Chapter: 123.3 out of 171 - Wedding Night
After Wei Luo sat down at the round table and drank half a bowl of soup, she heard voices from outside. Bai Lan went out to look, returned to the room, and said, "His Highness has come back."
There were also a few princes and nobles following Zhao Jie. They all wanted to see what a girl that was treated like treasure by Zhao Jie looked like. Unfortunately, before they could see her, Zhao Jie had already entered the room, closed the door, and said, "You can all leave."
Ninth prince was naturally dissatisfied. He stretched out a hand to stop the door from closing completely. "Second brother, you're not being honest. You said you would let us see second sister-in-law!"
Zhao Jie reluctantly smiled, "Why would this prince let you see his wife? Don't you have a wife? Go home to look at her."
After all, the ninth prince had already been married for half a year, but this second older brother didn’t get married until today.
The other people were also very dissatisfied. They protested one after another. But, to no avail, Zhao Jie wouldn't even let them see the side of her face. He slammed the door shut.
Zhao Jie turned around and saw Wei Luo standing behind him. Her hair was down and fastened to each side by a pair of golden iris hairpins. She was wearing a short, peach blossom pink jacket embroidered with auspicious clouds and a pleated skirt with the same color. She looked quiet and frail. Her large limpid eyes were looking at him. She didn't step forward or say a word. Zhao Jie would be worried that she had been scared if he didn't see that her cheeks were red.
Zhao Jie looked at the food on the table and asked with a smile, "Are you hungry?"
Wei Luo nodded. She finally thought of something to say, "I'll have someone prepare sobering soup for you since you've been drinking." Then, she ordered Jin Lu to bring a bowl of sobering soup over.
Wei Luo wasn't used to the sudden change in their relationship. Zhao Jie was still the same person, but he was no longer her big brother. He was now her husband and lord. She wasn't even sure how she should address him.
Zhao Jie actually wasn't drunk. His alcohol tolerance was very good. Although he had drunk a lot today, it wasn't to the point that his mind was unclear. But, he didn't refuse because he saw that Wei Luo was feeling anxious. He accommodatingly sat down across from her, "It'll take a while to prepare sobering soup. You should eat first. You probably didn't have time to eat all day, right?"
Wei Luo followed his action of sitting down. She lowered her head and went back to drinking that slowly stewed soup made with coconut milk, jujube, and hasma. Her voice was slightly pitiful as she said, "I had an apple this morning."
Zhao Jie's eyes were smiling. He had previously been blocking other people from seeing her, so he didn't have a chance to look at her. Now, there was only the two of them, so he started to stare at her without restraint. Wei Luo's body started to feel uneasy for his stare. She looked up and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Zhao Jie was supporting his cheek and chin with his hand. He slowly said, "I'm looking at my wife."
Wei Luo's face immediately became red. How could she eat after he said those words? Just as Wei Luo was about to glare at him, Jin Lu came into the room with a bowl of sobering soup. She carefully placed the soup in front of Zhao Jie, "Your Highness."
Zhao Jie nodded his head and said, "You can all withdraw."
The meanings of these words were very obvious. It meant that the prince and princess consort didn't need the servant girls to serve them. They should all leave.
Jin Lu glanced at Wei Luo and bowed, then she led Bai Lan and the other servants girls out of the room.
The room became quiet. Wei Luo and Zhao Jie were the only two people left in the room. Wei Luo lost her appetite. Even a fool knew what Zhao Jie wanted to do next. But, she didn't feel ready. She could only lower her head and slowly drink her soup in hopes of delaying for a bit.
Zhao Jie wasn't in a hurry. After he finished drinking the sobering soup, he continued sitting at the table to wait for her.
Wei Luo, “…”
Wei Luo had never felt that eating a meal would feel so challenging. Under this oppressive atmosphere, she finished eating an entire plate of honeycomb cake until her stomach felt like it was going to burst. She really couldn't eat anymore. Unfortunately, Zhao Jie deliberately pushed the glutinous rice balls covered in coconut flakes in front of her. "Ah Luo, you haven't finished eating this."
Wei Luo looked up to glare at him. Her expression was remarkably like an irritated little squirrel. Her cheeks were puffed out. She looked ridiculously cute.
Zhao Jie involuntarily laughed. He walked to her side, pinched her cheeks, and said, "Are you full?"
Wei Luo swallowed the last bite of honeycomb cake and honestly admitted, "I ate too much."
Zhao Jie’s hand reached out towards her stomach. "Let me touch to feel if it’s bloated.”
Wei Luo slapped his hand away. "You're not allowed to touch."
Was Zhao Jie the type of person that you could forbid from doing something? Wei Luo's strength was fundamentally insignificant to him. He rubbed Wei Luo's stomach and said with a smile, "Let's see if you'll be silly enough to eat so much next time. Am I a drooling savage beast? Your eyes were practically glued to the table. You wouldn't even look at me once."
Wei Luo didn't expect that he would know her thoughts, "I did look at you."
She added, "I looked at you twice."
Zhao Jie gently smiled and carried her onto his lap. One hand gently rubbed her stomach and the other hand pinched her small hand. "It's not enough. You should always be looking at your husband."
Husband…
He actually so easily addressed himself that way?
Wei Luo couldn't copy his shamelessness. Wei Luo arched up in his embrace and stretched out her arms to wrap them around his neck. Her head was between his neck and shoulder as she mumbled, "I feel embarrassed."
At this moment, Zhao Jie's heart unexpectedly softened. He tightened the arm that was holding her. He almost wanted to crush her into his chest.
After a pause, Zhao Jie carried her towards the red sandalwood bed carved with clouds. He lifted the red curtains embroidered with golden thread and placed Wei Luo on the bed. He couldn't restrain the emotions in his voice as he asked, "Ah Luo, do you know how long I've waited for this day?"
Wei Luo rolled over into the inside of the bed and pushed the quilt to face him. "Don't know."
Zhao Jie grinned. With one leg pressing down against the bed, he leaned over to grasp her silky dark hair and brought it closer to sniff. “It's okay if you don't know. I'll tell you in a moment."
At this moment, even Wei Luo's ears had turned red. Of course, she wasn't naive enough to think that Zhao Jie would "tell" her using words.
The lights in the room were extinguished except for a pair of large candles that slowly burned. The candlelight illuminated the world including the scene inside the bed.
Wei Luo's clothes were gone and her face was flushed. She begged Zhao Jie, who was below her, "You can’t do this..."
Zhao Jie lifted his head, leaned over, and hoarsely said into her ear, "My Ah Luo smells good everywhere. Not only does your body smell good, your mouth smells good, even there..."
Wei Luo weakly cried, "You can't."
Zhao Jie licked her cheeks and kissed her face. With his forehead sweating, he said, "I just want to make you feel good, so that you'll suffer less later. Darling, don't you like me?"
Wei Luo turned her head. The tears in her eyes glistened as she faintly gasped for breath. She didn't want to answer his question.
This night, there was only one word in Wei Luo's mind.
Grinding.
She felt like she was a piece of helpless ink stone that was lightly and heavily grinded against until the ink was finally rubbed out from her. There were unsightly marks left behind on the crimson quilt embroidered with dragons and phoenixes.