Chapter Text
NOT ENOUGH
| On the day of their marriage returning, Xie Zheng decides to give Changyu something. It is, according to him, not much. Changyu disagrees |
----
Fan Changyu’s hand drifted to the space beside her, fingers brushing cool sheets where warmth should have been.
She opened her eyes to the pale morning light filtering through the lattice window.
Empty.
She sat up slowly, the quiet of the chamber settling around her.
It was the day she had entered his household, their wedding day returning.
He had been unusually attentive to it.
For months.
“I did not think the Prince Regent would concern himself with such trivialities,” she had remarked once, when he had paused mid-reading to bring it up again.
“Court responsibilities and military duties are not enough to keep you occupied?”
Xie Zheng had cleared his throat at that, the faintest trace of embarrassment slipping through before he masked it.
It was true.
No one would expect him to take note of such things. His days were filled with matters of state, decisions that weighed upon the entire realm.
Why would something so ordinary—something observed quietly by common households—hold his attention?
Because of her.
Nothing about Xie Zheng remained predictable when it came to Fan Changyu.
He could command armies without hesitation, dismantle court factions with measured precision, and yet, with her, he was…different.
So much so that she had more than once been forced to remind him—
“Yan Zheng,” she had said, using the name he once bore in Lin’an, the one that had somehow remained hers to use, “you must be mindful of how you conduct yourself with me in public.”
“What do you mean?”
He truly did not understand
They were married. Nothing he had done should be considered improper. If he had, perhaps, pulled his wife aside during the young emperor’s birthday banquet-at the height of the fireworks, no less—and did not stop at a single kiss… that could hardly be called excessive.
And if a few overly curious palace maids had witnessed it and carried the story beyond the palace walls, that was hardly his concern. He would not fault them for it.
If anything, it was well that people knew how devoted he was to his wife.
“When we are in public, the Prince Regent must conduct himself with restraint. Do you not agree?” she had said with a sigh, clearly exasperated. "Taking me away like that, in the middle of an official celebration—does that not seem unlike a Prince Regent?”
He had paused then.
She was not entirely without reason.
…But neither did he see any need to conceal his affection.
They were not overly familiar in public, in any case.
Well—
Not often.
He had, on occasion, been somewhat less restrained.
And he had since learned to exercise a measure of control—if only to avoid having his fingers broken by his own wife.
“From now on,” she had continued, as though laying down military orders, “when we are in public and not required to appear together, you will remain two feet away from me.”
A pause.
“Two feet?”
“Yes.”
“One.”
“One and a half.”
“Half a foot.”
She had stared at him.
“Fine! There is no winning with you.”
Today, it seemed, was one of the days he had no intention of being restrained.
Fan Changyu rose from the bed at last, her long hair falling loose over her shoulders—barely concealing the faint marks left behind from the night before.
She clicked her tongue softly.
“…This again.”
But where was he?
She caught sight of a maid’s silhouette waiting just beyond the chamber doors. Drawing her robe loosely around herself, she stepped forward and opened them.
“Where is the Prince Regent?”
The maid bowed immediately.
“General, the Prince Regent instructed that I assist you in preparing for today.”
Fan Changyu paused.
So—he truly had made plans.
She had thought, perhaps, they would simply remain within their chambers. Rest.
It was rare enough that neither of them was pulled away by duty.
(…Not that she had expected him to keep her in bed the entire day.)
That would have been—
She exhaled, cutting the thought short.
“What preparations?” she asked instead.
The maid hesitated—just slightly.
“This servant would not presume to understand the Prince Regent’s mind, General—especially today.”
Fan Changyu frowned.
That did not sound reassuring.
Somewhere beyond the residence, a light breeze stirred—carrying with it the faint scent of blossoms from the inner garden.
She had a feeling—this was not going to be simple.