"So, can you protect yourself well?"
Unspoken words lingered in Feng Zeyue's eyes, and Su Shang understood them. Thus, she chose silence. Could she truly repay such gentleness?
"Of course, it hurts! Even a needle prick makes me feel pain, how could you not hurt?"
Feng Zeyue thought, her eyes brimming with unshed tenderness.
She could wait no longer. Pulling the dazed Su Shang into the carriage, she headed for the nearest medical clinic.
Su Shang let Feng Zeyue lead her, doing as she was told, utterly compliant.
As the doctor treated the wound, Feng Zeyue watched, and as she watched, tears streamed down her face once more.
Su Shang, feeling nothing, looked bewildered and asked softly, "Why are you crying, Zeyue?"
She hadn't cried since she was old enough to understand.
Much less for such a minor injury.
Though she didn't understand, Su Shang still comforted her gently, "It's alright, it's just a small wound, it'll be fine in a few days."
Feng Zeyue bit her lip, watching Su Shang accept her injury as a matter of course, and wept even harder.
In her past, in the life she hadn't shared, had she suffered even more severe injuries?
She regretted it. She should have stopped her when she heard she was joining the army.
"You, you mustn't cry!" Su Shang became anxious.
The doctor couldn't stand it. "Alright, alright, this is a clinic, not a funeral. It's just a small wound, it'll heal with time. Don't cry here like someone's dead."
Feng Zeyue stopped crying, but her eyes remained red.
Su Shang tried to cheer her up, but with little success.
As they neared the General's mansion, Su Shang, disappointed, prepared to leave when Feng Zeyue suddenly hugged her from behind.
With a tearful, nasal voice, she said, "Xingzhi, from now on, can you please protect yourself? I don't want to see you injured, not at all."
Su Shang softly hummed, "I'll try."
But she still didn't quite understand. Why was Feng Zeyue sad when she was the one injured, not her?
Much later, Su Shang would understand that this emotion was called heartache.
Back at the mansion, a belated sense of dread washed over Su Shang.
She suppressed her fear and pushed open her mother's door, calling softly, "Mother!"
"You're back?" Gong Ningsi was arranging trinkets with her back to the door, her voice possessing the calm before a storm.
"Yes, today, I was afraid you might injure her and cause trouble. She is a princess, after all. If you used force on her in the street and injured her, His Majesty might not easily let you off," Su Shang explained quickly.
"Very sensible." Gong Ningsi turned around, her eyes filled with gloom. "Shang'er has learned to deceive her mother. Do you truly think Mother is so easily fooled?"
Su Shang's face paled, and she lowered her gaze, remaining silent.
Gong Ningsi said softly, "Shang'er, your actions were too swift. The way you were, it didn't look like you were worried about Mother, but about that woman. What, you, a woman, towards her..."
Su Shang simply knelt on the ground, offering no defense.
Her face deathly pale, she said, "Shang'er knows her mistake."
"According to the usual rules, Mother should throw you into the beast den for a few days to calm down. But in the capital, you go out every day, so that's not possible. Mother will administer a small punishment today, ten lashes to help you remember. Do you accept the punishment?"
Su Shang nodded. "Shang'er accepts the punishment."
Gong Ningsi weighed the whip in her hand and fiercely struck Su Shang twice.
She lightly wiped the bloodstains on the whip and said slowly, "The rest, I will whip you when your wounds have healed, lest Shang'er forget who she is."
"Yes," Su Shang nodded, her face still pale, and took the outer garment Gong Ningsi handed her before walking out.
Su Shang didn't care about these minor injuries. It was just... her mother was right. Why did she want to protect such an ethereal little princess?
They were not a good match, were they?
Perhaps Gong Ningsi's two lashes had awakened Su Shang.
Su Shang no longer deliberately avoided Feng Zeyue, but towards her, she became respectful and formal once more.
Everything on her face was an effort to pretend. In truth, she was nothing more than a heartless monster!
Why should a monster hope to become an ordinary person?
Everything had been fine before, and suddenly she had become like this. Feng Zeyue couldn't help but attribute the reason for Su Shang's change to the woman she had seen earlier.
After finally moving the person, to be back at square one was incredibly infuriating.
Feng Zeyue tried hard to correct things, but Su Shang's heart was like iron, unmoved.
But fortunately, they were about to get married. After the wedding, the first thing Feng Zeyue intended to do was separate Su Shang from her mother. Perhaps then, she might return to her former self.
In anticipation, the wedding day finally arrived.
A princess's wedding was naturally an extraordinary affair.
A thousand miles of red dowry.
The streets adjacent to the General's mansion were adorned with red lanterns, and auspicious couplets were pasted on the doors.
Flowers filled the streets, and guards scattered copper coins.
But the common folk could only watch from afar. Many had prepared themselves, waiting to rush forward and pick up the coins once the bridal sedan passed.
Su Shang rode a tall horse, circling the streets twice before finally stopping in front of the Princess's mansion.
Feng Zeyue, adorned with pearls and jade, her face covered by a red veil, was carried into the sedan chair.
With gongs and drums, she was brought into the General's mansion.
Gong Ningsi did not cause any trouble on this auspicious day. After a cup of tea, Feng Zeyue entered the bridal chamber, leaving Su Shang to entertain the guests outside.
Su Shang was a military general, so her guests were naturally mostly military officers.
Crown Prince Feng Lianghan also personally attended, both to signify his sister's noble status and to win over the attending generals, though he dared not do so too overtly.
During the banquet, an imperial decree from Emperor Feng arrived, bestowing many treasures before his departure.
Late at night, Su Shang finally saw off all the guests and, with a sigh of relief, entered the bridal chamber.
Normally, Feng Zeyue would have rested by now, but today, on her wedding day, she couldn't sleep no matter what.
The wait felt so long, until the veil was lifted. Feng Zeyue looked at the handsome youth before her and revealed her first smile of the day.
"You're here!" she said charmingly.
In the candlelight, Feng Zeyue's smile was radiant, faintly illuminating the impure thoughts in Su Shang's heart. The burning whip marks on her back brought her back to clarity for a brief moment.
She softly hummed and pressed Feng Zeyue towards the dressing table, removing the cumbersome jewelry from her head one by one.
As the weight on her head gradually lessened, Feng Zeyue pursed her lips and smiled, looking extremely happy.
"Done," Su Shang said faintly and released her.
Feng Zeyue turned and hugged Su Shang, her eyes sparkling with unconcealable joy. "Xingzhi, I've married you. I have to call you husband from now on. I'm so, so happy!"