Shen Yanshui promptly changed the subject. Blinking, she asked with a smile, “Your Highness, are you hungry? Shall I have the servants bring in the meal?”
It wasn’t that Shen Yanshui had nothing else to say to the Crown Prince. First, she truly didn’t know him well enough to think of any profound topics. Second, she was feeling a little hungry herself—and he came by right around mealtimes every time. Wasn’t that a clear sign that he wanted to eat here?
So she felt there was nothing wrong with her question at all.
Wasn’t she simply showing concern for his well-being?
Cui Yu gave a slight nod. “Have the meal brought in.”
As usual, the table was laden with an array of exquisite dishes: meat, vegetables, soup, cold dishes, and fruit. As expected, Cui Yu ended up feeling a little overfull.
Looking at the goji berries floating in the chicken soup before him, he suddenly remembered something and said, “Don’t send me Chinese yam and goji berry soup next time.”
Seeing her look up from her bowl in apparent surprise, he fell silent for a moment. Realizing that his words might have been misunderstood, he added, “If you truly wish to send something, send fruit or the like instead.”
He simply wasn’t very fond of soups and other such watery dishes.
Shen Yanshui: “…”
But she had never sent him any soup at all, had she?
Could he have mistaken a soup sent by someone else for one from her?
She said nothing, but Cui Yu narrowed his eyes slightly at her expression. His voice immediately turned as cold as a gust of winter wind.
“That soup wasn’t sent by you?”
Shen Yanshui didn’t think there was anything wrong with not having sent him soup. After all, she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t sent him any. But still… being caught in such a misunderstanding made her feel inexplicably embarrassed—and a little uneasy.
She even began to wonder whether Lady Liu’s unusually bold actions earlier that day might have something to do with this…
Zheng Yuande’s heart gave a lurch. This was bad!
Who had sent the soup had originally been unimportant. But after the Crown Prince assumed it was from Lady Shen and even told her his preferences, learning that it had not been sent by her meant that the Crown Prince had just embarrassed himself, didn’t it?
Just as he was thinking this, a sharp, icy glance fell upon him. Zheng Yuande was instantly close to tears. His knees went weak, and he was about to plead guilty.
But at that moment, Shen Yanshui suddenly put on an astonished expression and said, “So Your Highness likes fruit? I know of a novel and delicious pastry. I’ll make some myself tomorrow and have someone deliver it to Your Highness for you to try. Would that be all right?”
Cui Yu: “…”
He had felt a faint trace of embarrassment and displeasure earlier, but it could hardly be called anger. More than anything, he felt that his last two remarks had made him look rather foolish.
It was all Zheng Yuande’s fault. The fool couldn’t even explain two simple sentences clearly!
Now that she had offered him a way out, he naturally took it, no longer pressing the matter.
“Mm,” he replied coolly.
Seeing this, Shen Yanshui quietly let out a sigh of relief.
The Crown Prince didn’t seem so difficult to placate after all.
After taking a walk to aid digestion, bathing, and changing clothes, the others withdrew. By then, the faint embarrassment Cui Yu had felt earlier had almost completely faded.
But as the two of them became entangled, he suddenly found himself inexplicably dissatisfied. Clasping her slender, supple waist, he thrust her hips forward with a sharp, forceful motion. Hearing the abrupt change in her voice, he asked hoarsely, “If tomorrow’s fruit doesn’t suit my tastes, what do you intend to do?”
A faint sheen of sweat dampened Shen Yanshui’s temples. Looking into his dark, heavy gaze, she couldn’t help taking a deep breath.
Honestly, why was this man still thinking about that? It was only a bowl of soup, wasn’t it? How could he possibly remember it even at a time like this? Was he looking down on her?
As Shen Yanshui watched the little bean swaying before her eyes, she immediately opened her mouth…
Cui Yu suddenly froze. His body shuddered, then tensed all at once, his sharp eyes growing even wider. “You… How dare you!” he scolded in a low, restrained voice.
The corners of Shen Yanshui’s eyes lifted slightly. His body certainly wasn’t saying the same thing.
And he still had the nerve to call her outrageous.
Was this outrageous? She hadn’t even begun to show him what outrageous really meant.
She decided to let him see for himself.
It was the middle of the night. The wind outside carried a faint chill, but the temperature inside the eastern side chamber of Lianxin Court continued to rise.
Shen Yanshui not only refused to stop, but also made him truly experience what it meant to have a silver tongue and a sharp wit.
Taking advantage of the moment when his self-control faltered, she quietly exerted a little force and, pressed against his taut body, turned and climbed on top.
Cui Yu’s abdomen jolted violently.
He was so shocked that he even forgot to scold her.
This… this was simply too absurd!
Yet when Shen Yanshui saw the astonishment in his eyes, she couldn’t help wanting to laugh.
But she absolutely couldn’t laugh aloud now. Otherwise, this man would surely become embarrassed and furious, and then she would have taken things too far.
Compared with his stubborn mouth, his body was far more honest.
After all, if he truly hadn’t wanted it, she couldn’t have so easily turned them into another position.
Besides, if one was going to work overtime at night, wouldn’t adding a little variety make it even more enjoyable?
It was an experience that stretched him more than any before, and the visual stimulation was something he had never encountered. As a result, Cui Yu surrendered faster than he ever had.
In an instant, his handsome face darkened, then flushed, then darkened again.
Shen Yanshui: “…”
Though she was only momentarily stunned, Cui Yu still noticed.
The next moment, Shen Yanshui felt the world spin before her eyes. She was flipped completely over, ending up on her knees with her back to him…
There was an indescribable eagerness in Shen Yanshui’s heart, but she couldn’t see the dark, somber, turbulent look in Cui Yu’s eyes.
It wasn’t long before she discovered that beneath the refined, gentle exterior this man wore, he was actually more like a ferocious beast…
A man’s pride was truly terrifying.
Cui Yu had never before been so… utterly unrestrained.
Shen Yanshui cried out in bliss. “Wuwuwu… Your Highness… wuwuwu…”
Cui Yu: “…”
He had never seen a woman cry like that in front of him.
When Shen Yanshui noticed the faint look of disdain in his eyes, anger instantly surged through her. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she rubbed her entire tear-dampened face against him!
Cui Yu’s body went rigid in an instant, and his expression changed completely.
Forget it. His body certainly wasn’t lacking for this little bit of her tears now.
“I see you’ve truly grown bold enough to eat the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard.” Cui Yu reached over from beside her and tugged free a rouge-red undergarment, wiping her face with it somewhat disdainfully.
Shen Yanshui: “…”
Was he deliberately taking revenge on her? It felt as though he had rubbed her skin raw.
Hearing her call out in a soft, slightly hoarse voice that it hurt, Cui Yu paused. He immediately lightened his touch, though his tone remained cold and disdainful. “So delicate.”
With that, he casually tossed aside the small piece of rouge-red fabric in his hand.
Shen Yanshui muttered under her breath, “Has Your Highness never heard that women are made of water? The skin on my face is delicate and tender. How could I possibly compare with rough-skinned, thick-fleshed men like you?”
Cui Yu lifted his eyelids and gave her a sidelong glance, then looked over the disarray covering the bed. She truly was made of water—just the slightest touch, and water came spilling out…
He said nothing, yet Shen Yanshui somehow understood exactly what his gaze meant.
She glanced at the messy bedding, which was frankly too embarrassing to look at, and immediately gritted her teeth as she scrambled off him. “Your Highness had a hand in this too!”
Without even having time to put on her shoes, she ran as quickly as her weakened legs could carry her toward the bathing room, eager to save herself.
As she passed the clothes rack, she did not forget to snatch up one of his outer robes and wrap it around herself, calling for water as she went.
Cui Yu: “…”
