The night wind swept through the empty streets. Pale moonlight illuminated the bluestone paving, and the road lay silent.
Old Jin and Zhu Ting stood guard beside the carriage.
Originally, following Xie Yu's instructions, they had tied up those officials and placed them in a neighboring private room. But as time ticked by, neither the Third Highness nor Lady Shen emerged.
Old Jin knew about the aphrodisiac. She simply joined Zhu Ting in securing the officials, locking them in a safe place within her own territory, before returning to stand watch outside the Golden Tower.
Zhu Ting kept asking why the two ladies still hadn't come out, wondering whether they should go in and check.
Old Jin's expression darkened. She grabbed Zhu Ting by the back of the collar and yanked her back, snarling, "Just stay put and rest."
How could she possibly let Zhu Ting go in and cause trouble?
So it went on until deep into the night. The two of them found something to eat and drank a little wine to warm themselves. They didn't dare drink too much, afraid it might delay things.
Now, they were waiting for Shen Changyin and Xie Yu to come out and escort them home.
The main doors of the Golden Tower suddenly moved. The two women, who had been leaning lazily against the carriage, both straightened and looked over.
But only one person came out.
She was dressed in blue-and-white robes, soaked through, head lowered, walking quickly. Her expression couldn't be seen clearly. In her hand, she clutched a long, slender white belt folded neatly into thirds.
Old Jin's eyelid twitched.
Wasn't that belt… Lady Shen's?
It was already late, with heavy dew in the air, but when Xie Yu approached, Old Jin still felt a wave of icy dampness coming off her.
"Third Highness?"
Xie Yu headed straight for the carriage. Old Jin stepped aside and asked, "Where is our Lady Shen?"
Xie Yu glanced back at her, said nothing, and climbed directly onto the carriage. She grabbed the reins, her expression icy cold.
Something was very wrong.
Old Jin's heart pounded. "Third Highness, what are you doing?"
"Goodbye." Xie Yu looked at her once, then snapped the reins.
The carriage sped away in a cloud of dust.
Old Jin and Zhu Ting stood frozen in place, staring at each other in shock, utterly confused.
They only had this one carriage—and Xie Yu had just driven it off?
More than worrying about how they would return to the residence later, they were far more concerned about what had happened for Xie Yu to be this angry.
It was no exaggeration to say that, in their hearts, the Third Highness was sometimes like a clay figure. It wasn't that she lacked authority or strength—rather, she was always soft-hearted.
And that softness wasn't superficial or easily exploited, nor was it some theatrical act. It was reflected most clearly in one fact:
Xie Yu almost never truly lost her temper.
She always gave people many chances.
For example, those villages upstream that had seized water resources and caused drought downstream—Xie Yu never retaliated against them, nor did she drive bandits toward those villages during suppression campaigns.
Or the jailers who had once mistaken her for a beggar and thrown her into prison—though she often talked about reforming them, she never took personal revenge. Instead, she established strict rules and demanded they follow them.
And then there was Lady Shen.
In the beginning, Lady Shen's pressure on the Third Highness had been constant. Xie Yu would get angry—but she never immediately retaliated in kind.
She even kept smiling the whole time.
The more Old Jin recalled the past, the more uneasy she felt.
She had no idea what had happened, or what Lady Shen had done to provoke such a reaction from the Third Highness.
After a while, Shen Changyin finally emerged from the Golden Tower. She was also soaked through, but now fully dressed. Old Jin and Zhu Ting immediately went to meet her.
"Lady Shen, Her Highness the Crown Princess drove off with our carriage."
Shen Changyin was completely clear-headed now. Her speech was sharp and smooth, with only a faint blush beneath her eyes that hadn't yet faded.
"I see. Then just have someone bring another carriage," she said gently, without any sign of surprise.
Since she wasn't surprised, Old Jin immediately knew whose fault it was.
"Lady Shen," Old Jin said. As a woman in her forties who had enjoyed a harmonious marriage for many years, she felt she bore some responsibility to educate these two younger women in matters of life.
"What exactly did you do to anger someone as good-tempered as the Third Highness?"
Shen Changyin turned her head slightly. Her hair seemed to have been wiped dry—half-dry, with a misty sheen clinging to it.
She said easily, "I kissed her."
Just… kissed her?
Old Jin and Zhu Ting exchanged a look, deeply skeptical.
"Yes," Shen Changyin said.
She looked like someone who had suffered insomnia for years but had just enjoyed a full, satisfying sleep—gentle to an almost unbelievable degree.
"She didn't let me kiss her, but I still did."
"In three days, we'll be married anyway. It's only what I deserve." She curved her eyes in a smile.
"But… but…" Old Jin stammered. "The Third Highness is angry now. Don't you need to go comfort her?"
"Yes," Shen Changyin replied calmly.
She sighed softly with a smile. "I do need to comfort her."
"And it will take a long time."
—
On the other side, Xie Yu drove off with the carriage, instinctively heading toward the royal residence. Halfway there, she suddenly turned the carriage around.
There was a grand library in the capital—still, at its core, property of the Xie imperial clan, and normally closed to the public.
She stopped the carriage, observed the structure of the library, climbed onto the carriage roof, leapt onto the first-floor roof, and then climbed upward barehanded.
In the end, she really did make it onto the wooden terrace at the very top.
From here, she could take in the entire capital at a glance—distant mountains, and the moon hanging high above them.
She took a deep breath.
When she had been with Shen Changyin in that bath chamber, it felt like neither of them had been breathing properly. They had been slightly oxygen-deprived.
Now, the fresh night air flowed from her mouth into her lungs, traveling with her blood throughout her body.
She slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
Only then did the blazing fire in her chest die down a little.
She let out a cold laugh.
Thinking about how pleased Shen Changyin must be right now made her even more annoyed.
Being kissed annoyed her. Thinking about Shen Changyin's confident, victorious demeanor annoyed her too. And the heat rising from the soles of her feet, carried through her bloodstream, made her feel even worse physically.
She stared at the distant moon.
Even looking at the moon annoyed her now.
Hanging there every day, acting like it was born to be loved by everyone—what was it so confident about?
She blamed the sky, blamed the earth, and didn't want to go back to the residence. So she simply lay down on the wooden floor.
After lying on the cold wooden planks for a while, the heat in her body was gradually absorbed. Then she realized she was getting cold—too cold to sleep—and sat up.
She had always believed that if someone ever forced a kiss on her, she would never want to see that person again. Unless it was for revenge, she should stay thousands of meters away from them.
But on this night, wrapped in wet, cold clothes, Xie Yu had to admit something pitiful.
Her desire to sleep well defeated her indignation over being forcibly kissed and having her "hand borrowed."
She wanted to sleep in her own bed. Her anger was not as firm as she had thought.
But if she really went back to the residence… how was she supposed to face Shen Changyin afterward?
After thinking for a while with her eyes lowered, she climbed back down from the library, got into the carriage, and returned to the royal residence.
It was already deep into the night. The residence staff had just welcomed Shen Changyin back and hadn't yet gone to rest. Seeing Xie Yu return, they hurried to greet her.
She was soaked and chilled through. The maids immediately prepared hot bathwater for her.
When Little Flower saw her, the puppy rushed over and tried to cling to her legs. Xie Yu crouched down, lifted her damp skirt, and draped it over the dog's face, watching the puppy shake its head helplessly underneath.
"Why take your anger out on a puppy?"
A gentle voice sounded above her head. Xie Yu wasn't surprised.
It went without saying—after such a commotion, Shen Changyin would certainly be awake.
She freed Little Flower from beneath her skirt, stood up, and looked at Shen Changyin.
Shen Changyin had already bathed. She wore clean, soft, freshly warmed clothes, her body carrying the faint scent of soap pods mixed with her natural fragrance. Her hair was smooth and loose.
She had fully regained her composure and elegance.
Xie Yu's hair, on the other hand, was still dripping wet, strands clinging to her back and brushing against her cheeks.
Shen Changyin took out a handkerchief, intending to wipe her hair. Halfway through, she hesitated, lowered her hand, and waited for Xie Yu to take it herself.
Xie Yu glanced at it, didn't take it, and turned away.
Back in the main hall, she poured herself a cup of hot water and drank it down. Warmth spread through her chest and lungs, restoring some strength.
Shen Changyin followed her in unhurriedly.
With no one else around, Shen Changyin asked, "Is the Third Highness angry with me?"
Xie Yu didn't even set her cup down, just shot her a sideways glance.
Shen Changyin lowered her head slightly. Her lashes cast a fan-shaped shadow beneath her eyes, making her look inexplicably wronged and pitiful.
"In truth, I should be thanking the Third Highness."
Xie Yu set the cup down. The base struck the table with a dull thud.
"The situation was urgent. It was the Third Highness who showed me mercy, who sacrificed herself to save me."
"I—"
Xie Yu let out a cold laugh. "Enough. Anyway, I won't save you again. I won't 'carry' you again either."
She waved her hand. "I know you think this matter is disgraceful to you and don't want outsiders to know."
Then she added sarcastically, "But I suggest you go see a doctor anyway, in case the effects of the medicine haven't worn off. Because I won't be saving you again."
"No matter what happens, deal with it yourself."
She turned and went back to her room—bathed, changed clothes, and got into bed in one smooth sequence.
Lying on the soft pillow, wrapped in fluffy, sun-warmed bedding scented with incense, she closed her eyes—and suddenly felt a wave of physical discomfort.
She rubbed her head against the pillow and ignored it.
A quarter of an hour later, she suddenly opened her eyes and kicked her legs hard against the bed.
She closed her eyes again, trying to sleep.
Still, she couldn't fall asleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, it was as if she were back in that steam-filled bath chamber—sitting fully clothed in the water, facing someone who had shed the last remaining outer robe.
Everything about that body had been normal, natural, nothing to be ashamed of—except for that borrowed hand, performing something nearly obscene.
Half-awake and half-asleep, she replayed the night over and over again.
Sometimes her eyes were covered. Sometimes they were open, but thick mist clouded her vision, letting her see only Shen Changyin's outline.
Her sight was blurred, but her sense of touch was unbearably vivid, as if she were truly there.
She woke again and again, her body growing more uncomfortable each time—wanting to kick, to punch, to stretch her entire body.
At first, she thought it was just simple insomnia. But by now, she couldn't take it anymore. She got out of bed and started doing push-ups.
One hundred push-ups, followed by one hundred sit-ups—no use.
Then another hundred burpees, plus three full rounds of stretching and Pilates—still no use.
The fire in her heart and body only burned hotter and hotter, as if it wanted to incinerate everything, as if it wanted to throw Shen Changyin straight into the flames.
The moment she realized what she was thinking, Xie Yu froze.
She looked in the direction of Shen Changyin's room. It was completely quiet.
Of course it was quiet. After tonight, after so many times… she should already be satisfied, peacefully asleep.
And yet she herself—blindfolded, fully clothed—couldn't fall asleep.
Why couldn't she sleep?
Xie Yu covered her face and closed her eyes, not wanting to know the answer.
—
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