Xie Wangze looked like this, so anyone unaware would surely think that she had impatiently groped him in the carriage.
Chu Yunge felt a bit annoyed. She hadn’t used much force; it was his own muscle weakness that made him put on this show for whom?
That neck tilted back, exposing the Adam’s apple—who was it for to see, for whom to kiss?
“What’s wrong with you?” Chu Yunge decisively withdrew her gaze—out of sight, out of mind—and reached for the book directly, but Xie Wangze dodged again.
“You’re still dodging? What do you mean by that?”
Xie Wangze paused. “It would spoil the ending. Didn’t you say you didn’t want to know the culprit in advance?”
He had made notes on the book, writing the culprit’s name right at the front—the one he had guessed from the start—along with his conclusion that he was right. But it wasn’t entirely unfit for outsiders to see.
Yet when he saw that Chu Yunge said she didn’t like being told the culprit, he inexplicably moved aside.
This move pulled Chu Yunge straight into his embrace.
Soft, fragrant, and warm like jade filled his arms, and the faint scent at the tip of his nose was different from before. In an instant, it stirred up memories of the previous night.
Perhaps the fire ignited by the soup he had drunk hadn’t been fully vented, and his heartbeat fell out of rhythm.
Xie Wangze never expected that because of Chu Yunge, he would experience what it meant for his heart to pound like a startled fawn.
“Spoil the ending?” The culprit behind Xie Wangze’s pounding heart, Chu Yunge, still had her hand outstretched but fell into a dilemma. If it spoiled the ending, reading the rest of the plot would lose its fun.
Just as she struggled, Du Ruo’s somewhat tense voice sounded from outside.
“Your Highness, the Yuwei County Princess has arrived.”
Chu Yuwei, a royal county princess and the Princess’s old rival, had always admired the Chu Emperor. She called him “Imperial Brother” this and “Imperial Brother” that, more intimately than his own sister. The Chu Emperor, Chu Yucheng—judging by the names and their closeness—anyone unaware might think they were the real siblings.
She was also very filial to the Empress Dowager, often entering the palace to keep her company. Privately, every time the Empress Dowager praised Chu Yuwei, she criticized the Princess once.
Though she never overstepped the Princess on the surface, everyone knew the County Princess was deeply favored. She was gentle and kind, with an excellent reputation, forming a stark contrast with the Princess.
“Your Highness, your little sister has come to welcome you… Ah!” Accompanied by a soft, gentle voice, the carriage curtain was lifted.
Seeing the scene inside, she let out a startled cry, her expression changing drastically. “Your Highness, you… how could you do this to Young Master Xie in the carriage…”
Chu Yunge had risen at Du Ruo’s voice, but their waist jade pendants had gotten hooked together, and with her long skirt, she only half-straightened to untangle them.
She hadn’t expected Chu Yuwei to be so unreserved, directly lifting the curtain.
Of course, it was probably deliberate, after all. Chu Yuwei liked Xie Wangze.
Back then, the Chu Emperor hadn’t wanted Xie Wangze to leave and had intended to bestow a marriage between him and Chu Yuwei, even deliberately informing the Princess. Since the Princess and Chu Yuwei didn’t get along, she went all out and snatched him instead.
Chu Yuwei had nearly cried her eyes out back then, her round little face slimming down to a V-shape.
She knew Xie Wangze was unwilling and saw that they hadn’t left the carriage, so she deliberately came to lift the curtain.
And sure enough, she caught this stimulating scene: the shameless Chu Yunge sprawled on Xie Wangze, while he lay pinned beneath her, those deep, ink-black eyes seeming soaked in ink, laced with a thread of lingering affection.
As if he had been moved but was annoyed about it.
How could Chu Yuwei accept this?
Chu Yuwei was heartbroken, yet she looked all the more delicate and pitiable, her eyes brimming with tears. At the sight of Xie Wangze, her eyes instantly reddened, and tears rolled down like pearls.
Tears in one second, and crying so beautifully that it tugged at the heartstrings—she was quite the talent.
Chu Yunge glanced at Chu Yuwei, sat up straight, and rolled her eyes. “You knew Prince Consort Xie was in the carriage too, yet you directly lifted the curtain. As an unmarried girl, you’re too unreserved. Aren’t you afraid of seeing something you shouldn’t?”
“Or do you just like peeping on a couple’s intimacy?”
Chu Yuwei stared at Xie Wangze, already heartbroken, and upon hearing this, she flushed red with anger, nearly fainting.
Clearly, she had met Xie Wangze first and fallen for him first. Back when Chu Yunge bullied him, it was she who helped. They were the heaven-made pair.
She hated Chu Yunge for stealing her love and forcing Xie Wangze, yet she couldn’t believe Xie Wangze would show such an expression. Her tears flowed even more fiercely.
Chu Yunge tsked, slanting a glance at Xie Wangze. “Your own peach blossom debts—you deal with them yourself.”
No wonder he had faked a fall like a scammer earlier. So he had known Chu Yuwei was coming and planned it in advance.
That muffled groan, that tilted head, that Adam’s apple—all deliberate, just to seduce her and make her lose control, right?
Fortunately, she hadn’t been swayed by his beauty and remained unmoved.
Otherwise, even though Xie Wangze had deliberately seduced her, in the end, after he neutralized the poison, it would look like she had forced him.
This Xie Wangze was indeed full of schemes, and so unrestrained—a honey trap with a handsome man at the ready. If she didn’t know he was a pure love type, she really wouldn’t have been able to hold back.
From now on, she would stay far, far away and never be fooled by suspenseful beauty again.
She wouldn’t look at the culprit; she was leaving.
Xie Wangze casually tucked the book into his sleeve, paused for a moment, then got out of the carriage and saluted Chu Yuwei. “County Princess, everyone’s watching.”
His voice was warm and smooth, carrying a faint helplessness—slightly different from when facing Chu Yunge, seeming a bit gentler.
But upon closer inspection, one would see he was somewhat absent-minded, his peripheral vision fixed on Chu Yunge’s departing figure.
Did the Princess’s expression just now show disgust? Was she walking so fast now because she couldn’t get away from him quick enough?
Putting it all together, perhaps the Princess mistakenly thought it was deliberate on his part.
But it really wasn’t; he hadn’t known Chu Yuwei would appear so soon.
Hearing his words, Chu Yuwei hurriedly wiped her tears. “I misunderstood. I just couldn’t bear to see Young Master Xie treated like this…”
Xie Wangze lowered his gaze. Earlier in the carriage, he had wanted to ease their relationship, but he had bungled it again.
Watching Chu Yunge’s back as she left without looking back, helplessness showed on his face.
Xie Wangze had slimmed down since the marriage too, and with this expression, Chu Yuwei instantly forgot the way Xie Wangze had seemed not entirely unwilling earlier.
She bit her lip. “Young Master Xie, rest assured. I won’t stand by idly. I will definitely… help you.”
Rescue him from this pit called Chu Yunge.
“The Princess is favored; County Princess, you absolutely must not oppose her again.”
But Chu Yuwei didn’t listen to Xie Wangze’s words at all; instead, it only steeled her resolve.
Seeing the gazes around her, Chu Yuwei quickly left.
Chu Yunge was long gone by then. Xie Wangze stood for a moment before quickening his steps to follow.
Ju An, who had come with Xie Wangze, had already slipped away unnoticed while no one was paying attention.
Heavenly Prosperity City was built along the river, and the Dragon Boat Race venue was in the city’s suburbs. On this day, the bustle rivaled the New Year, with all the city’s residents turning out and people from nearby coming to watch.
Fortunately, the area was spacious, though those who didn’t buy tickets or lacked connections could only watch from poorer vantage points.
With Chu Yunge’s status, since she had come, she naturally got the best spot.
Someone had long been waiting to lead Chu Yunge there, and she didn’t care about Xie Wangze at all.
She had agreed to come with Xie Wangze, but there was no reason for her to wait around while he caught up with his old flame.