ITVCFITB CHAPTER 23

 Chapter 23: Saying One Thing, Meaning Another

Maybe because he was in a familiar place with someone he could trust completely at his side, Luo Shuyu slept soundly.

Li Mingjin had no intention of sitting on the edge of the bed till dawn. Luo Shuyu slept on the inside; he slept on the outside.

They hadn’t consummated the marriage, but sharing one bed, one quilt, one nest of warmth was stirring enough. It was something he had longed for a long time.

Now that his dream had come true, he had no complaints. If he hadn’t been careless enough to sprain his ankle right before the wedding, tonight might have been even more perfect.

When the candles went out, Li Mingjin groped under the covers until he found Luo Shuyu’s hand and held it tight. For some reason a sourness rose in his nose, as if he had wanted to do this for a very long time. He thought he must truly like Luo Shuyu, why else would he have fallen for him at first sight?

He just didn’t know whether his imperial consort felt the same or was only feigning affection as a way to escape the pit that was the Luo household.

Li Mingjin couldn’t quite be confident of himself. It would be easier if his reputation were a little better.

The hand he held wasn’t soft and boneless; the joints were distinct, the fingers long and fine. Li Mingjin didn’t dare use much strength, afraid the calluses on his palm would hurt him, so he held on lightly.

He turned onto his side. Once his eyes adjusted, he could make out the contours of Luo Shuyu’s face. He watched and watched, and before he knew it, it was the dead of night.

Only then did he settle to sleep. He’d brought Luo Shuyu home; from now on he could look at him every day.

Excitement carried him for a while, but when it ebbed he was exhausted. He hadn’t slept much the previous two days either. As soon as he loosened up, he fell into a deep, sweet sleep. In his dream he had mastered every position in that little booklet, had finally consummated the marriage with Luo Shuyu, and his consort lay shyly in his arms, saying he was very satisfied.

Luo Shuyu was woken by a hard, unfamiliar object pressing against him. He opened his eyes to find a strong arm around his waist and his back against a broad chest.

Being held wasn’t the problem; it was the part of Li Mingjin currently prodding him that made him uncomfortable. He knew this was normal for a man, but he had little experience with such things.

He quietly moved Li Mingjin’s hand away and that small motion woke Li Mingjin.

The moment Li Mingjin opened his eyes he realized they were in a very intimate position. He didn’t know when he had drawn Luo Shuyu into his arms. He also felt a damp stickiness in his trousers; he didn’t need to guess what had happened.

He released Luo Shuyu at once, flung back the thin quilt, and swung out of bed in one smooth motion, only for a bolt of pain to stab his ankle.

“Hss!”

Sitting up, Luo Shuyu was startled by his sudden speed, and then by the cry of pain. “What’s wrong?”

Li Mingjin pressed his lips together and, enduring the pain, hopped back to sit on the edge of the bed. “Forgot my ankle hurts.”

Luo Shuyu hurried down, lifted his trouser leg, and gently set his foot on his own knee. “Your Highness, your ankle is even more swollen than last night. We have to have an imperial physician look at it. You mustn’t leave a lingering ailment.”

“Don’t hold my foot. It’s touched the floor, it’s dirty.” Having his consort cradle his foot felt strange.

Luo Shuyu chuckled. “I don’t mind.”

Li Mingjin briskly drew his leg back. “I can bear it. It’s nothing.”

Luo Shuyu’s face changed at once, solemn now and he ignored him, calling out toward the door to summon someone to fetch a physician.

Outside, Feng Momo pricked up her ears. Why was it the consort giving orders on the very first morning of marriage, and not the Third Prince? Had their roles been reversed?

Regardless, Feng Momo set the household in motion to help them dress. They still had to enter the palace today to pay respects to His Majesty and the Empress.

Dawn had barely broken. After a good night’s sleep, Luo Shuyu was up earlier than usual. He asked Feng Momo, “If we call the imperial physician now, will we still have time to go to the palace afterward?”

Feng Momo was nearly frightened out of her wits. An imperial physician the morning after the wedding?

Luo Shuyu pointed at the ankle, swollen like a pig’s trotter. “His Highness’s ankle hurts badly. It needs to be looked at. We can’t let it become a lasting problem.”

Li Mingjin said, “Do as the consort says. Otherwise he’ll worry. If we’re late to the palace, I’ll explain to Father and Mother.”

“Yes,” Madam Feng replied.

Qingwang kept learning at Feng Momo’s side. With Li Mingjin present, he didn’t dare chatter; he simply did as he was told.

While they waited for the physician, Luo Shuyu and Li Mingjin ate breakfast first.

The physician on duty rushed over as soon as he heard the Third Prince had summoned him. On the way he imagined the cause, perhaps His Highness had overtaxed the new consort last night…

Upon arriving, he discovered the patient was not the freshly wedded imperial consort, who looked perfectly well, but the Third Prince himself, very different from what he’d assumed.

It was the new consort, complexion fine and whole, who spoke to him: “Physician, please take a look at His Highness’s ankle.”

The physician was a bit nonplussed. “Yes, this humble servant will examine His Highness at once.”

Li Mingjin said, “The consort is making a fuss over nothing. Just take a quick look.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Luo Shuyu said. “However young a body is, it’s not to be squandered.”

The physician thought: Is the new consort plucking the tiger’s whiskers? Youths truly don’t know fear. Have you never heard what the Third Prince’s temper is like?

But Li Mingjin’s next words stunned him again.

With a stony face, Li Mingjin said, “Do as the consort says.”

“…Yes,” the physician answered. His face stung.

The physician did his work diligently. The injury hadn’t been severe at first; the swelling and pain had worsened due to improper rest. He prescribed poultices and cautioned against getting it wet, any strenuous activity, and spicy or greasy food.

Li Mingjin glanced toward Luo Shuyu. To the physician it looked like a glare as if he truly thought the consort meddlesome.

But to Luo Shuyu’s eyes, Li Mingjin seemed…a little aggrieved? He probably wasn’t seeing things.

After sending the physician off, they prepared to enter the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress.

The physician had warned against strenuous activity, but this courtesy could not be skipped.

On the way, Li Mingjin wanted to ride, but Luo Shuyu called him into the carriage.

“Your Highness,” he said, “bone and sinew take a hundred days to heal. Your ankle isn’t up to it now. Why not ride with me? You can take a horse again once the swelling’s gone.”

“Reasonable,” Li Mingjin said, face taut, yielding very quickly.

Being managed by someone was a novelty for him. In the carriage, he kept stealing glances at Luo Shuyu opposite him. Today he’d gone back to his usual simple style, only adding a consort’s hairpin and crown. Clean, fresh, unostentatious.

Very good-looking.

Luo Shuyu was quiet. Li Mingjin thought he must be nervous about meeting the Emperor and Empress, tongue-tied from unease.

“Don’t be nervous,” Li Mingjin said. “With me here, they won’t make things difficult for you.”

“I’m not nervous,” Luo Shuyu said. He was only repeating what he’d done in his previous life.

“Mm.” The consort says one thing and feels another, but he couldn’t call him out. One must give one’s spouse face. Like this, he was a bit cute.

Unaware of Li Mingjin’s thoughts, Luo Shuyu asked, feigning ignorance, “Do we have to see everyone today?”

“No. The Empress Dowager, Father, and Mother are a must. The other consorts don’t matter. Eldest Brother and the Crown Prince may be at the Empress Dowager’s as well, you’ll meet them then.”

“All right,” Luo Shuyu said.

He had met them all before, just never spoken deeply, never formed ties.

Looking back on that last life, he had been like a man hidden in a peach-blossom spring beyond the world. Court intrigue meant not only His Majesty’s harem, but the households of all the princes, each full of masters of palace struggle. And yet, whenever they met Shen Mingyun, they always ended up miserably outplayed.

When Shen Mingyun married the Fourth Prince, for instance, his status wasn’t fit for a prince’s consort, but the Fourth Prince married him anyway. Shen Mingyun didn’t adjust to palace life, nor did he try. If someone sniped at him, he shot back on the spot; if he lost the encounter, he went to dig up their dirt and ruin them afterward, calling it “upholding justice” and “ridding the people of evil.”

Because he used his “system” to whip up many novelties, Emperor Tiansheng favored him. Even the Crown Prince took an interest in him and had once thought of making him a side-consort before he became the Fourth Prince’s consort.

Thinking it through, the four adult princes each had dealings of varying depth with Shen Mingyun. Only Li Mingjin had the least contact with him and in the book, he disappeared the fastest.

The carriage reached the palace gate.

Knowing the Third Prince had barely returned and was injured, Emperor Tiansheng had sedan chairs prepared to carry them straight to the Empress Dowager’s Cixin Palace.

As they stepped down, someone approached. Luo Shuyu supported Li Mingjin’s arm.

Before the person arrived, his voice did: “Third Brother, this must be Third Sister-in-law?”

Luo Shuyu lifted his gaze. Dressed in white and holding a folding fan, he was the very picture of a gentle gentleman. In his previous life, that harmless-seeming face had put him off his guard.

It was the Fourth Prince, Shen Mingyun’s future match, and one day, the man who seized the throne.

In front of outsiders, Li Mingjin’s face had already cooled. “Mm. Your Third Sister-in-law.”

The Fourth Prince bowed with exquisite politeness. “Greetings, Third Sister-in-law.”

Standing beside Li Mingjin, Luo Shuyu returned the salute. “I have seen the Fourth Prince.”

“Let’s go in,” Li Mingjin said to Luo Shuyu, not wanting him to speak much with his fourth brother.

Unmarried and punctilious about etiquette, the Fourth Prince did not linger with Luo Shuyu. The three entered the Empress Dowager’s palace together.

Luo Shuyu couldn’t help wondering: without Shen Mingyun’s help, could the Fourth Prince still have ascended that seat?

If other people were going to shape his and Li Mingjin’s lives, why shouldn’t they shape those people in return?

Sensing something off in Luo Shuyu’s mood, he’d smiled on the way, now his face had tightened with a hint of sternness, Li Mingjin squeezed his hand.

Luo Shuyu looked up at him. The chill in his chest thawed bit by bit.

Li Mingjin thought: as expected, my wife says one thing and feels another. Saying he isn’t nervous, it's clearly a lie.

---

Meanwhile, at the Luo residence.

Waking up and seeing “MISSION FAILED” again, Shen Mingyun nearly jumped out of his skin with fury.

“System,” he snapped, “what is going on? Why do tasks related to Luo Shuyu always fail? Does he have it in for me?”

System: “Host, please try again.”

He raked a hand through his hair in frustration. Was Luo Shuyu a transmigrator or not? He’d never failed a task before.

Just then, the system issued a new mission, neatly hijacking his attention.

【Please launch the ‘Courtesan 101’ event as soon as possible to earn your first bucket of gold. Reward: 2,000 mall points.】

---

Author’s Note:
Third Prince: Careful wife, have you noticed where I’ve gotten thicker?
Luo Shuyu: …

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