On the summit of the mountain, Pei Qianhao continued to tightly embrace Su Xi-er as he pressed his forehead against hers. A moment later, he raised his right hand and cupped her face, softly calling, “Xi-er.”
“I’m here.” Su Xi-er gently replied before raising her head to meet his lips. Pei Qianhao could smell her faint scent, as well as taste the remaining sweetness from the red date soup she had drunk earlier.
Pei Qianhao’s gaze deepened, and his hug became even tighter. Slipping his tongue into her mouth, he lifted hers up as their breath became intertwined, their bodies becoming hotter along with it.
“Xi-er.” Pei Qianhao stopped and stared at her resplendent eyes intently.
However, Su Xi-er suddenly felt a little dizzy. Without the constant presence of danger, her body quickly began to feel weak again. It was already quite a feat for her to have stayed awake until now with the help of the stab wound on her arm and the frigid wind of the mountain. Noticing that she was suddenly ‘exhausted,’ Pei Qianhao scooped her into his arms before starting to carry her down the mountain.
After entering the woods and reaching the mountain path, Pei Qianhao found a stunned Qin Ling, briefly sweeping his gaze across him before continuing on his way. After a few more steps, he carried Su Xi-er into the horse carriage and tore apart his crimson groom robes, wrapping her in them to keep her warm. He then raised his horsewhip while directing the carriage down the mountain path.
Upon arriving at the bottom of the mountain, he saw Yuchi Mo coming over with a group of guards. Noticing Pei Qianhao, Yuchi Mo prepared to dismount and pay his respects. However, before he could do so, he felt a blast of wind rush past his ears. When he turned around, he only saw a conspicuous figure clad in red robes that was dashing off in the middle of the night.
“Commander, Prince Hao has already passed us.” One of his subordinates couldn’t help but remind Yuchi Mo when he saw that the latter was in a daze.
Yuchi Mo waved his hand and ordered, “Go back and continue guarding the city gates!” He cracked his horsewhip, prompting the group of guards to turn around and begin their trip back to the capital in a cloud of dust kicked up by their horses.
Yet, despite this seemingly earthshaking sequence of events in just two hours, there was nearly nobody else who was aware of what had happened. Everyone else thought that Su Xi-er had been quietly staying in the nuptial chamber this entire time.
Just as Pei Qianhao sent Su Xi-er into the nuptial chamber, someone arrived and shouted from outside the door, “Prince Hao, your humble subjects have boldly come to disturb the nuptial chamber tonight!” With everyone drunk, they had gained the courage to mindlessly blurt out everything they wouldn’t dare to normally say. Everyone was in high spirits as they prepared to disturb the nuptial chamber.
Inside the room, Pei Qianhao carefully placed Su Xi-er on the bed. Only when he accidentally touched her arm did he discover the deep wound, causing his eyes to darken.
Su Xi-er grasped his hand. “It’s so strange. I only drank two bowls of sweet red date soup today; one from Consort Dowager Guo, and the other from Wu Ling. Despite that, my body still began feeling weak after a while.”
“Is that why you stabbed yourself? To stay conscious?” Pei Qianhao felt his heart twinge as he asked in a low voice. She was only cornered by Yun Ruofeng because she was weakened, leading her to stab herself in order to remain lucid.
“It’s fine, it’s just a small injury.” Su Xi-er no longer acted secretive now that she knew that Pei Qianhao was aware of her identity. Compared to any of the wounds I received on the battlefield, this can’t be considered much.
At this moment, the officials were still yelling outside the door. “Disturb the nuptial chamber! Disturb the nuptial chamber! Princess Consort Hao, come out and let these humble subjects have a look!”
Su Xi-er smiled and patted Pei Qianhao’s hand. “You should go out and deal with it. I’m afraid that they won’t be able to disturb the nuptial chamber like this.”
Understanding what she was implying, Pei Qianhao nodded and went to open the door.
“This Prince has never touched a woman in 25 years. Everyone, please understand. Guards, see the officials off.” With that, he closed the door.
