Song Yunfei’s heart gave a little jump under his gaze. Without thinking, she put her injured fingertip in her mouth. “It’s nothing.”
She answered indistinctly, then suddenly felt awkward and hurriedly hid her hand behind her back. “I just… embroidered for too long and my eyes went blurry. I pricked myself by accident.”
She didn’t dare look Chu Jinhan in the eyes, either. His gaze was too deep; she was afraid he would see through every one of her disguises.
Chu Jinhan didn’t press her. His eyes lingered on her hand for a moment, then quickly moved away. “If you’re tired, take a rest.”
“Mm, mm.” Song Yunfei replied hastily, her mind racing.
Auntie Wang had just said that Chu Jinhan knew martial arts and was no ordinary poor scholar.
Of course she knew he wasn’t a poor scholar. He was the Crown Prince.
How was it that even Auntie Wang had figured it out, yet Chu Jinhan had never once suspected anything?
How much had he remembered?
And why was he hiding it from her without a word?
She’d better run before a three-foot length of white silk came down around her neck.
Song Yunfei stole a glance at Chu Jinhan. Seeing how composed he looked only made her feel more on edge.
What a headache.
She needed to get out of there.
“Cousin, read for a while. I’ll make dinner.”
Song Yunfei set down her embroidery frame, carefully put away her tools, then stood and said timidly before turning toward the kitchen.
She hurried so much that she even stumbled over the threshold.
Chu Jinhan watched her retreating figure hurry away, a hint of amusement suddenly flickering in his eyes.
He walked over to the stone bench in the courtyard and sat down, picking up the military strategy book he had long since memorized backward and forward. His eyes rested on the page, but his thoughts couldn’t help drifting into the little kitchen.
Before long, wisps of smoke rose from the chimney. After a burst of clattering pots and pans and general commotion, he heard Song Yunfei stifle several coughs.
In the kitchen, smoke from the firewood made Song Yunfei’s eyes stream. She had known how to cook in her previous life, but she had used a gas stove and a range hood. How could she be expected to manage this old-fashioned stove, where she had to control the heat and work the bellows?
She wiped her face awkwardly with her sleeve while cursing the original owner a thousand times over in her mind.
She’d had a perfectly good life as a little palace maid, but instead she had to make a fuss and dream of becoming Crown Princess!
Had she ever stopped to think whether she was blessed enough for that?
And now, she was the one who had to fill in the enormous hole the original owner had dug…
But no amount of complaining would help. She still had to fill her stomach first, then save enough money to run away.
At the thought of running away, Song Yunfei seemed to find a boundless new supply of strength. Gritting her teeth, she kept battling the fire in the stove and the fumes rising from the wok.
In the courtyard, Chu Jinhan turned a page. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of her slender figure, appearing and disappearing in the smoke, and fell into thought.
The Song Yunfei of the past would never have set foot in the kitchen.
Forget cooking—even if someone asked her to tend the fire, she would refuse, complaining that it was dirty.
Today she had done embroidery and volunteered to cook… What was she playing at?
As dusk settled, heat and steam filled the kitchen, making it feel like a steamer.
Song Yunfei felt so stifled she could hardly stand it. Holding the kitchen’s ragged palm fan, she went out into the courtyard and stood at a comfortable distance from Chu Jinhan, fanning herself absently.
“The vegetables are stir-fried, and the rice is steaming,” she muttered. “But this smoke and grease all over my face and hair is just…”
When Song Yunfei was nervous, she always found that talking to herself helped her relax.
Chu Jinhan continued reading with his eyes lowered, as though he hadn’t noticed her at all. Only the fingertips holding the page paused ever so slightly.
The sun sank lower, and at last the evening breeze brought a little coolness. It stirred the loose strands at Song Yunfei’s temples and the lock of black hair falling over Chu Jinhan’s forehead.
Her arm tired from fanning, Song Yunfei bent to rub her leg.
The movement unwittingly revealed the graceful curves beneath her plain dress.
The pale, delicate nape of her neck swayed in the dimming light, making Chu Jinhan’s vision swim.
At last, his gaze lifted from the page and settled on that patch of pale skin.
Against his will, the memory of last night surfaced in his mind: his fingertips touching that warm, smooth skin.
Chu Jinhan’s breathing grew noticeably quicker. The heat rising within him seemed even fiercer than the fire in the stove.
He hurried to his feet and strode into the house without looking back.
Song Yunfei found his behavior a little baffling, but couldn’t be bothered to ask. Only when she smelled the food did she go back into the kitchen.
“Cousin, dinner’s ready.”
A moment later, she had set the dishes on the small table in the courtyard and called Chu Jinhan over to eat.
“Mm.”
Chu Jinhan came out in response, and Song Yunfei suddenly noticed that her cousin had changed into clean clothes.
At heart, he really was a particular sort of person. Even for a simple meal of two dishes and a soup, he had to change.
Still, you had to admit, the Crown Prince was ridiculously handsome.
Huh?
Why did his face look a little flushed, too?
Song Yunfei moved the plate of stir-fried wild greens closer to herself and set the golden, fragrant scrambled eggs in front of Chu Jinhan.
Chu Jinhan looked at the meal she had arranged so carefully, with its inviting colors, aroma, and taste, and seemed a little surprised.
“Cousin, starting tomorrow, I’ll be working at Zhang Embroidery Workshop in town.”
As she served Chu Jinhan some rice, Song Yunfei spoke as though the thought had just occurred to her. “From now on, I’ll make dinner when I get home from work.”
“An embroidery workshop?” Chu Jinhan took the bowl she had filled and asked in surprise, “Why would you suddenly want to work at one?”
“If I stay cooped up at home, I’ll start growing mold.” Song Yunfei smiled and served herself a bowl of rice. “Look, I’ve put on quite a bit of weight just from eating.”
Chu Jinhan looked at her cheeks, pink from the stove fire. Her clear, genuine smile made him feel as though he were dreaming.
He simply replied, “You’re not fat.”
“How is it?” Song Yunfei asked eagerly. “Is my cooking all right?”
All she could think about was taking every opportunity to win favor with the future heir to the throne.
When the truth came out someday, perhaps he would spare her instead of annihilating her, for the sake of these meals!
“Not bad.”
Chu Jinhan’s answer was still very brief, but judging by how quickly the rice in his bowl was disappearing, Song Yunfei knew her culinary offensive had been a success.
Handsome and skilled in martial arts.
He liked the food she made, and he was a wealthy and powerful Crown Prince.
Song Yunfei suddenly understood why the original owner had been blinded by his good looks.
Sigh.
Still, even the most outstanding person would be dull if he was a taciturn man who treated every word like gold.
Picking at her rice, Song Yunfei grew more and more convinced that she was the sensible one. Running away early was the only thing that mattered.
They finished the meal in an atmosphere that was somewhat awkward and yet, somehow, strangely harmonious.
Unexpectedly, after dinner Chu Jinhan said nothing, but began clearing the bowls and chopsticks from the table on his own. He carried them to the water vat in the courtyard and washed them.
Moonlight spilled over his broad back like water.
He rolled up his sleeves, exposing his strong forearms, and washed the dishes with practiced ease as water murmured softly.
Oh no.
That was another point in his favor.
He took the initiative to help with the housework.