“Lord Wu, Minister of the Dali Temple, has certainly raised a fine daughter.”
His voice was calm and even, neither harsh nor mild, yet the sarcasm in it was especially cutting.
Lady Wu was already drenched in cold sweat, so frightened that her mind had gone completely blank. She wanted to speak, to explain herself, but her teeth were chattering so badly that she could not force out a single word.
Only now did she understand that when the Crown Prince was truly angered, the authority surrounding him could weigh down on a person until they could scarcely breathe.
“Y-Your Highness... This concubine was only jealous that Sister Shen had won Your Highness’s favor, and so I lost my sense of propriety. This concubine knows her mistake. I will never dare again. I beg Your Highness to forgive me...”
She wept like a pear blossom in the rain, pitiful enough to stir anyone’s heart.
Listening to her, Shen Yanshui found her irritating, but had to admit that Lady Wu had some presence of mind. She had reduced her offense to nothing more than jealousy and rivalry between women.
And why would she be jealous?
Was it not because she held the Crown Prince in her heart?
Most men would probably fall for that sort of thing.
When a beautiful woman made a small mistake because she cared for you, because she fought with another woman over you—and then looked so pitiful, crying as though her heart had broken—how many men could truly bring themselves to be merciless?
Sure enough, the Crown Prince said in a low voice, “Lady Wu has behaved and spoken without decorum. As punishment, she is to copy the *Instructions for Women* one hundred times and submit it to the Crown Princess for inspection in ten days.”
His tone remained as cold as ever as he ordered Zheng Yuande, “Send someone to inform the Crown Princess.”
Zheng Yuande hurriedly acknowledged the order and immediately sent someone off. Really, the Crown Princess should keep these people in line. How could she leave them unchecked?
They had only been in the Eastern Palace for a month, yet the new arrivals had committed one offense after another. If word got out, what would people say? His Highness was likely mindful of appearances, which was why he had not punished Lady Wu too severely.
Cui Yu’s thoughts were indeed not far from Zheng Yuande’s.
But Shen Yanshui knew nothing of his concerns. She only assumed that he, too, could not bear to be too harsh.
Still, copying the *Instructions for Women* a hundred times in ten days meant writing more than ten thousand characters a day. The handwriting had to be neat, with no mistakes. It was hardly an easy punishment.
Once the matter had been dealt with, Lady Wu still had to thank him profusely for his mercy. Shen Yanshui was standing to one side with her eyes lowered when she suddenly sensed a gaze sweeping over her from head to toe. For some reason, she felt a chill run over her skin.
Cui Yu said coldly, “What are you standing there for? Are you not leaving?”
Shen Yanshui gave the limp, collapsed Lady Wu a slight curtsy before lifting her skirts and following after him.
He was heading toward Lotus Heart Courtyard.
Cui Yu strode ahead with a blank expression, not saying a word. Behind him, the sound of footsteps changed from small, measured steps to quick strides, and then to a light run.
Cui Yu: “...”
He abruptly stopped and turned to stare at her. Shen Yanshui braked sharply, nearly crashing into him. But having learned from Lady Liu’s example, she did not dare throw herself into his arms. She tightened her core and steadied herself firmly in place.
Cui Yu: “...”
His voice was calm and cold. “When you are before me, is your courage not boundless? Yet before others, you turn mute?”
Shen Yanshui’s heart tightened. She stole a glance at him. Seeing the dark, stern look on his face, she hesitated only a moment before honestly murmuring, “This concubine was actually... pretending.”
Cui Yu narrowed his eyes. “Oh?”
Shen Yanshui noticed the subtle shift in his mood, and inwardly relaxed. As expected, he had seen through her.
She decided that from now on, she should be honest in front of him and stop trying to play tricks with others. After all, he had been Crown Prince for so many years—how could an ordinary person possibly outmaneuver him?
“Lady Wu always likes to make trouble for me. I’m not afraid of her, but she really is rather annoying,” she said, knitting her delicate brows in mild complaint.
Then she glanced at him, her eyes sparkling. Pressing her lips together in a smile, she said, “Just now, I was planning to provoke her a little. Then I happened to see the hem of your robe, so... so I deliberately kept quiet. I wanted Your Highness to suddenly appear and give her a fright.”
Cui Yu cast a glance at her undisguised delight—there was even a touch of gleeful satisfaction in her expression—and gave a cold snort. Though his face remained grim, the faint discomfort in his heart quietly dissipated.
Behind them, Zheng Yuande, who had silently listened to Shen Yanshui speak, could not help widening his eyes.
This Lady Shen truly was so straightforward that even watching her made his heart tremble.
Then again, perhaps this was what people meant by fools having foolish luck. What clever person would enjoy having someone by their side with countless schemes, especially when those schemes were directed at them?
Xia'an, on the other hand, had gone pale. His legs had turned weak and trembled so badly that he nearly could not stand. Just as he was quaking with fear, he heard the Crown Prince turn and enter Lotus Heart Court.
Xia'an let out a fierce sigh of relief. ...That had been far too thrilling.
Shen Yanshui knew that although he still looked expressionless, his mood was no longer as foul as before. She was fairly relaxed as well—until she followed him into the room and the door closed behind them again...
Shen Yanshui’s eyes flew wide open. Looking at his dark, heavy gaze, she stammered, “Y-Your Highness, too much indulgence is bad for one’s health!”
Cui Yu’s already dark expression immediately turned even more forbidding. Raising a hand, he pulled down his sweat-dampened collar and stared at her as he said in a deep voice, “How am I supposed to face anyone tomorrow?”
He had changed into another outfit, but this dark teal robe had a rather high collar and was made of thick fabric—clearly not something suitable for the current season.
When Shen Yanshui saw the rather noticeable bite mark on his neck beneath the lowered collar, she felt somewhat guilty. Still, it was not as though she had failed to consider the consequences. Seeing his expression grow darker by the moment, she said with embarrassment, “It was my fault, but Your Highness need not worry.”
As she spoke, she took his hand and led him around the rosewood four-seasons landscape screen. From a small drawer beside the dressing table, she took out a white porcelain jar of ointment. Opening it, she said, “Your Highness, this is an ointment I often use to reduce bruising and fade marks. It works very well. Use it twice today, and by tomorrow morning there definitely won’t be a trace left.”
Cui Yu lowered his gaze to the white, creamy salve inside and frowned.
Seeing his deeply furrowed brow, Shen Yanshui did not mind whether he doubted the ointment’s effectiveness or suspected there was something wrong with it. She glanced at him, her cheeks faintly flushing, and said, “At noon today, on the couch... didn’t Your Highness notice that the skin on my body looked a little different from last night?” she hinted delicately.
This man was certainly strong. Her skin was fair, and even a slight squeeze would leave a mark. Though every time, after he had left, she would circulate her ability through the meridians in her body, and the marks on her skin would return to normal.
Still, the ointment’s effects had not been exaggerated to him.
The most important herbs in it had all been nurtured with her ability over the past while. For such faint marks on the Crown Prince’s skin—where it had not even been broken—a little ointment would make them disappear quickly.
Cui Yu fell silent for a moment, clearly having thought of something.
“Then let’s try it.”
Shen Yanshui said softly, “Your Highness, this is a secret remedy I happened to acquire from common folk. Shall we summon an imperial physician to inspect it first?”
Cui Yu lifted his eyelids and glanced at her. Expressionless, he said, “I have no face to show anyone like this.”
Shen Yanshui: “...”
Sorry, but seeing his expression, she really wanted to laugh.
And when she thought of how he had already gone around seeing people with that bite mark on him, she found it even more amusing.
But she did not dare tease the tiger again. Keeping a perfectly natural, gentle expression, she applied a little ointment for him, thinking, *I didn’t expect him to be so bold. He’ll use an ointment of unknown origin from me just because I said so.*
Then again, her entire life and fortune were now tied to his. What good would it do her to harm him?
As she applied the medicine, Cui Yu removed his outer robe.
Shen Yanshui: ...All right. No wonder he had deliberately chosen to wear clothes meant for early spring.
Seeing that even his white inner robe was nearly soaked through, she said, “Your Highness, I’ll have someone bring a basin of warm water so you can wipe yourself down.”
When he gave no further instructions, she went out to arrange it.
Knowing how much he cared about appearances, she did not allow anyone else to come in and attend to him. She carried the basin in herself. When she saw that he had already settled onto the couch and was looking at the cloth tiger she had set aside, she approached with a smile.
“Your Highness, take off your clothes. Shall I wipe away your sweat for you?”
Cui Yu gave a quiet hum in reply. Only then did he set down the cloth tiger and raise his arms.
Still smiling, Shen Yanshui stepped forward to tend to him. It was already May, and the weather grew hotter by the day. The sun had not yet set, so naturally the room was rather warm as well. Yet Shen Yanshui did not find it uncomfortable.
That was another advantage of her ability: it made her impervious to heat and cold—at least in this world.
As Shen Yanshui looked at the smooth, powerful lines of his body, she could not help stealing a few extra glances. With a wrung-out cloth, she slowly and unhurriedly wiped him down.
Cui Yu: “...”
The affection in her gaze was far too open and straightforward for him to pretend not to notice.
Suddenly, in a cool, detached voice, he said, “Do not try to seduce me.”
Shen Yanshui: “...?”
