Chapter 29: The Embrace

Chapter 29: Embrace

As the Crown Prince, Xiao Hang, with eyes and ears everywhere, naturally knew all about such matters.

He had secretly taken note of everything concerning Liu Yun, also known as Liu Jiayunniang, since the year he first met her.

But he wanted to hear it from her own lips.

Liu Yun wished she could keep her distance, but her hand was already offered, and there was no escape.

"It's the 'shan' from 'shang shan ruo shui' (the highest goodness is like water)."

Liu Yun answered obediently, though her mind was occupied with wondering when the Crown Prince would release her.

It was mid-June and still quite hot; held tightly by a scorching hand, Liu Yun's palm inevitably grew slightly damp with sweat.

"In that case, I shall address you thus in the future as well."

Xiao Hang's expression was natural, his lips slightly parted, revealing his good mood.

How could Liu Yun dare to object? She stammered in reply, "Whatever Your Highness wishes."

She only hoped the Crown Prince would release her soon.

Wouldn't a brief hold suffice? Why wasn't he letting go?

Liu Yun felt both confused and annoyed.

But just then, the Crown Prince suddenly stopped in his tracks, causing Liu Yun to halt as well.

Then he looked straight at her, his gaze heavy and unreadable.

"What—what is it, Your Highness?"

Flustered by his stare, Liu Yun asked, her voice trembling with unease.

Xiao Hang noticed that flicker of unease as well. Somewhat irritated, he didn't rush to respond. Instead, he turned Liu Yun's palm upward and wiped it with his sleeve embroidered with coiled cloud-dragon patterns.

"Are you so afraid of me?"

As he wiped, Xiao Hang asked without looking up, his tone calm and composed.

For Liu Yun, however, it was far from reassuring. Alarm bells rang in her mind, and she shook her head in denial. "N-no, not at all. This humble woman does not fear Your Highness."

Only tyrants inspire fear, and Liu Yun thought the Crown Prince probably wouldn't want to hear her say yes.

It was another transparent lie, one Xiao Hang couldn't be bothered to call out.

He simply took her slender, fair hand and pressed it boldly to his cheek.

"You see, I too have but two eyes, one nose, and one mouth—just like everyone else. What is there to fear?"

His skin was warm to the touch, rougher than a woman's would be, and she could feel the muscles moving beneath as he spoke.

A tingling sensation radiated from her palm, causing Liu Yun's heart to pound wildly.

She immediately tried to snatch her hand back, desperate to escape that searing heat, but her wrist remained firmly gripped. Liu Yun felt a mix of shame and indignation.

"Your Highness, please release me! It wouldn't be proper if someone saw us!"

Liu Yun hadn't yet come to terms with her new identity, and the sudden intimacy with the Crown Prince left her shaken and unable to accept it.

Xiao Hang, already displeased, grew even darker at her words.

Was he some sort of illicit lover?

He became even more overbearing, his other hand gripping her slender, willow-like waist and pulling her into his embrace.

"So what if they see? We are betrothed; anything we do is proper."

Before Liu Yun could recover from one shock, another hit her as she found herself pressed against the Crown Prince's chest.

An overwhelming wave of cool, refreshing scent enveloped her, and Liu Yun felt a pang of emotion, at a complete loss.

She pushed against him twice, but couldn't move him an inch, only to earn a displeased snort from the Crown Prince.

Liu Yun stopped struggling and asked timidly, "How much longer will this take, Your Highness?"

With her soft warmth in his arms, Xiao Hang's heart was melting. Hearing her question, he murmured vaguely, "Almost there."

Liu Yun's heart thumped with anxiety, but she didn't dare resist him. She simply let the Crown Prince hold her, listening to his slightly uneven breathing above her.

She found the whole situation unbelievable.

Just two days ago, she had been preparing to discuss marriage with Xiuyuan, her mind full of thoughts of their future together.

In just two days, everything had changed beyond recognition.

She had somehow become the Crown Princess, and here she was, shamelessly embracing the Crown Prince in the light of day.

It felt like a strange, surreal dream.

"Sister!"

Just then, a thunderous shout broke through—Liu Yun recognized the voice as her younger brother's, and all tender thoughts vanished in an instant.

She had no time to worry about whether the Crown Prince would be angry.

"My brother is here!"

Caught off guard and lost in the moment, Xiao Hang was successfully pushed away, even stumbling a step or two.

But seeing his young brother-in-law approach, Xiao Hang naturally had no intention of continuing.

"Brother, why have you suddenly returned?"

After such a heart-pounding ordeal, Liu Yun's cheeks were flushed. She feigned calmness as she asked.

Today was neither a scheduled break nor a festival; her brother shouldn't have been home.

Liu Ying looked at his flustered sister but didn't answer right away. Instead, he bowed respectfully to the Crown Prince.

"This student greets Your Highness."

It was a perfectly proper bow, no different from usual.

Yet it made Xiao Hang feel vaguely uneasy.

He looked at the young man, who bore a striking five- or six-tenths resemblance to his sister, and spoke with an unusual gentleness.

"Liu Ying, no need to stand on ceremony. We're all family."

Both siblings found this a bit awkward, but they couldn't really argue with it.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Hearing Liu Ying still use the same formal title, Xiao Hang frowned, wishing he'd use a more familiar term.

"Sis, don't worry. Yesterday I heard about the betrothal and figured it was a big deal for the family, so early this morning I asked my tutor for the day off and came back."

Yesterday after class, Liu Ying went to Master Lu to ask about a few passages he didn't understand.

On the way back, he overheard students talking about something big.

Throughout the journey, he kept getting stared at and whispered about by other students.

Liu Ying was confused the whole way back, and only figured out what was going on when he got to his dorm.

"Hey Jingyu, your sister's been made Crown Princess! You're gonna have the Crown Prince as your brother-in-law!"

Honestly, Liu Ying was shocked at first and thought his roommate was messing with him.

But when he saw all three of them looking dead serious and swearing it wasn't a joke, Liu Ying slowly started to believe it.

Still, it seemed unreal.

He clearly remembered things being different. Two days ago when he left home, his parents said they were going to marry into the Yang family, and Third Young Master Yang was going to be his brother-in-law.

How could it change in just two days?

And to the Crown Prince of all people!

Since when was his sister so amazing?

Liu Ying wanted to go home right away, but it was already dark and the academy gates were locked, so he couldn't leave.

So the next morning, he asked his tutor for leave and rushed home.

And the second he got home, he walked in on this.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Liu Ying wouldn't have believed his sister and the Crown Prince could be so lovey-dovey in broad daylight.

For a moment, Liu Ying didn't know what to feel.

For Liu Yun, her little brother was a lifesaver, rescuing her from the Crown Prince.

But she couldn't explain the whole story behind the marriage to her brother with the Crown Prince right there.

Once they'd seen enough of the house, she led the Crown Prince and her brother to the front courtyard to check in with their parents.

With her brother around, Liu Yun felt way more relaxed and didn't have to worry about the Crown Prince suddenly trying to get close to her.

Because there were so many betrothal gifts, when Liu Yun got back, her parents were still busy going through the gift list.

They were pleasantly surprised to see their son.

At noon, when it was time to eat, the couple politely asked their future son-in-law to stay for lunch.

They didn't think he'd actually stay, but Xiao Hang agreed without a second thought.

After a brief stunned pause, the parents scrambled to get lunch ready.

With the Crown Prince as their precious future son-in-law, this meal couldn't be as casual as usual.

It had to be absolutely perfect.

Normally, the family would have just five or six dishes and a soup.

Now the table was packed with eighteen dishes plus all kinds of appetizers and snacks.

It was lavish, but with such an important guest, the meal was stiff and silent—no one dared make a sound with their chopsticks, afraid the Crown Prince might think the Liu family had no manners.

During the meal, the couple kept giving their daughter looks, hoping she'd pick up some food for the Crown Prince as a nice gesture.

But their dear Shanshan was clueless, totally missing their hints and just burying her head in her food.

Instead, it was the Crown Prince who seemed to catch on and picked up some food for her.

The couple noticed they were all dishes their daughter usually liked.

They didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

With her dad and brother keeping the guest company, Liu Yun took the chance to slip away and hide out in her own courtyard.

She was so focused on getting away that she didn't notice the Crown Prince's face fall.

After hiding in her courtyard for a while, Liu Yun finally saw the Crown Prince leave and was overjoyed.

With the betrothal ceremony done and the marriage set, the marriage contract was all signed and sealed.

Liu Yun snuck a peek at the wedding date and thought it was way too soon.

August fifteenth—the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Just two months away.

For a Crown Prince's grand wedding, even a year or two of prep wouldn't be too much. But here it was, only two months away.

Didn't the Crown Prince think that was rushed?

Liu Yun couldn't make sense of it, so she just let it go.

Over the next few days, the Crown Prince didn't come by—probably busy with official business—and Liu Yun enjoyed the peace and quiet.

He didn't show up in person, but gifts kept pouring in.

Jade and pearls, hairpins and trinkets, makeup and powders, snacks and toys, silks and brocades...

But the most eye-catching were the ten bolts of gossamer brocade.

Made from purple sea silk with pearl trims, it shimmered in the light and never got wet in the rain—this gossamer brocade.

It was made in the Western Kingdom of Gaochang and offered as tribute to the Great Yan, with only five bolts produced each year.

His Majesty kept some for himself, gave some to his favored consorts and kids, and handed out the rest to important ministers.

Whenever a family got one, the lady of the house would have a gorgeous dress made from it, and countless women would be green with envy.

Liu Yun used to be one of those women sighing in admiration on the sidelines, but now things were different.

All at once, she came into ten bolts of gossamer brocade, enough for about twenty full outfits.

As much as she dreaded having a son-in-law like the Crown Prince, how could Liu Yun possibly refuse the famous gossamer brocade?

That evening, Liu Yun hugged the bolts of brocade and kept examining them over and over, thrilled.

Even her dislike of the Crown Prince eased up for a while.

...

After the betrothal gifts were delivered, the Liu home became the place to be, making them one of the hottest families in Yanjing overnight.

Unless something unexpected happened, this would be the future emperor's in-laws, and everyone was kicking themselves for not having gotten close to the Lius earlier, like the Yangs and Chens had.

Maybe to make it up to the Yang family, after checking their track record and making sure they were solid and dependable, the Yang family got bumped up from sixth-rank Guanglu Cheng to fifth-rank Libu Langzhong.

Not only was their rank elevated, but they also moved from the Court of Imperial Entertainments to the more prestigious Ministry of Personnel, which had everyone green with envy.

After being happy for them, Liu Shiwen started stressing over all the officials from every rank in Yanjing dropping by uninvited.

In the end, he simply refused them all outright, which saved him a ton of hassle.

Seeing that door shut, they found another way in.

They sent their daughters over to the Liu house to cozy up to the future Crown Princess.

Wouldn't that avoid all the detours?

For a time, as if by mutual agreement, Liu Yun received dozens of invitations, all inviting her to admire flowers.

Liu Yun could only think: Could they not come up with better excuses?

Yet accepting every invitation was impossible, and she couldn't follow her father's example of refusing everyone outright. After all, many of these young ladies were on good terms with her in daily life, and now that they had reached out, she couldn't snub them—it was a matter of respect.

So, turning the tables, she hosted a small banquet at home, inviting all the ladies who had sent her invitations.

Author's note:

Update here.

Not in great shape today, so that's all for now. Back at it tomorrow.