Chapter 14

Li Mu calculated the time. The incident happened when Lin Yan’an was three years old, which was nine years ago. Nine years ago, Lin Que was only seventeen.

In modern terms, he was just a high school sophomore, returning to find his father’s family killed by his maternal grandfather, leaving only a one-year-old cousin and implicating many innocents…

“Hiss—”

Li Mu accidentally pulled Lin Que’s hair, causing him to inhale sharply. He leaned toward the pull and grabbed her hand, “Gently.”

Lin Que’s palm was cold, and when their skin touched, Li Mu’s hair stood on end.

Li Mu was used to hiding her negative emotions, and Lin Que noticed that she was good at wrapping her fear so that no one would notice or judge her. But he still sensed something from her lowered eyes and halted breathing. He released her hand, and Li Mu indeed looked up, her breathing returning to normal.

Lin Que said, “It’s been a long day, and it’s late. Let’s complete the wedding ceremony and then sleep.”

Li Mu: “…”

Is this “sleep” legitimate?

Li Mu couldn’t ask. She and Lin Que performed the wedding ceremony and drank nuptial wine. Before lying down, Lin Que asked if she preferred to sleep inside or outside. She chose the outside, in case anything happened, she wouldn’t be trapped against the wall.

After lying down nervously for a long time, Li Mu finally understood that this “sleep” was legitimate.

Grateful.

As for why he didn’t consummate the marriage, Li Mu didn’t notice Lin Que’s terrifyingly detailed observation skills and assumed it was because of his poor health.

Regardless, Li Mu’s emotions fluctuated greatly, but she could finally end this hellish day.

When thinking, Li Mu liked to curl up in bed, sometimes covering her head with the blanket. But when she really wanted to sleep, her posture was very proper. Her insomnia had taught her that lying on her side made her toss and turn, making it harder to sleep. It was better to lie on her back with her hands crossed on her stomach, like lying in a coffin, which made it easier to fall asleep. Once asleep, she hardly moved, possibly because her difficulty falling asleep made her wake up from dreams frequently. The actual sleep time was too short to change positions, or maybe she never truly relaxed, always sleeping and waking stiffly. Now, in a new place, with a man beside her and having suffered from insomnia for days, Li Mu thought she would be sleepless until dawn. But to her surprise, she fell asleep.

Although she didn’t sleep long, she actually slept and didn’t have any strange dreams.

How amazing.

Why?

Reflecting on the previous night, Li Mu thought of the nuptial wine she drank before bed.

Before transmigrating, Li Mu had heard that a small drink before bed could aid sleep, but she didn’t expect it to work so well.

Maybe she should have another drink tonight, though she wondered if it would conflict with her calming soup.

Li Mu thought about it and glanced at the man beside her. Compared to her stiff sleeping posture, his was much more relaxed, lying on his side facing her.

The sky outside was already light, with dim light filtering through the window and thin bed curtains. The light wasn’t too dark, and Li Mu’s gaze fell on the mole at the corner of his left eye. She finally realized it wasn’t blood but a mole.

When she first met Lin Que, his face was stained with blood, and Li Mu had always thought that spot at the corner of his eye was blood.

Taking advantage of Lin Que still being asleep, Li Mu unabashedly stared at him for a long time.

Suddenly, Lin Que opened his eyes, causing Li Mu’s heart to skip a beat. Her expression remained expressionless as she slowly looked away and left the bed.

“Getting up already?” Lin Que turned over, lying on his back with one hand covering his eyes, looking like he hadn’t slept enough and didn’t want to get up.

Li Mu almost bit her tongue, “Morning tea.”

Madam Qian had repeatedly reminded her to get up early on the second day of her marriage to serve tea to her mother-in-law. She had even prepared gifts for the family’s younger members, fearing Li Mu would make a mistake. Li Mu couldn’t forget even if she wanted to and was afraid Madam Qian would ask her maids about it when she returned home. So she brought it up herself to get it over with.

Lin Que responded with a hum and lay there for a while before getting up.

The maids waiting outside heard the commotion and quickly brought in hot water for washing and the clothes they needed to wear.

After washing up, they dressed on opposite sides of the room. Li Mu not only had to do her hair but also had to put on makeup, taking more time than Lin Que, who sat at the table waiting for her.

The table was set with a hot breakfast. Lin Que couldn’t eat anything early in the morning, and Steward Wu knew his habits, so the food was prepared for Li Mu.

After the maids fussed over her face for a long time, Li Mu sat down and ate a bowl of shrimp wontons. Since she was the only one eating, she glanced at Lin Que a few times.

Lin Que explained, “I don’t have much appetite in the morning. I’ll eat later.”

With that answer, Li Mu felt less awkward. After eating, they tidied up and went together to see Grand Princess Zhaoming.

Li Mu thought that after yesterday’s ordeal, her social anxiety threshold had been forcibly raised, and serving tea wouldn’t scare her. But as she walked with Lin Que to serve tea, she realized she was still too naive.

Familiar anxiety and nervousness filled her heart. She wanted to stop several times, but whenever she slowed down a bit, Lin Que would notice and turn to look at her.

Li Mu gritted her teeth and kept up, regretting that she hadn’t pretended to forget about the tea ceremony.

On the other side, Grand Princess Zhaoming was also experiencing her first time as a mother-in-law. She had been a daughter-in-law before, but it had been so long that she couldn’t remember much. It was Qiu Zhu who reminded her, so she stayed at King Yan’s residence with Qiwu for the night.

Regarding Li Mu as a daughter-in-law, Lin Que had promised to treat her well, and Grand Princess Zhaoming had no objections. Their two households had been getting by, and there was no need to make things difficult for themselves. So when she saw Li Mu, Grand Princess Zhaoming’s only reaction was that Li Mu was too thin. She wondered if Li Mu ate enough and hoped she wouldn’t be like her unfortunate son, who didn’t like to eat.

Grand Princess Zhaoming noticed that Li Mu kept her eyes down and only looked up when serving tea, revealing the scars on her hands. When Li Mu saw her, her eyes suddenly brightened. When giving Yan’an a meeting gift, Li Mu couldn’t help but sneak another glance at her, making Grand Princess Zhaoming wonder if there was something on her face.

Back at the Grand Princess’s residence, with nothing else to do, she sent Qiu Zhu to ask Lin Que. Qiu Zhu returned with a smile, saying, “His Highness asked the consort directly, and her ears turned red. She just said ‘beautiful,’ probably because she thinks Your Highness is good-looking and couldn’t help but keep looking.”

Grand Princess Zhaoming laughed, “At my age, who cares about being beautiful?”

Lin Qiwu, biting her pen while doing homework, heard this and shook her head, “Auntie is beautiful. Sister-in-law is right.”

Li Mu hadn’t expected Grand Princess Zhaoming to be so stunning—beautiful, sharp, tall, and strong from battles, embodying the powerful and graceful figure that Li Mu would shamelessly admire online before transmigrating.

Because of Grand Princess Zhaoming’s beauty, Li Mu wasn’t as nervous. The only awkward moment was when she gave Yan’an a meeting gift and couldn’t help but sneak another glance, getting caught. To cover her embarrassment, she did something even more awkward—she reached out and patted Yan’an’s head.

A polite and gentle young man who could call her “mother” without changing his expression lost his smile because of her touch.

Li Mu had no doubt she would spend her life trying to forget the boy’s bewildered expression, hoping not to kick the covers at night remembering it. Compared to admitting in front of Lin Que and Qiu Zhu that she kept looking at Grand Princess Zhaoming because she was beautiful, this was nothing, though her ears turned red.

After Qiu Zhu reported back, Lin Que and Li Mu changed clothes to enter the palace, as required by the emperor’s marriage decree.

In the previous dynasty, after the emperor bestowed a marriage on the royal family, the newlyweds had to enter the palace the next day to express gratitude. The emperor would give rewards, and the palace would hold a grand banquet. This dynasty’s founder valued frugality, even changing the emperor’s jade carriage to a wooden one. Naturally, he changed the marriage decree rules, requiring only the newlyweds to enter the palace the next day to express gratitude without any banquet.

Yesterday’s experience left Li Mu with a shadow, making her extremely resistant to entering the palace. Normally, she cherished her body, but now she couldn’t stop her morbid thoughts, wishing she could break her leg to avoid going.

Her ear felt cool—Lin Que had touched her still-red ear, his jade thumb ring brushing her cheek.

Lin Que wanted to know if Li Mu’s ear was hot. After Qiu Zhu left, he couldn’t resist and tried to distract her, “Should I not have asked you in front of Qiu Zhu?”

Li Mu stared at him blankly, not saying a word.

Lin Que pondered for a moment, “How about we don’t go to the palace?”

They had slept late the previous night. Li Mu wasn’t used to having someone beside her, and neither was he. So before Li Mu fell asleep, he was awake, counting the time. In total, they had only slept for about an hour and a half. It would be better to use the time to catch up on sleep, avoiding another headache for him.

Li Mu’s eyes widened.

Lin Que teased her, “Or do you want to see the palace? We didn’t have time yesterday, but we can take a leisurely stroll this time.”

Li Mu shook her head vigorously.

Lin Que laughed, “Alright, then we won’t go.”

Li Mu went to change out of her palace attire, no longer concerned about Lin Que touching her ear. Her joyful demeanor practically screamed—

“Yes! Yay!”

Lin Que then sent someone to inform Lin Yan’an to go to the palace and express gratitude on his behalf. If the emperor asked, he was to say that Lin Que was ill and couldn’t leave the house.

Lin Yan’an received the instructions and skillfully took Lin Que’s prince’s waist token to the palace. He explained the situation to the waiting eunuch at the palace gate with a smile. The eunuch, feigning concern for King Yan’s health, led Lin Yan’an to see the emperor. The twelve-year-old boy, neither arrogant nor humble, often reminded the older palace staff of the young King Yan.

The younger palace staff didn’t believe it, thinking the two were too different. Lin Yan’an was gentle and polite to everyone, while King Yan…

They didn’t dare say more.

“Lord Lin, your jade pendant is exquisite,” the eunuch noticed the white jade bird and flower pendant at Lin Yan’an’s waist and complimented it.

“This was a gift from my mother,” Lin Yan’an recalled receiving the pendant and being patted on the head. His eyes were unreadable, but his lips curved into a habitual, gentle smile: “I like it very much.”