It's Fine If You Can't Tie It; It's Coming Off Later Anyway

Lu Jingsi had spent the entire day attending to official business at the Prison Administration. After the hour of Wei, he entered the palace to discuss affairs with the emperor and the crown prince in Qianzheng Hall, leaving only halfway through the hour of You.

To his surprise, Fulin came up to him as soon as he entered the residence and said in a low voice, "The princess consort went to Yuanfu Temple to pray today. She returned this evening with the crown princess, and they're tasting wine in the waterside pavilion in the main courtyard now."

"The crown princess?"

"Yes."

Lu Jingsi raised his brows slightly. "Send word to the Eastern Palace that the crown princess is at the residence," he said evenly.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Fulin accepted the order and turned to instruct a servant.

Then he turned back and followed Lu Jingsi inside. "Your Highness, are you going over there?"

The women were talking together, so it would not be appropriate for Lu Jingsi to join them.

He shook his head and headed for the side room of the study in the main courtyard. "Have a meal prepared."

Under the clear moonlight, a tall, slender figure rode up to the gates of Prince Cheng'an's Residence.

Three or five guards followed behind him.

Zhou Xuheng arrived sooner than Lu Jingsi had expected.

He wore a splendid moon-white robe that set off his elegant, picturesque features, making him look every bit the refined gentleman.

Lu Jingsi looked at him and teased, "Your Highness, you certainly arrived quickly."

Zhou Xuheng wasted no words on him. "Where is the crown princess?"

"In the main courtyard."

"Don't worry. She has her maids with her. They should have helped her out by now."

The main courtyard was where Prince Cheng'an and his wife lived, so it would not have been appropriate for Zhou Xuheng to enter. Instead, he stayed in the main hall with Lu Jingsi to wait.

Though the crown prince and Lu Jingsi were not brothers by blood, they had grown up together. Even after Lu Jingsi went to the Northern Frontier for several years, their bond had remained unchanged.

Their relationship was still the same now.

Lu Jingsi knew Zhou Xuheng better than anyone, and seeing him sitting in a pearwood chair with a stern face, he could not help finding it funny.

One glance was enough for Zhou Xuheng to know what he was thinking. Recalling how confidently Lu Jingsi had spoken in Qianzheng Hall, looking so cold and detached as he declared that, for Great Jin's sake, he would remain wholly focused on court affairs even after marrying Su Luoqian, whom everyone thought was no match for him, Zhou Xuheng could not help sneering.

"Your turn to stumble will come."

Lu Jingsi remained unmoved, merely stroking the side of his cup of hot tea with his long fingers.

Before long, the crown princess came along the corridor, supported by two maids.

Fruit wine was not easy to get drunk on. Though she had drunk quite a bit, she was still clearheaded. As she walked, she turned back to look at Su Luoqian. "Qianqian, I'll be sure to have the grape wine sent over to you tomorrow."

Su Luoqian was about to answer when she caught sight of Lu Jingsi and a moon-white figure in the main hall out of the corner of her eye. She shut her mouth instinctively.

Zhou Xuheng had already strode over and taken Qin Shuning from the maids. His swordlike brows knitted slightly. "How much did you drink?"

Qin Shuning fell straight into a familiar, warm embrace and instinctively tilted her head up to look at him. "What brings Your Highness here?"

Zhou Xuheng did not answer. Holding her firmly around the waist, he led her out, followed by a crowd of attendants and maids who kept their heads down and hardly dared breathe.

Lu Jingsi and Su Luoqian naturally went out to see them off.

Even as Zhou Xuheng led Qin Shuning toward the carriage, Su Luoqian could still faintly hear their hushed conversation.

"It seems my words have gone in one ear and out the other."

"A little drink lifts the spirits. I'm not drunk."

"Giving away the grape wine from the Eastern Palace is just as well. It'll keep you from drinking too much again."

Qin Shuning glanced anxiously at the green plum wine she had just brought out of the residence. "You can't confiscate my green plum wine."

"That depends on how you behave," Zhou Xuheng said unhurriedly.

"..."

Only when the bright yellow, canopied carriage had disappeared into the distance did Su Luoqian turn back toward the residence.

The tall man beside her followed.

Lu Jingsi said nothing as they walked from the gates to the main courtyard and entered the main room.

Only then did he ask evenly, "Have you been drinking?"

"No." Su Luoqian instinctively raised her sleeve and sniffed it.

Though she had not drunk any wine, she had sat in the waterside pavilion and talked with Qin Shuning for a long while, so the fragrance of green plum wine had inevitably clung to her.

Even the corners of her eyes seemed touched by the wine, faintly flushed.

She called Zelan in to prepare water for a bath. When she turned around, Lu Jingsi was still standing in the room like a wall. Her cheeks reddened slightly. "I'm going to bathe."

Su Luoqian meant to send him away, but Lu Jingsi did not take it that way.

Still, he had interrogated prisoners that day, and the chilling, baleful air of the Prison Administration had inevitably clung to the hem of his robes.

At the thought, he said nothing and left the main room for the washroom next door.

Su Luoqian did not know what he was thinking, but she finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him leave.

With him there, even bathing felt awkward.

The room was brightly lit. By the time Su Luoqian emerged from behind the screen, tying her gauzy robe as she came, the man was already sitting on the edge of the bed, refreshed and reading a book.

He too had just finished bathing and wore only his inner garments.

His intention was clear: he would be spending the night in the main room.

Su Luoqian suddenly grew nervous and could not manage to fasten the ties of her robe.

Lu Jingsi looked up at her, set down his book and walked over.

Su Luoqian kept her eyes lowered, struggling with the ties, when she suddenly felt a figure close around her. Before she could react, a pair of large hands, veins slightly raised on their backs, reached into her field of vision.

His cool, crisp scent enveloped her. Remembering the pain of their wedding night, Su Luoqian's breath trembled.

A deep voice came from above her head. "Can't you fasten the ties?"

Su Luoqian braced herself and nodded. "Mm."

His voice immediately followed. "It's fine if you can't. It's coming off later anyway."

Now even the tips of her ears turned red. She pressed her lips tightly together, not daring to answer.

Lu Jingsi gently pinched her chin between his long, well-defined fingers, forcing her to look up. "You should know that between husband and wife, the rites of the Duke of Zhou are a necessity."

"Oh."

Su Luoqian gave a dry response.

If you're going to do it, hurry up. The sooner it's over, the sooner I can sleep.

Lu Jingsi lowered his eyes, looking her over from head to toe.

The young woman had just bathed and was still wreathed in moisture. Her gauzy robe could not hide the lovely, fragrant, snow-soft skin beneath.

His gaze darkened slightly.

Her lashes fluttered. She was very nervous, her cheeks impossibly fair and smooth, her normally rosy lips pressed a little pale.

Lu Jingsi suddenly remembered that deep kiss in the carriage, the one that had nearly made him lose control.

His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he bent to capture her lips.

He lingered over them, his fingertips tightening slightly on her chin. Her lips, worked open by his kiss, parted, and the man swept straight in without restraint.

His scent filled Su Luoqian's nose and mouth, and even her breathing grew hot and damp.

She pressed both hands nervously against his chest. At first, she had instinctively wanted to stop him from coming closer, but now she could no longer think clearly and could only clutch the fabric of his clothes.

The next moment, she felt herself being swept up in his arms. Su Luoqian cried out instinctively, but he muffled the sound, swallowing it in her throat.

Lu Jingsi carried her onto the bed.