Instead of the wooden hairpin, she was wearing a jade hairpin in her hair bun, and the golden bead curtain veil[1] before her forehead lightly swayed. Since she would be meeting the ministers and envoys from the various countries at the palace banquet, it wouldn’t be appropriate to wear the wooden hairpin.
Su Xi-er stopped in front of him. Seeing that he didn’t say anything, she asked, “Do I look nice?”
Pei Qianhao seemed to have suddenly become lost for words, and could only answer, “Nice.”
Ruo Yuan was confused while she stood at the side, and couldn’t help but chime in. “Prince Hao, you can comment that she’s a dazzling beauty that makes the fishes sink and the geese descend; so beautiful that the moon hides behind the clouds and the flowers are put to shame[2].” However, she instantly detected a cold gaze shooting in her direction, causing her to jump backwards in fright to hide behind Hong Li.
Su Xi-er tugged at Pei Qianhao’s sleeve. “Don’t scare my people. Let’s go to the imperial palace.” She pulled Pei Qianhao away as she walked forward, giving Ruo Yuan some space to calm herself down.
Pei Qianhao was slightly displeased by how she said ‘my people’, but he held his tongue until they were seated in the horse carriage. “You’re quite biased towards the plump and thin lasses.”
Su Xi-er could sense his jealousy, and pretended to widen her eyes as well as exaggerate her expression. “Prince Hao, you can’t possibly want to be jealous of women too, right?”
Pei Qianhao nearly baulked at how quickly he was found out, but still maintained his outwardly calm appearance. “This Prince doesn’t bother arguing with women. How could I be jealous of them?”
“You might not want to admit it, but I can tell that you are jealous. Hong Li and Ruo Yuan are my people, and that applies even more for you.” Su Xi-er replied with a smile.
Su Xi-er was probably the only one in the world who dared to claim that Prince Hao was hers right in front of this person who was considered a cold and ruthless war god.
Yet, this was precisely what worked on Pei Qianhao. He reached out his hand to pull her into his arms. “This Prince is yours, and you are also this Prince’s.”
He then prepared to kiss her lips.
However, Su Xi-er refused him. “I spent 2 hours on my makeup, you should be careful to not mess it up.”
“It’s fine, the palace banquet starts at night, and we’ll be going to Consort Dowager Guo’s repose palace first. If it gets messed up, you can get her to touch up for you.”
Consort Dowager Guo’s maiden family had been merchants for many generations, and they were knowledgeable in makeup. However, ever since the late Emperor took a liking to Consort Dowager Guo, her family was forced to do something else to earn a living. Having been brought up in that kind of environment since she was young, Consort Dowager Guo managed to pick up some skills from her family, and thus, was very well-versed in makeup. As such, she still retained her charm despite being over 50 years old.
There was still at least an hour before they would arrive at the imperial palace, and Su Xi-er was afraid that he would cause trouble in the carriage.
“Xi-er.” Pei Qianhao whispered into her ear.
Every time he called her in such a manner, alarm bells would go off in her head. It’s definitely bad news! Hence, she immediately smacked him. “Don’t mess around. You just promised me that we would wait until tomorrow night.”
“Xi-er, you should read the medical book. This kind of matter can’t be held in for too long. What if this Prince’s body is damaged from holding it in for too long?” Pei Qianhao switched to a solemn expression.
Inspecting his earnest appearance, Su Xi-er mulled over the current situation. My body has already recovered, and I should be able to endure as long as he doesn’t use too much force. Besides, he’s getting more and more experienced every time.
“Xi-er.” He softly called again.
A man who has just tasted something new is really…
Under his scorching gaze, she could only nod. “Be careful. Don’t mess up my hair.”
Having succeeded in getting his way, Pei Qianhao immediately agreed to her request, and instructed the guard driving the carriage. “Choose a desolate road and head to the suburbs.”
The guard immediately acknowledged the order and turned the carriage towards the suburbs.
Hearing his words, Su Xi-er felt regret washing over her. He actually instructed the guard to head to the suburbs! This just means that my torment is only beginning!
1. I tried to find an image that is a golden version. There are varying lengths, but this is what it looks like and this is a shorter version.
2. Ruo Yuan said these words in Chapter 398.
