Resplendent – Chapter 463

Chapter 463: Head of the Household

After the meal, Shangguan Fei left completely satisfied, taking with her the Liuwei Dihuang Wan Gu Ye had given, along with the crabs and fruits. Her pighead Prince still had to keep taking the Liuwei Dihuang Wan until the new medicine was ready. Of course, he also had to stick to a proper diet and get some necessary exercise.

She first returned to the Prince Manor and divided the crabs and fruits into three portions: one for Prince’s kitchen, one for her maternal home, the Marquis of Yongning, and the remaining portion she packed up to take to the most remote estate in the outskirts of the capital.

By the time she arrived at the estate, it was exactly when Prince Tai would normally go jogging up the mountain. At this moment, Prince Tai was lounging comfortably in a bamboo chair, legs crossed, gnawing on a large pork knuckle. In recent days, he had been climbing mountains and running, and could only eat bland, healthful meals, which had completely exhausted him.

Today, with his princess back in the capital, he could finally rest and indulge a little. His little servant even suggested finding a few pretty village girls from nearby, but he swatted the idea away with one hand! She had a house with a tigress in it. 

Did he dare? Wasn’t that asking for trouble? Besides, in his current condition, he could only watch, not eat—why invite misery upon himself?

He was here to recuperate, not to indulge! Once he recovered, he intended to give his Princess a child. Over the past two years, because of him, Fei had suffered quite a few grievances, something he never wanted to see. After finishing this pork knuckle, starting tomorrow, he would train diligently, cooperate fully, and strive to restore his health as quickly as possible!

“Nangong Liu!” A sharp, piercing scold made his hand tremble. The half-bitten knuckle slipped from his grip, tumbled onto the ground, rolled through the dirt, and was now completely inedible!

“Fei… Fei… Fei’er, how did you come back so quickly? I thought you’d stay in the capital for a few more days! Did you not manage to get the medicine? That’s fine, we still have enough for two more days. I’ll have someone look for Brother Jiang; he should know where the young lady is resting.” Prince Tai hurriedly wiped his hands on his clothes and stood up to greet her with exaggerated politeness.

Shangguan Fei lashed him once across the arm with her whip, glaring coldly. “What’s this? I came back so quickly yet you’re slacking off eating meat? What did you promise me? Is this what you call unconditional cooperation? And you still have the nerve to ask for medicine?! You deserve to be impotent for life! I’m telling you, if by this time next year your condition hasn’t improved, I’ll divorce you and marry someone else!”

Prince Tai gritted his teeth, clutching his injured arm. When he heard her last words, he nearly fell to the ground, wanting to cling to his princess’s leg. Seeing his wife truly angry, he quickly changed his tone, speaking as politely and earnestly as possible:

“I was wrong, I was wrong, isn’t that enough? I’ll absolutely obey from now on and cooperate fully with the treatment. Tomorrow I’ll go see Young Master Jiang and ask him to tell me where the young lady is. Fei’er… Good Fei’er, don’t be angry. I won’t dare again, I swear!”

“Can your oaths be trusted? You’ve disappointed me so much… I no longer believe your promises. I’m tired!” Shangguan Fei shook her head, taking two steps back, her tear-filled eyes brimming with disappointment.

Prince Tai’s heart ached. Immediately, he tried to prove himself with actions: “Fei’er, don’t cry. It’s all my fault. I’ll go exercise right now.” Let me kneel on the washboard at night and I’m not allowed to eat, until you calm down, is that okay?”

Shangguan Fei turned her head aside, wearing a look that clearly said she didn’t want to talk to him. Prince Tai rubbed his hands and paced around her, gritting his teeth: “From today on, I’ll run two extra laps and climb one more round up the mountain. Is that enough?”

In the past, making him run or climb was like trying to kill him.  Either some part of his body ached, or he had to haggle with her to skip a lap. Now, he was obediently increasing his workload, which completely surprised Shangguan Fei.

Seeing her ignore him, Princess Tai looked like a big dog that had just been scolded by its owner. Ears drooping, tail tucked, he obediently went to climb the mountain. Once he left the estate, Shangguan Fei immediately instructed the kitchen to prepare the crabs for a night-time crab feast.

When Prince Tai returned, exhausted and gasping, he saw a table full of delicious hairy crabs and wanted to pounce—but was hit with a crushing, indifferent ‘You can’t eat’ from his princess.

The poor guy, holding plain vegetables, tofu, and bland medicinal porridge, could only watch his princess feast on crabs. He looked utterly pitiful. He knew this was Fei’s punishment; the doctor never said he couldn’t eat crabs.

Prince Tai clutched his bowl, tears streaming like wide noodles, curling up in a corner at the table. The autumn wind blew desolately, and a single leaf drifted slowly to the ground. He endured the taste, eating worse than the servants back at the estate.

Seeing how pitiful he looked, Shangguan Fei shared the fruits she had brought back from the Duke’s Manor with him. When faced with the durian, Prince Tai assumed it was yet another test. He forced down the fruit, holding his breath like Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit, despite the urge to vomit.

Furious, Shangguan Fei kicked him out the door. What a waste! This was a precious fruit from the Muxi Kingdom, worth a fortune! 

“Get lost! Sleep in the guest room tonight!”

DANG! Even the right to cuddle with his wife was stripped away. Prince Tai clutched his little quilt, shuffling toward the guest room with frequent glances back—sniffling, “I’ll obey my wife from now on, no more pretending!”

The next morning, he got up extra early and, without waiting for his princess to whip him, began running laps around the estate on his own initiative. He wanted to behave well: he couldn’t make his wife angry again. Otherwise, the beautiful bride he had finally married might leave him!

Seeing that he indeed ran the extra two laps, Shangguan Fei rewarded him at breakfast with crab porridge and crab roe buns. Eating the delicious crab roe buns, Prince Tai fawned over her, “My Fei’er really is capable of anything! At a time like this, you managed to get such plump, juicy crabs!”

“That’s hardly my credit!” Shangguan Fei shot him a sidelong glance, exuding the air of a dignified young lady. Prince Tai, meanwhile, obediently massaged her shoulders and legs. Seeing him well-behaved, Shangguan Fei patted his head like one would a puppy and told him about her visit to the Duke of Zhen’s Manor yesterday.

“What? The Little Aunt Master is actually the Chus’ long-lost daughter? What a coincidence! She said she agreed to help me make the new medicine? That’s great!” Prince Tai grinned so wide it felt like his mouth might reach the back of his head. 

From now on, even if he had connections with the Sage Apothecary’s disciple, he wouldn’t have to grovel everywhere begging for medicine! His Princess truly was his lucky star!

“Wife, from now on, I’ll do whatever you say! Once my elder brother succeeds my father, we’ll move out separately, and in our home, you’ll be the head of the household!” Prince Tai declared.

Shangguan Fei stifled a smile and huffed: “Don’t go talking about all that yet. The important thing is to get your body in order. Remember, I’ll only wait for one year. If you don’t cooperate during this year, by this time next year, we’ll part ways—no hard feelings!”

“I’ll cooperate, I definitely will. Wife, you can’t leave me…” The Prince looked pitiful as he clung to his princess’s arm, nestling against her shoulder like a little bird. Too bad this ‘little bird’ was far too big, making the scene almost too comical to look at!