This small chamber was never perfumed, and the two female officials were not inside. The only possible source sat there in a small bundle, flipping through a book, making one suddenly realize.
"Your Highness." Zhan Qin suddenly spoke, his tone not loud, yet in the quiet of the small chamber, it was like a stone dropped into a pond, startling Rong Li into a slight tremble. The silver spoon in her hand made a crisp "ding" sound as it knocked against the edge of the bowl.
"Imperial Consort?" Rong Li put down the Sushan in her hand and looked up toward Zhan Qin. Her eyes were clear, carrying a trace of startled alarm and the delight that welled up whenever she saw him.
The exquisitely crafted princess sat in such a humble little chamber, making that small volume of miscellaneous notes appear too crudely made, as if it might cut her fingertips that had never known a moment of hardship.
"Are you finished with your work?" Rong Li looked at him, a smile blooming on her cheeks.
"Why doesn’t Your Highness return to the residence?" Zhan Qin raised an eyebrow slightly, standing at the doorway as he looked at her. "This place… is not suitable for Your Highness."
Rong Li glanced around, her eyes curving into a smile. "What’s unsuitable about it?"
Without waiting for Zhan Qin to answer, she stood up and walked toward him, the golden butterfly hairpin at her temple trembling with each step. "I came to see where my husband stays when he’s on duty at the office and can’t return home. What’s wrong with that?"
Her eyes sparkled brightly, and Zhan Qin could see straight through them, finding not a trace of impurity—utterly different from the disdain that had involuntarily surfaced every time she looked at him in the past.
Zhan Qin was slightly taken aback when she suddenly leaned in close to him, standing on tiptoe and looking up at him with a small, self-satisfied air of having uncovered a secret. "I know why you want me to leave quickly."
Why?
Naturally, it was because this was his residence when he did not return to the estate, and no one else had ever been here. Moreover, it was because of her unusual state—the warm, fragrant scent grew stronger as she approached, and her cheeks and the back of her ears were flushed with a rosy hue she clearly hadn’t noticed herself.
Zhan Qin had no desire to cause complications in front of his subordinates, nor did he wish to speculate how much of her seemingly innocent behavior concealed the same malicious intent as before.
However, before the icy chill could gather in his eyes, Rong Li had already darted behind him. "I noticed it long ago! As soon as you came in, you deliberately blocked what’s behind you. You must be hiding many secrets here that you don’t want me to discover."
Zhan Qin couldn’t help but turn around with her movement, only to find that behind him was indeed a tightly closed cabinet shelf.
"Let me see what shameful things you’ve hidden in here." Rong Li quickly opened the cabinet shelf.
To her surprise, there was nothing inside—only piles of documents.
The little princess stared wide-eyed, even leaning her head in to take a look, muttering unconsciously, "It shouldn’t be like this. That’s not how it’s written in the storybooks…"
A flicker of understanding passed through Zhan Qin’s eyes.
So that was it.
She hadn’t noticed the unusual state of her own body, nor was she intentionally trying to unsettle him with such behavior. It was truly the storybooks that had led her astray, poisoning even the most noble princess of the kingdom.
Amidst the absurdity, there was an extremely faint, almost imperceptible sense of amusement that even he hadn’t immediately noticed.
It was like watching a naive spirit, meticulously dressed up to imitate human ways, yet so clumsy that it forgot to even tuck away its tail.
Zhan Qin's expression remained unchanged, yet the vigilance and chill that had risen in his heart due to her unusual state were quietly covered by a layer of more complex emotions.
Having seen her several times now, each encounter was utterly different from before. Perhaps that fall from the horse truly injured her, even abruptly increasing her patience—enough to engage with him for so long, putting on such a convincing act.
"Your Highness worries too much." He shifted his gaze away, no longer staring at Rong Li, and even made a gesture of "please." "This is an important government office. All items here follow strict regulations, and there is nothing that cannot be seen. If Your Highness is curious, feel free to look around."
His openness, however, caught Rong Li off guard.
Why was this so different from what was written in those storybooks?
He should have been stern yet unable to conceal his flustered attempts to cover things up. As the esteemed Princess, she should have easily uncovered his thinly veiled secrets, found some leverage, and then he would have had no choice but to immediately reconcile with her.
"Fine, I'll look." Rong Li narrowed her eyes, let out a disbelieving hum, and with her hands clasped behind her back, began pacing around the small, cramped study with an air of authority.
Her gaze swept over the meticulously made bed—only a hard cot and a porcelain pillow, not even a soft cushion in sight.
On the polished weapon rack hung several sabers and longswords. The desk was piled high with official documents and case files, with nothing but writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones—nothing else.
It was so clean and tidy it felt almost austere, even dull and boring to the Princess who had grown up in luxury, devoid of any human touch.
After circling the room and finding nothing, Rong Li stopped before the desk, somewhat disappointed.
The desk was cluttered with documents, the ink still fresh. A spent lamp sat beside it, the hardened wax pooling at its base. Her eyes swept over the scene with little interest, finally settling on the corner of the desk—where an open military strategy book lay, its handwriting starkly different from the miscellaneous notes she had flipped through earlier. Next to it was a pot of leftover tea.
The teapot was nearly empty, containing only a few coarse tea leaves she had never seen before.
Was this how her Imperial Consort usually lived?
The Princess's residence was adorned with gold and jade, supremely comfortable, while this place felt to her like the ascetic's meditation chamber described in books.
"You usually drink this? Let me try it." Rong Li frowned, as if trying to pour some of the leftover tea, but before she could lift the teapot, another hand with distinct knuckles brushed past the back of her hand and took it away.
"Your Highness's noble body need not subject itself to such hardship." Zhan Qin had, at some point, silently appeared beside her.
Rong Li knew he had come over just to take the teapot, but with him so close, separated only by layers of robes, she could almost feel the warmth emanating from him.
Her heart skipped a beat, then began racing.
The skin on the back of her hand, where he had inadvertently brushed against it, instantly felt as if it were on fire, igniting the lingering restlessness in her chest and abdomen with overwhelming force.
She could even smell the unique, cool sandalwood scent on Zhan Qin's clothes, mingling with the warm, sweet fragrance she herself hadn't noticed she carried, making her dizzy.
"I… I just wanted to taste what kind of tea you drink," Rong Li hastily withdrew her hand, murmuring.
Zhan Qin's gaze fell on the deepening blush at the side of her ear and neck.
Her snow-white skin and flower-like features made even the slightest blush strikingly conspicuous, now deepened into a full flush of rosy clouds that spread beneath her tightly wrapped cloak.
Zhan Qin watched her slightly trembling eyelashes and sensed that peculiar fragrance had grown noticeably stronger.
To confirm, he gently touched her cheek.
The heat flowing beneath her skin was far from normal, and Rong Li trembled at his touch, yet did not pull away. Instead, after he withdrew his hand, she lifted her moist eyes to gaze at him almost accusingly.
"Your hand is cool," Rong Li murmured, her innocent phoenix eyes tinged with a dusky, captivating hue, utterly unaware of the startling nature of her words. She tilted her flushed little face upward, looking at him with hopeful anticipation. "Husband, touch me again."
Her voice was soft and sticky, carrying an unconscious longing that brushed against his heart like downy feathers.
As Zhan Qin met her gaze, he felt the increasingly rich, sweet fragrance emanating from her body envelop him like a silken web, binding him tightly.
This was no jest.
The misty dampness in her eyes, the swollen flush on her cheeks, and the almost tangible sweetness in the air all pointed to an answer he had only suspected before but could now almost confirm—
Her Highness’s condition was not merely the confusion from her fall from the horse; there was a greater issue at hand.
The emperor’s meaningful admonition in the inner court that day, the jade box of rewards he had yet to open, and now Rong Li’s entirely abnormal demeanor… each piece fell into place.
Zhan Qin channeled his inner energy, sealing all the windows and doors around them.
The government office was no airtight fortress; hidden eyes might already be watching this small chamber.
"Your Highness appears unwell, as if suffering from heatstroke," Zhan Qin’s tone remained as steady as ever. "The office is humble, and the physicians here may lack skill. It would be best to return to the residence immediately and summon the imperial physician for treatment."
Sending her away again!
Amid the haze of her fever-addled mind, a stubborn defiance suddenly flared.
As the saying goes, never a third time—repeatedly telling her to leave, did they truly think the temper of Her Highness the Princess was made of clay?
"If you want me to leave, fine, but you must promise me one thing," Rong Li’s eyes burned with restless agitation. She was clearly unsteady on her feet, attempting to lean against a nearby table for support but stumbling slightly.
Zhan Qin instinctively caught her soft, feverish form, the scorching heat against his fingertips causing an almost imperceptible tremor.
Before he could steady her, she had already wound around him like a vine, a sly smile curling at her lips as she burrowed into his embrace.
"Your Highness!" Zhan Qin’s voice deepened abruptly as he tried to push her away.
Yet Rong Li’s fingers clung tightly to his official robe, her burning cheek pressed against his chest and abdomen through the fabric, the heat nearly searing him.
Seeing Zhan Qin stiffen, yet not daring to forcibly pry her hands away, Rong Li grew bolder, rubbing against him with a soft, satisfied yet distressed sigh, like that of a kitten.
"Promise me you’ll make up with me and stop being angry," Rong Li wound herself tightly around him in his embrace, then lifted her head to look at him, blinking her eyes. "Accompany me back to the residence, and don’t stay here anymore from now on, or I absolutely refuse to leave today."
"And don’t lose your temper with me anymore, or scold me."
Seeing her cling to him like sticky candy and hearing her string of demands one after another, Zhan Qin understood for the first time what it meant to give an inch and take a mile.
Rong Li felt utterly comforted and at ease. After snuggling for quite a while, he finally heard the person above him remain silent for a long moment before letting out a low, mocking laugh from deep in his throat: "Your Highness truly has a cunning plan. First, you ask me to agree to one thing, then you list such a long string of demands. May I ask which one Your Highness actually wants?"
As if deaf to his words, Rong Li found his hard muscles and bones a bit uncomfortable and simply grabbed his hand, placing it on his own face. With a sticky, clingy tone, he tossed out a new request: "Forget about all those earlier ones. Combine them all and exchange them for just one request."
"I’d like to hear the details."
"Kiss me."
Author’s Note:
Baby, you are a sweet and soft little cake!
I worked late tonight and came home late. As soon as I got back, I rushed to turn on the computer and post this. Sorry for the wait, babies! Love you all (giving each of you a kiss!