Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 2

Liu Fenyun was utterly exhausted. After quickly treating the scratches on her face, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

It wasn’t until the next day, when the sun was high in the sky and she was woken by the tap of the white cat princess, that she remembered she hadn’t even asked the cat’s name the night before.

The State of Zhuohuang used “Sha” as its royal surname, and she had married the Seventh Princess Sha Lan-yi, but the princess was originally of the demon race, so she naturally had another name.

In this world, the human and demon races were separate, and the demon race wouldn’t easily reveal their names to humans. However, perhaps because she was pleased last night, the big white cat didn’t mind telling Liu Fenyun her true name: “My name is Lianyi, the same ‘Lianyi’ used for herbal medicine. Privately, you can call me Yiyi.”

Liu Fenyun, who had always dealt with medicine, blurted out, “That’s a good name.”

The second half of the sentence, “I like it,” was subtly swallowed back.

“Are you going to get up?” Lianyi asked her. “How were you served by your attendants when you were in the State of Liuzhi? I’ll go and instruct them.”

Liu Fenyun sighed, “I was sent to the Imperial Medical Academy to learn medicine since I was little. Forget about being served by anyone; my master wouldn’t even let me sleep in! Besides, I’m disguised as a man, so it’s more convenient for me to act alone.”

Lianyi pondered for a moment and said, “Then I’ll instruct them not to get close to you?”

Liu Fenyun nodded happily, not noticing the slight curve of Lianyi’s lips.

After she bound her chest and put on a thick outer robe, Lianyi instructed the maidservants to bring in the washing items, asking them to leave the basin, utensils, and soft cloth before leaving.

As soon as the maidservants left, Liu Fenyun took the initiative to approach, pick up the basin, wet the soft cloth, and wash Lianyi’s face.

While wetting the cloth, Liu Fenyun saw the snow white cat ears on Lianyi’s head twitch, and she was instantly stunned, forgetting to wring out the cloth.

“Why are you staring at me?” Lianyi asked.

Liu Fenyun quickly wrung out the cloth and carefully said, “Your Highness’s cat ears are showing again. I want to… rub them.”

Lianyi stroked her cat ears, “So you like my demon form that much, do you?”

Liu Fenyun nodded. Just when she thought Lianyi would agree to let her rub them, the pair of cat ears were retracted.

“Kiss me, and I’ll let you rub them again,” Lianyi curved her eyes and smiled at her.

Liu Fenyun was taken aback. Seeing that Lianyi didn’t seem to be joking, she finished wiping her face and, half-skeptical, leaned in and lowered her face.

She was slightly taller than Lianyi, so lowering her head allowed her to kiss Lianyi right on the brow bone.

A brief, light touch.

Lianyi let out a soft sound, clearly not satisfied. Before Liu Fenyun could pull away, she suddenly embraced her, tilted her head, and kissed her on the lips, a soft object naturally slipping inside.

Caught off guard, Liu Fenyun choked and coughed. She hastily pulled away, covered her flushed face, and turned her head.

She had forgotten that the demon race was naturally skilled at such things!

“I… I kissed you. Where are the cat ears?” The heat on her face hadn’t subsided, but Liu Fenyun brazenly asked.

Lianyi, however, laughed and said, “No, your kiss was too reserved. This time doesn’t count. I’ll only let you rub them if you’re not reserved.”

Thinking of what Lianyi meant by “not reserved,” Liu Fenyun felt her cheeks burn again.

She couldn’t be brazen when kissing someone.

Seeing her embarrassment, Lianyi just pursed her lips and smiled, then instructed the maidservants to bring up lunch.

The two had slept past the breakfast hour, so they decided to combine the two meals.

Before long, the table was filled with steaming hot dishes. Lianyi was a demon and didn’t like being served by others. After the servants delivered the food, bowls, and cutlery, they withdrew from the bed-chamber, closed the door, and left the two to eat.

While Lianyi was serving sweet soup, Liu Fenyun surveyed the dishes and noticed that most of the table consisted of sweet flavored items, likely because the cat preferred a sweet taste.

Remembering that greasy and overly sweet food was not suitable for a sick person, as it could easily harm the stomach, Liu Fenyun, just as Lianyi picked up her chopsticks, quickly placed some light, savory vegetable dishes in her bowl.

Lianyi’s chopsticks paused. She frowned and said, “I don’t like these.”

With that, she picked up the vegetables and put them back.

Liu Fenyun had seen many patients who didn’t adhere to dietary restrictions. She picked up the vegetables, ate them, and unhurriedly asked, “Does Your Highness always eat so pickily?”

Lianyi picked up a piece of honey-glazed roasted meat into her bowl and, hearing the question, asked back in surprise, “So what? We cat-folk naturally don’t like to eat vegetables.”

“But Your Highness has taken over a human body; your organs are different from when you were a demon, and you can’t just eat meat,” Liu Fenyun advised. “What’s more, the Seventh Princess’s body is sickly. Eating too much greasy and sweet food is very bad for the stomach and intestines. By the way, does Your Highness often feel a stabbing pain in your stomach after meals?”

Lianyi stopped her chopsticks.

Seeing the change in her expression, Liu Fenyun quickly served a small bowl of vegetable soup and a plate of plain sliced meat, handing them to her. “How about Your Highness tries these first? Perhaps your stomach will feel better.”

Perhaps truly having not eaten many vegetables, Lianyi ate very slowly, swallowing them with a frown.

These lighter dishes were originally specially prepared for Liu Fenyun the food in the State of Liuzhi was generally mild, and she was afraid the consort would not adapt to the strong flavors of the State of Zhuohuang.

Liu Fenyun accompanied her in eating the lighter dishes, occasionally putting a piece or two of roasted meat in her bowl to satisfy her craving.

Adjustment needed a process; it wouldn’t happen quickly, and she couldn’t rush it.

After the wedding, they could no longer wear wedding attire. After the meal, Liu Fenyun changed into the clothes she had brought from the State of Liuzhi.

Lianyi saw her put on a dark cyan undergarment and a black, butterfly embroidered cotton outer robe, tied with a dark green hair ribbon, and accessorized with a white jade and black silk waist pendant. She looked quite refreshed, and the style was simple, though the clothes appeared slightly too large on her.

To maintain her male disguise, Liu Fenyun absolutely could not find a tailor in the State of Zhuohuang to measure and make new clothes.

Even if her appearance and voice were disguised to resemble a man, she was still a woman.

“Husband looks quite handsome in this outfit,” Lianyi praised, then wrapped her arms around Liu Fenyun from behind, rubbing against her back and whispering, “I like it.”

She then naturally took Liu Fenyun’s hand, intending to go out with her to pay respects to the Monarch.

Liu Fenyun quickly stopped her and found a fox fur cloak to tie around her.

“It’s cold outside, Your Highness should wear something warm before going out!”

It was currently the winter month in the State of Zhuohuang, with white snow falling constantly. Even when it wasn’t snowing, it was extremely cold.

Touching the soft fox fur, Lianyi’s narrow, long eyelashes fluttered twice. Looking at her new “husband,” she found the situation increasingly amusing.

The Lady-in-Waiting was already waiting by the carriage in the courtyard. Lianyi led Liu Fenyun into the carriage and sat down on a seat padded with several layers of cushions. She took the small hand warmer handed to her by a maidservant, and just as she held it to her chest, she started coughing. Once she started, she couldn’t stop.

Liu Fenyun quickly lowered the carriage curtain to block the cold wind, opened her embroidered pouch, and took out medicine for her.

“After we’ve seen the Monarch, I’ll prescribe some new medicine for Your Highness,” Liu Fenyun said after suppressing Lianyi’s cough. “If you decoct and take it daily, and regulate your body for a while, Your Highness won’t be afraid of the cold anymore.”

Unexpectedly, Lianyi’s expression changed instantly. She shook her head. “I won’t drink decocted medicine!”

Liu Fenyun was stunned. “Why?”

Lianyi stammered an explanation, and Liu Fenyun realized that since she took over the body of the deceased Seventh Princess, the thing she hated most was drinking medicine.

The medicine was too bitter, so she wouldn’t drink it.

No sugar was given, so she wouldn’t drink it.

The bowl was too hot, so she would smash it and have the person who prepared the medicine whipped.

She was willful to the extreme.

After hearing this, Liu Fenyun had a bit of a headache. She did have recipes for pill-based treatments, but decocted medicine was still quicker to take effect.

Thinking for a moment, she tentatively asked, “Your Highness refuses to drink the medicine because you are afraid of the bitterness, right?”

Lianyi lowered her gaze and softly acknowledged it.

She was terrified of bitterness.

The carriage was jolted by a small stone on the road. The curtain lifted a corner, and Lianyi, unprepared, let out a soft cry. She took in another gulp of cold air, shivered, and shrank her neck.

“I’ll prepare the medicine for Your Highness,” Liu Fenyun pulled the curtain tight, moved over, and held her in her arms. “I have special techniques for preparing medicine, and I guarantee Your Highness will drink it comfortably.”

Lianyi looked at her with skepticism.

She had her own sources of information and already knew that Liu Fenyun was a physician from the Imperial Medical Academy of the State of Liuzhi, but she hadn’t heard anything about her medical skills. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but be curious and replied, “You can try.”

The carriage quickly entered the Inner City. Although this was a royal-use carriage, the shock absorption was still inadequate. Even though the seat had been layered with several cushions before departure, Lianyi was still made uncomfortable by the bumps, and her cherry lips had lost color.

Liu Fenyun knew at a glance that she was carsick. She immediately had her lean on her, took her hand, and massaged her Neiguan (PC 6) acupoint.

Fortunately, the Inner City roads were flatter than the Outer City. Lianyi recovered after a short rest, but she didn’t leave Liu Fenyun. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Liu Fenyun and slowly drew circles on her back.

Liu Fenyun was ticklish. She suppressed a laugh and asked, “What is Your Highness doing?”

“I draw circles every time I ride in a carriage into the Inner City,” Lianyi said, already starting the third circle. “Every time I draw the thirteenth circle, we’ll have arrived.”

The Seventh Princess’s body was just eighteen years old, only two years younger than Liu Fenyun. Lianyi was a long-lived demon, having lived for decades or even hundreds of years, yet she was doing something a child would do for amusement.

Hearing her serious explanation, Liu Fenyun couldn’t help but smile, enduring the tickle and letting her continue drawing on her back.

Just as the thirteenth circle was completed, the carriage indeed stopped. They heard the attendant outside say, “Your Highness, we have arrived outside the Banquet Hall. The Monarch does not seem to have left the court yet. Does Your Highness want to go back to the Saintess Hall to rest first?”

The Seventh Princess’s official title before her death was Saintess, responsible for rituals and sacrifices. The State of Zhuohuang fundamentally did not tolerate the demon race, but the Seventh Princess Sha Lan-yi was the reincarnation of a Saintess. According to the “Reincarnation Succession System,” even if her body was possessed by a demon, as long as she survived and did not cause trouble, her identity could still be that of a Saintess.

Lianyi, however, said, “No, let’s find a sheltered spot and wait for Father Emperor.”

Liu Fenyun had already opened the system map and checked the distance between the Saintess Hall and their current location. If it were her, she wouldn’t want to go there either.

According to the map provided by the system, the left was considered the position of honor in the State of Zhuohuang. The Divination and Rites Hall, responsible for observing the stars and ritual propriety, was located on the left side of the palace and was scarlet red. The Saintess Hall, responsible for sacrifices, was located on the right and was creamy white.

“When you see the Monarch later, you must also address him as ‘Father Emperor,'” Lianyi instructed the attendant, then turned to Liu Fenyun and taught her a few sentences of greeting.

They didn’t wait outside for long before they were permitted an audience. They got out of the carriage and walked towards the Banquet Hall together, kneeling before the Monarch to pay their respects.

The Monarch of the State of Zhuohuang was dressed in a fire-patterned dragon robe and wore a ceremonial crown. He had the distinctive slightly curled, long beard of the foreign race.

When he looked at Liu Fenyun, his gaze was intense and imposing.

After examining the consort for a moment, the Monarch finally spoke, “Is the Saintess satisfied with this person?”

Lianyi bowed and smiled calmly, “Daughter is satisfied.”

Liu Fenyun also bowed along with her.

She kept her head respectfully lowered and did not notice that the hidden murderous intent in the Monarch’s eyes dissipated because of Lianyi’s words.

“Since that is the case, let him remain by the Saintess’s side to serve,” the Monarch raised his hand. “Bestow the Consort Seal.”

A female official standing behind him acknowledged the order, presented the Consort Seal, and walked towards Liu Fenyun.

The female official was wearing a plain, fire-patterned priestess robe, with a sheer veil covering her face. She also had slightly curled brown hair, but her eyes were not the unique deep blue eyes of the Zhuohuang royal family.

Liu Fenyun knew this person was the Grand Priestess of the State of Zhuohuang, named Luo Binglun, whose status was second only to the Monarch. After kneeling down and thanking the Monarch, she quickly stood up to receive the seal.

The moment their eyes met, Liu Fenyun suddenly noticed a look of pity in the Grand Priestess’s eyes.

That kind of look… was like looking at a small beast about to be hunted.

Guessing that the Grand Priestess pitied her for “marrying” a cat demon and might not live long, Liu Fenyun accepted the Consort Seal without changing her expression. After kneeling again, she squeezed Lianyi’s small hand.