Seeing her like this, a wave of panic climbed up Xie Yanzhao’s spine.
He cupped her face in his hands. The warmth that usually filled his deep eyes had disappeared, replaced by an intense possessiveness and an unmistakable determination to have her.
“Yuanyuan, you know that I won’t let you leave.”
Shen Tinghe felt her entire body grow hot under his gaze. His eyes were too passionate, too direct, exposing his love and obsessive determination without the slightest concealment, leaving her at a loss.
She raised her hand and covered his eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that…”
“Why shouldn’t I?” Xie Yanzhao pulled her hand down and lowered his head, pressing her fingertips against his lips.
“My feelings for you should be something you can see clearly. Yuanyuan, if we hadn’t been observing mourning for Imperial Grandmother, we would have been married last year.”
The customs of the current dynasty were relatively open. It was perfectly normal for women to marry at seventeen or eighteen. Families who doted on their daughters might let them wait another couple of years.
But Shen Tinghe was already twenty. It was not appropriate to delay the marriage any longer.
As for Xie Yanzhao, he was the Crown Prince. According to ancestral custom, he was supposed to marry upon reaching adulthood. He had waited for her, and then the Empress Dowager passed away, so their wedding had been delayed until now.
Xie Yanzhao was four years older than her and was now twenty-four.
It was indeed uncommon for someone his age to remain unmarried.
“You should have been my Crown Princess long ago.”
Xie Yanzhao’s voice was low and hoarse, his lips still pressed against her fingertips.
“Our wedding has been in preparation for two whole years. The phoenix crown and bridal robes, the wedding procession stretching for miles I had everything prepared long ago. The wedding date is set for June. There are only two months left.”
“Yuanyuan, you can’t escape.”
There was an undeniable dominance in Xie Yanzhao’s words, just like his personality.
Looking at the stubbornness and deep affection in his eyes, the uneasiness in Shen Tinghe’s heart gradually gave way to warmth.
She didn’t want to think about this matter right now.
Shen Tinghe rubbed against his brocade robe and wrapped both arms around his waist.
“I’m sleepy.”
Her fingertips unconsciously tugged at the jade belt around his waist, making her look especially clingy.
Xie Yanzhao lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her fair, delicate profile.
The candlelight outlined the gentle curve of her jaw. Her long eyelashes were like butterfly wings, her nose small and delicately upturned, and her lips naturally pink and soft, exuding an alluring tenderness.
His eyes darkened.
Before she could react, he gently gripped the back of her neck, lowered his head, and captured the soft lips he had long yearned for.
Xie Yanzhao’s kisses had always been forceful and domineering, without even a trace of the restraint one might expect from a man of ancient times.
The instant their lips touched, it was complete possession. Their lips pressed tightly together, and his tongue boldly parted her lips, tangling with hers.
Caught completely off guard, Shen Tinghe couldn’t push him away. She could only tilt her head back and endure his passionate, invasive kiss.
Her breathing became hurried, and even the corners of her eyes began to glisten with moisture.
After a long while, Xie Yanzhao finally pulled away reluctantly. His voice carried a deep, husky magnetism.
“Sleep. Once you’re asleep, I’ll take you back.”
The corners of Shen Tinghe’s eyes were flushed. With the innocent embarrassment of someone who had just been kissed, she collapsed weakly back into his arms.
She had never been able to figure him out.
Her soul belonged to a modern person, so kissing during a relationship was nothing unusual.
But Xie Yanzhao was a genuine ancient man, yet he didn’t care about the rules of propriety between men and women in the slightest.
Relying on the fact that he was the Crown Prince, and on the fact that the two of them were engaged, he acted without the slightest restraint, hugging her and kissing her whenever he pleased.
And unfortunately, he was also an excellent kisser and exceptionally handsome, making it impossible for her to resist. Every time, he kissed her until she became completely dizzy and disoriented.
She was being treated far too well. It was genuinely difficult to refuse him.
Feeling the slight tremble of the woman in his arms, Xie Yanzhao placed his palm against her back and gently patted it again and again, soothing her to sleep with practiced ease.
Shen Tinghe’s drowsiness gradually deepened. In his warm embrace and under his gentle patting, she soon fell asleep.
Xie Yanzhao carried her through the silent corridors.
The moonlight flowed like water, spilling across the blue-gray stone slabs and casting his tall, upright silhouette upon them.
Before long, they arrived at her Jiangxi Courtyard.
Everywhere in her boudoir was filled with elegance and luxury. Thick carpets covered the floor of the inner chamber, while exquisite jewelry was displayed on the dressing table.
Gold hairpins, jade ornaments, pearls, agates there was a dazzling array of treasures. At a glance, it was obvious that she had grown up as a pampered young lady, spoiled with endless affection.
Xie Yanzhao placed her on the couch covered with brocade. He raised his hand and pulled down the thin gauze curtain hanging beside the couch.
The blue-green gauze curtains fell, obscuring the figure on the couch in a hazy veil and shutting out everything from the outside world.
He removed his outer robe and lay down beside her, his gaze fixed intently on her sleeping face.
Xie Yanzhao extended a fingertip and gently brushed her eyelashes. Feeling their faint tremble, a burning desire surged through his heart.
In the depths of his heart, he quietly called her name, unable to suppress his urgency and possessiveness.
Yuanyuan, I don’t think I can hold myself back much longer. Marry me soon.
His fingertip slowly traced down her cheek, filled with tenderness and certainty.
Our names will be recorded together in the annals of history. In this life and every life to come, we will never be separated again.
The next day, daylight filtered through the carved wooden window lattice, casting dappled shadows across the floor of the bedroom.
Shen Tinghe was still wrapped snugly in a cloud-silk quilt on the couch, sleeping soundly. Her long hair was spread across the pillow, and her long, thick eyelashes trembled gently with each steady breath.
She was wearing a moon-white sleeping robe. The loose collar had slipped down, exposing half of her shoulder and her delicate, jade-like skin.
It was the sleeping robe Xie Yanzhao had changed her into the night before.
Outside the courtyard came the faint sound of footsteps, accompanied by the servants’ soft greetings.
Princess Hualan, Xie Yu, was dressed in a pomegranate-red palace gown embroidered with gold. Intricate patterns adorned the hem, and golden embroidery shimmered as she walked, accentuating her graceful figure and dignified bearing.
She had taken the surname Xie from her mother, the Grand Princess Zhaorong. Her features carried both the nobility of an imperial lady and the strong, decisive character inherited from the Grand Princess.
Beneath her gentle and graceful exterior was an imposing authority that tolerated no contradiction.
Two personal maids followed behind her as the group made its way toward Shen Tinghe’s bedroom.
Qingyu and Qingdai were standing respectfully beneath the corridor. Upon seeing Madam Shen, they immediately curtsied.
“Greetings, Madam.”
Madam Shen gave a slight nod and gestured for them to open the door.
“Is Yuan’er still not awake?”
Qingyu replied,
“Reporting to Madam, Miss has not woken up yet.”
The carved wooden door was pushed open, and a faint fragrance of calming incense drifted out.
Qingxu and Qinglan, who had been waiting in the outer room, also stepped forward to pay their respects.
Madam Shen slowly entered the inner chamber. At a glance, she spotted her daughter curled up on the couch.
The brocade quilt had wrapped her into a round little bundle, leaving only a fluffy little head exposed. She looked adorably innocent and endearing.
Madam Shen’s eyes were filled with affection. She walked to the bedside and sat down, gently brushing the loose strands of hair from her daughter’s forehead.
“Yuan’er, time to get up. It’s already the Si hour, and you’re still sleeping.”
Shen Tinghe was awakened by the gentle voice. She opened her eyes groggily and, upon seeing that it was her mother, immediately became alert enough to recognize her.
She pushed herself upright and reached out to wrap her arms around Madam Shen’s arm, naturally resting her head against her mother’s shoulder and rubbing against it.
“Mother… I’m still sleepy. Can I sleep a little longer?”
Madam Shen lightly tapped her forehead with her index finger, her tone carrying a loving reproach.
“You really have been spoiled rotten by me.”
Eight years ago, there were many members of the Ding’an Prince’s Residence, but after that incident, very few remained.
Now, only the reclusive Ding’an Prince, Shen Jun; his heir, Shen Xuan; the heir’s wife, Xie Yu; Shen Tinghe; and her younger brother, Shen Chengzhou, remained in the residence.
The eldest young master, Shen Chengbai, had gone to Wuan County in Lingzhou a year ago to take up an official post.