Greetings, Ninth Uncle

Chapter 99: Wedding Bed (I)

Cheng Yujin initially thought that she would not be able to fall asleep on an unfamiliar bed, but unexpectedly, she slept well that night.

Her mind was full, and she woke up automatically early the following day. When Cheng Yujin opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was bright red. She was at a loss for a while before she remembered that this place was Ciqing Palace, and yesterday was her wedding night.

The curtain around the bed was down, which made the surrounding pretty dim. There was a layer of red shadow inside the bed, making it impossible to see what time it was now. Cheng Yujin pricked her ears. It was still quiet outside, so the time must be still early. Today’s schedule was very important, and Du Ruo and Lian Qiao would definitely come to wake her up in time.

Yesterday, Cheng Yujin had no extra attention to spare, but today, she looked around the bed, wanting to have a complete picture of what their wedding bed looked like. However, it was not accurate to call it a bed because this babu bed¹ occupied a very large area, with four large wooden posts made support columns connected with carved wooden walls. The babu bed was separated into two different areas by curtains made from embroidered brocade, with the inner area consisting of three levels.

The third level was the innermost, right next to the real bed. The wooden surface was covered with soft fabric, which made it a footrest in the true sense. This level was used for getting in and out of bed, and was soft enough to be trodden on with bare feet. On the second level, there was a set of low tables, used to put tea and refreshment, as well as small things the couple took off before sleep. Then, there was the first level, which had a wardrobe and several wooden boxes. All in all, it was a complete and the most luxurious of a babu bed.

The outer area of the babu bed was on the ground level and was also the most spacious and easy to walk. A heavy curtain separated the outer and inner area, which could be put down for privacy when servant girls stayed there on night watch duty. Following that was the exquisitely carved wooden wall, and the babu bed finally ended here. In the middle of the wall were two closed wooden doors. The patterns carved on the doors matched perfectly with the rest of the walls. Obviously, both were made in a set.

The space used for the actual bed was in the innermost part, which was also the highest level. It had several layers of curtains. When the outer curtain was down, the bed became a small independent room, cutting it out the rest of the world and making the two people inside unaware of the passing time.

The craftsmanship and design of this babu bed were very rare. Making such a large piece of furniture was no small challenge, even to the best of craftsmen. But thinking again, it actually made sense. This was the bed where the Crown Prince and Crown Princess slept, second only to the dragon bed used by the Emperor himself. How could such a thing be ordinary?

Cheng Yujin stayed on the bed and looked around for a while as her mind gradually became sober. She had an important schedule today, and it was no time to linger in bed. Cheng Yujin got up slowly. Her movement was so quiet as not to wake up the man sleeping next to her. However, after she sat up and buttoned her middle shirt, Cheng Yujin found herself in trouble.

The space on the bed was limited. She only put some inner clothes in a drawer built into the bed, and her other clothes were stored in the wooden boxes outside. Even if she left her clothes scattered on the floor, she still had to get out of the bed to put them on.

After bathing last night, she fell asleep completely and had no impression of what was going on. It was Li Chengjing who took care of her hair, put her on the bed, and then covered her in the quilt. Their sleeping position meant that if Cheng Yujin wanted to get out, she had to pass the sleeping Li Chengjing.

Cheng Yujin thought for a while, but quickly decided she could not let herself be stumped by such a small problem. She quietly gripped the hem of her clothes, crawled to Li Chengjing’s side, checked the distance visually, and then carefully tried to step over with one leg.

Cheng Yujin slowly touched the other side of the bed with her knee. Cheng Yujin had just breathed a sigh of relief when she suddenly felt a throbbing pain on the lower side of her body. Cheng Yujin was caught off guard and lost her balance. She was now straddling between Li Chengjing’s waist and abdomen. If she fell down, she would fall straight onto his body.

Cheng Yujin was panicked. Such a close distance made her unable to react in time, and she also couldn’t perform difficult maneuvers because of the pain. For a split moment, Cheng Yujin was desperately thinking for a reason to convince Li Chengjing that she didn’t intend to assassinate the Crown Prince.

Cheng Yujin was about to fall face first when her arm was suddenly supported by somebody. Looking in surprise, she found that Li Chengjing was awake. There was a hint of laughter in his eyes, mixed with a little sleepiness.

Cheng Yujin was taken aback for a moment and asked, “You woke up a long time ago?”

“Um.”

Cheng Yujin was speechless: “Since you are awake, why didn’t you say a word?”

“I want to see what you want to do.” Li Chengjing replied. He raised his eyebrows and glanced at Cheng Yujin: “I never expect you to be so bold in bed.”

Only then did Cheng Yujin realize that her posture was not right. She almost fell down just now. After Li Chengjing gave her a hand, she was stopped in place, but both her knees were on Li Chengjing’s waist, her hands propped against his arms, and her upper body almost pressed on his. This posture, it looked as if she was about to do shameful things to Li Chengjing…

When Cheng Yujin finally reacted, her cheeks instantly burst red. Before she got married, she also read the picture book placed on the bottom of her dowry trunk. Although no one explained to her in detail, after last night, she of course understood everything…

Cheng Yujin hurriedly crawled down from Li Chengjing’s body, totally red from her face to the tip of her ears. Li Chengjing sat up slowly. Seeing his meaningful gaze, she subconsciously retreated: “We have to get up soon. There is no time today. You shouldn’t mess around.”

Li Chengjing raised an eyebrow: “So I can mess around with you once we have enough time?”

Cheng Yujin was both embarrassed and angry. She gritted her teeth with resentment: “Y-you…how can you say that! You know I didn’t mean it like that!”

Li Chengjing couldn’t help chuckling again. Cheng Yujin actually had a thin face, and she would explode after a light teasing. What’s even cuter was how she tried hard to feign calmness, which always made him want to tease her again and again.

At this moment, the two heard movements outside, followed by a call: “Crown Prince, Crown Princess, are you up?”

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1. Babu bed is a kind of China’s traditional canopied bed, which looks more like a small wooden room, even a house, rather than a bed.