New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

After last night's pleasure, Yan Xier found that her lower body was completely clean, and she was stunned on the spot.

According to Song Dynasty custom, a woman's virginity is proven by the presence of blood during her first sexual intercourse. Since she didn't bleed, doesn't that mean she had already committed adultery with someone else? Isn't that like putting a load of rubbish on her own head? How can Yan Xier face anyone after that?

Tang Qian didn't care at all. Instead, he hugged her and comforted her. He even helped her cheat to fool her own mother, which made Yan Xier feel a little better.

Looking at the gifts on the table, she felt as if she had told a huge lie. What if the truth came out one day and Qiu Linghua kicked her out of the house? What would she do then?

Yan Xi'er was preoccupied with her anxieties and couldn't focus all day. Even her favorite game of Go couldn't interest her. Zhao Yingluo noticed something was wrong and wanted to show her concern, but Yan Xi'er simply shut the door on her and wouldn't let her in.

Even with her best friend, Yan Xier felt that such an embarrassing thing was something she couldn't share.

It wasn't until evening that Tang Qian, who had been patrolling the city's defenses, returned home. Zhao Yingluo immediately sent him to Yan Xier's room. Tang Qian was still wondering why Zhao Yingluo was so unwelcoming to him, since they had agreed on a three-day cycle and he was supposed to stay at her place tonight.

Thinking of Yan Xier's panic and helplessness last night, Tang Qian couldn't help but smile bitterly while holding his forehead.

Of course he knew that Yan Xier, as a princess of the Great Jin Dynasty, had a much higher level of physical activity than Zhao Yingluo, a princess of the Great Song Dynasty. Perhaps during a horseback hunting trip, that thing was inexplicably lost without Yan Xier's knowledge. But how could he, a grown man, explain such a thing? Was he supposed to give her a lesson in physiology and hygiene?

If Tang Qian were to articulate in a coherent manner the things that made Yan Xi'er blush, his reputation as a lecher would be firmly established.

After hesitating for a long time outside Yan Xier's room, Tang Qian finally gritted his teeth. There was no other way but to show his loyalty through practical actions.

After another long period of tender intimacy, both of them were exhausted. The enchanting scenery in the room slowly faded away and was instantly invaded by the thick darkness of the night.

Nestled in Tang Qian's arms, Yan Xi'er, her face filled with melancholy, traced circles on Tang Qian's chest with her slender fingers: "My husband, you really don't mind what happened last night, do you?"

"What is it? Can we talk about it tomorrow?"

These past few days have really worn Tang Qian out. As he grew sleepy, he was still giving vague and perfunctory answers when he suddenly sensed something was wrong. He opened his eyes and turned his head, and sure enough, he saw Yan Xier's pair of eyes, which were already brimming with tears, staring at him intently.

A sigh escaped his lips. Could this matter ever be resolved? But his hands couldn't remain idle. He immediately began to stroke the other's soft back and said soothingly, "I know that no matter what I say now, you'll still have reservations. Just watch my future actions, and that should be enough, right?"

To Yan Xi'er's astonishment, Tang Qian sat up, took a dagger from his boot, and held it in front of her: "If I ever treat you badly in the slightest way in the future, you can use this to kill me, and I will absolutely not resist."

In the darkness, Tang Qian's eyes shone brightly, his gaze revealing determination and resolve, which made Yan Xi'er somewhat dazed.

After a long while, she reached out and took Tang Qian's dagger, placing it beside her pillow: "I definitely can't kill you, but using it to kill myself is no problem at all."

She couldn't bring herself to kill her husband, so if Tang Qian treated her badly, she could only end her life with this dagger as retribution for her blindness.

Tang Qian understood Yan Xier's implication perfectly. He put his arm around her shoulder, and the two lay down again: "Don't worry, that day will never come."

After two days of coaxing, Yan Xier finally put aside this secret matter that she couldn't bring herself to talk about, and Tang Qian felt that he could finally get a good night's sleep.

Just as he closed his eyes, Yan Xier sat up again and pulled out the dagger he had just given her, which startled Tang Qian so much that he almost wet his pants.

"This matter is between you and me. You are not allowed to tell even Yingluo, otherwise I will really kill you and then commit suicide."

Tang Qian wanted to curse. How much did he want to cause trouble at home to go and tell Yingluo such a thing?

After another night of this, Tang Qian finally fell into a deep sleep as dawn broke. Yan Xi'er, on the other hand, was quite energetic, a stark contrast to her absent-mindedness the day before, and went to find Zhao Yingluo and Ye Qingmiao to play chess.

In the following days, the city returned to its usual tranquility, with only the brick kilns and blacksmith workshops bustling with people, all busy completing the tasks assigned by the city lord's mansion.

As the saying goes, many hands make light work, and by the fifteenth day after Tang Qian entered the city, most of his requests had been fulfilled.

Standing on the North Gate tower and looking into the city, as far as the eye can see, all the roofs have been replaced with glazed tiles, and the wooden archways and exposed pillars are all coated with a heavy layer of tung oil.

There were more than a dozen catapults lined up on the city wall, and three teams of men were gathered in front of each catapult, taking advantage of every moment to practice so that they could use them proficiently in the upcoming defensive battle.

In the garrison south of the city, in addition to the two thousand men selected as assault cavalry undergoing regular drills under the command of their commander Yue Fei, the five thousand men standing by the moat were practicing throwing stones as requested by the city lord.

On another open space, the last group of five thousand men were drawing their bows and nocking arrows; they were archers mixed among the throwers.

Two thousand cavalry, five thousand throwers, and five thousand archers—this was all the strength Tang Qian had. He intended to use these twelve thousand men to crush the Jin army at Guangling City.

Tang Qian's carriage stopped outside the military camp. Yue Fei, who was training his cavalry, received the report and immediately rode out to greet him.

When they saw that Tang Qian was accompanied by an old woman, a boy of eight or nine years old, and a toddler of about two years old, they saw that he was accompanied by an old woman, a boy of eight or nine years old, and a toddler of about two years old.

"Mother? Why are you here? I didn't say I came to Guangling."

Upon recognizing the newcomer, Yue Fei immediately dismounted. He had met his eldest son, Yue Yun, but had not seen his second son, Yue Lei, during the past two years while he was away on campaign. He had only heard of him in letters home. He figured that the boy staring at him with suspicion must be Yue Lei.

"That's not right, where's your mother? Why didn't she come with us?" His wife, Liu, was really carefree. The old woman and the two children had traveled a long way to Guangling, and now that there was war and chaos, she hadn't even accompanied her mother. It was simply unfilial of her.