Chapter 1 Waking Up

Warm breath and the man's tender, magnetic voice entered her ears, causing Yu Qingwu's fingers to tremble almost imperceptibly.

But her face remained unchanged, she only looked at Xie Jin Yan indifferently, replying with utmost respect, "Your Highness is busy with official duties; it was my lapse in judgment last night."

Still distant, polite, and indifferent.

Qingwu tried her best to conceal her true emotions, but the momentary tremor in her fingertips betrayed her.

Xie Jin Yan lowered his eyes to look at the cautious woman, gently stroking her hair, and said softly, "Shijie, why are you so distant? We used to be martial siblings, and now we are husband and wife. What kind of husband and wife are so polite?"

Martial siblings? Husband and wife?

Yes, they used to be martial siblings, and now they were, for the time being, husband and wife.

But Qingwu knew that between her and Xie Jin Yan, there was more of a relationship of subject and ruler.

If she were still just his shijie, perhaps she could still be willful, but she was his Crown Princess, and that was different.

But if she was too distant, it didn't seem quite appropriate.

Thinking of this, Yu Qingwu's hand, which had been resting on Xie Jin Yan's lower back, slowly returned, gently covering his chest. Then, she shook her head lightly, replying with a hint of coquetry, "Your Highness is overthinking things. I wasn't being distant; I just felt that I was indeed a little out of line yesterday. Moreover, I didn't blame Your Highness for leaving last night."

"You are the Crown Prince. What would it look like if you revolved around a woman all day? Naturally, it is more important to attend to official matters."

She hooked her lips, forcing a smile.

However, the moment that trace of red on the man's neck caught her eye, her heart suddenly turned cold.

Xie Jin Yan was extremely perceptive and immediately noticed Yu Qingwu's gaze.

He took her hand, caressing the back of it, and said earnestly, "A-Wu, there is something I feel I must emphasize again."

"I have never had any improper relations with those courtesans. When I was enjoying myself with that top courtesan on the boat, it was only to deceive others. Nothing happened between her and me."

"You, Yu Qingwu, are my first woman."

Beneath his handsome face, his phoenix eyes were filled with deep affection.

Those deep pupils seemed to contain a vortex, ready to suck her in at any moment.

For a fleeting moment, Yu Qingwu believed this nonsense.

But soon, she came back to her senses.

Giving Xie Jin Yan a sarcastic look, Yu Qingwu didn't continue the topic. She only pried open his hand, got up, walked to the bronze basin filled with warm water, wrung out a towel, handed it over, and said softly, "Your Highness, the meal will be served soon. Wipe your hands and let's eat."

What kind of reaction was this?

She didn't believe him?

"Shijie, you don't believe me?" Xie Jin Yan frowned, his eyes darkening. He grabbed Yu Qingwu's hand holding the towel and threw the towel heavily into the basin.

The water rippled, and Yu Qingwu's pupils trembled.

Taking a deep breath, she finally couldn't help but look at him with a cold smile, mocking him, "Your Highness, it's fine to coax women, but when the coaxing is too outrageous, you're treating people like fools. I'm not a fool."

"Your Highness is known for your amorous ways, and I have witnessed it with my own eyes. When we went on a mission together, didn't you sleep with that young widow in the same bed? That day, you left me alone in the mountains for the entire night. The next morning, I found my way back myself and saw you and that young widow in disheveled clothes. Now you're telling me that I am your first woman. Do you think I can believe that?"

Mentioning the past, Yu Qingwu's heart couldn't help but ache again.

In the past, when she only treated him as a martial sibling, seeing such a scene would at most lead her to scold him a few times, saying that he was unaccomplished and didn't know how to control himself.

But now, when this man had become her husband and used all sorts of tender means to deceive her into developing feelings for him, recalling those past events seemed to bring more pain, disgust.

Under what kind of mindset had she fallen in love with such a man?

Qingwu withdrew her hand, and when she looked at Xie Jin Yan again, her eyes couldn't help but fill with tears. She sighed and said, "Your Highness, besides that, there are many other times. Do I have to say them all?"

She had to admit, her immature behavior in her youth was really harmful.

At least, 'sleeping' with the young widow was indeed very immature.

"Shijie, if I said that at that time, I was deliberately trying to anger you and that nothing happened with that young widow, would you believe me?" After a moment of silence, Xie Jin Yan explained with extreme embarrassment, "Think about it carefully. Every time those things happened, it was when you were around. When I went on missions with the other martial brothers and sisters, when have I ever flirted with other women?"

"I don't deny that doing those things was partly to create the illusion for the First Prince and the You family that I was a纨绔子弟 (wankuzi di, good-for-nothing playboy), but at that time, it was more about wanting to make you angry."

"Who knew that you wouldn't be jealous at all? Instead, you went to Shifu (master) to complain, causing Shifu to give me a good beating."

"At that time, I was extremely annoyed, feeling that it would have been more comfortable if you had slapped me rather than going to Shifu to complain..."

"Alright, let's just leave the past in the past. Then how do you explain the hickey on Your Highness's neck?"

Seeing Xie Jin Yan spouting nonsense, Yu Qingwu couldn't hold back any longer.

Interrupting him coldly, she raised her hand, pointing directly at the red mark on his neck, and said sarcastically, "Doing those things in the past was to make me angry, it was childish, but how do you explain this?"

"This..."

Remembering how Yu Qingwu had gotten angry and shed tears yesterday, Xie Jin Yan choked again.

Those alluring phoenix eyes were even vaguely dodging.

Seeing the man's expression, Yu Qingwu's heart grew even colder. She gave a bitter laugh, took the towel again, wrung it out, handed it to him, and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, if you can't explain it, then don't bother..."

"A-Wu, I..."

"Your Highness, Crown Princess, it's time to eat." Ape entered the door as the two were in a stalemate.

After testing each dish with a silver needle, she ordered the palace servants to bring them to the table.

Yu Qingwu sat down at the table, her face, which had been full of sarcasm just now, had now returned to the dignified and composed appearance of a Crown Princess. She scooped a bowl of winter melon and pork rib soup, carefully handing it to Xie Jin Yan.

Then she scooped a bowl for herself and took two sips.

She vaguely felt a gloomy gaze staring at her from across the table. She looked up and met the man's cold eyes. Her heart couldn't help but tremble, but she forced herself to remain calm and asked softly, "What's wrong, Your Highness? Why aren't you eating?"

"Yu Qingwu, are you giving me attitude?" Xie Jin Yan placed the spoon heavily on the table, his gaze sweeping over the woman's calm face, which didn't show the slightest ripple of emotion. Finally, some emotion surfaced.

"When you give me attitude, do you ever think about the fact that your life is still in my hands?"

The heavy impact, along with Xie Jin Yan's cold words, entered Yu Qingwu's ears, causing her body to tremble slightly.

Yes, how could she give Xie Jin Yan attitude?

Her life still depended on him to save her.

The spoon in her hand gradually tightened, then relaxed again.

Biting her lip, Yu Qingwu slowly raised her head, looking at the man's handsome but sinister face. She took a deep breath, suppressing her emotions, and scooped a spoonful of soup to feed him. A hint of pity appeared in the reddened corners of her eyes as she called him softly, "Husband, drink the soup."