Volume One, Chapter Nine: Morning Meal (Part 2)

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You can’t let Shen Ran eat something you’ve already bitten, can you? Xue Wu’s face flushed as her finger shifted slightly to the side, pointing at a red bean paste bun shaped like an animal. “This red bean bun is the best.”

But Shen Ran was unwilling to let it slide so easily. He curled his lips lazily. “Weren’t you just saying the spring rolls were better?”

Xue Wu was speechless. She knew he was asking on purpose.

She pressed her lips together, about to reply, when she saw Shen Ran pick up a spring roll from the steamer and casually bite into it.

The spring roll was pure white, his lips a deep red.

In the pale morning light, an inexplicable intimacy and subtle warmth blossomed between them.

Xue Wu’s breath caught, and her voice dropped three tones, “I—I already bit this one.”

Nervous, she even forgot to say “Your Majesty.”

Shen Ran merely hummed softly. Putting down his chopsticks, he turned his head and said, “So what?”

Xue Wu was stunned.

Shen Ran said, “Wu, I told you, we’re husband and wife. There’s no need to fuss over such small things.”

Xue Wu opened her mouth but said nothing.

At that moment, Shen Ran leaned down, sealed her slightly parted lips with his own, then withdrew before she could react.

A delicate, fleeting touch.

Carrying a faint coolness like snow, and a subtle, ethereal scent of plum blossoms.

In an instant, a buzzing sound filled Xue Wu’s ears, and she felt like a statue carved from ice and snow.

Her heart pounded loudly, like drums beating in her chest.

Only after a while did she realize it was her own racing heartbeat.

Shen Ran quietly watched her. “Do you dislike it?”

Dislike it? Dislike him?

When Shen Ran spoke those words, his expression and tone were calm and even, but his obsidian-like eyes shone brightly, betraying a trace of emotion.

He thought perhaps Xue Wu did dislike him. After all, in their past life, hadn’t she said they would never meet again in the next?

And their only moment of closeness had not been a happy one.

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But if she truly said the word “dislike” aloud, Shen Ran wasn’t sure if he could continue playing this game of mutual affection.

A wolf in sheep’s clothing could never truly become a sheep; at his core, he was still a madman.

Once entangled with him, there would be no escape.

The wolf revealed its long-hidden claws, sending a dangerous signal at that moment.

Unfortunately, the poppy-like appearance had blinded the prey.

Xue Wu felt as if she was being drawn into those eyes.

She closed her eyes slightly, controlling her breath to avoid breaking her voice when she spoke.

Her cheeks flushed deeply as she enunciated each word—

“I don’t dislike you.”

A final verdict.

The matter settled.

A smile spread through those obsidian eyes, softening the cruel edge of war.

Shen Ran leisurely finished the entire spring roll and said with a smile, “I’ve kissed these lips, so even if you bit the spring roll first, what does it matter?”

His voice carried a strange hint of playfulness, but his exquisitely handsome features made it impossible to take offense.

Shen Ran’s mother had been the most beautiful woman in Shengjing City, low in status and lacking depth, but she rose through sheer beauty. The great scholars of the Great Zhou often praised her elegant attire and undeniable national beauty.

The late emperor of Great Zhou had powerful genes; his children, whether in nose or eyes, bore some resemblance to him.

Only Shen Ran looked like his mother.

His appearance was bewitching and stunning, like a lotus weeping with dew.

When he was a prince, many literati had mocked his “dragon-like majesty and phoenix-like grace” both openly and covertly.

After he ascended the throne, he executed many of them, and over time, his reputation became one of cruelty and brutality; no one dared to comment on his looks again.

But undeniable was the lethal power of that face.

Xue Wu glanced only a few times before lowering her head deeply, unable to look any longer.

The air hung heavy for a moment.

To ease the awkwardness and find something to do, Xue Wu reached for an animal-shaped red bean bun and slowly ate it.

Shen Ran didn’t say more, only ladled her a bowl of soup.

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Several times during the meal, Xue Wu wanted to bring up Zhao Yuanzhuo’s matter, fearing that if she delayed, everything would be set in stone and irreparable. But as this was their first meal together as husband and wife, she worried Shen Ran might think her mind was elsewhere and become angry.

Shen Ran naturally understood what Xue Wu was thinking.

Civil officials tended to be subtle and intricate, but generals were mostly straightforward, their emotions written plainly on their faces.

Shen Ran smiled. “Wu, I have a surprise for you.”

Xue Wu was momentarily taken aback and just about to ask what the surprise was when Shen Ran called out loudly—

“Bring them in.”

Outside the hall, someone responded softly.

Xue Wu instinctively turned toward the sound and saw a young boy dressed in a Tianshui blue guard uniform step inside.

The boy’s hair was tied neatly in a high ponytail, his complexion slightly pale, but his eyes shone brilliantly.

Like a clear moon and gentle breeze, a noble young man.

Unlike Shen Ran’s dazzling beauty, despite a lingering weakness, his youthful vigor could not be suppressed.

His gaze lingered on Xue Wu briefly before he knelt and kowtowed, “Your servant Zhao Yuanzhuo pays respects to His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress.”

His voice was clear and crisp, like the sound of jade and pearls striking.

Zhao Shoude was a trusted aide of Xue Yuandao, so naturally their families were close. To Xue Wu, Zhao Yuanzhuo was like a younger brother. Seeing him suddenly now filled her with joy. She stood from her chair, about to urge him to rise, but remembered Shen Ran was present and it would be improper to take the lead, so she glanced at Shen Ran and said, “Your Majesty, this is—”

Shen Ran lowered his gaze and looked at Zhao Yuanzhuo briefly.

Zhao Yuanzhuo said, “Your Majesty’s grace is boundless. I have been appointed as a second-class imperial guard.”

After a pause, he added, “His Majesty also promised that as long as evidence is found, my father will be exonerated.”

Xue Wu was greatly surprised. “His Majesty is willing to believe General Zhao was wronged?”

Previously, her father Xue Yuandao had petitioned multiple times, pointing out many doubts in the case, but Shen Ran had ignored them. Unexpectedly, now not only had his attitude toward her changed, but his conduct was different as well.

The imperial decree is as unchangeable as a mountain.

No matter right or wrong, his orders cannot be altered.