Chapter 31

The door opened and the early cold winter wind rushed in from the gap. Lin Wei Xi unconsciously stood up. Gu Hui Yan had only taken two steps and saw a blurry figure through the screen. He stopped, looking emotionlessly at the person who’d opened the door.

The granny who opened the door had no reaction. She was scared dumb by Gu Hui Yan’s gaze. Wan Xing was still the most alert. She seized the curtain and turned around to close the door tightly. After blocking out the wind, she glared at the woman angrily, “Our Miss’s body is weak. Can you take responsibility for exposing her to the wind?”

Only then did the old servant realize that Prince Yan had gotten angry just now because of the new Princess Consort. The granny who had committed a mistake lowered her head in embarrassment. The others in the room also bowed their heads and held their breaths. Gu Hui Yan had no intention to argue with his servants. Seeing as they recognized their mistake, he turned around and walked in. After he left, almost everyone let out a long sigh. Only a few had indescribably expressions on their faces, their eyes dark and difficult to read.

Lin Wei Xi saw Gu Hui Yan approach and didn’t even know what to do with her hands, “Your… Your Highness Prince Yan, you’ve returned? The water is ready, do you want to take a bath first?”

He glanced at her. In the end, he didn’t want to make things difficult for her, so he merely nodded and went into the bathroom. She stood there staring blankly for a while, her mind in a mess. What should she do next? Apparently, a qualified wife would always have hangover soup prepared for her husband. No matter what time he returned from social events, it would always be ready. Lin Wei Xi smacked her forehead. It was over, she’d forgotten. The only soup in the room was the bowl of hot soup that Prince Yan had requested. If she turned around and gave it to him, would he recognize it?

Lin Wei Xi stood there as her imagination ran wild, and she still hadn’t made up her mind when she suddenly heard movement from behind her. Her heart dropped as she turned her head, “You’re out? So fast?”

Gu Hui Yan frowned without saying a word and looked at her, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Lin Wei Xi was confused. What did he mean? What had she said?

Gu Hui Yan was clearly more familiar with this room than her and walked straight into the adjacent room. She was at a loss for a moment before following behind with small steps.

“Your Highness, would you like to drink hangover soup?”

“Is it ready?”

She lowered her head and said softly, “No.”

Gu Hui Yan looked helplessly at Lin Wei Xi. He tried to hold back his smile, but it couldn’t help slipping out, “You… that’s enough. Raise your head. I didn’t drink that much.”

Lin Wei Xi glanced tentatively at him and found that although his face was calm, something seemed to be hidden in his eyes. He seemed indescribably fretful but he also didn’t look drunk. That’s right, Gu Hui Yan had left that time to receive the Emperor and Empress Dowager’s reward. Eunuch Feng had arrived in an Imperial procession. Aside from Prince Yan, was there anyone else qualified to receive him? As for drinking at the wedding banquet following that, it was naturally a gathering of these few top characters that included Gu Hui Yan, Eunuch Feng, and Grand Secretary Zhang. The three of them were sophisticated men. How could they get drunk?

It could be said that Gu Hui Yan felt indescribably irritated because of this meeting. Clearly, with the top three men of the imperial court gathered together like this, it was hard to say whether it was a coincidence that all the topics discussed were heavy.

Lin Wei Xi had a vague idea of the situation, but her eyes kept sweeping away from Gu Hui Yan. Although she was somewhat related to Prince Yan in her previous life, her position had changed in this new life and she’d become Prince Yan’s main wife. She actually cared a lot about the items that represented her status as the main wife.

It wasn’t a problem for Prince Yan to treat her as a child since she was previously his subordinate’s daughter. But if, moving forward, he continued to treat her as a junior and an amusing pet to tease when he was bored, it was completely unacceptable. Lin Wei Xi knew that as someone who had spontaneously asked for marriage, she probably didn’t hold much weight to Prince Yan. But even if he was discontented, she still had to have the status and respect of a main wife. This was a principle that had been instilled into her at a young age so there was no use discussing it.

Lin Wei Xi secretly looked at Gu Hui Yan again, pretending to unintentionally walk towards the seat across from him. She had barely taken two steps before his gaze swept over her. She immediately stopped walking and looked a little stiff.

It’d really been a long time since he’d felt so helpless. He had no choice but to say, “come sit here.”

No matter how fierce she’d been previously, Lin Wei Xi instantly knew her place when facing Gu Hui Yan. She cleverly sat across from him, unconsciously folding her hands on her knees with the posture of a child greeting their master. Gu Hui Yan patted her hand and asked with a smile, “Are you afraid of me?”

“You think too highly of me.” she couldn’t help letting it slip, “it’s not only me. The whole world is afraid of you.”

“I remember the first time I saw you, you dared to vent your displeasure at me and hide behind a tree while stalking my route. Why are you scared now?”

Lin Wei Xi felt extremely embarrassed, “I was wrong. I had no idea what I was doing and offended the Prince.” At that, she secretly glanced at Gu Hui Yan’s face and said haltingly, “Prince Yan, at that time… I was wrong. Please don’t hold it against me.”

Both of them were well aware of what she was talking about. He leaned back against his chair as he looked at her, his fingers unconsciously stroking his tea cup. Even he didn’t realize that a small smile was floating in his eyes, “You’ve already become the Prince Yan Consort, and you’re just now telling me not to hold it against you? Then what do you plan to do if I choose to?”

Lin Wei Xi stood up, lips shaking, and looked like she was going to cry, “am I not allowed to make mistakes? As the adult, you should be forgiving and not bicker with a little girl like me.”

Only now did she think of herself as a little girl.

Lin Wei Xi had her head lowered, so she didn’t see Gu Hui Yan tilt his head and cough lightly, using his fist to cover the smile on his lips. She’d looked radiant with delight when scolding people in the past, confident in her convictions, even daring to mercilessly scold the Prince Zhao Consort. It was rare for one to look so cute and wronged at the same time. His irritation calmed down without him noticing. Problems with court disputes and having a weak ruler suppressed by strong retainers seemed so far away at the moment. The person he was facing was nothing more than an awkward little girl.

Gu Hui Yan smiled unconsciously and motioned for Lin Wei Xi to sit down. After she sat down, he said, “You can count on me to keep my word since I promised you. You can continue to live like how you used to in the Prince Yan Residence.”

She sat diffidently on the chair, half believing and half doubtful, “are you serious?”

“Of course.”

Prince Yan had committed to this in front of her. This was supposed to be considerate and generous, but she felt unhappy for some reason. Her lips twitched imperceptibly, “you really are so forgiving and generous. If another woman comes begging in a few days, are you going to accept her? The way I see it, it won’t be long before the Prince Yan Residence turns into a charity.”

He smiled calmly, his tone casual, “After all, I’d promised your father to take care of you. What better way to care for you than by staying in the Prince Yan Residence?”

Lin Wei Xi’s unfathomable anger suddenly disappeared. She knew that Prince Yan was definitely not one who had a good temper. If one dared to be mean to him, one had to be prepared to lose everything.

She sat and sulked for a while before realizing that he was calmly doing his own thing and not paying attention to her. She suddenly felt very stupid. Back then, she’d braved the rain to meet him and say the most audacious words in both her lifetimes not to sit here acting rashly with him because she felt wronged and repeat the mistakes of her past life. After Lin Wei Xi thought about it, she tried to find the most straightforward way to get herself out of this embarrassing situation, “Your Highness, I’m sorry. I’m not dissatisfied with you, it’s just that… ” She racked her brains for the right words, “in any case, I’m the Prince Yan Consort now. I know I’m in no position to be dissatisfied, but should you bring in another woman in the future, it will make things difficult for me… “

Before she could finish speaking, she was suddenly interrupted. His voice was firm and unwavering, “I won’t.”

Lin Wei Xi was dumbfounded. Gu Hui Yan thought that she hadn’t heard him, so he repeated himself, “There won’t be another one. There are very few people in the world whom I owe a favour to, and you’re the only one capable of making me promise you the position of Prince Yan Consort.”

Lin Wei Xi’s heart suddenly skipped a few beats, “you mean… “

“I had promised Lin Yong to protect you. Since you don’t trust other people and don’t want to marry into their house, it’s okay to always stay in the residence. Just be yourself. There’s no need to burden yourself.”

Lin Wei Xi didn’t know what kind of answer she wanted to hear, but she knew that after hearing his words, her heart quickly sank. Prince Yan had merely accepted her unreasonable request and promised to marry her out of kindness.

In simple terms, he didn’t care if he had a Princess Consort or who was the Princess Consort. Since she’d asked for it like this, he’d considered it and accepted it, so it was all right to do as she wished. The root of all this lay with Lin Yong’s life saving debt of kindness.

Lin Wei Xi was a little disheartened. She didn’t know why she felt this way, as her current situation was much better than what she’d expected. She knew all too well how terrifying her husband’s silent treatment was. She was unharmed at the moment, and he was ready to treat her with mutual respect as her husband, each person minding their own business. This was indeed the ideal husband and wife relationship. If such a couple existed in an influential aristocratic family, they’d be praised by everyone as a happily married couple.

Lin Wei Xi lowered her gaze and whispered, “my Prince is right. As long as you treat me with the dignity of the main wife, I’ll wholeheartedly manage the household for you. From now on, I belong to the Prince Yan Residence. I won’t disappoint you and I’ll definitely be a capable mistress.”

Gu Hui Yan looked at her and couldn’t help reaching out to pat her head, “Why do you look so downcast? What’s wrong?”

She swatted his hand away, her face still cold and solemn, “my Prince, I’m your main wife. You should respect me.”

Gu Hui Yan really couldn’t help but laugh, “Why are you acting like a child and showing your temper?”

Lin Wei Xi’s anger rushed to her head but she forced it down, “I’m not a child. Stop thinking of me as a child.”

Gu Hui Yan leaned against the armrest with one hand. He smiled quietly, Lin Wei Xi the only one in his eyes, “then how should I treat you?”

“In two months, I’ll turn seventeenth. You should treat me as a woman.”

Gu Hui Yan’s eyes changed almost imperceptibly. He glanced to the side and gave off a very dangerous feeling for some reason. Lin Wei Xi unconsciously followed his gaze and found that he was looking at a pair of wedding candles, carved with a dragon and a phoenix. Because it’d been burning for a long time, the red wedding candles were halfway melted and tears of wax accumulated into numerous small hills.

Lin Wei Xi’s face reddened unconsciously, and before she could say anything to smooth things over, her body suddenly felt light and she rose into the air.

At the sudden weightlessness, she unconsciously clung onto the shoulders of the person in front of her. Prince Yan had been in the army for many years so his shoulders were much sturdier than those of the arrogant men in the capital. Even beneath two layers of clothing, she could feel how strong and lithe his arms were. She could feel the heat through both their clothes as it slowly and unavoidably spread to her waist and thighs.

Lin Wei Xi was finally distinctly aware of what the Prince Yan Consort represented, aside from taking care of the household and socializing.

T/n: oof what a cliffhanger. Will they bonk? We’ll only know next chapter. Unfortunately due to my update schedule, yall will have to wait till Monday. I will say tho that the author is a SCAM and skipped straight to the following morning. Hopefully this doesn’t leave yall in too much suspense, I don’t want to spoil what happens either HAHA