Extra 1 part 1
The spring sunshine was warm and gentle, accompanied by the chirping of birds.
Gazing at the man sitting by the window, brush in hand as he reviewed official documents, Zhao Yiyi blinked and clutched the bed curtains. “Today isn’t a rest day. Why haven’t you gone to court yet?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she was stunned for a moment, realizing her voice had come out hoarse. Her throat also felt rather uncomfortable.
Gu Zhen paused his writing, his phoenix eyes slowly lifting to look over at her.
“I have already returned from court.” Gu Zhen walked to the window and pushed the lattice open, letting her see the sky outside.
It was already broad daylight.
Dazzled by the bright light, Zhao Yiyi instinctively closed her eyes to hide from it. Only after adapting did she slowly open her almond eyes again.
Watching the pear blossoms drift in through the window, a dazed look flashed across her face. In her groggy state, she recalled the time they were newly wed.
When they married, the Late Emperor had granted him a five-day marriage leave, but he hadn’t taken a single day. On the second day after the wedding, he had left the Eastern Palace to attend court as usual, and then returned to the Chongren Hall to handle affairs.
A sudden sourness pricked her nose. Zhao Yiyi slowly pulled the thin quilt up, covering her face to block out the light from outside, and also to hide her expression.
This sudden movement caught Gu Zhen off guard.
He set down his vermilion brush and walked over, leaning down to tug at a corner of the thin quilt, lowering his voice. “It is time to get up. Rise and have your morning meal first.”
The person inside the quilt made no sound, merely pulling the corner back and clutching it tightly in her hand.
“What is wrong?” Sensing something was amiss, Gu Zhen leaned lower, taking the opportunity to clasp her slender hand that was exposed outside the quilt.
Zhao Yiyi turned her face away, her voice muffled. “Nothing. I just remembered the past, back when we were first married.”
Gu Zhen’s hand stiffened slightly, and his heart seemed to stop for a second. His expression shifted several times before he forcibly suppressed the strange feeling, deliberately softening his voice to ask, “What did Yiyi remember?”
“Nothing.” Zhao Yiyi pulled her hand back, tucking it into the bedding, and gripped the thin quilt tightly again.
Hearing the slight trace of petulance in her voice, Gu Zhen did not give her a chance to escape. He gently lifted a corner of the quilt and whispered, “If something has made you unhappy, tell Zhen. Do not keep it bottled up inside; the more you think about it, the unhappier you will become.”
Not knowing where she found the courage, Zhao Yiyi suddenly threw off the quilt, sat up to look at him, and bit her lip. “I just remembered things from the past. It just felt a little unbearable, that’s all.”
If she remembered the past, how could Gu Zhen not?
The reason he had rushed back after the morning court today was precisely because he had remembered their time as newlyweds and wanted to make up for those regrets.
Gu Zhen looked at her with furrowed brows, his voice gentle and moist. “Now that you have cried for a moment, do you feel any better?”
Zhao Yiyi turned her head, refusing to look at him.
Gu Zhen sighed lightly, extending his arms to pull her into his embrace, gently rubbing her soft waist. “Zhen knows what you are unhappy about. But in the future, if there is anything, tell Zhen first, alright?”
In truth, neither of them were people who were good with words. When they had things on their minds, they preferred to keep them bottled up, worrying constantly but afraid to reveal them to the outside world.
Zhao Yiyi’s eyelashes trembled slightly before she asked, “Why did you come back today?”
Usually, after court, he would either discuss matters in the Zichen Hall, handle government affairs alone, or summon a minister or two.
Gu Zhen gently stroked her slightly messy hair and whispered, “There was nothing much happening in the front court today. Zhen thought you had not risen yet, so I came over.” He then patted Zhao Yiyi’s back, his voice unconsciously taking on a hint of a smile. “In the future, Zhen will bring the memorials to the Jiao Fang Palace to review.”
He carried Zhao Yiyi off the bed, settled her to the side, and picked up her socks to put them on for her.
The man before her was half-bent over, one hand holding her ankle, the other holding her sock. Zhao Yiyi’s face turned red, and she shied away in embarrassment.
But her little bit of strength was nothing more than a flirtatious gesture to Gu Zhen. She couldn’t break free no matter how she struggled.
Gu Zhen used a little more force with the hand holding her ankle, keeping her pinned there. He patted it lightly twice, then said with amusement, “Didn’t you say earlier that you wanted to bully Zhen? You even ordered Zhen to take off your shoes and socks for you. Now you won’t even let Zhen put your socks on—how exactly do you plan to bully me?”
Zhao Yiyi’s face flushed crimson at his words. Watching the man put on her socks and then fetch her bee-and-chrysanthemum embroidered shoes, she suddenly remembered how, in the past, if he had stayed the night in the Jiao Fang Palace, she would be the one serving him as he prepared for court.
calculating roughly, it had been a full year since she had risen early to help him dress.
And now, this man was bending down in front of her, putting on her shoes.
Zhao Yiyi pursed her lips and instinctively shrank her leg back.
Gu Zhen looked up, eyeing her with slight displeasure, and pulled her foot back. “Be good, don’t move.”
The wind outside the window blew in gusts, lifting the hem of his robe slightly. When Zhao Yiyi looked down, she saw a white jade pendant hanging at his waist, carved with the pattern of spring birds returning to the forest.
The cord tied to the jade pendant also looked very familiar.
She stared at it for a long while before pointing at the pendant. “Why are you still wearing this? Aren’t you sick of it?”
Gu Zhen stood up, his fingertips rubbing the jade pendant. The cool touch brought him back to his senses slightly. “You only braided this one for Zhen. How could Zhen bear to throw it away?”
That knot was something she had woven casually during the Dragon Boat Festival last year. And she had only ever made that one.
Gu Zhen wore it every day, and the five-colored silk threads had long since faded. Fortunately, the colors were mixed to begin with, so it wasn’t obvious unless one looked closely.
Taking the opportunity, he smiled. “Will Yiyi braid another one for Zhen?”
The sunlight hit him from the side, seeming to plate him in a layer of boundless gold. His already handsome and peerless features became even more dazzling in the light.
Zhao Yiyi met his smile head-on, her almond eyes shimmering with water. She stood up and went behind the screen to wash up. “You put it aside first. We’ll talk after the morning meal.”
These words were effectively a promise.
Watching that graceful figure retreat, Gu Zhen rested one hand on the bedpost, the corners of his lips tilting up unconsciously.
Although the Jiao Fang Palace was a place she was used to living in, and there hadn’t been major changes during the reconstruction, Zhao Yiyi was still slightly unaccustomed to it.
After washing up and drinking half a cup of clear water to moisten her throat, Zhao Yiyi still felt her throat was uncomfortable, a dry, stinging pain. After being tossed about for almost the entire day—at first, she had been coaxed by Gu Zhen to call out a few times, but later, she had cried out unconsciously.
How could she not be hoarse?
Even when eating her morning meal, it was difficult to swallow, feeling as if her throat were being scraped by blades.
Gu Zhen touched her throat, frowning, and said with some heartache, “How did it get like this?”
“Isn’t it all your fault!” Zhao Yiyi glared at him angrily, clutching her chopsticks, and annoyed, said, “It was clearly you who…”
Halfway through, she felt shy and refused to continue.
Gu Zhen chuckled, unable to resist teasing her. “Blame Zhen for what?”
Blame him… for what else?
He knew perfectly well what he had done. Zhao Yiyi was furious, but she refused to say it out loud.
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