Cheng Nianying waited inside, relatively calm.
The maids and matrons who had come from the Wuning Marquis’s Residence, however, were growing frantic.
They slipped aside and whispered among themselves, “We can’t go in later. Without anyone keeping an eye on her, what if she says something wrong?”
“We’ve waited so long without seeing the commandery prince. Perhaps he won’t show himself at all. Then she might be able to muddle through and get away with it.”
Just as they were comforting themselves, they heard, “Creak, creak—”
It sounded like carriage wheels rolling over the ground.
A palace attendant pushed a wooden wheelchair closer.
The people from the Wuning Marquis’s Residence could not help turning their heads for a glance. The woman pushing the wheelchair wore a lotus-colored skirt, and her appearance was neat and proper. She had an outstanding bearing.
She was probably a female official sent over from the palace.
The servants of the Marquis’s Residence suddenly felt utterly outclassed.
Then they looked at the person in the wheelchair…
They caught only a fleeting glimpse before seeming to be scalded by it, hurriedly lowering their heads.
The younger maids in particular flushed over most of their faces. They could not help thinking, What could Miss possibly be dissatisfied with? Although the commandery prince is ill, he really is handsome.
At that moment, the side-room door opened.
The palace attendants filed in one after another. They trimmed the wick of the candle beneath the dim, flickering light, and the room immediately became splendid and magnificent.
Fu Yi sat in the wheelchair and looked ahead.
Layer upon layer of wedding robes piled around the young woman, accentuating the slenderness of her waist.
She looked quite young. Sitting upright with a casket held in her arms, she somehow appeared rather well-behaved.
An attendant hurriedly presented a jade scepter. Fu Yi opened his five fingers and accepted it, lowering his gaze. “I have kept Wife waiting.”
His voice was unexpectedly pleasant.
A thought sprang into Cheng Nianying’s mind, and without thinking, she said, “I haven’t been waiting long.”
Her voice was crisp, with a young girl’s sweetness. It was not loud, yet it sounded full of energy.
She truly did not sound tired from waiting.
If anything, she sounded positively spirited.
Fu Yi tightened his grip on the jade scepter, somewhat surprised that the Wuning Marquis’s daughter would be like this.
He had thought she was unwilling and resentful, and that even if she spoke now, her voice would be listless and dispirited.
“Please ask the commandery prince to lift the veil and drink the nuptial wine,” the matron reminded him.
Fu Yi said nothing. With the jade scepter, he lifted the veil, and the heavy red silk embroidered with intricate patterns slid from Cheng Nianying’s shoulders.
The wavering candlelight lent her an extra touch of beauty.
The room suddenly fell silent.
What a beauty!
At last able to see the light again, Cheng Nianying looked straight at the person opposite her as well.
The man was very young, with pale skin and exceptionally light-colored eyes. One glance into them made him seem heartless.
The bright-red wedding robes draped over him created the illusion that blood had been splashed across his body. They made his brows and eyes appear even more distant and indifferent, lofty and untouchable.
But in the next moment, he smiled, picked up one half of a wine-filled gourd, and handed it to Cheng Nianying. “Wife, please.”
The impression of heartlessness instantly vanished without a trace.
All that remained was gentleness.
Hmm… He was handsome, like someone who could only exist in an illustrated storybook.
This really was a good marriage, Cheng Nianying thought.
She steadied her half of the gourd cup, leaned her upper body forward, and deliberately moved closer to entwine her arm with Fu Yi’s. Then she drained it in one go without pausing.
Fu Yi stared at her for a moment before tilting his head back to drink as well.
Cheng Nianying twitched the tip of her nose. “Yours doesn’t have any wine?”
Fu Yi withdrew his arm first and said calmly, “Mm. It’s water. I’m still ill and cannot drink wine.”
Cheng Nianying suddenly understood.
So this was the crux of the Wuning Marquis’s legitimate daughter’s suicide!
But being ill was just being ill. What harm was there in that? She actually thought it was quite good.
She set down the gourd cup and asked, “What are we supposed to do next? Are you going back to rest?”
Fu Yi was silent for a moment, sensing that something was not quite right.
A daughter of the Marquis’s Residence shouldn’t be like this.
He waved for the attendants to push the wheelchair closer, then suddenly raised his hand and pressed it against Cheng Nianying’s lips.
Cheng Nianying jumped in surprise and nearly reached instinctively for the dagger hidden at the small of her back.
Fortunately, she was not carrying any weapons now, so no tragedy came of it.
Fu Yi watched as she jolted violently, then obediently sat still and let him touch her.
The light in his eyes faded. He said softly, “Wife, your lip rouge has spread outside the edges.”
Her makeup had been applied in a rush, so it was hardly strange that some had gone beyond the edges. Cheng Nianying did not care, and raised her hand to wipe it herself.
Fu Yi stopped her. “I’ll do it.”
Cheng Nianying said, “Oh.”
Fu Yi’s hand was somewhat cool.
But Cheng Nianying did not mind.
That was only natural when he was ill. My lips are warm; I can warm his hand for him.
Fu Yi slowly wiped in a circle along the edge of her lips. She showed no resistance, nor the slightest trace of fear.
How strange.
Fu Yi withdrew his hand, no longer finding it interesting, and asked, “Have you eaten anything?”
Cheng Nianying answered frankly, “No. I’m terribly hungry.”
Fu Yi said, “…Prepare the meal.”
The matron at the side appeared somewhat worried and hurriedly asked, “Will the commandery prince be dining here as well?”
Fu Yi answered, “Mm.”
No one else dared disobey him, so they promptly withdrew to carry out the order.
To be an assassin, one had to know how to read the moment.
Cheng Nianying was certainly not stupid. She heard the worry in the matron’s voice and asked, “Does sitting like this make you tired?”
Fu Yi said, “…It is somewhat tiring.”
He smiled again. “But I ought to accompany Wife through the meal.”
Cheng Nianying thought, What a fine person!
He was completely different from those overbearing nobles she had seen from afar in the past!
“Wife, what is that? Why have you kept it on your lap instead of putting it down?” Fu Yi asked, pointing at her casket.
As soon as he finished speaking, a palace attendant immediately stepped forward to take the casket.
Cheng Nianying tensed her fingertips. “It’s my private money.”
Only then did Fu Yi stop the attendant, his smile deepening. “I see. Then you should indeed keep it safe. But you can’t keep holding it all the time…”
Without turning his head, he ordered, “Bring over one of the chests stacked in the side room.”
Two attendants went to carry one over.
It was brought in with a heavy thud. When the lid was lifted, it revealed soft, luxurious silk, with several gold leaves laid beneath it.
Fu Yi said, “This was meant for you in the first place. There’s a large lock on the outside of the chest. Put your casket inside and lock it all together. Then it will be safe.”
Cheng Nianying’s eyes brightened, and she answered, “You’re right!”
She rose from her stool and carried the casket over herself, locking it away.
Fu Yi watched her entire movement and added, “Another day, I’ll have someone in the household make you a corded tassel. You can tie the key to your waist with it. How does that sound?”
Cheng Nianying returned to his side and happily replied, “Good!”
She felt that Commandery Prince Danshuo really was an excellent person!
In all her sixteen years of life, she had known nothing but blades and swords coming against her and scolding ringing in her ears. Who had ever treated her with such gentle words and such thoughtfulness in every detail?
Before long, the food was brought in.
Cheng Nianying had just picked up her chopsticks when a palace attendant beside her said, “Commandery Princess, please allow this servant to serve the dishes for you.”
Cheng Nianying understood that she was supposed to wait for the food to be served before she could use her chopsticks. She did not like that very much.
She looked up at Fu Yi. “Can I eat by myself?”
Fu Yi replied, “Yes. I know you’re extremely hungry.”
Hearing this, the attendant had no choice but to stop. She watched as Cheng Nianying picked up her chopsticks and began eating on her own.
She ate quickly and with great relish, yet her table manners were excellent.
Even Fu Yi found his appetite growing as he watched her.
He picked up his chopsticks as well, sampled two dishes, and then set them down.
Cheng Nianying took in his actions. After thinking for a moment, she still asked him out of concern, “Why are you eating so little?”
Fu Yi washed his hands and wiped the water from between his fingers with a cloth. As he did so, he said, “I’m ill. There are many things I can’t eat.”
Then he asked, “Do you like the food?”
Cheng Nianying honestly nodded once.
Fu Yi smiled. “It’s good as long as you like it.”
Meanwhile, several of Fu Yi’s trusted aides were still waiting in the room.
They anxiously paced back and forth several times, puzzled. “Why has our master been gone so long? Wasn’t he going to return after seeing her just once?”
“That daughter of the Marquis’s Residence wouldn’t be foolish enough to say something she shouldn’t have and anger our master, would she?”