The Emperor was looking at her, and so was her fiancé.
Yun Si kept her head lowered, not daring to meet anyone’s gaze. Yet the weight of two stares—one scorching, the other icy—bore down on her, a sensation of fire and ice that she couldn’t ignore.
Time seemed to crawl… Before Yun Si had even finished massaging one leg, her hands were already aching unbearably.
She couldn’t help but complain inwardly: Why are the Emperor’s legs so long!
Her hands were utterly exhausted, yet the Emperor still complained she wasn’t using enough strength. “Did you not eat?”
Gritting her teeth against the bone-deep soreness, Yun Si mustered every ounce of strength to knead the Emperor’s leg. Before long, the ache spread from her hands up her arms and into her shoulders. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to exert herself—she simply had no strength left.
“Harder—” Before the Emperor could finish, he noticed the little maid before him, her eyes rimmed red, looking as though she were about to cry.
What was so pitiful about massaging his leg?
Xie Yan thought to himself: She’s Prime Minister Yun’s favored maid, so she must have massaged him before. Was massaging the Prime Minister not a grievance, but massaging the Emperor was?
Not to mention, Prime Minister Yun was an aging old man, while he was far younger and far more handsome.
Xie Yan watched Yun Si for a moment, noticing her tightly furrowed brows and the way she inhaled in small, pained breaths, as if enduring discomfort.
Was she injured from riding? That didn’t seem right… After a moment, Xie Yan guessed it might be her hands aching from the kneading.
What kind of maid was this? She seemed more delicate than a noble young lady.
“Use your fists to pound,” Xie Yan said, closing his eyes slightly.
Yun Si was surprised by this instruction and stole a quick glance at Xie Yan. Had he noticed her hands were sore? How did he know?
Switching to pounding with her fists made things much easier for Yun Si. She clenched her fists and rhythmically pounded them against the man’s thigh.
A moment later, Yun Si’s expression suddenly changed. She noticed that the man’s black riding attire had been smudged with a yellowish-gray powder.
She quickly looked down at her own hands. To conceal her fair, jade-like skin, she had applied makeup—a mixture of gray and yellow powder to darken her complexion to match that of most men.
Bai Hao had applied the powder flawlessly, and in theory, it shouldn’t have rubbed off.
But after massaging the man for so long—kneading and pounding, each movement rubbing against the fabric of his clothes—the powder on her hands had finally given way, revealing a glimpse of her fair, pinkish skin beneath.
Yun Si’s heart tightened with anxiety.
Had Xie Yan noticed?
Her disguise as a man absolutely could not be discovered by Xie Yan!
Unable to help herself, Yun Si looked up at Xie Yan, only to meet his gaze directly. His eyes were like sharp arrows, piercing straight into her heart, as if they could see through every thought she harbored.
A sudden urge to flee surged within Yun Si. She fought to control herself, barely managing to keep from trembling.
Yun Si endured what felt like an eternity before she finally heard the man speak. “Enough.”
The man stood up, and Yun Si quickly rose and stepped back.
As she stood, her eyes met her cousin’s. For the first time, she saw such a complex expression on Xie Changze’s face.
The past few moments had not only been the most agonizing of Yun Si’s life but also the most agonizing of Xie Changze’s.
Xie Changze felt as if a spice shop had overturned in his heart, a chaotic mix of sour, bitter, spicy, and salty flavors…
He watched helplessly as his fiancée massaged another man right before his eyes, kneading that man’s thighs over and over…
His fiancée, whom he treasured like a precious jewel… the fiancée he had always treated with utmost respect, never daring to touch her…
Yet all he could do was watch, unable to speak out, unable to stop her, not even allowed to show the slightest hint of distress.
Xie Changze clenched his teeth so tightly that he only realized he had bitten his tongue when he tasted the metallic tang of blood.
After enjoying the massage, Xie Yan stood up and glanced around, frowning at the number of people who had followed. With a sweep of his long arm, he pointed, “You, you, you… you few, continue following. The rest, go back!”
Thud— It felt as if a heavy stone had crashed into Xie Changze’s heart. This time, Xie Yan had pointed to Yun Si but not him!
Xie Changze hurried forward, pleading, “Imperial Uncle, please take your nephew along!”
But this time, his plea fell on deaf ears. Xie Yan gave him a cold look. “Go back.”
Xie Changze could only watch as his imperial uncle led Yun Si, disguised as a boy, away. The small group rode off on horseback, their figures quickly disappearing into the distance.
Xie Changze couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. Just moments ago, right in front of him, his imperial uncle had made Yun Si massage his legs. What would he do to Yun Si now, in places Xie Changze couldn’t see?
“Young Prince, shall we return?” the leader of the guards left behind by Xie Yan asked for instructions.
Xie Changze’s mouth was filled with the taste of blood, his voice hoarse. “Let’s go back.”
No… nothing will happen…
He knew very well that his imperial uncle had no interest in women. Besides, his imperial uncle didn’t even know that Sisi was a girl—he thought she was just a servant from the Chancellor’s Mansion. And with so many guards around, nothing could happen in public…
Xie Changze found countless reasons to comfort himself, yet he couldn’t suppress the chaotic thoughts swirling in his mind.
He regretted it!
He regretted ever agreeing to let his fiancée disguise herself as a boy to join the autumn hunt. A treasure like Sisi should have been kept safe within the walls of a grand estate.
Yun Si also regretted it. Riding alone on horseback, separated from her father and fiancé, surrounded only by unfamiliar men… Ever since her first meeting with the Emperor, everything had spiraled out of her control, like a runaway horse galloping toward an unknown destination.
The group rode for a long time, and just as Yun Si was about to lose her strength, the Emperor finally stopped.
Hearing the sound of rushing water, Yun Si looked up in surprise to find a wide, gentle river stretching before her. The water was so clear that even the fish swimming in the depths were visible.
These fish look delicious… The thought had barely crossed Yun Si’s mind when she heard a loud splash beside her.
Xie Yan had jumped into the river to catch fish!
Yun Si stared in disbelief as the water instantly soaked Xie Yan’s trousers, clinging tightly to his long legs and outlining the smooth lines of his muscles.
Xie Yan took two more steps forward, standing waist-deep in the water. In his hand, he held a slender sword. He stood still, gazing intently into the water. When a fish swam past, he suddenly thrust the sword downward!
Yun Si watched the scene, thinking this strike would surely miss. Xie Yan had clearly aimed off-target—there were no fish in the direction he thrust.
Yet the next moment, Xie Yan withdrew his sword, a fish skewered upon it. The slender blade had pierced cleanly through the center of the fish’s belly, and the fish, now out of the water, thrashed its tail in struggle.
Xie Yan casually flicked his wrist, sending the fish ashore, then thrust down once more.
This time, Yun Si hurriedly widened her eyes to watch, but what she saw was still Xie Yan striking at a spot in the water where no fish were visible. Yet when he lifted his sword, another fish was skewered upon it.
How was this possible? Yun Si couldn’t make sense of it.
Xie Yan caught fish with remarkable speed. One after another, fish were flung ashore, quickly piling into a small hill.
The guards, clearly experienced, set about their tasks—some gutting and scaling the fish, others gathering firewood and starting a fire… It seemed they intended to grill fish and cook fish soup right by the river.
Threads of crimson blood stained the clear river water, making Yun Si uneasy. She couldn’t understand why the Emperor insisted on catching the fish himself, getting his robes stained with blood and grime.
Just as Yun Si was thinking this, Xie Yan waded upstream to where the water ran clear and began removing his garments, one by one!
Ignoring the chill of the autumn river, Xie Yan intended to bathe right there.
Not a single guard spoke up to dissuade him.
Yun Si quickly turned her face away, not daring to look at Xie Yan bathing in the river. She couldn’t close her eyes—that would be too obvious. Instead, she struggled to keep her cheeks from flushing, pretending to be an ignorant servant from the Chancellor’s Mansion, too awed to gaze directly upon the imperial body.
As the sound of splashing water echoed behind her, Yun Si’s mind involuntarily drifted to the dream where the two of them had been in the hot spring bath… The sound of water then had been louder, more lingering…
No, no, she mustn’t think about it any further!
Suddenly, the splashing behind her ceased. Yun Si quietly let out a sigh of relief, as if a long ordeal had finally ended.
Just then, she heard Xie Yan speak.
“You—the servant by Prime Minister Yun’s side. Come here and dry me off.”