highness, don’t slander me.”
“You…”
If Yun Shuyu had to say it out loud, she could not. But now that the two of them were so close, she no longer had so many scruples.
“Sit over here first.” She patted the spot beside her.
Du Heng did as he was told and sat down. This way, he was once again half a head taller than Yun Shuyu.
Yun Shuyu tilted her head and glared at him.
“Young Lord, do you know that a hundred years ago, there was a rule in the Great Luo rites? If you saw a young woman’s feet, you had to take responsibility.”
Du Heng turned his head in shock.
“I already agreed to Your Highness’s five-year pact. Don’t make up nonsense to fool me again.”
Yun Shuyu was displeased at that. It made it sound as if she was forcing him.
Well… she had indeed forced him.
But how could he say it like that?
“Then let us not mention the old rites. Since you like sneaking looks at this princess so much, why do you keep refusing this princess’s marriage offer?”
Du Heng could tell that she was unhappy, and for some reason, his own chest felt tight too.
“When did I refuse you so many times? It was only that one time in the palace…”
“Oh? What did you say to my younger imperial brother earlier? Dare you tell me, Young Lord?”
“Nothing…”
“Your Highness, didn’t you say you weren’t eavesdropping?”
Du Heng had thought this matter was over, but he had not expected Yun Shuyu to still be holding onto it.
Right. He had assumed Yingtian Prefecture was some distance from Luodu, and that Feng Zhao’s secret guards were all outside the academy. He had thought Yun Shuyu could not possibly know, which was why he had said those things to Yun Zhao.
Hearing them would indeed make Yun Shuyu unhappy.
“If this princess had not listened, how would I know that Young Lord Du actually hated this princess so much?”
Du Heng could tell that Yun Zhao did not want him to marry Yun Shuyu. At the time, he had even been happy to use that to reassure the young Emperor, so he could convince him to help him with a favor.
So he had said to the young Emperor,
“I have no feelings for Her Highness the Eldest Princess. In fact, there is another reason behind this marriage pact.”
…
“Our marriage pact is only a fake one, Your Majesty. You can rest assured.”
…
“There is still room to maneuver with the marriage decree. Perhaps one day the Eldest Princess will grow tired of me, and everything will be settled.”
…
And all the other words that had repeatedly danced across Yun Shuyu’s minefield.
“So marrying this princess was really such a hardship for Young Lord?” she said, deliberately stabbing at him with her words, her tone carrying a hint of injury.
Du Heng found Yun Shuyu’s thoughts impossible to read. After all, she was a bad woman. They had only known each other for a short while, yet she was already extremely familiar with him and kept toying with him.
Strictly speaking, it should have been a good thing for the bad woman to hear those words. After all, he thought they would be neither painful nor itchy to Yun Shuyu, not even enough to count as revenge.
But for some reason, seeing Yun Shuyu turn her head away and refuse to look at him, no longer carrying that usual air of confidence and dominance, made him want to make up for it.
“I do not dislike Your Highness…”
Du Heng was not the type to sweet-talk or coax people. He was not sure whether he liked Yun Shuyu, but he certainly did not dislike her.
“…Actually, it was because I could see that His Majesty had some objections to me. I said those things only to reassure His Majesty so he would help me with something. That is why I deceived His Majesty.”
Yun Shuyu still refused to look back at him, her small hands twisting together.
Du Heng gritted his teeth and added, “Those words do not count.”
Now that Yun Shuyu had gotten the answer she wanted, she drew closer to him affectionately, turned back with a bright smile, and even gently stroked his cheek.
“The Lord Consort is such a good boy.”
Du Heng’s face darkened at once. What did she think she was touching?
He grabbed her mischievous small hand and forced her closer still.
“Is Your Highness not unhappy?”
Yun Shuyu’s clear, watery phoenix eyes curved into crescents as she deliberately angered him.
“Not at all!”
Now it was Du Heng’s turn to be unhappy. He turned his head away and refused to look at Yun Shuyu.
Yun Shuyu coaxed him with all sorts of gentle teasing. In the end, she simply lost her temper and used her authority to suppress him, and only then was Du Heng willing to turn back and look at her.
“Young Lord, you really do put on airs. You even made this princess coax you like this.”
Du Heng looked at her listlessly.
“Didn’t Your Highness say you would never do such things as eavesdrop?”
Yun Shuyu was entirely without shame. She smiled sweetly and shook the jade pendant hanging at her waist.
“This princess listened openly and honestly. The royal family’s jade pendant has exactly such a function for sending messages.”
As she spoke, she removed the jade pendant and very gently hung it at Du Heng’s waist.
“What is Your Highness doing… I do not need to send messages with His Majesty.”
Seeing his stunned expression, Yun Shuyu could not help herself and hugged him again. Her lotus-root arms wrapped around his neck, her little head buried in the crook of his neck. She parted her vermilion lips and whispered softly,
“Silly… this is specially for you.”