"I have made inquiries with the villagers. Knowing in advance about the impending chaos, the owner of this house has long fled, leaving only a few house servants to watch over the place.
Fresh wheel tracks are at the door, suggesting that not long ago, the people here witnessed the burning of Baihua Village, were seized with fear, and fled overnight to avoid being caught up in it."
Xu Zhenguan stood calmly in the courtyard, analyzing the situation.
Sure makes sense... Zhao Douan relaxed slightly, joked with a smile:
"Isn’t that convenient? It seems as if this entire house was reserved just for us."
"..." Xu Zhenguan remained silent, her cheeks seem redder than usual in the darkness.
This time, the night was quiet, with only the Emperor and the subject in the entire house, with enemy pursuit inevitably following soon, leaving them little time.
Every minute, every second, is precious.
"Your Majesty?" Zhao Douan felt the atmosphere was too heavy and deliberately broke it, looked up at the moonlight, and said:
"It’s getting late. Should I... serve you as you rest?"
Zhao Douan swallowed, feeling inexplicably tense, turned to close the courtyard gate, and locked it from inside.
Then, the Emperor and the subject headed to the back house, Zhao Douan’s Divine Sense swept throughout, no movement within escaping his notice.
The back house belonged to the owner, and was much better equipped; after the owner left, the servants dared not meddle.
The mansion had more than a dozen rooms, six in the back house including side chambers, and no outsiders were present.
Normally, they would each choose a room, but under some tacit understanding, they only unlocked the East wing room.
Lighting the candle stand on the table, the antique room became clear; Zhao Douan’s gaze locked onto the large bed inside, a bed meant for three... cursed old landlords, definitely designed for wives and concubines...
"Your Majesty... it’s not early..." Zhao Douan turned his head to look at Xu Zhenguan.
Seeing the Empress of Yu Country seemed to have regained her composure, and appeared regal and dignified once more... Zhao Douan suspected that Zhenbao was very likely putting on an act...
Trying to maintain the dignity of a superior in this special night... Unfortunately, Zhao Douan only liked deceiving those above while flattering those below, so tonight was bound to be a tough battle.
Under candlelight, the fairy-like Emperor received a scorching look from Zhao Douan, suddenly stood, somewhat chaotically walking outside:
"I’ll take a bath, you... wait in the room."
Her tone feigned calm.
Your Majesty... back in the palace, we certainly bathed together before... there’s no need for that now, is there... Zhao Douan murmured inwardly, his face obedient:
"Should I fetch water for Your Majesty?"
"No need... I... can do it myself..."
Xu Zhenguan fled in a bit of a panic.
Zhao Douan chuckled while sitting beside the round table, thinking that perhaps only he had seen Zhenbao so flustered?
Then, it dawned upon him that his own body was trembling slightly...
His smile froze, alright, it seems he wasn’t that much stronger, trying to calm himself, yet he already heard the sound of water from next door.
Earlier he noticed that the servants left hurriedly, even the firewood in the stove was still burning, and the water in the pot was hot.
Thus, even hot water was prepared for the two of them... As for the bathtub and clean clothes, in a mansion so large, they certainly wouldn’t be lacking.
Listening to the water sounds, Zhao Douan’s initially anxious heart gradually calmed down.
Then he suddenly realized:
Sitting idle , could it be improper? After all, this is ancient times, not the morally degraded modern city.
Common mortals light candles on wedding night, should they not include ceremony for the Empress?
Originally, if the Empress were to wed, it should be the grandest ceremony in the world; yet, circumstances have forced them to quickly complete Dual Cultivation to face the dire situation.
Skipping complicated rites is one thing, but even the "wedding night" must occupy a landlord’s farmhouse, hurriedly accomplished.
Would she... really not mind?
"It makes me seem like a rogue now." Zhao Douan suddenly felt ashamed, realizing his neglect.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too late to realize.
A lady’s bath would certainly take a while, so he rose and started bustling around.
First seriously tidying up the room, making the bed.
Then stepping out to rummage through the house, finding red lanterns to hang under the eaves, red candles, and gold paper to cut festive characters for wedding candles...
"Unfortunately, no bridal gown, no red veil..."
After a fruitless search, Zhao Douan suddenly snapped his fingers, trying to summon Pei Niannu in visualization.
With a distortion like spatial ripple, Pei Niannu hovered mid-air, glaring at him:
"What... more... do you want..."
She disliked being forcefully summoned; before, this guy sought her help with promises, now he could compel.
Zhao Douan rubbed his hands, gaze burning as he stared at her:
"Senior Pei, could you lend me your bridal gown... Just for tonight, I’ll return it right after, and promise not to dirty it..."
??? Under Pei Niannu’s mask, eyes widened, then anger erupted; her grip on the balance beam creaked, leaving behind a dismissive "Scram!" before turning to dust and vanished.
Zhao Douan tried grasping in the air, impotently lowering his hand:
"Seems even if she could lend, she wouldn’t... so stingy..."
Yet, he never truly expected a visualization garment to manifest.
Finally, he regretfully gave up, turning to seek celebratory wine and dishes.
When the Empress finished bathing, the sky was fully dark, the night deepened.
She changed into clean female clothes found in the mansion, emerging from the bathing room, walking to the corridor.
Preoccupied in mind, she forgot to use Qi Mechanism to dry water stains, hair damp and draping, her face steamed red within the white, bearing an irresistible charm.
Looking towards the main room of the wing, she couldn’t help but freeze.
Today’s nine thousand words complete