The Adornment of Silk, The Sustenance of Jade - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A soft chuckle drifted down from above my head, and I froze.

The great treacherous minister had actually laughed. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime miracle. That laugh was like a strand of hair-unseen, untouchable, yet it wound and floated straight into my heart. That strange feeling came over me again, and for a moment, I didn’t dare meet his eyes.

When he continued downward, I cried out, “Yan Jinyu! I forbid you… I forbid you to…”

“Forbid this humble subject to what?”

“Forbid you to touch…”

“Touch where?”

I burst into sobs. “It hurts there! Don’t touch it! You’re not allowed to touch it!”

“Didn’t you say it didn’t hurt just now?”

“It hurts now… now it does…”

Yan Jinyu’s large, burning-hot hand cupped my cheek, wiping away my tears. “If it hurts, all the more reason to apply the medicine.”

And so, on the second day of our marriage, Yan Jinyu made me cry again.

Now I understood. These civil officials were all stubborn to the bone! Once they decided on something, they had to see it through. No wonder Imperial Father had been praying day and night for me to marry into this family. This was called diverting disaster eastward! If Yan Jinyu was busy dealing with me, he wouldn’t have time to deal with him.

Imperial Father had granted Yan Jinyu three days of leave. Taking advantage of the transition between father and son, he had cleared out some time to properly put those remonstrating officials in their place. Who would have thought that on the second day of his marriage, Yan Jinyu would appear neatly dressed in the seat of the Censor-in-Chief, wearing that eternally glacial face of his as he tore Imperial Father’s proposed policies to shreds? The remonstrating officials saw that someone had their back and attacked en masse. My dear old father fled in a panic, stripped down to nothing. The Yan Family’s efficiency was plain to see.

Later, Imperial Father sent someone to beat around the bush and ask whether I had drunk the wedding cup with Yan Jinyu. I had the man and his horse thrown out of the Princess Residence.

Men. Not a single one of them could be relied on.

On the second day after entering the household, I should have gone early to the Yan Family to pay my respects to Elder Imperial Censor Yan. Who knew Yan Jinyu would leave me so sore and limp all over that I could hardly walk? Afterward, he never brought it up either. Every time he returned after nightfall, he began his “instruction” of me. I was tormented until my mind was foggy, and whenever the perfectly proper matter reached the tip of my tongue, I forgot it.

That night, when I said I wanted to go pay respects to Father, Yan Jinyu had finished washing up and was already halfway out of his clothes.

At my words, his hands paused on his garments. His gaze was calm as he looked at me. “Which father?”

Wearing only an inner robe, I sat by the bed hugging my knees and said, “Your father, of course! My father is called Imperial Father!”

Yan Jinyu paused, then continued undressing. “You are willing?”

I found that strange. “Why wouldn’t I be? Yan Jinyu, it would be strange not to pay respects to one’s elders after marriage, all right?”

He took off his long robe and walked over, looking down at me from above. He raised a hand and pulled out my hairpin. Once my hair tumbled loose, he knelt one knee onto the bed, braced a hand beside me, and pressed down, trapping me against the mattress. His fingers slid into my hair as he lowered his head to kiss me.

I tilted my head back and braced my hands against his chest. Staring at that ice-cold face now inches away, I said, “Lord Yan! Stop! Stop right there!”

There was already a trace of desire in his eyes. He lowered his head and asked in a hoarse voice, “What is it?”

My voice carried a faint hint of coaxing and pleading. “You said yesterday that you’d let me off for one night.”

In situations like this, being fierce was useless. If I spoke nicely, perhaps he might still let me go. Previously, when he had been particularly ruthless with me, I had cried and made a fuss, demanding a few days’ rest. He agreed, and that night he had actually behaved like a gentleman, merely sleeping beside me.

Yan Jinyu stared at me for a long while. A tiny, almost imperceptible gleam of pleasure flickered through his eyes. Then he said, “Forgive this subject for breaking his word.”

A man who always kept his word had actually gone back on it this time! And he had been even more ruthless than usual!

On the bed, he had solemnly “begged” me for forgiveness, yet what he did was bully an innocent young maiden. For that, I held him in great contempt.

But when I thought back to how domineering and forceful he had been, my face flushed again, and I had no idea what to do with myself. In the end, I had been spoiled and willful for years only because I had Imperial Father and my imperial brothers’ affection to rely on. Even when Yan Jinyu argued with me year after year, it was never anything that truly hurt, and I went on doing exactly as I pleased. Now that my sworn enemy had suddenly become the person in charge of me-and was even more intimate with me than Imperial Father, Grandmother, or my imperial brothers-I was like a tiger with its teeth pulled out. I was not even as fierce as a cat.

The next day, the weather was clear and fine. Yan Jinyu took me to the Yan Family.

This was the first time I had met Censor Yan in private.

The moment we entered, I nervously clutched Yan Jinyu’s sleeve.

For someone as rigid about propriety as he was, I had not expected him to say anything comforting to me.

To my surprise, Yan Jinyu, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped. He turned back and glanced at the corner of his robe that I was gripping.

“Let go.”

“No.”

I was determined not to release him, and grievance welled up inside me. Honestly, at certain times he had held me and kissed me, yet now he was going to quibble with me over so much as holding the edge of his sleeve.

Yan Jinyu sighed. “Tugging and pulling like this is improper.”

With that, his hand emerged from beneath his sleeve, palm facing me.

His palm was broad, his knuckles distinct. Countless times in moments of tenderness, that hand had made my face burn and my heart race. Now, however, he had simply extended it in front of me.

My mind went blank. Dazed, I let go of his robe. Yan Jinyu turned his hand over and took my now-free hand in his. The thin calluses on his palm brushed the back of my hand, sending a warmth through me.

“Princess, the Yan Family is not a dragon’s lair or a tiger’s den,” he said, leading me forward as he walked.

I kept my head lowered and followed close behind him, terrified he would see how red my face had become.

“I know…” I muttered under my breath. “You don’t have to tell me…”

At the entrance to the main hall, Elder Imperial Censor Yan stood there with his white beard drifting lightly. I spotted him at once.

Sweat broke out in my palm, and I wished I could shrink behind Yan Jinyu entirely. Absurdly, I found myself wondering whether Elder Imperial Censor Yan would scold me the way he scolded Imperial Father-and if he scolded me too harshly, whether Yan Jinyu would protect me.

Before I could react, Elder Imperial Censor Yan had already dropped to his knees before me, his back perfectly straight. “This subject, Yan Rusong, greets Your Highness!”

Despite his age, Elder Imperial Censor Yan held himself ramrod straight, and his voice was bright and strong. The moment he knelt, cold sweat broke out all over me.

I hurriedly moved to support him. “Father, you mustn’t. I have already married Yan Jinyu, so from now on I am… I am a member of the Yan Family. If anyone should kneel, it should be me.”

As soon as I said that, I sensed Yan Jinyu’s burning gaze beside me. I quickly turned my head away, my heart thudding wildly.

“The rites between ruler and subject cannot be neglected.” Elder Imperial Censor Yan shook his head. “Princess, please accept this old subject’s bow.”

Elder Imperial Censor Yan was surprisingly strong, and I could not hold him up. I could only look to Yan Jinyu for help. I could be unreasonable with Yan Jinyu, but when facing an elder, I had to show respect no matter what. If he truly knelt, I would feel awful for the rest of the day.

At the crucial moment, Yan Jinyu finally stepped in and helped me support him. “Father,” he said, “the princess is unwell and cannot stand for long.”

When Elder Imperial Censor Yan heard this, he gave a light cough, shot Yan Jinyu a glare, and said solemnly, “Princess, please come in at once!”