After the chaos settled, Shen Qingyao took the initiative to go wash up. By the time she finished drying her hair and sat back on the edge of the bed again, that sneaky comment from the system suddenly popped into her mind.
Today, it seemed like it was their wedding night.
There probably was only one bed and one quilt here.
…Shen Qingyao’s mind went blank for a moment. Was this really the script of sharing a bed?
She blinked. Usually, wouldn’t the male lead take the initiative to suggest sleeping in the study at this time? But would it be a bit too much to sleep separately on the wedding night? Maybe they could consider the sofa in the outer room? But then who would sleep there? That’s another problem…
She reached out and patted the soft and comfortable big bed behind her, feeling reluctant to give it up. That sofa didn’t look very comfortable… Hmm, she didn’t want to go there.
When Lu Zhao came back, he saw the young girl hadn’t even finished drying her hair, with her face full of confusion.
He felt somewhat puzzled. What was going on again?
He quietly approached, reached out, took the towel she was using to dry her hair, and naturally helped her dry her hair. Shen Qingyao was startled, she recoiled slightly, but he pressed her down with one hand: “Don’t move, you might pull your hair.”
The girl with thin hair dared not move, sitting obediently like a soulless doll.
After a moment, Lu Zhao put down the towel, feeling that she was unusually quiet, but he also understood her nervousness, after all, he wasn’t much better. So he didn’t say anything, just lightly touched her and said gently, “Let’s sleep.”
“Huh?” Shen Qingyao raised her head. Sleep? How? She subconsciously glanced at the sofa that had been prepared early…
Lu Zhao raised an eyebrow, knowingly asked, “What? Is Yaoyao expecting something?”
“…” I was expecting you’d take the initiative and sleep over there yourself. But his words sounded ambiguous, as if there was something else implied. Shen Qingyao blushed and quickly shook her head in denial.
Suppressing her heartbeat that was getting a bit excessive, she embraced a heroic mood as if sacrificing herself generously, thinking, It’s just sleeping, what’s there to be afraid of?
She gritted her teeth, rolled onto the inner side of the big bed, tightly closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
She heard Lu Zhao chuckle behind her, then there was a rustling sound, and then the bed sank a little, a cold fragrance enveloping her, and she thought, Lu Zhao had lain down.
Lu Zhao tilted his head slightly, looking at the little girl wrapped up like a silkworm cocoon and the round back of her head on the pillow beside him. He couldn’t help but smile again, feeling satisfied, a heavy stone lifted off his chest. Fortunately, there were no hitches, he finally brought the little girl home.
As for the rest… Lu Zhao’s eyes darkened, thinking, There’s plenty of time ahead. He softly said, “Sweet dreams,” and closed his eyes.
Shen Qingyao thought she would have a hard time falling asleep that night, but she didn’t know if it was the sleep-inducing effect of Lu Zhao’s fragrance or the comforting presence of the person beside her. With her eyes closed as she pretended to be sleeping, she actually fell asleep after a while.
Not only did she fall asleep, but she also had a long-awaited dream.
In the dream, it seemed like a school, with many half-grown children. A slightly thinner girl was leaning against the railing, eagerly watching the few people and tall horses inside, her eyes full of longing, almost overflowing.
Who is it? Amidst the chaos, Shen Qingyao couldn’t see the face of the person in her dreams clearly.
At this moment, a tall teenager walked over, pulling the little girl up and asking gently, “Do you want to go in? They’re having archery classes inside, it’s fun.”
The little girl shook her head, feeling a bit aggrieved, “Mother doesn’t allow me to ride horses, I’m sick and can’t ride… Not only can’t I ride, but I can’t even run fast.”
The young man nodded, “So that’s how it is… Yaoyao, don’t worry, I’ll definitely learn riding properly in the future. When you grow up, I’ll take you horseback riding!”
The little girl became happy, and Shen Qingyao, as a bystander, watched. The little girl, like the day she threw herself onto Lu Zhao, now threw herself onto the young man, saying crisply, “Thank you, Elder Brother Lu Zhao…”
Yaoyao, Lu Zhao… Shen Qingyao suddenly realized, is this really a dream… or is it memories of the original owner…
The dream was bizarre and changed scenes several times. Shen Qingyao’s faint consciousness floated in it, and soon, she fell into a deeper dream, unable to remember anything anymore.
When she opened her eyes, Shen Qingyao was lying in a warm embrace.
Her mind jolted for a moment, startled. Then she realized she was already married, she was now with Lu Zhao. While heaving a sigh of relief, she finally began to observe her current situation.
She was lying in Lu Zhao’s arms. Her hands were tightly wrapped around his waist. Lu Zhao was sleeping soundly. No matter how she looked at it, she was the one who had voluntarily snuggled into Lu Zhao’s arms…
Help. Shen Qingyao closed her eyes, inwardly scolding herself for being such a fool, a self-destructive master.
She moved her fingers, wanting to quietly retract her hand without him noticing, but suddenly heard a laugh. From above her head came Lu Zhao’s cheerful voice, “Yaoyao, are you awake? What are you doing?”
Shen Qingyao froze, slowly raised her head, and met Lu Zhao’s teasing eyes.
“He must have been awake for a while! Just waiting to see me make a fool of myself!” Shen Qingyao felt embarrassed and annoyed, couldn’t help but grumble to the system, “Isn’t this how it’s written in novels! The male lead clearly wakes up but pretends to be asleep just to see the female lead embarrassed! They do it to flirt! But what is this guy trying to do!!!”
…
No response.
Shen Qingyao remembered that she had the system shut down last night.
Seriously, it’s still not working at this hour? Deduct its salary! Shen Qingyao cursed inwardly.
Fortunately, Lu Zhao wasn’t particularly cunning. He knew the little girl had thin skin. Although he wanted to tease her a few more times, he didn’t dare to really provoke her. He looked at Shen Qingyao with a calm expression, greeted her good morning, adjusted the hand on Shen Qingyao’s shoulder, and helped her sit up. Unable to resist, he lightly pinched the still somewhat confused cheeks of the little girl, smiling, “Awake now? Let’s get up, we still have to serve tea.”
Only then did Shen Qingyao remember this task. Blushing, she nodded lightly, tiptoed out of his embrace, and then fled like an escapee from the bed to call Cui Qiao.
Lu Zhao looked at his suddenly empty arm, chuckled, shook his head, and also got out of bed.
By the time the two of them were ready and reached Grand Princess Duanhua’s courtyard, Duke Lu and Grand Princess Duanhua were already waiting there. Thinking that they were late on their second day of marriage, Shen Qingyao blushed quietly, feeling nervous.
Lu Zhao, who had been holding her hand all along, noticed something and turned his head, pinching her hand, and comforting her, “Don’t be nervous.”
Shen Qingyao straightened her posture slightly, behaving like the bold and beautiful young lady she was, never admitting to being nervous, and pretended to be calm, saying, “Who’s nervous? I’m not nervous anyway.”
“Alright, alright, you’re not nervous, it’s me, I’m nervous.” Lu Zhao didn’t expose her, but went along with her words, “Then later, I’ll rely on Yaoyao to guide me.”
Guide you, my foot. Shen Qingyao rolled her eyes, almost couldn’t suppress the smile on her lips, thinking, Why are you nervous in front of your parents?
Grand Princess Duanhua watched the two from afar as they approached, smiling all the way, exchanging whispers with eyebrows raised and eyes winking. The more she watched, the happier she felt, the more she felt they were a perfect match. Unable to help but smile, she said to the Duke Lu beside her, “It’s rare to see your son being so considerate.”
Duke Lu laughed heartily, stroking his nonexistent beard proudly, “You should see who he’s following.”
“Yeah, up to you.” Grand Princess Duanhua glanced at him, but the happy smile in the corners of her eyes and lips couldn’t be concealed. The two of them, a couple for decades, had a deep bond, without concubines or mistresses, and they were known for their affection in the capital.
Today, Shen Qingyao had most of her hair tied up, styled in a married woman’s fashion, slightly modified by Cui Qiao to avoid looking old-fashioned, instead, she appeared even more charming. Wearing a watermelon red dress with a long skirt, she stood gracefully, walking alongside Lu Zhao, who was dressed in a dark red robe, surprisingly complementing each other.
“Father, Mother.” Shen Qingyao carefully held up the teacup, respectfully serving Duke Lu and Grand Princess Duanhua one by one. Her obedient appearance earned praises from the two elders, who became more satisfied with their daughter-in-law the more they saw her.
“Yaoyao, come here, this is for you.” Grand Princess Duanhua warmly pulled Shen Qingyao over, took off a jade bracelet from her wrist and put it on Shen Qingyao’s hand.
“Mother, this is…” Shen Qingyao was startled, instinctively wanting to refuse. This thing looked quite valuable, almost as much as the blood jade bracelet Shen Qingli had given her before.
“Why do they all like giving bracelets so much…” Shen Qingyao was at a loss, saying to herself, but finding no response, she felt even more helpless, “System, please come back soon! I was wrong, please turn on! I can’t handle it alone…”
“Take it.” Grand Princess Duanhua pressed down on Shen Qingyao’s hand as Shen Qingyao tried to withdraw, affectionately saying, “This was left by my mother-in-law when I married in. It is only passed down to the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family, so now it belongs to you since you’re married.”
Shen Qingyao hesitantly glanced at Lu Zhao, seeing him nodding slightly before she accepted it relievedly, feeling her wrist heavy as if it carried a thousand pounds.
The two lingered for a while longer, then Lu Zhao took the initiative to bid farewell, leading Shen Qingyao away.
Seeing it was still early, and Lu Zhao didn’t seem like he was taking her back, Shen Qingyao was puzzled, “Elder Brother Lu Zhao, where are we going?”
Lu Zhao glanced at her, smiling faintly, “Leaving the city.”
“Leaving the city?” Why leave? Shen Qingyao was even more puzzled but didn’t ask further.
Before long, as she looked at the well-fed and sturdy horses in the courtyard, she felt like she vaguely knew something, the blurry dream from the previous night resurfaced, she gasped in surprise, “This… this is…”
“I’ll take you horseback riding.” Lu Zhao looked at her firmly, his gaze focused, as if fulfilling a promise. “Didn’t I say, when you grew up, I would take you horseback riding to see the scenery here.”
…It wasn’t a dream.
Shen Qingyao couldn’t describe her current feelings. She realized that those things in her dream had actually happened, belonging to the past of the original owner and Lu Zhao…
Though the words were clearly directed at her, she felt as if he was conversing with someone else through her. The little anticipation and excitement in Shen Qingyao’s heart dropped and sunk deeply, and she suddenly felt somewhat lost…