Yu Mei allowed Pei Nan to drag her by the hand. It didn't take long for her to grow accustom to his strong grasp on her hand. She remembered sneaking glances at him throughout. [Pan Yu Mei! Snap out of it. Are you crazy? Stop ogling him.] She scolded herself quite a few times when she caught herself staring.
Pei Nan was trying very hard to pretend he didn't see what she was doing. She was so obvious but he was too embarrassed to say anything. Especially since last night.
In fact, the two were acting as if yesterday never happened. Or at least they tried. Of the two, Yu Mei was probably the less embarrassed. Which annoyed Pei Nan slightly.
They didn't go far before Pei Nan made a stop at a dumpling stall. The very sight of the two large bamboo steamers in front of her excited her. "Little Nan," The elder man greeted Pei Nan. "Where have you been? I asked your aunt if you came to visit and she said you hadn't. I was beginning to wonder if you forgot about me."
"Uncle Zhu, how could I forget you. I came the moment I had time. How could I not come here for the best dumplings." Pei Nan exchanged friendly words with this Uncle Zhu. Pei Nan did not have relationships with many people here other than the magistrate, Aunt Po, Uncle Po and Uncle Zhu. He grew familiar with the elderly man over dumplings. No matter how busy he was, he would always make a stop here before going back to the palace.
Uncle Zhu smiled and his wrinkles deepened. "Oh? This is..." he pointed at Yu Mei. Then he saw that the two were hand in hand. This made him chuckle. "This must be your wife."
"Uncle, you are always on point. This is indeed my lovable wife." Pei Nan introduced Yu Mei to the man.
After exchanging friendly greetings, Uncle Zhu opened the lid to the dumplings. "You're lucky to have married Little Nan. Or else you wouldn't be able to find the finest pork buns in all of Zhengzhou." He teased.
Pei Nan turned toward Yu Mei. "How many would you like?"
"Three!" Yu Mei held up three fingers. Pei Nan turned to Uncle Zhu. "My wife will take one."
She frowned. Did he hear her wrong? She clearly said three just now.
Yu Mei took a step closer to Pei Nan. "You must not have heard correctly, I said three. Not one." She softly corrected him.
"I know." Pei Nan took the dumpling from Uncle Zhu. "Tell Aunty I said hello." and proceeded to walk away. "It was nice meeting you Uncle." Yu Mei also bid him farewell.
When they were a far distance away from the stall, he stopped and held out his hand to give her the dumpling. "One is enough. Knowing you, we'll probably be stopping at one or two more food stalls. I wouldn't want you to complain later about not being able to eat every single type of food because I overfed you." He ruthlessly explained.
A bright smile appeared on her face as she took the dumpling into her hand. "Your highness is much more insightful than me. And here I thought you were picking on me."
"One of us has to think ahead." He proudly added.
"Yes, your highness is the smartest of us two. So what are we getting mother?" She took a huge bite of the dumpling as she waited for his answer.
"I don't know yet. Why don't we look around and see." He suggested. She liked that idea. She always liked looking at things, even if she couldn't afford it.
She was beginning to feel hopeless after an hour of looking around. Everything here was to her liking but none were rare enough to gift the empress.
Pei Nan suddenly pulled her into a jewelry shop and skimmed his finger along everything out on display. Yu Mei joined him. The sparkles excited her. A white jade ring with a lotus carving captured her eyes. She didn't know how long she had been looking at it before she noticed Pei Nan was looking at her.
He was beginning to become hopeless because of her too. This whole time, he had been watching her reaction to everything carefully. This was the first time her eyes were really glued onto something. He finally found it.
Yu Mei quickly diverted her eyes away.
He picked up the ring from the table and carefully studied it. "You've got good eyes. Mother will surely like this." He said, giving the ring to the shopkeeper.
Yu Mei felt a bit of disappointment at first. If she had money, she would have bought it for herself. But when she thought about the empress owning it, she felt rather happy. Such a beautiful ring should go to the mother of the land.
Yu Mei watched him place the package into his sleeve. She didn't want to part with it.
He then looked at her. "Now that we are done, what should we do next? We still have half an hour to kill."
Without thinking, she put both her hands on her stomach. "I'm hungry! Can we get something to eat?" Her eyes widened.
He shook his head disapprovingly. "When are you not thinking about food? Fine!" He easily gave in to her pleading eyes. "We can go but you need to limit yourself. You've got to save room for lunch in a little bit." He reminded her.
"Of course I know that. But this is the only time I will ever get to visit Zhengzhou. I must eat my fills worth." She complained while still continuing to walk hand in hand with Pei Nan.
"Must you sound so depressed? I promise to bring you here every year from now on." Was his only reply. That reply was enough to make her happy. A little bit of warmth filled her heart. "Really?" She looked up at him.
Pei Nan stopped and stared at her. He arched his brow once more. "Would this crown prince really lie to you? If I lie, I will be struck by lightning." He swore.
A light laughter broke out from her mouth. "Your highness shouldn't be so serious. I was too excited a moment ago that I asked such a question. I believe you." She assured him.
After endless snacking and meeting back up with Feng Ju and Chu'mei for lunch, the four headed back on the road. Yu Mei was sitting in the carriage with her arms leaned on the window, head gazing out curiously. The streets of Zhengzhou were still bustling with liveliness. She would miss seeing this sight.
Pei Nan was also enjoying the view. The view of her childlike personality. This woman was truly like none he has ever seen before, he thought to himself. He wished they could have stayed more than two days at Zhengzhou but he had a country to defend. Responsibility to uphold. The stress slowly came back to him.
When they had passed the city gates and onto the muddy road, Yu Mei silently went back to her seat.
He was looking at her. Yu Mei toughened up and asked him. "What are you looking at? Is something on my face?"
"I'm just looking at your lips. Reminding myself of our kiss." He casually blurted. No lie in his words. He had indeed been looking at her lips. Yu Mei quickly covered her mouth with both her hands and glared at him. "Your highness, have you no shame?" She mumbled.
"Why? Are you embarrassed? Are you feeling something for me?" he teased.
"Your highness!" She removed her hands from her lips. "I am not embarrassed. It was after all only a small kiss. We were simply caught in the moment. Nothing more, nothing less." She tilted her chin up to challenge his accusations. She would never know how flustered she looked at the very moment. Only Pei Nan knew.
In less than a second, he had invited himself over to where she was sitting. His thighs lightly touched hers before he took a seat. Yu Mei's first reaction was to run to the other side. Her feet didn't make more than on step before he caught her and pulled her into his embrace. Her bottom sat snuggly in his laps, as if it was made for her. Pei Nan's arms wrapped around hers tight enough, leaving no room for escape.
"Your highness, are you not afraid they will see." She reminded him.
He didn't seem to be affected by her words. "Who? Feng Ju and Chu'mei?" He then placed his chin snuggly on her shoulder. "They are our people. Does it matter if they see or not? We are after all husband and wife." He roguishly explained.
"Pei Nan!" This time she used his name to scold him.
"Yes my sweetheart." He sweetly answered.
"Are you done playing?"
"I'm not playing." He innocently replied. "You said that it was only a small kiss. Since it's only a small kiss, surely you don't mind if I kiss you again." He inched his head forward and his lips found her cheek. A soft peck was imprinted onto her cheeks...her now burning red cheeks.
He was satisfied.
A smile once again appeared on his face. He couldn't recall just how many times he had smiled in these past two days. It was probably more times than he had in his entire life. When he thought about it, he became disheartened. He had been so focused in his own thoughts that he missed every single scolding word coming out of Yu Mei's mouth. Enough words to make a book.
He sighed.
"Pan Yu Mei, let me hug you like this just once." His voice was soft, filled with plead and distress; no longer sounding like the playful him a moment ago. Yu Mei herself sensed the change in his attitude. She stopped struggling.
This time it was her who turned her head to face him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He assured her. "I was just thinking…the future is unpredictable; we might not have another moment like this. I want to cherish every second I'm with you." He nuzzled his head comfortably on her shoulder. What was this comforting feeling he felt when he was with her. When he was with her, he did not have to act the role of the Crown Prince. Instead he could act like a real person. A person who was able to truly live.