On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

The night was as dark as ink, heavily enveloping the entire Dingziyuan of the Censorate.

The small stone courtyard outside the door was so silent that only the faint rustling of wind through the dry grass in the corner of the wall could be heard. The monotony was so unsettling.

The cold moonlight slanted down from outside the high wall, sprinkling sparingly on the bluestone slabs on the ground, illuminating two figures standing straight as sculptures.

Hou Chun and Wang Chunsheng stood a few meters in front of the room door, still maintaining a standard straddling posture, like two lifeless stone statues.

suddenly!

"what--!"

A short, shrill scream filled with great pain and fear.

The scream came too suddenly and too sharply, like a bolt of thunder in the silent night!

Hou Chun and Wang Chunsheng's bodies shook violently almost at the same time!

However, before they could recover from the huge shock brought by the scream, another completely different sound was faintly heard from behind the tightly closed door.

It was a subtle, suppressed, ambiguous gasp that made one blush and heartbeat, interspersed with indistinguishable broken hums and some dull, regular impact sounds.

Although these sounds were not as penetrating as the scream, they were like vines soaked in honey, winding into the eardrums, creating an extremely unsettling and extremely discordant atmosphere in this solemn and cold prison yard of the Censorate.

Hou Chun sighed: "Ah, it's finally started."

"It seems some are waiting."

"That's right. The prince is very picky about food, so how could he have feelings for this middle-aged woman?"

Wang Chunsheng laughed and said, "Who knows, maybe the prince will like this, hahahaha."

"Keep your voice down. If the prince hears us, we'll be dead."

The air seemed to be ignited by an invisible flame, suddenly becoming sticky and hot.

The muscles on Hou Chun's face were tense. He no longer looked at the door, but instead scanned the courtyard walls and shadows more intently.

Wang Chunsheng suddenly lowered his head, and as the sound continued to come, his face turned red all the way to his ears.

Neither of them exchanged a single word, and even avoided eye contact.

The only sound in the courtyard was the increasingly clear and irresistible lewd music that quietly permeated the night, accompanied by the heavy breathing that the two people tried hard to suppress but could not calm down.

In this suffocating torture, time passed extremely slowly, like solidified asphalt.

An hour later.

"Squeak-"

There was a particularly harsh sound of old wooden hinges rubbing against each other.

The wooden door that had been closed for an hour finally opened inward.

The prince of the palace, Lin Zhen, stepped out and his figure appeared again under the cold moonlight.

He exhaled a breath of foul air: "Huh! Comfortable~"

His luxurious black brocade robe was still neat and straight, without a trace of disorder, but there was still a trace of lazy blush on his cheeks, which was the characteristic of satisfaction.

He was calm and composed, his steps steady, as if he was just inspecting his territory, casually picking up a small thorny flower, and there was even a faint, contented smile on his face.

He guessed that it was Xia Zhu's first time, but he didn't expect it to be so exciting.

Sure enough, the value of Wei Wu’s legacy is still increasing.

"Let's go home." He didn't look at the two guards beside him who were like wooden stakes. His eyes were fixed on the dark night outside the courtyard wall, and his tone was calm.

"Yes, Prince!" Hou Chun and Wang Chunsheng responded in unison.

The two men quickly adjusted their postures, as if the screams and obscene sounds from inside the door had never happened, and were quickly thrown into the depths of the Censorate, which was filled with rust and a dark atmosphere.

Under the night sky of the capital, everything is silent.

The curfew had long passed, and the wide cobblestone street was so empty that not a single soul could be seen. Only the sound of the night watchman's clapperboard echoed lonely in the distance.

The dim and lonely lanterns hung on the street corner, stretching the figures of the three people into slender and distorted shapes.

It’s not that Lin Zhen can break the rules, but the curfew rule is not set up for people like Lin Zhen. When the patrol soldiers saw Lin Zhen’s carriage, they saluted from a distance.

This is the benefit of being in a superior position.

On the two huge and heavy vermilion-painted doors of the Regent's Palace, the ferocious copper rings of animal heads looked somewhat sinister under the light and shadow of the swaying lanterns.

The carriage did not stop at the main gate, but drove straight to the equally majestic ceremonial gate on the side of the palace.

Even on ordinary days, even when returning home late at night, this vast mansion would have been mired in a half-asleep, half-awake silence, like a dormant giant. However, tonight, as the carriage entered the vast front yard, Lin Zhen's sharp eyes immediately detected something unusual.

So bright!

Many lights in the mansion that should have been extinguished were now brightly burning.

Bright lanterns were lit under the corridors and along the corridors, illuminating the courtyard as if it were daytime.

There were also many more servants than usual. They were not sleeping peacefully, but gathered in groups of three or five in corners and behind pillars. They looked nervous and obviously fearful, but they did not dare to talk loudly. They only made a few suppressed whispers and gasps occasionally.

An invisible, heavy and oppressive atmosphere enveloped the entire mansion like an invisible net, and even the air seemed to solidify.

Lin Zhen's brows furrowed slightly.

He did not ask, but stepped down from the carriage with steady steps.

As soon as I walked past the screen wall in the front yard, a familiar and steady figure came towards me quickly.

Lin An was wearing a crisply washed dark blue cotton gown, which made him look even more capable and mature.

But at this moment, his face, which usually wore a calm smile, was tense, and deep in his eyes was a solemnity and anxiety that was difficult to conceal.

He hurried to Lin Zhen's side, bowed deeply, and spoke in a low voice with a barely perceptible tremor: "Prince, you're back. Something happened."

Lin Zhen's steps didn't pause at all. He didn't even glance at Lin An's anxious face. His eyes calmly stared into the dark corridor ahead. Only a low, magnetic voice sounded calmly: "Speak."

Lin An followed closely behind Lin Zhen, speaking rapidly but keeping his voice deliberately low. "It was Madam Qingwen. Someone came to her house in the evening. But for some reason, Madam Qingwen flew into a rage. She ordered the man's legs broken and thrown out!"

He paused, his voice lowered, "Among these people is Madam's own brother! Madam Qingwen is kneeling in Madam Shangguan's room in the main courtyard right now!"

After he finished speaking, he nervously glanced at Lin Zhen's expression.

But he found that Lin Zhen's face was still calm, without any ripples.

After listening to this, Lin Zhen had already guessed the ins and outs of the matter.

I guess it’s another poor relative who comes to ask for money.

There is nothing that can be done about it. Whether it is Huanbi or Qingwen, they were girls from poor families back then. Now that they are doing well, naturally people will come to them for help.

But Qingwen is not the kind of person who is heartless. It must be that those poor relatives said something to make her angry, otherwise she would not punish them to death.

Lin Zhen didn't stop, but turned and walked straight towards the room where Shangguan Wan'er lived.

After arriving at the place, Hou Chun and Wang Chunsheng stopped quietly in front of the courtyard gate.

This is the inner courtyard, and they cannot enter without orders.

Lin An, the cunning guy, had already disappeared.

As you step into the outer room, a light, elegant and pleasant scent of sandalwood lingers around your nose.

Lin Zhen's eyes swept across the room.

I saw a woman in white casual clothes sitting on the main seat in the room.

She has a beautiful and gentle appearance, and a graceful and quiet temperament. She is Wan'er.

At this moment, she had not gone to bed, but was holding a celadon teacup that had long lost its heat. Her beautiful brows were slightly furrowed, revealing a hint of trouble and solemnity.

Just five meters in front of Shangguan Wan'er, there was a woman wearing the same brocade skirt, with her hair slightly messy due to intense activity. She was kneeling upright on the shiny rosewood floor with her back straight, in a stubborn and even somewhat rebellious posture!

Her head was slightly lowered, revealing a section of her fair neck, but judging from the tense lines on her face and her tightly pursed lips, she was hiding a huge amount of anger and unwillingness.

Qingwen.

The atmosphere in the room was extremely solemn, and the sound of flickering candlelight could be clearly heard.

The maids who were serving had already quietly retreated to the outer corridor, not daring to make a sound.

Lin Zhen's eyes swept across the stiff scene in the room. There was no anger on his face, but instead a gentle smile appeared.

He walked quickly towards Qingwen who was kneeling there. The moment he approached her, he bent down very naturally and even with a bit of intimacy, stretched out his slender and powerful hands, and held Qingwen's elbows steadily.

"Wen'er," his voice was low and gentle, full of soothing magnetism, like warm spring water, "What's wrong? I heard you were naughty again?"

The tone was so relaxed, as if asking her where she had been playing today.

This gentle question is like an invisible switch.

Qingwen, who was kneeling on the ground with her body stiff, fists clenched, suppressing great humiliation and anger, suddenly raised her head!

Lin Zhen saw her face clearly - her originally charming and flamboyant eyes were now filled with hot tears, like the surface of a glass lake that would shatter at the slightest touch.

Her rosy lips were tightly pursed and trembling slightly, and a clear white mark had been left on her lower lip from her biting.

She looked at Lin Zhen who suddenly appeared, her eyes filled with complex emotions - the momentary vulnerability when facing her support after getting into trouble, the immense hatred for those people, and a hint of childish grievance.

"My husband," Shangguan Wan'er gently put down the teacup in her hand. The sound of the porcelain falling on the rosewood coffee table was crisp and pleasant, but it increased the solemnity in the room.

She looked at Lin Zhen with a hint of reproach, her tone filled with worry about the development of the situation and the need to maintain the dignity of the palace: "You should also control Sister Qingwen. A guest comes to our house, no matter how wrong it is, but she is still a guest after all. Not only did she not treat him politely, she even ordered her men to break his legs and throw him out. How can this be considered decent? Is this the way to treat guests in the palace?"

She raised her voice slightly, looking at Qingwen who was kneeling on the ground, "You don't know, but among these people is her own brother! Blood relative! If this gets out, where will the reputation of the palace be!"

These words clearly conveyed her extreme dissatisfaction with Qingwen's behavior and her concern about the damage to the reputation of the palace.

Lin Zhen seemed not to hear his wife's reproach, and the smile on his face did not diminish at all.

He exerted a little force and steadily lifted Qingwen, who was trembling with tears, up from the cold floor.

Qingwen stood up with his help, but her legs and feet were obviously numb from kneeling for a long time, and her body couldn't help but shake.

Lin Zhen immediately put his arm around her waist, half supporting and half hugging her to lean against him, and then led her to sit on another mahogany carved armchair next to Shangguan Wan'er.

"Okay, okay, stop crying. Your face will be all red and ugly, like a monster."

"It doesn't matter if she's ugly, my husband still likes her just the same."

"Hahahaha, you little girl! Tell me, what exactly happened? Who came? What did they say and do?"

Qingwen leaned on Lin Zhen's strong arms, as if she had found her backbone.

She sobbed and spoke quickly, with unconcealed anger, pouring out her story of the evening:

"Who else could it be?! My family members who died long ago!"

"Shut up!" Wan'er shouted harshly, "As the wife of a prince, how can you speak nonsense and swear so much?"

Lin Zhen waved his hand, signaling her not to interrupt.

Qingwen continued, "They heard I was doing well here, becoming the wife of the Prince Regent, enjoying a life they couldn't even imagine. So they've snagged a glimpse of me and are here again! They're dressed up like some swan, standing at the gate of our palace, citing my parents' names and demanding to see this noble sister of mine!"