Luo Xun’s gaze lingered briefly on Xiao Zhaoxun’s flushed cheeks before he averted his eyes and calmly bade her rise.
Kan’er expressed gratitude for the grace and stood up.
She immediately instructed Wangqing and Xiyu to serve tea and snacks, while asking Hansu and Tiao Zhu to fetch some fruits. She personally attended to the Crown Prince as he took his seat.
Luo Xun listened as she issued orders left and right, appearing composed on the surface yet with a voice trembling with nervousness.
He couldn’t help but glance at her sideways.
Kan’er certainly didn’t want to appear terrified by just one look from the Crown Prince, but she couldn’t help the inherent timidity of this body.
However, this actually suited her current status and temperament quite well, so Kan’er didn’t find it particularly disadvantageous.
“Has… has Dianxia dined yet?”
She stood beside the Crown Prince, feigning fluster as she asked, then suddenly seemed to realize what she had said.
“This humble concubine spoke out of turn. Please forgive me, Dianxia.”
Just last night she had been so audacious – daring to stop him, disregard his commands, act coy with him, and even touch him.
Now she was like a mouse seeing a cat.
If not for her genuine physical reactions that seemed authentic, Luo Xun would have suspected Xiao Zhaoxun was putting on an act.
So where had she found such courage last night?
However, with Hai Shun and other palace attendants present, the Crown Prince who always valued propriety and etiquette didn’t comment further.
He only responded with a cold “Hmm.”
This concerned a man’s dignity.
Kan’er had spent the entire day worrying whether the Crown Prince would hold a grudge against her for last night, and what method she could use to make amends.
Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince had come to her quarters this evening.
As she was lost in thought, Tiao Zhu and the others brought the tea, snacks and fruits.
Hai Shun maintained perfect composure, making a hand signal to lead all the palace attendants out to the main hall.
Soon, only Kan’er and the Crown Prince remained in the side chamber.
An oddly awkward silence fell over the room.
“Dianxia, would you permit this humble concubine to perform anxi on you?”
Anxi referred to therapeutic massage techniques for clearing meridians. Women in the inner palace typically had some knowledge of anxi methods.
Luo Xun usually had practitioners from Tai Hospital perform his meridian clearing, never having allowed any concubine to serve him in this manner.
But seeing Xiao Zhaoxun with her red lips pressed tight and anxious eyes, looking as if she had mustered all her courage in her nervous state,
Luo Xun remained silent for a moment before nodding.
Kan’er secretly let out a breath of relief.
She knelt to help the Crown Prince remove his shoes and sit on the kang, but the man stopped her. “You get up. Go behind me.”
Kan’er understood.
After murmuring acknowledgment, she blushed as she removed her soft-soled embroidered shoes in front of the Crown Prince, then turned to climb onto the kang.
In her movements, her snow-white natural feet flashed briefly.
Luo Xun averted his gaze.
Kan’er knelt behind the Crown Prince, flexed her hands a few times, rubbed her palms warm, and began massaging from the man’s shoulders.
The Crown Prince had begun martial arts training at age five. For sixteen years without missing a day, he had cultivated excellent skills and a robust physique that rivaled military generals.
He didn’t appear particularly bulky in normal attire.
But upon touch, one could immediately discern how strong and solid the body concealed beneath the Crown Prince’s robes truly was.
The moment Kan’er’s hands made contact, she clearly felt the hard contours of muscle on the man’s shoulders.
However, having worked as a laborer for over a year, although her hands had largely recovered their former white softness from her embroidery days after a month of careful maintenance, she still retained considerable strength.
Kan’er began by kneading the Crown Prince’s entire shoulder area, then located the acupoint at the junction of his neck and shoulder. Using her palm heel, she meticulously pressed and pushed along the arm’s direction from top to bottom.
She repeated this motion seven or eight times.
The muscles in the man’s shoulders visibly relaxed considerably.
Luo Xun naturally had no idea that Kan’er’s massage technique was something she had specifically learned from Imperial Physicians in her previous life.
He felt somewhat surprised, yet noticeably relieved.
Until a warm, soft breath brushed against the back of his ear, causing Luo Xun’s body to stiffen uncomfortably.
Kan’er noticed it.
But her mind was wholly focused on the massage at that moment, so she didn’t overthink it. Out of habit, she leaned forward slightly.
“Dianxia, please relax. This pressure point, your humble consort…”
Before she could finish her sentence, the hand resting on the man’s shoulder was abruptly seized by his large palm. Without giving Kan’er time to react,
Luo Xun gripped her wrist.
Kan’er only had time to let out a soft gasp before the Crown Prince pulled her into his embrace, seating her entirely on his lap.
Instinctively, Kan’er wrapped her arms around his neck.
Hai Shun, hearing the commotion outside, peeked in. Upon seeing the situation inside, he quickly withdrew.
“Dianxia…”
The Crown Prince’s expression remained unchanged, but his gaze was unusually profound.
It made Kan’er’s heart flutter nervously.
Luo Xun brushed aside a strand of hair near the corner of her eye.
Then, with calloused fingertips, he traced her peach-blossom-like delicate cheek with a barely-there touch.
As if lost in thought.
Kan’er felt her scalp tingling under his touch. Her hands, hooked around the back of his neck, unconsciously slid down to his chest.
When her palms touched the firm, robust muscles, they felt as if scalded, and she reflexively tried to pull back.
Just then, the Crown Prince stood up while holding her.
Kan’er clutched his lapel and buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, one exposed ear flushing crimson as if about to drip blood.
The corner of Luo Xun’s lips lifted imperceptibly.
Entering the bedchamber,
According to protocol, a consort must assist the Crown Prince in undressing. After being placed on the bed, Kan’er moved to rise and help him change.
But the man stopped her.
“Lie down.”
His words were concise. Even in such moments, his cool voice carried the authoritative presence befitting a Crown Prince.
Knowing full well what was to come, hearing him speak these two words so seriously, and watching him stand before the bed to remove his outer robe himself, revealing his sturdy physique faintly visible beneath his inner garments under the candlelight,
Kan’er closed her eyes and turned her head away.
Not long after, she suddenly felt everything go dark before her eyes.
Opening her eyes, she realized all the lamps in the room had been extinguished.
Only the dim yellow candlelight from the adjacent room seeped through the bead curtain, casting the entire bedchamber in hazy gloom.
Puzzled, Kan’er turned her head.
But before she could voice her confusion, the tall figure standing before the bed descended upon her.
Her lips were captured.
The man’s chest pressed tightly against hers.
Breathing in his clean, pleasant scent, Kan’er lost herself momentarily and raised her hands to clasp the Crown Prince’s neck.
The familiar scent, the familiar embrace.
And this familiar fit.
Many scenes Kan’er thought she had forgotten now surged forth in her mind.
Vivid and sensual scenes.
Each one filled with him and her.
In her daze,
Kan’er recalled that in the earlier years of her previous life, the Crown Prince indeed seemed to have the habit of extinguishing the lights during intimate moments.
Later, he no longer maintained this habit.
Kan’er didn’t know why.
Nor did she have the mind to ponder it deeply.
The darkness granted boundless courage.
It amplified all senses and bred tenderness.
And just as Kan’er grew drowsy and disoriented…
Just when she thought she was fully prepared, the unexpected struck without warning.
It was the Crown Prince who faltered twice.
Kan’er could bear it no longer, breaking into uncontrollable sobs.
“Let someone light the lamps, Dianxia…”
Luo Xun’s figure paused slightly.
In the hazy night.
His handsome, sharply defined facial contours were visible, with glistening beads of sweat rolling down his temples where veins bulged.
His deep, cool eyes emitted an enthralling, soul-capturing glow, like a wild beast’s gaze before devouring its prey.
Kan’er whimpered softly.
Just as she thought the Crown Prince would stop and order the lamps lit.
The man abruptly seized her hand—the one wrapped around his neck—and guided it downward to his waist, his breath hot against Kan’er’s ear.
His voice was low, cold, and hoarse:
“With Song Zhaoxun’s guidance, there’s no need for lamps.”