Sima Jing naturally noticed the terrified expressions of the master and servant by the bedside, as if they had seen a ghost.
“Your servant pays respects to Prince Jing… Prince Jing, Your Highness…”
Qingling knelt by the bedside with a thud, trembling all over like she had a sack of chaff in her bones, her head wishing it could burrow straight into the floor tiles.
Yun Ran immediately scrambled up from the bed, smoothing her slightly disheveled crimson robe, staring in disbelief at the man by the screen: “Your Highness, why have you returned again?”
Again.
Sima Jing’s eyes darkened slightly. As expected, she still hated him.
After a brief silence, he stepped forward into the crimson-lit bridal chamber: “Tonight is our Dongfang Huazhu Night, yet you think I should not come?”
Yun Ran: “…!”
Dongfang Huazhu!
He returned just to share the wedding night with her?!
Sima Jing glanced at the young lady on the bed, struck as if by lightning. She had already removed the ostentatious, extravagant hairpins and beads.
Her black hair cascaded loosely, her face cleansed of makeup, revealing her true appearance.
Under the dim candlelight, her face was like a lotus petal, her cheeks like fresh lychee, and the scarlet embroidered undergarment with twin lotus blooms only accentuated her snow-white skin and radiant complexion.
Much easier on the eyes this way.
Sima Jing lowered his gaze and sat at the other end of the long bed, then finally spoke: “You may leave.”
Yun Ran blinked in surprise. Who should leave? Her? Fine, fine.
But Qingling by the door was a step ahead: “Yes, your servant will leave immediately.”
She rose with a sense of relief. Seeing her mistress now about to lie down, Qingling’s pupils widened in shock.
Little Mistress, you’re the bride— are you leaving?!
Yun Ran avoided Qingling’s gaze, feeling guilty.
She didn’t want to stay with this cold, taciturn odd man either.
Qingling gave her a look of care, then turned to leave.
The door clicked shut softly. Yun Ran glanced at the red-robed man seated not far away, emotions complicated.
Well, she was the bride tonight, so she might as well go with the flow.
She stole glances at Sima Jing again and again, but he neither moved nor spoke. Could he really be sitting still here all night?
Though her mother had specifically told her last night, “Don’t argue, always listen to Prince Jing,” the two of them now seemed like wooden posts, and the room was so quiet it felt eerie.
Yun Ran couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Your Highness, why don’t you go bathe and change first?”
She felt it was already late, and naturally, one would wash up before going to bed.
Her words reached Sima Jing’s ears, but they took on a different meaning.
His face tilted slightly as he looked at her cautiously, his dark eyes quietly pleading.
Back when they met in the bamboo forest, she had worn a maid’s hairstyle and a neat blue dress, holding a branch, still with a childish air.
Now, her black hair was loose, her slender waist delicate, and beneath the crimson undergarment, her soft curves were faintly outlined, revealing a mature feminine charm quite unlike before.
This woman was no longer a child just because of innocence.
Sima Jing calmly shifted his gaze away from her subtly curved waist to her face: “Did you drink?”
Yun Ran: “Drink? I did drink… why, does Your Highness drink?”
Sima Jing said nothing, merely moved to the rosewood table and picked up a gilded wine flask.
He poured a cup, brought it to his nose, inhaled deeply, then poured a second cup.
Yun Ran wondered silently: Was he afraid the wine was spoiled, or that something was added?
But this was the prince’s residence; no one here would be so reckless as to poison the wine, right?
Lost in thought, the young man carried two cups of wine over and handed one to her.
Seeing the golden cup with pomegranate patterns presented before her, Yun Ran pursed her lips and accepted it: “Thank you, Your Highness.”
She knew it was customary for newlyweds to drink the ritual wine together.
But judging by this man’s cold, venomous beauty, she hesitated to get closer. If he ordered her away again, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?
While she hesitated, Sima Jing raised his head and drained his cup.
She was startled: “You drank it all?”
He looked at her: “Otherwise?”
Yun Ran: “…”
Wasn’t the ritual wine supposed to be sipped hand in hand, exchanged between the bride and groom? Had the palace only taught the bride the rules but not the groom?
She didn’t understand, but since he had already drunk, she gave up thinking further and tilted her head back to drink her own.
The wine’s fragrance was pleasant, but it burned as it slid down, causing her whole face to scrunch up in surprise.
Sima Jing watched coolly, suddenly recalling the time he fed a little green snake a citrus peel.
The snake licked it once, then immediately turned around from the sourness.
He had found it amusing.
Just like now.
When Yun Ran recovered, Sima Jing had set down the golden cup: “Rest now. I will go wash.”
Looking at the dazzling scarlet figure moving away, Yun Ran mustered courage: “Will you come back later?”
His steps paused, then he turned half his face to her, giving a sideways glance.
Yun Ran: “…”
A blessing, not a curse.
The candlelight flickered softly, the moonlight clear as water.
Usually, she would fall asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.
But tonight, lying on this wide bridal bed that could fit four people, she couldn’t feel the slightest sleepiness—
In truth, she dared not sleep. After all, sharing a bed with a strange man tonight, who knew what might happen while she was unconscious?
She could only remain patient, waiting for him to return, while pondering how to handle the night’s inevitable intimacy.
Logically, she couldn’t refuse. After all, they were married, and that was expected.
Besides, the bridal chamber rites were part of health cultivation. If done well, yin and yang would harmonize, strengthening the body and prolonging life.
But the thought of Prince Jing’s handsome yet aloof gaze made her shiver.
Why did she have to marry someone like him?
Sima Jing intentionally lingered in the cleansing chamber for some time, planning to wait until the bride fell asleep before returning, to conserve his energy.
Unexpectedly, when he entered through the red embroidered curtains, he found the young lady sitting cross-legged on the carved purple sandalwood bed, her fingers forming seals as she murmured words.
Hearing his footsteps, she quickly ended the ritual and opened her clear eyes: “You’re back.”
Sima Jing was awkward with people, let alone young women.
Seeing her look at him like that, he murmured a low “Hmm,” then said: “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I’m waiting for you to come back, didn’t dare to sleep.”
“…What were you doing just now?”
“I was chanting the Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun’s sacred mantra. Today is his birthday. Since I was idle anyway, I might as well recite scriptures and cultivate my heart.”
After a pause, Yun Ran looked up at him: “Your Highness knows I used to stay at a Daoguan, right?”
Sima Jing: “Mm.”
Relieved, she suddenly said: “Then you must know my courtesy name?”
Sima Jing: “…”
What image did she have of him?
Seeing his silence, Yun Ran smiled awkwardly: “I thought you might be busy with important matters and forgot.”
“But even if you did forget, it’s fine. I’ll tell you now anyway.”
“My courtesy name is Yun Ran. At home, I’m called Wu (Five), outside everyone calls me Yun Wuniangzi, and my family calls me Ranran. If Your Highness doesn’t mind, you can call me Ranran too. After all… after we’re married, my mother said, husband and wife are one, and married couples are the closest of all.”
Yun Ran usually talked a lot because she was naturally restless and liked chatting.
When nervous, she talked even more.
Now, seeing Sima Jing silent, she babbled on: “I roughly know your situation, so no need to introduce. Do you know Langui Mama? Yes, she’s the old nanny by Empress Dowager Zhao’s side. On the second day after our wedding, Taihou sent her to our residence to teach me palace etiquette. Though she looks stern, she’s actually kindhearted, and told me a lot about you…”
Sima Jing watched her small red lips move incessantly, unable to comprehend where she found so much to say.
Even if no one replied, she could keep talking.
Yet, for some reason, whenever others bothered him with a single word, he felt annoyed.
Now, hearing her chirp, he oddly thought to see how long she could keep going.
Realizing this, Sima Jing’s brow twitched.
He pressed his fingers against his forehead, certain she was driving him mad.
“Enough,” he said evenly. “Tonight you sleep on the inner side, I’ll take the outer.”
Yun Ran was startled: “We… we sleep now?”
“It’s nearly midnight.”
Sima Jing sat beside the dragon-phoenix wedding bed, removing his boots with indifferent expression: “If you really can’t sleep, you’re free to get up and walk around; no one will stop you.”
Yun Ran moved further inside the bed, then thought of his words just now and smiled bitterly.
This man was truly rude. Couldn’t he speak normally? So blunt.
Either way, sharing the same bed was unavoidable.
He stretched out his long arm, and the scarlet canopy curtain with its endless blessings slipped down from the gilded hook, making the spacious bed suddenly feel cramped with a tall man sprawled inside.
In the dim enclosed space, the presence, breath, and sounds of another person were magnified and invisibly permeated the air.
Yun Ran lay deep inside, staring up at the canopy, heart pounding wildly, nose catching a faint, cold, bitter herbal scent.
That was the man’s aura.
A strange yet pleasant smell.
Not far off, across two pillows on the outer side, Sima Jing lay on his back, also fully awake.
Like Yun Ran, he couldn’t help but notice the other’s scent inside the canopy.
It was the common sandalwood incense found in temples and Daoguans— plain yet layered with a faint, gentle sweetness.
The two utterly different scents blended on her body, creating a soft, unobtrusive unique fragrance.
Not unpleasant at all.
Sima Jing’s brow relaxed slowly. Suddenly, a clear voice broke the silence:
“Your Highness, is that wormwood scent on you? Did you add mint too?”
So she had been paying attention to the fragrance.
After a long pause, he answered: “Not mint. It’s borneol.”
Yun Ran: “Borneol?”
Sima Jing: “Also called Longan incense.”
Yun Ran understood: “So that’s Longan incense. No wonder.”
Sima Jing: “Hm?”
Taking the cue, Yun Ran hurried on: “I wondered why it smelled cool, but with a calm, subtle fragrance mint doesn’t have.”