Zhan Yunge slowly opened the painting to reveal a young man in dark hair dressed in black robes. His broad sleeves fluttered in the wind. His gorgeous face came to life in the painting. Although it was just a painting, he was clearly an incredibly elegant and dignified man with divine good looks.
Nangong Xuan's deep eyes turned cold the moment he saw the man in the painting. The man was also dressed in black robes just like Zhan Yunge.
The moment Zhan Yunge woke up after sleeping for three years, she tossed out all the brightly colored garments she owned. He remembered her saying, "I only want to wear black."
Even though Nangong Xuan was usually composed by nature, he could not help looking at the man's black robes angrily.
Zhan Yunge felt attracted to the man in the painting. She sighed and said, "Oh wow. My ancestor is certainly quite the painter. The painting is so good that it seems lifelike."
She was looking at the painting closely when a slender hand suddenly covered the man's face. She looked up and saw Nangong Xuan looking at her. The moment they made eye contact, the coldness in his eyes disappeared.
"He isn't as good-looking as me."
Zhan Yunge was caught by surprise. Her lips twitched slightly. "You are the mighty crown prince of Shengyu Empire. How could you get jealous of a painting?"
"That's a man."
He briefly explained the reason for his jealousy.
Zhan Yunge went speechless. The painting had been around for a century, so the guy in the painting was probably long dead. She found Nangong Xuan adorable for feeling jealous over a dead man! Even though no one would ever use the word 'adorable' to describe Nangong Xuan, it was the perfect way to describe how she felt about him now.
Since he was jealous, she decided to compromise and rolled up the painting. Nangong Xuan pulled his hand back satisfactorily.
After tying the red cord on the painting, she looked at the red lacquer box and called Wan Yu to come over.
"Yes, Miss?"
"Pack these away as well for the capital. Nothing is as important as these two items. Remember that." Zhan Yunge handed the things to Wan Yu.
Wan Yu was caught by surprise. She quickly took them from Zhan Yunge carefully. "Don't worry, Miss. I will be careful with them."
Ever since Zhan Yunge was a child, she only cared about the sun necklace hanging on her neck. Wan Yu had never seen her look so concerned about anything else. She could tell these objects meant a lot to Zhan Yunge.
Nangong Xuan felt a little upset again. How could she say nothing was more important than them? What about the sun and moon necklaces he had given her? He looked at her neck.
Even though Zhan Yunge had a laid-back personality, she instantly knew what he meant. She clutched her neck and said, "I've been wearing the necklaces you gave me."
Sure enough, it worked. Nangong Xuan veered his eyes away mildly. Although he did not say a word, Zhan Yunge could keenly sense his mood lifting.
Wan Yu found a long rectangular brocade box to store the painting. After checking out the red lacquer box, she felt it would probably fit perfectly inside the box as well. She proceeded to place them together. This would make it easier for her to keep an eye on them. After storing the things in the brocade box, she left the room.
After Wan Yu had left the room, the two of them continued chatting. When Nangong Xuan asked how her cultivation was going, she did not withhold the truth. After all, she had experience cultivating in her previous lifetimes. Now that Nangong Xuan knew the truth about her, there was no sense in hiding it from him.
When she mentioned she was already a rank two cultivator after cultivating briefly last night, Nangong Xuan was completely unsurprised. He himself had very powerful souls and chakras, so he knew what they were capable of.
"The higher you go, the harder it gets. Everything will go smoothly for you until rank five. Since it is still early, why don't you go on and cultivate?" suggested Nangong Xuan as he got up to leave the room.
Rank five? Zhan Yunge leaned against the window as she watched him leave the compound. She blinked and went back to her bedroom to cultivate.
Souls and chakras had to be cultivated separately. Zhan Yunge did not know this. In each lifetime, she cultivated her souls in her left hand, while she did the same for her chakras using her right hand at the same time.
Zhan Yunge sat on the bed cross-legged with her hands resting on her knees and her thumbs and middle fingers joined and the rest extended open. She closed her eyes and quickly cultivated. She did not know when Nangong Xuan came back to the room.
By the time she was done cultivating, someone had lit the candles in the room and it was pitch black outside.
Nangong Xuan lay beside her sleeping deeply. The moment she moved, he opened his eyes and glanced outside. "You can sleep for 4 hours."
Zhan Yunge was not tired at all. Since it was her birthday tomorrow, it was a busy day for her, so she lay down beside him and tried to get some rest.
Nangong Xuan pulled up the blanket and covered her before closing his eyes to sleep.
Zhan Yunge tilted her head sideways watching him sleep. A lot of thoughts kept running through her mind.
Nangong Xuan was the first person she had laid eyes on in this lifetime. He spent all his time with her and indulged her to no end. Although she never opened her heart to him, he could always read her mind. It was impossible not to fall for a man like him. She simply suppressed herself because she knew she would die when she turned 16.
Now that she had told him the truth, the burden was lifted. In the past, she did not feel strongly about him and did not think she was missing out on something. In this instant, she really wondered what it would be like being his wife in this lifetime and wanted to give it a shot.
She turned her head and closed her eyes. There was one more year before she was fated to meet her heavenly tribulation. Could she escape her fate?
She could not help feeling emotional. When she thought about how secure she felt in his arms earlier today, she leaned into his arms without hesitation.
Nangong Xuan had not rested properly in days, so he was fast asleep. Even then, he could tell whenever Zhan Yunge moved. When he sensed her going into his arms, he was pleasantly surprised. He always secretly hugged her when she was sleeping and this was the first time she took the initiative to embrace him.
He encircled her waist and hugged her gently before planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Go to bed."
"Mmh," replied Zhan Yunge as she smiled.
Even though they had shared a bed for many years and he often embraced her in his sleep, she felt particularly at ease today.
Before long, she fell asleep. By the time she woke up, it was already daylight. She felt puzzled. Why did no one wake her up?
Zhan Yunge sat up in bed and pulled aside the canopy. Wan Yu and Wan Yun promptly noticed she was awake. Wan Yun said, "Miss, are you up? It is almost midday. Your birthday banquet is about to begin. All the ladies in the family have already checked on you several times."
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Zhan Yunge put on her shoes and went to the bathroom.
"His Highness told us to let you sleep in. He said not to wake you up unless you did not wake up by midday." Wan Yun followed Zhan Yunge into the bathroom. Her bathwater was ready and they had even changed it a few times.
"Where is he?" Zhan Yunge took off her inner robe and got into the bathtub.
"His Highness got called over by your older brother first thing in the morning," replied Wan Yun as she washed Zhan Yunge's back.
Why did her older brother call Nangong Xuan over?
Since she was running late, she bathed quickly. As Wan Yun dried her hair, she asked, "Miss, which outfit would you like to wear?"
"The blue one." Zhan Yunge looked outside the window at the luxuriant ice orchid tree on the mountaintop.
Wan Yu was caught by surprise when Zhan Yunge came to a decision so quickly. In the past, she would keep frowning and refuse to change into something more vibrant. Her sisters-in-law had to keep convincing her for a long time before she was willing to change into something other than black.
Wan Yu quickly opened the wardrobe and took out a blue outfit that Madam Xinlan had prepared. She helped to dress Zhan Yunge layer by layer before putting on her belt. Wan Yun used two ribbons in the same shade to do her hair.
Ever since she was a kid, Zhan Yunge did not like wearing hair accessories. She preferred to use a red cord to secure her hair. Since she was wearing a blue outfit today, they used blue ribbons for her hair instead.
Zhan Yunge did not oppose the suggestion.
Before she was ready, she could hear her sisters-in-law outside.
"Are you finally up?"
Eight beautiful women smiled as they entered her room.
Although she was the only daughter in the family, there were plenty of beautiful women in the household. According to the family rules, the boys were not to marry women of royal birth or someone from elite families. However, they were expected to marry presentable and talented women, so all her sisters-in-law were pretty.
Wan Yu and Wan Yun were unable to help Zhan Yunge since they got relegated to the side.
They shrugged powerlessly and waited by the side.
Zhan Yunge felt helpless when she was surrounded by her sisters-in-law. This was a vast improvement from the previous years. Her sixth, seventh, and eighth cousins' wives only married into the family last year. The five remaining ladies got married earlier, so Zhan Yunge already had five nephews. Since they had young children in their households, they naturally did not have as much time to spend with Zhan Yunge.
"It sounds exciting here." Zhan Yunshu's voice came from outside.
Everyone turned to look at the door and saw Zhan Yunge dressed in blue and Nangong Xuan dressed in beige entering the room.
"Greetings." Zhan Yunshu bowed and greeted them.
After acknowledging Zhan Yunshu, they turned to greet Nangong Xuan "Greetings, Your Highness."
"Mmh." Acknowledged Nangong Xuan.
Zhan Yunshu was holding a garland in his hand. He walked up to his little sister and waved it at her as he smiled mischievously. "Like it?"
"Yes, I do." Zhan Yunge smiled as she took the flower garland from him.
Zhan Yunshu dodged her hand. Instead, he raised his hand and placed it on her head. "I am glad you like it. His Highness has worked on it all morning and we certainly don't want his efforts to go to waste."