Chapter 54: Little Pig

Chapter 54: Little Pig

Perhaps it was because he had been staring for too long, his resentment radiating outward, scorching her, Liu Yun gradually sensed it.

"What's wrong, husband?"

"Why do you keep staring at me?"

Liu Yun was unaccustomed to being watched for prolonged periods, especially by this person—her husband the Crown Prince.

Because every time they were about to get intimate, the Crown Prince would react in exactly the same way.

This made Liu Yun worry she might get pinned down somewhere next, with something unmentionable about to happen.

She couldn't help but tense up, her voice starting to tremble a little.

Xiao Hang had no idea what was going through her mind; his mind was entirely focused on how to ask Yunniang to make one for him too.

One that was given to him openly and honestly.

Clearing his throat twice, Xiao Hang said casually: "If you have free time, you could make one for me as well, consider it a token of the Crown Princess's feelings."

Hearing this made Liu Yun's teeth hurt, and she couldn't be bothered to call him out.

Clearly, he wanted it himself, but he made it sound like she was the one insisting on making it for him, and he was just graciously accepting her gesture.

Pursing her lips, Liu Yun muttered to herself but didn't dare say it out loud.

"Then what kind do you want, husband?"

As long as it wasn't too hard, she could try making it.

Probably never having thought about it, Xiao Hang paused for a few breaths, then met the girl's round, bright eyes and said offhandedly: "Anything is fine. Just make whatever you think is right—as long as it doesn't compromise my dignity."

"Oh."

Liu Yun responded with a sound, but a plan was already forming in her head.

First, the Crown Prince probably likes cute things.

Second, the Crown Prince probably likes pink.

But what should it be?

A fox?

No, there was already one of those.

A zodiac sign animal?

That wouldn't work either—a plush tiger seemed like something you'd give a baby to calm it down.

A rabbit or kitten felt too common, and neither quite fit the dignified status of the Crown Prince.

After a day of mulling it over, Liu Yun had an idea.

It started when Xiao Hang once pulled her onto his lap, and something hard poked her. Liu Yun pulled it out and found it was a jade ornament.

It was part dragon, part pig—ancient and mysterious.

In that instant, inspiration struck Liu Yun, and she had her design.

While Xiao Hang was away, Liu Yun quickly sketched out a draft and started preparing.

Before sewing the plush toy, Liu Yun had someone deliver the little lamb plush to Princess Changyang's residence. When the palace attendant returned and said Kang Ning really liked it, Liu Yun felt completely relieved.

She always felt a twinge of guilt toward Kang Ning—after all, she had been holding a fake for so long. Recalling how County Princess Kangning had cried back then, Liu Yun felt she owed her a new doll.

Now she had nothing to worry about.

Following the pattern, Liu Yun began cutting out the new pieces.

However, to keep an element of mystery, Liu Yun kept it a secret from Xiao Hang. Even when he was curious and wanted to see, Liu Yun wouldn't let him.

"It's a surprise, husband. Just wait a little longer."

Liu Yun also discovered that calling him "husband" was quite useful—especially when she wanted to get something done. As long as she slightly softened her voice when calling him, it worked better than any miracle drug.

So, upon hearing that, Xiao Hang chuckled and agreed.

...

Another day passed, and when Liu Yun had finished more than half of the plush toy, the Crown Prince came with good news.

The Director of the Imperial Academy's fourth son, Zhang Yanqing.

"A family of pure scholarly lineage, with solid wealth."

"Handsome, refined, and elegant."

"The Zhang family has an exemplary reputation, and Fourth Young Master Zhang has a gentle temperament and upright character."

"No concubines, chambermaids, or mistresses, nor any cousin with ambiguous relations waiting to marry in."

"He reads well and will likely earn official merit in the future, capable of supporting a wife and children."

"The Director and his wife are generous and kind, and have always been harmonious with their other daughters-in-law."

"Though he is not the heir to carry on the family line, his life will be stable and prosperous, without need for hardship."

"So, is Yunniang satisfied?"

Recounting the information gathered by the Eagle Guard one by one, Xiao Hang handed a stack of letters to Liu Yun.

Liu Yun slowly flipped through them, a smile gradually spreading across her face.

"Satisfied, satisfied! Husband is truly capable!"

Liu Yun praised him joyfully, with even three parts less of her usual shyness.

Xiao Hang sat down casually, crossing his legs as he observed the beaming girl, then suddenly smiled: "You weren't this attentive when choosing your own husband back then."

"Husband already had His Majesty issue the marriage decree—what use would my attentiveness have been?"

Liu Yun replied without thinking, then felt her words seemed somehow off. She turned to look at Xiao Hang and, sure enough, his expression had soured.

"That's not what I meant. I meant to say, you didn't even bother to choose—and you picked Third Young Master Yang."

That was what bothered him most.

No one else gave them a second glance, as if they were dead set on the Yang family.

What was so great about Third Young Master Yang?

Soon, Xiao Hang got an explanation from Liu Yun.

The girl answered without a second thought, "There's no need to choose; Brother Xiuyuan fits all the points I mentioned. There's really nothing to nitpick, so when my parents asked, I simply agreed."

"Having a husband like Brother Xiuyuan is already more than I could ask for; how could I not be satisfied?"

Liu Yun said this with a serious face and sincere eyes.

It wasn't until Xiao Hang snorted coldly that Liu Yun snapped out of it, remembering something, and added with an awkward laugh, "It's Third Young Master Yang."

"It's a habit from years back; I can't just switch it off. Don't be mad, Brother Hang."

The Crown Prince was handsome, sure, but his features were sharp, and when he got angry, he was genuinely scary.

Even though she knew he wouldn't hurt her, she still couldn't help but panic.

On instinct, she tried to soothe him, even using that intimate nickname she only reluctantly called him in the bedroom.

Even though it made her cringe, it worked like a charm—the Crown Prince's face softened right away, and he silently pulled Liu Yun into his arms.

"Don't ever call Third Young Master Yang that again, got it?"

Liu Yun wasn't about to argue with him now; she nodded eagerly, all soft and obedient.

Xiao Hang's anger mostly faded, and he pulled her close, holding her tight.

"In a few days, it's the Double Ninth Festival; we'll go out for some air and climb up high to look far off."

On the ninth day of the ninth month, everyone climbs high, wears dogwood, and drinks chrysanthemum wine.

At that time, most of Yanjing would head up the mountains—it was the yearly autumn outing.

Her parents and little brother would go, and Zhen Zhen too.

It was definitely something to look forward to.

"Great!"

Happy, Liu Yun hugged him back generously, a sweet smile on her face.

...

A day later, the cloth doll for Xiao Hang was finally done. Liu Yun took it out and looked it over again and again, unable to hide her grin.

She had to admit, she was being a little naughty this time.

She was already looking forward to the Crown Prince's annoyed reaction when he saw it.

So the moment she heard footsteps outside, Liu Yun happily ran to greet him, like a chirpy little bird.

That was pretty unusual for Xiao Hang.

Usually, his Yunniang would just stay put somewhere, quietly doing her thing, and only drag herself over to greet him when he came into the bedroom, putting on a show of welcoming him, while secretly wanting to crawl back into her shell.

Her rare enthusiasm today surprised Xiao Hang and pleased him too; he naturally slid an arm around her slim waist and dipped his head to peck her soft lips.

No shame at all—right out in the open, it was a bold, blatant kiss.

Liu Yun covered her burning red face, squirmed out of Xiao Hang's arms, tossed out a hasty line, and scurried off to the bathhouse.

"Your doll's done, it's on the bed—go see if you like it!"

Watching Liu Yun vanish, Xiao Hang turned and walked to the bed, a little curious.

On the quilt sat a neat lacquered wooden box.

Xiao Hang lifted the lid, and his expectant eyes froze at what was inside.

No mighty beast—just a pig.

A pink one, at that.

Xiao Hang froze for a second, then let out a cold laugh.

He started to head for the bathhouse but stopped himself, sitting by the bed in silence instead.

Sitting tall, face stern, handsome and untouchable.

The candlelight flickered across his brows and eyes, dancing and shifting.

When Liu Yun came out, this was what she saw.

Clearly, her handmade pig doll had done the trick.

As they say, when you're up to no good, you don't mind the effort—and Liu Yun's nerve had grown a bit.

"So, my lord, how do you like your little pig doll?"

She even batted her eyes playfully, all innocent and sweet, which made Xiao Hang laugh despite himself.

Grabbing the pink pig doll by its nonexistent neck, Xiao Hang laughed in spite of himself and said, "This is what you made for me? You think I'm a pig?"

Liu Yun tugged his sleeve, giggling, "In my eyes, my lord is a dragon, but dragons are hard to sew, so I made a little pig instead."

Xiao Hang casually took his wife's soft hand and asked, his tone flat, "What's a pig got to do with a dragon?"

Liu Yun puffed up her chest and said with confidence, "The ancients said: The pig is the dragon's image, its predecessor; a little pig grows up to become a dragon!"

"If you don't believe me, look at your jade pendant—isn't it a pig-dragon?"

Liu Yun wasn't making this up. In ancient times, jade was used as an offering to reach heaven and earth, a treasure the ancestors prized, carved into all kinds of animal shapes.

And the jade pig-dragon was the most popular of them all.

The ancestors believed the pig was the dragon's predecessor, and once it grew up, it would turn into a dragon and soar the skies.

For a moment, Xiao Hang couldn't argue with that.

Sure enough, the ancient texts said so—and that pig-dragon jade was still on him, a design only he and his father dared to wear.

Seeing how confident she was, Xiao Hang tossed the pig doll onto the bed, then its owner followed.

"You're pretty good at taking shortcuts."

Pinning her underneath him, Xiao Hang said in a flat, unreadable tone.

Although Liu Yun was nervous, she still answered seriously, "Isn't the little piggy cute, hubby?"

At this point, Xiao Hang didn't want to argue with her over a cloth doll anymore. He just threw out one line and then lowered his head to capture her soft lips.

"Very cute."

As if deliberately taking revenge, throughout that night, Xiao Hang made love to her in the position Liu Yun could least endure.

As if she'd been struck through the heart, she could only sit up straighter, tightly holding onto Xiao Hang's neck, so she wouldn't slide off midway.

Author's note:

None