The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity

Chapter 823 - 781: Serving Tea

Yuanbao returned to his family mansion; the guests had already dispersed, and the new room still had its lights on.

Ye Ling was sitting on the wedding bed, her hands nervously intertwined; Xiang Ning had been speaking to her the whole time, but she hadn’t taken in much.

It was not until Xiangxiu, guarding outside, called out "The groom is back," that Ye Ling seemed to come to life, suddenly lifting her head and staring in the direction of the inner room door.

Moments later, Song Yuanbao entered from outside dressed in plain clothes. Upon seeing her, his expression visibly softened.

"Have you been waiting long?"

Ye Ling shook her head, looking at him with concern, "What’s happening in the palace?"

"The Emperor has passed away; the palace is in chaos right now," Song Yuanbao sighed.

Though expected, hearing Song Yuanbao say it out loud still scared Ye Ling a bit, muttering, "The Empress was just married today..."

Song Yuanbao recalled the scene when he entered the palace earlier; Zhao Xi was standing beside the white marble railing outside the Emperor’s bedroom, expressionless—neither sad nor happy, neither hurt nor angry, truly devoid of any emotion.

Yet precisely because of this, Song Yuanbao felt troubled.

If Zhao Xi previously might have shown a fraction of his thoughts on his face, from now on, he would not anymore.

In other words, for Zhao Xi to secure this throne, he must bury his former self.

Though the night was deep, no matter the turmoil in the palace, those outside must sleep.

Ye Ling wasn’t accustomed to staying up late; sitting beside Song Yuanbao now, she really wanted to yawn, but feared being laughed at by him, so she held it back, making her eyes watery.

The banquet had cleared too quickly earlier; Song Yuanbao had followed Song Wei and Wen Wan into the palace, leaving him no time to attend to his newlywed wife. Only now did he remember, "Baby, are you hungry?"

Ye Ling had been quite sleepy, but upon hearing this endearment, she immediately jolted, sleepiness fading significantly.

She glanced around; fortunately, besides Xiang Ning, the other three maids were outside. Only then did she turn to glare at Song Yuanbao.

Song Yuanbao was charmed by her puffed-up cheeks, and with a smile, he reached out to stroke her small face, instructing Xiang Ning to fetch some snacks from the kitchen.

Xiang Ning obliged and left.

Once only the two of them were left in the room, Ye Ling murmured softly, "Don’t call me that in front of the maids; they’ll laugh at me next time."

"I’m the one calling; let them laugh at me then," Song Yuanbao said, showing no sign of remorse.

Ye Ling felt both shy and helpless.

Song Yuanbao pulled her small hand, clasping it in his palm, "Originally, tonight was supposed to be our bridal night, but with an incident at the palace and many taboos during national mourning, you’ll have to bear with it for now."

With her hand held like this, Ye Ling’s heart raced, and she lowered her head, "I understand."

Not long after, Xiang Ning brought some snacks, along with a bowl of warm plain porridge.

She had suggested earlier that the lady eat something first, but at that time Ye Ling was solely concerned about the palace affairs and couldn’t swallow anything. Now seeing Song Yuanbao return safely, her heart settled, and as she saw the sponge cake and plain porridge, her appetite came almost instantly.

When Song Yuanbao saw her staring at the sponge cake, he felt both amused and sympathetic and gestured Xiang Ning to leave, picking up the porcelain bowl himself, he scooped up a spoonful of porridge and fed her.

Ye Ling’s cheeks turned red, "I can do it myself."

"I couldn’t attend to you earlier and left; now I feed you as an apology," Song Yuanbao spoke gently, his eyes full of tenderness.

Ye Ling found it hard to resist such a Song Yuanbao, like being enchanted, she involuntarily opened her mouth, then he fed her a spoonful of hot porridge.

After finishing the food, a stick of incense’s time had passed, Xiang Ning and Xiangxiu brought in warm water for the groom and bride to wash up.

Knowing there wouldn’t be consummation tonight and no need for listening out, the two were very aware and prepared to leave after delivering the water.

Suddenly, Song Yuanbao called them, "Bring the outer room’s couch inside."

Xiang Ning was stunned.

Ye Ling, sitting at the dressing table removing her makeup, turned her head to look at him.

Song Yuanbao smiled, "For me to sleep."

Xiang Ning and Xiangxiu exchanged glances, feeling quite hesitant.

A new marriage coinciding with national mourning means no consummation as per the rites, but it doesn’t necessarily require them to sleep separately, right? If this spreads, the lady would have no standing in the Song family.

"What, is there a problem?" Song Yuanbao saw the two standing dumbfounded and frowned slightly.

"No, there’s none," Xiang Ning stammered, reluctantly leaving with Xiangxiu to move the couch.

Song Yuanbao walked over to Ye Ling, slightly bending down, looked at the reflection in the copper mirror, and whispered, "I’m a normal man; not consummating on our wedding night is already painful. If we share a bed, it’ll be fatal for me."

Ye Ling instantly blushed from her cheeks to her neck, her ears heating up continuously, wishing she hadn’t heard these words.

Xiang Ning and Xiangxiu quickly arranged the couch inside and brought out a set of new bedding.

Song Yuanbao noticed it was about time and waved his hand, "You may leave!"

The two of them performed a bow and withdrew together.

After washing up, Ye Ling turned around and saw Song Yuanbao sitting on the soft couch, flipping through the storybooks she had brought from her family home.

"Do you like this?" He held up one of the books.

"Not particularly, it’s just something to pass the time when idle." Ye Ling replied honestly.

Because the storybooks in the market tend to be quite similar, after reading them for a while, one gets tired of them.

Song Yuanbao said, "If you really like them, I can write some for you."

"That’s not possible!" Ye Ling shook her head directly.

"Why not?"

"You’re the newly appointed Number One Scholar, how can you write such unrefined stuff?"

Song Yuanbao felt awkward hearing her repeatedly say "you," "What did you just say?"

Ye Ling thought he hadn’t heard and repeated it again, "I said, these books are for common folk to read. You’re the newly appointed Number One Scholar; if you were to write, it should be about national strategies, not this."

Song Yuanbao chuckled, raising an eyebrow, "Who is the Number One Scholar?"

"You, you are!"

"Me?"

"Who else could it be but you?"

Song Yuanbao put down the storybook, propped his chin on his hand, and looked at her, "Who am I?"

"You, you’re, you’re..." Realizing she had fallen for his trick, Ye Ling stopped speaking in frustration.

"Be good, call me husband." Song Yuanbao extended his hand and pulled her to sit on his lap.

Seeing that Ye Ling was unable to say the word, he said, "We’ve already bowed to heaven and earth as husband and wife. All that’s missing is consummating the marriage; are you really waiting for that moment to change how you address me?"

"No." Ye Ling answered quietly; it wasn’t that she didn’t want to call him husband, just that she wasn’t used to it yet.

"Then say it once for me to hear."

Ye Ling bit her lip slightly and whispered, "Husband."

"Louder, I didn’t hear."

"Husband~" Ye Ling, blushing, called again and looked up at him, only to see Song Yuanbao’s strange expression. She was startled: "Did I say something wrong?"

Song Yuanbao took a deep breath, pushed her aside, and pulled over the new bedding Xiang Ning had prepared.

Ye Ling looked at him, puzzled, "What’s going on?"

Song Yuanbao avoided looking at her, turning his face sideways as much as possible, "The night is too deep; you should sleep. Tomorrow we have to wake up early; I wonder if my parents will be back to drink the new bride’s tea."

Ye Ling still felt that something was off, "Husband, why did you push me away earlier, did I do something that upset you?"

"No." Song Yuanbao didn’t know how to explain to this silly girl.

"But from your look, it seemed like you had a fever." Ye Ling anxiously followed up and said, "I’ll ask Xiang Ning to get a doctor for you."

"No need for a doctor." Song Yuanbao gritted his teeth and insisted, "Ask her to prepare a bucket of cold water for me, I just need to soak in it."

"How can you soak in cold water when you’re sick?" Ye Ling still felt uneasy, reaching out to touch his burning forehead, "If you really don’t want to see a doctor, I’ll ask Xiang Ning to get some ice to give you a compress." She asked again, "Where’s the ice cellar?"

Song Yuanbao felt truly helpless, "I, I’m really fine, it’s just too hot, I want to soak in cold water, hurry and ask Xiang Ning to prepare it, otherwise I won’t be able to sleep tonight."

Ye Ling had no choice but to respond with an "Oh," then went out to instruct Xiang Ning.

When the cold water was ready, Song Yuanbao, fearing Ye Ling might notice something, got up from the soft couch and rushed toward the clean room as if fleeing. Only after shedding his clothes and soaking in the bath barrel did he finally breathe a sigh of relief, though he was still troubled.

The national mourning lasts at least twenty-seven days, this is truly a disaster!

He’s not Zhao Xi; he can’t practice abstinence and remain austere. He’s already reached the limit of self-control in front of his new wife.

After finishing the cold bath and returning to the room, Ye Ling couldn’t resist and had fallen asleep. The hundred-seed curtain was down, blocking the view inside. Song Yuanbao really wanted to see her sleeping face but was afraid of a repeat of the earlier situation, so he obediently lay down on the soft couch.

And that’s how the night passed in silence until morning.

Song Wei and his wife had been assisting at the palace all night, considering that the new bride would serve tea this morning, they hurried back to the Song Mansion.

When Ye Ling woke up, Song Yuanbao was already dressed, and the quilt on the soft couch was neatly folded and put back in the wardrobe.

Seeing her lift the curtain, Song Yuanbao looked at her with a smile in his eyes, "Father and mother have returned, quickly freshen up, I’ll take you to the front hall to serve tea."