"I"m allowing you to call me Fei Yang. It"s appropriate to reciprocate, so in return I would naturally call you Meng"er." Chu Fei Yang, laughed mischievously, then immediately continued, "Meng"er, would you prefer to live in Chu w.a.n.gfu or Chu xiangfu?"
In this moment, Yun Qian Meng was already losing to Chu Fei Yang in both physical and mental strength by a lot so she simply ignored him and let him talk to himself, as she stared at the scenery outside the carriage.
"You are ignoring me like this, yet there are many xiaojie who would certainly be happy to step into Chu xiangfu." Chu Fei Yang stared at Yun Qian Meng"s calm expression, somewhat broken-hearted.
Yun Qian Meng"s eyebrows actually scrunched up slightly at his words. And to Chu Fei Yang"s eyes, it was actually a very pleasant surprise.
Yun Qian Meng quickly looked away from Chu Fei Yang"s gaze and indifferently said, "I had not expected that xiangye wanted to also live the dream of leisurely enjoying life with multiple partners. How ambitious, I am quite amazed."
In a split second, but with great difficulty due to Chu Fei Yang"s closeness, Yun Qian Meng had reverted back to her previous tone.
But Chu Fei Yang did not seem to be disheartened at her indifferent words and said, "If I did not desire a wife, naturally, I would not force myself."
"That being said, why did Chu xiang rush to ask the Emperor to bestow the marriage? Wouldn"t being single afford you more freedom and leisure?" when she spoke, a gust of night wind burst in through the curtains, blowing pa.s.s Yun Qian Meng as she narrowed her eyes. She coldly stared at Chu Fei Yang and waited for his answer.
Chu Fei Yang just wrapped his cloak to cover her head, and embraced her firmly against his body in a coc.o.o.n. It looked abnormal but it seemed to hide his slightly hurt eyes, as he shallowly laughed and said, "Why don"t you try to be a good wife, and make me give up such notions?"
Yun Qian Meng was startled at his words. She somewhat understood Chu Fei Yang"s reasons for repeatedly bringing up the topic of marriage. The polygamy of ancient times was not something she desired. If her soul had not come from modern times, she would have naturally accepted it and even go so far as to reject respect for a woman"s place in society.
To fit nicely in this kind of environment, Yun Qian Meng"s heart understood. And with only her power it was simply a fantasy to change this kind of system, and she would only be overestimating her capabilities. Thus, she had never entertained thoughts of getting close to another person.
But today, an imperial decree had been bestowed, so she and Chu Fei Yang were now tied together. If she really were to spend the rest of her life in these ancient times, she may not be able to affect huge changes, but at least within her own circ.u.mstances, she would have some influence. Since Chu Fei Yang was addressing this issue, it would be best to take advantage of the opportunity and express her thoughts.
"If I agree to be a good wife, would you be willing to stay a couple for life?" the cold rays within her eyes soon pa.s.sed, and was replaced by craftiness. Yun Qian Meng"s eyes held a trace of extreme seriousness and she had been watching Chu Fei Yang keenly to gauged his reaction.
Only to see Chu Fei Yang"s restraining to control a trace of a smile from the corner of his mouth, it did not appear to be his usual mischievous smile. The earnestness in those eyes made Yun Qian Meng"s heart to s.h.i.+ver. She was fully aware that she was making it difficult for him by bringing up the issue with regarding the habits of men.
For most people, even if they were able to marry the first under heaven in terms of beauty, they would still hold a woman in each hand, unable to let go of a man"s privilege. Even men of the common people also had a woman or two aside from their wife, what more for Chu Fei Yang, who stood at the top of privileged men.
As her mind was processing this information quickly, Yun Qian Meng"s expression became more and more heavy. Though she looked very calm in Chu Fei Yang"s eyes, she actually she had mixed feelings. All the while, she waited patiently for Chu Fei Yang to give her his answer, and did not make a sound so as not to disturb his train of thought.
Chu Fei Yang looked at Yun Qian Meng, on her crimson face, he clearly saw the woman"s rare self-confidence and her beautiful eyes sparkled with wisdom and calmness. She was the Empress Dowager"s niece, Fu Guo Gongfu"s granddaughter, and xiangfu"s legitimate born xiaojie. Each layer only elevated her status, making her honor and respectability matchless. She had almost been driven into the abyss beyond redemption only because Chen w.a.n.g had withdrawn their engagement.
Though she had fallen from grace, this had not caused Yun Qian Meng to abandon herself and wallow in despair. Instead she had completely ignored how people judged her, she was confident, earnest, and lived prudently. She did not provoke anyone, but neither did she allow anyone to offend her and get away with it.
Such a woman was so special that she had caught his attention.
Especially the first time he had seen her behind Empress Dowager at the Palace, all wrapped in white muslin, her body dyed with blood, complexion pale, and her body in poor health. Nevertheless each step she took was steady as she walked towards the main hall. That moment, his curiosity had awaken for this girl. The whole time he could not understand why someone who had attempted suicide would later on have such an expression, it had immediately stirred his interest.
At Yun Qian Meng"s question, Chu Fei Yang"s heart once more throbbed with attractions and he almost let slip an uncouth remark. He quickly changed his mind when he saw Yun Qian Meng"s serious expression. His carefully put on a smiling expression, he did not answer but returned it with a question, "Meng"er is asking this of me?"
Yun Qian Meng"s brows slightly raised at that. There was a dangerous glints in her eyes, as she immediately sneered and said, "Don"t you dare!"
Her heart was actually somewhat angry. A no was a no, so there was no need to push the decision onto her. With her so emotional, Yun Qian Meng started to struggle to leave Chu Fei Yang"s embrace.
Chu Fei Yang looked at her weakened body trying to leave his arms, and the corner of his mouth gradually turned into a smile. He did not move his hands at all, allowing Yun Qian Meng"s escape to go uninterrupted. As soon as she had successfully left his arms he quickly caught her in another embrace, which only got him a glare from Yun Qian Meng.
Those stunning, yet watery eyes were harbouring resentment towards him, but Chu Fei Yang still smiled so happily. With a slight hint of sorrow he mumbled, "You can only be coquettish with me."
If anyone else saw her like this, it might cause unnecessary troubles. Although Chu Fei Yang was quite sure of his abilities, with this excessively calm little yatou, he was never confident of anything.
When Chu Fei Yang had unexpectedly used "coquettish" to describe her, Yun Qian Meng suddenly realized what she must look like in front of him. Though she was able to show off a calm appearance, but such a situation still made her heart anxious. Suddenly frowning, she closed her eyes to calm her heart and to wipe away her unwillingness.
The inside of the carriage was quiet once more, in the silent night, only the sound of the wheels could be heard as it rolled over the limestone road.
Chu Fei Yang eventually indifferently said, "Meng"er, if someone is bothering you, you need not pay them any attention, and just let them come to me."
His extremely cold tone caused Yun Qian Meng to open her eyes to look at Chu Fei Yang, only to see an indifferent expression on his face. It was unlike his usual gentleness, or the rare stern expression he would show. This kind of coldness seemed to have some carelessness, but it was also a combination of many different emotions.
"Are you afraid I am unable to deal with it?" Chu Fei Yang"s words had actually hurt Yun Qian Meng"s ego a lot. So far, she had only had herself to depend on in this ancient time, but she had still been able to survived for so long. Hearing that Chu Fei Yang had been looking down on her unexpectedly made her somewhat unhappy.
Subconsciously, Yun Qian Meng was actually still reluctant to rely on anyone.
After all, the moon had different faces, people experienced different joys and sorrows. She could not expect that she and Chu Fei Yang would be on good terms for a lifetime, so she must stay self-sufficient. She could not become a woman who lost the will to live after being bound.
Chu Fei Yang was plainly aware that this girl"s fighting spirit had been ignited, and only liked her even more and wished to see her with this vibrant expression more often. Compared to the dull smiles from before, this made his heart much happier.
Even though he needed to confront his little fox"s question, but at the moment, Chu Fei Yang prefered that she stayed quietly in his arms. Raising his right hand to her nape, he whispered in her ear, "These past few days have been relatively hectic. Tonight, you should rest properly."
He then looked down onto her milky forehead, where he then planted a very light kiss.
"Chu Fei Yang, you-" Yun Qian Meng tried very hard to open her eyes, but still lost to exhaustion. Her eye"s instantly closed as she fell into deep sleep in Chu Fei Yang"s arms.
When she had finally closed her eyes, Chu Fei Yang took his cloak and covered her head, so as to keep it from the cold breeze. The gentle eyes that had been looking at Yun Qian Meng"s sleeping face turned to look outside the carriage and instantly transformed into cold and ruthless ones, chillness emitted from the aloof expression.
The carriage gradually drove into an alley. Chu Fei Yang carried Yun Qian Meng out of carriage and effortlessly into Yun xiangfu. Crossing through a few courtyards, they arrived at Qi Luo Yuan, where he placed her on her bed and immediately covered Yun Qian Meng with his cloak to use as a thin quilt. Soon he heard sounds of footstep from the outside. Chu Fei Yang quickly stepped back and hid behind a screen just when the door opened.
"It"s ok, everyone may retire. I"ll be here to take care of Meng"er." Qu Fei Qing and Mu Chun were helping someone, who was wearing Yun Qian Meng"s cloak and gauze hat, into the room.
The yatou and pozi of Qi Luo Yuan had yet to step into the inner room, when they were driven away by Qu Fei Qing, while Mu Chun quickly closed the door. Le Yao who had been posed as Yun Qian Meng immediately lifted open the gauze hat, bitterly looking at Qu Fei Qing with pleading eyes. "Xiaojie, please don"t make me pretend to be your cousin again. Nubi was nearly scared to death."
Qu Fei Qing actually laughed, but immediately raised a hand to point at Le Yao"s forehead, pretending to be angry, "Silly girl, are you actually trying to order me? Quickly guard the door and make sure to not let anyone in."
With that, together with Mu Chun, she approached towards the bed. When they saw Yun Qian Meng already asleep, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
"On behalf of xiaojie, nubi thanks you the favor of saving our lives." Mu Chun carefully checked over Yun Qian Meng"s body. It was only when she had not found any injuries did she truly felt relieved, and had immediately knelt down in front of Qu Fei Qing to express her grat.i.tude.
Qu Fei Qing slightly frowned, she was somewhat unhappy as she immediately a.s.sisted Mu Chun up. Her eyes looking towards Yun Qian Meng, she quietly said, "What favor? Has Meng"er not done the same for Fu Guo Gongfu? I should be going back now, you have to properly take care of her. Send me word once she wakes up, and tell me when I can come see her."
"Yes! Nubi will do as you have asked." With blessing of good fortune and happiness, Mu Chun walked Qu Fei Qing to the entrance, before going back to the room. She helped Yun Qian Meng remove the hairpins and earrings from her head, as well as her outer garments. Fetching some warm water, she also wiped Yun Qian Meng"s face and hands clean.
Studying Yun Qian Meng"s clean face, Mu Chun"s heart became puzzled. How strange, what happened to the red dots on xiaojie"s face?
Since Yun Qian Meng was asleep, Mu Chun only lowered the muslin curtains and withdrew from the room.
When the room was once again wrapped in silence, Chu Fei Yang walked out of the screen, lifted the veil open and sat beside the bed. He reached out to caress Yun Qian Meng"s cheek, his palm sliding softly across her delicate cheek several times. When she suddenly wrinkled her brows in her sleep, Chu Fei Yang"s lips curled into a smile. He took out a silver key from his sleeve and placed it in Yun Qian Meng"s right hand. Immediately withdrawing his hand, he stood up and tucked her properly before leaving Qi Luo Yuan.