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Shen Chuwei’s mind was filled with not a few colorful scraps, and when Xiao Jinyan suggested changing positions, her on top, her mind automatically conjured up an image replete with erotic allure.

Xiao Jinyan certainly had quite the imagination~

"But then the one who gets tired would still be your concubine, and I don’t want to do it."

Xiao Jinyan chuckled softly, pushing the pastries toward her, "Eat some pastries."

Shen Chuwei was already hungry by then, but she felt a bit defiant upon seeing the vigor in Xiao Jinyan’s spirit, and seeing the pastries only made her hungrier.

As she ate the pastries, Xiao Jinyan picked up the teapot, took out a new tea bowl, and poured a bowl of hot tea for her.

After eating a few pastries, she picked up the tea bowl and took a few sips. She noticed that Xiao Jinyan’s way of drinking tea hadn’t changed from before.

Since Xiao Jinyan started making tea, she had noticed that his posture and technique were the same as before.

Xiao Jinyan realized Shen Chuwei was staring at him, "What are you looking at again?"

Shen Chuwei’s eyes curved, "Your Highness’s demeanor is elegant and noble, even with amnesia it remains so, unchanged."

Xiao Jinyan’s tea-drinking motion paused; he had never paid attention to his own manners and behavior, it was just habit.

Habit, something you get used to by doing it every day.

Xiao Jinyan set down his tea bowl and started flipping through a book that Qin Xiao had prepared, saying that he had the habit of reading when out and about. With nothing else to do at the moment, he decided to read.

When Shen Chuwei saw Xiao Jinyan start reading again, she finished the pastries in her hand, wiped her hands with a handkerchief, and shifted closer to him.

"Your Highness."

Xiao Jinyan looked up from his book at her, "What is it?"

Shen Chuwei said, "Your concubine has painted a picture of Your Highness reading in the horse carriage."

Xiao Jinyan, intrigued, said, "Show it to me."

Shen Chuwei replied, "It’s in the East Palace, I didn’t bring it with me."

Xiao Jinyan appeared a bit disappointed upon hearing this and, recalling their intimate conversation, he looked at her with a teasing smile, "Then why did you only bring that painting?"

Shen Chuwei looked very innocent, "That painting wasn’t brought by your concubine; it was Your Highness who brought it."

Xiao Jinyan expressed confusion, "Me?"

"Before we left, Your Highness wanted to take a painting with you, so you asked your concubine to paint one on the spot." Shen Chuwei did not mention that she had wanted to paint such a picture~

Xiao Jinyan thought it over carefully and guessed the meaning behind it: a husband leading troops on an expedition, being away for more than a month or two is not something quickly resolved; having a painting to carry close was also a way of cherishing memories of the person.

"The paintings you create, whether it’s the brushwork or the technique, are all very different, unseen and unheard of."

When he saw that painting for the first time, he was astonished; it was so lifelike.

Shen Chuwei thought to herself that it was all modern stuff, it would be strange if they had seen it.

"Your Highness is erudite and talented, but not having seen some things is normal."

Xiao Jinyan asked, now curious, "What kind of painting method is that? What is it called?"

Shen Chuwei explained, "That’s called sketching, portrait sketching, very close to the real object, so it looks incredibly real."

Xiao Jinyan laughed and shook his head, "Never heard of it."

"It’s all right if you haven’t heard of it, they’re all insignificant things," Shen Chuwei said, taking a piece of pastry and biting into it.

Watching her indifferent manner, Xiao Jinyan remembered a conversation he had with Xiao Jinyu about Shen Chuwei’s rise from a non-favored concubine to the Crown Princess.

Not a word was about her talent and skills commanding awe and respect; what was mentioned most was Shen Chuwei’s love for eating, her gluttony, and that even when confined by the Emperor, what she cared most about was food.

Not many in the palace knew that she had medical skills.

Almost no one knew of her exceptional painting skills.

So when Shen Chuwei said she climbed her way up just by eating and drinking, it wasn’t an exaggeration.

Just as Xiao Jinyan’s curiosity peaked, Shen Chuwei, satisfied with her feast, leaned against the cushions and fell asleep.

Xiao Jinyan watched Shen Chuwei sleeping soundly, guessing that her life in the East Palace must have been mostly about eating, then sleeping, sleeping then eating~

In the horse carriage, Qin Xiao was driving while stealing a glance at Wu Tan sitting beside him, legs crossed, hands together in prayer, murmuring scriptures; ever since he got on the carriage, he seemed to be lost in meditation, immersed in his own world.

Qin Xiao, a man of martial arts, couldn’t reach the same state of detachment as Wu Tan, truly admirable.

In the capital now

Prior to turning fourteen, Shen Chuwei had always lived in the countryside manor, born to an insignificant concubine named He of the original Shen family. Shen’s wife became angered by her, resulting in her being sent away to the countryside.

He passed away in less than two years in the countryside, and Shen Chuwei was then cared for by a nursemaid and two maids.