Gluttonous Crown Princess

In the dim candlelight, was a man in red wedding robes.
He had a tall, slender figure with a narrow waist and broad shoulders, and his head of inky black hair was held in place with a gold and jade guan1.

It was an extremely delicate face.
Under two thick eyebrows were a pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes2, clear and gentle, as if there was a beam of moonlight rippling in his eyes.
The bridge of his nose was high and straight, and the corners of his thin lips were raised with a gentle arc.

The only shortcoming was his bloodless, icy pale complexion.
It looked as fragile as glass, and roused in one the strong desire to protect him for no reason.

This was a face that is meant to be a model example for all faces to come, right? The kind that Nuwa3 carefully sculpted when she was creating mankind! 

Upon self-examination, Tao Ti admitted that she had seen many handsome men in her previous life, but none could compare to the person in front of her.

For a while, her heartbeat couldn’t help but speed up a little.

Pei Yan looked steadily at the stunned woman in the room.
A faint light flashed in his black pupils, but he coughed softly and said in a warm voice, “Don’t be scared, I won’t do anything to you…”

This gentle and pleasant voice pulled Tao Ti out from her amazement and back her senses.

She gave an embarrassed smile and unconsciously lowered her voice, “I— I’m not scared.”　　

Their eyes met; there was a moment of silence before Pei Yan pointed to a chair, “Shall we sit and talk?”

Tao Ti suddenly remembered that his constitution was weak, and said quickly, “Yes, yes, hurry, have a seat.”

Pei Yan gave her a slight nod and sat down slowly; Tao Ti followed suit.

Not long after, the palace maid came in with a pot of hot water.
Surprise registered on her face when she saw that the crown prince had come, but she did not dare look for too long.
After pouring the tea respectfully, she retreated hastily.

Tao Ti picked up the cup of water and took a look.
This time, the water was clean and even warm.

She was so thirsty that she drank the entire cup in one fell swoop.
Unlike modern mugs, ancient teacups were small; just drinking this one small cup was nowhere near enough.

She snuck a glance at Pei Yan, who was sitting opposite her, hesitated for a moment, then said softly, “I-I’m a little thirsty, I’ll pour another cup of water…”

Seeing her cautious manner, Pei Yan’s eyes flickered slightly.
He immediately raised his hand to make a ‘please go ahead’ gesture, and said in a warm voice, “Do as you please.”

Having received consent from the master of the Eastern Palace, Tao Ti poured another cup of water…

Then a second cup, a third cup, a fourth cup… a tenth cup.

Pei Yan, “……”　　

Well, he believed that she was truly thirsty.

When she had drunk about half the pot, Pei Yan said, “Shall I get them to bring another pot of water?”

Tao Ti was no longer that thirsty now; upon hearing his question, she waved her hand with embarrassment, “No, don’t bother.”

Pei Yan said lightly, “It’s just a pot of water, it’s no trouble.”

After a pause, he saw Tao Ti’s expression and suddenly realised something; his black eyes narrowed, “Have the palace attendants slighted you?”

Tao Ti was stunned; she did not expect him to be so perceptive.
Without saying anything herself, he had actually guessed what had happened.
She shook her head in a hurry and said, “It’s fine, it’s fine, no one slighted me…”

Although the attitudes of those two palace maids just now left her with quite an unpleasant taste, they had not done anything truly wicked.
In the historical dramas she watched, if a palace servant made any mistake, they could easily be dragged off to be executed, or flogged dozens of times until their skin hung in tatters and their flesh was battered….
there was no need to cause such a scene.

“It’s good as long as you aren’t being disregarded.” Pei Yan took in the change in her demeanour, his long, slender fingers stroking the cup gently.

Tao Ti’s eyelashes lowered slightly, thinking, So far, the crown prince seems to be rather good-natured?

Yes, good communication needs to begin with the correct attitude.
Then, should she apologise to him first? Although the original Tao Ti was also a victim of the feudal marriage system, as far as the current situation was concerned, the crown prince was also quite the innocent victim.

“Your Highness—”

“You…” 

The two spoke at the same time, and were both momentarily stunned.

Tao Ti said hurriedly, “You first, you first.”

Pei Yan gazed at her warmly and said seriously, “I know you don’t want to marry into the Eastern Palace… but don’t worry, I will give you a letter of annulment before I die, and return you your freedom.”

Tao Ti was dumbfounded; it took a long time before she found her voice, “A-alright.”

Wow, what kind of beautiful and kind-hearted little angel is he! I’m fine with this!!　

Footnotes:

1 guan: 冠; Guan is an umbrella term for an ancient Chinese formal headdress, which can cover either the full top of the head or just the topknot, and makes use of a hairpin which goes across the topknot to stabilize itself.
Male headwear was absolutely an indication of social rank. Guan occupy the highest rank, and were worn by men of status, such as royals, nobles, and officials (they are also worn for weddings and ceremonies in general).
Different types of guan signified different occupations, occasions, and positions in society.

2 peach blossom eyes: A kind of eye shape that resembles a peach flower petal and typically looks lovely.
The eyes are long; the upper eyelid has a large curvature; a slight blush around the eyes; the inner corners of the eyes are sharp and deep, and the tails of the eyes are thin and slightly curved.
They have a glassy watery look and form a crescent shape when smiling.

3 Nuwa: 女娲; The mother goddess of Chinese mythology.
She is credited with creating humanity by sculpting humans out of clay.