Upon hearing Su Chengyu’s words, An Jing immediately stood up, "This woman pays her respects to the Crown—"
An Jing did not wish to kneel and pay respect, but in a land where royal authority was supreme, certain orders had to be followed. However, before she could kneel down, Xiao Changyi stopped her.
Xiao Changyi’s eyes were cold and piercing as he stared at Su Chengyu, "Su Chengyu, have you come here to make my wife kneel to you? If that is the case, leave immediately and return to the Capital!"
Su Chengyu couldn’t help but smile wryly, "Brother Yi, why the anger? I was about to help Sister-in-law up and tell her there’s no need to kneel, but you beat me to it."
Seeing that Su Chengyu had indeed stood up and was no longer sitting on the small stool, Xiao Changyi let it be and continued roasting sweet potatoes.
"You all..." An Jing was extremely surprised. She knew her husband disregarded the Emperor and the Crown Prince as nothing, but to do so to such an extent, even to the point of scolding the Crown Prince, was simply... Her husband was truly awesome!
"I’ve amused Sister-in-law," said Su Chengyu with a clasped hand smile. "Sister-in-law need not be astonished, Brother Yi defying decrees is commonplace, and this little matter with me is nothing. Both my father and I have grown accustomed to it."
"And you don’t punish him for this?" An Jing found it hard to believe.
Su Chengyu said, "Brother Yi’s military achievements are illustrious, protecting Xiyun from being humiliated by surrounding nations. He even saved my father’s life during my father’s personal military expedition. Later, when Prince Li conspired to usurp the throne and put my father and me under house arrest, it was Brother Yi who rescued us and eradicated all of Prince Li’s power. The peace of Xiyun today is all thanks to Brother Yi. How could my father and I blame him? We both find this quite endearing. My father even dotes on Brother Yi more than on me."
"It’s just that Brother Yi," Su Chengyu sighed suddenly, filled with regret, "does not seek fame or fortune, does not covet wealth and luxury, nor does he want any power. He just wishes to return to farming. My father tried hard to keep him in the palace for a year, even planting vegetables in his beloved Imperial Garden for Brother Yi, but he still didn’t wish to stay. He left with just ten taels of silver and came back here on his own."
An Jing finally laughed. Her husband was indeed so adorable!
"When my father and I learned of your marriage, it had already been over a month since you were wed, and we could not come to express our congratulations. Both my father and I deeply regretted it." As he spoke, Su Chengyu took a wooden box respectfully presented by a subordinate. "Brother Yi, Sister-in-law, this is the wedding gift from my father. Although it comes late, it’s still a token of his regards."
An Jing took it and, upon opening the box, saw a pair of fine white jade of an extremely translucent quality.
"This is my gift to you." Su Chengyu handed her another wooden box, larger than the previous one. An Jing opened it to find a wolf’s hair brush and an inkstone.
A gift from the Crown Prince, that inkstone was surely worth a fortune.
Seeing An Jing accept them all, Su Chengyu then smiled and said, "When Brother Yi returned here, both my father and I worried he would live a lonely single life forever. We never expected Brother Yi to join in marriage with Sister-in-law. The day my father heard the news of Brother Yi and Sister-in-law’s marriage, he was so happy that he couldn’t sleep that night and dragged me into playing chess all evening long."
An Jing broke into a mild sweat before asking, "Why did you have such worries?"
Su Chengyu explained, "My father was very concerned about Brother Yi’s lifelong happiness and wished for Brother Yi to marry early. He attempted several times to arrange a marriage for Brother Yi, but Brother Yi defied every decree and even refused to meet the women in question, causing my father much distress."