A, CS Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Changing Clothes

The day had ended, and the lights were extinguished in the inner room of the Sui’an Hall, with only two candles remaining. The candlelight flickered, just bright enough to illuminate the two figures by the bed, almost merging into one.
“Does Your Highness remember what you said today?” Tang Wu suddenly asked.

At this moment of passion, Prince Ying naturally responded that he did.
His perfunctory expression was more than obvious. How could Tang Wu believe him?
She propped herself up with her small hand against his chest and persisted, “Does Your Highness really remember?”

Unable to bear her teasing any longer, Prince Ying restrained her two restless little hands with one palm, then pressed down on her head, and said, “You say it.”

These two words were spoken almost through gritted teeth, with a hint of ferocity in every syllable.
“Your Highness said today that I wasn’t allowed to leave unless I finished that bowl of rice, but I didn’t eat it, not a single bite.” Tang Wu was unable to move.

Shyly, she met his eyes. Her voice couldn’t help but tremble, and her long eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings.
Prince Ying understood. She wanted to stay the night here.

He looked down at her small, white hand, which was secretly trying to push him away, and found it amusing. She was clearly a fish on the chopping block, yet she still dared to brazenly negotiate terms.

“So, do you want to obediently go back to the Xitong Courtyard, or do you want me to have someone bring that rice to you? Hmm?” Their bodies were pressed against each other. No matter how serious his words were, the tone remained ambiguous.

His face was covered in sweat from the exertion. As it dripped down, a drop landed on Tang Wu’s face. Each drop was scorching hot and made her feel powerless to resist.
“But I don’t want to walk back alone…” This was the truth of her heart. After their intimate moment, if she couldn’t stay on the same bed, she would feel a sense of loss.

It would feel as if she had been used and then lost her value.

“When have you ever gone back alone?” The last time she came to grind ink for him, at night, he also had people light her way and escort her back.
“But I was alone,” Tang Wu said, her expression on the verge of tears.

Seeing her like this, she was the very picture of being utterly unreasonable.
What she didn’t know was that Prince Ying was tormented by that old dream, waking up in a cold sweat night after night. Even if she stayed here, he would not be able to sleep well.

Prince Ying didn’t respond. They were at a stalemate.
He simply told her his answer with a firm gaze.
By not saying it out loud, he was naturally preserving the dignity of a young woman like her.
His gaze was too direct, and she immediately understood what he meant.

If a strange pang of pain and gloom hadn’t risen in her heart, she would have thought she didn’t care at all.
But after all, as a concubine with a tainted background, he had never wronged her.
It was he who saved her from a desperate situation, and it was he who gave her favor and respectability.
If she had been sent to the Count Cheng’an’s residence, would she have dared to be so presumptuous?

After thinking it through, Tang Wu immediately turned up the corners of her lips, which had been drooping just moments before.
She gave him a smile with her eyes, and while he was stunned, she broke free from his grasp in a single motion. She reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, gently stroking it, her eyes full of flattery.

In an instant, it was as if she had said nothing at all, and everything returned to how it was at the beginning.
She was seductive and enchanting, and he was greedy and insatiable.
She knew that as long as the paper covering the window wasn’t broken, the cold wind would never blow in.

Candlelight was expensive; warming herself for a moment was better than nothing.
Only by being tactful could their days last long and happily.
…
After some unknown amount of time, Tang Wu’s tightly strained feet finally relaxed.
With a gentle smile, she rested for a moment before getting up and starting to change her clothes.
She could smile even while crying and endure pain.

This was the skill she had been forced to learn since she was a child.
She finished fastening the last hundred-flower knot on her chest. Just as she was about to bow and leave, she saw him hold her by the waist.

Tang Wu looked at him in surprise, only then realizing how this person had suddenly become a refined gentleman, properly dressed and dignified.
Prince Ying gave her a deep look, put a fist to his mouth, and cleared his throat, whispering, “I’ll see you back.”

“Your Highness… Your Highness, why?” Tang Wu stared at him, her eyes wide.
Could it be that because of what she just said, he wanted to personally walk her back?
“Let’s go.” Prince Ying was the first to open the door.

He had always been a man of few words, and his tone always carried an indifference and distance that she couldn’t ignore. But no matter how Tang Wu thought about these two words, she tasted a hint of compromise.

She didn’t know if men were always so easy to talk to after they were satisfied, but all along the way tonight, he deliberately slowed his pace to accommodate her.

They walked side by side, and for a moment, it seemed like the entire courtyard only contained the two of them.

It was as if there was no longer the confined Side Consort Chu, no longer the reclusive Concubine Su, and no longer the unsettling Princess Consort Ying.

All that remained was the gentle breeze, the pounding of their hearts, and a hidden greed.
She actually wanted him, very much.
As they approached the gate of the Xitong Courtyard, Prince Ying stopped. Just as he was about to speak, Tang Wu quickly stood on her tiptoes and covered his mouth.

Prince Ying was already extremely handsome, with sharp features and deep eyes. Even now, with his puzzled frown, he was captivating.
With a wicked grin, she looked at him. The charm in her eyes was something a sheltered maiden would never possess.

Her small hand, which was covering his lips, slowly moved down, stopping at his heart.
She unhurriedly extended a finger and lightly tapped his chest with her fingertip, murmuring, “Your Highness, why don’t you ask what this place wants? Does it want to come sit in my room for a while?”

At this, the faint crimson color in Prince Ying’s eyes, which had just faded, began to return. He suddenly raised his hand and roughly pinched her face. The force was a little harsh, completely unlike his noble and refined demeanor during the day.

He stood in the moonlight, looking down at her, and then he cursed at her in a low voice.
“Little vixen.”

Autumn had just begun, and the capital was already in an uproar over a scandal involving imperial examination fraud. It was rumored that the exam questions had been leaked, leading to multiple identical papers. Emperor Jiaxuan was furious and ordered Prince Ying to immediately conduct a thorough investigation.

With such a scandal, the deeply entrenched parasites in the capital were all on edge. Those with a clear conscience closed their doors and watched the drama unfold, while those with a guilty conscience were already trying to pull strings.

Prince Ying was so busy that it was said the courtyard of the Sui’an Hall had been empty for four days.
As a result, Tang Wu had so much free time that she went out and bought high-quality silk to embroider a hundred birds. Look, after two days, only a few bare branches had appeared.

Tang Wu sighed, sticking the embroidery needle into an empty spot on the cloth.
Holding her cheek, she looked at the large piece of cloth and couldn’t help but feel a little regretful. If she had to finish all this embroidery, wouldn’t it take at least a year or a year and a half?

Just as she was feeling dejected, Luoying frantically pushed open the curtain and said, “Madam, Madam, something is not good!”
“What’s wrong? Take your time and tell me.”

“Princess Consort, the Princess Consort has entered the residence.”