Chapter 14 - Am I Ugly?

On a full moon night, a beauty lay underneath a maidenhair tree with a smile on her face. Her cheeks that had no rouge powder held a hint of peach. Her sky blue hanfu that never showed a sign of blemish became wrinkled by her legs. In her right hand, she held onto a jug of wine that was stolen from her father's wine house.

"Feifei? Feifei, it's time for you to wake up." A man whose face was as gentle as the pasting breeze softly called out to the beauty. "A noble lady like yourself is drinking?"

"Only around you do I not need to be a refined lady!" Xiong Jingfei, who was fifteen, shouted. Holding up the jug of wine in the night sky, inviting the moon to come to have a drink with her.

Yang Zheyan immediately covers her mouth with his hand, not letting another sound escape. He was afraid they'll get caught by the night guards, considering he sneaked out in the middle of the night to come to see her. In spite of being engaged, they will get in trouble. An unmarried man and woman meeting at night can lead to no good.

"Older brother Zheyan, am I ugly?" Xiong Jingfei asked, bring the jug to her mouth to be only taken away by Yang Zheyan.

He frowned, she must have heard nonsense about her face from someone again. Besides a few, no one seen Xiong Jingfei entire face. It was always hidden behind a white veil, and others can only see her eyes. This was a common practice done by all noble ladies of the capital when they're in public. The reason was that their face should not be shown to commoners.

The only difference between Xiong Jingfei and those noble ladies was that she rarely leaves the Xiong manor. When the first wife of Xiong Guozhi passed away, all the house duties fell on Xiong Jingfei. Li Roulan may have held the title of the second wife, but she had no real power in comparison to her. So Li Roulan and her daughters replaced Xiong Jingfei in attending celebrations invited by the nobles.

One of the reasons why Xiong Jingfei did not go was because those celebrations were actually "matchmaking," and she was already given to someone else.

During those times, Yang Zheyan never met or seen his bride-to-be until three years ago during his grandfather's birthday. Since it was the Yang family, Xiong Jingfei did not have a choice but to go. It was her future family. He still didn't get a chance to see her or get even a glimpse. The feast was divided up with the women in a different courtyard from the men.

During the feast, twelve-year-old Xiong Jingfei sneaked off to get a change of pace. She wasn't used to being around so many people and showing her face to strangers. She put back on her white veil, feeling more comfortable this way around an unfamiliar environment.

Meanwhile, Yang Zheyan, who was sixteen, did the exact same. He was tired of making small talk with others. Being the son of the Right Prime Minister, at all time he must always be cautious. He had to be careful of his speech and the words that come out of his mouth.

Making his way back to his courtyard, he did not expect to find a little girl in his bamboo backyard. She wore a green outfit blending in with the bamboo trees, along with a simple white jade hairpin in her hair. Even without the white veil on to mark her status, you can tell she was from a prominent family in one glance.

Yang Zheyan hid nearby to watch what this girl was doing sneaking away from the feast. It was obvious she got lost, based on the way she kept looking at every direction trying to figure the way back. He was surprised how well she kept her composure, but having almost four more years of life experience than her, he knew she was afraid. Her eyebrows narrowed down slightly, exposing her anxiety and confusion.

He wanted to wait out a bit more, but afraid she might cry, he gave in. It would not look good if someone saw him doing this. They'll think he is bullying a little girl. Yang Zheyan opened his mouth, "Are-"

A massive gust of wind blew through the bamboo forest. As fate would have it, her veil became undone and went flying with the wind. Revealing her appearance with watery eyes.

"Don't look!" Xiong Jingfei shouted, covering her face with her arms when she realized she wasn't alone anymore. Another man cannot see her face since she is not married yet.

The only men who are allowed to see her face are her father and brothers until she is married. No one was more aware of this rule than he was. He was well known in the capital for being faithful to his fiancee despite never seeing her before. If it were anyone else, he would have apologized and walked away.

This time he didn't, Yang Zheyan looked when he knew he shouldn't have. It wasn't that he was attracted to her twelve-year-old appearance. She wasn't close to being a woman yet, so there was nothing to look at. He was surprised to find no fangs coming out from her mouth or a disfigured face. He was told all these things by Wei Weimin, who heard it from another person and another person. It's a good thing he didn't entirely believe him.

Honestly, if Xiong Jingfei had attended more social gatherings, there wouldn't be any rumors about her. However, at the same time, if there were no Li Roulan, none of these rumors would have started either. She took advantage of the fact that Xiong Jingfei didn't go to these things to bring her down. Some believed it, and the smarter one didn't. They know the Yang family would have broken off the marriage agreement if this was the truth.

"Older brother Zheyan, I asked if I was ugly?" Xiong Jingfei frowned getting no response from him. She touched her face that had the veil concealing her face.

"No," Yang Zheyan smiled, reaching out to untie her veil from her hair. "Beautiful. You are very beautiful."

Xiong Jingfei blushed, having his handsome face so close in front of her. She looked down and muttered, "Liar... You took so long to answer."

Yang Zheyan chuckled, seeing the tip of ears burning from being in close contact with him. Ever since meeting her that day in his bamboo forest, he had this soft spot for her whenever he hears her name. As time passed, it gradually came to this point where they were close enough with one another before their marriage. Occasionally, he will take her out when there is a festival, but they mostly met in secret at night.

He reached out his hand and pluck off the ginkgo leaf that had fallen down her hair. His possessiveness of her, she doesn't even know. He doesn't even want a single leaf to touch her. If he had a choice, he wants her to keep wearing the veil even after they are married. He doesn't want anyone to look her way. He doesn't want to show her to anyone. If anyone saw her, they would try to take her away from him. Yang Zhang's eyes became ice-cold, he'll love to see who dares challenge him.

The moment his eyes landed on her, he knew who she was right away. Without realizing, he will always think of her and want to see her. Is this what you call, love at first sight?

"You're the only one for me," Yang Zheyan whispered into her ear. Leaning in, he placed a kiss on her left cheek that was burning up from the alcohol and him.