Cui Yu: “............”
He lowered his eyes to look at the person already fast asleep in his arms.
After a moment, he slipped one arm around her back and the other beneath her knees, then gently lifted her up.
Shen Yanshui naturally burrowed into the crook of his shoulder. She mumbled something indistinctly, then fell silent again.
Cui Yu bent down and carefully laid her on the bed. He watched her for a moment, extinguished the lamp, and slowly lay down beside her.
The bedchamber was shrouded in darkness. Only when lightning flashed outside could they vaguely make out each other’s silhouettes.
Sensing the familiar warmth and scent beside her, Shen Yanshui instinctively rolled over and clung to him with both arms and legs. She burrowed her head into the hollow of his neck, found the most comfortable position, and soon sank back into deep sleep.
After a long while, Cui Yu slowly reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, lowering his eyes to look at her.
It was too dark beneath the bed curtains for him to see her features clearly. He could only feel her warm breath brushing against his collarbone, again and again, raising a faint, ticklish sensation.
He lay awake, staring at the dark canopy overhead, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
Her words from earlier rose in his mind.
“If I were to grow jealous today because Your Highness went to Sister Zhang’s residence, then in the future there would be countless Sister Chus and Sister Songs, Younger Sister Zhangs and Younger Sister Lins. Wouldn’t I have to be jealous of every one of them?”
There truly were too many women in his household—so many that even their faces had become somewhat blurred in his memory.
He was the Crown Prince of Dayong.
Continuing the imperial line and expanding the royal family were responsibilities he could not shirk as heir to the throne.
But as for love...
There was only A-Yan.
He did not even know when it had begun. Somehow, it had been a long time since he had visited any of the other women’s residences.
It was not that he had deliberately avoided them. It was simply that... he had not thought of it at all.
Whether in the Eastern Palace or at the imperial retreat, once he had finished dealing with state affairs each day, all he could think about was going to see A-Yan.
He simply wanted to be with her.
He liked watching her brows curve when she smiled, listening to her chatter on about this and that, sharing a meal with her, taking a walk and strolling off their food, going to see the flowers and plants she had grown—or even just sitting quietly together in the sunshine, talking.
All of it made him feel comfortable and happy.
A-Yan had said... she did not want to be jealous every day.
Then he simply would not go to the others.
When that thought occurred to him, Cui Yu himself was slightly taken aback.
Then he accepted it calmly.
He had not wanted to go in the first place. He was not close to any of them.
It was just that... the Crown Princess—
At the thought, his eyes darkened slightly.
The Crown Princess was his... legal wife.
When they had married, it was not that he had held no expectations for their marriage.
His maternal grandfather and grandmother had spent their entire lives devoted to one another. He had watched them grow up together and had secretly envied them.
He had thought that even if he could not be as loving as they were until old age, at the very least, he and his wife could treat each other with mutual respect, live in harmony, and support one another.
But the Crown Princess... time and again.
Plotting against the imperial heir, narrow-minded, conceited and scheming, disrespectful toward the Empress Dowager...
One incident after another had ground his original expectations into dust.
Now, when he looked at the Crown Princess, he regarded her only as an ally who was forced to stand on the same side as him.
Yet even as an ally, she had failed to do her part. His eyes darkened, a chill flashing across them.
After a moment, his thoughts turned several times before, for some inexplicable reason, drifting toward another matter.
Xu Chengwen.
He remembered hearing some time ago that A-Yan and Xu Chengwen had once been betrothed, that she had taken the initiative to write to him, and that they had met privately twice.
At the time, he had already felt uncomfortable.
Now, seeing A-Yan’s reaction to the women around him, he suddenly felt as though something had clenched his chest hard. A sour, bitter sensation spread from his heart through all four limbs, leaving even his fingertips faintly numb.
Cui Yu’s expression grew increasingly somber.
He lowered his eyes to the person in his arms. Emotions roiled in his gaze, and his thin lips pressed into a tight line.
Suddenly, he remembered the past.
He had seen no shortage of the methods used by the women in his household to compete for his favor.
Sending him soup, presenting him with handkerchiefs, intercepting him halfway to vie for his attention, sowing discord in front of him, crying and complaining, pretending to be ill, somehow appearing out of nowhere to play the qin, sing, dance, or throwing themselves at him whenever he wanted to quietly admire the flowers...
It was only after he had disciplined them that things became somewhat quieter.
But A-Yan was different. She had never done any of those things.
In the past, he had merely thought her well-behaved, sensible, and content to observe her place.
He did not have to listen to all that nonsense on top of his already heavy workload.
But now, when he thought back on it, something seemed to clog his heart, leaving him with an indescribable discomfort.
Was it because... she did not care?
Cui Yu’s gaze fell upon her face.
As he watched her, a thought suddenly surfaced, like a cold needle stabbing into the softest part of his heart.
Had A-Yan... never liked him at all?
Had everything she had done for him in the past been only because he was the Crown Prince, the master of the Eastern Palace, and she had no choice but to do so?
Or perhaps... it did not matter who it was, who occupied the position of Crown Prince. As long as A-Yan entered the Eastern Palace, would she have acted the same way?
The moment that thought arose, Cui Yu felt as though an invisible hand had seized his chest and squeezed it hard. The pain was so intense that he could barely breathe.
His breathing quickened for an instant before he forcibly suppressed it.
The turmoil in his eyes raged for a moment, then was slowly pressed down by his own will.
He stared darkly at her sleeping face, remembering the way she had found him clothes earlier and helped him change.
“Your Highness’s sleeves are soaked. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Your Highness may be in good health, but this is the mountains. It’s very cold here...”
Cui Yu closed his eyes, then slowly opened them again.
He could not let himself become trapped in a vicious circle. He did not believe... that A-Yan had no genuine feelings for him. He did not believe that everything she showed him was an act.
Suddenly, he tried looking at it from another angle.
If A-Yan had many men around her who could rightfully grow close to her...
The thought had barely surfaced when a fierce murderous intent, along with violently swelling jealousy, surged into Cui Yu’s eyes.
Only for an instant, his body stiffened. At last, he realized something...
After a long while, he lowered his eyes and quietly studied her features.
Before this... he had been too presumptuous, too convinced that everything was his by right.
Nothing in this world was granted as a matter of course. If he wanted something, he naturally had to exchange something of equal value for it.
Otherwise, why would anyone give it to him?
And what he wanted was—
A-Yan’s true feelings.
At that thought, Cui Yu finally slowly exhaled the pent-up breath in his chest.
His lowered gaze rested on her face. His eyes were dark and fathomless, like a bottomless pool.
At some point, the rain outside had weakened, and the thunder had gradually receded. Only the soft patter of raindrops remained, like someone gently plucking the strings of a qin—one note after another, lingering and serene.
He continued to gaze quietly at the person in his arms.
Shen Yanshui was sleeping deeply.
Her head rested in the hollow of his shoulder, and one hand lay against his chest, her fingers slightly curled.
Cui Yu gently tightened his arms around her, resting his chin against the crown of her head.
He closed his eyes, but no matter what, he could not fall asleep.
The next morning, the rain was still falling.
It pattered softly and steadily. Unlike the violent downpour of the previous night, it was no longer fierce, but neither had it stopped. Fine, dense threads of rain tapped against the window lattice with a rustling sound. The damp air seeped in through the cracks, carrying the fresh fragrance of earth and vegetation.
Shen Yanshui had been awakened by the heat.
Half awake, she sensed that something was wrong. It felt as if something were wrapped tightly around her, heavy and hot, like she was embracing a large stone that radiated warmth. The heat spread from her chest to her limbs, warming her all over. But once it grew too warm, it became somewhat stifling.
She opened her eyes blearily. The first thing she saw was a stretch of cool, pale skin, with a sharply defined collarbone and a slightly prominent Adam’s apple. Farther up was the cold, hard line of a jaw, and beneath it, a chin covered with quite a bit of dark stubble.
She froze for a moment.
Then she woke up completely.
Why was the Crown Prince so hot? Was he… running a fever?!
Shen Yanshui abruptly pushed herself upright and lowered her head to look at his face.
The moment she did, her heart clenched.
The Crown Prince’s face was flushed with an unnatural redness. His thin lips were slightly parted, much darker than usual, dry and peeling. His brows were faintly drawn together, as though he had not been sleeping peacefully.
She was startled. Quickly sitting up, she braced one hand beside his pillow and gently pushed his shoulder with the other.
“Your Highness? Your Highness?”
Her voice was very soft, but she could not hide the anxiety in it.
Cui Yu’s brows drew together even more tightly. His lashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was A-Yan’s face.
Her brows were knitted together, and her eyes were filled with concern.
He paused for a moment.
He had been awake all night, his mind turning those matters over and over. It was not until the sky had just begun to pale that exhaustion finally overcame him, allowing him to close his eyes for a brief while. Now, he felt a dull ache in his head.
When he opened his eyes and saw her, he was still somewhat dazed.
“…A-Yan?” he said, but his voice was much lower and hoarser than usual, dry and tight, with a rough edge to it.
After uttering only those two words, he realized that something was wrong.
His throat hurt.
He frowned.
But Shen Yanshui gave him no time to think about it. She had already nimbly climbed out of bed and picked up the outer robe beside it, slipping it on.
“Chunping!” Her voice was much louder than usual. “Go fetch the imperial physician! His Highness has a fever!”
Chunping was tidying up in the outer room. His heart lurched when he heard her.
The Crown Prince had a fever?!
Without daring to delay, he immediately went himself to summon the imperial physician.
Zheng Yuande was waiting beneath the corridor. Wang Chunlai had taken his place for the entire night, so he was still fairly energetic. He had gotten up again at dawn and had been straining his ears to listen to the movements inside.
When he heard Worthy Lady Shen shout, “His Highness has a fever,” he was so frightened that his soul nearly left his body.
He scrambled into the room.
“Your Highness?!”
The moment he entered, he saw the Crown Prince sitting on the edge of the bed, bending down to reach for the boots on the floor.
His complexion was indeed abnormal, flushed an unnatural red, and his lips were somewhat dry. He clearly looked as though he had a fever.
Zheng Yuande was so anxious that his face twisted into a bitter grimace, and his eyes reddened. “Your—”
“Be quiet.”
Cui Yu did not even raise his head. His voice was low and hoarse.
He had already put on one boot and was bending down to reach for the other.
The rest of Zheng Yuande’s words caught in his throat. His face flushed from holding them back, but he did not dare say anything else. He could only hurry forward, crouch down, and help the Crown Prince put on the other boot.
Just as Cui Yu was about to stand—
A hand pressed down on his shoulder.
The force was considerable, pushing him firmly back down.
Cui Yu lifted his eyes.
Shen Yanshui stood before him, her brows drawn tightly together. Her entire demeanor radiated displeasure.
“Your Highness, you’re already ill. Instead of resting, where do you think you’re going?”
Cui Yu looked at her and was just about to speak.
But Shen Yanshui’s gaze suddenly fell on the bowl of ginger soup on the table some distance away.
It was still sitting there, untouched.
A wave of regret suddenly swept over her.
The previous night, she had been so preoccupied with talking to the Crown Prince. Then there had been changing clothes and all the ensuing commotion, and she had completely forgotten about the ginger soup.
Ever since she was little, she had paid particular attention to keeping fit. She was strong and healthy, so a little rain or wind meant nothing to her—especially now that she also had her supernatural ability.
Besides, the Crown Prince had always seemed to be in excellent health. He could eat well, sleep well, fight well, and was vigorous enough to wear her out. She had never imagined that he might fall ill.
Who could have thought… the Crown Prince would suddenly come down with a fever just like this?
She felt regretful, but the hand pressing on his shoulder did not loosen.
Held down by her, Cui Yu looked up at her regretful, worried expression.
A-Yan had him in her heart…
