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Shen Chuwei’s face turned red, the look of bashful shyness filling her beautiful starry eyes.

Xiao Jinyan saw this and couldn’t help but reach out to grab her wrist, pulling her into his arms.

Shen Chuwei hadn’t expected an injured man to suddenly make a move, and caught off guard, she collided into a full embrace.

She lifted her face, looking at Xiao Jinyan in confusion, "Your Highness?"

Xiao Jinyan whispered by her ear, "It’s just the outer pants that have been removed, why is little Jiublushing?"

Shen Chuwei touched her own face, finding it hot, and even without looking, she guessed it was thoroughly red.

She declared with righteous indignation, "This is shyness, a normal reaction for a girl."

Xiao Jinyan chuckled lowly, "But we are already husband and wife indeed."

Husband and wife indeed~

Being so close to each other, Shen Chuwei’s face grew incredibly hot.

Xiao Jinyan noticed that Shen Chuwei’s ears had turned red, and with a lightness in his voice, he said, "Little Jiu, continue."

Shen Chuwei could see that Xiao Jinyan was doing this on purpose.

What goes around comes around, and now it was her turn again.

Shen Chuwei steeled her heart and continued the unfinished task.

The task was arduous, and she completed it with a red face throughout.

When she finished, her face looked like a cooked shrimp, completely red.

Xiao Jinyan obviously wasn’t in a much better position, having started this only to tease little Jiu, yet the discomfort ended up on himself.

After taking her bath, Shen Chuwei wanted to go back to the neighboring Hehuan Hall to sleep, as she was well aware of her own sleeping habits and how easily she could injure her bedmate.

Xiao Jinyan naturally disagreed.

"I am injured, shouldn’t you be taking care of me closely?"

"You are the Crown Prince, whatever you say goes."

Shen Chuwei climbed onto the bed, lifted the quilt and lay down, then shifted a little to maintain a safe distance from Xiao Jinyan.

Xiao Jinyan turned his head to look at her.

Shen Chuwei explained, "Your Highness has injuries, so it’s better to be cautious."

Xiao Jinyan nodded, "Mhm."

The next day, when Shen Chuwei awoke, she found herself clutching Xiao Jinyan’s arm, and from above came his slightly husky voice, "Awake?"

Shen Chuwei lifted her face, her eyes and eyebrows curving, "Your Highness, good morning."

Xiao Jinyan asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"I slept quite well," Shen Chuwei always had good sleep, the kind that wouldn’t wake up even if thunder struck at midnight.

Xiao Jinyan said, "I... also slept quite well."

It turned out that as long as the injury wasn’t to the right hand side, sharing a bed was not an issue for the two of them.

After Shen Chuwei got out of bed, Xiao Jinyan silently withdrew his arm, which he hadn’t moved all night, the entire limb had gone numb.

During breakfast, Shen Chuwei’s table was filled with various pastries.

In front of Xiao Jinyan was only a bowl of plain congee, not even a side dish in sight.

Xiao Jinyan didn’t mind, as he would usually just have some congee and pastries for breakfast every day.

However, when he looked up and saw Shen Chuwei eating pastries, he tossed aside his previously indifferent thoughts.

Meat buns, dumplings, they all looked quite tasty.

"Little Jiu, I want to eat a meat bun," he said.

Shen Chuwei, with her mouth full of bun, replied inarticulately, "Your Highness, meat buns are too greasy, you can’t eat them."

Xiao Jinyan then asked for less, "I’ll just have one dumpling."

"No, dumplings are fried food, you can’t eat them."

Shen Chuwei picked up the pastries on her plate and continued to eat, her back facing him as she continued.

Xiao Jinyan glanced at Shen Chuwei’s back, then lowered his head to the bowl of plain congee in front of him, looking forward to lunch.

At lunchtime

The palace maids began to serve the lunch.

Shen Chuwei, looking at the delicious food in front of her, couldn’t wait to dig in. She picked up her chopsticks and thought for a moment, then lifted her head to glance at Xiao Jinyan at the next table, noticing that he was watching her, his eyes curving into a smile, "Your Highness, please eat."

In front of Xiao Jinyan was a bowl of rice with three dishes and a soup, none of which looked appetizing at first glance.

He looked at Shen Chuwei at the next table, whose dishes were all attractive in color and aroma.

"Why eat at separate tables?"

Shen Chuwei confidently replied, "Even if Your Highness is an adult, there are times when you can’t control yourself. Eating separately prevents such troubles."

Xiao Jinyan: "..."

Liu Xi, standing by and attending, secretly wiped away a cold sweat. Lady Shen was getting bolder, to treat Your Highness in such a way.

Xiao Jinyan glanced at Liu Xi, "..." Are you not bold? She suggests eating separately and you just go along with it?

Upon Shen Chuwei’s suggestion, Liu Xi instructed the maids clearly divided the tasks.

Concubine Xu came to Hehuan Hall and didn’t see Shen Chuwei; she only learned from Little Rabbit that Shen Chuwei was in the neighboring bedchamber.

This continued for three consecutive days, making Concubine Xu somewhat restless. She flounced into the Crown Prince’s bedchamber, waving her handkerchief.

As soon as she entered, she saw Shen Chuwei feeding Xiao Jinyan a piece of pastry. She didn’t see clearly what kind of pastry it was, but it was crystal clear to her that Xiao Jinyan was ordering Shen Chuwei around.

While Shen Chuwei was enjoying her pastry, she thought that Xiao Jinyan didn’t eat much at lunch, so she fed him a bite, casually asking, "Your Highness, how does it taste?"

Xiao Jinyan chewed slowly, nodding his head, "Not bad."

Concubine Xu flounced forward a few steps with her handkerchief and curtsied, "Your Highness, may you be blessed and safe."

Xiao Jinyan lifted his gaze and glanced at Concubine Xu, his voice cold and distant, "Concubine Xu is here, is there something you need?"

Concubine Xu responded, "This concubine heard that Your Highness was injured, and has come to see how you are."

But in her heart, she was complaining. With so many people attending in the bedchamber, why did Shen Chuwei need to attend to him personally? It was too bullying.

Xiao Jinyan: "..."

Shen Chuwei, holding the pastry that Xiao Jinyan had not finished, offered it to him again, "Your Highness."

Xiao Jinyan opened his mouth to take the rest of the pastry, chewing twice. Before he could swallow, he heard Concubine Xu’s sarcasm,

Eating a piece of pastry still needs to be fed, and he’s not a child.

Xiao Jinyan: "..." Can you leave now?

Shen Chuwei, eating mung bean cake, looked up at Concubine Xu, "Does Concubine Xu want some pastries?"

"Sure." Concubine Xu stepped forward and picked up a piece of mung bean cake to take a bite; it was filled with sesame and had just the right amount of sweetness.

"It’s pretty good." After finishing, she stuffed the rest of the half piece of mung bean cake into her mouth.

"I had Chun Xi make it especially." Shen Chuwei was somewhat proud as Chun Xi had made it according to her own taste; of course, it was delicious.

Concubine Xu picked up another piece of mung bean cake, lifted her gaze to Xiao Jinyan, and despite his appearance not suggesting he was injured, she inquired, "Your Highness, your injury has healed, correct?"

Xiao Jinyan austerely replied, "Concubine Xu is considerate, I am already well."

Concubine Xu snorted internally, everything was fine yet he still monopolized Shen Chuwei. She, too, needed freedom, her own space!

Needing freedom, needing space, these were ideas she read about in novels and now cleverly applied them, showing that Concubine Xu was indeed quite smart.

Xiao Jinyan’s expression darkened as he turned to look at Shen Chuwei, who was savoring her mung bean cake.

"Lady Shen, accompany me for a walk outside."

"Alright." Shen Chuwei stood up, holding a piece of mung bean cake in one hand.

Xiao Jinyan: "..." When can you ever forget about eating?

Seeing this, Concubine Xu, dissatisfied, pursed her lips. Just a walk, what was Liu Xi for? A decoration?