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Shen Chuwei sighed helplessly as she watched the tall figure approach. If only she had come a bit later, she could have finished eating.

There was one bite of noodles left. To eat it or not was equally awkward as she sat there.

Xiao Jinyan glanced at the monk and with a keen eye, recognized him as the one who had offered incense that day.

He turned his gaze to Shen Chuwei and asked in a deep voice, "What are you doing here?"

Shen Chuwei slurped the two strands of noodles hanging from her mouth and wiped her lips with her hand as she stood up and bowed.

With the instant noodles right in front of her, she had no choice but to tell the truth, "This concubine is eating instant noodles."

The young monk also stood up, pressed his palms together in a gesture of respect, and said, "Your Highness."

Xiao Jinyan ignored the monk, his eyes fixed on Shen Chuwei. He glanced at the small bucket on the table, "Did you sneak out just to eat noodles?"

Shen Chuwei nodded guiltily, "Mhm."

She wanted to eat roasted rabbit meat, but as killing was forbidden near the temple, she had to settle for instant noodles.

She didn’t even dare to add ham sausage, not wishing to trouble the young monk.

Xiao Jinyan looked up at the monk again and asked coldly, "What are you doing here?"

Shen Chuwei said, "Your Highness, the young monk was helping this concubine fetch hot water."

Xiao Jinyan’s voice grew heavier, "I am asking him."

"Oh," Shen Chuwei lowered her eyes and said no more.

"The poor monk happened to meet Lady Shen and helped to fetch water," the young monk answered succinctly.

Xiao Jinyan glanced at the bucket on the table. It was too dark to see if there were any noodles left, "Have you finished eating?"

Shen Chuwei replied, "Your Highness, not yet."

Xiao Jinyan said, "Hurry up and finish, then follow me back."

"As you command, Your Highness." Shen Chuwei immediately sat back down, picked up the fork, twirled the last bite, ate it, then pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, and stood up again.

"Your Highness, this concubine has finished eating."

Xiao Jinyan watched her eat that bite, meaning there were only a few strands of noodles in the bucket, which she didn’t spare—

He reached out and grabbed Shen Chuwei’s hand, gripping it tightly, "Let’s go back."

Shen Chuwei’s gaze fell on their hands. This counted as holding hands, right? And it was the second time. The first time was during the New Year’s Eve family feast. To prevent her from falling, Xiao Jinyan had led her by the hand.

Though she was Xiao Jinyan’s concubine and holding hands was not an issue,

she still felt it was strange, but couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

Seeing her standing still, Xiao Jinyan explained, "It’s dark, and easy to stumble."

So that was it.

Shen Chuwei leisurely followed Xiao Jinyan out of the pavilion.

Only after they had walked some distance did she remember she had forgotten to throw away the trash.

The young monk would probably take care of it.

The young monk watched Xiao Jinyan and Shen Chuwei walk away before turning his attention back to the trash on the table. Taking a couple of steps forward, he cleaned it up and then left.

Shen Chuwei followed Xiao Jinyan back to the chamber. The rooms in the temple were not as warm as those in the East Palace.

Xiao Jinyan let go of Shen Chuwei’s hand and looked down at her. He could still smell the scent of instant noodles on her, a rather peculiar odor.

Having just eaten the noodles, her pink lips were a bit...

"If you want to eat, just eat. Why go out?"

How could Shen Chuwei dare to say she had wanted to go out for game meat but was caught by the young monk, so she settled for instant noodles as the next best thing.

"The instant noodles have a strong smell, and I didn’t want to disturb Your Highness’s reading," she said guiltily.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinyan felt his anger subside quite a bit.

"Rest early, for tomorrow we must rise early to accompany Mother to pray to the Buddha for blessings."

Shen Chuwei breathed a sigh of relief and took the initiative, "Your Concubine will help Your Highness undress."

"Mmm." Xiao Jinyan unfolded his arms, waiting for Shen Chuwei to attend to him.

Shen Chuwei lowered her eyes and stepped forward, adeptly removing the fox fur, waist seal, and belt, followed by the outer clothing.

After undressing Xiao Jinyan, Shen Chuwei turned to wash up.

Having eaten the instant noodles, which were somewhat strongly flavored, she rinsed her mouth several times with special care.

At that moment, in the room next door,

Ever since Lady had sustained an injury, only the Imperial Doctor and the Empress had come to visit her; His Highness had not come even once.

Today, having seen how close her aunt and Shen Chuwei had grown, if Shen Chuwei were to use any despicable means to win back her aunt’s favor, it would be over.

Within the Imperial Palace, her only support and person she could rely on was her aunt; if even her aunt took Shen Chuwei’s side, her bargaining chip for the position of Crown Princess would be lost.

The maid approached to remind, "Young Mistress, it’s late into the night. You should rest early."

Lady could hardly sleep; as long as the position of Crown Princess was not confirmed, anything could happen.

Early the next morning, Lady, despite her injury, came to accompany the Empress in praying to the Buddha for blessings.

The Empress spoke earnestly, "Lanlan, you should rest well at home since you’re injured. It wouldn’t be good if the injury worsened."

The Empress brought Lady along also to pray for a son; praying personally was more sincere and increased the chances of bearing a male child.

Lady replied indifferently, "Aunt, my injury is not in the way. Praying for blessings is the most important matter; this little injury is nothing."

If she did not make an effort, the Crown Princess position, served to her on a platter, could slip away; everything depended on her aunt.

Her injury was not serious and did not affect her much. Why not take the opportunity to earn a good reputation?

Xiao Jinyan was not surprised to hear what was on Lady’s mind, for he knew she would pretend and put on an act.

Give up on the position of Crown Princess; you have no chance.

Seeing how Lady prioritized the greater good, the Empress thought this was the very virtue a Crown Princess should have; her choice in Lanlan as the most suitable candidate for Crown Princess was indeed correct.

Xiao Jinyan let out a cold snort, Mother, your judgment is truly lacking.

The prayer for blessings at the temple was the lengthiest and the most exhausting ordeal.

After a whole day, Shen Chuwei felt as if her legs no longer belonged to her.

Upon returning to her quarters, Shen Chuwei wanted to find a place to lie down and stay motionless, but due to the numerous ancient protocols regarding rank and propriety, as long as Xiao Jinyan was present, she could not lie down as she wished.

Xiao Jinyan sat at the desk and lifted his gaze toward Shen Chuwei, "Come here."

"Alright." Shen Chuwei walked over listlessly, "Does Your Highness have any orders?"

Xiao Jinyan pointed to a rattan chair in front of him, "Sit down."

With a puzzled expression, Shen Chuwei sat down to face Xiao Jinyan.

Xiao Jinyan commanded further, "Stretch out your feet."

At each command, Shen Chuwei made the corresponding action, lifting her right leg and unable to help asking, "Your Highness, what are you about to do?"

"Apply medicine." Xiao Jinyan’s response was concise. He took a salve out of his sleeve pouch, placed it on the table, and with one hand, lifted Shen Chuwei’s foot, removing her Pearl Flower shoe, then noticing her socks, which were pink and snugly fitted. A flicker of confusion crossed his eyes.

Are these socks?

In ancient times, socks were large and long, which Shen Chuwei disliked as she found them bothersome to wear. Therefore, she drew a design, asking Chun Xi to make some socks that were easy to put on and take off.

With curiosity, Xiao Jinyan removed the socks, finding them highly elastic and convenient to remove.

In ancient times, women were held to strict standards, and it was forbidden to reveal their feet to outsiders.

Since Shen Chuwei was officially his woman, a glimpse of her feet was not inappropriate.

Shen Chuwei, being petite, had equally small feet that, never touched by sunlight, were whiter and more delicate than any other part of her body.