Page 260

Xiao Jinyu was so embarrassed that on his way back, he wasn’t paying attention and stepped into thin air. He ended up landing on the stairs with a thud, and without looking, he knew a large area must have turned blue.

"It’s nothing. I need to take a bath," he said.

Xiao Jinyu finished speaking and turned to grab his clothes, heading straight behind the screen.

Han Yan tilted her head to watch Xiao Jinyu’s awkward gait and knew instantly something was amiss.

After bathing, Xiao Jinyu came out and saw Miss Han still sitting there. He walked over and sat down at the edge of the bed. The bedding was soft, and it didn’t hurt to sit.

"Miss Han, aren’t you returning to your room to rest?" he asked.

Han Yan stood and walked over, sitting beside Xiao Jinyu. She glanced at his backside and asked, "What happened to your butt?"

Xiao Jinyu pretended as if nothing was the matter, "It’s nothing. I’m going to rest now, and so should you."

"Jinyu, don’t lie to me."

"I’m not lying to you..."

Before Xiao Jinyu could finish his sentence, Han Yan grabbed his butt, causing him to fail to hold back a yelp, "Ah!" He then bounced up from the bed.

Han Yan looked at him with a calm expression, "Is this also nothing?"

Xiao Jinyu’s cheeks flushed red, "Miss Han, how can you, a lady, grab a man’s butt like this?"

With her beautiful eyes calmly upon him, Han Yan asked, "Is that important?"

Xiao Jinyu spoke earnestly, "Of course it’s important. You’re a girl; you must be reserved!"

With a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, Han Yan watched him and said, "Does the word ’reserved’ still apply to our relationship?"

Xiao Jinyu replied seriously, "Miss Han, even though I redeemed you from Paradise with a hefty sum, and you were forced by the madam there to learn skills to please others, you don’t need to do those things in front of me. I..."

With a calm demeanor, Han Yan interrupted, "Jinyu, you’re straying from the point. We’re discussing why your butt is injured. Who bullied you?"

Uh! Seeing that there was no point in hiding it any longer, Xiao Jinyu confessed, "Who would dare to bully me? I simply missed a step while descending the stairs and fell."

Having said that, Xiao Jinyu felt extremely awkward.

Han Yan stood and ordered, "Lie down on the bed."

Xiao Jinyu, puzzled, asked, "Miss Han, what are you planning to do?"

"I’m going to apply medicine," she replied succinctly.

"There’s really no need, it’s just a minor injury..."

Han Yan remarked, "Why is Jinyu acting like a child, all coy and shy?"

"You are a girl, and I’m a guy; it’s inappropriate. I’ll have..."

Before Xiao Jinyu could finish his sentence, something soft pressed against his lips, and he was forced to swallow the rest of his words.

Having been together for so long, Han Yan had long since figured out all of Xiao Jinyu’s weak spots. It didn’t take much to make him go limp.

In the end, Xiao Jinyu obediently lay down on the bed, burying his whole face in the pillow, his embarrassment hidden away ~

*

That entire day, Shen Chuwei kept wondering about the whereabouts of the sachet but came up with nothing.

It wasn’t until she helped Xiao Jinyan undress that she discovered he had been carrying the sachet with him all along.

While Xiao Jinyan was bathing, she tucked the sachet beneath the pillow.

After a moment of thought and still feeling uneasy, she retrieved the sachet from beneath the pillow and placed it in the bedside cabinet.

After watching it for a while, she still felt uneasy, so she opened the cabinet, took out the sachet, and made a round of the room with it. Her gaze fell on the wardrobe. She strode over, opened the wardrobe, and stuffed the sachet inside it before closing the doors.

Just as Shen Chuwei breathed a sigh of relief, Xiao Jinyan’s clear voice, reminiscent of rain hitting banana leaves, reached her from behind, "Little Nine, what are you doing?"

Shen Chuwei turned around with a guilty conscience, hoping that he hadn’t seen her hiding the sachet.

"I was looking for some clothes," she said.

Xiao Jinyan asked, "Did you find them?"

Shen Chuwei nodded, "I found them."

Xiao Jinyan took her hand, "Then let’s go to sleep."

Shen Chuwei glanced back at the wardrobe. Tomorrow, she would change the spices inside, to prevent the scent from lingering for a thousand years!

Once in bed, Shen Chuwei watched as Xiao Jinyan put down the bed curtains, plunging the room into near darkness. She was about to lie down when she heard Xiao Jinyan ask.

"Little Nine, why do you pretend in front of me?"

Shen Chuwei, completely baffled, replied, "Your Highness, I’m not pretending at all!"

Xiao Jinyan spoke gravely, "You said you couldn’t paint, but your artwork surpasses the work of Imperial Palace painters. You claimed you couldn’t compose poetry, yet your verses achieve a depth ordinary people couldn’t fathom. And you say you’re not pretending?"

Shen Chuwei felt wronged!

In front of Xiao Jinyan, she couldn’t have been more genuine, not once concealing her true nature of gluttony and sloth, that of a salted fish!

"Your Highness, I have only learned sketching. Painting with a brush is different, and the poem was really just a fluke," she protested.

She couldn’t very well say she had taken the works of a poetic immortal for a little showing off ~

To reveal that would be to spill the beans on her time-traveling secret.

A borrowed body returned to life?

She feared she would soon be visited by a Daoist wielding a peach wood sword to return her soul to its rightful place.

Ah, possibly the original body had already been reduced to ashes; returning to the ’original position’ might no longer be an option.

Xiao Jinyan drew her into his embrace, his voice warm, "I hope, Little Nine, that you won’t hide anything from me."

"I understand," Shen Chuwei replied, her voice tinged with guilt. How to explain time travel or her space?

There was simply no way to explain.

"Little Nine."

"Hm?"

Shen Chuwei lifted her head to look at Xiao Jinyan. The light in the bedchamber was dim, his face obscured. Yet her hand found his cheek with unerring accuracy, it felt slightly warm.

After a long wait, with only the sound of faint breathing in her ear, she inquired tentatively, "Your Highness?"

It took a while, but Xiao Jinyan eventually spoke, "Little Nine, with my current abilities, I may not be able to prevent Princess Xueyan from entering the East Palace."

Though he was the Crown Prince, the Emperor hadn’t truly handed over power, and he lacked real authority.

He had no way to oppose his father and mother’s decision.

That would be like attacking a stone with an egg.

Shen Chuwei was momentarily stunned.

She knew well that nobody could defy the imperial decree!

Xiao Jinyan was no exception.

She couldn’t help but sigh, modern times really were better.

Xiao Jinyan continued, "The one thing I can promise is that I won’t touch her."

Shen Chuwei was taken aback again. Was Xiao Jinyan making a promise?

Xiao Jinyan softly called her name, "Little Nine."

Shen Chuwei answered, "I am here."

Xiao Jinyan just held her, saying nothing more, for some things could not be conveyed in just a word or two.

Give him two more years; all he needed was two years to seize the power he needed.

That night, Xiao Jinyan couldn’t sleep.

In the past, he thought having a few more decorations in the palace was no big deal.

Now, he wished he could get rid of all the decorations in the palace.

But to speak of getting rid of them, if Princess Xueyan truly set her heart on the East Palace, he might not be able to stop her.

Before dawn, Xiao Jinyan, who had not slept a wink, quietly got out of bed to dress and prepare for court.

Once dressed, he habitually reached for the sachet to hang on his body, only to find it gone.

He frowned, quickly lit a candle, and went to the bedside to search. He searched the entire area on the step stool but found nothing.

It was right there in his clothes last night, how could it have disappeared?