Yan Feng said, “…What does Your Highness want it for?”
“It’s useful.” Chu Yunge didn’t tell the soft boy any dirty jokes and yawned. “Sleep.”
She pressed down on Yan Feng’s wrist. “Goodnight.”
She couldn’t help but add, “Makabaka.”
She successfully amused herself and laughed.
Yan Feng watched Chu Yunge’s smile, and his heart softened in an instant, grew a little warm, and felt somewhat itchy.
That itch spread from his hand to his heart, everywhere.
“Goodnight, Your Highness. Makabaka.”
Though he didn’t understand what Makabaka meant, since Your Highness had said it, he echoed her.
Chu Yunge had just been whimsical and tossed in Makabaka casually. She hadn’t expected Yan Feng to repeat it.
She watched Yan Feng obediently say Makabaka and couldn’t help laughing. “So obedient. Sleep.”
Chu Yunge was truly exhausted. She turned over and quickly fell asleep.
Yan Feng: “…”
So obedient?
Your Highness called him obedient—why didn’t she give him a kiss?
She had clearly kissed Li Guangi.
And how could he possibly sleep with Your Highness right there beside him?
Luckily, Your Highness slept with her back to him. It was just for detoxing…
Yan Feng carefully lifted his hand, but in the end, he didn’t dare touch her shoulder or arm…
Just looking at her made the young lad’s mouth go dry.
Just as Yan Feng was about to give up, Chu Yunge suddenly turned over. Even in her sleep, she frowned, and her hands pawed at the pillow twice.
Everyone knew that when sleeping on one’s side, it was better if the pillow was a bit higher.
In the end, she pillowed her head on Yan Feng’s arm and settled down contentedly.
She settled, but Yan Feng was thoroughly unsettled.
He stared at the face so close at hand—if he just leaned in a little, he could touch it, even steal a kiss from those fragrant lips. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
He told himself to endure. Though he could pucker up and satisfy himself with one kiss, he absolutely had to wait until Your Highness was awake.
Right, he had to wait until she was awake.
He took a deep breath to convince himself, and then… Chu Yunge moved.
Her modern bed had been just the right softness, the Princess Mansion’s bed was very comfortable too, but this bamboo bed was indeed a bit hard.
A delicately pampered princess truly couldn’t adapt to such a hard bed. Unconsciously, she sought the most comfortable sleeping position to avoid the hardness.
…
Yan Feng didn’t know how things had turned out like this, but the princess shifted left, then right, and in the end, she snuggled right into his arms with little rubs.
Her head nestled into his shoulder, pressed against his neck, and stayed there.
Perfectly, her soft lips pressed right against his neck.
Yan Feng: “!!!”
Fellow Yan People—who gets it? This was the real deal—a proper kiss.
He was so happy, but it seemed like he was also done for.
Happiness and torment coexisted.
…
“Your Highness, wake up. There’s movement from the sleeping palace.”
Chu Yunge was pushed awake. As Yan Feng reported, he gently helped her sit up.
Yan Feng half-knelt on the ground and found her shoes to put them on for her.
Waking up in the middle of the night felt truly awful. Chu Yunge half-awake, half-asleep, cooperated.
After her shoes were on, she finally woke up a bit more.
“Why are you personally putting on my shoes?” Chu Yunge glanced at him. “Did you change clothes?”
The clothes on Yan Feng seemed to have been changed.
Yan Feng stiffened for a moment and mumbled an uh-huh.
Chu Yunge looked again and felt like his hair was still a bit damp. Just as she was about to touch it, Yan Feng had already stood up.
“Let’s go, Your Highness.”
Chu Yunge’s attention shifted, and she nodded as she rose.
Yan Feng tidied his clothes and watched Chu Yunge’s back. He concealed the abnormality on his body and followed.
Your Highness seemed unaware that she had kissed him, or of that midnight chaos…
He had indeed changed his clothes.
He had no choice but to.
Over the past hour, he had experienced the most blissful yet most torturous time.
Why it was blissful went without saying, and why it was torturous went without saying too.
There wasn’t just movement from the sleeping palace—it was a big commotion—and the back garden had activity too.
But along the way, every courtyard remained quiet and still.
Waking up abruptly in the middle of the night, with ancient nights so unlike the brightly lit modern ones, Chu Yunge felt unaccustomed to it. She stumbled along, one step deep, one shallow.
When she nearly tripped, Yan Feng—who had been protecting her all along—simply requested, “Your Highness, this subordinate will carry you over.”
Chu Yunge had just nodded when her line of sight suddenly rose much higher.
It wasn’t a princess carry—Yan Feng had scooped her up with one arm, the kind that would rack up countless likes on Douyin.
Effortlessly steady, with his other hand gripping his sword in vigilant patrol, always protecting her.
What could Chu Yunge say? She could only hug his shoulder and neck to cooperate.
Yan Feng—a real man.
He crushed those wimpy male celebrities.
The young lad was just really stiff.
“Yan Feng, you’re very tense.”
Yan Feng felt Chu Yunge’s hand land on his neck and let out a hoarse uh-huh.
“You’re holding me plenty steady. No need to be tense.” Chu Yunge touched his hair. “Your hair really is a bit wet. What’s going on?”
Yan Feng grew even stiffer.
His hair was indeed wet.
Just like why he had changed clothes—it went without saying.
Sensing Yan Feng’s unnatural stiffness, Chu Yunge hugged him tighter, lowered her head, and observed his expression.
“What’s wrong?”
Yan Feng didn’t quite dare to look at Chu Yunge.
“Your Highness, most of the people in the courtyard were drugged ahead of time.”
Jimo’s report saved Yan Feng’s life.
Chu Yunge saw Yan Feng breathe a sigh of relief and decided to ask him about it later once things settled.
“Very good.” It spared innocents from getting dragged in and meant no worries about failing to protect them, which could injure Li Guangi, Qingchen, and the others.
When they reached the sleeping palace, it was a scene of chaos. Black-clothed figures in night garb with faces covered lay fallen everywhere—their swords betrayed traces of Zhao State people. Those not yet down were surrounded and under attack, and the chaos was about to end.
Chu Yunge raised a brow. “They borrowed Zhao Zeng’s name for revenge.”
“Did Your Highness set up a turtle in a jar?” Yan Feng saw it at a glance. “These mechanisms bear a Grandmaster’s handiwork.”
“Mm.”