CHAPTER 166 - EVERYONE KNOWS MARRIAGE IS A WIFE SENTENCE
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“Yes?” I gave my pet slime an expectant look.
“Chu!”
With an air of concentration, Cutie scribbled on the cardboard the way she had seen me do it, but she didn’t produce anything coherent.
Nor did she transform.
Oh well, I guess it was fine that she didn’t turn into a cute human slime girl.
***
Over the next few days, the kids were on their best behavior as they did their farm chores in the mornings and had their classes in the afternoons. On the day Prince Baiyu was to visit the farm, I put on the hairpin he sent and a nice set of peach-colored robes. I waited for him in my reception room in the second courtyard while munching on some sweet bean cookies and drinking peach tea.
When I heard footsteps, I put the food down and checked for any crumbs before hurriedly opening the door to welcome him inside.
The moment I laid eyes on him, my breath caught in my throat. I hadn’t forgotten how handsome he was, but seeing him again after a long absence, I was struck speechless by his gorgeous features. As he approached, his confident stride and alluring smile sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. He was wearing a magnificent set of blue and silver robes.
I waited until he was close before dramatically putting both my hands on my chest and exclaiming, “Be still, my heart!”
Then I placed a hand on my forehead and fake swooned. He caught me in his arms, just as I planned. The maids, kitchen staff, and my apprentices were all loitering in the courtyard, not-so-subtly spying on us, so we couldn’t do anything, but I enjoyed the feel of his arms around me.
“Hello, stranger,” I said. “Come into my room…”
He let me go, and we entered my suite, though I had to leave the door open for propriety's sake.
“My father sends his regards and wishes to make it known that he supports our relationship. He gave me these robes which he says he was wearing when my mother fell madly in love with him at first sight,” he said.
“Oh, I one hundred percent believe it.” I sat down.
Prince Baiyu remained standing and spread his arms out, long sleeves swaying. He turned in place, so I could get a good 360-degree view of him wearing the robes. “What do you think? Have you fallen madly in love with me yet?”
I smirked at him. “Perhaps if you took it off…”
We laughed together and he sat down.
“I can't. My father made me swear I won’t take off my robes to sweep your house’s path clean.” He sighed.
Last year, Prince Baiyu used to take off his robe and sweep the paths around the house wearing only his pants and boots. He told me that his parents had heard of this and scolded him for being immodest.
“That’s too bad.” I wordlessly offered him a teacup and a plate of cookies, which he refused, as usual. “How are your parents?”
“My mother’s condition has progressed to the point that the baby’s qi can be felt. The family has publicly announced her pregnancy, and I’ve been given permission to live and work nearby.”
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“Great!”
Prince Baiyu cleared his throat. “I said ‘nearby.’ My parents don't want me living here.”
“I thought you said your father approved?” Of course, I did notice that he didn’t say anything about his mother.
“He said that moving to your guesthouse is premature. Don’t worry, I’ll be living in Shuye’s village.” He took my hand and kissed it. “We’ll see each other almost every day.”
“Yes!” I couldn’t help but jump up from my seat and hug him. “I missed you so much.”
From the open doorway, I could see the kids and staff giggling at us, but I didn’t care and continued embracing my boyfriend for as long as I wanted. Eventually, we both sat back down, and we chatted about what we had been doing in the past month. I finished my tea and gave him a tour of the farm, especially the [Herb Garden] which was new to him.
He bent down to inspect an herb plant. “You call these ordinary spirit herbs?”
“Yes, they’re used for cooking and stuff, not for making Immortal Pills.”
“The qi in your farm has greatly increased in intensity.”
“You say that every time.”
“It’s true every time.”
We didn’t talk about anything of much importance. I was simply content to walk by his side and listen to his voice. After a while, he took my hand in his and we walked together that way. His fingers and palm were pleasingly rough and calloused from wielding a sword. We ended up sitting on a picnic blanket under the shade of a majestic oak tree and chatting.
The gentle breeze rustled the leaves, creating a soothing melody, and the warm sunlight filtered through the branches, casting dappled patterns on the two of us. Birds chirped merrily in the distance, adding to the tranquil ambiance.
“I hope you don’t mind if I do use your guesthouse to store some of my things. During the day, I could use the study to do paperwork,” he said.
“Of course, I wouldn’t mind.”
“My butler will also stay there to support Scholar Wu and the other staff.” He paused and gave me a sidelong glance. “You know, Scholar Wu is living with you to keep an eye on things for my mother.”
I raised an eyebrow. “She’s here to chaperone you?”
Prince Baiyu threw his head back and guffawed. This was one of the very few times I saw him laugh so unrestrainedly. Eventually, he used a handkerchief to wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes and said, “I almost forgot to tell you. My mother wanted to send a few people to chaperone me, but my father said no.”
I mentally rolled my eyes a little at the thought of a grown man having a chaperone for real, but I guess the people in this world were much more old-fashioned compared to modern-day Earth. “Did he say why?”
“Yes.” He covered his mouth with a hand as though to physically hold back another bout of laughter before composing himself and saying, “He said to my mother… ‘You know quite well that chaperones are useless.’ Then they exchanged this look.”
He burst out laughing again, and I had to smile at his story. He and I had a lot in common. My parents were always saying stuff like that, too.
“Did he waggle his eyebrows like this?” I waggled my eyebrows while smirking suggestively.
Prince Baiyu couldn’t resist and took me in his arms. He kissed my forehead and said, “No, but he told me they wanted at least another half dozen kids.”
I pulled away a little and sat down right beside him. He put an arm around me and I leaned against him.
“My father told me to ask you if you like me the way I am.” His smile faded a little, and he looked up at the leafy canopy above us for a few seconds before looking back down into my eyes.
I pulled his head down and kissed the purple lotus birthmark in the middle of his forehead. “It’s a good thing I like you just the way you are.”
He kissed my forehead, too. “I won’t change much in the next hundred years. You should know that.”
“That’s perfect!” Was my lifespan the same as a human lifespan in this world, or did I have eternal, unchanging youth the way players did in Adventure Incarnate? I had no way of knowing. “...I don’t want to worry about what I’ll be like a hundred years from now. Besides, who knows, we could both die tomorrow.”
Look at my parents. They died young.
“No, don’t say that!” said Prince Baiyu.
He frowned, and I smoothed the lines on his forehead until he stopped.
“Let’s pinky promise that we’ll always have fun in the future!” I held up my hand, and we hooked our pinkie fingers together. “There! We promised. I’m just glad we’ll be spending more time together. Let the future take care of itself. I’m sure our future selves will handle it just fine.”
We laced our fingers together and talked until sunset. We parted with a kiss, and he said he would visit me again tomorrow afternoon.
“This will be the best summer ever,” he said.
***
The next day, right before noon, Yinuo arrived with her surprise. She’d had her wedding in her hometown, and she was back to stay at the farm with her groom.
Or so I thought.
“But you… that’s… no way.” I turned to Fengying, who was smiling, and asked her, “Did you know about this?”