In the bridal chamber, the large red double candles painted with dragons and phoenixes, as thick as a baby's arm, had gradually burned down a quarter.
Zhu Ling and the others had all retreated, leaving only Feng Linyuan and Bai Zheng in the room.
For a moment, the two of them faced each other in silence.
Bai Zheng poured him a cup of tea and lifted the lid of a small tray on the table, revealing the steaming white rice cakes.
"Have some," Bai Zheng said softly as she pulled his hand over.
Feng Linyuan was startled and immediately tried to pull back his fist.
"Let go," Bai Zheng said calmly.
His fingers gradually relaxed, and Bai Zheng closed her eyes, gently touching them with her fingertips.
His broad and large hand was not like those of the ordinary privileged and pampered nobles in Yongding City. There were quite a few calluses and unobtrusive scars on it.
Feng Linyuan's hand was actually extremely good - looking. His fingers were long and slender, with distinct joints. The calluses on them not only made women feel safe but also looked pleasing to the eye.
But now, Bai Zheng frowned slightly, opened her eyes, and stared at his palm.
The palm of this hand was stained with shocking scarlet. Four deep blood marks were still slowly oozing blood.
However, the man opposite seemed to feel no pain at all. He spread out his palm and let her look.
Bai Zheng lowered her head, looked at his scar - filled palm, gently touched it with a finger, then gritted her teeth and pressed hard on it.
"Doesn't it hurt?"
She looked up at the man whose complexion remained unchanged.
Feng Linyuan gave a faint smile. There was even a bit more warmth in his eyes as he looked at Bai Zheng. "I've been through much more painful times. This is nothing."
Bai Zheng lowered her eyes.
Feng Linyuan was absolutely right.
Thinking of all he had been through before, this injury was really nothing in comparison.
She got up and walked to the corner of the room. She rummaged through the dowry boxes and took out a wooden box that Zhou Yuanning had given her before the wedding.
She sat back at the table, opened the box, took out clean white cotton, white gauze, and medicine from it, and applied the medicine to his wound.
"Even if you're angry, you don't have to hurt your own body, do you? You should have known most of what the Marquis of Gaochang said."
There was a bitter look on Feng Linyuan's lips. He forced a smile and said, "Although I've known about it for a long time, I actually haven't adapted to it or gotten used to it."
He had thought that he was already used to it.
In fact, he had spent a full six years getting himself used to it.
Getting used to his father's tragic death, getting used to the complete annihilation of the 100,000 Changping Army, getting used to the whistling cold wind on Qinghe Ridge in his memory and the strong and lingering smell of blood.
Even more, getting used to the true face of the person sitting on the imperial throne that the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion had fought for generations to protect.
Getting used to the complete betrayal of those he once trusted, getting used to the injustice of this world, getting used to enduring everything and relying on himself to take revenge.
But until today, sitting in the study, listening to the Marquis of Gaochang tell the story of that night on Qinghe Ridge full of guilt, and hearing the details of how his father and the soldiers of the Changping Army died tragically.
Although his face remained expressionless, his heart was already filled with boundless hatred.
But he still needed the Marquis of Gaochang, this powerful assistant, to help him take revenge together.
He could only endure, channeling all his hatred into his fingertips and digging them deeply into his own flesh.
Even after the Marquis of Gaochang left, he still couldn't get out of that mood.
As a result, on their wedding night, he had completely neglected his wife for almost half the night.
Bai Zheng clearly saw the guilt in his eyes. She couldn't help but smile faintly and said, "You should know that from the moment I decided to accept this marriage, I've made all the preparations."
Feng Linyuan looked up. "Including... a wedding night like this?"
Bai Zheng shook her head and smiled. "I'm not that prophetic. I just know what kind of person I've married.
Even if it didn't happen today, there will always be a day like this in the future.
After all, your life is not just about me. There are also equally important things for you to do."
To be honest, anyone would be resentful on a wedding night like this.
But Bai Zheng was a woman from the new era after all. The life experience from her previous life had made her deeply understand that every family had its own hard - to - read scriptures.
The more noble and powerful the family, the more annoying things there would be.
It was precisely because Bai Zheng didn't enter marriage with a head full of sweet dreams of a new - wedded life that she could still remain calm on a wedding night like this.
Feng Linyuan looked at her quietly. Suddenly, he reached out and stroked her face, whispering,
"I'm sorry, Zheng'er. Marrying me may bring you a lot of trouble and may even put you in danger.
But please believe that I will do my best to protect you safe and happy all your life and give you the life you want."
After Bai Zheng carefully applied the medicine to him, she finally smiled and whispered, "I believe you."
Her charming voice echoed in the bridal chamber decorated with red happy characters.
The two looked into each other's eyes, and the room fell into complete silence for a moment.
As the eye - contact lasted longer, Bai Zheng's smiling eyes gradually drooped.
She only felt that Feng Linyuan's dark pupils were deep and obscure, and somehow, there was a different kind of emotion surging in them.
Suddenly, she felt extremely nervous and didn't know where to put her hands and feet.
Seeing the helpless look of the person in front of him, Feng Linyuan's heart softened like a pool of spring water.
Finally, he couldn't help but reach out and hook her neck, pulling her whole body in front of him.
"?! "
Bai Zheng was so scared that her heart skipped a beat. Before she could say anything, the man in front of her lowered his head. His thin lips parted and sealed hers tightly.
The faint fragrance of the sandalwood on Feng Linyuan instantly filled her nostrils.
Bai Zheng was stunned. She stared stupidly at his long and slender eyelashes that were so close, and didn't come back to her senses for a long time.
In fact, it wasn't the first time she had been kissed by him.
Moreover, now they were husband and wife, and whatever he did to her was reasonable and legal.
But she still felt her heart beating faster and faster, and her face getting redder and redder.
Seeing Feng Linyuan kissing her deeply, his eyes blurred and his breathing hot, completely losing his usual calmness.
His cold lips lingered and rubbed against hers, and he just wouldn't stop.
Gradually, Bai Zheng began to have trouble breathing. She reached out her hand to push him away.
However, as soon as her hand reached his chest, it was caught by Feng Linyuan.
Feng Linyuan frowned, gently placed her hand behind her back, and used the force to hold Bai Zheng's slightly slipping waist, steadying her well. Then he lowered his head and continued to entangle with her.
Bai Zheng's lips carried a sweet and warm feeling, just like the freshly baked rice cakes, soft and sweet.
It would have been okay if he had just touched and left. But once he really lingered on them, he couldn't control himself.
The thing in his chest was beating faster and faster. He slightly loosened her, gasped a hot breath, rubbed his nose against her cheek, and then kissed her again.