Chapter 150

Zhao Jie faintly smiled. He calmly asked, “Is your husband good-looking?”

Wei Luo shamelessly boasted, “Almost as attractive as me.”

Zhao Jie snickered and leaned over to bite her small lips. Those small, red lips were plump and soft. When she opened and closed them, they constantly tempted him. He had wanted to taste them since the beginning of this conversation.

Jin Lu and Bai Lan hurriedly turned around and put Wei Luo’s clothing and shoes into a red sandalwood wardrobe that was carved with a spiraling stem and leaf pattern. With their heads lowered, they pretended that they couldn’t hear the sounds of Zhao Jie and Wei Luo kissing.

At first, Wei Luo had used her hand to cover Zhao Jie’s mouth so that he couldn’t kiss her. But, he had firmly grabbed both of her hands. As soon as her hand loosened away from his mouth, he immediately rushed in. After Zhao Jie finally let go of her hands, his thumb stroked her lips. “What did you eat? Your mouth is so sweet.”

Wei Luo truthfully said, “When you went to the study, I ate a few pieces of sweet osmanthus and lotus root cake.”

No wonder her mouth had tasted like osmanthus. Zhao Jie smiled, then he said, “Next time, eat snow fungus in milky egg soup. That tastes pretty good when kissing.”

Wei Luo cast a rebuking glance towards him. She wasn’t going to fulfill his ridiculously request. She ate food for her own enjoyment, it wasn’t for him to enjoy when he kissed her!

Wei Luo said, “Then, next time I’ll eat Chinese celery dumplings.”

The two of them had lived together for such a long time. Wei Luo already had a thorough understanding of the food that Zhao Jie liked. He didn’t like spicy sweet food. He liked to eat fish, but he only ate the small, tender piece of flesh on a fish’s cheeks. He was an uppercase, bolded letters, super picky eater.

In addition, there was also a vegetable that Zhao Jie refused to eat. Chinese celery. He felt that Chinese celery had a strange taste. After Wei Luo had married into Prince Jing’s residence, she didn’t see the shadow of Chinese celery for several months.

There was one time when she wanted to eat Chinese celery prawn dumplings and Zhao Jie had deeply looked at her before ordering the kitchen to make them.

Afterwards, Wei Luo realized that Zhao Jie didn’t like to eat Chinese celery.

Zhao Jie didn’t react to her teasing. He picked her up and pinched her waist and said, “Go change your clothes. We’ll be going out soon.”

Wei Luo skeptically looked at him. She wasn’t quite sure if his words were true or not. He clearly had a reaction in that spot. Did he really still want to go out? Wei Luo climbed down from his body and lied down on a nearby, large pillow. She turned her head, so that her large, bright, black eyes were facing him. “I don’t want to go out. There’s nothing interesting outside. Every year, it’s guessing riddles and releasing lanterns in water. I’m already bored of it.”

Zhao Jie looked at her. He didn’t know why she was going so far as to show helplessness and desire to be pampered. He asked, “What do you want to do then?”

Wei Luo’s eyes turned and she stretched her hand out to point at his nose. She deliberately said, “You.”

Zhao Jie didn’t say a word. He looked at her with a faint smile. A long time later, he held her finger and said, “Be good. I’ll let you play after we come back.”

Clearly, Wei Luo was the one that was tempting him. But, Wei Luo was also the one that blushed. She suddenly took her finger back and asked, “Big brother, how are you going to let me play?”

Zhao Jie slightly raised his eyebrow, “Up to you?”

Wei Luo seriously considered. In this matter, she hadn’t studied as thoroughly as Zhao Jie. After thinking back and forth, she couldn’t think of a good idea. In the end, she was a young girl. After thinking of wicked things in broad daylight, her face quickly turned red. Wei Luo sat up from the large pillow and pushed Zhao Jie away. “I’ll think about it after we come back. You can leave the room, I’m going to change my clothes.”

Zhao Jie couldn’t stop himself from laughing and didn’t tease her any further.

Wei Luo called Jin Lu and Bai Lan inside and changed into a new spring outfit that had been made by Xiu Chun. It was a short, lilac top and a high skirt. The sleeves and collar had both been embroidered with an exquisite and complicated peach blossoms in the water pattern. It had an empire waistline with a lilac sash that was as wide as a palm and made her silhouette seem even more like willow tree.

Wei Luo was worried that it would get colder at night, so she also put on a silver and gold shawl. By the time her hair was arranged into double loops at the top, an hour had passed since Zhao Jie left the room.

——–

The streets were more lively than usual during the Spring Lantern Festival and were bustling with activity. The shops were open all night long. There were brightly colored and fantastically odd lanterns of every description everywhere.

After Wei Luo and Zhao Jie passed through the streets, they stopped at the capital’s largest river, Huai An River.

Huai An River becomes especially lively every Spring Lantern Festival. The surface of the river would be covered in exquisitely decorated pleasure boats. Most of the boats assembled here belonged to the capital’s wealthy and powerful families. Not only could the men enjoy watching the moon and drink on the boats, there were also beautiful women on the boats to add to the festivities. The capital’s most famous red light district street was on one side of Huai An river. Sitting in the boats, they could even smell the scent of cosmetics. This was place that noblemen like to go to the most for amusement.

In addition to the men, noble women also liked to go on the boats to have fun. They could chat, play string instruments, or compose poetry. Perhaps, they might even have a chance encounter with their paramour. That would also be a wonderful pastime.

Wei Luo turned her head to look at Zhao Jie, “Big brother why did you bring me here?”

Zhao Jie stroked her head. “Let’s go up.”

There was a magnificently decorated pleasure boat in front of them. Wei Luo looked at it. It was bigger than the surrounding pleasure boats. Not only that, the pleasure boat’s decorations was extremely dazzling. The hull was carved with a stylized cloud pattern. Through the lattice windows, she could even see the furniture inside. All in all, it was as exquisite as jewels down to the smallest detail.

Wei Luo held Zhao Jie’s hand for support as they went onto the boat. She looked around, then she suddenly turned her head and asked, “Is this the reason why you insisted on getting me to come out today?”

Zhao Jie curved his lips into a smile and declined to comment.

There was a table of fine food and wine on the rosewood couch. Wei Luo hadn’t eaten anything all evening. She had originally wanted to buy some green pea pastries on the streets to fill her stomach, but Zhao Jie had stopped her and said street foods weren’t clean. So, she was still feeling hungry right now.

Wei Luo sat down on the couch and picked up a flaky pastry that was shaped like a butterfly to put into her mouth. She blinked. “The taste is pretty good.”

Zhao Jie raised his hand to wipe away the crumb at the corner of her lips. The young girl’s face was too soft and he couldn’t resist stroking it. “Then eat more of it.”

Wei Luo scooped up a spoonful of rose glutinous rice ball soup and brought it to Zhao Jie’s mouth. “Did you ask me to come out just to eat a meal?”

Zhao Jie ate the glutinous rice ball and only lightly smiled without saying a word.

Wei Luo felt there was something strange about Zhao Jie’s behavior, but she couldn’t guess the reason, so she just lowered her head and silently ate. There was a mini stove on the table, so the food was still warm. A short while later, Wei Luo was full.

Zhao Jie warmed a bottle of wine, poured a cup, and pushed it towards her. “This wine was made from fermenting osmanthus flowers and can be drunk by women. Try it.”

Wei Luo looked at him. “What are you planning?”

Zhao Jie chuckled and said, “Naturally, I’m planning to get this beautiful girl drunk and sell her to Prince Jing’s residence to warm his bed.”

Jokester.

Wei Luo pursed her lips and looked at him without saying a word.

Zhao Jie’s eyes met Wei Luo’s line of sight and he suddenly thought of how she had almost been sold by Du-shi when she was six years old. He stopped smiling and went over to her side to bring her into his arms. With his chin on her head, he said, “Ah Luo, do you know what decision I’m happiest about in this life?”

Wei Luo leaned against his chest and blinked her limpid eyes. “What?”

Zhao Jie said, “I’m happy that I didn’t let you off for biting me when you were six years old.”

Wei Luo recalled that scene and curved her lips.

Zhao Jie held her small hand and fiddled with her soft fingers. “At that time, I thought you were such a pretty, little girl. But, you were also too crafty and unruly and needed to be properly disciplined.” He paused, lowered his head, and bit Wei Luo’s cheek. “You bit me and then said that I didn’t taste good. You’re the first person that dared to do something like that.”

Wei Luo couldn’t resist smiling. She turned her around to look at him. “Then, how come you didn’t discipline me later on?”

Later, he had found out about her plight and felt that this little girl’s life wasn’t easy, so he had a moment of compassion. And after that, every time he saw her, she always made him feel very interested.

Both of Zhao Jie’s hands were around Wei Luo’s waist as he smiled and said, “Aren’t I disciplining you every night?”

Wei Luo didn’t know why he went back to saying nonsense. She glared at him for a moment, pushed him away, and said, “I’m going to the prow of the boat to walk around.”

She was like a child that slipped away after finishing a meal.

The riverside was windy and the prow of the boat was slightly cold. Wei Luo wrapped her arms around herself. Then, she suddenly felt something on her shoulders. When she turned her head to look, she saw Zhao Jie standing behind her. He had taken off his black fur cloak to give to her. Instead of politely declining, she tightly wrapped the cloak around herself. Looking at the far away glimmering riverside, she suddenly saw something bright. She pointed in that direction and said, “Big brother, look. What’s that?”

She saw numerous sky lanterns gradually being released and floating up into the sky on the riverbank. It looked like a vast sky full of radiant stars. Wei Luo counted. There were at least a hundred and ten lanterns. Along with the sky lanterns, there were also countless river lanterns being released. Carried by the river current, various types of river lanterns floated by their boat. It seemed as if Huai An River had changed into a starry sky that stretched from far away to here. It felt as if a thousand stars were slowly being sent in front of Wei Luo.

The nearby pleasure boats seemed to have disappeared and only their boat was left on the river. Wei Luo’s large eyes open wider and she looked around. A countless number of river lanterns surrounded their pleasure boat. There were lotus flower lanterns, turtle lanterns, Chinese unicorn lanterns, carp lanterns, and so on. Wei Luo’s eyes felt blurry from this dazzling sight. She crouched down to pick up a lotus flower and looked at it for a long time in a daze.

She heard Zhao Jie’s voice from above her head, “Ah Luo, do you like it?”

Wei Luo stood up and raised her head to look at him, “Did you do this?”

Zhao Jie nodded.

“Were these lanterns also made by you?” She lifted the lotus flower lantern in her hand.

Zhao Jie said, “Everything was made by me.”

Wei Luo, “So that’s why they’re not as good-looking as the ones being sold on the streets.

Zhao Jie just looked at her.

She suddenly rushed forward, stood on her tiptoes, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She rubbed against his chest and said, “But I really like them.”

Zhao Jie chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. “It’s good as long as you like them. It was worth this prince secretly making these lanterns this month.”

Wei Luo just remembered that Zhao Jie had frequently been going to his study during the past period without asking her to go with him to keep him company. Although she was curious, she was happy to spend her time freely so she didn’t think too much about it. Unexpectedly, he had been in the study making river lanterns. She raised her small face and asked, “How come I didn’t know that you knew how to make river lanterns?”

Zhao Jie said, “I naturally learned how to make them for the princess consort.”

Wei Luo’s smile was splendid. Leaning against him, she firmly kissed him. “I want to bring these lanterns back home and store them in a separate room so that I can look at them every day when I think about them.”

Zhao Jie smiled, “Okay, I’ll have Zhu Geng and Yang Hao scoop them out of the water later.”

The people on Huai An’s riverbank looked at the lanterns in the river and only knew that someone had reserved this entire river. But they didn’t the identity of the person until someone shouted, “It’s Prince Jing’s boat!”

As it turns out, Prince Jing had prepared this to make Princess Consort Jing happy.

There wasn’t any lack of girls on the riverbank looking at this scene. They were so envious that their eyes turned red. At this moment, they were all thinking, so what if Prince Jing was a brutal person that wreaked havoc as long as he treated the girl that he loved well? Besides, when a rigid piece of iron softened around a single person, wasn’t that even more admirable? Unfortunately, they couldn’t be this fortunate. Prince Jing’s entire heart belonged to Princess Consort Jing.

When the pleasure boat was about to reach the riverbank, Wei Luo was holding the carved railings on the prow of the boat and leaning back against Zhao Jie’s chest. As they were talking, a black figure appeared in the water, jumped onto the boat, and a sword stabbed towards them!

While Wei Luo was feeling startled, Zhao Jie had quickly moved her closer into his arms, turned around, grabbed the other person’s wrist, and kicked the person back into the river.

Zhu Geng and Yang Hao appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of Zhao Jie and Wei Luo, “Your Highness, please go into the boat’s cabinet with the princess consort.”

Assassins emerged from the water one after another as if they had long prepared for this moment. Their skills were all out of the ordinary. Fortunately, Zhu Geng and Yang Hao weren’t passive guards. In addition, Zhao Jie’s other guards had also rushed over here. They were able to easily defeat the opposing group.

Zhao Jie and Wei Luo entered the cabinet, but unexpectedly there was a black-robed figure hidden in the room. He had probably come into this room in advance. Hearing the sounds from outside, he knew that the other assassins had been defeated. Since the situation had already worsen to this point, he wanted to kidnap Wei Luo as a hostage. However, just as he stretched his hand out, Zhao Jie broke his arm. The black-robed man yelled out in pain. As he was about to swallow the poison in his mouth, Zhao Jie grabbed his chin, forced him to spit out the poison, and forcefully threw him onto the floor. The black-robed man tried to escape, but Zhao Jie picked up the sword on the ground and threw it towards his back. The sword pierced through his shoulder and nailed his body to the ground.

The black-robed man trembled in pain on the ground.

Outside, it seemed as if only a moment had passed before calmness returned.

The people on the riverbank couldn’t clearly see what was happening on the boat. They only saw several black figures that swayed for a moment before they stopped moving. Prince Jing’s pleasure boat stably stopped at the riverbank by a willow tree.

The lighting was dim in this spot and there weren’t many people on this part of the shore.

Zhao Jie said to Zhu Geng, “Bring the prisoner back to interrogate.”

Zhu Geng acknowledged the order and brought the struggling black-robed figure with him as he withdrew.

Zhao Jie turned his head to look at Wei Luo. The young girl was standing in the same place as before. The top of her shoes had been splashed with blood. She raised her head and she looked at him with her tearful eyes.