Chapter 885 Is It a Sweet Wedding Night?
Suddenly, the air quieted down. It was not weird but peaceful and rea.s.suring.
Their breaths became steady. Shao Wanru half closed her eyes. She tried hard to fall asleep but failed. Her eyelashes fluttered as she was thinking. Then she opened her eyes.
“Your Highness, can you talk about your mansion to me?”
“What do you want to know?” Chu Liuchen answered in a teasing voice, with his eyes closed.
Shao Wanru hesitated for a moment, but finally, she decided to be straightforward. “Tell me anything about your mansion and the palace!”
Since Chu Liuchen’s ident.i.ty was special, Prince Chen’s Mansion, the so-called “Southern Palace”, was similar to “Eastern Palace” in position. It was connected to the Imperial Palace, so people could enter the Imperial Palace through the side door of his mansion. Such a position arrangement was not only a geographical strategy but also a psychological one.
As she was Princess Chen now, she had to deal with the people in the Imperial Palace.
“You just need to worry about how to be Princess Chen. As for others, deal with them according to the circ.u.mstances,” Chu Liuchen said casually. He didn’t move closer to her, but he reached out and held Shao Wanru’s soft hand. He pinched it gently and said with his face darkening, “If someone shows kindness to you, don’t take it seriously. Most of the people in the Imperial Palace play cunning tricks. No one can tell whether they are friends or foes!”
Such words were a little inexplicable and even abrupt, but Shao Wanru could hear his sadness in them. She subconsciously held Chu Liuchen’s hand and looked at him with gentle eyes.
“I’ll comply with your order, Your Highness!”
“Good to hear that!” Chu Liuchen held Shao Wanru in his arms and said seriously. Of course, he looked very serious, but in fact…
The next morning, Shao Wanru woke up and found that she ached all over. She opened her eyes, not remembering where she was for a moment. She felt that she seemed to be tied because she couldn’t move at all.
She looked up and saw Chu Liuchen’s handsome face. He was as gorgeous and elegant as jade. No one would deny that he was G.o.d’s favorite after they saw his face. Coupled with his scattered long hair, his face looked even more charming so that sometimes people couldn’t tell whether he was a man or a woman and doubted whether he was a character in a painting coming alive in the real world.
But she blushed in a second when she remembered what Chu Liuchen did last night. He did anything to her on the bed, except for the last step.
If it weren’t for last night, she would have never known that Chu Liuchen, a handsome and elegant gentleman like an angel in heaven, would be so unabashed…
“Are you awake?” Chu Liuchen opened his eyes and asked with a gentle smile. Then he kissed her tender forehead gently.
Seeing him open his eyes, Shao Wanru closed her watery eyes at once and her heart was pounding.
“Sleep again?” Chu Liuchen asked with a smile. Looking at her slightly trembling eyelashes, he gently patted her on the back and said, “Okay, just sleep for a while more!”
“I… I’m awake!” Shao Wanru opened her eyes in a hurry. They needed to go to the palace to visit the Emperor and Empress Dowager. How could she be so willful? What would others think of her?
“Are you going to get up?” Chu Liuchen smiled and watched her try hard to pretend to be serious.
“Yes!” Shao Wanru tried hard not to look at his teasing face.
“Okay, I’ll do as you want!” Chu Liuchen let go of her, got up, and then turned around to help her.
Shao Wanru had sat up by herself. She bit her lips and ignored his outstretched hands.
“What’s wrong? Are you mad at me?” Chu Liuchen bent to face her and asked with a smile. His “sanctimoniousness” made Shao Wanru gnash her teeth.
He looked refreshed, but she was uncomfortable all over.
She was pouting her lips with a light red face, and apparently she was unhappy. So, Chu Liuchen coaxed her in a low voice in her ear. “Okay, okay, I promise I won’t do that again, okay?”
However, his comforts made Shao Wanru’s little face turn redder. All her knowledge about the wedding night was from some p.o.r.nographic paintings on a book given by Madam Di when she got married in the last life.
At first glance at the paper of the book, Shao Wanru knew that it was a cheap book that could be got very easily. She felt disgusted and fl.u.s.tered after scanning a few pages, and then she put it at the bottom of a box and locked it.
This time, Rui’an Great Elder Princess had given her a series of exquisite p.o.r.nographic paintings and had told her to follow Chu Liuchen’s instructions. Last night, they didn’t have s.e.x in the end. But, she still felt ashamed very much.
Chu Liuchen had no lovers. Not only did the rumor spread outside say so, but also Xiao Xuanzi had repeatedly mentioned. However, he knew so much. How could Shao Wanru not be annoyed? She lowered her head and felt too ashamed.
Seeing Shao Wanru’s taut face showing her aggrievance and annoyance, Chu Liuchen smiled and his eyes became soft and gentle. He had always been indifferent to anything and anyone. In the past, he didn’t even care about himself. But now he was sure that the girl in front of him was the one he cared about most.
Since he knew that, he must spare no efforts to protect her.
A decision came into being in his mind, which was hidden from Shao Wanru. Since he had got what he wanted, he would definitely protect it. In no way would he allow his woman to be hurt or robbed. He had always been the best at guarding his belongings…
“Master, are you up?” Hearing the sound inside, Xiao Xuanzi asked outside the door, followed by several servant girls holding the toiletries.
“Come in!” Chu Liuchen let go of Shao Wanru and said.
The door was opened, and a group of servant girls and eunuchs entered the room, followed by Yujie and Qu Le. The two of them went to serve Shao Wanru first.
Although the blush on Shao Wanru’s face hadn’t vanished, she looked much calmer.
All the servant girls were helping Shao Wanru wash up, and none of them approached Chu Liuchen. However, the two young eunuchs brought by Xiao Xuanzi were serving Chu Liuchen well. It was obvious that they had been serving Prince Chen.
After Shao Wanru finished was.h.i.+ng up, she was helped to sit at the dressing table. Qu Le combed her long hair. All the servant girls of Prince Chen’s Mansion left, but Qu Le and Yujie stayed.
Two nannies from the Imperial Palace came and bowed to Chu Liuchen, who was sitting at the head of the bed. Chu Liuchen nodded to them.
A nanny walked to the bed and searched the messy quilts on it with a smile. Shao Wanru looked at her through the dressing-table mirror. At first, Shao Wanru didn’t understand what she meant to do that, but when the nanny took out a big wrinkled white handkerchief from the bed, her face immediately turned red and she didn’t dare to look into the mirror anymore.
Seeing the white handkerchief without a trace of blood, the nanny’s expression changed and she asked in a panic, “Your Highness…”
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” Chu Liuchen raised his eyes, which were elegant and gentle.
However, the nanny was so frightened that she trembled. She quickly lowered her head and said, “I was making a fuss over nothing! Sorry!”
“You can leave now!” Chu Liuchen waved his hand indifferently.
The two nannies didn’t dare to stay any longer. They carefully put the handkerchief in a brocade box and left. When they went to the door, they looked at each other with their faces becoming gloomy. Last night, Prince Chen and Princess Chen didn’t consummate their marriage! If Empress Dowager knew it, she would definitely be sad.
“Let’s go and report it to Empress Dowager first!” Another Nanny suggested. It wouldn’t help if they continue standing there.
They had to return to the Imperial Palace by the side door of Prince Chen’s Mansion and went directly to the Palace of Benevolent Peace to see Empress Dowager.
“Prince Chen really didn’t consummate his marriage?” Empress Dowager’s eyes turned wet after she heard the report of the two nannies. Was Prince Chen so weak? Didn’t they say that he was recovering and he was almost as healthy as a normal man?
“I think it is true… according to…” The two nannies suppressed their fear and answered.
“You can leave now!” Empress Dowager waved her hand.
The two mammies breathed a sigh of relief and left as quickly as possible.
“Is my Chen’er really not well?” After the two nannies left, Empress Dowager shed tears. She cared about this grandson so much. When she thought of his family background, she would feel extremely distressed. “He was a pitiful boy.”
“Empress Dowager, don’t be sad. Maybe His Highness had taken the medicine before, so it was inconvenient for him!” Nanny Wei thought of an excuse to comfort Empress Dowager.
“He picked that girl himself, sent the gifts himself, and even go to pick up the bride in person. It can be seen that he is really satisfied with his bride. But now… he couldn’t consummate his marriage. How pitiful my Chen’er is!” The more Empress Dowager thought about it, the sadder she became. Chu Liuchen was fond of Shao Wanru, which was one of the most important reasons why Empress Dowager determined to grant them a marriage.
As long as Chu Liuchen wanted anything, Empress Dowager was willing to fulfill all his wishes, not to mention just granting a woman to him. What’s more, the girl could at least give birth to a son or a daughter for him!
Although Chu Liuchen seemed to become better in health, Empress Dowager was still worried, afraid that Chu Liuchen would faint again.
“Don’t worry, Empress Dowager. Both Princess Chen and Prince Chen are still young. Maybe they will know what they should do when they are older. At least, Princess Chen is the woman whom Prince Chen likes, for which we should be happy. It is enough for Prince Chen to know your love for him!” Nanny Wei said again.
Empress Dowager nodded, wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and then sighed heavily. “The kid… I feel that I owe him… If it weren’t for me… now he…”
Her words were very broken, but Nanny Wei knew what she wanted to say, so she immediately comforted Empress Dowager again, “Don’t blame yourself, Empress Dowager. It is the greatest blessing for Prince Chen to become healthier. Since he has been engaged to Princess Chen, he has been getting better and better. He has not been sick for a long time, with his behavior and expression as normal as ordinary people’s. It seems that he will be in a full recovery in the future!”
After all, the former Emperor had pa.s.sed away, so it wouldn’t help for anyone if Empress Dowager complained like that.
Empress Dowager felt very pleased with Nanny Wei’s words. She nodded repeatedly and thought that Nanny Wei was right, so she stopped crying at once. She thought for a moment and then asked Nanny Wei to take out the gifts she had prepared before. “When Princess Chen comes later, give all of these gifts to her.”
“Didn’t you say that they were too generous?” Nanny Wei asked carefully.
“That was in the past. Now, I want her to take good care of Prince Chen, and I can give her anything!” Empress Dowager sighed and said. Anyway, her grandson was in poor health… And she would feel guilty if Rui’an Great Elder Princess’s granddaughter was slighted.
“Yes, I will comply with your order!” Nanny Wei understood Empress Dowager’s intention the best, so she nodded and agreed at once.
The Empress Dowager’s Palace of Benevolent Peace became peaceful, but the Emperor’s Imperial Study was full of angry air. Three princes were standing in front of the Emperor. They didn’t dare to take a breath when they were looking at the broken bow thrown to the ground in front of them by the Emperor…