In the memory, Xie Wangze naturally refused to accept such humiliation and rejected it without hesitation.
In the end… the princess beat him until his body was covered in wounds before stopping.
The memory came so suddenly that Chu Yunge went silent: “…”
It was truly thrilling, truly bold. Xie Wangze was, after all, the eldest prince of the Chen State. For her to make such a demand and then beat him just because she felt like it.
The princess was fierce, but the mess she left behind was truly hard to clean up.
Chu Yunge didn’t even dare to look at Xie Wangze’s face.
It was no wonder that Xie Wangze remained so calm when hearing about the detoxification. He had already endured such humiliation before.
On the surface, the status of a hostage prince seemed extremely honorable, but in reality, a “hostage” existed as a human shield. Once the alliance broke, the hostage became the first target for the other side to declare war and vent their anger.
The alliance between the Chen State and the Chu State had not completely broken in these dozen or so years, but there were always some frictions between the two countries. Every time that happened, Xie Wangze’s days became particularly difficult.
Moreover, due to the Chen State’s unique geographical position, sandwiched between the Chu State and the currently most powerful Zhao State, the Zhao State was ambitious and militarily strong. It had already destroyed the Yan State and nearly marched on the Chen State over a dozen years ago. If not for the alliance with the Chu State, the Chen State might have already fallen apart.
Although the three states maintained a balance now, and the Chu State knew the principle of “when the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold,” making the three states the most stable configuration, the sandwich-cookie Chen State was naturally at a disadvantage. Thus, even though its national power was not weaker than the Chu State’s, it was always on the losing end.
It also had to worry about the Chu State and Zhao State conspiring to carve up the Chen State, attacking from both sides.
Because of this, Xie Wangze could not return to his country and had no choice but to endure that night’s humiliation.
Chu Yunge sighed. This identity was truly a massive pitfall.
She felt some worry. If Xie Wangze retaliated against her for reciting that erotic poem, that would be fine, but if he took revenge for the whipping she hadn’t done and calling out on the bed, blaming it all on her, it would be too unjust and too mortifying. Just imagining it made her embarrassed enough to curl her toes into the ground.
Then… she fell asleep amid her worries.
Chu Yunge admitted she had no ability to turn things around or play the savior. Worrying was pointless, so she simply gave up.
This was the second time Xie Wangze was alone with Chu Yunge after the humiliation on their wedding night. The same memory flashed through his mind.
As the memories churned, he turned his head and saw… the culprit had fallen asleep.
Her mouth was slightly open, looking soft and harmless, completely different from three months ago.
How could one person change so suddenly?
Before coming, due to Qingchen’s reminder and his previous experiences, he had already planned to make her quiet. The sachet he carried was filled with sleeping drugs.
Because he didn’t want to deal with her endless tricks, nor hear her unreasonable demands that meant nothing. He just wanted to detoxify.
Unexpectedly, when he was cold, she was even colder.
When he avoided her, she avoided him even more, full of wariness toward him.
In the end, she fell peacefully asleep right beside him.
Qingchen was right; the princess really seemed like a different person.
What was she planning this time? Trying to catch him off guard by playing hard to get?
With a “pa” sound, it interrupted Xie Wangze’s speculation. Chu Yunge had turned over and placed her hand on him.
Then, as if sensing something, she wriggled a couple of times before kicking at the quilt separating them.
Mockery flashed in Xie Wangze’s eyes. So she was showing her true colors.
The next moment, Chu Yunge turned over again, sprawling out in a big character shape and occupying the middle. He nearly got kicked off the bed.
Xie Wangze: “…”
He seemed to have misunderstood. She simply had a bad sleeping posture.
Afterward, Xie Wangze witnessed the terror of someone with poor sleeping habits and gained a preliminary understanding of why Pei Ji had stayed up all night.
Just as he hesitated whether to remove the hand she had draped over him, the next moment, Chu Yunge turned over again, her hand landing on him once more.
Xie Wangze unhesitatingly pushed her away.
Chu Yunge didn’t wake up from the push, but as if dreaming of something, she suddenly mumbled:
“Don’t hit me, it wasn’t me…”
“I won’t moan either…”
Xie Wangze’s face was full of confusion. Moan? What did that mean?
That night, Xie Wangze stayed awake with his eyes open until dawn.
Meanwhile, Chu Yunge changed at least ten sleeping positions that night, including but not limited to the big character shape, spread-eagled, limbs draped over him hugging him, arms raised above her head, buttocks raised facing him, feet stepping on him, twisting and turning…
In short, she slept sideways, sprawled out, but never lay flat properly. Even when he patiently adjusted her, she immediately twisted back.
Several times he nearly left, but stopped because of the poison in his body.
He never knew a person’s sleeping positions could be so varied, nor that a body could twist into so many shapes.
Forget sleeping; he didn’t even dare close his eyes, afraid of being kicked off the bed again.
No wonder Pei Ji had that expression yesterday.
Pei Ji… actually hadn’t slept either.
The poison in his body had eased, so he should have gotten a good rest, but his mind was filled with thoughts of whether Xie Wangze and Chu Yunge would hold hands, whether Chu Yunge would hug Xie Wangze to sleep, and so on.
“No, no.”
“With such an ugly sleeping posture, who could stand it? Young Master Xie must have avoided her.”
Guessing back and forth, tossing and turning, Pei Ji also stayed up all night.
The next day, Qingchen saw Pei Ji in the Princess’s Bedroom and fell silent at the dark circles under his eyes.
“I was cultivating, and it happened to bring me here.”
Pei Ji’s explanation, which only made it more suspicious, made Qingchen even more silent.
Xie Wangze came out and paused upon seeing the two of them: “You two…” Why were they here?
“This monk was worried about Young Master Xie and happened to have business with Her Highness.”
Qingchen looked at them, full of confusion in his eyes. Why did they look even more haggard after the detoxification, as if their yang energy had been sucked away?
On the other hand, Chu Yunge’s complexion was much better than before, as if she had truly absorbed their yang energy.
Qingchen felt something was off.
Chu Yunge saw the three of them at the entrance to the Princess’s Bedroom and also felt something was wrong: “You… why are you all here?”
She had dreamed last night of Xie Wangze retaliating against her, which had troubled her greatly.
Pei Ji’s eyes flickered: “I was cultivating.”
“Does Your Highness plan to leave the estate?” Qingchen asked.
“Yes, entering the palace.”
Qingchen hesitated: “May this monk accompany you?”
He explained: “The poison has flared up.”
Chu Yunge understood. Qingchen had come to her on his own, probably not wanting to share a bed with her. He was, after all, a monk, and the previous night’s touching around had likely left a psychological shadow.
Chu Yunge understood, but she was entering the palace today to stand in for the emperor.
“Once in the palace, I might not have time for you, but if you don’t mind, you can escort me in.”
Any contact along the way would help alleviate it a bit.
“This monk will join as well.” He could actually enter and exit the palace freely anyway.
Qingchen did want to take the chance to detoxify. As a monk, sharing a bed at night was already inappropriate. Seeing the changes in Xie Wangze and Pei Ji after just one night made him even more wary.
He couldn’t figure out why they were like that for the moment, but his intuition told him not to get too close.
And his intuition was always accurate.
Chu Yunge pondered. At a time when everyone knew Qingchen had been snatched back to the estate by the princess, for him to still go to the palace together despite knowing it would draw curiosity, he must have been suffering badly.
“Does it hurt that much? Come.” Chu Yunge reached out and took Qingchen’s hand.
Qingchen was unprepared, and Chu Yunge’s action was so natural that he ended up holding her hand.
As a princess whose hands had never touched spring water, her hand was incredibly soft. Being held by her felt like being held by a cloud.
Qingchen froze.
Xie Wangze’s pupils suddenly contracted. He stared fixedly for a moment before looking away, though the corners of his mouth tightened slightly.
Pei Ji’s eyes widened, and he blurted out: “What are you doing!”
To think she held his hand right in front of him. She really was holding a little hand every day.