Chapter 31: The Pervert

Since a marriage contract had been signed, all the documents required for official registration, such as the other party's household registration and travel permits, naturally had to be laid bare.

Yan Bei was well aware of Wang Huan's family background and origins.

In the year before he suddenly received the imperial decree to return to the capital to assist in government, he had killed the teacher who had instructed him for three years.

This was because that man had taken advantage of Yan Bei's youth, exposing a weakness by secretly writing letters to leak information regarding the Prince's Mansion.

Although the thief had been cautious and left no identifying information, it was an indisputable fact that someone was targeting the Prince's Mansion.

Not long after, when the imperial decree arrived from the palace, Yan Bei turned his gaze toward the late Emperor.

The Prince's Mansion had regarded loyalty to the monarch and protection of the nation as its primary family precept for generations, but if the Imperial Family would not tolerate him, was Yan Bei expected to uphold morality against them?

He ordered the cause of his teacher's death to be concealed and then secretly infiltrated the capital.

That time, he encountered two unexpected turns: one was getting an early acquaintance with the faces of the Du family relatives, and the other was being abducted by A-Li's mother to serve as her husband.

It had begun without warning. He had simply squeezed into the crowd at the guildhall, following a group of failed scholars to scramble for odd jobs, which led to a conflict. A man named Zhang Wei had stepped forward at that moment to bail him out.

The two worked together to resolve the trouble, and when they fled together into the woods outside the city gates, Zhang Wei pulled out a wine gourd, shared some with him, and told him he was from a manor in the outskirts of the capital, currently acting as a manager for several hundred acres left by his maternal uncle.

Zhang Wei also inquired about his background.

As the dignified Prince Jingyang, creating a foolproof fake identity was effortless.

He claimed his surname was Cheng, his rank in the family was seventh, his father had died early, and his mother had named him Cheng Qi (Cheng Seven). He claimed to be a scholar who had failed the metropolitan examinations. The reason he was at the guildhall was that he had no remaining funds to travel back to his hometown.

He took the opportunity to produce a travel permit, asking Zhang Wei for assistance.

Zhang Wei said his employer—who was also his distant cousin—had lost both parents and was managing all the household affairs. If Yan Bei was willing to go back with him, finding him a position would not be a problem.

Yan Bei's movements in the capital during that trip were strictly guarded; any leak would bring immense trouble.

He was currently struggling with the lack of a stable place to stay, so upon hearing Zhang Wei's proposal, he was naturally willing to go.

The village Zhang Wei mentioned was only twenty *li* from the city gates, making travel in and out of the city very convenient. Furthermore, the village was spacious, nestled between mountains and forests, making it easy for Zhang Wei's people to maintain contact and for him to remain hidden.

Upon following Zhang Wei to the employer's residence, the first thing he saw was Zhang Wei's landlord cousin, who had lost both parents.

At that moment, she was reclining on a bamboo couch by the window, reading a book intently. Only half of her jade-like profile was visible, but framed by the green gauze curtains, her leaning posture made her look like a celestial being.

In the North, Yan Bei had seen many heroic and spirited women—such as his second sister, who was like a firecracker, ready to draw her blade at the slightest disagreement. Such women were certainly dazzling, but they ultimately only showed their sharp, fierce sides.

The young ladies of the capital, however, often seemed overly soft and delicate.

But this Wang Huan—perhaps because she had been supporting the family business alone since childhood—somehow possessed both!

At first glance, her exterior was as supple as silk, but upon closer inspection, her core was as tempered as steel.

The hand holding the book was clean and slender, with nails trimmed to reveal only a tiny bit of shell-pink, translucent beauty. Yet, her movement in turning the pages was so clean and decisive that it was easy to imagine that once she closed the book, she could strangle a wolf.

Yan Bei prided himself on being a man of integrity, yet from that day forward, his self-perception was overturned.

He had always believed himself to be a righteous and incorruptible gentleman, thinking any beauty was mere vanity to him. As it turned out, he discovered he wasn't that upright at all—he was a lecher!

In short, Yan Bei stayed.

With this cover, his operations with the shadow guards became much less troublesome.

The landlord lady's family was small; including Zhang Wei, there were only five or six people in total, meaning there was no risk of his identity being exposed.

To hide his lecherous nature, he remained taciturn in public, making every effort to avoid meeting Wang Huan.

To his surprise, she actually took the initiative to propose to him!

That day, he was bathing in the woodshed when he noticed someone moving through the crack in the door.

When he chased after them, he found Wang Huan standing in the courtyard with a smile, her hands behind her back, openly gazing at his body wrapped in coarse cloth.

Though it was improper by social etiquette, her bright almond eyes were filled with such warmth and openness that Yan Bei felt that trying to hide himself would only seem petty!

She said, "Master Cheng, do you have a wife? If not, I intend to take you as my husband. I hope you will consider it seriously."

It was early summer, and the weather was pleasant. Perhaps Yan Bei was dazed by the heat, for his legs went weak and he stumbled in place!

His father had passed away early, and he had ascended to his position early as well.

From childhood to adulthood, almost every person and event in his life had revolved around how to become a competent new Prince Jingyang.

His mother had indeed constantly suggested marriage prospects, hoping he would marry and have children early to secure a virtuous helpmate.

But he had no time to dwell on it.

And he certainly never imagined that a young lady would propose to him after peeking at him while he bathed!

He ran away without saying a word.

Even if he was a lecher, he wasn't the type to take the bait immediately, right?

He wasn't stupid!

He could tell that her gaze was clearly hungering for his body!

What did she take him for?

Huh?

A male courtesan?

If it weren't for needing a place to stay, he would have...

The next day, she came again.

This time, she brought her land deed for three hundred acres and a box filled with silver ingots of various sizes.

It was clear they had been gathered piece by piece. That must have been her entire fortune.

She said she would give it all to him as a bride price.

The blood rushed straight to Yan Bei's head!

He was a man of stature and vigor; was he the kind of person who would covet such a bride price?

He ran away in anger again.

He went to the town and stayed for two days. During those two days, he tossed and turned, unable to close his eyes at all.

Meanwhile, due to the lack of cover, the frequent visits of the shadow guards had begun to attract the attention of the innkeepers.

In the Wang household, this wouldn't have happened. It was a single courtyard with a private residence, surrounded by mountains and forests. He had his own separate quarters on the manor.

Actually, getting married wasn't impossible, right?

Marriage between a man and a woman was the natural order of things; he had to marry a Princess regardless.

Since he was a lecher, and she was hungry for him, why not?

Just as he was agonizing over whether to swallow his pride and go back, the shadow guard sent to report progress told him that the Prince needn't worry—Miss Wang had already begun scouting for someone else.

Yan Bei raced all the way back to the Wang residence.

Clinging to his last shred of rationality, he set a condition: he needed time to properly prepare a formal wedding.

But that woman didn't follow any traditional wedding protocols!

She agreed readily on the surface, but by the following night, she knocked him out with a cup of wine and, in her impatience, led his dazed self to perform the marriage rites.

When he woke up, the room was filled with romance, and everywhere he looked was festive red.

He was clean, and most of his body was still pressing against hers, with her earlobe caught between his teeth!

On the pillows beside them lay a tangle of their shared hair.

And one of his hands was wrapped firmly around her lower back!

At that moment, Yan Bei's mind was filled with the sound of crashing waves!

He ran away for the third time!

This time, he ran thoroughly.

On the road back to the Prince's Mansion, he slapped himself more than twenty times.

Wang Huan was two years younger than him. She was a landlord's daughter who had never traveled far. She should be pure and naive.

She was being immature, so he decided to be immature along with her?

Marriage just... happened like that?

For the first three months after returning to the mansion, he forced himself to forget the marriage.

In the following three months, he began to feel like he wasn't a man.

Regardless of the circumstances, he and Wang Huan had already consummated the marriage.

Leaving without saying goodbye was an act of unfaithfulness.

There was still more than a month left before his scheduled return to the capital, but for some reason, the days became increasingly unbearable.

Finally, one day, while riding toward the South Mountain and watching the red clouds on the horizon like wedding candles, he couldn't help himself and rushed back to the capital ahead of schedule.

On the way, he had prepared a speech for his confession and atonement, but when he saw her, he was startled once again.

She was pregnant.

And she was about to give birth!

Calculating the dates, it was almost certainly his!

Damn it.

He had been tricked into the wedding night.

Before he could even process the sensation, she had made him a father!

No one took his authority as a husband seriously at all!

He was going to divorce her!

He didn't want this wife anymore!

But a pregnant woman must not be overstimulated.

He decided to wait until she gave birth before settling the score with her.

And he never, ever, ever expected that this time, she would give him one final shock.

A final shock—one that would separate them by the veil between life and death, ensuring he would never again have the chance to bring up divorce.