Favoring Qie Over Wife (11)

Song Jia also didn't like the crown prince's features. He was good-looking, in a kind of blurry way that could be easily forgotten. He was not her type.

The first prince was a playboy, and had already eight children. Sadly, they were all daughters, with the oldest being eleven years old. He kept making clouds and rain with his concubines, hoping for a son. But the result is that when his shufei gave birth the year before, it was also a daughter. The first prince was so frustrated that he got himself completely drunk and stayed in a brothel for two days, making the Imperial Censor reproach his actions in front of the Emperor.

The fourth prince was a little better; he and his princess consort had a very harmonious relationship. She had given him a son, which had been fully pampered by Consort De. Only, there were rumors abound that the fourth prince had an illegitimate son outside, born from one of his personal maidservants when he was little. This was usually a small thing, as he could take her in as his concubine, but who would have thought that this yatou had already gotten herself married to a normal civilian.

Compared to these headaches, Song Jia thought that Li Jia had been a little smart when she chose to fall in love with the third prince.

When they arrived back to the wangfu, Song Jia didn't bother with Zhao Cheng as she saw that he was not paying attention to her. She went back to the zhengfang [1] and directly fell asleep. Song Jia liked the bed very much. The sheets were made of high quality silk, which flowed against her skin like water. Minglan and Ruolan saw that she was a bit tired and unhooked the bed curtains. As soon as she was hidden from the rest of the room, Song Jia took the effort to open her eyes again and pluck out her makeup remover spray from her storage space ring.

When her skin was once again feeling refreshed and nourished, Song Jia let go of present worries and sank back to dreamland.

...

The next few days, Zhao Cheng became very busy at court.

It first started as a minor argument between the chancellors of the Department of State Affairs and the Secretariat. Who knew how it happened, but the head of the Department of Chancellery became involved as well. Since they were considered to be the three major departments, it brought endless trouble at court. The Emperor was still sick and could not handle much stress, so it fell to the imperial princes to sort it out. With the crown prince's indecisive personality and the inebriated state the first prince was in, in the end, it was only Zhao Cheng and the fourth prince who was left to handle this hot potato.

Zhao Cheng left the estate even before the sun was set to rise and returned long after the sky had turned dark. Ruolan and Minglan frequently persuaded Song Jia to show her care to Zhao Cheng, even though she did not want to bother at first. Since he has already someone in his heart, vying for his affections now would be as futile as trying to scoop up water in a bamboo basket. After thinking that her mission involved ensuring that Zhao Cheng became the future monarch and she could not let him exhaust himself to death, Song Jia sent an order to the kitchen to cook a nourishing soup for him and send it to his study.

Coincidentally, it was the night before Zhao Cheng was set to marry Bai Mei Lien and take her in as his concubine. He stared at the covered celadon bowl on his desk, feeling all kinds of complex emotions. Ruolan took it upon herself to help the young madam become closer to the third prince, so she gave it to Zhao Cheng's manservant and purposely slipped out by mouth that it was 'personally cooked' by 'wang fei'.

Thus, it led to this small misunderstanding and Zhao Cheng's inner conflict towards Song Jia. If Zhao Cheng were to learn that his main wife was now sleeping comfortably on her bed, dreaming about her salary, the budding admiration and guilt he felt for this 'virtuous' wang fei of his would certainly crumble into dust, leaving not even a single speck behind.

Zhao Cheng was filled with thoughts of Song Jia when he went to bed. Maybe that was the reason why, when he woke up the next morning, he was still trapped in the seductive caresses of his dream. He sat there in a daze, his heart galloping inside his chest, his little brother swollen to the point that it was painful.

He recalled the soft body that was pressed underneath him, and the warmth he felt when he was buried inside her. Zhao Cheng wondered if he had some sort of illness, that made him unable to forget the ecstasy he experienced during their wedding night. He had never lost his composure in this manner before. It was as if he was under a spell.

Unable to help himself, the outstanding imperial third prince slipped his hand into his trousers, pumping vigorously at his little brother. Zhao Cheng was panting heavily behind clenched teeth, his breaths coming out in hisses.

"Jia'er..." His hips shuddered, his mind went blank, and his hand started speeding up. When he finally released all of his desire, Zhao Cheng stared blankly at the white and sticky liquid on his hand, the name that was unintentionally spoken out echoing again and again in his ears.

His body was limp and weak after his orgasm, but he could still feel an itching restlessness inside his body. He was going to marry Bai Mei Lien today, but why is it that he was thinking of another woman?

Zhao Cheng was not an indecisive person like the crown prince. Once he decided on something and gave his word, he would do it regardless of his inner doubts. He did not know the reason for his abnormal behavior towards his wang fei, but he would not back out of his marriage with Bai Mei Lien.

In the future, whenever Zhao Cheng remembers this foolish decision of his, his intestines would turn green from regret. He will frequently think back, if he hadn't been such a dull piece of wood and recognized his budding feelings for his wang fei earlier, maybe things would not have come to such a tragic end.

[1] Residence of the main wife