Chapter 27 (1/2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Drifting Fragrance Secretly Takes Action

Gui Wan steps into the Prime Minister Estate courtyard, body seeming to still carry the scent of incense from the mourning hall, faintly clinging to her body, distracting her heart into regularly rising and falling, constantly flas.h.i.+ng fragments of the encounters within the Lin Estate. Raising her bowed head, she finds a little plainly dressed servant standing in front of the study, a green glazed bowl of lotus design on the tray she holds, face showing hesitance, anxiously at unease.

“Madam, Lord Prime Minister he……” The maid upon seeing Gui Wan approaching, releases a sigh of relief, Prime Minister Lou does not like others disturbing him, she has softly called out a few times from the doors, but not a single reply has come from inside, she dares not to rashly enter, nor does she dare to casually leave, currently stuck in this situation difficult to advance or retreat.

“I got it.” Seeing the cause, Gui Wan gently waves her hand, signalling the maid to withdraw, taking the tray from her hands, one hand pus.h.i.+ng open the unlatched doors of the study, a smile slowly rippling out, lips just about to call out, when she notices the entire room shrouded in quiet.

Lou Che lays above some doc.u.ments, seeming to have sunken deep into sweet dreams, the windows half opened, a sky of cloudless blue, the book scrolls on the desk half messed up, a slight breeze occasionally brus.h.i.+ng past, sheets of paper lightly flutters, but the person on the desk does not sense this at all.

Gui Wan lightens her footsteps, slowly walking in front of the desk, Lou Che is indeed sleeping, unrestrained handsomeness of elegant n.o.bility, within the jade-like appearance there exhibits clearness, she gently places down the tray in hand, picking up a white jade paperweight, pressing down the sheets of paper, flicking away the dusts on the bamboo scrolls. Looking elsewhere, from the side of her eyes, she catches glimpse of him still frowning whilst in his dreams, quietly without hesitation, her hands brushes his face, fingers gently stroking past the middle of his brows, helping him to smooth out this hint of worry revealed on the outside.

Just how tired he is……

Within three days of returning to the estate, after one day of pulling an all-nighter with Lou Sheng, he spends two days discussing matters with Prince of Nan Jun, Prince Duan, usually only seeing him containing a smile of spring breeze, who knew that under the spring breeze, it is this wounding like being shredded. She often laments, Lou Che is the same type of person as herself, flawless on the outside, smooth and slick in dealing with all sorts of situations. Only now does she know, to her, this could perhaps also be of natural character; but to him, it is the ability to survive.

Fingers delicately brus.h.i.+ng over his brows, straightening out the unorganised black strands on the sides, catching a glimpse of the dark circles under his eyes caused by fatigue, Gui Wan’s heart lightly clenches, nose actually feeling slightly sour. Turning her head to the side, she finds a set of fur clothing on the back of the chair, laying it over Lou Che’s shoulders, she carefully covers every little gap where air can leak in, about to withdraw her hand, with just a single move, the person in deep sleep has his hand suddenly jumping out from under the clothing, grabbing onto her, lashes fluttering half open, those quietly dark eyes gazing at her with a smile, deep affection flowing out from within.

“Gui Wan……” This sound of calling is not like usual, is a gentle breeze blowing ripples across a pond of spring water, carrying three points of intoxicated tone as it blows into the heart, the voice with slight ambiguity seeming to reveal a trace of satisfaction, laced around.

Looking at him absentmindedly, Gui Wan felt as though something was stuck in her throat, unable to sound half a word in reply, half mystified half intoxicated, her tender heart endlessly spinning, chaotically causing her thoughts to suddenly stop working, completely blank.

“If you continue looking at me like that, I may not be able to resist anymore.” Loudly sighing, Lou Che sits up straight, placing the half fallen clothing on his shoulders back in its original spot, seeing Gui Wan still appear blanked out as though her soul has flew away, he hook in her waist, bring her into his arms, affectionately sitting her on his thighs.

“Husband.” Leaning against his chest, she buries her face into his embrace, softly saying in a seeming coquettish manner.

“En?”

“What did you dream about just now?” Why were you frowning?

Lou Che wraps his arm around her shoulder, his breathing accompanied by a faint touch of fragrance, surprised by her words, dream? How long has he not had a dream for? Just now because of exhaustion, he had a light nap for a little while, from the very moment she stepped into the room, he had already woken up, just that he was unwilling to clear his head in awakening, greedily hating to leave this moment of her outpouring tenderness. He did not dream, but she, has become his dream.

“I dreamt of you.”

“Dreamt of me? Then why were you still frowning?” Light anger laced with dissatisfaction, Gui Wan reaches out to gently twist his ear, followed by a soft sound of laughter, “I heard, women of the common people would discipline their husbands like this.”

Ear heating up, sensing faint pain, Lou Che looks at her angry state, with a seeming smile, “If this is how they discipline, it is indeed not bad.” Before he finished his words, Gui Wan’s hand exerts even more strength, Lou Che softly sounds a cry, attracting bursts of laughter from her.

“Husband,” Before the laughing stopped, she appears to carelessly mentions, “It’ll be nice if, we were really a couple of the common people.”

The country, imperial court, melted away with a smile, right and wrong, bent roads and straight roads, grace and hate, love and revenge, completely left behind, a bland att.i.tude of life, wilfully contempt.

“Viewing the hundreds of loudly contending mountain streams in spring, thousands of mountain peaks emerald green; appreciating rising mist and falling clouds in summer, blooming flowers and lush green trees; touring the mountains flooded with red leaves in autumn, flowers falls and fruit buds; viewing the dancing snow in cold winter, bending tree branches of white jade,” Finger gently twiddling with Lou Che’s collar, Gui Wan earnestly induces, “Such a life, would it not be a pleasure?”

Smile slightly fading, Lou Che half squints his eyes, hand exerting more strength, tightly holding the person in his embrace, “If you truly like it, when I have the spare time in future, I will accompany you in sightseeing.”

Gui Wan slightly raises her head, meeting her eyes is the soft lining of his jaw, further up, she still cannot see the look in his eyes, unable to suppress herself, little bits of disappointment surfaces in her heart, “When would Husband have the spare time?”

Not expecting that she would say such a phrase carrying hidden bitterness, carefully thinking over it, Lou Che bursts out laughing, lowering his head to place a kiss on Gui Wan’s forehead, “After a period of time, once the situation calms down, how’s that?” When lowering his head, he sees Gui Wan pout her lips, not a very happy appearance, an enchanting charm contained within such tenderness, plucking at his heartstrings, eyes darkening, his eyes staring solely at her, practically falling into a daze.

Since when did he discover she makes these little actions? Usually always having a faint smile fixed on her face, only when her mood relaxes, would discontent be shown with light pouting, become absentminded when sunken into deep thoughts, deliberately smiling even sweeter when angry……these fleeting moments of outpouring demeanour, since when was he able to capture them? Perhaps Gui Wan herself has never realised, these little actions, she would only reveal when alone with him, how many times, for these little actions of hers, does he gushes with affection, frequently losing his soul.

Hand lifting a small gathering of her silky smooth hair, bringing it to his lips as he lightly kisses them, sweet fragrance coating it, seeping into his heart, his heart because of this, freezes.

“Could it be that Husband has never thought to……” Gui Wan leans against the front of his lapel, “Give up on catalysing events, spending each day like an idle cloud, wild crane[1]?”

Gathering away his smile and knitting his brows, Lou Che holds back his expression, picking out Gui Wan’s intentions from those words, his heart feeling extremely uncomfortable, eyes sinking, lips seal without answering.

Noticing his strange behaviour, Gui Wan secretly sighs to herself, waiting and waiting, in the end he does not speak, turning her head, she takes back her hair from his palm, and then gets up. Lou Che’s heart palpitates, his palm already empty, under the regret of sensing loss, he immediately grabs her, hand tightly circling her wrist, forcefully confining her reckless movements.

Really is getting more and more useless……Lou Che helplessly laughs, his mood controlled by her every move, with the pa.s.sing of time, his resistance also increasingly weakens, just like the five months in Nan Jun, that biting feeling of great worry preventing him from being able to live his life as usual, several times did he impulsively wanted to rush back to the Capital City, if not for Prince of Nan Jun and Prince Duan holding him back, he would have already made a huge mistake in his political career, now that she is in his embrace, how could he possibly let her leave? That gut wrenchingly unforgettable longing, he is unwilling to experience again, not letting go, he definitely cannot let go.

His originally resolute thoughts has been disrupted by her, balance of rationality has also tilted towards his emotional feelings, he speaks up: “Gui Wan, don’t move, listen to me.” The soft jade, warm and fragrant in his embrace, Lou Che gently leans his head onto Gui Wan’s collar area, looking at her beautifully delicate neck from the corner of his eyes.

“Could it be you don’t want to have a little listen of my background?”

Suddenly turning her eyes, but finds that she cannot see anything in particular, Gui Wan silently remains motionless, softly sounding a vague reply.

“……I’m an orphan, my late father was originally a low rank official aiding the Crown Prince, pa.s.sing away during my childhood years, my mother also followed him not long after, I spent a total of ten years staying in the Crown Prince Estate, then took the first place t.i.tle in one swoop, rising high into the golden road……”

Gui Wan froze for a long moment, the voice reaching her ears is calm, as though speaking of an unrelated matter, why is it that her heart is pained as she listens to it? Originally thinking he is from a n.o.ble family, up until this very moment, did she find how far from the truth this is, ten years’ time summarised in one sentence, she dares not to imagine how a child with no support no dependence, can live his life in the Crown Prince Estate, rich with intrigues. Ten years, struggling in face of adversity, another ten years, rising and falling in officialdom, twenty years, in exchange for today’s power, this kind of unwilling, this kind of reluctance.

That’s why, power, position, wealth……once picked up, difficult to put down.

Calmly telling her his background story with just a few simple sentences, Lou Che smiles as he looks at her, saying word by word: “I have sworn, to stand above millions of people, even if it is just one person standing below, I will still make him helpless against me, do you understand?”

His gentle explanation did not relieve Gui Wan’s heart from the heavy burden, and instead lightly shocks her, daring not to believe this, she firmly locks her gaze onto him. refined and cultured, gentle and elegant, her husband in a body of long moon white robe, warmth flowing out from that clear look of handsomeness, clearly an admirable and unrestrained fine gentleman, but inside those deep bottomless eyes, there is a something called “ambition” writhing inside, that is why he overturns his hand to form clouds, cover his hand to form rain, neither urgently nor slowly striving forth against the Emperor and the imperial court, whilst playing with political trickery, he is deeply intoxicated by the charm of power.

His entire life, accompanied by one word –– “power”.

Heart feeling more and more pained, Gui Wan frowns, a sense of sourness surging up her body, after thinking for a moment, she lightly asks, her tone somewhat off: “What about Consort Ying?” This is originally a thorn stuck in her heart, a thorn that she has strongly neglected, but would occasionally let it break through. Never has she been as confused as this before, that woman who is no less than her regardless of any aspects, she has faced with no measures at all for the first time in her life. Actually unable to hold back anymore today, she wishes to ask for certainties. Her heart, is it disturbed?

Lou Che firstly did not say anything, then openly laughs, laughing more and more heartily, laughing to the point Gui Wan’s face showed awkwardness, yet he seems to be enjoying it, refusing to miss any of her expressions.

She finally spoke up, is she starting to mind it now? Thinking this, Lou Che sincerely feels ascertained and put to ease, recalling two years ago, when he first met her, and got married, just how carefree and wilful she was, practically making him think she is a deity who wrongly descended to the mortal realm. How many times of doubts and wonder he felt, slowly observing her without leaving a trace, even before he himself came to the realisation, he had already started to move his focus onto her, knowing what she loves to eat most, what accessories she likes, what she usually do, all of this, bit by bit, seeping into his heart, him holding up every little thing she loves most in front of her, originally carried the mentality of compensation, later it actually changed in essence……

Finding that he had already fallen in love with her, and she, is actually still hesitating, even rejecting it, how uncertain and uneasy he felt. So he courted her, pampered her, cherished her like a priceless treasure.

He exhausted all mental efforts, for her to fall in love with him, giving her the best the world has to offer, making her grow accustomed to his love, unable to get rid of it.

He wants to lure her into sinking deep with him……

Laughter gradually fading, his dark eyes appears intoxicated, charmingly asking lowly: “Gui Wan, do you mind it?”

Does she mind it?

In Gui Wan’s heart, this question has been asked, laughed at, sighed at, but never reached an answer, in this moment, she slightly regrets the words she has blurted out just before, like a piece of pierced sandpaper, traces of her heart being revealed bare, with nowhere to hide.

Arm wrapping around Gui Wan’s shoulder, looking into both her eyes overflowing with a look of difficulty, Lou Che elegantly smiles, raising his hand to hold the back of her neck, gently touching her cherry lips, the sometimes faint sometimes clear fragrance disrupting his willpower, the instant the two lips came in contact, a tingling feeling like electric currents, and temptation like sweet mellowness, bewitched, the entanglement between the pair of lips making him drunk on her soft and moist sweetness, sinking deep into it, longing for more.

Seeing him close in, she blinks her eyes, actually showing no response, losing herself within his seemingly gentle yet dominant pursuit, breathing pattern gradually weakening, even the thinnest of air has been claimed by him, lightly closing her eyes, sensing the charming and gentle breathing that can be heard at a very close distance, accompanied by lusciously sweet torture, finally just when she was about to completely lose her breath, he lightly lets go of her, tongue licking her red lips, lips continuously, lingeringly rubbing against her upper lip and philtrum area, half captivated half relis.h.i.+ng.

“Although unable to personally hear you say you mind, I am already greatly satisfied.” Lou Che lowers his voice a little, a trace of constraint carried within his hoa.r.s.e voice, tidal feelings on the roll.

Hearing this, Gui Wan faintly smiles like the wind, taking the initiative to nestle against him, just when their lips were about to connect again, she lightly turns her head, the moment his lips grazes past, her breathing pauses, carrying the dark charm of seduction, deliberately not allowing to actually come in contact, sweetly smiling, she urges: “Husband still not answering me?”

The look in his eyes flas.h.i.+ng bright, settling on her brows like flowing waves, her stunning face enchantingly beautiful like flowers, hand exerting great strength, clutches onto her body, fiercely sealing her lips, carrying slight drunken wilfulness of steaming hotness, he goes through another round of entanglement, and only then was he willing to let her go with satisfaction, seeing her brows and eyes appear more focused and deep, practically making one sink into those bottomlessly charming eyes.

Adjusting his shortness of breath, he once again speaks up.

“……first time seeing Yao Ying was in the Crown Prince Estate, at the time I had just been t.i.tled First Ranked Scholar…..” First time honestly telling Gui Wan of his past without any reservations, deep inside he actually senses relief. She is his wife, is originally the one to share everything with him, whilst narrating his past, he suddenly felt an impulse, wanting to ask her, my wedded wife, may we join hands and grow old together?

Like dream……

Like intoxication……

Events of half his life, spoken in one go, words are shallow, meaning is deep, do you understand my heart?

……

“His majesty made an imperial decree on the day you went to Hong Fu Temple to wors.h.i.+p the Buddha?” Hearing up to here, Gui Wan could not refrain from interrupting, asking in surprise, Zheng Liu is as cunning as such, taking advantage of when they have left, to set an imperial decree, announcing it to the world, one phrase of the monarch’s words is not to be taken as a joke, how many people’s futures did it change? Remembering the first meeting in Hong Fu Temple that day, could it be that that was the true start of entangling fates?

Heart inexplicably gaining an additional trace of unease, Gui Wan’s deep gaze enters Lou Che’s eyes, “Husband, that day, what stick did Lady Consort Ying draw?”

Brows twitching, Lou Che recalls for a moment, saying: “The Emperor Swallow.”

Practically about to exclaim aloud, Gui Wan suppresses her rapidly beating heart, despite this, her face also makes a sudden change, cold sweat oozing.

“Gui Wan?” Sensing the discomfort of the person in his arms, Lou Che heart achingly holds her tightly, slowly stroking her back, “What’s wrong?”

No answer, Gui Wan stretches her arms and circles Lou Che’s neck, affectionately sticking closely to him, after leaving time to quietly slip by, her melodic voice sounds: “Husband, if starting from this moment, you aid his majesty in pus.h.i.+ng the reforming of the central academy, discouraging Prince Duan and Prince of Nan Jun, bit by bit slowly letting go of power, even if his majesty envies you, he cannot do anything. After three to five years, we relocate to Luo Ling, Nan Jun is really close to there, under Prince of Nan Jun’s care, but is not within Nan Jun territory, with his majesty’s pride, he too cannot afford to lay his hands there. With this, ten years later, everything will be able to be as calm as ever. Husband, what do you say?”

Lou Che does not respond, gesture still gentle, but the air is like complete silence, neither warm nor cold. Gui Wan secretly sighs, voice making a change, leisurely, lightly saying: “Does Husband by chance know, within nearly two years of marriage, what I hated most?”