Ever since Liu Mingyue fell into the lake, her health had been poor. Furthermore, due to the distress caused by the scandal involving the true and false heiresses, she had become despondent. Most importantly, she was pregnant!
Liu Xiyin did not know if Madam Liu was aware of the truth, but regardless, Madam Liu was deeply anxious. By the day Liu Xiyin was to be married, Madam Liu lacked the energy to concern herself with her.
Liu Xiyin was happy to be free of that burden.
However, after arriving at the Marshal’s mansion, the situation was far worse than she had imagined.
Good heavens!
A manual of intimate positions!
In her past life, Liu Xiyin couldn’t even find resources to watch such films, and now she was expected to start by looking at erotic pictures?
Liu Xiyin accepted the “gift” with an embarrassed smile.
She would satisfy her curiosity by looking at them; whether or not she would use them was a matter for another time.
At ten o’clock in the evening, Yan Changye finally returned.
He came to Qin Wan’s courtyard to pick up Liu Xiyin, and he still carried the scent of blood on him. There was no telling where he had gone while supposedly attending a meeting.
Qin Wan set down her Buddhist scriptures and said to him, “It is late, and the roads are icy. Why not rest for the night at Wuyou Courtyard? Tomorrow is the day for the return visit to the bride’s home; I have already prepared the return gifts, so you can take them with you on your way.”
Yan Changye glanced at Liu Xiyin, who was dozing in the corner, and did not refuse. “Very well, thank you, Mother.”
Wuyou Courtyard was originally intended to be his and Liu Xiyin’s bridal chamber. Since Qin Wan had prepared it herself, he felt at ease with the arrangement.
Liu Xiyin shook her head to drive away the sleepiness and bade farewell to Qin Wan. Just as she was about to leave with Yan Changye, she heard Qin Wan add, “Since you know your bride is timid, be gentle with her. Do not bring the habits of the battlefield back home.”
So, this was what Yan Changye had spoken to Qin Wan about earlier that day.
Liu Xiyin peeked at Yan Changye.
[He had better truly believe that I am timid. Otherwise, what decent person would just start dragging and pulling a girl around, or stripping her clothes off without even bathing first? He is practically a beast.]
“I understand, Mother.”
Yan Changye replied politely to Qin Wan, but his hand immediately grabbed Liu Xiyin’s wrist. “Please get some rest early.”
Then, he dragged Liu Xiyin away again!
[I knew it! What kind of decent person could I expect the great villain to be? Can’t he see his legs are so long and mine are so short? In this freezing weather, does he think he’s pulling a sled? He might as well just drag me to my death!]
Liu Xiyin was wearing embroidered shoes and had to clutch the silver fox fur stole on her shoulders for fear that it would fall off and she would have to face the cold wind head-on.
However, Yan Changye’s legs were truly too long; one of his steps covered the distance of three of hers. Since she was wearing a skirt, she had to jog to keep up with him, just to avoid being dragged back to Wuyou Courtyard like a corpse.
That would truly be a state of “no worries” (Wuyou) indeed.
The red silks in Wuyou Courtyard had not yet been taken down, and Qin Wan had sent people to tidy it up during the day. The courtyard was brightly lit, waiting for the masters to return.
A phoenix tree grew in the courtyard. In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, the branches were bare and covered in snow.
Liu Xiyin was dragged into the room, and her shoes were already soaked through by the snow.
They hadn’t even been wet when she went for a walk with Qin Wan during the day!
[I shouldn’t have had any expectations for this great villain. It would be better to let him grow old in solitude; hopefully, neither the Ninth Concubine nor his little brothers will want him.]
Liu Xiyin stood at the doorway, muttering to herself while changing her shoes, adding a few more curses for good measure.
Yan Changye: “…”
If he didn’t act this way, given the sharp instincts his little bride had shown during the day, she would surely suspect that he could hear her inner thoughts.
As a “great villain” who could not hear inner thoughts, this was the appropriate attitude to take toward the wife his father had foisted upon him.
Yan Changye took off his wind cloak and sat on the sofa, crossing his legs. “Mother told me to be careful with you, so you should take a bath first.”
“…” Fine, if she went first, she would go first. She wasn’t about to defer to him anyway.
Since reincarnating, Liu Xiyin had lived a very regular life—going to bed early and rising early because of the lack of entertainment—and she was usually already asleep by this hour.
She had thought she would never again have to worry about sudden death from exhaustion.
Yet, today, she had to wait for her husband to return from his meeting, and she had waited until past ten o’clock. She didn’t know if it would be even later in the future.
Whenever Liu Xiyin thought about it, she felt it was another path to an early grave.
How miserable.
The interior of the Marshal’s mansion was styled like a traditional Chinese garden, but it lacked none of the necessary modern comforts—at least, there was modern plumbing.
Liu Xiyin quickly washed up, changed into her pajamas, and planned to light some sleep-inducing incense while Yan Changye was bathing. She had prepared the spices when she was getting ready for the wedding and had kept them in the bridal chamber to prevent any intimacy on their wedding night should Yan Changye return.
As it turned out, Yan Changye did return last night, but he had taken her away.
It didn’t matter; it would come in handy tonight. Thankfully, the servants who cleaned the room had not touched the incense burner.
When Yan Changye saw her emerge, her fair face flushed from the steam and her eyes slightly narrowed.
He stood up, his voice devoid of emotion. “If you are this sleepy, just go to sleep. There is no need to wait for me.”
That would be perfect.
Liu Xiyin whispered softly, “Understood.”
Yan Changye walked into the bathroom, and the sound of splashing water soon followed.
Liu Xiyin quietly walked to the window, lit the incense burner, and then lay down on the bed as if nothing had happened.
The incense she had blended herself had a very faint scent; even if discovered, she could pass it off as soothing incense.
At any rate, it would certainly make a person fall asleep.
The bridal bed was large—a fashionable iron-frame bed typical of this era—covered with a soft, embroidered crimson silk quilt.
With a little cunning, Liu Xiyin took another quilt from the cabinet, placed it on the side, wrapped herself tightly in one, and closed her eyes.
He was the one who told her not to wait for him. If she were already asleep, surely he wouldn’t wake her up or force her out of the blankets, would he?
The splashing sounds from the bathroom were like rain. The room was warmed by the floor heating, and Liu Xiyin’s eyelids soon grew heavy until she drifted off, unaware of when the water stopped.
Yan Changye dried his hair and came out of the bathroom. Seeing the tiny, huddled figure shrunk to the very edge of the bed, he gave a dark snort.
With so much precaution, did she really think he had an interest in her frail little frame?
Men on the battlefield never stay vegetarian.
In her sleep, Liu Xiyin suddenly sneezed, almost choking herself awake.
Yan Changye picked up the teapot and extinguished the incense burning by the window.
Having survived in the inner courtyard since childhood, Yan Changye was wary of any suspicious scents. In particular, his little bride was cunning; her lighting this incense burner certainly indicated there was a problem.
After doing this, Yan Changye picked up the quilt that Liu Xiyin had deliberately left for him and went to sleep in the side room.
Since his little bride didn’t know she was being read, he had to react as if he hadn’t heard her thoughts. Based on her tumble earlier that day, to an uninformed observer, she certainly looked a lot like a spy.