Chen Shujing’s words had, in the end, gotten to Pei Yan.

He found himself thinking about Mei Wanying’s recent strange behavior.

For some time now, they hadn’t exchanged a single peaceful word.

Mei Wanying either ignored him or said things specifically to provoke him.

Every conversation ended on a sour note.

Pei Yan didn’t know what Mei Wanying was angry about. If he had done something wrong while drunk, she could just tell him directly.

’I can admit I was wrong, can’t I?’

But she wouldn’t say a thing. She just gave him the cold shoulder.

When he tried to get close, she would show her claws and scratch him, just like a hissing Little Raccoon.

People say a woman’s heart is an ocean of secrets, and Pei Yan was finally experiencing it firsthand.

He couldn’t fathom what Mei Wanying was thinking at all.

And he had no idea how to make her stop being angry.

They couldn’t just keep up this cold war forever.

It didn’t affect him much. When he was busy with official duties, he had no time to think about Mei Wanying.

But she was different. If she wasn’t happy, she would dwell on it endlessly.

’If she bottles it up for too long, won’t she get sick?’

Mei Wanying was so delicate. Whenever she fell ill, she couldn’t eat or sleep, tormenting herself until she lost several pounds.

’I should just give in to her.’

’Better that than her getting sick again.’

Pei Yan sent a message back to the Prince Mansion, ordering them to open the storerooms and send two chests of jewelry to Mei Wanying.

If she was still unhappy, he’d just keep sending more until she was satisfied.

Mei Wanying loved gold, silver, jewelry, and beautiful clothes more than anything.

When General Mei was still alive, she never had to dress plainly. She was always dressed to the nines.

Every time she went out in her finery, men on the street would glue their eyes to her.

Thinking about it now still filled Pei Yan with discontent.

A woman adorns herself for the one who pleases her. Mei Wanying wasn’t dressing up for them, so what right did those men have to stare at her?

’They have no self-awareness whatsoever. I really want to gouge their eyes out!’

’No matter what, it’s always outsiders who are at fault,’ Pei Yan thought. ’I can’t punish Mei Wanying for the mistakes of others.’

’Let her dress up.’

’As long as she’s happy.’

He would block the gazes of other men himself, preventing them from looking at Mei Wanying.

’After she sees the gifts I sent, there’s no way she won’t crack a smile!’

On the road to the Border, Pei Yan thought of Mei Wanying whenever he had a spare moment.

He thought of her while riding.

He thought of her while eating and sleeping.

For so many years, they had spent more time apart than together. But every time he left, Mei Wanying would see him off at the city gates.

This was the only time Mei Wanying had not only failed to see him off, but hadn’t even offered a single soft word.

Pei Yan felt a knot in his stomach. It felt like something was missing, leaving him unable to find peace.

Missing Mei Wanying so much, Pei Yan decided that as soon as he returned to the capital, he would take the betrothal gifts to Jiangnan to bring her back.

They would get married and have a flock of children.

He was thinking about it so much that when he stopped to rest at a post station along the way, he ended up dreaming of Mei Wanying.

「Deep in the night.」

The courtyard was draped in red silk, and the double happiness character, cut from red paper, was pasted on every door and window.

The lanterns hanging from the eaves were also a festive color.

The guests had departed, but Pei Yan did not return to the bridal chamber.

He was holding in a breath of frustration, unable to accept that Mei Wanying would ruin her own reputation just to marry him.

She was the treasured daughter of the Mei family, the apple of their eye. Whatever she wanted, she could have fought for it openly and honorably.

No matter what fuss she made, he would never have gotten truly angry.

But Mei Wanying had used a dirty trick, and Pei Yan could not accept it.

’If the man Mei Wanying wanted to marry wasn’t me, would she have used the same trick on someone else?’

The mere thought gave Pei Yan the urge to destroy everything.

Heaven knew how furious he was when he saw Mei Wanying lying naked in his arms.

He was furious at her lack of self-respect, and furious at himself for not being sober, for actually taking Mei Wanying.

On the day it happened, he went to the palace to request an imperial decree for their marriage.

His royal father and mother would only permit Mei Wanying to be a Concubine, and their stance was firm.

They even said Mei Wanying’s ambition was too great, and if she didn’t know when to back down, they would send her off in a political marriage.

It was only after he claimed that Mei Wanying was carrying his child, a male heir no less, that the imperial edict of marriage was delivered to the General Mansion.

He had already married her, but the anger in Pei Yan’s heart had not subsided. He couldn’t bring himself to share a bed with Mei Wanying.

He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control himself, that he would torment her and say hurtful things.

And then Mei Wanying would cry again.

Her eyesight was already poor. With the night so dark, if she cried again, her eyes would be ruined completely. It wouldn’t matter how many lanterns they lit in the mansion!

He was the one forced to marry her, and he was the one with a fire in his heart that he couldn’t vent.

Other than giving Mei Wanying the cold shoulder, he didn’t know what else to do to make himself feel even slightly better.

Pei Yan went straight to the study.

Before long, one of Mei Wanying’s servants came to fetch him. "Your Highness, it is time to return to your chambers to rest. The Princess Consort is still waiting for you."

He hadn’t lifted her veil, hadn’t drunk the nuptial wine, hadn’t consummated the marriage. The wedding was not yet complete.

Annoyed, Pei Yan ordered Wei Jue to send the person away.

He even gave a command: "No unauthorized personnel are to approach the study."

He didn’t return to the bridal chamber. A new bride spending her wedding night alone—such a major event could not be concealed.

Not only did the news spread throughout the Prince Mansion, but even the key figures in the palace learned of it.

With a little thought, it was obvious that Mei Wanying wasn’t pregnant at all.

Early the next morning, he was summoned to the palace for a scolding. As he was leaving, he overheard a few Palace Maids wagging their tongues.

They were saying that Mei Wanying must have climbed into his bed to be able to marry into the Prince Chen Mansion.

They said he was only marrying Mei Wanying because he felt indebted to the Mei family for raising him.

Finally, they said, "If she’s found to be pregnant in a couple of months, that’ll prove she really did climb into his bed. After all, His Highness didn’t touch her last night, and it seems he’s supposed to leave for the Border today..."

Pei Yan’s face darkened, and he ordered the gossiping Palace Maids to be slapped.

He changed his mind. He did not leave the capital immediately.

Instead, he returned to the Prince Mansion.

The red silk was still hanging in the mansion, a festive scene, but the air felt frozen, stretched taut.

The slightest disturbance might shatter the surface-level peace.

Pei Yan finally returned to the bridal chamber.

Mei Wanying was wearing only a satin nightgown, sitting by the window and doing her makeup.

The nightgown was red, and so were her eyes. They were also a little swollen; she had clearly been crying hard.

When she saw him enter, Mei Wanying looked up at him. Her eyes, veiled with a thin mist of tears, looked innocent and wronged.

Her small face was expressionless as she asked, "To what do I owe this sudden visit, Your Highness?"

Pei Yan sneered. "Fine. I’ll leave."

He had just turned when the sound of cosmetics falling came from behind him. Mei Wanying scrambled to catch up.

Shamelessly, she threw her arms around him from behind, begging him not to go.

Pei Yan ordered in a cold voice, "Get out."

At his command, the roomful of maids and old servants filed out of the bridal chamber.

Inside, the wedding candles had burned out, and the daylight was bright. The red gauze canopy, which had only recently been hung, was torn down once again.

The golden hooks swung a few times.

They didn’t stop.

In fact, they began to sway even more violently.

This time, Pei Yan was sober. He unleashed all the resentment in his heart.

’I’m going to make her cry!’

Mei Wanying’s slender brows furrowed slightly, her freshly applied makeup now smudged with a thin sheen of sweat.

Her soft arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

Their necks entwined.

Pei Yan felt as if he were being ensnared by vines, wrapping tighter and tighter, making it impossible for him to escape.

Mei Wanying was crying again.

Tears streamed down her small face, finally dripping onto his body.

Pei Yan felt as if he had been burned and wanted to pull away.

But Mei Wanying’s tone was domineering. "Don’t you dare go."

She flipped over and pinned him beneath her.

Awkward.

Bashful.

But also filled with a reckless abandon.

Lying on his back on the wedding bed, Pei Yan saw Mei Wanying’s tears clearly.

A dull ache spread through his heart.

He told himself he couldn’t give in.

’Mei Wanying is always testing my limits. Isn’t it just because she’s certain I’ll go soft on her?’

’I have to teach her a lesson!’