CH 4

Song Jinning knew the plot well, so she didn’t even want to try to be a real couple with Li Chengxuan.

Seeing Li Chengxuan leave, she was very happy in her heart.

After eating, she rinsed her mouth, walked back and forth in the hall a few times to digest, then went to bed.

She woke up early and she was tired all day, so she immediately fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.

In a daze, she seemed to hear someone talking in the hall.

She was thinking in her heart, who is this, so bold? Don't they know that she doesn't like being disturbed when she sleeps?

But her eyelids were heavy, and although she wanted to open her eyes to see who it was, she couldn't open them.

Fortunately, the hall became quiet after a few minutes, so Song Jinning gave up trying to open her eyes and continued to sleep deeply.

The bed curtain covering the bed was lifted to one side, and suddenly cold wind poured in.

The soft bedding next to her seemed to have weight, with something warm lying on her side.

Song Jinning became impatient, and rolled over, facing the wall.

After finally making up his mind, Li Chengxuan stretched out his hand to press her shoulder:...Is she awake or not?

But with her attitude, it seems that he shouldn't have to do husband and wife affairs with her tonight, right?

Thinking of this, Li Chengxuan breathed a sigh of relief.

As for sleeping in the same bed, he will stay here for tonight, so it is not considered that he neglected Song Jinning, and the Empress Dowager will fulfill her promise.

As for the future, don’t think about that.

So Li Chengxuan closed his eyes while secretly resenting Song Jinning.

Although the two people slept on the same bed, Li Chengxuan still tried his best to keep his body away from Song Jinning.

Even in his sleep, he was still rigid, fearing that he would unconsciously lean towards Song Jinning after he fell asleep.

So when dawn came the next morning, Li Chengxuan had already retreated to the edge of the bed.

If he hadn't practiced martial arts over the years so that the balance of his body was good, he would have fallen out of bed. 

As for Song Jinning, even if her father loved her greatly, she still had rules to follow. In the morning, she must get up before dawn. So Song Jinning has developed a habit of waking up early in the morning. 

When she woke up the sun was already shining brightly.

When she turned her head, she was shocked to see a person sleeping beside her.

It was a man!

Her instinct kicked in, she yelled, and then subconsciously kicked Li Chengxuan over.

Li Chengxuan only had half his body dangling outside the bed, before he suddenly suffered a heavy kick on the waist, and the next moment Li Chengxuan turned over and fell. 

The bed was not high, and he fell down on a rug when he landed, so it didn't feel very painful.

Li Chengxuan didn’t realize what happened and he raised his head to look at Song Jinning blankly.

Song Jinning was also watching him.

She has slept alone since she was born, and she suddenly woke up to see a man sleeping beside her. How can she not be shocked? It was completely her instinct to kick Li Chengxuan out of the bed. 

At this moment, she finally reacted and smiled apologetically.

"Um, I'm sorry, I'm used to sleeping by myself, and forgot that I got married yesterday..."

She remembered something before she finished speaking.

"But your Majesty, didn't you leave last night? Why did you come back?"

After speaking, she hurriedly bowed her head.

Seeing that she was still well dressed, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Leaving and returning already made Li Chengxuan feel very shameless, and now he was even kicked out of the bed?

What made him even more angry was that now, looking at Song Jinning's appearance, she must be thinking that he came back last night just to lust after her.

How is it like this?

Had it not been for the Empress Dowager’s promise, he would not have come back last night!

Li Chengxuan's face was reddish while looking at Song Jinning.

After taking a look at Song Jinning, he stood up and walked out quickly.

Then Song Jinning heard him calling Zhou Jing. Obviously, Zhou Jing was called in to help him dress.

Song Jinning blinked while sitting on the bed.

In fact, she was still a little surprised.

She originally thought that he would punish her for the kick. She didn't expect that he would endure it and not pursue the matter.

While Zhou Jing waited for the other eunuchs to come in and serve Li Chengxuan, Gu Yu and Bai Lu hurriedly came in to serve Song Jinning. 

Song Jinning was still sitting cross-legged on the bed.

Seeing the two of them coming in, she asked: "When did he come last night? Why didn't you two tell me?"

Bai Lu was tired and didn’t have the energy to talk, so Gu Yu was the one reporting this time. 

"Mistress, didn't I tell you that Your Majesty came over yesterday? Standing outside the door, I shouted. It must be because you slept too heavily, that you didn't hear it."

The expression on Gu Yu's face was very innocent. "As for blocking him, Your Highness, that is the emperor after all, these servants dare not." Actually when Li Chengxun returned, Gu Yu and Bai Lu were very happy.

If the Emperor and Empress are not in a good relationship, what will people say about their mistress in the future?

Song Jinning treated Gu Yu and Bai Lu very well, so the two of them dared to say anything in front of her.

After speaking, Gu Yu approached to help Song Jinning dress.

When she saw the white quilt laying on the mattress, the smile on Gu Yu's face immediately froze.

After a while she said: "Mistress, did you and your majesty not do it last night?”

Song Jinning looked down and saw the clean quilt too.

She was really sleepy last night, so she fell asleep as soon as she laid down. She didn't even notice that there was a white quilt on the mattress.

Obviously it was not placed by Gu Yu or Bai Lu, but by the Empress Dowager.

Song Jinning understood why the Empress Dowager would be suspicious. She just wanted to be sure that Li Chengxuan and her truly slept together. 

Regardless of whether it is a royal or a commoner, it is very important to have open branches and leaves [1]. If the husband and wife do not sleep together, then how will this be possible?

Song Jinning had a headache just thinking about it.

Someone will come over to test this quilt in a while. Maybe that certain person will also present this quilt to the Empress Dowager for her inspection.

If this quilt is presented to the empress dowager... the only explanation would either be that Song Jinning and Li Chengxuan did not consummate or Song Jinning is not a virgin. 

Regardless of the reason, it will not turn out well.

After thinking about it, she called Gu Yu: "Bring me the jasper hairpin.”

Although Song Jinning is lazy, she found it funny when she met martial arts masters when she was in Yunnan. 

But it was just an unrealistic dream for her to be a chivalrous woman. Because of the fact that learning martial arts is so exhausting.

So she didn’t really see this as a career choice.

But there was a master who saw her as a good talent, and taught her well.

This master is very good at hiding weapons into everyday objects.  After three years of learning, Song Jinning successfully completed her training and earned this master’s approval.

The master not only taught her martial arts, but also gave her some weapons to use.

For example, this jasper hairpin. It looks like a very ordinary hairpin, with a drop-shaped head and a matte silver-like body.

But in fact, this hairpin was made from a thousand year old iron, and its sharpness was comparable to even the sharpest swords in the world.

The hairpin made of jasper had a very thin chain attached to it. You just needed to press a tiny button on the hairpin, and the sharp side will eject.

There were other weapons of course, such as an ordinary looking bracelet, that splits into two after pressing a button. A very thin, but extremely tough silver wire was attached to the middle. If this silver wire is wrapped around a person's neck, it will be as easy as cutting vegetables.

To Song Jinning, these weapons are better used for assasination than actual fighting.

Song Jinning, as the daughter of Prince Nanyang, has valuable status and is guarded by guards when she leaves the house, so she never has the opportunity to show her martial arts skills.

She asked Gu Yu to bring her the jasper hairpin to prick her finger.

But Song Jinning is really afraid of pain.

So she held the hairpin in her hand for a long time, took a deep breath then another deep breath, but she still didn't want to prick her finger.

In the end, Bai Lu, who was standing on the side, became impatient. She raised her hand to remove the hairpin from Song Jinning’s hands and pierced her index finger sharply.

Footnotes: 

1) 生育子嗣，开枝散叶都是很重: To have lots of children, i.e continue the family bloodline