The Crown Prince returned to his chambers to find Yun Kui sitting on the couch, fumbling with a sleeping robe in her hands.
Distracted all day by the revelation of her biological father’s identity, she had been absentminded, pricking her fingers multiple times until they bled.
Had she not known how difficult his life had been all these years, she would never have forgiven a man who abandoned his wife and daughter. She would have preferred to act as if he didn’t exist, never wanting to see him again—after all, she had never relied on him.
But now, she wasn’t so sure.
Had he been unaware that Mother was pregnant with her? Had circumstances forced him to stay away? If he had known, would he have properly married Mother with all the ceremonial rites? Would he have genuinely cherished her?
Now that he knew of her existence, would he feel remorse? Would he want to reclaim his daughter?
Or was it simply because she now lived well in the Eastern Palace, even with the prospect of becoming a consort, that he had rushed to acknowledge her—just to climb the social ladder?
If it were the latter, she would never recognize him as her father.
What she shared with His Highness was precious. She had no prestigious family backing, no reputation as a cultivated lady—the only thing she could offer was her ability to ease his headaches. Most importantly, there was the pure affection in her heart.
If her father turned out to be unworthy, she would rather deny this nominal relationship than let him use her as a stepping stone, tainting the purity between her and the Crown Prince.
Standing outside the chamber, the Crown Prince quietly listened to her thoughts, the corner of his lips curling imperceptibly.
Just as he wanted to hear more of what she thought of him, a soft whimper came from inside. His brows furrowed, and he strode in immediately, finding her clutching an embroidery basket.
"What happened?" he demanded.
Yun Kui sucked lightly on her finger and murmured, "It’s nothing. Just pricked myself with a needle."
The Crown Prince closed the distance in two steps, lifting her injured hand for closer inspection. The slender fingers bore several tiny puncture wounds.
His expression darkened as his thumb brushed over the marks, then he shot a cold glance at the pristine sleeping robe in her hands. "If you’re not skilled with needlework, don’t force yourself. Do you think I lack for sleeping robes?"
Yun Kui muttered under her breath, "Of course Your Highness doesn’t lack robes. If you so much as hinted, every maiden in the capital would gladly make one for you. I’d have to queue up."
The Crown Prince scoffed, pinching her cheek. "Where did you learn to talk like this?"
Yun Kui clumsily threaded the needle in and out.
The Crown Prince retrieved a jar of golden wound salve from the table, and Yun Kui watched, wide-eyed, as he knelt before her, carefully applying the ointment with a frown.
Unaccustomed to seeing him in such a lowered position, she tried to pull her hand back, but he held it firmly.
Pursing her lips, she glanced at the nearly healed pinpricks and said sheepishly, "Your Highness must have never seen such a minor injury before."
"I have," he replied.
His gaze lifted meaningfully to hers before slowly trailing downward, settling on the soft curves of her chest.
Yun Kui’s face flushed instantly. "..."
Why did I have to bring that up?! The marks from his teeth are there every day—do bite marks count as minor injuries too?
After tending to her wounds, the Crown Prince fell silent for a moment, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. "How long will this sleeping robe take?"
Yun Kui hesitated. "I’m not very skilled, so I’ll need time to figure it out. At least ten days, maybe half a month."
"Leave it for today," he said.
Tossing the embroidery basket aside, he scooped her up into his arms. Yun Kui gasped and hastily wrapped her arms around his neck. "Your Highness, please… let me rest a little longer. I’m still sore..."
The Crown Prince said matter-of-factly, "I give you a full seven days every month."
Yun Kui: "...That’s because of my monthly courses."
The Crown Prince replied with mock seriousness, "The treasured manual from that shop said these are the days you desire it most."
Her cheeks burned, and her voice grew faint. "That… that’s not true for everyone."
Before she could argue further, he had already pressed her down onto the couch.
After a brief exploration with his fingers, warmth pooled between them. He chuckled, rubbing her soft, flushed lips. "Seems the book was right. You really are like this."
Yun Kui’s face reddened further, unable to refute him.
Before she could resist, his kisses descended insistently on her cheeks and neck.
Soon, she realized these days were different. Though she had grown numb from his relentless demands, her first instinct was still to resist—yet when his scorching heat pressed against her, her body melted helplessly.
But the man was wicked, choosing to ask her absurd questions at her most vulnerable moment.
"What do you usually call me? Say it."
Yun Kui, lifted by him, was still dazed. "Call you… Your Highness?"
The Crown Prince: "And?"
What else had she called him? Scrambling through fragmented memories, she blurted, "D… Big Boss?"
The moment the words left her lips, she was met with a punishing thrust. Yun Kui bit her lip hard, but a moan escaped regardless.
Tears welling, she pushed at him. "Wait—let me think properly… Ancestor?"
Clearly still not the answer he wanted, the next thrust drove impossibly deep, wrenching a sob from her. "I-I haven’t called you anything else..."
The Crown Prince refused to relent. "Keep thinking."
Tortured beyond reason, Yun Kui clutched the sheets, desperately sifting through her memories before tentatively whispering, "Crown Prince… Crown Prince Gege?"
Her soft, delicate voice was like a feather teasing his heart.
He kissed her lips, his voice rough. "You can call me that in bed from now on. But that’s still not it."
Praise was due, but punishment would follow.
Yun Kui trembled, fingers twisting into the sheets. "Xiao…"
She had nearly formed the word "Noble"—a title he particularly despised, preferring even his full name over it—but swallowed it back at the last second.
Gasping, she managed, "Xiao… Qi’an?"
His breathing grew heavier, dark eyes burning with intensity, as if he could incinerate her on the spot.
"You may call me by my name as you please. But that’s not what I want now."
Lost in the relentless waves of pleasure, Yun Kui was utterly bewildered.
The Crown Prince prompted her, "What do I call you outside these walls?"
Finally, she remembered—his words on Pingzhou’s Changle Street: "Madam." Her tear-damp lashes fluttered.
Does he want me to say… husband?
A memory surfaced: that night when she had bared her heart to him, she had said—
"If Your Highness were just a minor official or a common peddler, and you called me ‘Madam’ outside, I’d gladly call you ‘Husband’ in return."
Distracted, another fierce thrust snapped her back. "Your Highness wants to hear that?"
The Crown Prince’s darkened gaze bore into her.
Yun Kui turned her face away, but he caught her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.
Still avoiding his stare, she bit her lip. "I… I don’t dare. Please don’t force me, Your Highness."
The Crown Prince’s voice dropped low. "Why not?"
Yun Kui didn’t know how to respond. After a long silence, she finally said, “Your Highness is the Crown Prince—how could you be an ordinary woman’s husband? In the future, you will inevitably have a palace full of consorts. How could I monopolize you?”
The Crown Prince frowned. “When did I ever say I wanted a palace full of consorts?”
Yun Kui dared not even entertain the thought. “Your Highness is the only heir. If you don’t expand the harem and produce descendants, the ministers will never let it go.”
The Crown Prince’s throat bobbed, his voice rough. “Don’t you want to bear my children?”
"I do, but that doesn’t mean it’ll happen. You’ve been… diligent every day, and yet there’s still no sign…"
She glanced at him sheepishly, realizing he had heard her.
The Crown Prince gritted his teeth. “So you’re saying I haven’t done enough.”
Yun Kui quickly denied it. “Children depend on fate! Look at the Heir of Ningde Marquis, or me, or my parents… But there are also people who, no matter how hard they try, it just doesn’t happen. Not that I’m saying that’s you! I mean some people—”
Before she could finish, she was flipped onto her back. Clutching the sheets, she whimpered in regret.
The Crown Prince’s eyes darkened, his mood equally stormy. He decided to employ some of the more… advanced techniques from the shop’s finest collection.
Her body trembled violently as his tongue worked relentlessly, reducing her to a sobbing mess. She had never imagined he would be willing to do such things to her.
“Your Highness, don’t force me! I’d rather die than yield—”
"I yield easily, wuwuwu…"
"It’s just calling you ‘husband’… If I say it in my heart, it’s the same. You can hear it, right…?"
The Crown Prince lifted his head, his lips glistening with her essence, refusing to let her off so easily.
“Saying it in your heart doesn’t count. Are you really going to be so perfunctory with me like this?”
Yun Kui shuddered uncontrollably, unable to endure the relentless teasing. Finally, she gripped the embroidered sheets so tightly they nearly tore, crying out, “Husband… Your Highness…”
The Crown Prince: “Drop the first two words.”
Biting her lip, her voice barely above a whisper and thick with tears, she murmured, “…Husband.”
With a deep sigh, the Crown Prince sat up, cupped her flushed cheeks, and handed her a handkerchief. “Good girl. Now wipe my face clean.”
Her entire face burned as she dabbed away the moisture, her heart a whirlwind of emotions. “Your Highness is bullying me…”
The Crown Prince chuckled. “Calling me ‘husband’ is bullying you now?”
Yun Kui huffed. “This is interrogation under duress!”
He licked the lingering wetness from his lips. “I would never treat a prisoner like this.”
She turned her face away, still muttering weakly, “I really shouldn’t call you that. It’s… improper.”
The Crown Prince declared, “I am propriety in this world.”
Yun Kui: “……”
He gripped the nape of her neck, his voice low and commanding. “Remember this title. I’ll be hearing it again.”
Yun Kui could only nod meekly. “Mm.”
That night, after being thoroughly exhausted, she collapsed onto his chest and fell asleep.
---
Late Night.
A shadowy figure slipped silently into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Emperor Chunming reclined on his dragon throne, eyes closed in weariness. The past year’s political storms had drained him. The power he had painstakingly built now crumbled like a collapsing tower, and his most trusted officials had fallen one after another. Now nearing forty, he felt both body and spirit exhausted—even the two stunning beauties summoned tonight had failed to stir him.
Lu Qi entered soundlessly and knelt before the emperor. “Your Majesty, everything is prepared.”
Emperor Chunming clenched his fists, his expression dark. “Are you certain this incense poison will drive the Crown Prince into a frenzied, uncontrollable rage—enough to make him burst from within?”
Lu Qi nodded. “The poison is undetectable when mixed into the ceremonial bathing incense. Even the high monks of Prajna Temple won’t notice a thing. But for the Crown Prince’s chronic headaches, it will be fatal. I am ninety percent certain—once he attends the ceremony, the pain will drive him to madness. He will desecrate the sacred rites, lash out violently before the court and nobility, and even if he doesn’t perish from the frenzy itself, the Imperial Guards can cut him down under the pretense of exorcising a demon and purifying the temple.”
Emperor Chunming’s voice was icy. “I’ll trust you one last time. There must be no mistakes.”
Lu Qi bowed deeply in acknowledgment.
---
April 8th, Bathing the Buddha Festival.
The Crown Prince had the kitchen prepare a bowl of longevity noodles for Yun Kui. Only after she finished did he say, “Today, you will accompany me to Prajna Temple.”
Before she could ask, he added, “He will also be attending with the imperial procession.”
Yun Kui tensed instantly. “You mean…?”
Father?
Would she finally see him today?
The Crown Prince stood and took her slightly chilled hand. “Let’s go.”
The Bathing the Buddha Festival was the grandest Buddhist event of the year. The emperor, empress, nobility, and high-ranking officials all journeyed to Prajna Temple for the ceremonial bathing and prayers.
A black-lacquered sandalwood carriage waited outside Donghua Gate, led by four majestic horses. Rows of armed guards stood in perfect formation, the procession stretching imposingly. The rumble of wheels and the clatter of armor and weapons seemed to vibrate in the air.
Yun Kui’s heart pounded nervously, her palms damp with sweat.
As the carriage entered the imperial avenue, the sounds of the bustling crowd outside grew louder. Only then did Yun Kui dare to lift the curtain slightly and peek out.
The gentle April breeze brushed her face, and she exhaled deeply, some of her tension easing.
The Crown Prince retrieved a red lacquered box from a hidden compartment and handed it to her. “A birthday gift. Open it.”
Yun Kui blinked. “Your Highness prepared a gift for me?”
She carefully unlatched the box, expecting jewelry or gold. Instead, she found a thick stack of… property deeds?!
The Crown Prince glanced at her, feigning nonchalance. “All the shops you just saw on this street are included here.”
From what he knew, Sheng Yu had bought her lavish gifts—cosmetics and jewelry from these very shops.
So he simply purchased the shops outright and gave them to her instead.
Yun Kui gaped, speechless.
The Crown Prince said coolly, “You’ve always resented me for taking the deed to your house in Pingzhou. Consider this compensation. Is it enough?”
Yun Kui’s vision swam. She suddenly felt dizzy—from sheer wealth.
