“You understand it yourself, that’s enough.” Each time he smelled the fragrance from Xin’an’s body, Li Jiancheng’s willpower weakened by several degrees. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold out.

“I don’t understand!” Xin’an excitedly embraced his neck, standing on tiptoe to continuously kiss his face while murmuring: “As long as I can be with you, let me be your woman—no matter what you ask me to do, even if it’s the most dangerous thing, I will help you! And… I promise you, from now on, I, Xin’an, will only have you, Li Jiancheng. I won’t look at any other man again. I will devote myself wholeheartedly to you.”

Li Jiancheng initially resisted, but under the influence of the drug in his body, he soon lost his rationality and embraced Xin’an tightly. For a moment, beneath the red silk curtains, spring passion ran deep…

After an intense session of lovemaking, Xin’an leaned against Li Jiancheng’s sturdy chest, savoring the earlier desire and pleasure, her eyes so tender they seemed ready to drip water at any moment.

She had been with quite a few men, but none had been able to make her feel as comfortable as Li Jiancheng—as if she were ascending to the clouds. This man could truly be called exceptional. Looking at it this way, even if she really could only be with him alone in the future, it wouldn’t be a loss.

Seeing Li Jiancheng staring at the canopy without speaking, she said softly: “What’s wrong? Are you still angry with me?”

Li Jiancheng’s eyes turned cold, then he said: “When did you put the drug in the tea?”

Xin’an didn’t want to discuss this, but since Li Jiancheng asked, she had to answer: “Just when I was serving it to you.”

Li Jiancheng looked sideways: “So no matter what I came to discuss with you today, you would have coaxed me into drinking that tea?”

Xin’an acted coquettishly: “What’s wrong with that? Is being with me so wronging to you? Besides, didn’t I promise you? From now on, I’ll only be with you alone and won’t look at other men. Also, whatever you want me to do, I will definitely do well and remove your thorn in the side.” The rice was already cooked—she didn’t believe Li Jiancheng would show no sentiment at all.

Sure enough, Li Jiancheng sighed somewhat helplessly and embraced her naked fragrant shoulders: “Alright, as long as you remember what you just said, I won’t wrong you.”

Hearing these words, Xin’an’s heart settled, and she said coquettishly: “Don’t worry, since I’ve spoken, I will definitely do it and help you… achieve great things.” Although Li Jiancheng wouldn’t say the reason for that matter, she had more or less guessed several parts of it.

Xin’an was satisfied and joyful. She had finally gotten what she wished for and become Li Jiancheng’s woman. Moreover, judging from his tone, after the deed was accomplished, he would very likely take her as a concubine.

Xin’an, completely immersed in joy, didn’t notice the gloom in Li Jiancheng’s eyes—just as she didn’t know that there was a difference between men and women. After physical intimacy, women often would follow that man with devoted loyalty, but men… not necessarily!

On the nineteenth day of the third month, the wedding dress commissioned from the Imperial Clothing Bureau was finally completed and sent to Mingse Hall for Yunyi to try on. If anything didn’t fit properly, there would still be time to alter it. When they saw that crimson silk brocade wedding dress with auspicious cloud patterns and a trailing hem worn by Yunyi, both Ruyi and Jixiang burst into tears.

Seeing their reaction, Yunyi said amusedly: “What are you two doing? Do I look ugly in this dress?”

Ruyi quickly replied: “The Princess looks like a celestial fairy in this wedding dress—how could you be ugly?”

“If that’s the case, why are you crying?” Faced with Yunyi’s question, Jixiang choked up: “We servants are happy for the Princess. You’ve waited so many years, and your dream is finally about to come true. You and Second Young Master will surely grow old together with united hearts.”

Ruyi continued: “That’s right, and may you have children early and hundreds of sons and thousands of grandsons.”

Yunyi was moved in her heart. Over these years, she had experienced great rises and falls in life, but regardless of whether she was wealthy or in distress, Ruyi and Jixiang had always stayed by her side, never leaving or abandoning her. “You two silly girls, quickly wipe away your tears and stop crying.”

Ruyi nodded and after wiping away the tears in her eyes, said: “Princess, do you feel the wedding dress fits well? If it’s not suitable, this servant will send it to the Imperial Clothing Bureau for alterations.”

Yunyi looked over her outfit: “The size is just right, no need to alter it.”

Jixiang interjected: “In this servant’s opinion, everything about this wedding dress is good, except the color doesn’t look right. If it were changed to proper…”

Ruyi realized something was wrong and quickly kicked her, whispering: “Don’t bring up what shouldn’t be mentioned. Stop talking quickly.”

Jixiang also realized her slip of tongue and quickly stopped speaking, smiling awkwardly: “Actually… this color is also good, it makes the Princess’s skin look snow-white.”

Yunyi understood their thoughts and smiled: “I’m fine. Being able to wear this wedding dress happily makes me very content.”

“Mm.” Ruyi responded, then suddenly smiled: “Speaking of which, shouldn’t we thank Cui Ji?”

Jixiang blinked with a confused expression: “Thank him for what? Have you forgotten how miserably he harmed our master back then?”

Ruyi pursed her lips: “Of course I haven’t forgotten, but think about it—if he hadn’t wanted to be the prince consort himself and killed Young Master Zheng, the Princess would have already married Young Master Zheng as his wife. How could she have ended up with Second Young Master as lovers who finally became spouses?”

Jixiang thought for a moment and nodded: “When you put it that way, it really is so. Later, when the late emperor was killed, it was also because Cui Ji refused to release the Princess that Du Gongzi went to Longmen to find Second Young Master for rescue.”

“So we really should thank him properly.” Ruyi found it increasingly amusing and covered her lips: “If Cui Ji heard this, I wonder if he’d be so angry he’d crawl out of his coffin to settle accounts with us?”

Jixiang laughed and joked: “If he dares to come, I’ll beat him until he’s searching for his teeth all over the ground!”

Yunyi laughed and chided: “Alright, you two are getting more and more ridiculous. Why don’t you hurry and help me change out of this dress?”

“Oh.” The two barely stopped laughing and stepped forward to help Yunyi remove the wedding dress, carefully folding it and storing it in the wardrobe. Jixiang counted on her fingers: “Today is the nineteenth, and in ten more days, the Princess will be able to wear this wedding dress and formally marry into the Tang Prince’s mansion. Then we won’t have to look at Princess Xin’an’s sour face anymore.”

Ruyi was helping Yunyi tie her sash and immediately said upon hearing this: “Don’t mention her—it spoils the mood.”

Ever since learning that Yunyi was about to marry Li Shimin as an equal wife, Princess Xin’an had been coming to their Mingse Hall every few days to mock and ridicule them coldly, even secretly cursing that the Princess and Second Young Master wouldn’t have a good ending. Just thinking about it made her angry.

Jixiang thought about it and agreed, then changed the subject: “By the way, when I went to the Imperial Merit Bureau some days ago, I accidentally saw the dowry His Majesty prepared for the Princess. It listed a long string of items—there are dozens of luminous pearls alone. I secretly asked about it, and they said His Majesty took half of the treasures from the palace treasury to make the Princess’s dowry.”

Ruyi smiled: “His Majesty remembers the Princess so well—at least it doesn’t waste the Princess’s kindness toward him.”