Yin Lan was fine, but Yanzhi instantly tensed up, worried that she had done something wrong to displease the Prince, and kept looking to Ying for help.
Gu Ying hesitated and said, "Prince, do you want someone else to come in and serve you?"
Zhao Changdu said, "No need, let them all leave."
Seeing the man's decidedly unhappy expression, Gu Ying could only give up and waved them to leave first.
It wasn't strange that the Prince was unused to the people around her after living in pampered comfort at the Duke's Residence. The standards of the maids in a noble household like the Duke's were naturally different from those in her marital family.
The door to the new chamber closed again. Gu Ying dragged her thick and cumbersome bridal dress and sighed again before walking back to the bedside, "So when does the Prince want to bathe and change clothes?"
Tonight was their wedding night in the bridal chamber, and countless eyes were staring at Changfeng Pavilion.
Even if it was just for show, they had to go through the full routine.
Zhao Changdu also understood this and struggled to stand up, swaying.
With no one else in the room, Gu Ying tactfully went over to support him.
Zhao Changdu glanced down at the young lady, unwilling to put his full weight on her. He gave an almost imperceptible chuckle and deliberately rested his head on her shoulder, dragging out his words in a low, sexy voice, "I want you to help me change."
Gu Ying glared at him, her face instantly turning completely red.
This man...was too bad!
But he was drunk like this and refused to let anyone else serve him. If she didn't do it, who would?
There was no other way. She had to support him into the bathing room.
The huge bathing room already had hot water prepared for the master's bath. As soon as Gu Ying entered, she saw a large steaming pool, surrounded by delicate silk curtains that decorated the entire bathing room like a fantasy.
The Duke's Residence was truly extravagant, able to enjoy a hot spring pool at home when ordinary households would be very fortunate to have a wooden tub.
At least the man wasn't completely unreasonable. He held her hand and had her untie his robe sash...
Her ears turned red and her fingers stiff and scalding hot. She didn't even get a good look at his abs before hearing him chuckle and turn around to get into the bathing pool himself.
Gu Ying's mouth twisted and her face was already flushed red. Through the misty steam she could see the man's tall, straight back, broad shoulders and narrow waist, long legs - his figure was perfectly beautiful, almost excessively so.
She was extremely vexed and embarrassed. She quickly turned her back and stood outside the curtains, only hearing the sound of splashing water, which made her ears even more irritated the more she heard it.
Was he doing this on purpose?
He must be doing it on purpose!
She bit her lip, standing awkwardly and waiting for a while.
Sure enough, she soon heard him telling her to get his clothes.
"The clothes are on the lacquer tray in the outer room, go take a look."
"Oh, okay...okay."
Gu Ying clenched her fist, resigned to finding his long robe and under robe in silk brocade in the outer changing room. The slippery silk slid through her hands.
She took a deep breath, trying to throw those useless thoughts out of her mind, and closed her eyes to feel around. She touched something - it seemed to be a solid wall of flesh, and feeling it closely, it had distinct bulges and contours, extremely firm and hard.
"What is my wife touching?" A low, hoarse voice came from above her head, making Gu Ying's fingers go numb. She hurriedly retracted her hand in fright.
"Prince, I've brought...the clothes."
"Didn't I say to call me Adu?"
Gu Ying had completely resigned herself by now. She was no match for this man.
Since he wouldn't leave without hearing her say it, she had no choice but to bite her lip and tentatively call him, "A...Adu."
Zhao Changdu smiled at her for a while but didn't make things difficult for her further. He slowly and methodically put on his clothes, gently saying, "I'm dressed now, you go bathe."
"Okay!" Gu Ying desperately wished he would hurry up and leave.
"Do you need my help?"
"No no no need!"
"Then I'll go out?"
"Hurry, Prince—"
Zhao Changdu frowned. "Hm?"
Gu Ying had completely surrendered by now. She was no match for this man. "Adu, please, go out first!"
The man strode out with his long legs.
Only when she heard the door close did Gu Ying dare to open her eyes. She didn't know if it was the heavy steam in the bathing room, or if she really was too hot, but she felt like her face and body were unbearably heated.
She hurriedly took off her clothes and stepped into the other pool full of flower petals. With a soft cry, she buried her whole body in the water in embarrassment.
...
Zhao Changdu sat outside with a calm expression for a while. He still had the smell of alcohol on him, and could sense the young lady didn't like him drinking.
After bathing, the smell of alcohol had dispersed, and his drunkenness was almost completely gone.
Changfeng Pavilion was exceptionally lively tonight.
After Gu Ying came in, this room also came alive.
In his heart there was an added sense of stability and peace. He thought that after she came out, he would hand over all the wealth he had accumulated over the years for her to manage.
There were many large and small boxes in the bridal chamber tonight.
Seeing an exquisite medium-sized box placed on top of the other boxes, he assumed it was something Huai An had deliberately brought over, so he went to open it.
When he saw the two books inside the box, Zhao Changdu's eyes flashed darkly, and he reflexively glanced toward the bathing room.
...
Gu Ying washed up, changed clothes, and deliberately dried her hair in the room, dragging her feet for nearly half a shichen before willing to come out.
As a result, the room's lamps were still lit and the Prince hadn't gone to bed either.
That grand red wedding robe hung on the purple sandalwood clothes stand, and the man sat under the bed in a loose robe reading a book.
Outside the carved lattice window, snow fell with a sound, desolate and dreary.
The man's sculpted side profile was illuminated by flickering light and shadow that etched several mottled shadows on his extraordinarily handsome face, making his strikingly peerless looks even more remarkable.
Gu Ying awkwardly rubbed her hair. She was only wearing a thin white under robe.
"Prince, why haven't you gone to bed yet?"
Zhao Changdu didn't even lift his head, engrossed in reading. "Can't sleep, reading to pass the time."
Gu Ying grumbled. What groom reads books on his wedding night?
But it was normal not to be able to sleep in such an awkward situation.
She gave an awkward laugh and walked over, just about to chat with the Prince when her eyes happened to see that book in his hands, Spring Chamber Secret Illustrations, and her eyes instantly widened in shock.
"Prince, you—"
Zhao Changdu raised his head, his mouth hooked in a teasing smile. "What? I can't look at books my wife brought?"
"No...you can't read this book." Gu Ying's little face turned bright red and she rushed over to try and snatch the book from him, but her meager strength was completely insignificant to the man.
Zhao Changdu only had to move casually to make Gu Ying lose her balance and fall into his embrace.
Through the thin nightclothes, their heated bodies transmitted warmth to each other.
Under the dim lamplight, the man's breathing was heavy, his eyes flashing dark and light as his big hand covered her waist, nearly burning her to ashes.
"I carefully studied it for a while and felt..." His voice was low and hoarse, "last time, I didn't perform well."
Yin Lan was fine, but Yanzhi instantly tensed up, worried that she had done something wrong to displease the Prince, and kept looking to Ying for help.
Gu Ying hesitated and said, "Prince, do you want someone else to come in and serve you?"
Zhao Changdu said, "No need, let them all leave."
Seeing the man's decidedly unhappy expression, Gu Ying could only give up and waved them to leave first.
It wasn't strange that the Prince was unused to the people around her after living in pampered comfort at the Duke's Residence. The standards of the maids in a noble household like the Duke's were naturally different from those in her marital family.
The door to the new chamber closed again. Gu Ying dragged her thick and cumbersome bridal dress and sighed again before walking back to the bedside, "So when does the Prince want to bathe and change clothes?"
Tonight was their wedding night in the bridal chamber, and countless eyes were staring at Changfeng Pavilion.
Even if it was just for show, they had to go through the full routine.
Zhao Changdu also understood this and struggled to stand up, swaying.
With no one else in the room, Gu Ying tactfully went over to support him.
Zhao Changdu glanced down at the young lady, unwilling to put his full weight on her. He gave an almost imperceptible chuckle and deliberately rested his head on her shoulder, dragging out his words in a low, sexy voice, "I want you to help me change."
Gu Ying glared at him, her face instantly turning completely red.
This man...was too bad!
But he was drunk like this and refused to let anyone else serve him. If she didn't do it, who would?
There was no other way. She had to support him into the bathing room.
The huge bathing room already had hot water prepared for the master's bath. As soon as Gu Ying entered, she saw a large steaming pool, surrounded by delicate silk curtains that decorated the entire bathing room like a fantasy.
The Duke's Residence was truly extravagant, able to enjoy a hot spring pool at home when ordinary households would be very fortunate to have a wooden tub.
At least the man wasn't completely unreasonable. He held her hand and had her untie his robe sash...
Her ears turned red and her fingers stiff and scalding hot. She didn't even get a good look at his abs before hearing him chuckle and turn around to get into the bathing pool himself.
Gu Ying's mouth twisted and her face was already flushed red. Through the misty steam she could see the man's tall, straight back, broad shoulders and narrow waist, long legs - his figure was perfectly beautiful, almost excessively so.
She was extremely vexed and embarrassed. She quickly turned her back and stood outside the curtains, only hearing the sound of splashing water, which made her ears even more irritated the more she heard it.
Was he doing this on purpose?
He must be doing it on purpose!
She bit her lip, standing awkwardly and waiting for a while.
Sure enough, she soon heard him telling her to get his clothes.
"The clothes are on the lacquer tray in the outer room, go take a look."
"Oh, okay...okay."
Gu Ying clenched her fist, resigned to finding his long robe and under robe in silk brocade in the outer changing room. The slippery silk slid through her hands.
She took a deep breath, trying to throw those useless thoughts out of her mind, and closed her eyes to feel around. She touched something - it seemed to be a solid wall of flesh, and feeling it closely, it had distinct bulges and contours, extremely firm and hard.
"What is my wife touching?" A low, hoarse voice came from above her head, making Gu Ying's fingers go numb. She hurriedly retracted her hand in fright.
"Prince, I've brought...the clothes."
"Didn't I say to call me Adu?"
Gu Ying had completely resigned herself by now. She was no match for this man.
Since he wouldn't leave without hearing her say it, she had no choice but to bite her lip and tentatively call him, "A...Adu."
Zhao Changdu smiled at her for a while but didn't make things difficult for her further. He slowly and methodically put on his clothes, gently saying, "I'm dressed now, you go bathe."
"Okay!" Gu Ying desperately wished he would hurry up and leave.
"Do you need my help?"
"No no no need!"
"Then I'll go out?"
"Hurry, Prince—"
Zhao Changdu frowned. "Hm?"
Gu Ying had completely surrendered by now. She was no match for this man. "Adu, please, go out first!"
The man strode out with his long legs.
Only when she heard the door close did Gu Ying dare to open her eyes. She didn't know if it was the heavy steam in the bathing room, or if she really was too hot, but she felt like her face and body were unbearably heated.
She hurriedly took off her clothes and stepped into the other pool full of flower petals. With a soft cry, she buried her whole body in the water in embarrassment.
...
Zhao Changdu sat outside with a calm expression for a while. He still had the smell of alcohol on him, and could sense the young lady didn't like him drinking.
After bathing, the smell of alcohol had dispersed, and his drunkenness was almost completely gone.
Changfeng Pavilion was exceptionally lively tonight.
After Gu Ying came in, this room also came alive.
In his heart there was an added sense of stability and peace. He thought that after she came out, he would hand over all the wealth he had accumulated over the years for her to manage.
There were many large and small boxes in the bridal chamber tonight.
Seeing an exquisite medium-sized box placed on top of the other boxes, he assumed it was something Huai An had deliberately brought over, so he went to open it.
When he saw the two books inside the box, Zhao Changdu's eyes flashed darkly, and he reflexively glanced toward the bathing room.
...
Gu Ying washed up, changed clothes, and deliberately dried her hair in the room, dragging her feet for nearly half a shichen before willing to come out.
As a result, the room's lamps were still lit and the Prince hadn't gone to bed either.
That grand red wedding robe hung on the purple sandalwood clothes stand, and the man sat under the bed in a loose robe reading a book.
Outside the carved lattice window, snow fell with a sound, desolate and dreary.
The man's sculpted side profile was illuminated by flickering light and shadow that etched several mottled shadows on his extraordinarily handsome face, making his strikingly peerless looks even more remarkable.
Gu Ying awkwardly rubbed her hair. She was only wearing a thin white under robe.
"Prince, why haven't you gone to bed yet?"
Zhao Changdu didn't even lift his head, engrossed in reading. "Can't sleep, reading to pass the time."
Gu Ying grumbled. What groom reads books on his wedding night?
But it was normal not to be able to sleep in such an awkward situation.
She gave an awkward laugh and walked over, just about to chat with the Prince when her eyes happened to see that book in his hands, Spring Chamber Secret Illustrations, and her eyes instantly widened in shock.
"Prince, you—"
Zhao Changdu raised his head, his mouth hooked in a teasing smile. "What? I can't look at books my wife brought?"
"No...you can't read this book." Gu Ying's little face turned bright red and she rushed over to try and snatch the book from him, but her meager strength was completely insignificant to the man.
Zhao Changdu only had to move casually to make Gu Ying lose her balance and fall into his embrace.
Through the thin nightclothes, their heated bodies transmitted warmth to each other.
Under the dim lamplight, the man's breathing was heavy, his eyes flashing dark and light as his big hand covered her waist, nearly burning her to ashes.
"I carefully studied it for a while and felt..." His voice was low and hoarse, "last time, I didn't perform well."
