Asking for Water

I dried myself off and got into bed.

Lin Yunwan was worried about meeting her in-laws.

"His Majesty and His Majesty are far away in the Capital. Although we Jiangqian, when will we return to the capital to pay our respects to them? Will it be this year for the New Year?"

Qi Lingheng was holding scissors, which were also tied with red silk cloth.

Everything in the new house was very festive, with red everywhere you looked, exuding joy.

He said, "I'm not going home for the New Year."

Lin Yunwan was surprised. "Jiangqian?"

At this moment, Qi Lingheng disliked the maidservants coming in to disturb him, so he went and trimmed the wicks of the red candles one by one himself.

He walked step by step to the bedside and trimmed the candle inside the gauze cover on the left side of the bed.

"Feudal Prince may not enter the capital without being summoned, nor may he leave his fiefdom. If I do not spend the New Year in Jiangqian, that would be a crime of treason."

Lin Yunwan certainly knew this.

But with the Emperor and Empress doting on Qi Lingheng so much, whether or not he returns is entirely up to him.

She thought about it for a moment and knew that he must have done something behind her back again.

"Your Prince, what method did you use to persuade the Emperor and Empress to agree not to return to the capital?"

Qi Lingheng was lifting the gauze cover when he paused, looked at her, and smiled.

He didn't say what he had done.

"If you don't want to, you don't need to return to the capital for several years. You won't have to adapt to the formalities of the palace, you won't have to serve your in-laws, and you won't have any gossipy sisters-in-law. Isn't that better?"

As she spoke, she walked to the gauze screen on the right, but put down the scissors and left a dim lamplight on.

Lin Yunwan actually followed his line of thought.

She's only just married and hasn't yet become familiar with her role as Prince Huan Consort, so it's certainly good that she doesn't return to the capital for the time being.

"Yun Wan, stop thinking about it."

Qi Lingheng knelt on one knee at the edge of the bed, lowered the red bed curtains, and his gentle voice suddenly became low and hoarse. "You should think about what happened tonight."

The red curtains appeared even darker in the night, making it difficult for Lin Yunwan to see anything clearly.

But she could see his handsome features very clearly.

The girl on night duty was on edge, as she called for water three times that night.

Lin Yunwan didn't wake up until almost noon.

She rarely gets up this late, and she's still a little unaccustomed to it.

"Woke up?"

Qi Lingheng was already sitting on the couch opposite the bed, drinking tea and reading.

Lin Yunwan was startled again, and she rubbed her forehead... They were already married.

She breathed a sigh of relief and called out softly, "Your Prince, you're up very early."

Qi Lingheng sensed her nervousness, so he asked if she was hungry. Then, thinking that something easy to digest would make her feel better, he asked, "Would you like some porridge?"

Lin Yunwan adapted quickly.

Being at Prince Huan's Residence was much more comfortable than being at the Lu family or Lin family.

She got up to wash and dress, and said with a faint smile, "I don't want to drink porridge."

First, the maidservants came in to serve her, then Cuiqin and Xiruo came over to do her makeup, and finally Qi Lingheng came over, picked up an eyebrow pencil, and said, "Let me draw your eyebrows."

Lin Yunwan told the maid to leave first.

She held his wrist and asked with a smile, "Can you?"

"I saw that my Imperial Father painted a picture of my Empress."

He figured it wouldn't be too difficult.

Lin Yunwan closed her eyes and said, "Then you draw."

Seeing her looking like she was bravely going to her death, Qi Lingheng actually felt a little nervous.

But his painting skills are also quite good; what's so difficult about drawing eyebrows?

"Are you done?"

Lin Yunwan originally didn't want to dampen the Prince's enjoyment of being a husband.

But she had been waiting for a long time, and her eyebrows were very itchy.

"... alright."

Qi Lingheng put down his eyebrow pencil.

Lin Yunwan looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, "Not bad."

Qi Lingheng smiled, his hands behind his back.

He's quite skilled at painting, and drawing eyebrows isn't difficult for him either; he just hasn't had the opportunity to put pen to paper.

The couple had lunch together. When Lin Yunwan heard that Nanny Wang was still living in the Prince Huan's Residence, she said, "Your Prince, should I go and pay my respects to Granny Wang?"

"The Empress trusts the nanny very much; it would be good for her to go and see her."

Qi Lingheng put down his chopsticks and said, "However, Granny will be returning to the capital in a few days, so you won't need to deal with her anymore."

Lin Yunwan surprise, "The nanny is leaving already?"

Jiangqian is so far from the Capital, didn't the Emperor and Empress keep spies around them?

Qi Lingheng said calmly, "She already has the Prince Huan Consort, what is she still doing here?"

All of his gentle demeanor had vanished; he was now extremely domineering.

He doesn't allow anyone to interfere in his affairs.

Lin Yunwan felt a sense of comfort and peace of mind.

When we went to see Nanny Wang, we found that her room was empty; she had already packed her belongings.

"Princess Consort."

Nanny Wang knelt down.

Although she was a palace maid, she was someone close to the Empress. Lin Yunwan quickly helped her up, saying, "You flatter me."

Nanny Wang smiled, and the two sat down together, holding hands.

Lin Yunwan and the nanny didn't say anything, and left after sitting for a short while.

When she returned to the Main Courtyard with Qi Lingheng, she dismissed everyone around her and asked in a low voice, "... Shouldn't the nanny come and make the bed too?"

On the wedding night, the mother-in-law would send someone to collect the new bride's menstrual blood.

Lin Yunwan did not bleed.

She had heard that only teenage girls bleed for the first time, and at her age... it was unlikely.

But Nanny Wang didn't ask any questions, nor did she raise any doubts.

Qi Lingheng smiled slightly, "You've already forgotten what I just told you? The old nanny is leaving soon; she doesn't need to worry about things in the Prince's mansion."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Prince Huan Consort —I entrust the affairs of the manor to you from now on."

Lin Yunwan nodded. The Prince Huan's Residence's mansion had a small population, making it much easier to manage than the Lu family.

She wanted to manage the Prince Huan's Residence's mansion perfectly, which went without saying.

But there's one thing she still needs to mention.

After returning to her room, Lin Yunwan said calmly, "Your Prince, before yesterday... we had not consummated our marriage."

Qi Lingheng was slightly taken aback.

Lin Yunwan thought to herself, "Wasn't she clear enough?"

She sighed softly and asked, "Your Prince, do you need me to explain further?"

"No."

Qi Lingheng's voice was low.

In the first two days of their marriage, there was nothing urgent that needed to be done.

The couple stayed at the Prince Huan's Residence. On the third day, when they returned to their parents' home, Lin Yunwan noticed that Qi Lingheng always had an inexplicable smile on his face.

Lin Yunwan looked at him, not quite understanding. "What are you laughing at?"

"Your Prince, you really want to go to the Lin Residence?"

Qi Lingheng shook his head and smiled, "Does it still hurt?"

He was in the carriage, and he took her hand.

Lin Yunwan blushed; she wouldn't tell him she was in pain.

They had only just gotten married, and they weren't yet close enough to talk about anything.

She pulled her hand back and said, "You should think about how to deal with the Lin family later."

Lin Huabin and Zheng Shi, a couple obsessed with money, are a source of bad luck just to hear them talk.

Qi Lingheng never took this kind of person seriously.

He couldn't help but reach out and grasp Lin Yunwan's hand again, not allowing her to pull it away.

"Your Prince?"

Lin Yunwan found Qi Lingheng strange; her hands were almost sweating from his grip. But then she thought it was just a minor matter and let it go.

Qi Lingheng closed his eyes to rest inside the carriage.

If he hadn't married her, he wouldn't have known how much he enjoyed being close to her.