The Men at Her Feet

She needed an escape plan, fast.

An idea came to her head during one night when the group decided to take refuge at a temple. She managed to convince He YuXiang that women in Da Zhou has a special culture where the groom and the bride would receive a fortune reading from a monk and then make a wish together.

(TNote: Da Zhou is the name of the princess’s country if anyone is confused ;w;)

“I’ll take you to wherever you wish to go,” He YuXiang smiled gently at her before helping her down the carriage carefully.

The temple still flowed with visitors even at such an hour as they prayed and presented offerings to the respective gods. But she ignored them all and made her way through the crowd as she searched for a fortune teller while He YuXiang followed her closely, preventing any chance of her escaping.

“Benefactors, have you come to see your fortune?” A monk smiled gently as they approached his table, “What would you like to see?”

“Marriage fortune.” He YuXiang answered immediately before she could respond to the monk’s question.

“Please list down the date of birth for both of you here.”

Both man and woman scribbled quickly on their piece of paper before returning the papers to the monk, only to see his eyes narrowed in a flash before returning to his usual smiling poker face.

His sudden surprise was imminent, as her paper wrote “Help me!” while his paper wrote “Grandly rewarded!”

The monk covered both papers elegantly before facing the couple, “It appears that your birth-dates complimented each other perfectly, it is as if this is match made in heaven!”

What...? Princess QingLuan paused in shock as she stared blankly at the monk, knowing that she could not receive any help from him.

He YuXiang placed a pouch full of gold on the table before taking her away, “You should cease your worries by now, princess, since even the gods agree that we are meant for each other,” He chuckled cheerfully as if he did not know what she had done, “Ah right, we’re supposed to make a wish right?” She could only nod in response as he lead her to the wishing tree.

Princess QingLuan wrote down her wish on a piece of paper before placing it carefully into a red pouch before passing it to him, “Your highness, please place this on the highest part of the tree, that’ll make the wish more likely to come true...”

He nodded before jumping up the tree in a flash, tying the pouch carefully around the top of the tree, but she was already gone when he returned to the ground.

Princess QingLuan was gasping tiredly, almost out of breath for she had ran all the way down the mountain and went into a secluded shop begging for some tea in exchange for the jewelries on her head, but the kind shopkeeper had refused and offered her the tea free of charge.

“My dear wife, I’m so glad I found you!” A familiar voice sounded behind her as she was thanking the shopkeeper rgatefully.

She turned her head around stiffly, watching speechlessly as He YuXiang strode cheerfully to her, grinning widely. “I don’t know this man, I’m not his wife!” She cried out to the shopkeeper in alarm as she backed away weakly.

“My dear wife, please don’t be mad at me, I had only took one single look at that girl and you ran off angrily... I swear I won’t do it again!” He YuXiang continued on gently, his voice so soft it could melt any women’s heart, “But after one look I realized that my wife is still the prettiest lady in the entire world!”

Oh! The crowd nearby nodded at their exchange, chuckling at the young couple’s love fight, It’s good to be young~

“Please believe me! I’m not his wife! Please save me!” Princess QingLuan, realizing that the crowd was convinced by He YuXiang, begged pitifully before throwing her cup of tea at him in rage.

He YuXiang avoided the teacup easily before dropping another bag of coins on the shopkeeper’s table, “Boss, please forgive us, my wife had a bad temper and she might throw a tantrum here.” He chuckled as he explained gently, “Here’s the compensation for you in case she destroyed anything in here.”

After convincing the shopkeeper, he turned his head towards her, “My dear wife, do not worry if you break anything here for I’ll compensate everything, please throw a tantrum if it’ll make you feel better~” He coo-ed softly, as if he was really a gentle husband soothing his raging wife.

Unwilling to see such a wonderful couple break apart, the crowd could not help but try to persuade her, “Little lady, it’s not easy to find such a kind and gentle husband, you should appreciate him more!” “Please calm down, he’s such a wonderful husband!” “You’re so lucky to marry him!”

Princess QingLuan could only leave the place quietly as He YuXiang lead her away, while the crowd watched on, smiling brightly at the playful couple as they prayed for their marriage to last for eternity.