991 Perplexed and Smitten 51 (1/2)
”So it's confirmed that you'll be marrying that princess?”
He did not answer. An Xiaoning looked up and probed, ”I'm asking you a question.”
”I went to the Imperial Palace today and I was told that I would be marrying her. But even if I have ten concubines, I'll never touch any of them,” he said, hugging her even more tightly.
”Could you promise me one thing?”
”Speak.”
”Can you give me a portrait of His Majesty?” Afraid that he would get infuriated, she added, ”I need it for something.”
”What do you need his portrait for?” he asked in puzzlement.
”Just draw it for me, I'll tell you the reason afterward.”
He conceded and said, ”We'll have to return to my place first. There aren't any ink or paper here.”
”Let's hurry and go back, then,” she said, sounding rather eager and impatient.
He was appalled by her reaction and filled with curiosity about what she might need the portrait for. However, he decided to curb his impatience, thinking to himself that she would tell him the reason after he was done drawing anyway.
He let go of her and said, ”Let's go back now, then.”
”Okay.”
She did not return to her sedan. Instead, she boarded his carriage together with him while the servant carried her sedan and followed closely behind them.
”Why does His Majesty want to make the princess your concubine?”
”She's not going to be my concubine, though.”
”What is she going to be, then?”
”My lawful wife. How could you not know why he wanted to do that? You're asking the obvious,” he said in a soft and hoarse voice.
”I thought she was going to be your concubine… I really don't know the reason. How could I know what the Emperor is thinking?”
”She's Chi Dan's favorite princess who's the most pampered and doted on. How could she stoop to being my concubine? Although the Princess Consort has a strong and powerful family background, it would be inappropriate to make that princess my concubine, and hence she's going to be my lawful wife. At times, I really feel like casting everything aside and eloping to a faraway place with you. However, it's difficult to find a place for us in this world, despite it being so vast. Besides, my mother is now in poor health, I can't just abandon her,” he said with a look of melancholy.
An Xiaoning was both sympathetic and miserable after hearing his words. At the thought of the destroyed residence, Ling Yu's words, and the 900 innocent lives that were lost, she held his hand and said, ”No matter what, I'm contented to know that I'm the only one in your heart.”
”You're acting very differently today. You make me feel exceptionally heartened and at ease.”
She smiled and said, ”When I heard them calling you 'Lord Xihou' just now, I was shocked to find out that your surname is Xihou and your name is Ling. I used to think that your last name was Xi and your name was Houling.”
Bewilderment was written all over his face. He squinted to take a closer look at her and proceeded to caress her face while grazing his fingers gently against her cheek, only to discover that there were no signs of her wearing a mask. He then unbuttoned her collar while An Xiaoning remained still and watched him do so. He went on to untie her undergarment, after which she too noticed a tiny birthmark on her chest.
He tied her undergarment back and buttoned her collar again before heaving a sigh of relief. ”I thought you were merely an impostor just now.”
Only then did An Xiaoning realize that he was just testing her just now, and she was at a sudden loss for words.
”I…”
He kept his eyes fixed on her, hoping to hear the rest of her sentence. However, she grew silent.