Shen Qingyao lifted the curtain of the carriage completely and frowned as she looked out.
The princess of Nanzhao named An’ya was wearing a red dress. It was quite different from the heavy and intricate attire of the Great Liang. Her outfit was light and flowing, with golden accessories at her waist and wrists that jingled and sparkled in the sunlight. Unlike the gentle and graceful girls of the Great Liang, An’ya exuded a carefree and unrestrained charm. Her features were striking and bold, with deep-set eyes and a high nose bridge, giving her an exotic allure that made it hard to look away.
Shen Qingyao thought she might like the stunning beauty more if her captivating eyes weren’t fixed on her husband. Her cheeks puffed up slightly with this realization.
She had just discovered that Lu Zhao knew this Nanzhao princess, but he had never mentioned it to her before. This made her a bit upset—just a little, well… maybe a lot!
The beauty outside continued to speak with a clear, melodious voice that was both bright and gentle. Even as a woman, Shen Qingyao found this voice particularly pleasant. An’ya casually held the reins and turned her head, saying, “Young Master Lu, it’s been three years since we last met in the capital. You are as distinguished as ever.”
“Not as much as you, Princess,” Lu Zhao replied with a faint smile. Shen Qingyao, puffing her cheeks, noted that his smile was perfectly measured—not distant but not too familiar either. It was a courteous and perfunctory expression, which made her feel slightly better.
Princess An’ya’s beautiful eyes turned, openly scanning the Great Liang’s bridal entourage, then precisely bypassed Princess Yonghe’s carriage and landed on Shen Qingyao’s wide-open window.
The two women suddenly locked eyes. Shen Qingyao was startled and was about to react when An’ya’s gaze shifted away, as if their brief eye contact had been accidental. At that moment, another person rode out from the city on horseback—a younger girl, dressed in a pale yellow gauze dress similar to Princess An’ya’s. Her face was still childish but more adorable and bold.
The girl raised her whip high, causing her horse to neigh loudly, which unsettled the other horses that had just calmed down, creating some minor chaos in both groups. The young girl, instead of panicking, laughed cheerfully. After her horse steadied, An’ya lightly tapped her leg with a whip.
Princess An’ya’s beautiful eyes widened, and the young girl didn’t dare to cause more trouble, sticking out her tongue and staying quietly by Princess An’ya’s side, though her eyes still roved curiously over the crowd. When she spotted Lu Zhao, her eyes lit up, and she pointed her whip at him, exclaiming, “It’s you?! The man from Great Liang who visited three years ago? Ah…”
Her sister’s whip hit her hand again, and she cried out in pain, realizing that pointing with a whip was extremely rude. She quickly smiled apologetically at Lu Zhao.
Who is this princess? Shen Qingyao frowned and couldn’t help but mutter to herself. Why do so many Nanzhao princesses refuse to marry out, yet insist on choosing spouses from the Great Liang’s royal family? Especially since these princesses seem very interested in her Lu Xiaozhao!
“I heard that Young Master Lu is married? I wonder if his wife has accompanied him this time?” As they chatted, Princess An’ya somehow brought the conversation back to Lu Zhao. Though it sounded like a question, her tone was certain, and her eyes looked directly at Shen Qingyao. This time, Shen Qingyao was sure Princess An’ya knew who she was; that brief eye contact was no accident!
“What? You’re married?! How is that possible!” the young princess exclaimed. Following An’ya’s gaze, she quickly found Shen Qingyao and looked utterly incredulous.
Shen Qingyao’s hand froze on the curtain. What was with their looks? Was it so hard to believe that Lu Zhao married her?
She felt a bit uncomfortable and then, in the moment when Lu Zhao turned his head, she quickly let down the curtain with a swish.
Outside the carriage, Lu Zhao looked at the swaying curtain, stunned for a moment before suddenly lowering his head and laughing softly. Princess An’ya heard his laugh, and her gaze darkened slightly.
Inside the carriage, after avoiding the gazes of the others, Shen Qingyao patted her chest and sighed in relief, but suddenly felt something was off. Why did she have to feel guilty? However, lifting the curtain again now would make her look foolish. Shen Qingyao sighed in frustration, leaned against the wall of the carriage, and slowly slid down like a fish out of water.
“Miss?” Cui Qiao, who had been beside her the whole time, was amused and moved over to help her up. She had seen what happened outside, so she understood why her Miss was upset. She wasn’t worried at all, as it was clear to everyone how Young Master treated her Miss.
Suppressing her laughter, Cui Qiao helped Shen Qingyao sit up properly and asked deliberately, “Miss, aren’t you going to look again?”
“What’s there to see?!” Shen Qingyao huffed. See what? See a beauty teaching how to flirt?
She bit her lip in irritation. Although Lu Zhao hadn’t done anything inappropriate, the familiar tone of Princess An’ya annoyed her. It felt like a child cherishing a unique toy, thinking she was the only one who had seen it, only to find out someone else had seen it even earlier than she had, unbeknownst to her.
Shen Qingyao felt uneasy, suddenly realizing she knew very little about Lu Zhao. She had been content enjoying his kindness and unconditional tolerance, but aside from the brief descriptions in the novel she had read, she knew nothing about Lu Zhao’s past.
Outside, there was more conversation, followed by a girl’s laughter. Shen Qingyao twisted her sleeve impatiently, silently cursing the envoys for their inefficiency. Why were they taking so long to process the entry documents? She also wondered why two princesses were loitering at the city gate instead of staying in their palace.
Finally, she couldn’t help but feel resentful. Why was Lu Zhao still chatting outside? What was there to talk about? Having a few old acquaintances in Nanzhao wasn’t that impressive!
Cui Qiao watched her Miss’s changing expressions, trying to suppress her laughter. She didn’t dare to speak for fear of making her Miss angrier.
After waiting a while longer, the envoy returned with several Nanzhao officials. They politely escorted the guests from Great Liang into the city. The carriage started moving again, swaying back and forth. Shen Qingyao seized the opportunity to peek outside again. The two Nanzhao princesses had already left, but Lu Zhao, now on horseback, was leisurely riding alongside her carriage. As soon as she lifted the curtain, their eyes met.
Lu Zhao smiled and was about to speak when the curtain was mercilessly dropped again.
Hmm, she must be really upset. Lu Zhao rubbed his nose, feeling a headache coming on.
They were accommodated in a post station in the capital, much more luxurious than the one outside Lingnan City, but Shen Qingyao wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it. Tired from the journey, Princess Yonghe alighted with a weary expression, nodded briefly at them, and went to rest. Shen Yushu, responsible for the entire envoy, was busy. Shen Qingyao wanted to find someone to talk to, but saw no suitable person.
Lu Zhao wanted to come over, but she was still sulking. Seeing him approach, Shen Qingyao gritted her teeth and stubbornly turned away.
Lu Zhao stood still for a moment, thinking that the little girl’s temper had really grown. On second thought, it was entirely his own doing; he had pampered her to this extent. So he smiled, shook his head, and quickly followed after her.
When he entered the room, Shen Qingyao had already removed her jewelry and was lying on the couch with her eyes closed. Hearing someone come in, she didn’t even open her eyes.
Lu Zhao sat down beside her, but before he could speak, the little girl on the couch turned over, giving him a cold shoulder. This scene felt familiar. Lu Zhao’s lips curved up slightly as he bent down to look at her, noticing that although her eyes were closed, her face was still puffed up in anger like an upset little pufferfish. Lu Zhao couldn’t help but chuckle and reached out to poke her puffed-up cheek.
“What are you doing, disturbing my sleep!” Shen Qingyao, her cheeks deflated by the poke, opened her eyes and glared at him with a mix of annoyance and anger.
It seemed she was quite upset, as she didn’t even call him ‘Elder Brother Lu Zhao’ anymore. Lu Zhao sighed helplessly. He gently turned her back to face him and patiently asked, “Yaoyao, I don’t recall making you angry. Why are you ignoring me?”
Shen Qingyao thought to herself, true, he didn’t make her angry directly; he just made the common mistake that all men make. She rolled her eyes and refused to talk, giving him a look that said ‘figure it out yourself.’
Looking at Lu Zhao’s smiling eyes, she realized that that poke had really dispelled her irritation. In hindsight, it wasn’t fair to blame Lu Zhao. After all, Princess An’ya’s words and actions had been perfectly normal. Her discomfort came mostly from a woman’s intuition. Lu Zhao probably didn’t even know the princess had any feelings for him. How could she blame him?
With these thoughts, her expression softened a bit, but she had already put up a front, so making up immediately would be too embarrassing.
She moved her lips but ultimately said nothing.
Lu Zhao looked down at her and sighed, “When you needed my help to come to Nanzhao, you called me Elder Brother Lu Zhao and Husband. Now that you’ve achieved your goal, you don’t even want to talk to me. Tsk, have I raised an ungrateful little wolf?”
Shen Qingyao, taken aback, propped herself up and, abandoning her aloofness, frowned and said, “I did not! It’s clearly you who went back on your word! Didn’t you promise to ignore any princess that came by? I saw you chatting happily with her!”
Reason had left her, and Shen Qingyao forgot her self-persuasion in a few sentences. Her mind was filled with the image of Princess Anya and Lu Zhao talking and laughing together. She couldn’t help but angrily add, “She’s not ungrateful! She remembered you after three years! Then go find her!”
As she spoke, she tried to turn away again, but Lu Zhao grabbed her shoulder.
He pulled her into his arms. She struggled but couldn’t break free. Lu Zhao, holding her in this position, lay down with her, his chest vibrating with laughter.
Shen Qingyao was stunned. How could he laugh when they were arguing?
“What are you laughing at!” Shen Qingyao couldn’t help but look up at him, annoyed by his lack of seriousness.
The more Lu Zhao laughed, the happier he seemed. When he finally stopped laughing, he lowered his head, touching his forehead to hers, and whispered, “I just realized… Yaoyao, are you… jealous?”
His eyes narrowed, his tone full of teasing.
Shen Qingyao’s intentions were exposed, and she was as angry as a cat with its tail stepped on. She raised her eyebrows and retorted, “I am not! Jealous of what! There’s nothing to be jealous of!”
There was indeed nothing to be jealous of, but the sourness was undeniable. Realizing this, Lu Zhao’s mood improved even more. The girl in his arms, now red-faced with embarrassment and anger, squirmed, pushing against his chest in a futile attempt to escape his embrace.
Lu Zhao initially held her around the waist to protect her, worried she might roll off the bed. However, the embarrassed and angry little girl somehow found the strength to struggle even more fiercely, using both her hands and feet. Her already light clothing became increasingly disheveled from the tussle.
During the struggle, she accidentally touched somewhere on Lu Zhao, causing him to suddenly let out a muffled groan. Shen Qingyao froze, thinking she had hurt him.
In a panic, she pressed against Lu Zhao’s chest, trying to get up and check on him, but he held her down firmly.
“Um… Elder Brother Lu Zhao, what’s wrong? Did I hurt you just now?” Shen Qingyao was anxious, momentarily forgetting her jealousy.
“It’s nothing,” Lu Zhao’s voice sounded different from usual. Shen Qingyao, lying there, couldn’t see his expression and was puzzled. She then felt Lu Zhao hold her even tighter, his hot breath on her neck as he whispered, “Don’t move…”
A flash of realization hit Shen Qingyao.
She wasn’t a naive young lady from ancient times. Lu Zhao’s voice was slightly hoarse, and although he was holding her, he was also deliberately keeping some distance between their bodies. Both of them were adults and legally married…
The situation was becoming quite delicate. No, it was not just delicate—it was very precarious!
Shen Qingyao was silent for a moment, then her whole body blushed deeply from head to toe. Now, she really didn’t dare to move.
Thanks for the chapter!!!