Dressed As a Consort in Ancient Times - Chapter 51

However, as those cool fingertips touched her, Jiang Libai felt a tingling in her palm, as if hundreds of ants were nibbling at her limbs—itchy, making it hard to resist.  

In the heavy darkness of the night, she quietly glanced at Xingxing, who was sleeping soundly, and whispered, “…Why don’t you place her on the innermost side?”  

Receiving permission, Gu Yun’s eyes overflowed with indescribable joy.  

With gentle and cautious movements, she carefully picked up little Xingxing and just as carefully placed her on the innermost side of the bed.  

Throughout the entire process, she held her breath, afraid of waking the peacefully sleeping child.  

After making sure Xingxing was still asleep and tucking her in properly, Gu Yun turned over and moved closer to Jiang Libai.  

Their eyes met, their breaths entwined.  

Unable to wait any longer, Jiang Libai wrapped her arms around Gu Yun’s neck, brushed aside the long strands of hair scattered over her face, and pressed her cherry lips against hers.  

—

Things like this should naturally progress step by step, but despite already having a child together, the two of them still seemed inexperienced.  

At this moment, veins protruded on Gu Yun’s forehead, her warm breath landing on Jiang Libai’s flushed cheeks. She dared not look into her moist eyes any longer. Turning her head away in embarrassment, she huskily murmured, “Princess… relax a little…”  

Taking into account that Jiang Libai was not an omega and had no gland at the back of her neck, Gu Yun exercised great restraint and refrained from biting her there. Instead, she could only let her pheromones spill out, dispersing into the room.  

But perhaps Jiang Libai was also too nervous—she fumbled around for a long time yet remained clueless about what to do.  

The surroundings were extremely quiet, save for the faint rustling of fabric and the occasional soft smacking sounds Xingxing made in her sleep, as if dreaming of feeding. The tension in the darkness only made the two of them more anxious.  

Jiang Libai’s eyes were already brimming with physiological tears, and the stray strands of hair near her forehead were damp with sweat. Biting her lip, she gently pushed Gu Yun away, then turned over, looking down at her with a slightly surprised expression.  

“…You’re too slow. Let me do it instead…”  

In the hazy night, a muffled groan drifted with the evening breeze, only to be quickly carried away. Jiang Libai’s entire body trembled as she tightly grasped Gu Yun’s delicate wrist.  

Meanwhile, the person who had been dismissed pursed her lips, the veins at her temples throbbing. Her breathing grew heavier as she gripped the blanket, the tendons on the back of her hand standing out in sharp relief.  

Then, just as Jiang Libai, tears glistening in her eyes, made a sudden movement, Gu Yun’s entire body tensed. Her knuckles turned white from gripping the blanket too hard, and under the soft glow of the moonlight, she seemed to be trembling with overwhelming restraint.  

The gauzy bed curtains swayed gently with the breeze. Disturbed by the movement, little Xingxing smacked her lips again, as if mimicking the act of feeding in her dreams.  

The sound startled Jiang Libai, making her pause. She clung to Gu Yun and whimpered softly by her ear, letting out a few breathy hums. “…In just an hour… Xingxing… she’ll wake up…”  

Little Xingxing was not even two months old yet and would wake up four or five times a night to be fed.  

Upon hearing this, Gu Yun pressed her lips into a thin line, wrapped her arms around Jiang Libai’s slender waist, and shifted their positions.  

By now, her usually clear and steady voice was laced with an unmistakable trace of yearning. “Then we’d better hurry.”  

Saying this, her tense body made a small but deliberate movement.  

In that moment, Jiang Libai suddenly felt as if she were being swept into turbulent waves. She couldn’t help but let out a soft whimper, yet afraid of waking little Xingxing beside them, she bit down on her lip, not daring to make a sound. Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling over and dampening the strands of dark hair resting on her pillow.  

Under the bright moonlight, the night wind brushed through the branches and leaves, its rustling sounds muffling the warmth that filled the entire room.

—

The next day, the sun was already high in the sky.  

After a restless night, Gu Yun slowly regained consciousness. She opened her eyes, staring blankly at the intricate patterns on the bed canopy.  

The quilt beside her seemed to be tugged by something, shifting slightly. She turned her head and saw that Xingxing was already awake, her big round eyes staring at her while her tiny arms waved about randomly.  

She didn’t seem hungry yet, playing by herself without crying. Noticing Gu Yun looking at her, she unconsciously grinned, as if smiling at her.  

That smile instantly filled Gu Yun’s heart with warmth. She reached out joyfully, intending to touch Xingxing’s small, soft face.  

But then, she inadvertently caught sight of the various marks on her own arm.  

Her eyes widened, and she quickly withdrew her hand.  

…Xingxing was still little, but she definitely couldn’t let her see these.  

Perhaps due to Gu Yun’s abrupt movements, the rustling of the bedding startled Jiang Libai, who was still sound asleep.  

The moment she opened her eyes, before she could even see clearly, her lips were already sealed.  

The fair, rosy skin before her was within reach, a faint sandalwood fragrance lingering in the air. She blinked her still-drowsy eyes and instinctively responded, allowing Gu Yun to capture her lips.  

On the side, little Xingxing realized that despite being awake for so long, no one was paying attention to her. Her tiny mouth quivered, and then she burst into loud wails.  

The two, immersed in their kiss, instantly froze.  

Gu Yun, breathing heavily, slowly lifted her head.  

A suspiciously thin strand of silver connected the two, shimmering under the sunlight filtering through the window, impossible to ignore. Both of them blushed at the sight.  

Jiang Libai pushed Gu Yun away, and as she withdrew her hand, she gave her a discreet pinch. “Move aside, Xingxing is crying.”  

Saying this, she grabbed the dudou lying on the quilt and quickly put it on beneath the covers.  

Then, her jade-white arm reached out, grabbing her inner garment and fastening it properly. After tidying herself up, she picked up the tearful little Xingxing.  

As soon as she started feeding, Xingxing stopped crying and eagerly suckled.  

Jiang Libai gazed at her with tenderness, reaching out to gently wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes.  

Left aside, Gu Yun dared not interrupt Xingxing’s feeding, so she silently picked up her own clothes and started dressing.  

The rustling sounds caught Jiang Libai’s attention. When she looked up, she saw faint scars crisscrossing Gu Yun’s slender back—completely different from the marks she had left during the night. She could tell at a glance.  

The injuries didn’t seem too severe, only leaving faint pink traces now.  

But even so, it still made her heart ache.  

“These wounds… were they from the Northwestern border?”  

She raised a hand and gently ran her fingers over the pale pink scars interwoven with nail marks. Even the lightest touch made her fingertips sting with phantom pain.  

Gu Yun’s body paused for a moment. After fastening the last loop of her chest binder, she turned around and grasped Jiang Libai’s small hand. “They’re just minor injuries, nothing serious. They’ve already healed.”  

Back in the interstellar era, she had suffered countless wounds—both light and severe. As long as she wasn’t dead, she would soak in a recovery fluid for a while, and she would be as good as new.  

So even when she was hurt, no one ever cared if she was in pain.  

But here, the Seventh Princess was almost heartbroken over her.  

A feeling Gu Yun had never experienced before surged within her chest. She couldn’t put it into words, but her heart felt sweet—like it was soaked in sugar water.  

Leaning in, she tilted her head and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Jiang Libai’s damp eyes, her voice tender. “These wounds are nothing. I don’t feel any pain at all.”  

As she spoke, her thin lips moved downward, brushing against Jiang Libai’s lips, her voice turning sultry. “But… at night, you scratched me quite hard…”  

At those words, Jiang Libai couldn’t help but recall the madness of the night. Her ears immediately flushed with a suspicious shade of red.  

“…Don’t talk about this in front of Xingxing.” Face burning, she shot Gu Yun a glare and huffed, “Otherwise, I’ll banish you to the side chamber in the future.”

Hearing this, Gu Yun immediately sat up straight and properly put on her clothes.  

Two quarters of an hour later, after tidying up, the two of them walked out of the room with Xingxing.  

Jiang Libai handed Xingxing over to the wet nurse, preparing to have breakfast.  

Then, as if remembering something, she stopped in her tracks and waved at Chunxi behind her.  

Chunxi hurried forward. “What are your orders, Princess?”  

Jiang Libai glanced around. Seeing that the other servants were at a distance, she leaned closer to Chunxi’s ear and whispered, “Later, clean up the bedroom, change the quilts and bed sheets with fresh ones…”  

After carefully instructing Chunxi on these tasks, Jiang Libai returned to Gu Yun’s side, took her hand, and said, “Let’s go have breakfast first.”  

Gu Yun cleared her throat lightly and followed her forward.  

Near noon, just after finishing breakfast, an imperial decree arrived from the palace.  

Even after Eunuch Sun had delivered the message, Jiang Libai still found it hard to believe.  

“…Father wants the Prince Consort to be appointed as the Chief Commander of the Five City Military Department?!”  

The position of Chief Commander of the Five City Military Department, though not appearing particularly high-ranking, was actually highly significant. Only those whom the emperor deeply trusted could hold such a role.  

Now that her father wanted Gu Yun to take this position, what exactly was he thinking?!  

Of course, Jiang Libai wasn’t implying that her father shouldn’t trust Gu Yun. It was just that she had a feeling that this appointment, meant to reward Gu Yun, had deeper, more intricate motives behind it…  

But as for what her father was truly planning, she had no way of knowing.  

She really didn’t want her father to eventually drag Gu Yun into the whirlpool of political struggles.  

“To answer the Princess, His Majesty values the Prince Consort highly, which is why he has bestowed such an honor. We hope the Prince Consort will not disappoint His Majesty’s expectations…” After delivering the message, Eunuch Sun did not linger. He bowed and quickly left the princess’s residence.  

As the surroundings fell into silence, even the servants withdrew.  

Gu Yun raised her hand and gently smoothed the frown between Jiang Libai’s brows. “For Father to do this, he must have thought it through carefully. He loves you so much—because of that, he extends his care to me as well. He would never have ill intentions toward me.”  

Hearing this, Jiang Libai glanced at her sideways and slowly smiled. “What do you mean by ‘extends his care’?”  

“Father doesn’t dote on me the way he used to anymore. So he wouldn’t go out of his way to protect you either.” With Gu Yun’s reassurance, Jiang Libai’s tense mood eased somewhat. “The main issue is that once you step into the court, you’ll often find yourself powerless to make your own choices.”  

And right now, since she was no longer favored by her father, she feared that if anything happened in the future, she wouldn’t even be able to speak up for Gu Yun.  

Gu Yun hadn’t thought about it that much.  

Her father-in-law actually treated her quite well.  

So she believed that him appointing her to this position had its own reasoning—at the very least, it wasn’t meant to harm her.  

However…  

“Why would the Princess think that His Majesty no longer cherishes you?” Gu Yun rubbed Jiang Libai’s small head. “I actually think he’s protecting you by acting indifferent.”  

After all, an emperor’s affections were always scrutinized by outsiders. Those he favored would be flattered on the surface but secretly schemed against.  

In contrast, the way the Yu Emperor was treating the Seventh Princess now seemed rather wise—keeping her on the sidelines and minimizing her presence.  

Even this appointment of Chief Commander of the Five City Military Department wouldn’t draw too much unwanted attention.  

“I never told you this before, but at the border, Jiang Shen wasn’t killed by my hand.” Gu Yun’s voice was quiet. “He was stabbed to death by someone following him.”  

This was the first time Jiang Libai had heard of this.  

Her eyes widened in shock. “Someone by his side… killed him?!”

She couldn’t quite understand: “Why?!”  

Gu Yun shook her head. “I don’t know why that person killed Jiang Shen either. But at the very least, I’m certain that there were spies planted around him all along.”  

“For that person to stay by his side and flee with him, he must have been one of Jiang Shen’s most trusted subordinates.”  

Yet such a trusted subordinate personally killed him.  

Truly bizarre.  

“I always had a vague feeling that the events surrounding Jiang Shen seemed to be driven forward by an unseen hand…”  

With Gu Yun’s reminder, Jiang Libai slowly recalled past events as well.  

The assassin who tried to kill Gu Yun when she was falsely accused and imprisoned.  

The servant who exposed Jiang Shen’s hidden imperial robe during his full-month banquet.  

And… the desperate coup attempt he launched overnight after being placed under house arrest.  

That’s right!  

Looking back now, these things were probably not something that fool Jiang Shen could have orchestrated!  

Especially the rebellion—how could someone as cowardly and hypocritical as Jiang Shen have made such a decisive move in a single night?  

So, someone must have been deliberately provoking Jiang Shen, leading him step by step into a carefully laid trap.  

Jiang Libai’s face turned slightly pale.  

She deeply despised such endless scheming and deceit.  

But in this situation, she feared she too had been nothing more than a pawn in someone’s game.  

“His Majesty is meticulous. He must also know that someone was manipulating things behind the scenes regarding Jiang Shen.” Gu Yun understood that Jiang Libai disliked being entangled in these matters, so she kept her explanation simple. “It’s not a bad thing for me to enter the court—at least I’ll be able to gain some insight into its affairs.”  

“As for the power struggles, I’ll do my best to avoid them.”  

With that, even though Jiang Libai was still unwilling, she could only go along with it.  

“…Alright.” She wrapped her arms around Gu Yun’s slender waist, burying her small head into the crook of her shoulder, her voice sounding a little sullen. “But if you have official duties in the future, I won’t be able to see you all the time.”  

The Seventh Princess was so clingy that Gu Yun naturally couldn’t bear to be apart from her either.  

She pressed a kiss to the top of her head and replied softly, “On my rest days, I’ll always be with you and Xingxing.”  

Once the appointment was confirmed, news quickly spread throughout the capital.  

However, since the position of Chief Commander of the Five City Military Department wasn’t particularly high—essentially just overseeing the security of the capital—many people merely laughed it off and didn’t take it seriously.  

Regardless of what others thought, Gu Yun only wanted to use the three days before assuming her duties to spend time with the Seventh Princess and Xingxing.  

On a summer afternoon, with the breeze drifting by, the pavilion by the pond was pleasantly cool.  

Jiang Libai held Xingxing in her arms while feeding koi fish in the pond.  

But Xingxing’s round eyes weren’t focused on the fish swimming below—instead, she was staring intently at a parrot perched on a pole.  

The parrot, in turn, tilted its head, scrutinizing the little girl.  

Gu Yun knew parrots had minds of their own, and she worried that this unruly bird might suddenly blurt out something inappropriate.  

“Once the wind settles, take it back inside.”

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