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Miss Han shook her head, "No."

Xiao Jinyu, upon hearing this, became even more agitated and couldn’t sleep. He whispered in her ear, "Turn around."

"Okay." Miss Han turned around to look at Xiao Jinyu, saw his fair cheeks were slightly red, and reached out to feel his forehead. His temperature was normal.

Xiao Jinyu grabbed Miss Han’s hand, gazed at her exquisite face, and felt a warmth in his eyes, "Miss Han."

Seeing through to what Xiao Jinyu was thinking, Miss Han proactively wrapped her arms around his neck, "Prince Jinyu, your face is very hot."

Xiao Jinyu gave a somewhat sheepish explanation, "It’s just heat."

Miss Han chuckled lowly and didn’t call him out on it. Instead, she moved closer and kissed his lips.

Xiao Jinyu was already restless from excitement and couldn’t sleep, and now Miss Han’s initiative in kissing him caused his last bit of self-control to dissipate.

*

Shen Chuwei looked at Xiao Jinyan with his dark, gloomy face and understood exactly how he felt after being interrupted.

"Your Highness, let’s rest."

Xiao Jinyan gave Shen Chuwei a somewhat reproachful look, "I have not had my fill of fun yet."

Anyone who gets interrupted at a critical moment would inevitably curse.

Shen Chuwei, dragging her heavy body, got up, wrapped her arms around Xiao Jinyan’s neck, and asked, "Then what would you have your concubine do, Your Highness?"

Xiao Jinyan picked her up. For him, Shen Chuwei was light as a feather and he could effortlessly lift her.

"One more time."

Shen Chuwei: "..." So you just want to torment me again, huh~

Early the next day

Shen Chuwei dressed herself and saw the Crown Prince already calmly sipping tea at the table. She went over and curiously asked, "Your Highness, why don’t you wear a soft hedgehog armor?"

Xiao Jinyan paused in his tea-drinking and asked in confusion, "What is soft hedgehog armor?"

Shen Chuwei explained, "It’s something you wear that can stop blades and spears."

Xiao Jinyan shook his head, "I’ve never heard of it."

"Alright then." Shen Chuwei felt she was perhaps too influenced by television dramas. How could there be soft hedgehog armor in ancient times?

After breakfast, Shen Chuwei followed Xiao Jinyan to the hunting assembly ground.

When they arrived, other princes and officials were also arriving in succession.

The Empress was also dressed for horseback riding today; her bright red riding outfit was exquisitely made, clearly a labor of love.

The Empress in her riding outfit felt different—she hadn’t ridden a horse at full gallop in a long time, and she was looking forward to the hunt.

The Emperor, too, was dressed for riding, intending to hunt alongside the Empress and relive the old times.

"Empress, you look very fitting in riding attire, it seems to have made you much younger."

Empress: "..." So I don’t look young without riding attire?

The Emperor had no idea that his attempt at giving a compliment had backfired.

Shen Chuwei had no interest in hunting. She sat at the table eating grapes with Xu Concubine and Lady Tao Wanxin until Xiao Jinyan left to hunt, at which point she took out her handkerchief and waved it to him.

"Your Highness, go for it. Your concubine awaits your triumphant return!"

Xiao Jinyan turned to look towards the spectator seats and saw Shen Chuwei waving her pink handkerchief. He hadn’t expected her to actually cheer for him.

He shook his head helplessly and turned away to mount his tall horse.

Xiao Jinyu, feeling a bit worried about Miss Han being alone, "Miss Han, if you feel bored you can chat with my sister-in-law. I won’t be back from the hunt for a while."

Miss Han reassured him, "Go in peace, I’ll be fine on my own."

Xiao Jinyu added, "Then wait for me to return."

Miss Han nodded, "Mhm."

Only then did Xiao Jinyu mount his horse contentedly, ready to set off.

Wanxin, seated to one side, was a bit hurt observing this scene; Xiao Jinyu had not even noticed her presence there.

After Xiao Jinyu left, her gaze shifted towards Miss Han, noting first her tall stature and her beautiful appearance.

She thought about it briefly, got up, and moved closer to initiate a conversation.

"Miss Han, I’m Wanxin. I’m very pleased to meet you."

Wanxin’s voice was soft and gentle, which would cause anyone to lower their guard.

Miss Han glanced at Wanxin with a cold, distant voice, "Are we acquainted?"

Wanxin chuckled softly, "It doesn’t matter if we didn’t recognize each other the first time we met, but now we do. I felt quite bored being alone, and seeing you alone too, I came over to disturb you. You don’t mind, do you?"

Lady Han’s voice remained indifferent, "Whatever, I’m not in the mood to chat."

Wanxin’s expression stiffened slightly, wondering why Lady Han, who appeared young, was so indifferent in her speech?

Led by the Emperor and the Empress, the princes and ministers all rode their horses towards the forest ahead.

With the hunters gone, what remained were the women and the less robust officials.

The officials sat together, drinking wine or tea, conversing to their heart’s content.

Noticing Lady Han simply drinking her tea, Wanxin held her own cup carefully and asked, "Lady Han, do you know about the marriage the Empress Dowager wants to arrange?"

Lady Han paused in her tea-drinking, looking puzzledly at Wanxin, "What do you mean?"

Seeing that she had elicited a response, Wanxin continued tentatively, "The Empress Dowager has chosen a common girl to marry Prince Jinyu. This common girl is an orphan raised by the Empress Dowager, so naturally, she must obey. I also heard that Prince Jinyu is to marry Lady Han."

With caution, Wanxin inquired further, "I don’t know if Lady Han likes me or not. If I have been presumptuous, I hope Lady Han will forgive me."

Upon hearing about the Empress Dowager’s arranged marriage, Lady Han’s face turned unsightly.

Xiao Jinyu had never mentioned this matter to her.

Did he not know? Or did he deliberately not mention it?

Seeing Lady Han remain silent, Wanxin asked, puzzled, "Lady Han, don’t you know about this? The Emperor has already informed Prince Jinyu, and I heard it from the Empress Dowager. As for the details, I’m not certain."

Lady Han looked at Wanxin with cold eyes. "Why are you telling me all this?"

Wanxin spoke softly, "As strangers, I approached you to converse so that we may understand each other better and live in harmony in the future. By doing so, we can serve Prince Jinyu wholeheartedly."

Lady Han replied coldly, "I will not serve one husband with another."

Wanxin looked at Lady Han in surprise, "What do you mean by that?"

Lady Han clarified, "You want to marry Prince Jinyu, but it’s not possible."

Wanxin at first startled, then sighed helplessly, "A man having multiple wives and concubines is too common. Lady Han, it’s not worth being so stubborn. I didn’t come here to show off but to peacefully become a part of this and get along like sisters, so we can better serve Prince Jinyu."

Lady Han snorted, "Whatever your intentions, Prince Jinyu will not marry you."

Wanxin was stunned, then fell silent, sipping the tea in her hands.

Lady Han set down her teacup and picked up a trembling rabbit from beside her. The little rabbit had been frightened and kept huddling without daring to move.

Wanxin noticed the small rabbit in Lady Han’s arms – it was the one Xiao Jinyan had caught yesterday.

It seemed Prince Jinyu treated Lady Han quite well, even catching a rabbit for her amusement.

*

To avoid boredom, Shen Chuwei brought many snacks, and a few people sat around a table cracking sunflower seeds and chatting.

Lady Xu, with dark circles under her eyes, said, "I didn’t sleep well last night; I’m not accustomed to new beds."

"I feel the same. The beds here are so hard, not like the comfortable ones in the palace. My back still aches," Lady Tao cracked sunflower seeds with ease.

After both had spoken, they looked at Shen Chuwei and noticed she too had dark circles, "Crown Princess, did you also sleep poorly last night?"

Shen Chuwei paused her seed-cracking, recalling how a certain gentleman had kept her awake, not leaving her alone even in sleep, causing her a night of poor rest.

"Yes, Lady Tao is right; that bed was too hard. My waist is all bruised," Shen Chuwei said, cramming another seed into her mouth, not lying to her friends – her waist was indeed bruised...

Lady Xu was taken aback, "I thought the Crown Princess’s bed would be better than ours. I didn’t expect it to be so poor."

Lady Tao speculated, "Maybe because we won’t be staying long, they skimped on the beds."

Shen Chuwei nodded earnestly, deceiving her conscience, "Lady Tao makes a good point."

In truth, her bed was quite soft and comfortable, at least when Xiao Jinyan wasn’t tormenting her.

Perhaps it was due to being with the Crown Prince?

Lady Xu suggested, "Shall we play cards?"

Lady Tao agreed, "Let’s play; otherwise, it’s too boring."

Shen Chuwei, actually wanting to lie down and sleep, bluntly proposed, "Playing cards doesn’t always require four people; two can play as well."

Through Shen Chuwei’s relentless efforts, Lady Xu and Lady Tao learned a two-person card game, the simplest Go Fish.

Lady Xu was excited at first, but after a while, she found it uninteresting.

"Hold on, I need to step away for a moment," Lady Xu said, lifting her skirt and leaving.

The distance to the restroom was quite far, and it took her a while to get there.

After relieving herself, Lady Xu started walking back but hadn’t gone far when someone covered her mouth from behind and dragged her behind a tree.

ps: One update.