“Of course.” Chu Zhaohuai said, “His Highness and I are already husband and wife. Although we may not be able to continue the family line, it is only right that I take good care of His Highness.”
The secret guards: “…”
They nearly had to pinch themselves to stay conscious.
How could they possibly be allowed to hear about the Prince’s private affairs in bed?!
Yin Chongshan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at Ji Xun in disbelief.
Your Highness! This is such blatant disrespect. And you’re not even going to kill him?
Ji Xun did not kill him.
Instead, he actually let out a muffled laugh. With a wave of his hand, everyone immediately withdrew as though they had just been granted a pardon.
Chu Zhaohuai breathed a sigh of relief and awkwardly tried to climb down from the bed.
“I’ve offended Your Highness. I’ll just—uh.”
Ji Xun suddenly grabbed him by the ankle and, with a slight tug, dragged him back.
Chu Zhaohuai was startled. He widened his eyes and stared at him.
Ji Xun smiled.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to get closer to me? Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
The look on Chu Zhaohuai’s face, like a startled golden hamster, was simply too amusing.
The smile in Ji Xun’s eyes became much more genuine. His cool fingertips slowly reached toward the gauze veil covering Chu Zhaohuai’s face.
Although Ji Xun did not particularly care about his appearance, he liked his voice—the soft Jiangnan accent that he couldn’t hide, sweet as if dipped in honey. And when he was frightened, the trembling, tearful quality in his voice was almost intoxicating.
A destructive desire surfaced in Ji Xun’s eyes, impossible to conceal.
It was like loving a little bird perched in the palm of his hand so much that he wanted to close his fingers around it and crush that fragile, warm little creature in his palm.
If he knew the truth about Chu Zhaohuai’s identity, perhaps Ji Xun would be able to watch him tremble in fear, crying and begging for mercy. Then he could make him repeat, word for word, all those ridiculous rumors he had personally spread in that trembling voice…
Suddenly, Chu Zhaohuai silently leaned forward.
Ji Xun’s hand paused.
Chu Zhaohuai’s slender arms gently circled Ji Xun’s neck. His body, dressed only in a thin sleeping robe, felt as soft and light as a cloud as he pressed against him.
The twisted desire in Ji Xun’s eyes suddenly receded like a tide.
Chu Zhaohuai had brought this upon himself.
He didn’t want to expose his identity, so he could only force himself to get closer to Ji Xun.
Besides, the two of them had already completed their wedding rites. Surely Ji Xun couldn’t possibly beat him to death, right?
Fortunately, Ji Xun didn’t seem to dislike it. He neither spoke nor pushed him away.
Chu Zhaohuai secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
With their bodies pressed together, Chu Zhaohuai could clearly feel that Ji Xun’s body was unnaturally hot. His heartbeat was pounding like a drum, and his breathing seemed to quicken for a moment.
The divine physician silently took note:
Extremely rapid heartbeat. Excessive body heat. The pulse at the neck is rapid and forceful… Hmm, there also seems to be a slight obstruction.
Not certain.
The opportunity was rare.
Almost instinctively, Chu Zhaohuai pressed his cheek lightly against the blood vessel at Ji Xun’s neck.
Indeed, the pulse was somewhat sluggish.
It seemed that there was an eighty to ninety percent chance he had been poisoned.
Just as Chu Zhaohuai was about to press closer and examine it again, Ji Xun finally reached out, grabbed him around the waist, and gave him a slight push.
Chu Zhaohuai stumbled backward.
His collar had come loose, exposing his slender neck and sharply defined collarbones, so pale that they almost seemed to glow.
Ji Xun tilted his head and said calmly,
“If the Princess Consort is truly looking forward to being intimate, why not move in and sleep with me?”
Chu Zhaohuai thought to himself:
Sleep with you in an ice cellar?
If he spent even one night sleeping under that thin quilt, his life would probably be over.
He hurriedly said,
“My health hasn’t been very good these past few days, and I can’t tolerate the cold. In the future, I will certainly share a bed with Your Highness.”
The excuse was so flimsy that even Chu Zhaohuai felt embarrassed.
He had already prepared himself for Ji Xun to mock him mercilessly.
Instead, he heard Ji Xun softly hum.
“Mm. Then go back to sleep.”
Chu Zhaohuai froze.
He quickly climbed down from Ji Xun’s legs.
“Then I’ll go back first.”
He ran away barefoot.
Ji Xun remained sitting on the bed.
Outside the window, the cold wind lifted his dark hair where it rested over his shoulder. His expression was completely blank as he stared at the candlelight glowing inside the canopy bed.
After a long while, he raised his hand and touched his neck.
The blood vessels beneath his skin were throbbing violently.
It was burning hot.
Inside the canopy bed, it was warm as spring.
Chu Zhaohuai curled up beneath the blankets and spent a long while recovering from the ordeal. Then he tilted his head and thought about it.
Something wasn’t right.
Ji Xun smiled even when he was killing people.
So why hadn’t he smiled just now?
He had even looked cold and refused to look at him.
Could it be that he really wanted to sleep with him?
Chu Zhaohuai shuddered.
He hurriedly closed his eyes and went to sleep.
He didn’t dare think about it anymore.
Early the next morning, Chu Zhaohuai once again slept until the sun was already high in the sky.
He was still half-asleep when the commotion outside woke him.
“Young Heir! This is the Princess Consort’s bedchamber. You entered without permission. This… this isn’t proper! If His Highness finds out—”
“He’s not a woman. What’s improper about it? Move.”
“Young Heir, you mustn’t!”
Chu Zhaohuai yawned and looked outside.
Ji Yi strode in wearing a bright red robe, his expression dark and his presence as fiery as his clothes.
Behind him, Steward Zhao was sweating profusely as he tried and failed to stop him. All he could do was bow apologetically to Chu Zhaohuai.
“Princess Consort, the Young Heir is here.”
The Young Heir looked extremely fierce. He had probably been standing outside in the cold wind for quite a while, because his cheeks and ears were bright red.
Chu Zhaohuai forced himself to wake up.
“What does the Young Heir want?”
He had eaten too many candied oranges the previous day, and his throat was slightly hoarse when he woke.
Ji Yi glared at him.
Chu Zhaohuai’s heart tightened.
Could something have gone wrong with Liang Fang’s medicine? Is that why he looks so murderous?
That shouldn’t be possible.
Although Liang Fang’s poison was difficult to cure, even if the medicine had been ineffective, it shouldn’t have made his condition worse.
While Chu Zhaohuai was thinking, Ji Yi suddenly clapped his hands.
Several burly guards entered from outside.
Chu Zhaohuai instantly became fully awake.
Before he could even become alert, he saw the guards carrying several large chests into the room.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They dropped them onto the floor one after another.
Judging from the sound, they were quite heavy.
Chu Zhaohuai stared blankly.
“What are these?”
“Candied oranges,” Ji Yi said coldly. “Don’t you love these? This Young Heir brought you eight large chests. They’ll be enough to last you until the Lantern Festival.”
Chu Zhaohuai: “?”
Candied oranges were delicious, but no matter how good something tasted, eating too much of it would eventually become tiresome.
Yesterday, Ji Xun had sent him three chests, and after eating half a chest, Chu Zhaohuai had already felt like throwing up.
And now there were eight more?
Chu Zhaohuai frowned.
“What exactly do you mean?”
Ji Yi hesitated.
His hand clutched the jade pendant at his waist. After struggling for a long time, he finally mumbled,
“After taking three doses of your medicine yesterday, Liang Fang is already jumping around full of energy. I… this Young Heir… wanted to… thank you.”
Chu Zhaohuai said, “Oh.”
But instead of looking happy, he looked worried.
“Even miracle medicine wouldn’t work that quickly. Young Heir, perhaps you should first consider whether Young Heir Liang is experiencing a brief surge of energy before death?”
Ji Yi: “…”
Ji Yi had wandered around outside for half an hour just to gather the courage to thank him.
Now, hearing this, he glared at Chu Zhaohuai.
“Just take them! Why do you have so much nonsense to say?”
Chu Zhaohuai was puzzled.
How is that nonsense?
Ji Yi’s face turned bright red.
He awkwardly said,
“Before, Liang Fang was listless every day. He would fall completely asleep every two quarters of an hour. Today, he actually managed to stay awake for more than an hour before falling asleep. So… that medicine must… must be working.”
Chu Zhaohuai was shocked.
“You call that jumping around full of energy?”
Ji Yi saw that Chu Zhaohuai kept contradicting him and assumed he was deliberately making fun of him.
His embarrassment immediately turned into anger.
“Do you want the candied oranges or not?! If you don’t, I’ll buy you something else!”
“I want them.”
Chu Zhaohuai hurriedly nodded.
“Just put them there.”
No reason to refuse free things.
Ji Yi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The blush on his face still hadn’t faded. He didn’t dare look directly at Chu Zhaohuai and instead turned his head away, mumbling,
“Your medical skills… cough… are passable, I suppose. But what exactly is your background?”
“That’s a secret.”
Ji Yi glared at him.
Then he said,
“Then let this Young Heir see your face!”
Chu Zhaohuai coughed and deliberately tried to frighten him.
“I’m terribly ugly. My face is covered in rashes, birthmarks, and pockmarks. I’m as ugly as a person can possibly be. I’m afraid I’ll scare the Young Heir into having nightmares.”
Ji Yi frowned.
Seeing that Chu Zhaohuai was obviously talking nonsense, he finally gave up asking.
But when he heard how hoarse Chu Zhaohuai’s voice was, he casually asked,
“Are you sick? The residence has excellent medicine. Just use whatever you need.”
Chu Zhaohuai hummed.
He was just about to answer when Ji Yi suddenly seemed to realize something.
He abruptly let out a loud cry and jumped up.
“You can live or die as you please! This Young Heir can’t be bothered with you! I’m leaving!”
Chu Zhaohuai: “…”
Why is this child so jumpy?
Ji Yi rushed out of the canopy bed as fast as his legs could carry him, looking as though a wolf were chasing him.
His throat felt uncomfortable from eating too many candied oranges, and Chu Zhaohuai was listless and had little appetite.
After Ji Yi left, he rested for a while before finally getting dressed and climbing out of bed.
Eight chests had been placed outside the canopy bed, filling the space almost completely.
Chu Zhaohuai casually glanced over.
His appetite suddenly returned.
Of the eight chests Ji Yi had brought, the top four were actually filled with glittering gold and silver.
Judging from the amount, they were probably worth at least twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver.
A note was attached to the chests in bold, flowing handwriting:
“Little New Year’s Eve Gambling Stakes.”
Chu Zhaohuai instantly became delighted.
Suddenly, he felt comfortable everywhere.
That dog son really is generous.
But hadn’t he won more than ten thousand taels on Little New Year’s Eve?
Where had all the extra money come from?
Chu Zhaohuai didn’t think too much about it. He simply assumed he had forgotten the exact amount.
He called Steward Zhao to help move everything inside the canopy bed.
Then, in a rare display of generosity, he gave one entire chest of candied oranges to the servants of the residence.
Steward Zhao became even more convinced that the rumors were unreliable.
The Princess Consort was so well-behaved and adorable.
How could he possibly be the spoiled young master described in those rumors?
Rumors really can ruin a person’s reputation.
Chu Zhaohuai happily put away the gold and silver.
After thinking for a moment, he asked Steward Zhao,
“Where did His Highness go?”
Steward Zhao answered cheerfully,
“His Highness left the city before dawn. He should have gone to the hunting grounds.”
Chu Zhaohuai blinked.
“Oh. Isn’t he going to suppress the bandits?”
“His Highness has never liked doing exhausting, troublesome things. Besides, the assignment came directly from His Majesty, so there is probably some hidden motive behind it.”
Steward Zhao laughed.
“If His Highness doesn’t go suppress the bandits, he must have his reasons.”
Chu Zhaohuai: “Oh.”
Isn’t this steward a little too loose-lipped?
He just casually told me that His Majesty might be up to something?
At that moment, a gatekeeper came in to report.
“Princess Consort, someone outside is asking to see you. He says he is from the Marquis’s residence.”
Chu Zhaohuai was counting his money.
Hearing this, he looked up.
It seemed he had expected this all along.
“Let him in.”
Before long, one of Chu Jing’s personal attendants was brought in by Steward Zhao.
The attendant got straight to the point.
“Princess Consort, the Marquis asked me to tell you—”
Before he could finish, Steward Zhao smiled and said,
“Is this the etiquette of the Marquis’s residence? You don’t even perform the proper formal greeting when meeting the Princess Consort?”
The attendant froze.
Chu Zhaohuai sat upright in the principal seat, wrapped in a cloak trimmed with fox fur.
His eyes were lowered as he leisurely sipped his tea, deliberately putting on an air of dignity and elegance without even raising his head.
In only a few short days, the Eldest Young Master, who had never been valued in the Marquis’s residence, had become the exalted Princess Consort.
The attendant hesitated before finally kneeling and performing the formal greeting.
“Greetings, Princess Consort.”
Only then did Chu Zhaohuai raise his eyes.
He put on an impressive air of authority.
“What message does the Marquis have for me?”
The attendant glanced at Steward Zhao and hesitated.
Chu Zhaohuai understood immediately.
“Uncle Zhao, please step outside for a moment.”
Steward Zhao didn’t ask any questions. He nodded and left.
Only after the room was empty did the attendant speak.
“The Marquis said that Madam Bai’s belongings have been sorted out over the past few days. He asks the Eldest Young Master to return to the Marquis’s residence and inspect them personally.”