As any travel-worn person with a kidnap attempt and hasn't slept for nearly three days would do, Han Aeng woke with a series of tired yawns.
In the comfort of a soft bed, she snuggled her head into the pillow, hugging the blanket tightly around herself.
"Wait outside."
"But it will be late, Your Highness."
The chattering of foreign tongue forced her tired eyes open. Making out figures of people waiting behind the screen, she jolted up, sitting as straight as she could.
"Then… your servants will wait outside."
...I ended up sleeping like a dead pig. Oh, my neck.
Han Aeng stretched herself out on the bed and slowly climbed before proceeding to stretch her fatigued body once more.
She was the type of person who had a strict morning routine, but she was also the type of person whose brain didn't function properly after a deep sleep. So she didn't think too far when she stripped off the heavy red wedding clothes and stared at her new set of clothes with a tilted head.
Compared to Jeontu's puffy hanboks, Shangwei's hanfu were much more relaxed, consisting of three outer pieces; a top, a skirt, and a jacket. The skirts weren't puffy but rather slid off the body. Instead of sitting over the skirt, the hanfu's top went inside the skirt; and was separated by a delicate waistband. The jacket's sleeves also weren't fitting but relatively wide with enough space to stuff a baby inside.
Half asleep, Han Aeng dressed herself up and mused over the difference in clothing fashion. In a sense, Shangwei's clothing was more form-fitting than Jeontu's, but she liked the new style of dress. It was beautiful.
The only issue was that she had no clue how to wear it properly, and she could only blame herself for not paying attention when the old woman tried to teach her how to dress.
Heavens only know how horrible she was at tying together a few strings. But in her defence, there were too many ties and insufficient instruction on how and where to secure them. Besides, Nanny Na helps her change, so there was no real reason to dress in complicated clothes by herself.
At the same time, Long Dahai stood there kneading the back of his neck. He stayed up all night guarding her like he promised, and after sending away the servants, went to wake her up when he noticed she'd gone to change.
He couldn't explain what it was, but the moment she stepped out of the sedan, there was a certain royal touch to her movement. It was undeniably attractive how his bride seemed to command an air that demanded respect. He admired that.
But now that he was watching her fight against the fabric, he couldn't help but question if that halo was simply his nerves playing tricks with him.
As she fiddled with the strings, the grin on his face doubled. How she managed to mess up such a simple procedure was beyond him.
He only thought, now that she wasn't wearing all the heavy clothing, she looked so much smaller than before.
The grin on Long Dahai's face suddenly dropped, being replaced with crimson red cheeks. Feeling like a pervert watching her change, he quickly turned to face the other way.
Meanwhile, Han Aeng was slowly growing more frustrated. "That's it. I'm getting help from the maids."
Just as she reached for the door, Long Dahai's hand came from behind her, propping the doors in place.
Her eyes grew wide as she turned around to face his chest. Startled by the close proximity, she quickly dragged her face up.
Their eyes locked.
This was the first time Han Aeng had actually seen her husband. Last night she didn't register his face in the darkness, and today, she simply glossed over the fact that she was married and didn't bother looking for him!
The first thing Han Aeng noted was how strikingly mesmerising his eyes were.
A particular shade of brown, that was a mixture of honey and freshly tossed soil. Like the trunk of an evergreen tree holding the nobility and majesty of its leaves every season, they looked reliable. His eyes were captivating in the sense they held an unspoken sense of comfort, warmth and stability.
However, her fascination with his eyes only lasted a moment, and she quickly thought to herself, this man will scare me to death if he popped out of nowhere like that. I'm here after surviving a kidnapping, you know. Do you think it's easy being such a wanted target?
At the sight of her surprise, Long Dahai put space between them, "My apologies, benwang didn't mean to scare you. It is best to leave together."
There were too many eyes around, and this wedding was too high profile to tarnish with strange rumours. They didn't have a cloth to prove the consummation of their marriage, and Long Dahai didn't know if Luo Li managed to complete the task he gave. So the very least, they could show others that they were on good terms.
Han Aeng quickly muttered, "Of course. I'm sorry for walking off."
Long Dahai observed her. She managed to wear her hanfu, but the loose string around her waist bothered him. He reached out to her but halted mid action. The thought of being close to her had rendered him bashful to offer help.
Was he always this reserved?
Han Aeng noticed his gaze and suddenly grew self-conscious, squirming at his inspection. "Ahaha."
"Shall we?" In the end, Long Dahai figured she would ask if she needed help - oh, how horribly wrong he was.
Han Aeng nodded in response, hugging herself tighter in the likelihood that the unsuccessfully tied robes would fall down at any given moment.
Long Dahai opened the door, his frame effectively blocking her from the servant's view.
He stood unmoved for a moment before abruptly turning around and shutting the door behind him.
Han Aeng stepped back in surprise, shrinking into herself. "Your highness?"
Despite her worry, he only took off his outer coat and gently draped it over her shoulders. "The clothes can be a little complicated."
"Oh!" Her eyes grew wide. "Thank...you…"
Feeling proud of himself, he stepped out with Han Aeng trailing behind him.
The maids and eunuchs who greeted them examined the couple. They concluded Han Aeng's flustered appearance and the suspicious coat draped on her shoulders were to hide their prince's relentless dotings.
They were the second group of servants to serve guard for the night, so they were ignorant of the previous night's commotion. With their prince's ordering them to stay in the outer courts, they couldn't be blamed for their wild imagination of what happened behind closed doors, for piecing one and two together. Newlyweds, first night, too tired to wake up, the two shadows by the doors a few moments ago, loose robes. Gosh, their faces were burning up in their own wild imagination. Heavens only knows how swoon-worthy that hand to the door when she was about to leave was.
"Wangfei, shall we go?"
Long Dahai and Han Aeng went their separate ways to get changed and prepare to pay respects to the Long family.