Chapter 67: Pretending to Be Drunk

Chapter 67: Pretending to Be Drunk

Every year on this day, the Emperor would hold no court to mourn and pay tribute to Empress Wen.

On this day, the entire Yanjing City banned weddings and celebratory feasts, and everyone was expected to wear mourning white in remembrance of the late Empress Wen.

In the past, Liu Yun would also follow her family in wearing plain dresses on this day, going through the motions of paying respects to Empress Wen.

To Liu Yun at that time, this was merely an annual custom, nothing particularly special.

She never imagined that one day Empress Wen would become her mother-in-law, and that she would pay respects as a daughter-in-law.

It was just too much to wrap her head around!

Early in the morning, palace attendants brought out the plain mourning clothes. Once Liu Yun was fully dressed, she had Jin He put her hair up in a simple spiral bun, decorated with just a jade hairpin and a few pinkish-white pearl flowers.

She wore no makeup, just lightly penciled brows and a touch of color on her lips.

Simple and fresh, like a lotus rising from clear water.

Just as she finished getting ready, Xiao Hang walked in.

Liu Yun was still at the mirror, letting an attendant adjust her sash. She looked up and caught sight of Xiao Hang closing in behind her in the mirror.

Also dressed entirely in mourning white, Xiao Hang's expression was subdued, lacking his usual sharpness.

Spotting him in the mirror, Liu Yun turned, spread her arms, and did a little spin in front of him, asking, "Well, do I look okay?"

As this was her first time paying respects to Empress Wen as a daughter-in-law, Liu Yun was terrified of messing up and breaking some rule.

Xiao Hang gave her a once-over, took her hand, and said with a slight smile, "Naturally."

"I just didn't expect Yunniang to look this beautiful even in such plain clothes."

It might not have been the right time to say it, but it was nice to hear.

Honestly, Liu Yun was pretty happy about it.

From childhood to now, whether visiting relatives or paying respects to elders, people always called Liu Yun delicate, cute, or lucky.

No one outside her own family had ever called her beautiful.

So when her husband Xiao Hang praised her like that, her heart skipped a beat—she couldn't help but feel happy.

Even though she knew he was just saying it to make her happy.

"...Don't talk like that today."

Xiao Hang gave a faint smile, looking like he was in a decent mood, not at all as grief-stricken as she'd imagined.

That caught Liu Yun off guard.

She couldn't even imagine how devastated she'd be on every memorial day if her own mother had died.

The kind of grief that would make you lose your appetite entirely.

But Xiao Hang seemed totally calm, just a little quieter than usual.

She shot him a few uncertain looks, but he just smiled and said nothing.

"Let's go, to the ancestral temple."

Liu Yun didn't overthink it and took his big, warm hand as they left Chengen Hall.

In mid-October, the weather was freezing and the wind was biting. The second Liu Yun stepped outside, she shivered.

Seeing that, Xiao Hang pulled her cloak tighter.

"Don't catch a cold."

To dodge the gusts of wind, Liu Yun hunched her shoulders and muttered, "Got it."

The Eastern Palace was a good distance from the ancestral temple. Su Lin had the carriage ready early, and the two of them climbed in and headed for the temple.

Thick curtains kept the cold wind out, and Liu Yun warmed up quickly.

She rubbed her hands together and pressed her warm palms to her cheeks, instantly warming her wind-chilled face.

Xiao Hang noticed, gently pulled her hands away, and cupped her face in his big palms.

"My hands are warmer. Let me warm you up."

It happened so suddenly that Liu Yun didn't have time to react, her lips parting slightly as she stared at him in a daze.

"You don't need to..."

Before she could finish, something seemed to get to him again, and he suddenly leaned in and kissed her.

The rest of her words got swallowed up. The carriage got hotter and hotter, and Liu Yun forgot all about the cold.

After a long moment, Xiao Hang finally pulled back. Both their lips were red and glistening.

"How can you be like this even today!"

Liu Yun panted softly, flustered and indignant, her eyes full of reproach.

Today was his mother's memorial day, and he was acting so carefree.

Xiao Hang chuckled softly, pulled her into his arms, and started talking slowly.

"I know what Yunniang's thinking."

He paused, looking at her with a soft, faint smile in his eyes.

Liu Yun leaned against his shoulder, looked up at him, and waited quietly for him to continue.

"Yunniang must be thinking—today's my mother's memorial day, and here I am smiling, showing no grief. Right?"

Xiao Hang's embrace was warm, the scent of tai incense was heady, and even his voice had a soothing gentleness to it.

Completely caught off guard, Liu Yun nodded instinctively.

After nodding, she realized that might not have been the right move, but Xiao Hang didn't seem to mind and started talking softly.

"When I was young, I would always pester Father, asking why other children had mothers but I didn't."

His voice was clear, but his words were unexpectedly heavy, and Liu Yun quickly felt a pang of sympathy.

A kid without a mother was truly pitiful.

Seeing the undisguised pity on Liu Yun's face, Xiao Hang found it amusing and continued, "Father couldn't answer at the time, so he tricked me by saying Mother was a celestial maiden from the Ninth Heaven who had transformed into human form, and after fulfilling her heavenly duties, she had returned to the heavens."

"I figured that must be it, so day and night I wished Mother would descend to earth to see me, even just once."

"But she never did."

He sighed and smiled, a little helplessly, and kept stroking Liu Yun's hand, as if drawing comfort from it.

"Whenever I saw my younger brothers and sisters throw themselves into the arms of Consort Xian and Consort De, I was so envious that I once even stubbornly wished Consort Xian could be my mother, just to know what having a mother felt like."

"But Consort Xian was never my birth mother; she mostly just treated me with deference."

"Later, when I got older, I realized Father had been lying to me—my mother had been dead for a long time, and I was someone who never had a mother from birth."

At this point, Xiao Hang paused again, and Liu Yun felt her eyes sting.

He was even more pitiful than she'd imagined.

She couldn't imagine how devastated she'd be if she had no mother.

With that thought, Liu Yun broke free from his embrace, opened her arms wide, and pulled Xiao Hang's head into her chest.

"If you're sad, go ahead and cry—I won't make fun of you."

When she and her little brother were upset growing up, their mom would comfort them like this, and Liu Yun figured Xiao Hang probably needed that too.

But instead of tears, she heard him snort with laughter.

Then came something even worse—he actually nuzzled his head against her chest!

God, she was here to comfort him!

How did it end up like this!

She shoved him away without hesitation, fuming, "You're so shameless!"

So the servants nearby wouldn't hear this mess, Liu Yun kept her voice low, which made it sound even more like flirting.

Xiao Hang sat there with his knees up, laughing his head off, like some playboy who'd just gotten fresh with a girl.

And she was that girl.

Even though they were married, Liu Yun couldn't handle this.

"What are you mad about? It's not like we haven't done that at night."

Totally unfazed, Xiao Hang drawled lazily, reaching out to pull Liu Yun back.

"Night's night, day's day—it's not the same!"

Liu Yun was held so tight she couldn't move, but she still argued stubbornly.

Xiao Hang didn't say anything, just brought up Empress Wen again.

"This year, with a daughter-in-law, Mother should be pretty happy."

Liu Yun stopped struggling and went still.

She did still feel sorry for Xiao Hang after all.

"Do you still get as sad as you did when you were a kid?"

She watched him think for a moment, then shake his head.

"Honestly? No."

"Having something and losing it is the worst pain in the world, but I never had it, so I can't understand what that pain feels like."

"At most, I was envious as a kid; now I've gotten over it."

"After all, you can't stay sad forever. I should look on the bright side—I was born into the royal family at the very top of power, and I'm the Crown Prince most favored by Father. I don't want for anything. Though being the heir is tiring, these past ten-some years have been pretty smooth, especially—"

At the key moment, Xiao Hang paused, his eyes shifting to Liu Yun's serious face, his voice getting even softer.

"Especially what?"

Liu Yun didn't get it and eagerly asked.

Xiao Hang didn't answer, only gazing steadily at Liu Yun for several breaths. Seeing she still looked bewildered, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Especially you, you fool!"

Annoyed at her density, Xiao Hang muttered with a wry smile.

No one likes being called foolish, even if she indeed wasn't the sharpest.

"I'm not foolish!"

Just as a drunkard won't admit to being drunk, Liu Yun hastily retorted and began causing mischief in his arms.

Either pounding his chest with her fists or biting his neck with her teeth—it was quite a lively scene.

But it wasn't very effective; not only did she fail to get under Xiao Hang's skin, she only made him laugh.

"Don't mess around in broad daylight."

His shoulder was gripped tightly, and Liu Yun met Xiao Hang's deep, dark eyes.

The moment those words hit her ears, Liu Yun's face burned. Realizing what he meant, she immediately went still.

A miscalculation.

The carriage arrived at the Ancestral Temple, and the two tidied their appearance before stepping out with dignity.

There, Princess Changyang was already waiting with her consort, Song Lan.

County Princess Kangning hadn't come—likely because children had little patience for such occasions.

Before they could exchange more than a few words with Princess Changyang, His Majesty arrived.

Also dressed in plain white mourning attire, His Majesty's expression was more solemn and sorrowful than anyone present.

Probably as Xiao Hang had said—His Majesty was the one who had possessed and lost, which was why he had remembered it for so many years.

From her parents, she had heard that her imperial father-in-law and the Empress had known each other since youth—calling them childhood sweethearts was no exaggeration.

Their feelings ran deep, and at the age of marriage, they wed and became husband and wife.

Their married life was sweet as honey, harmonious as a pair of phoenixes in flight.

A year into their marriage, Empress Wen gave birth to Princess Changyang, and the Emperor was so overjoyed he declared a general amnesty throughout the realm.

If not for that unexpected accident, perhaps Empress Wen would not have bled to death giving birth to Xiao Hang.

In the autumn of the second year of the Ningde reign, the Emperor was ambushed during the autumn hunt. In that critical moment, Empress Wen shielded the Emperor from an arrow, risking her own life without hesitation.

That poisoned arrow was what damaged Empress Wen's health. She survived, but it kept her from surviving the deadly trial of childbirth.

After Empress Wen's death, the Emperor halted court for three days, leaving all the officials deeply worried.

Everyone said the Emperor and Empress's love was the deepest, with no equal anywhere.

But Liu Yun couldn't help but have her doubts.

If their love was truly without equal, why did the Emperor still take concubines?

Wasn't that a betrayal?

Liu Yun figured no woman would willingly share her beloved husband with other women.

Her mind a jumble of thoughts, she soon followed the Emperor into the Ancestral Temple.

The temple was filled with the calming scent of aloeswood incense. Rows upon rows of memorial tablets stretched out of sight, the atmosphere solemn and heavy.

After offering incense with the group, she was singled out to offer a stick of incense to her mother-in-law by herself.

Liu Yun obediently agreed and sincerely offered incense to her poor mother-in-law.

May she have a peaceful, smooth life in her next life, and live to a ripe old age.

After offering the incense, Liu Yun stepped aside and listened as the Emperor began murmuring to Empress Wen's tablet.

It was mostly trivial household matters from over the years, along with the Emperor's longing for Empress Wen.

And besides that, there was something about her too.

"Ah Yin, our son got married this year too. The one who just offered you incense is our daughter-in-law. Next year, she'll surely give you a grandson..."

Liu Yun felt embarrassed listening from the side. She stole a glance at Xiao Hang, only to meet his eyes, which made her even more flustered.

After the memorial ceremony, Princess Changyang and her consort lingered a while. Liu Yun and Xiao Hang each pulled one aside to chat.

The two women, now sisters-in-law, had grown closer, holding hands and sharing plenty of private talk.

Since County Princess Kangning was still at home, the couple didn't linger long.

As was the yearly tradition, Xiao Hang went to drink with the Emperor.

Every year at this time, the Emperor would get completely wasted.

When Xiao Hang was young, he couldn't drink with his father, so he'd comfort him from the side. Now that he was grown, he joined his father in drowning his sorrows.

When Liu Yun learned of this, she let him go. Unable to fight off her drowsiness, she went to take a nap.

Little did she know, she'd sleep all the way until dusk.

That's when Su Lin helped a drunken Xiao Hang back.

Only Su Lin knew his master was only half drunk, yet he'd had him put on a show like he was twelve-tenths wasted.

He had no clue what scheme he was cooking up to trick the Crown Princess this time.

But that wasn't his place to question.

With that thought, Su Lin sighed helplessly and chose to back his master, telling the Crown Princess who had come to greet them, "His Highness got drunk at the Emperor's place and isn't feeling well. Please take good care of him, Your Highness."

Author's note:

None.