The residence that Prince Anchang had prepared for the imperial envoy was a manor—though calling it a manor hardly did it justice, for its scale was grand and magnificent, its towers soaring high, comparable to the estate of a prince of the blood. From the main gates to the main hall, every beam was carved and every rafter painted, resplendent in gold and splendor, the epitome of luxury and extravagance. Throughout the estate, beautiful maidservants abounded and servants clustered about—clearly, Prince Anchang had spared no effort.
A Mei and An Sheng walked slowly forward, A Mei glancing left and right before finally leaning over to whisper to An Sheng: "No wonder everyone says Prince Anchang is practically the local emperor here in Lindong. I have to say, though the imperial palace in the capital is vast, when it comes to fine details, it simply can't match this level of opulent decadence."
When An Sheng had first entered the estate, he'd tried to take A Mei's hand, but she'd dodged it. Now that she was speaking to him, he shamelessly sidled up beside her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and softened his voice:
"My lady is finally willing to speak to her husband."
A Mei shot him a sidelong glance, pushing at his arm with a coquettish huff: "Who said I want to talk to you? Don't touch me."
An Sheng had no intention of letting her go—he only held her tighter, placating her in a soft, coaxing tone while his words carried an irrepressible dominance: "That won't do, my lady. You may punish me however you like, but you can't forbid me from being near you. If it pleases you, go ahead and slap me a few times to let off steam."
With that, he took her little hand and placed it on his cheek.
"Ah!" A Mei panicked, glancing around nervously, afraid of being seen. Fortunately, the servants and maids of the estate all kept their heads bowed in careful deference, not daring to look. She yanked her hand back, glared at An Sheng, and scolded him in a huff: "Husband! What are you doing! With all these people around, have you no regard for your dignity as the imperial envoy?"
But An Sheng merely curled his lips in a smile, utterly unconcerned: "As long as my lady is happy, what does my dignity matter?"
His words made A Mei's cheeks flush, and an involuntary sweet warmth bloomed in her heart, the corners of her lips curving upward against her will.
An Sheng watched her expression, a flicker passing through his eyes, and his movements and speech grew even more careful—full of tenderness and coaxing.
At last, the last stubborn resentment in A Mei's heart melted away entirely. When the two entered the bedchamber and An Sheng dismissed all the servants, A Mei threw herself wholeheartedly into his arms.
An Sheng caught her soft, yielding form perfectly, and A Mei lifted her face—her bright, moist eyes sparkling with dependence and bashful timidity. She pouted her lips, a mixture of coquetry and complaint, and spoke in a sweet, clingy voice: "Hmph, even though husband bullied me so, the truth is I haven't really been angry with you for a while now. It's just that you can't do things like that again. If you're that overbearing and domineering once more, I'll truly ignore you."
An Sheng's heart melted.
He couldn't help but call out: "A Mei."
She answered: "Mm."
"My lady."
"What is it?"
"My darling."
A Mei shot him another sidelong glance, then pinched the soft flesh at his waist: "Say it, husband!"
An Sheng let out a small hiss of breath, but he stayed perfectly still, standing there as she pinched him, a doting smile spreading across his face: "Nothing, I just wanted to call you."
Then, suddenly, An Sheng reached into his wide sleeve and pulled out a handkerchief clearly wrapped around something.
A Mei asked in puzzlement: "What's this?"
An Sheng raised his chin toward her, signaling for her to open it for herself.
A Mei unfolded the handkerchief, revealing several pieces of citron cake nestled inside.
She blinked, and An Sheng said softly: "I noticed my lady didn't eat much at the banquet just now. This one dish on my table was quite good, so I took the liberty of bringing some along—consider it an apology, if you will?"
A Mei was struck speechless.
Then she burst out laughing, her eyes curving into crescent moons, shimmering with watery light. The thought of her husband—an honorable imperial envoy—wrapping pastries in a handkerchief for her sake was so touching, so secretly thrilling, and so utterly absurd that she couldn't help but say: "Husband, you're always able to coax me like this."
An Sheng smiled tenderly: "I was just afraid my lady might truly be angry. I wanted to win you over."
And then, out of nowhere, A Mei reached up, cupped An Sheng's face with both hands, rose on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the lips—just once—then looked at him and said: "Honestly, I'm still a little angry."
With that, she lowered her eyes, a hint of shyness and shameless excitement flickering across her face. Her hand slid down from his cheek, over his chest to the lapel of his robe, and she gripped it, her fingertips whitening from the pressure.
She murmured bashfully: "Husband, lean in close. I have something to tell you."
An Sheng had been frozen in place ever since her kiss, and it wasn't until she asked him to lean in that he snapped back to himself. He bent down immediately, bringing his ear to her lips, listening with grave, rapt attention.
The voice by his ear was barely a whisper, full of feminine timidity, and it fell upon his ears as the sweetest sound: "Husband said I could punish you however I liked, didn't you? Well, then, tonight—I intend to bully you too. You're not allowed to resist. Hmph, I'm going to tie you up as well..."
An Sheng's eyes flew wide. His ordinarily dark pupils turned fathomless, filling with bottomless lust.
Sure enough, the next moment, A Mei heard his breathing grow heavy and labored. She met those eyes—so familiar, fixed so intensely upon her, burning with heat and desire.
A Mei tilted her head and asked with a smile: "Husband, is that acceptable to you?"
For a long while, An Sheng didn't speak.
A Mei pouted: "Husband, say something! What, you don't agree?"
Finally, An Sheng managed: "I agree."
A Mei's eyes flickered with a mischievous idea. She fixed her big, glistening eyes on him, blinked prettily, then ran the tip of her tongue across her lower lip and called out sweetly: "Husband, husband~"
"Mm." An Sheng swallowed hard, forcing out a single syllable, his voice hoarse with want.
A Mei lifted her chin in a display of spoiled arrogance: "Never mind, I won't tease you anymore. I know it's your first day in Lindong and you must have a hundred official matters to tend to. Go on and busy yourself—I won't tag along. I'm a bit sleepy, so I'll take a nap. This afternoon, Princess Anchang has invited me to go out with her for a while, and I've already agreed. When I go out, I'll have Wu Da make the arrangements."
With that, A Mei began undoing her outer garments as she made her way to the bed. By the time she was down to her inner robe, she collapsed face-first onto the mattress, her eyelids drooping, her demeanor suddenly listless. A weary sound escaped her nose: "I'm so tired, husband."
An Sheng hurried to the edge of the bed, sat down, and gently began removing the ornaments from her dark hair, letting the silken strands cascade over her shoulders and back.
Had one parted those locks and undone the thin inner robe at that moment, one would have seen, from the nape of her neck and down the length of her back, the dense, overlapping marks left behind—no wonder A Mei had been in such a sour mood all night. Traces like that spoke of how utterly out of control An Sheng had been when he'd made them.
A Mei placed the handkerchief-wrapped pastries at the head of the bed.
"I'll eat these snacks later. I'm going to sleep now — I need to keep my energy up. Princess Anchang really did say she wants to take me to Ruibao Pavilion for a look. Perfect, that's exactly where I've been wanting to go."
"Eh, husband, why are you so quiet all of a sudden?"
……
