Lin Jiayan didn’t have to wait long before Aming came running back, clutching several books to his chest.
“Mother, here you go! I found all of these at my house.”
Looking at the colorful stack of booklets, Lin Jiayan felt like she had finally found something to keep herself occupied.
She picked one up at random and pointed to the title on the cover.
“What does this mean?”
Aming squinted at it.
“The Innocent Princess, Cherished in the Palm of His Hand.”
“Ahem.”
Lin Jiayan quickly put it down and picked up another.
“What about this one?”
“Marrying My Sweetheart from a Previous Life.”
“Ahem… And this one?”
“Has the Young Master Regretted It Today?”
“And this?”
“The Tyrannical Prince’s Beloved Wife.”
“…”
Her sister-in-law certainly had a girlish side.
Lin Jiayan hurriedly stacked the books together, hiding the embarrassingly romantic titles.
“You should take these back. These…”
After thinking it over, she shook her head.
On second thought, reading anything was better than being bored.
“Actually, just leave them here.”
“Okay! My mother has lots more. When you finish these, I’ll bring you another batch!”
Aming patted his chest proudly.
“That’s… more than enough. These are all in Mongolian. I’ll have to learn while I read, so there’s no rush.”
Flipping through The Tyrannical Prince’s Beloved Wife, Lin Jiayan thought that if she managed to finish all these books, her Mongolian would surely improve dramatically.
She spent the entire afternoon working her way through the first novel.
Her Mongolian was still poor, so she had to rely on guesswork, leaving her confused more often than not. But since she was only reading to pass the time, she found herself enjoying it anyway.
After staring at the twisting script for so long, her head grew dizzy.
Without realizing it, Lin Jiayan fell asleep at the table.
She was awakened only when Lianxin brought in dinner.
“Princess, it’s time to eat.”
There were still marks on her face from where she had been resting on her arm. Her body was awake, but her mind had yet to catch up.
“Has the prince returned yet?”
Lianxin froze for a moment.
“Do you mean the prince consort?”
Lin Jiayan clicked her tongue, realizing she’d gotten carried away by the romance novels. There was no prince here.
“Yes. He hasn’t come back yet?”
Normally, Chahar always returned in time to eat dinner with her. Why was he so late today?
“I’m not sure. The prince consort went to the military camp this afternoon. It takes at least two hours to travel there and back, so he may still be on his way.”
“Oh…”
So no one would be watching her eat tonight.
Stretching lazily, Lin Jiayan pushed the bowl of mutton soup farther away.
“Princess, please eat at least a little. You barely touched your lunch. How can your body recover like this?”
“I don’t have an appetite. I’ve been eating these nourishing foods every day—it’s too much.”
She picked up her novel again.
After an afternoon of reading, she was thoroughly engrossed in it. Although there were many words she couldn’t recognize and no one nearby to ask, ancient romance novels all followed familiar patterns. Filling in the gaps herself, she could still understand most of the story.
Seeing that persuasion was useless, Lianxin sighed and cleared away the dishes, replacing them with a plate of dried fruit and jerky.
The room fell quiet again.
Lin Jiayan quickly finished the first book and noticed that evening had already arrived.
Chahar still hadn’t returned.
After a moment’s thought, she decided to start another one.
Sorting through the pile, she chose a thinner volume. The only character she recognized on the cover was “eighteen.”
When she opened the first page, she was greeted by a diagram of the human body.
A medical text?
Interested, she continued reading.
But the more she read, the stranger it became.
Why were there now two naked figures intertwined together? And why were there explanatory notes beside each illustration?
Only then did she realize what kind of book it was.
Lin Jiayan snapped it shut and clutched it tightly in her hands.
The thing felt like a hot potato.
She paced around the room several times, unable to decide where to hide it.
Her brother and sister-in-law were unbelievable.
How could they leave something like this lying around for Aming to find?
What was she supposed to do now?
She couldn’t exactly hide it, but she couldn’t throw it away either.
Just then, the sound of approaching hoofbeats rang out from outside.
Could Chahar be back already?
Panicking, Lin Jiayan hurried into bed with the book and stuffed it under her pillow, pretending to be asleep.
Chahar had been delayed at the military camp and returned later than usual.
He hurried home and saw the light still on inside.
But when he entered, he found Lin Jiayan already in bed.
Why was she asleep so early today?
Had she fallen ill again?
He quickly walked over and touched her forehead.
It did feel a little warm.
Her face was flushed.
“Yanyan, are you feeling unwell? Should I ask Cheren to come examine you?”
“No… no need.”
Realizing she couldn’t keep pretending, Lin Jiayan sat up abruptly, planting herself firmly on the pillow beneath her.
“I’m fine. I’m just sleepy.”
“Your face is so red. You must have a fever. I’ll brew some of the medicine you took last time.”
At the thought of that dark green, bitter medicine, Lin Jiayan felt nauseated.
“I won’t drink it. I’m really fine. If you don’t believe me, feel for yourself.”
Afraid he would force more medicine on her, she grabbed his hand and pressed it against her neck.
As Chahar’s large hand rested against her throat, the edge of his palm brushed against the softness of her chest.
“…”
His throat bobbed.
The reaction was immediate.
Lin Jiayan noticed it too and instantly realized how inappropriate the gesture had been.
She hurriedly flung his hand away and burrowed back under the blankets.
“You stink. Go take a bath.”
Chahar lifted his arm and sniffed himself.
Did he smell?
He had already washed up at the camp before returning.
Still, since she’d said so, he might as well bathe again.
The room had a bathing area screened off especially for Lin Jiayan, and the tub still held the flower-infused water she had used earlier that day.
Using the now lukewarm water, Chahar washed quickly.
The air was filled with her scent, but instead of calming him, it only made him feel hotter.
While Chahar bathed, Lin Jiayan took the book and searched frantically for a hiding place.
Under the pillow wouldn’t work. He’d find it when they went to sleep.
The bookshelf wouldn’t work either—he might decide to teach her more words later.
The wardrobe was no good. He’d need to get dressed afterward.
The room wasn’t large to begin with.
Every possible hiding place seemed unsafe.
Growing increasingly anxious, Lin Jiayan silently blamed Aming for putting her in this predicament.
“What are you doing?”
Chahar stepped out from behind the screen after his bath and saw her crouching beside a storage chest, desperately trying to stuff something inside.
Although thick rugs covered the floor, the weather was cold.
Seeing her bare feet, he frowned and walked over, lifting her into his arms from behind.
“Ah!”
Caught off guard, Lin Jiayan instinctively pressed herself against his chest.
Only then did she realize he was bare from the waist up, with only a towel loosely tied around his waist.
His skin still carried the warmth and dampness of his bath.
“Why aren’t you wearing any clothes?”
Her gaze darted helplessly over the well-defined lines of his muscles, unsure where to look.
Holding her in his arms, Chahar glanced down at himself.
Wasn’t he dressed?
Did he really need to be fully clothed immediately after bathing?
“Didn’t you say you were sleepy? Why are you squatting here?”
Seeing him turn toward the chest where she had hidden the book, Lin Jiayan quickly cupped his face and turned it back toward her.
She had hidden it in such a hurry that one corner was still sticking out.
“I… I’m sleepy. Let’s go to bed.”
Curled up in his arms, her hand resting lightly against his chest, cheeks flushed and eyes full of urgency, she nearly pushed Chahar past his limits.
He lowered his head and inhaled deeply at her neck.
Then he tilted his head and gently took her earlobe between his lips, brushing it with the tip of his tongue.
“Ah… what are you doing?”
Shivering, Lin Jiayan covered her ear with her hand.
The corners of Chahar’s lips curled upward uncontrollably.
He carried her to the bed and tucked the blankets around her before turning to the wardrobe to retrieve a robe.
Curled beneath the covers like a shrimp, Lin Jiayan pressed a hand over her burning ear as her heart raced wildly.