Blindfolded

Chapter 2 - Punishment

Jingting said he wanted to punish me, but as soon as he spoke, I knelt down in front of him with a thud. However, Jingting quickly moved his boot slightly forward to support my knee, preventing it from touching the ground. I didn't dare to stand up, but kneeling on Jingting's shoe was undignified.

"Brother..." I pleaded to Jingting for help.

Jingting didn't move his boot and softly said, "Yueyue, what are you doing? You are too delicate to kneel like this."

"I had to accept the punishment since you said you wanted to punish me," I replied.

Jingting extended his hand, signaling me to take it. When I held his hand again, a strange feeling permeated my body. Jingting didn't know that I was far more familiar with him than he imagined.

In an instant, Jingting exerted some force and lifted me up, then placed me on his lap. "Your knees would have turned purple if you had knelt for too long," he said.

"My knees didn't hurt, I am fine standing," I replied.

Jingting's tone became gentle, but the faint breath that passed my ear was still cold. "When you were young, you always liked to be held by your brother. Why do you want to distance yourself from me now that you are married?"

I shook my head repeatedly. "I wouldn't dare to do that."

"When I said I wanted to punish you, I was joking. How did Liuyu treat you last night?" Jingting's phoenix eyes flickered with a fleeting hostility.

I flushed immediately and felt so embarrassed that my eyes even became moist.

"What's wrong, Yueyue? I was just joking," Jingting observed my expression with lowered eyes. He raised his sleeve, embroidered with golden threads, and lightly touched my eyelids, leaving them slightly damp.

I relaxed and stared at Jingting's beautiful and luxurious sleeve.

Jingting noticed my gaze, and with three fingers, he pinched the cuff of his sleeve and asked me, "Do I look good in red?"

"Absolutely gorgeous," I replied honestly.

"Does it look like wedding clothes?" Jingting asked.

I flattered him, "How could wedding clothes compare to the clothes worn by the emperor?"

Jingting chuckled and opened a small box on the table with one hand. He took out a bracelet and put it on my wrist, saying, "You got married yesterday, but I didn't attend. I really want to see what you look like in wedding clothes."

I glanced at my brocade dress and said, "I'm wearing the same clothes as now."

"It's not the same. Put on the wedding clothes and let me see," Jingting insisted.

I felt uneasy and said, "I don't have any wedding clothes."

"Oh?" Jingting leaned in and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Because you wanted it to disappear. But I did not dare to say that.

I need to think about how to say this in another way:

"The wedding clothes was burned by a candle flame"

"Is that so? This is an ominous sign. It seems that your marriage is not meant to be. "I nodded in agreement, "Yes, it's ominous."

"Since that's the case, remember not to get too close to Liu Yu." Jingting guided me step by step.

"I won't... talk to him like that."

"Right, you can't do anything with him that you do with me." Jingting said this, and I was so embarrassed that I tried to cover it up, but he saw through me and laughed. "I won't tease you anymore. Oh, and by the way, the Ninth Princess did come to see you, but I chased her away. You can come back to the palace to play with her another day, and while you're at it, go see the Empress Dowager. Be sure to see me at last. Okay?"

I fled from the palace in a panic. When I returned to the Duke's mansion, Liu Yu and I looked at each other and sighed. But after we sighed, we still had to act like a married couple in public.

Only a few days after our marriage, the Duke and his wife pushed us to the temple to pray for offspring. The Duke and his wife were a harmonious couple, and their family was peaceful, so they knelt on the mat with unusual devotion when giving thanks to the Buddha.

The Duke and his wife were a harmonious couple with a peaceful family, so when they knelt on the cushion to express their gratitude for the Bodhisattva's grace, they were exceptionally devout.

The atmosphere became subtly different when Liu Yu and I also knelt down. We both knew that when praying to Buddha, we only needed to silently wish in our hearts. But we were both worried that the Buddha actually make the wish come true, so we speak loudly:

"Buddha above, if you grant us offspring, we will surely make another golden statue for you."

"Buddha bless us."

At this point, I was no longer afraid of offending the Buddha, only afraid that Jingting would actually impregnate me.

Although the Duke and his wife found it strange, seeing how earnestly we spoke, they didn't say anything in front of the Buddha.