A single, suppressed drop of sweat fell onto her shoulder, blending with the fragrance of the medicine on her neck.
Xie Yao let out a soft whimper as his large hands tightly gripped her waist, while he coaxed her gently, over and over again. By the end, as her consciousness faded into complete exhaustion, she couldn’t even tell which round had been the final one.
The third day was supposed to be the traditional visit to her maiden home. However, by the time Xie Yao opened her eyes, it was already nearly noon.
“You went to sleep late last night. Fearing you would be exhausted, I had someone send a message to the Xie residence saying we would visit tomorrow instead.”
The culprit who had teased and coaxed her so thoroughly spoke up, looking impeccably dressed and refined.
The Xie family no longer had any elders she was truly close to; even if she returned, all she would see were relatives harboring hidden motives. Xie Yao was more than happy to skip the visit, but she couldn’t just forget last night’s wild behavior.
“You should have woken me earlier today,” she said, lifting her still-sore arms as she propped herself up to sit.
In the end, she had stayed conscious enough the previous night that, when he carried her out of the bath, she remembered to ask him to fetch her clothes.
Gu Changze still possessed a shred of conscience. Seeing that she was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open, he personally helped her into her sleeping robes. Yet the moment Xie Yao lifted an arm and her sleeve slipped down, the red marks scattered across her fair, jade-like skin were impossible to miss.
Remembering the shy expression on Qingyu’s face when she had helped with her hair and makeup that morning, Xie Yao immediately felt her cheeks grow hot again.
Back at Prince’s residence, she had never slept in this late. She had only just moved into the Eastern Palace, yet after the wedding she had already slept until midday for two days in a row. If word got out, how could the people throughout the palace possibly fail to guess what the newlyweds had been up to?
“You were exhausted yesterday. Sleeping a little longer is nothing to worry about. In the Eastern Palace, I still have the final say.” After speaking, Gu Changze calmly brought her a cup of tea from the table. He had even noticed the hoarseness in her voice and thoughtfully attended to it.
During the day, Gu Changze was the very image of a refined and gracious gentleman. No matter how hard Xie Yao tried, she could not reconcile that image with the fierce man he became at night. Clearing her throat, she finished the tea.
After resting for quite a while, Xie Yao finally regained her composure. Once Qingyu had helped her wash and dress, lunch was served in the front hall, and she ate together with Gu Changze.
It was early March, the finest season of spring. After sleeping until noon, Xie Yao finally felt some of her energy return. Her courtyard occupied the most desirable location in the Eastern Palace. Just outside lay pavilions, terraces, and waterside galleries. Every furnishing and decorative piece had been selected with meticulous care. The red silk decorations from the wedding had not yet been removed, and bright red lanterns still hung beneath the eaves. Suddenly, Xie Yao felt the urge to go out and have a look around.
On her wedding day, Gu Changze had carried her back. Yesterday, after returning from paying respects to the Emperor and Empress, she went straight inside and fell asleep again. All told, she had spent three days here without properly seeing the Eastern Palace.
“I’ll accompany you.” Setting the book aside, Gu Changze rose naturally, took her hand, and led her outside.
During the half month after returning from Shanglin Garden, Xie Yao had often visited the Eastern Palace. Back then, she had only seen the front court and thought its decor simple and elegant. She had never expected the rear residence to reveal an entirely different world of exquisite luxury.
Not to mention the cool stone paths paved with white jade, the courtyard was filled with an abundance of flowers and plants. Bathed in the warm early-spring sunlight, they bloomed in full splendor, lifting one’s spirits at a glance. Yet Xie Yao remembered that during her previous visits to the Eastern Palace’s front court, she had never seen so many flowers.
“Your Highness enjoys tending these as well?” Stopping outside a pavilion, Xie Yao’s eyes lit up with delight at the sight of magnolia blossoms stretching along nearly half the covered gallery.
Many magnolia trees had been planted at Prince Xie’s residence, but few could compare to these. Even the varieties cultivated in the Eastern Palace were unlike those found elsewhere.
Gu Changze looked up, taking in her unconcealed joy. “When I was recuperating, I had plenty of idle time, so I brought some here and raised them myself.”
Xie Yao pointed to another flowering plant beside the magnolias. “And this flower beside them… I don’t recall seeing it very often in the capital.”
Gu Changze cast it a glance. “That one was brought back from the borderlands when I was stationed there.”
The moment he mentioned the border region, Xie Yao’s interest was immediately piqued. Her father, Prince Xie, had spent years guarding the frontier, and once her elder brother was old enough, he had gone there as well. Although she herself had never lived there for long, she had always been curious about the place where they spent so much of their lives.
“Could Your Highness tell me more about it?”
The anticipation shining in her eyes stirred something in Gu Changze’s gaze. Taking her hand, he led her into the pavilion. “The wind is strong outside. Be careful not to catch a chill.”
Tea and refreshments had already been prepared inside. As soon as she sat down, Xie Yao fixed her eyes on Gu Changze, waiting eagerly for him to continue.
“I did not spend much time at the frontier either. On the few occasions I went, the one who received me was always Father.”
Xie Yao paused for a moment before realizing the “Father” he meant was her own father.
“Father spent many years on the frontier. He’s open and straightforward by nature, yet on official matters, he’s completely impartial. The longest stay I had there was three years ago. I remained for a full six months, living alongside the guards, drilling troops, and training for battle every day. Whenever I did something wrong, Father never cared that I was the Crown Prince. He would reprimand me outright.”
There was not the slightest hint of complaint in Gu Changze’s voice, but the story still drew a smile from Xie Yao.
“Father always wears such a stern expression. Even at home, I used to hear that the soldiers under his command were afraid of him.”
“Not just the soldiers. Back then, I was afraid of him too.”
Gu Changze raised a brow slightly and let out a soft laugh. “In the six months I spent there, I only saw him bend the rules once.” His smile deepened. “And it was for the Crown Princess.”
Xie Yao’s curiosity was instantly aroused.
Gu Changze’s gaze settled on her. Seeing that she seemed to have completely forgotten the incident, a subtle flicker crossed his eyes.
“If I remember correctly, the Crown Princess visited the frontier once that year and nearly went missing.”
Xie Yao nodded almost immediately. “That happened during the height of summer three years ago. I did go there once.”
That summer, her elder brother, Xie Hui, had been wounded. She accompanied Princess Consort Xie to the frontier to visit him and stayed there for a time.
“During a clash between the two armies, I wandered off on my own and lost my way. Even the servants attending me got separated from me. Father ordered his soldiers to turn back and search for me, but in their haste they took the wrong route and nearly walked into an enemy ambush.”
It was one of the most perilous experiences of her life.
“That day, I hid in a cave and could hear the sounds of swords clashing outside. I was terrified. At the time, I truly thought… I probably wasn’t going to make it out alive.”
Xie Yao let out a soft laugh. Looking back on it now, the memory stirred more reflection than fear.
“And then?” Gu Changze asked.
“I met someone in that cave.”
The sky had already grown dark that evening. The newcomer burst into the cave covered in blood, a cloth masking the lower half of his face. Xie Yao had been frightened, but the youth appeared to be about her own age, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he hovered on the verge of unconsciousness.
Princess Consort Xie’s family were skilled in medicine, and Xie Yao had learned a little herself. Summoning her courage, she gathered medicinal herbs from outside the cave to stop his bleeding. The two spent the night huddled together for warmth inside the cave.
“When I left at daybreak, he gave me a painting.”
Gu Changze lightly rubbed his knuckles together, something flickering in his eyes. “You still remember it so clearly. You must have been very fond of that painting.”
It was difficult to say whether she had loved the painting itself. Rather, on that frightening night, it had given her much courage. Had she not met that young man, she did not know whether she would have found the courage to leave the cave at all.
“When I left, we even agreed that if fate allowed, we would meet again someday. Unfortunately, from the moment I walked out of that cave, I never saw him again.”
A trace of regret crept into her voice.
Lost in her memories, Xie Yao failed to notice the look in the eyes of the man sitting across from her.
After a long silence, Gu Changze finally spoke. “Perhaps he never intended to break his promise.”
Xie Yao smiled, unconcerned. “Whether we met again or not, whether he kept his word or not, none of it really matters. Back then, war was raging. What could be more important than being safe and sound and having a healthy body?”
Gu Changze’s hand tightened slightly around his teacup. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he finally nodded. “That is true.”
“I already know about Father’s part in that incident. Were there any other stories? Your Highness, tell me more.”
The two sat in the pavilion, chatting idly about Prince Xie. To her surprise, Xie Yao discovered that Gu Changze seemed intimately familiar with many details about both the frontier and her father. She eagerly pressed him with question after question, gradually filling in the gaps in her understanding of the place where her father and brother had spent so much of their lives.
From time to time, laughter drifted from the pavilion. No matter how turbulent things might have been beyond its walls, the Eastern Palace basked in tranquil peace that afternoon.
They remained in the pavilion for most of the day. As evening approached, someone arrived to summon Gu Changze away, and only then did Xie Yao return to her own courtyard.
“Did any rumors spread outside today?”
Xie Yao had not forgotten what the Noble Consort had said outside Qianqing Palace the previous day. Since Chancellor Xiao had brought Xiao Min to kneel before Cining Palace, the matter must have spread throughout the entire palace.
“I specifically asked around,” Qingyu replied. “Everyone is keeping their mouths shut. No one has mentioned it.”
Although the proposed marriage between Xie Yao and Xiao Min had once caused quite a stir, Xie Yao was now the Crown Princess. For word to spread that Xiao Min had drunkenly called out her given name would do no one any credit and would only invite gossip and criticism.
Xie Yao was somewhat surprised by Qingyu’s answer.
“Truly?”
“Perhaps the Empress Dowager warned those below her not to discuss it and didn’t want the matter to grow any larger.”
Even Qingyu found it a little strange. Yet it was true. Throughout the entire day, not a single person had openly discussed Xiao Min’s drunken misconduct on the night before.
Xie Yao rubbed her temples. Thinking of how the Empress Dowager had punished Xiao Min and then tested her intentions, it seemed perfectly reasonable that she would also choose to suppress the matter.
No longer dwelling on it, Xie Yao turned and returned to her courtyard.
Gu Changze did not return until 7:30 in the evening. By then, Xie Yao had finished dinner, bathed, and sat in her room in her everyday robes. The dim, flickering lamplight illuminated the gentle, lovely contour of her profile. Resting her chin on her hand, she quietly flipped through a book. Though visibly exhausted, she hadn’t moved an inch from the table.
Gu Changze silently slipped the book from her hand, causing Xie Yao to gasp and look back. “Your Highness?”
“You’re so sleepy; why didn’t you turn in earlier?” Gu Changze asked gently, his gaze resting on her drowsy eyes.
“You mentioned when you left that you would return tonight. Since I had nothing else to do, I thought I’d wait a little.”
She had stayed up despite her deep exhaustion just to wait for him. Gu Changze’s eyes softened. Reaching out a long arm, he drew her into his embrace, wrapped his hand around her slender waist, and buried his head in the side of her neck as he spoke softly. “Have you bathed?”
The chill he brought in from outside seeped into Xie Yao, making her soft body tremble slightly. She nodded. “I have.”
“I bathed in the front courtyard just now as well.” His hand tightened around her waist, and his voice grew husky as he looked at her beautiful face.
“Let’s retire early tonight.”
Xie Yao’s eyelids fluttered, and she gave a small, tentative struggle. “Your Highness, I’m still feeling a bit sore.”
Although a day’s rest had made her feel much better, Xie Yao knew just how fierce he could be at night. If he made a fuss and carried on for half the night again like yesterday, to say nothing of visiting her maiden home tomorrow, the servants in the Eastern Palace would be laughing at her first. She bit her lip lightly, her eyes darting around. Gu Changze’s gaze rested on her face, his lips pressing close to her earlobe as he planted soft, fuzzy kisses there.
“Is that true?”
Xie Yao blinked, gently pressing her lips together. “Mm…”
Gu Changze looked at the flush spreading across her face, a flicker of amusement flashing in his eyes. “Since A-Yao is feeling unwell, I naturally won’t force you. We’ll simply go to sleep together then.”
Hearing him say this, Xie Yao let out an inner sigh of relief, assuming he hadn’t seen through her lie. She closed the book in her hand and walked over to the bed with him.
At 7:45 in the evening, the lights in the main courtyard of the Eastern Palace were extinguished. All was quiet at first, but before long, the delicate, breathless gasps of a woman broke the silence inside the room.
“Your Highness… what are you doing?”
“I’m checking to see if the marks on your neck from last night have healed.”
The man who had been lying quietly by her side had leaned over at some point, his cool fingertips expertly parting her lapels.
“They’re fine… it wasn’t much of an injury to begin with.”
Teased into a flutter at her core by his gentle caresses, Xie Yao bit her lip and tried to shrink away.
“A-Yao always loves to tell lies. I’m not reassured, so I had better inspect them myself.”
In the darkness of the night, the man let out a low chuckle. His tall frame pressed down over her soft, warm body, and with a flick of his fingers, her white nightshirt floated down lightly onto the floor.
Soon, unrestrained moans and suppressed, heavy breathing filled the quiet chamber, and once again, the red candles flickered through the long night.