The bamboo curtain swayed slightly, and Wei Nanxun couldn’t see his face clearly, but she felt her whole body stiffen under his gaze, and she dared not move.
Was it him?
Was he the one who saved her and thoughtfully arranged everything? When had he been here, or had he never left from the beginning?
The thought made Wei Nanxun’s heart leap into her throat, and her palms were covered in cold sweat.
The memories she had forgotten suddenly flooded back.
She clung to him, and even when he tried to pull away, she clung to him again, cupping his face and pressing her lips to his…
Even though they hadn’t gone all the way, they had done and touched what they shouldn’t have. How could she treat him as a stranger with a normal heart?
How did he see her?
This wasn’t out of a maiden’s shyness, but out of embarrassment and fear.
She felt like she was standing naked under the scorching sun, and even though she had washed and dressed, she still felt dirty all over.
She didn’t know his identity, but it must be extremely noble. How would he see her after she had defiled and disturbed him like this? How would he deal with her? She also didn’t know how to face him. She had to repay his kindness, but what could she use to repay it?
Wei Nanxun felt like she was walking a tightrope on a cliff. Going forward wasn’t an option, and retreating was even worse. Below was an abyss, and no matter what she chose, she would be crushed to pieces.
She wanted to kneel down and explain that she had accidentally taken the medicine, and she wanted to say that she was innocent, but she couldn’t utter the words.
Who would believe her?
Would anyone believe that Consort Xian and the Crown Prince would risk their reputations and use such low-down methods just to plot against a concubine’s daughter?
Moreover, his gaze was too oppressive and dignified, making her whole body stiff and unable to move. She felt nothing but regret in her heart. If she had known it would be like this, she would have preferred to die!
Just as she was embarrassed and wanted to dig a hole to hide in, she heard the sound of a book page turning and a very light laugh. The laughter was so faint that she almost thought it was an illusion.
But the suffocating pressure disappeared.
The man didn’t say a word the whole time, and he didn’t even make eye contact with her, but Wei Nanxun inexplicably felt that he had let her go. He wouldn’t tell anyone, and he wouldn’t ask her to repay him.
Did he pity her? Or was he too lazy to bother with her?
Whatever the reason, her eyes were a little sore. It was like surviving a disaster, and it was like finally seeing a glimmer of light in this dark and desperate world.
She knelt down respectfully, her forehead heavily touching the ground, and piously performed a great salute: “Thank you, benefactor. Wei Nanxun is willing to be your slave and repay your kindness in the next life by tying grass and wearing a ring.”
Outside the house, a breeze blew, and the leaves rustled.
Wei Nanxun heard a laugh mixed in with the sound of the wind. This time it wasn’t an illusion. She really heard the man laughing.
The laughter was low and hoarse, as if he were laughing close to her ear, tingling and numb.
Was he amused by her words? Yes, a noble person like him had many people vying to be his slaves. He would find it laughable to hear such words.
Wei Nanxun’s face turned pale with shame, and her fingernails dug into her palms. She really didn’t know what to do.
But she heard the person inside say in a lazy tone, “Go.”
Her heart, which had been raised, suddenly fell again. She didn’t dare to think about anything else. She kowtowed heavily again and got up and left in a hurry.
Just as she was about to step out of the door completely, she subconsciously turned her head. In the dim light, she saw the man’s upright body like a pine tree and his clear, stern jawline.
On the way back, her mind was still in chaos. The only thing she thought of was that her benefactor must be an extremely good-looking person.
On the other side, Consort Xian had a little wine at the banquet and felt a little sleepy. Knowing that Pei Yuyan wouldn’t be finished so soon, she pulled Wei Mingzhao to accompany her for a nap.
Saying “accompany her” just meant that she lay down to rest, and Wei Mingzhao waited outside the screen.
Consort Xian had been getting shorter sleep in recent years because she was getting older and had to take care of the affairs of the harem. She didn’t sleep well last night either. Now that the wine had taken effect, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
At first, Wei Mingzhao felt that serving Consort Xian was a matter of prestige. After all, with the Empress’s death, Consort Xian was equivalent to her future mother-in-law, but the more she sat, the more suffocated she felt.
Especially since Wei Nanxun had been out of her sight for too long, she gradually became uneasy.
The Crown Prince was in Jingren Palace. What if they happened to meet again?
The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. Hearing that Consort Xian seemed to have fallen asleep inside, Wei Mingzhao found an excuse that she was tired and asked a palace maid to take her to the side room in the next room to rest.
After sending everyone in the room away, she tiptoed out.
She had thought it through. It was useless to just sit and wait. Even if the Crown Prince didn’t break off the engagement, it was because of the Emperor’s decree.
First, she had to confirm whether Wei Nanxun was really resting. Second, she and the Crown Prince just hadn’t had enough contact. Even Wei Nanxun could catch the Crown Prince’s eye. Why couldn’t she? She had to take the initiative and win back the Crown Prince’s love.
She followed the general direction she had asked about earlier and walked towards the back hall.
It was strange. There were many palace people walking in front, but the further she went towards the back hall, the more secluded it became. She couldn’t even see a palace maid sweeping.
Was there really anyone here? Could it be that she had drunk too much and remembered the wrong direction? Just as she was about to retreat, she saw a tall figure flash past.
It was the Crown Prince!
She would never admit it wrong. She had admired the Crown Prince since she was a child. Knowing that he would be her future husband, she was even more infatuated, and her heart was attached to him.
So this was where the Crown Prince was resting. No wonder it was so quiet and there were so few people. Wasn’t this a good opportunity to warm up their relationship? Naturally, she wouldn’t miss it. She lifted her skirt and quickly chased after him.
She hid in a corner and heard the Crown Prince talking to the eunuch. She learned that he was going inside to rest, and her heart beat faster.
Wei Mingzhao kept twisting her fingers. The Crown Prince was alone in the room. Wouldn’t it be a situation of a single man and a single woman if she broke in? This was a bit inconsistent with her upbringing since she was a child.
But she and the Crown Prince were engaged. They weren’t ordinary men and women. She wouldn’t do anything. She would just say a few words to him and leave.
She hesitated for less than a moment. Seeing that the Crown Prince had entered the room and the eunuch had left, she gritted her teeth, lifted her skirt, and followed him.
Once she entered the room, even Wei Mingzhao felt that something was wrong. The furnishings and warm fragrance in the room didn’t seem like they were for a man to rest in, but she didn’t have time to think. She just watched as the Crown Prince staggered slightly, as if he was very uncomfortable.
How could she care about anything else? She anxiously stepped forward: “Your Highness, Your Highness, what’s wrong with you?”
When Pei Yuyan first heard the noise, he directly brushed the person away. After taking a blurry look at her, he shook his head.
“Who?”
“Your Highness, it’s me, I’m Wei…”
Before she could say the last two words, she felt a pair of large hands on her waist.
Even if she was bold and loved the Crown Prince, she was just an unmarried girl who had remembered the rules and etiquette since she was a child. She blushed subconsciously when she was hugged so intimately.
“Your Highness, you’ve had too much to drink. Let me help you rest…”
But the other party didn’t seem to hear her words. His movements became more and more explicit. One hand gently stroked her back up and down along her waist, and the other hand pressed against her lips.
Wei Mingzhao had been in and out of the palace since she was a child, and she had met Pei Yuyan many times, but she had never been so close to him.
She was so close that she could feel his hot breath, the faint scent of alcohol, and even hear his rapid heartbeat. His slender fingers rubbed against her lips.
This was simply a scene from a dream, and she forgot to breathe for a moment.
It wasn’t until his fingers drilled into her lips that she realized that the scale was too intimate.
“Wu, Your Highness, Your Highness…”
Her palms were between the two of them, struggling uneasily. Although the girl was in love, she had fantasized about being intimate with the Crown Prince countless times, but not before marriage!
But her resistance only made the man more eager to conquer. His wet lips pressed against her lips, and his fingers had already opened her belt.
“Be good, trust me.”
The hoarse voice was full of lust. Nothing was more intoxicating than the love words of a loved one.
This made Wei Mingzhao’s hands soften, but when he came over, she still remembered her identity. She was the eldest daughter of the Duke’s mansion. How could she do such a scandalous thing?
But Pei Yuyan’s next voice made her completely lose control.
“A-Xun.”
He was drunk. He mistook her for Wei Nanxun? Why! She wanted to make him feel guilty and never get Wei Nanxun!
She gritted her teeth and endured the humiliation, and her arms climbed around his neck.
Consort Xian woke up an hour later. She washed and cleaned her face before remembering the good thing she had arranged.
Her good nephew was willing to lower his face and ask her for help, so of course she had to plan for him.
Originally, Pei Yuyan’s intention was just to trick people into the palace, and then he would talk to Wei Nanxun alone. As long as the other party agreed to the conditions, it would be fine.
But she felt that this nephew was both civil and military, but he didn’t understand women’s hearts. As long as a woman followed him, there was no reason not to obey him. That’s why she took the liberty of putting something in the medicine of the two of them.
Anyway, he wanted to have the reputation of being a playboy, so it would be better to make it a reality. If he was always so perfect, how could her son be seen?
This was something he had sent to her himself, so she couldn’t blame her.
“Is there any movement from the Crown Prince?”
Yuchun showed a knowing smile: “Don’t worry, Empress. The doors and windows are tightly closed, and no one has come out yet. A whole cup is enough to toss around for a night.”
Consort Xian smiled when she heard this: “This is the first time I’ve seen the Crown Prince like this. Sure enough, there is no man in this world who doesn’t like beauty.”
“It’s just that Miss Wei is too seductive.”
Indeed, if she hadn’t been seen by Pei Yuyan first, if the Emperor had seen her, he would have kept her. It would be better to give such a great gift to the Crown Prince.
“What about Wei Mingzhao?”
“She said she was drunk and wanted to rest after you rested. I’m afraid she’s still sleeping.”
Consort Xian adjusted the golden hairpin in her hair in front of the mirror, and a fierce look flashed in her eyes: “Then don’t worry about her. Let’s go. It’s not too early. Let’s go see what my good nephew has done.”
She led a large group of people to the outside of the side room in the back hall and saw that the doors and windows were still tightly closed, but they couldn’t cover the warm fragrance overflowing from inside.
Without Consort Xian speaking, Yuchun gave a wink to the people behind her, and someone stepped forward to knock on the door.
“Miss Wei, are you awake? Our Empress pities your body and asked us to send you sobering soup.”
“Miss Wei, Miss Wei…” The palace maid turned around and shook her head.
Yuchun immediately continued: “Miss Wei must have fainted. People who can’t drink will have accidents when they get drunk. Hurry up and break in to see.”
“Yes.”
As soon as she finished speaking, two tall palace maids began to slam the door. The door bolt wasn’t very strong, and it opened after a few slams.
This room was originally a side room for guests to rest, and it wasn’t very big. Except for a screen that covered the bed, almost everything in the room could be seen at a glance.
“Miss Wei, we’re coming in.”
The palace maid went around the screen and saw the bulging bedding on the bed at a glance. It was obvious that it wasn’t just one person.
Everyone covered their mouths: “There, there is a man! Miss Wei’s chastity is with a man!”
“Empress, it’s not good, Miss Wei, Miss Wei is having an affair with a man!”
The two people on the bed were still in a state of confusion, but with such a loud noise, even if they had taken more medicine, Pei Yuyan still woke up as quickly as possible.
He suddenly sat up and looked around, feeling his dizzy head, and instantly understood what had happened. His eyes darkened, and his expression was more serious than ever. He had been set up.
Or by his trusted aunt, he twitched the corner of his mouth and slowly got out of bed, his movements calm and unhurried, as if a storm was coming.
In contrast to him, the palace maid who broke in looked very exaggerated.
After all, everyone should be shocked to see the Crown Prince who had an affair get up from the bed of an unmarried girl.
“Your, Your Highness… This servant didn’t know you were here. This servant has offended you. This servant deserves to die…”
Consort Xian, who heard the noise outside, had already led people in: “Crown Prince?! Why is it you? Why are you here!”
The small side room became crowded as so many people squeezed in.
Pei Yuyan acted as if no one else was there, expressionlessly picking up the robe on the ground with one hand, unfolding it and putting it on, without saying a word the whole time.
Consort Xian was sure that Pei Yuyan had to swallow this dumb loss. Could he run out and say that he had taken aphrodisiacs and couldn’t help but sleep with a daughter of a subject?
“You all go out first. No one is allowed to spread this matter. If I find out that anyone has leaked it, they will all be beaten to death.”
After everyone in the room had retreated, she said with a look of heartache: “Crown Prince, how can you be so confused? Even if you can’t help it, you can’t mess around in Jingren Palace. You are going to marry A-Zhao. If she knows that you are with her sister… This, what should we do?”
Pei Yuyan twitched the corner of his mouth and stared at Consort Xian with gloomy eyes: “Then do as Aunt wants and marry them all.”
“I’ll go find Father Emperor.”
Before Consort Xian could speak, a timid voice suddenly sounded: “A-Zhao’s sister, who is the person the Empress is talking about?”
This sentence was like a thunderbolt from the blue, causing the two people in the room to look at her instantly.
They saw that the person who should have been embarrassed was now standing in front of them properly.
“You?! Why are you here?”
Wei Nanxun blinked innocently and asked in confusion, “Where should this subject be if I’m not here? But why are the Empress and Your Highness here…”
Everyone’s eyes immediately looked towards the bed. Wei Nanxun was here, so who was the person on the bed?!