Chapter 33: Can’t I Come?

Chapter 33: Am I Unwelcome?

After watching the Crown Prince and her elder brother depart from Chenghua Palace, Pei Yun turned back to Linlang Palace. Worn out from the day, she closed her eyes and lazily reclined in the bathtub, letting the warm water relax her entire body.

Then, noise erupted outside the hall.

Shu Mo, puzzled, pushed the door open to check. Immediately after, Pei Yun heard a panicked “Your Highness!” Startled, she abruptly opened her eyes.

“Your Highness, Her Ladyship is bathing—”

Footsteps followed swiftly, and Pei Yun turned to see the Crown Prince striding into the bathing chamber, his icy stare locked onto her.

Realizing she was stark naked, Pei Yun hastily wrapped her arms around herself and slid deeper, pressing into the tub.

“All of you, leave.”

The Crown Prince boomed. Shu Mo and Shu Yan shared a look, then bowed and withdrew.

“Your Highness, why have you come so suddenly?” Pei Yun pasted on a smile as she asked.

She watched as the Crown Prince slowly leaned down, placing his hands on the edge of the tub. His bottomless dark eyes looked down at her as he bit out each word:

“Am I unwelcome?”

Though his tone was calm and even, Pei Yun distinctly sensed a hint of irritation in him.

Whether it was his barging in or his inexplicable words, she felt there was something unusual about the Crown Prince today.

As he drew closer, Pei Yun caught a whiff of liquor emanating from him. Today was the victory banquet, and her father-in-law, the Emperor, had been in a jubilant mood. So of course, the guests drank heavily.

Earlier, while speaking with her brother, she had also noticed the smell of alcohol on him.

Was the Crown Prince drunk?

“Your Highness jests,” Pei Yun replied with a composed smile. “Your consort merely found it unexpected, assuming Your Highness would have retired to Chenghua Palace to rest.”

The Crown Prince stared at her for a long moment before speaking. “I just escorted the Duke of State Stabilization out of the Eastern Palace. Along the way, he shared many stories of your childhood, so I thought to come and see you…”

“Oh?” Pei Yun jumped in to ask, “What exactly did my brother say?”

“The Duke of State Stabilization mentioned… you often embroidered sachets for him when you were young.” The Crown Prince paused, his large hand resting on her fair, delicate face as his fingers gently brushed aside a damp strand of hair clinging to her skin. “And you always made them to his taste…”

Sachets… preferences…

In an instant, Pei Yun seemed to grasp something. When she looked back at the Crown Prince, his eyes were like an icy abyss—black and endless.

Had her brother said something to make the Crown Prince suspicious? Had he discovered that the bamboo-patterned sachet was never meant for him?

But quickly, Pei Yun steadied herself. Since the Crown Prince had not confronted her directly, perhaps the situation wasn’t as dire as she feared.

Besides, it was just a sachet. She had plenty of ways to explain, and the Crown Prince likely wouldn’t dwell on it too much. She was probably overthinking.

After a moment’s contemplation, she smiled and said, “My brother has an excellent memory. It seems there was such a thing, but it was so long ago, and I was so young—it’s all a blur now.”

Her lips pressed together slightly as she observed the Crown Prince’s reaction. After a long silence, she heard him speak in a flat tone.

“The water has grown cold…”

The moment he spoke, Pei Yun was abruptly pulled up. Before the surrounding chill could assault her, a large underrobe was tightly bundled around her.

The Crown Prince carried her and swiftly sat down on a daybed in the corner of the bathhouse. He grabbed a clean towel hanging on a nearby clothes rack and moved to wipe the lingering moisture from her body.

Pei Yun hurriedly stopped him. "Your Highness, let me do it myself."

Yet before her words fully faded, the man's large hand, clutching the towel, had already slid beneath her robe.

The Crown Prince remained composed. "It's not as if I've never done this for you before. After so many years of marriage, there's no need for such formality between us."

Seated on the prince's lap, Pei Yun found herself trapped by a powerful arm wrapped around her front, her back pressed tightly against his burning, muscular chest, leaving her no room to move.

What did he mean by "not as if I've never done this for you before"? Pei Yun faintly recalled the last time they were intimate, when she had fallen asleep exhausted—was it that occasion?

The mere thought of the prince personally cleaning the mess between her legs made her squirm with discomfort.

They were indeed husband and wife, but he was also the Crown Prince. She addressed herself as "this consort," and to her, he was her lord. Unless absolutely unavoidable, Pei Yun wished only to keep her distance from him—the farther, the better.

Yet the prince drew even closer. The towel glided slowly over her skin, his slightly rough breaths echoing by her ear. The robe draped over her shoulders slipped away unnoticed, and the towel soon dropped to the floor.

Dazed with pleasure, she felt her earlobe caught between his lips, a shiver of sensation shooting up her spine. A soft moan escaped her tightly pressed lips as she trembled slightly. Then, his low, murmured voice rumbled, "Next year, will the Crown Princess still embroider sachets for me?"

Limp in his arms, Pei Yun whispered, "As long as Your Highness does not disdain them, this consort naturally will."

Was she sincere?

Li Zhangye couldn't bear to think about it, just as he had with the matter of the sachet.

Earlier, he had deliberately tested her, clearly seeing the flicker in her gaze when she heard his words.

Perhaps it was exactly as he suspected—the bamboo-patterned sachet had never been meant for him in the first place, but for Pei Xuan.

And the only reason she had given it to him was because Chang Lu had intervened that day, leaving her no choice.

Because she had given it to him, she had to embroider a different pattern for Pei Xuan.

If that were truly the case, Li Zhangye wanted to know—had she never once intended to make one for him? Was that why, even after he had spent the night in her chamber, she still hadn't presented him with a sachet?

Not because she forgot, but because such a sachet had never existed for him.

Li Zhangye closed his eyes. He knew he shouldn't obsess over something as trivial as a sachet. Perhaps he was overthinking it, and the truth was as simple as she claimed.

Yet despite this reasoning, the restlessness in his heart refused to ease. He glanced down at the slender form slumped against his chest, weary and half-asleep, and buried his face against her, slowly tightening his arms as if to hold her like this forever.

But it was just a sachet.

Just a sachet.

It couldn't possibly mean anything.

On the fourth day after Pei Xuan's return, Pei Yun went back to the Pei residence once more.

This time, she brought Li Jin along. Jin Er had been dropping hints for days about when they would visit the Duke's residence.

Pei Yun mentioned it to the Crown Prince, explaining that her brother had yet to meet Chen'er—last time he visited the Eastern Palace, Chen'er was already asleep. This trip would be the perfect opportunity to show him.

Seeing the prince agree as readily as ever, Pei Yun hesitated before adding that she wished for the family to have a reunion dinner that evening. If wine was served, it might run late, and they might need to stay overnight at the Duke's residence, returning to the Eastern Palace the next morning.

The Crown Prince gave her a long look—then permitted it.

Pei Yun let out a long breath of relief, her heart filled with joy—not just at the prospect of returning home, but also at the thought of finally having a day away from him.

Ever since that drunken night at the Glazed Hall, the Crown Prince began visiting inexplicably every night thereafter. Though he never stayed overnight, he would often sit for an hour, hold Chen'er, chat with her, and then leave. But Pei Yun was thoroughly annoyed by his presence.

Yet she dared not speak up or question him, fearing he might utter those words again: "Can’t I come?"

She was genuinely afraid of him.

The man who once never touched her except on their scheduled nights had now somehow learned all kinds of ways to tease her. Yet she couldn’t resist, even finding some pleasure in it—a sign he had her wrapped around his finger.

Fortunately, despite the teasing, the Crown Prince never truly broke the rule of no intimacy outside their scheduled nights. Otherwise, Pei Yun wouldn’t have been able to endure it.

When Pei Yun arrived at the Duke’s estate with her two children, Lady Zhou, along with Pei Wei and Pei Qian, greeted her, with Jiang Lanqing lingering at the back.

Upon seeing Lady Zhou, Li Jin respectfully called out, "Grandmother," before discreetly glancing around. Lady Zhou knew whom he was searching for and patted his head with a smile. "Your uncle has urgent business to attend to. He’ll return in the afternoon. Come with Grandmother to the flower hall for some treats, alright?"

Li Jin nodded obediently.

Pei Yun, holding Chen'er, walked into the residence with her mother at the front, while Jin Er walked between his two aunts, chatting, and Jiang Lanqing trailed silently behind.

Lady Zhou sidled up to Pei Yun, glancing back. "These past few days, I’ve sounded out Miss Jiang’s temperament as you suggested..."

Pei Yun raised a brow. "And what does Mother think?"

"She’s a good one." Lady Zhou smiled in satisfaction. "Gentle in nature, not spoiled in the slightest, and skilled at managing household affairs. These past few days, she even helped me go over the books for several shops. I’m no good with numbers, and without her, I wouldn’t have known how many of those shopkeepers had been embezzling."

"I told you Brother has good taste. Congratulations, Mother, on gaining such a fine assistant..." Pei Yun added, "Since Mother approves, we should quickly pick a date and arrange the wedding. Better to nip their hopes in the bud sooner rather than later."

Lady Zhou thought the same. She had never wanted a daughter-in-law from a prestigious family—difficult to manage and entangled in too many complications. She nodded. "In the next couple of days, I’ll summon your brother for a proper discussion."

Pei Xuan returned by mid-afternoon.

At the time, Pei Yun was resting with everyone in the Duke’s estate garden. Spotting the child in Lady Zhou’s arms, Pei Xuan reached out and lifted him. "This must be Chen'er."

It was Chen'er’s first time meeting his uncle. He blinked his round eyes, staring at Pei Xuan for a long moment before suddenly puckering his lips and smacking Pei Xuan square on the cheek.

Pei Xuan only laughed. "Looks like my little nephew’s cross I didn’t bring a gift."

Holding Chen'er with one arm, he fished out a peace pendant from his robes and fastened it around the child’s neck. "Now you’re not mad at Uncle anymore, are you?"

Seeing her brother’s affectionate demeanor toward Chen'er, Pei Yun’s smile dimmed a little. She glanced at Jiang Lanqing sitting not far away, her mind flashing to an image of the woman caressing her swollen belly amidst the garden’s vibrant blooms, her expression somber.

In her past life, Jiang Lanqing had given birth to a boy—a boy Pei Yun had even named. Jiang Lanqing often brought him along when visiting the Eastern Palace. He was exceptionally well-mannered, and by the time Pei Yun died, he was around three or four, already politely calling her "Auntie."

That boy had looked strikingly like her brother.

Shaking off the memories, Pei Yun teased lightly, "Brother, since you love children so much, you ought to marry soon and have one of your own with Sister-in-law."

Pei Xuan glanced at Jiang Lanqing, whose cheeks instantly flushed.

"That’s not for me to decide. It’s up to Mother. Of course, I hope it happens as soon as possible."

Pei Xuan handed Chen'er back to Lady Zhou and turned to Li Jin. "This time, I’ve brought a gift for you too, Jin Er."

With that, a nearby attendant stepped forward respectfully, presenting a large dark-blue brocade case.

Pei Xuan opened the lid, and Li Jin’s eyes immediately lit up with delight.

Inside lay a longbow, its body crafted from fine rosewood, adorned with intricate silver filigree carvings, the bowstring made of beast sinew gleaming faintly.

"Give it a try. See how it feels."

Li Jin nodded vigorously, almost unable to wait as he lifted the longbow. The bow was quite heavy, and he felt its weight in his hands.

"Thank you, Uncle," he said, his voice full of excitement. Then hesitating before looking up, he asked, "Could Jin Er...?"

Pei Xuan immediately understood and ordered a servant to set up a target in the garden before taking Li Jin to practice archery.

Pei Wei was itching to go. She had long heard of her elder brother's skill in archery and could hardly sit still. She wanted to watch but didn’t wish to go alone, so she urged everyone to come along.

Lady Zhou, holding Li Chen, had no desire to move around and waved them off. "You all go ahead. I’ll stay here with Chen'er."

At this, Pei Wei eagerly pulled Pei Qian along, while Pei Yun and Jiang Lanqing followed at a leisurely pace.

The archery range was nearby. After just a few dozen steps, Pei Yun heard the sharp whistle of an arrow cutting through the air, watching as it struck the bullseye with perfect accuracy.

Pei Wei let out an amazed gasp, and Pei Yun herself was momentarily stunned. Seeing the tall figure bending down to guide Li Jin’s stance, she was suddenly reminded of when she was seven or eight, and her father and brother had taught her the same way.

Just like now, after she hit the target, they would pat her head encouragingly and praise her without restraint—"Our Pei Yun is truly remarkable."

When Li Zhangye arrived at the Duke of State Stabilization’s garden, he immediately spotted Pei Yun standing there.

She was watching Jin Er, whose bow grip Pei Xuan was adjusting, her gaze gentle as still water. Lost in fond memories, her smile was as warm as the spring sunlight spilling over her robes.

Standing beneath the shade of a tree, Li Zhangye felt, in that moment, as though Pei Yun belonged to this radiant sunshine—as if she would never return to the cold, silent Eastern Palace, leaving him alone.

Without realizing it, he took a step forward. Then, as if sensing something, she turned her head toward him.

Her bright smile instantly disappeared.