Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the three layers of curtains, Jiang Sese groggily turned over and found her arm resting on something warm.

Jiang Sese closed her eyes and touched something strange. She suddenly opened her eyes, blushed, and let go of it.

Xie Jue lay beside her, one hand pinned beneath her, the other casually resting on her waist. His breathing was even, his eyes closed, and his long hair was scattered on the pillow, intertwined with hers, making it impossible to tell whose hair it was.

Jiang Sese's mind went blank for a moment.

Jiang Sese subconsciously glanced out the window—it was already bright daylight, and the sun had risen.

Shouldn't he be attending court at this hour?!

She married the second busiest man in the Dayong Dynasty, and she had long been mentally prepared to spend the second day of her marriage alone in her room.

"Xie Jue!" Jiang Sese jumped, quickly nudging his shoulder. "Get up! Did you oversleep? You'll be late for the morning court session!"

Xie Jue frowned slightly as she pushed him, but didn't open his eyes. Instead of loosening his grip on her waist, he tightened his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. His voice was low and hoarse from just waking up: "...No court today."

Jiang Sese was held tightly in his arms, unable to move. She looked up at him anxiously, "Not going to court? How can you not go to court? Will His Majesty be angry? What will happen to the cabinet? Isn't there a grand court assembly today?"

Xie Jue was finally forced to open his eyes by her barrage of questions.

Xie Jue looked down at her anxiously furrowed brows, a faint smile appearing in his eyes. His voice remained its usual lazy, low tone, but unusually patient: "According to regulations, officials of the Great Yong Dynasty are entitled to marriage leave, which is two months at home, with travel time calculated separately. Speaking of which, I've benefited from the Princess's favor; originally, I was entitled to ten days of marriage leave, but His Majesty, out of consideration, granted me three more days."

Jiang Sese blinked, her mind still processing the term "honeymoon leave".

Wow, I never imagined that officials in the Great Yong Dynasty could have marriage leave! So advanced and humane, and for two whole months?!

I'm jealous.

Jiang Sese couldn't help but ask, "Really? Then why is it only thirteen days?"

"I am preoccupied with many state affairs, and Your Majesty's granting me thirteen days is already an extraordinary act of kindness." Xie Jue smiled, pulled her back into his arms, closed his eyes, and gently rested his chin on the top of her head, his tone slightly indistinct.

"So, we don't need to get up early today, let's sleep a little longer."

Jiang Sese was held against his chest, listening to the steady heartbeat in his chest, and only when she was sure that he would not be dragged to be flogged by Emperor Jingyuan for skipping work did she finally relax.

Jiang Sese snuggled closer to him, finding a more comfortable position, and closed her eyes.

After less than three breaths of silence, Jiang Sese suddenly opened her eyes again, looked up at him, and said, "Wait, you said His Majesty gave you three extra days—did he already know you wouldn't be able to get up today?"

"...His Majesty has been through this before."

"Why didn't he give you a few more days? Only thirteen days? That's so stingy!"

"...Serene."

"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore."

Jiang Sese buried her face in his chest and chuckled softly.

Hongdou and Fuyun had already woken up, but neither of them dared to knock on the door.

Shutong was waiting under the eaves with hot water when Qingshuang gave her a wink, so she took the copper basin back.

Jiang Sese nestled in his arms, then suddenly remembered something and tried to sit up: "Oh right, I almost forgot, we still have to serve tea to Mother!"

Xie Jue kept his eyes closed, his tone calm: "I already spoke to my mother yesterday about postponing the tea ceremony to tomorrow. She needs to rest today and doesn't have time to choose your gift."

Xie Jue suddenly opened his eyes again, stared at Jiang Sese and said, "If you can't sleep, we can do something else."

He tried to pull Jiang Sese back into his arms, but this time he couldn't budge her. Jiang Sese was determined to get up, struggling like a two-hundred-pound child: "No, no, this won't do!"

Jiang Sese truly discovered that this person was extremely disciplined when adhering to the rules, but when the rules applied to him, he became extremely unruly!