Chapter 1
Chapter 1
On our wedding night, the Fifth Prince lifted my bridal veil.
Expressionless, he said, “Everyone outside is saying this marriage is a cripple matched with a fool. Heh. I suppose that does make us a perfect pair.”
I protested in a small voice, “You really are a cripple, but I’m not a fool. They’re talking nonsense.”
The Fifth Prince’s brows shot up, and he looked at me as if I were some rare curiosity.
One glance at his expression, and I knew my tongue had run ahead of my brain again.
Before I married, Mother had warned me over and over not to say whatever came into my head.
Alas, I just couldn’t help it.
The Fifth Prince was rather unlucky too.
He and my legitimate elder sister had been childhood sweethearts, and all that remained was for him to be named Crown Prince before he married her.
Who would have thought he would injure his leg on the battlefield? After he returned, the Third Prince became Crown Prince instead.
And my legitimate elder sister became the Crown Princess.
The Emperor felt guilty toward him, and after hearing that I looked similar to my legitimate elder sister, he simply bestowed a marriage on us.
The night the imperial edict arrived, my whole family wept.
My mother cried because someone as guileless as me would probably lose her little life if she married into the imperial family.
My legitimate elder sister cried because the Fifth Prince, whom she loved so deeply, had somehow fallen into my lap.
Alas, in short, no one had high hopes for this marriage.
Seeing that the Fifth Prince clearly could not stand me, I hurried to comfort him. “You and the Crown Prince have similar eyes and brows, and my mouth and nose resemble my sister’s. Why don’t we just treat each other as substitutes and live happily together, all right?”
After hearing that, the Fifth Prince let out a long sigh.
He looked even more despairing. Mocking himself, he said, “For one fleeting moment just now, I actually thought marrying you might not be so terrible. At the very least, since you’re this stupid, I won’t have to spend my days suspecting you of anything. I suppose this is what they call foul mountains and rotten waters finding a kindred spirit.”
He was the foul one!
I waved my sleeve in front of him and huffed. “I don’t stink! I just finished bathing. I used lots of flower petals. I smell very nice!”
Afraid the Fifth Prince could not smell it, I even stretched my arm straight out and brought it beneath his nose.
The Fifth Prince’s breath brushed against my wrist, making it itch a little.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he said through gritted teeth, “Don’t even think about seducing me! Even if you are beautiful, I will never fall for a fool.”
I fished an orange candy from under the pillow and popped it into my mouth, then said indistinctly, “You drank so much wine. You’re the stinky one! So we’re a stinky mountain and fragrant water, meeting by happy chance!”
The Fifth Prince had already refused to continue speaking with me.
I ate and drank my fill on my own, then went to bathe and change.
When I came out from behind the screen, the Fifth Prince took one look at my clothes and whipped his head away.
Flustered and furious, he snapped, “What on earth are you wearing?”
I felt my face heat too.
Mother had prepared these clothes for me. They were thin and sheer.
She said the Fifth Prince was no ordinary man, and that I had to conceive as soon as possible.
In the future, even if the Fifth Prince took side consorts, as long as I had a child to rely on, my position would be as steady as Mount Tai.
Remembering Mother’s instructions, I pushed the Fifth Prince’s wheelchair behind the screen.
The Fifth Prince flew into a rage. “Are you insane? How dare you take off my clothes!”
“Shen Yufu!”
“Are you deaf? Let go of me!”
Mother said that when a man said no, it meant he wanted it.
The Fifth Prince was thin-skinned, so I had to be thick-skinned.
Otherwise, if I fell out of favor in the future and got locked away in some courtyard, I would have to go hungry every day.
The thought frightened me, and I desperately wanted a child.
I coaxed the Fifth Prince, saying, “You… you need to behave. I can only bring myself to put my mouth on you once you’re clean.”
The Fifth Prince was still struggling.
I plunged into the water and hugged him tightly.
The warm water wrapped all around us.
The Fifth Prince reached out to push me away, and his palm pressed against my chest, sending a strange, prickling tickle through me.
He seemed to freeze as well, staring at his own hand.
Involuntarily, I leaned closer, feeling a restless heat rise inside me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and asked softly, “Isn’t it soft? When I bathe, I like touching myself too. It’s fragrant and soft, and honestly kind of fun.”
The Fifth Prince shouted at me again, “Shut up!”