Chapter 212: For the Minister, There Is Only One Wife in His Heart

No matter how he looked at him, he felt they were mismatched and found him unpleasant to the eye.

He inhaled deeply, steadied his emotions, slowly entered the Keting, and knelt five steps away from the Princess.

"Your servant has seen Her Highness the Princess!"

The Princess gazed at the beloved she had long yearned for, her brows and eyes springlike, her face flushed with shyness, and spoke.

"Yuan County Magistrate, please rise quickly!"

He sat at the lower end of the Princess's seat, a short distance away, and the Princess stared at him steadily.

From afar he appeared vigorous and full of spirit, handsome and dashing; up close he was as gentle as jade, exuding scholarly fatigue, making her like him even more—her husband should be just like this.

"Princess? Princess?" Yuan Jiaqi called twice in displeasure, and only then did she come to her senses.

"Yuan County Magistrate, that day you rode your horse through the streets, my palace saw you and was instantly moved, I suppose."

Before she could finish speaking, Yuan Jiaqi immediately knelt before her and spoke.

Qiao Mai gently patted Yuan Jiaqi's back and said, "Let's go, first go see her."

Yuan Jiaqi, his face reddening, took her hand and said, "Wife, my heart for you—do you understand?"

"Master, outside there is a beautiful girl who burst straight into the house; she's now in the Keting, as if she's on fire and fuming."

One sentence made the Princess's long‑buried yearning vanish like smoke.

The two embraced like that in the courtyard, while the old woman at the courtyard gate opened her mouth, unable to, she lowered her head and muttered softly.

So that's it; her heart finally exhaled a sigh of relief, "What did you scold her for?"

"I am not afraid; to die together with my wife, this life is enough!"

Heyi Princess stood up and slapped Yuan Jiaqi.

"She looks really beautiful, huh?"

His face immediately darkened, "What exactly happened?"

"What to do, she's about to arrive; I'm not afraid of death, only afraid of dragging you and the children into trouble. I cannot speak with a clear conscience; in any case, when I see her I feel disgust, I don't like her."

"How did you offend?"

Qiao Mai suddenly laughed, "What you did is a great crime of exterminating nine clans!"

"I offended the Princess; I might be demoted, I'm afraid I won't have time to speak before being executed, so today I will say it out loud— even if I die, I will not regret."

"Princess, please restrain yourself; your servant already has a family, why should I listen to your confessions? In my heart there is only my wife; please withdraw your affection, return to Jingcheng immediately; I have just taken office, my affairs are busy, I cannot accompany the Princess."

Qiao Mai was left both laughing and crying, her face bright red as if brushed with rouge, and she did not move, allowing him to hold her.

"Hmph, I want to see what kind of woman you adore and love in countless ways."

"Your servant already has a wife and does not wish the Princess to come to him, nor does he want to cause the Princess any fatigue."

Yuan Jiaqi, gathering courage, pulled her into his arms, "Your husband has long wanted to do this; afraid of your scolding, afraid of your beating; I cannot beat you, I also dare not hold you like this, but now I finally mustered the courage—may I hold you like this for a while?"

"No, no, it's not just your cooking; it's your attitude, your way of dealing with people, every move, every word, that deeply attracts me."

Yuan Jiaqi also shouted out, seizing the chance to return and profess to his wife; he called the six guards sent by the old master to follow him, and headed back to Jixiang Yuan first.

"But Princess, the one you pursue already has a wife, disrupting other families' harmony; moreover, your servant does not love the Princess, and your servant will not sacrifice his family for wealth or power. My wife, alive or dead, I love; please give your love to someone else, as I cannot enjoy it."

"You! You!"

"Is it wrong that I pursue the person I like?"

He knelt on the ground, straightened his torso, his face unchanged, and openly took the Princess's slap with his face.

"Wife, wife?"

"What are you saying? The emperor is a wise ruler; how could he possibly execute you over a few words? Don't be delusional; if there's any trouble, I will share it with you."

Qiao Mai turned around, looked at the old woman, "Understood, you stay far away; I won't call you, so don't come near the Keting."

"Hmm, I admit my cooking is good and attracted you."

Yuan Jiaqi didn't know whether he was excited or scared; his whole body trembled, perhaps it was his first time holding Qiao Mai like this, nervous beyond measure.

"Without my wife, how could I ever feel at ease? I once thought, if one day my wife grew tired of me and drove me out, my heart would ache to death; I think I could never be without my wife in this life."

"All the men in the world are dead; a good girl, even a Princess, insists on marrying a married man, stealing another's husband, tearing families apart—shameless. If I didn't curse her, that's already a kindness; she's a disgraceful thing, still daring to come forward; if she were a commoner's daughter, the people would have drowned her in their spittle."

"Wife, I—I have offended the Princess."

The Princess covered her face and began to cry, while the old woman beside her shouted loudly.

As soon as he arrived home, he headed straight for the back courtyard.

Qiao Mai touched his forehead, "No fever."

"She brought someone to my little shop and drank juice, exuding noble aura, a beauty that could topple a nation."

"Do you know how hard it was for me to come find you, all the way here?"

"I scolded her!"

"Scolding her without shame, I sent her back to Jingcheng; she slapped me, then furiously rode the carriage back to our house; I rode fast, returned first to vent my anger with you."

Qiao Mai frowned, wondering if his position had already fallen, that he had already consummated with the Princess and now came to confess?

Qiao Mai actually thought that, when night fell, she would go to Shexian to check the situation; this is a man she cultivated with great effort, treated as a vase, not cheap for other women.

Yuan Jiaqi sneered, "If she weren't the Princess, such behavior would be condemned by the world; think carefully, you have lowered your own value, what else can I say?"

The Princess rushed out of the house, ordering the guards to ready the carriage immediately to go find Yuan Jiaqi's wife.

"Princess, please leave Shexian immediately and return to Jingcheng soon."

She hadn't left yet, and he returned; what had happened?

She hurriedly exited the house, saw Yuan Jiaqi's anxious face, and stepped forward to grab her hand.

"Don't you want to hear all my longing for you?"

"Wife, have you seen her?"

"Wife, I!"

When Yuan Jiaqi said that, he still wore a look of disgust.

By then night had fallen; they were each on a single horse, while the Princess rode in a carriage, so naturally she wasn't as fast as him.

"You,"

"Wife, I'm sorry!"

"First, let's resolve the matter at hand before we talk further."

"Bold one, what are you, to dare speak to our Princess like that?"

"Princess, please drop that remark; I, Yuan, am already a married man, deeply attached to my wife, and I hope you will show mercy. There are many good men in the world; please choose another suitable husband."

"My god, Qiao Mai's face turned red in an instant; this fellow must have taken some medicine, his mouth is so slick—he really can talk! How could we never have noticed before?"

"If the Princess is angry, she may return to the capital and lodge a complaint with the Emperor. As for me, I have always said that there is only one wife in my heart—that is the wife I have now, and I will not change for this lifetime, unless I die and am reborn."

"Damn it, if he had expressed himself to Qiao Mai like this earlier, he would have won her heart long ago; why is he still sleeping alone now?"

"Ugh, is this a veiled confession?"

Qiao Mai stared at him, while Yuan Jiaqi dared not look at her, his face blazing red.

Yuan Jiaqi clasped her hands in his, gazing at her affectionately.

"Yes, Master!"

"Come, I'll take my wife there; as a husband I'd rather have my jade shattered than betray my wife."

Every word he said today was immensely gratifying to Qiao Mai.

If he had said that earlier, perhaps they would have already had a baby together.

However, Qiao Mai always felt something was off, as if the roles were reversed; she felt she was the man and Yuan Jiaqi the wife.

(End of chapter)