Had Yun Kui not been blinded by fear, had she been someone who thought twice before acting, she would never have acted so impulsively at this moment.
If she were a proper seductress, she ought to be cooing "Your Highness" in the most melting tones, writhing like a water snake beneath him as she welcomed his advances—
Not maintaining such crude posture.
By the time she realized it, it was already too late.
She clearly heard the man's breathing grow increasingly heavy and erratic, and moments later, the hall fell into deathly silence.
The quieter her surroundings became, the more distinct and intense the sensation on her chest grew.
Yun Kui no longer felt cold; instead, it was as if a fire had ignited from behind, burning her into a daze.
It wasn't that she hadn't considered nonchalantly moving his hand away, pretending she had accidentally placed it in the wrong spot, but… she tried twice, to no avail.
The man's palm was broad and heavy, his robust forearm corded with bulging veins. She gave it a light poke, but it didn't budge. Instead, his grip tightened, and the softness he was pressing into began to ache faintly.
Yun Kui bit her lip and pleaded in a small voice, "Your Highness, this servant knows she was wrong. Just let me go like passing gas…"
A cold sneer was her only reply.
When the Crown Prince was forced to touch her chest, he had indeed been momentarily stunned. Never had a woman dared to be so bold! Coupled with her earlier shameless inner thoughts, it was hard not to suspect that such behavior was meant to satisfy her own selfish desires.
After all, in her mind, his physique should be considered quite imposing?
At times, he wondered whether this girl was utterly foolish or cunningly profound, taking an unconventional path.
Admittedly, the moment she grabbed his hand and pulled it toward her, he had genuinely felt the urge to kill her.
But when his hand fully covered the soft, warm silk of her undergarment, the plump, rounded curve filling his palm, he thought that perhaps she didn't necessarily have to die.
The Crown Prince had suffered from a head ailment for many years, spending long periods in a state of mental instability. He was unable to think or communicate like a normal person, and could not even maintain stable emotions. Perhaps it was due to congenital weakness from premature birth, or perhaps other reasons—even the most skilled physicians could not determine the cause.
Yet because of this, he possessed martial prowess far surpassing ordinary people and a beast-like sensitivity to danger.
Once he sensed a threat, he would eliminate it immediately, leaving no room for hesitation.
She was the only one whom, despite multiple urges to kill, he had allowed to remain until now.
With his palm pressed against such softness, his perpetually agitated and furious heart unexpectedly calmed, as if soothed by a spring breeze.
Reason told him it was certainly not because he was bewitched by beauty—after all, other beauties couldn't even get close enough to touch a single finger of his.
Perhaps it was due to the soft, smooth texture, or perhaps the warm, pure aura she exuded.
His hand seemed to have a mind of its own, kneading slowly, while his thin lips brushed faintly against the pearl-like fair skin behind her ear. The man's gaze grew increasingly dark.
He finally understood why, though she appeared quite thin, she had been expelled from the needlework bureau for eating too much.
It turned out she wasn't skinny—the flesh had simply gone where it ought to.
The Joyful Union Powder within him slowly eroded his will with each movement, but he would not let an aphrodisiac dominate his entire mind, so he felt no urgency to proceed further.
Yun Kui was so nervous her entire body felt weak. His slow, deliberate movements should easily detect her frantic, chaotic heartbeat.
For some reason, she still felt she would die.
It would be the kind of death where air grows scarce and breathing suddenly stops.
Though she had never experienced it, she was certain that being caressed by the Crown Prince couldn’t feel the same as being caressed by a husband whose heart and eyes were full of you.
He was like a wolf that might rage at any moment, soothing the meal about to be devoured—because meat from someone too tense would be tough and dry.
"Attending the bedchamber truly isn’t a job for humans. Kui Kui is scared."
"So how much longer is he going to keep touching? Is he going to eat or not! If it’s really not working, he can’t just keep picking on this one! At least switch to another spot, sir!"
As she silently complained, that hand actually stopped. A moment later, it moved to the other one and continued.
Yun Kui: …
"Could he know what I’m thinking?"
"Probably not. He’s just tired from rubbing and changing his position."
"Not to be crude, but men really are naturally gifted in this area. They say the Crown Prince is lustful—turns out it’s true. He’s so skilled at this, he must have had plenty of… yikes."
The Crown Prince’s face darkened. Over the years, he had truly gained a notorious reputation—they’d even fabricated tales of his lechery.
"It’s over… it’s over, it’s over, it’s over!"
Yun Kui, originally dazed and disoriented, suddenly felt something strange beneath her and snapped her eyes wide open in fright.
The Crown Prince frowned deeply, his voice slightly hoarse. "What’s wrong now?"
Yun Kui instinctively clamped her legs together, her mind in complete disarray. "This servant probably… probably needs to use the privy. I beg Your Highness’s permission…"
The Crown Prince released the snowy mound in his hand, irritably closing his eyes. "Get out."
Yun Kui quickly glanced at the beddings and, seeing no stains, felt slightly relieved. Anxiously, she scrambled off the bed to dress. As she stepped over the Crown Prince’s legs, she accidentally tripped, her knee hitting the footstool. She gasped in pain but couldn’t afford to dwell on it. Grabbing her dress from the clothes rack, she hurriedly put it on and dashed toward the rear service room.
Never mind that she was still just a palace maid—even if she weren’t, she wouldn’t be entitled to use the privy in Cheng Guang Hall. The biting cold wind pierced through her as she ran, panting heavily. Afraid of arousing suspicion, she didn’t dare sprint openly.
Cao Yuanlu had never seen a palace maid leave midway through attending the bedchamber. Her odd behavior made him suspect she had stolen something from the hall or offended His Highness and fled in the chaos.
Uneasy, he hurried into the hall to check.
Seeing his master sitting by the bed with a grim expression, Cao Yuanlu was also startled. "Your Highness, earlier Yun Kui…"
The Crown Prince rubbed his fingertips, where the lingering warmth was gradually fading. His expression turned completely cold.
Cao Yuanlu, being a eunuch, couldn’t tell whether the effects of the Joyful Union Powder had been relieved. He only sensed that his master looked very displeased. A thought crossed his mind, and he asked, "Was that girl unsatisfactory in her service? Should this servant summon a few other bedchamber maids?"
The Crown Prince lifted his eyes, his tone icy. "Have you been bribed as well? So eager to push those women onto me?"
Cao Yuanlu’s face paled, and he hastily denied it. "This servant is utterly loyal to Your Highness! You may doubt anyone, but not me! I was only concerned for your health. This Joyful Union Powder… it harms the body."
As soon as he finished speaking, hurried footsteps were heard.
Yun Kui had returned.
Just moments ago, she had felt a strange warmth surge between her legs. Thinking it was her monthly cycle and fearing she might soil the Crown Prince's bed, she practically scrambled on all fours to the privy.
Her undergarments were indeed damp in a small patch, but it wasn't menstrual blood.
She had dreamed of damp beddings before, yet it was strange—she and the Crown Prince hadn't even shared a bed, so why would she…
There was no time to ponder this. Afraid of keeping the Crown Prince waiting, she merely wiped herself clean with soft paper and hurried back to resume her duties.
Ah, she didn't know what consequences might follow for interrupting the Crown Prince's mood.
Yun Kui adjusted her collar and cautiously entered the chamber. Seeing the figure seated on the canopy bed, she felt inexplicably parched: "Your Highness, please forgive this humble servant. Do you… wish to continue?"
The Crown Prince appeared disinterested, his face full of impatience: "Get out."
Yun Kui felt as if granted a great reprieve, suppressing the urge to smile as she said: "This servant takes her leave."
Once she was gone, Cao Yuanlu grew concerned again: "Your Highness, has the Joyful Union Powder been neutralized?"
The Crown Prince didn't answer, instead shooting him a cold glare: "You get out too."
Cao Yuanlu had no choice but to withdraw.
The long night stretched on. Though the Crown Prince's eyes were tightly shut, sleep eluded him.
With no one by his pillow, the potent effects of the Joyful Union Powder surged, clashing with his head ailment like two ferocious beasts tearing and wrestling within his body.
Pushed to his limit, he could only use a blade to slice bloody cuts across his forearm, using the pain to alleviate the unbearable sensation of alternating ice and fire.
His master hadn't summoned him all night, so Cao Yuanlu dared not disturb him rashly.
Early the next morning, he brought attendants to the chamber to assist the Crown Prince with his ablutions, only to be horrified at the sight: the Crown Prince lay beside the bed, his forearm covered in stark blood marks, hanging weakly over the edge. Blood dripped from his fingertips onto the step stool, then spread across the cloud-patterned wool carpet beneath the bed, some areas already dried.
"Your Highness!"
Cao Yuanlu's face paled dramatically. He immediately sent for Imperial Physician Zheng and stumbled to the canopy bed, his trembling hand reaching out. Before he could check for breath, a suddenly raised hand blocked him.
The Crown Prince didn't even open his eyes, his voice weary: "What, here to see if I'm dead?"
Joy instantly burst across Cao Yuanlu's face, though his voice trembled uncontrollably: "Your Highness, it's truly wonderful that you're alive! Is this… another episode of your head ailment? Or was the aphrodisiac too unbearable?"
The Crown Prince kept his eyes closed, fingertips pressed to his temple, his expression detached and unresponsive.
These bloody marks stirred memories in Cao Yuanlu from years past.
The Crown Prince had suffered from head ailments since childhood, enduring sleepless nights. Back then, Cao Yuanlu often witnessed him resorting to self-harm to relieve the pain. As the Crown Prince grew older, the head ailment never eased; it once drove him to mental instability, requiring killing and bloodshed to find release, which eventually led him to the battlefield.
There, he made his name in a single campaign, relentlessly driving Northern Wei generals into retreat. His extreme ruthlessness earned him the fearsome title "Jade-Faced Asura."
Cao Yuanlu sighed, pulling himself from his thoughts. His gaze returned to the Crown Prince's scarred forearm, tears now streaming down his face.
The attending palace maid, Si Yi, who had followed him in, was too frightened to approach. Cao Yuanlu wiped his tears, took the brass washbasin from her, and instructed: "Fetch gauze, scissors, and bring the golden wound medicine!"
Si Yi trembled as she acknowledged the order. Cao Yuanlu personally applied the medicine while she stood by, not daring to even breathe loudly.
It was no wonder she felt foolish—these were all personally selected by the Empress herself, including Si Men and Si Zhang, none of whom were timid or afraid of trouble. But there was no helping it; no matter how well they had learned the rules, no one could remain composed in the presence of the gloomy and terrifying Crown Prince.
The wound from last night, along with the earlier arrow injury being redressed, had taken up nearly half the day.
At lunchtime, Yun Kui was assigned to serve dishes to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince's condition fluctuated, but unlike before, he was no longer mostly unconscious. The kitchen had begun preparing meals for him over the past two days.
Each meal consisted of at least sixteen dishes and four soups. Palace attendants filed into the hall, and in no time, the table was fully laid.
Yun Kui had heard about what happened in Cheng Guang Hall—the imperial physicians had been busy for half the day before leaving. The Crown Prince must have had another episode last night.
She stood by with her head bowed, not daring to look into the Crown Prince's eyes.
Only when the Crown Prince took his seat at the table did she cautiously glance up, intending to sneak a look at the dishes, but she abruptly met his bloodshot eyes and shuddered all over.
"Boss! Last night, you were the one who told me to get lost!"
"You've already touched and kneaded me—you can't just turn your back on me now!"