Their lips drew closer and closer, their breaths nearly intertwining.
Xiao Jingchen’s fingers tightened around his sleeve, his Adam’s apple bobbing as if in nervousness.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Wen Shuyu leaned back slightly. Her eyes curved into crescents, her lips unconsciously lifting as she gazed into Xiao Jingchen’s eyes. “What are you thinking? I wasn’t about to kiss you.”
“You’d definitely push me away again. I anticipated your reaction.”
Xiao Jingchen: “…”
Wen Shuyu took out Talisman Paper and a brush from her Storage Pouch, handing a set to Xiao Jingchen and spreading her own on the desk.
“I genuinely want to learn to Draw Talismans. Here, this is Talisman Paper and a Talisman Brush. You draw a stroke, and I’ll follow.”
Xiao Jingchen pressed his hands against his temples, then finally shifted his gaze back to the Talisman Paper on the desk.
Considering that Wen Shuyu was born with a Waste Spirit Bone Without Spirit Root and had no spiritual power, Xiao Jingchen paused briefly, but he still accepted the brush. “Alright.”
Fine. Since she wanted to learn, he might as well treat it as drawing.
The hall was quiet, with only the sound of brushes gliding over paper. An incense stick slowly burned down.
Outside the hall, several eunuchs and palace maids whispered among themselves. “What are His Highness and the Princess doing inside?”
“I went in earlier to serve tea and saw His Highness teaching the Princess to Draw Talismans.”
“Draw Talismans? Isn’t the Princess born with a Waste Spirit Bone Without Spirit Root? I heard Prime Minister Wen once spent a fortune seeking alchemists and divine healers, but none could cure her. How can she Draw Talismans without spiritual power?”
“You don’t understand, do you? This must be a new tactic the Princess thought up to get close to His Highness. Whether she can Draw Talismans isn’t important; what matters is His Highness teaching her hand in hand.”
A palace maid chimed in, “When I went in earlier to change the Princess’s clothes, she was soaking in His Highness’s bathing White Jade Pool, her clothes completely drenched.”
The others exclaimed, “What? Could it be that His Highness was bathing, and the Princess jumped in to tempt him?”
“Hiss! Don’t you think the Princess is incredibly bold?”
“Even after all that, His Highness didn’t kick her out and even taught her to Draw Talismans?”
“Exactly. His Highness is kind-hearted. I’ve noticed he never holds grudges against the Princess.”
“Yes, yes.” The group nodded in agreement.
Just then, the head eunuch spotted them and scolded, “What are you all doing, huddled together like this? Don’t you have work to do?”
Everyone hurriedly scattered.
…
After a whole day of Drawing Talismans, by the time Wen Shuyu returned to the Prime Minister’s residence from the Eastern Palace, evening had fallen and night was descending.
She pushed open the door to the Clear Bamboo Courtyard and was immediately pounced on by the Kylin Beast waiting for her.
Xiao Liu’s eyes lit up at the sight of her, nuzzling her neck. “Master! You’re back. I missed you so much today. Master, did you miss me?”
Wen Shuyu was a bit tired and nodded without thinking. “Yes, yes, yes.”
This delighted Xiao Liu immensely. It covered its mouth with a tiny paw, giggling softly, while scratching its little head with the other. “By the way, how did you pursue him today?”
Wen Shuyu replied, “I went to the Eastern Palace and had Xiao Jingchen teach me to Draw Talismans.”
Xiao Liu was puzzled. “Is this the first move of your forty-two strategies? Isn’t it too simple?”
Wen Shuyu shook her head with a smile. “This is just the beginning. Wait and see the show in the next couple of days. I’ll take you to watch it live.”
Once Xiao Liu let go of her, Wen Shuyu pulled out a Summoning Talisman from her Storage Pouch. “Fuling, send someone to inform Father that I’ve already had dinner at the Eastern Palace, so he needn’t wait for me.”
“Also, send someone to inform the Eastern Palace tomorrow morning, saying I’ve caught a chill and fallen ill, so I won’t be able to go find Brother Crown Prince tomorrow to continue learning to Draw Talismans.”
“Later, come find me. I have other tasks to assign to you.”
Fuling’s figure appeared outside the hall: “Understood.”
The next day, in the imperial palace, just after Xiao Jingchen returned from the morning court session, he received urgent news from his personal shadow guard Mo Yu.
His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as he asked, “She’s ill?”
Mo Yu nodded: “Yes. The Prime Minister’s residence sent word early this morning, saying she’s seriously ill and won’t be able to come today to learn talisman drawing from you.”
“Your Highness, after paying respects to the Empress later, will you go visit her?”
“Hmm.” Xiao Jingchen’s voice showed no particular inflection.
Whether it was Mo Yu’s imagination or not, he felt the Crown Prince’s aura seemed slightly unsettled, and his steps seemed to unconsciously quicken.
Mo Yu scratched his head.
A quarter of an hour later.
On the small path outside Kunning Palace, in the bamboo pavilion—a necessary route from the inner palace to exit the imperial grounds.
Xiao Jingchen had just finished paying respects to the Empress and was now preparing to visit the Prime Minister’s residence.
He looked up and instructed Mo Yu: “You go prepare some gifts, then invite the most respected Imperial Physician Hu from the Imperial Hospital to the Prime Minister’s residence. I’ll go first.”
Mo Yu responded: “Understood. What kind of gifts should this subordinate prepare…”
Before he could finish speaking, he saw the usually impassive Crown Prince’s expression suddenly darken slightly.
Following the Crown Prince’s gaze, Mo Yu widened his eyes—
Behind the dappled bamboo shadows, in the center of the hexagonal bamboo pavilion, sat two people who were unmistakably the “ill” young noblewoman and the Seventh Prince.
The Crown Prince had been sent to the Immortal Alliance since childhood and wasn’t particularly close with the other princes in the palace, but the Seventh Prince and the young noblewoman had grown up together since they were young and shared a very good relationship.
Looking closely at what they were doing—oh, unless one was blind, it was clear that the Seventh Prince was teaching the young noblewoman how to Draw Talismans.
This is bad. This was the only thought that flashed through Mo Yu’s mind.
The young noblewoman actually had the audacity to deceive the Crown Prince again.
Just as Mo Yu thought the Crown Prince would surely be angry.
Xiao Jingchen suddenly curved his lips into a smile: “So this is what you call being ill?”