Chapter 151: Chen Yan! I'll bite you to death!

By rights, at this moment Gao Yang should have covered her face with a round fan, either having the imperial son-in-law compose a poem on the spot, or having an officiant recite a request for the princess to move the fan.

However, Gao Yang did not follow the rules at all; she even took off the hairpin on her head.

In the Tang Dynasty, there was no custom of covering the head with a red veil.

The red veil was a custom that only appeared after the Song Dynasty, whereas in the Tang Dynasty it was replaced by the hairpin.

Gao Yang taking off the hairpin is equivalent to her taking off the red veil; it's much the same idea.

Moreover, her personal attendant should have been here at this time, yet Chen Yan saw no trace of the maid named Xiang Lan.

Needless to say, this is definitely something Gao Yang has done again.

He twitched the corner of his mouth and said, 'I say, doing this isn't appropriate, is it?'

'Is it appropriate to hit the princess?'

Chen Yan: '......'

Gao Yang wore an indifferent expression, 'Husband, don't you think those rules are overly troublesome?'

'It's fine outside, but now it's just the two of us; why worry about so much?'

'Isn't it tiring?'

'Anyway, we just need to understand that from now on we should live together well.'

'Live well together?'

Chen Yan's gaze was subtle.

No matter how you look at it, this doesn't sound like something she would say.

Given Gao Yang's temperament, not causing trouble would already satisfy him.

However, there is one thing she said that Chen Yan actually agrees with.

Those wedding rules are indeed more numerous.

Noticing his gaze, Gao Yang chuckled, 'How come, husband, you don't believe me?'

'Should I believe you?'

'Shouldn't you? I am your wife; if you don't trust me, who will you trust?'

The more Chen Yan listened, the more uneasy he felt; he narrowed his eyes and warned, 'I'm warning you: we're already married, so we share honor and disgrace alike; before you do anything, you'd better consider the impact.'

Gao Yang nodded, 'I understand.'

'Of course, I also hope you remember that I am your lawfully wedded wife.'

'I am the mistress of this manor.'

There was meaning behind her words, which Chen Yan naturally picked up on.

He likewise understood who she was referring to.

But Li Shimin had already approved his affair with Li Lizhi, so where is there any room to retreat?

Just as he was pondering whether to first explain things clearly to Gao Yang, she suddenly rose, took his arm, and walked to sit by the bed.

Then, in an odd tone, she said, 'Husband, today is our wedding day; I have looked over the betrothal gifts you prepared.'

'It can be said that this is already the maximum betrothal gift allowed by ritual.'

'But...... I am somewhat dissatisfied and would like to ask you for one more item as part of the betrothal gift.'

'I don't know whether you can agree to this.'

Hearing this, Chen Yan furrowed his brows, unable to fathom what she meant.

You should know, the betrothal gifts he prepared are not few.

Many of them were prepared with the help of the Cui clan, and he himself spent a lot of money to acquire many more items.

It is almost the maximum betrothal gift that can be produced under ritual.

What else could she be dissatisfied with?

What else does she want?

After a moment's contemplation, Chen Yan seemed to think of something; he raised his hand and took off the jade pendant from his waist.

'Do you want this?'

Seeing him produce the jade pendant, Gao Yang's eyes flashed, 'Not bad.'

'Although this jade pendant was bestowed by the Empress Dowager, and by rights should not be given to others, as a princess I am indeed qualified to receive it on our wedding day.'

'I imagine the Empress Dowager, upon learning of this, would not blame me.'

Having said that, her smile faded a bit, 'When I left the palace today, I heard Father Emperor say that in a few days he will arrange for you to enter court as an official.'

'By then, you will have to manage both business affairs and court matters; if you keep it on your person, there is a risk of losing it.'

'It would be better to entrust it to me; I can keep it safe and will certainly not let it be lost.'

'When our children grow up in the future, I will pass it on in your stead.'

'What do you think?'

Chen Yan played with the jade pendant while looking at Gao Yang opposite him, remaining silent.

He is not a scoundrel who abandons what he starts; on the contrary, he is actually a person with a strong sense of responsibility.

Gao Yang is the first woman he has ever had in both his lives; no matter what, on their wedding night, when she made this request, he ought not to refuse.

Although this jade pendant was granted by Empress Changsun, it is still just a jade pendant.

He has never placed much importance on such things.

Giving it to Gao Yang is no big deal.

However, Gao Yang's thoughts are not pure......

Chen Yan asked softly, 'Do you want to take this jade pendant to spite Li Lizhi?'

He directly voiced Gao Yang's thought.

Upon mentioning that name, Gao Yang gripped Chen Yan's hand and exerted a little force, the smile on her face vanishing completely.

"Well... will my husband agree?"

That statement amounts to an admission.

This was also telling Chen Yan: "Right, exactly, I just want to take this jade pendant to anger Li Lizhi—will you agree?"

"Ah." Chen Yan was at a loss for words.

After all, the reason these two sisters, who were originally on good terms, have ended up like this, still lies with him.

There's no helping it; having come to this point, they will still have to get along in the future, so he must explain things clearly.

"It's just a jade pendant; since you want it, take it."

"But I have to tell you, originally this jade pendant wasn't given to her by me; she borrowed it from me."

Upon hearing the first part, Gao Yang was very happy.

After all, she had already said so bluntly that she wanted to take it to anger Li Lizhi, yet Chen Yan was still willing to hand over the jade pendant.

No matter the reason, this is good news.

But upon hearing the latter part, she froze, staring blankly at Chen Yan.

Naturally, the jade pendant cannot be lost.

She had always thought that jade pendant was given to Li Lizhi by Chen Yan.

Unexpectedly, that jade pendant was borrowed by Li Lizhi.

Logically, she should be happy right now.

Because the jade pendant was borrowed from Chen Yan, this means Li Lizhi deceived her—quite unlike what Li Lizhi hinted, that the two had already privately pledged themselves to each other.

But the jade pendant was actually borrowed from Chen Yan.

Chen Yan lent his own jade pendant to a woman who clearly wanted to compete with him for her husband, letting that woman take the pendant to anger her.

"Heh..."

Gao Yang couldn't say what she was feeling.

Happy?

She couldn't bring herself to be happy.

Sad?

A little bit.

Wronged?

Of course she felt wronged.

Who wouldn't feel wronged upon learning such a truth?

However, even though Gao Yang's heart was a tangled mix of emotions right now, she didn't cause a big scene as she usually would.

She smiled and said, "You're being unusually frank today."

"It's a joyous occasion—how could I deceive my wife of the hair‑tying ceremony?" Chen Yan replied.

"You're still just like before—you're not afraid of my anger at all, and you know how to bully me."

"I'm not afraid to say it—I wasn't afraid before, but now I don't know why, I've become a little scared."

"Mm... hehe..." Gao Yang gave a soft hum, then laughed.

As she laughed, her eye sockets turned red.

She felt utterly wronged.

"Chen Yan, I'll bite you to death!!!"

She let out a low growl and lunged straight at him......

"......"