“Ahem…”
Gao Zhi couldn’t listen to this anymore. She pointed toward the narrow couch beneath the folding screen in the outer room.
“What I mean is, you can sleep here. It’s a little narrow, but it’s long enough for you.”
Feng Che looked utterly bewildered, not even blinking.
【Just sleep there?】
【Has A-Zhi changed her mind this quickly?】
Gao Zhi could no longer stand it. She pointed in another direction.
“If you don’t want to, you can sleep on the bed with me.”
“No need.”
This time, Feng Che answered quickly and urgently. He avoided meeting her eyes and hurriedly looked away.
“Sleeping here is fine.”
Seeing how shy and innocent he looked, Gao Zhi couldn’t help feeling a little tempted herself.
Unfortunately, this piece of meat wasn’t cooked yet. It wasn’t time for her to enjoy it.
When the day came that she finally won him over, she would have to savor this piece of meat properly and find out exactly what it tasted like.
Just as on their wedding night, Shang Lu and Cang Zhu served Feng Che while he bathed, then helped him lie down on the narrow couch in the outer room. Only after they left did Gao Zhi take her clothes and go bathe.
She had already washed her hair before leaving that morning, so Gao Zhi hadn’t planned to wash it again at night. But remembering the man lying in the outer room, she removed her jade hairpin and let her black hair fall freely to her waist. She also undid the two fastenings at her neckline before walking out with deliberate confidence.
Feng Che was once again sitting on the couch reading. The book was The Book of Saving the Starving and Reviving the People. Gao Zhi guessed that he was probably thinking about how to deal with the flooding disaster in Tanzhou.
“I heard Tanzhou is suffering from floods.”
Feng Che had heard the woman’s footsteps long ago. But knowing that she had just bathed and was probably wearing only her nightclothes, just like the ones he had seen the last time in the main room of the Prince’s residence—
【Too thin.】
So he didn’t raise his eyes, staring intently at the densely packed characters on the page, which looked like countless ants.
“Yes.”
Hearing how excessively terse his answer was, Gao Zhi couldn’t help probing further.
“I also heard that you’ve been purging corrupt officials lately. Have you offended anyone?”
This time, Feng Che raised his head, but his gaze only brushed past her face before landing on the candle stand, where the flames crackled and popped.
“How can one purge corrupt officials without offending people?”
Feng Che didn’t seem particularly concerned.
“Although His Majesty ordered you to investigate this matter thoroughly, I doubt you have to handle everything personally. You can let the people under you take care of more of it. It would be a good way to train them.”
Gao Zhi’s tone sounded casual, like two old friends simply making conversation.
“Your leg is injured, so you shouldn’t travel far these days either.”
But Feng Che knew that Gao Zhi was very perceptive and disliked making meaningless small talk. She had been like this even back at the academy.
If a classmate badmouthed or provoked her, she would beat them up without a second thought.
Even when the head of the academy belittled her, she had no fear of talking back, which earned her quite a few punishments.
Her fists were fiercer than blades, and her temper more explosive than gunpowder.
She always did far more than she said.
“What’s wrong?”
That was why he asked her.
“Nothing. I just remembered studying in Tanzhou a few years ago, and I heard that you’re dealing with the flooding and corruption there, so I thought I’d ask.”
Gao Zhi knew that directly stopping Feng Che from going to Tanzhou to deal with the disaster would certainly be impossible. But if she mentioned these ideas to him every day, perhaps she could gradually change his decision.
“I saw Doctor Shi treating your leg today. The treatment process is quite complicated. If you travel far away, I’m afraid it might interfere with your recovery.”
“I have no plans to travel far anytime soon.”
Knowing that Gao Zhi was someone who kept her mouth shut, Feng Che had no intention of digging deeper.
But once his guard relaxed, the corner of his eye unconsciously drifted toward her.
The woman was a little taller than she had been when she was younger. Her black hair fell loosely around her, the ends playfully curling around her slender waist. Her thin gauze nightclothes outlined her graceful figure.
His gaze moved upward, and he noticed another change that had not been there when she was a girl.
She tilted her head back to drink water, her waist and back held even straighter, while the soft curves beneath her neckline strained against the fabric.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
Embarrassed, he hurriedly pulled his attention back, staring at the increasingly wavering characters in the book as his heart began to panic.
【Ice and cold for a thousand ages, all things utterly still; let the mind be calm and the qi tranquil, and look inward to find my solitary spirit.】
What on earth was he muttering about?
Gao Zhi couldn’t make out what he was mumbling. She glanced at her loose neckline and deliberately carried her cup over.
“Prince, would you like some water?”
Feng Che felt a small shadow fall over him. His eyelids stiffened.
“I’m not thirsty. You drink it.”
“Oh…”
She wasn’t satisfied.
She had deliberately chosen an old outfit from two years ago, one that was so tight she could barely breathe, yet Feng Che hadn’t even looked at her.
Could it be that men didn’t like this kind of thing?
Although Gao Zhi had lived two lifetimes, she still didn’t know how to please a man. All she could do was imitate the seductive tricks she had read about in romance stories.
But Feng Che seemed completely immune to them.
“Don’t tell me you’re just being polite with me?”
Before Feng Che could react, the teacup was already at his lips. The woman leaned closer, her jade-white neck and skin still carrying a faint flush from her recent bath. The soft curves at her chest swayed gently, just like the characters Feng Che had been staring at moments ago.
“I’ll feed you.”
“No need.”
Feng Che hurriedly turned his face away. Unfortunately, he failed to steady the book in his hands, knocking over the teacup. Water seeped down the front of his robes, revealing the firm lines of his muscular chest beneath.
“…”
Gao Zhi swallowed.
Immediately afterward, a knock sounded from outside the door.
“Gao Zhi, Bai He said you two haven’t gone to sleep yet. Is it convenient for me to come in?”
It was Madam Shao.
Gao Zhi’s heart tightened. She lowered her voice and said to Feng Che,
“What do we do? If my mother sees you sleeping here, she’ll definitely question us.”
“…”
Feng Che frowned. Hearing the woman knock several times, each knock more urgent than the last, it was obvious she was losing patience.
“She can come in.”
Gao Zhi only heard the man’s answer beside her ear.
The next moment, the door was pushed open from outside.
At the same time, a large hand covered her abdomen and swiftly pulled her onto the narrow couch.
A cool, distinctly masculine sandalwood fragrance rushed toward her.