A’Yuan, your sister has used the Jade Cream you made and it is excellent. I am somewhat embarrassed to ask, but could my A’Yuan tell me if this product can be used to apply on the feet?—With regards, ZhiweiJune had just entered the summer season, and the nights were still somewhat cold. Occasionally, a cool breeze would drift in through the window, causing the candle flame to flicker gently.Yinzhen sat on the soft couch, holding a Buddhist scripture in his hands, listening to the occasional sounds coming from behind the folding screen.A soft, pattering sound.Behind the screen, Ye Nanyuan was bathing.Perhaps out of consideration for his presence outside, the sounds were not loud—soft and subtle. But the night was too quiet, and those deliberately restrained sounds were all the more alluring.At the very least… Fourth Prince stared at the book in his hands, unable to take in a single word.Su Peisheng did not know what relationship this young lady had with his master, but he didn't need to look elsewhere—just the fact that his master had kept her here this late at night was proof enough that she held no small place in his heart.His master was famously indifferent to women. Such a thing would never have happened with anyone else, but here he was, making an exception for her this late at night. Naturally, Su Peisheng dared not linger nearby and get in the way.After fetching hot water, Su Peisheng retreated far away.When the sound came from behind the screen, Yinzhen did not react for a moment. He looked around, and only after confirming that Su Peisheng was not there did he walk over himself."What is it?" He set down the Buddhist scripture in his hand.Behind the screen, the young girl's voice trembled slightly. She seemed embarrassed to speak, and it was only after a long pause that she finally said: "Could… could you help me get a piece of clothing?"Yinzhen's eyes flickered. He reminded her: "Your clothes were sent in together just now. They're on the tray by the washstand. Look for them yourself.""I… I know." She bit her lip, hesitating: "It's… it's only a nightgown."She was from the Jiangnan region, and her voice resembled that misty water town—soft, sweet, and lingering: "B-but there's nothing underneath, so it… it would show through."For a moment, Yinzhen did not understand what she meant."What?"The young girl's voice sounded like she was about to cry, her trailing tone trembling: "The… the nightgown is too sheer, and the… the bodice is too dirty…"The snow-white nightgown would conceal nothing. Without the bodice, her figure would be fully visible.He immediately stiffened and casually grabbed one of his own outer robes.A hand quickly emerged from behind the screen. On her wrist, as soft as congealed cream, was strung a string of Buddha-Lotus Jade Beads, wrapped twice around her slender wrist. The ink-jade beads made her wrist look even fairer."Thank you."The moment her fingers touched the hem of the robe, that hand quickly withdrew. Yinzhen also hurriedly averted his gaze.His body rigid, he drained the cold tea from the table in one gulp.When footsteps sounded, he instinctively turned his head.Ye Nanyuan came into his view—her jet-black hair cascading behind her, draped in his dark outer robe, standing prettily before him.He was tall and imposing, while she was far too petite. Shrunk inside a robe twice her size, she looked as small and delicate as a little snowball.Seeing her like this, Yinzhen smiled: "Why are you standing there?" He reached out his hand: "Come here."The young girl cast him a shy glance, then lowered her head. His robe was far too large for her—it dragged on the ground with a long excess. She bit her lip, looking troubled, as if she didn't know what to do.After a moment, she carefully reached out and lifted the hem of the robe.Yinzhen had been smiling, but when his gaze followed hers down to the ground, the smile on his face immediately froze.Beneath the dark robe's hem were a pair of bare feet.Small, white, about the size of his palm. The nails at the tips gleamed with a soft pink luster—slender, fair, and even. Perhaps sensing his gaze, those feet arched slightly upward.Delicate as crescent moons.Yinzhen drew a deep breath and turned his face away. When he spoke, his voice carried an involuntary hoarseness: "Why aren't you wearing shoes and socks?"The young girl tilted her head, her feet shyly tensing. Her jade-like toenails pressed against the floor as she was too embarrassed to speak: "It hurts…"Beneath the candlelight, those tender, jade-white feet bore numerous small, fine scratches.Dark desire churned beneath his hooded gaze. Yinzhen lowered his eyelids to suppress his expression, then drew another deep breath and rose to his feet.He strode forward and scooped her up in his arms in one motion.Startled, the young girl let out a cry and instinctively hooked her arms around his neck: "M-master?"Yinzhen looked down at the face in his arms—fair and delicate, without a trace of makeup, yet naturally elegant and alluring. Every feature was exquisitely refined.Phoenix eyes half-curved like amber, vermilion lips like a single cherry blossom.This face could be called a heavenly beauty without exaggeration.And now this face was right before him, timidly gazing into his eyes. Her clear, bright eyes held not a trace of impurity, burning with a heat like fire.She was born seductive and alluring, yet innocently naive and guileless.Yinzhen curved his lips and asked her: "What are you looking at?"The little girl immediately turned her face away, lowering her head to reveal a pair of ears flushed crimson with shyness. Seeing her so bashful, Yinzhen let out a soft chuckle and continued walking forward.Just as he lifted his foot, the person in his arms suddenly replied in a soft, delicate voice: "Master."Tender and gentle, the words seemed neither to call him nor to answer him, yet the wrist resting against his neck quietly tightened.
Yinzhen gently placed her on the soft couch.He lifted the hem of her robes and crouched down to apply medicine to her.The moment her sole rested in his palm, the person on the couch instinctively shrank back, letting out a long, thin whimper: "It tickles…"Yinzhen raised his head and saw the young girl's eyes glistening with watery light, flushed red.He took a deep breath, expelling the turbid air from his chest, and when he spoke again, his voice was already hoarse: "Don't make such sounds.""Master?"The person on the couch tilted her head again, her expression utterly innocent… Yinzhen's dark, deep eyes contracted, and the hand cradling her foot tightened in an instant.The touch in his palm was slick and soft, like a ball of warm snow that might melt in his grasp with just a bit more pressure.The palm holding her foot began to burn, emotions churning in his eyes.Yet she sat on the couch with such a guileless look.The Fourth Prince closed his eyes, his hoarse voice like a dried-up riverbed as he commanded: "Don't smile, don't make sounds, and don't call me."After speaking, he never raised his head again.Those feet were right before him, the glistening toes suddenly tensing, then slowly relaxing bit by bit.Like a peony blooming abruptly, right before his eyes."Alright." The person on the couch murmured softly, and Yinzhen's taut body suddenly relaxed.He crouched, carefully applying the medicine with serious, gentle movements—over the instep, the heel, the sole—meticulously, not missing a single spot.Only when he had finished did he realize a thin sheen of sweat had soaked through his back."Done." He gently set her foot down, his manner cautious and full of tenderness.On the couch, Ye Nanyuan watched his movements, tilted her head, and let out a soft laugh, though a flicker of mockery passed through her shimmering eyes.She curled her calf, letting those pale, crescent-moon feet sway before his eyes.Her voice was innocent and guileless: "Thank you, Master."