Shen Wan did not leave the manor immediately with the belt, but went to the storeroom first. Xie Jingyan's birthday was in three days, and since she was going to the Lingwang Mansion, she would definitely bring the birthday gift with her.

However, the gift prepared by Shen Wan was a bit heavy, and Yin Shuang couldn't carry it by herself, so she asked a maid to help carry it to the front yard and load it onto the carriage.

Once Shen Wan was seated in the carriage, they headed straight for the Ling Prince's residence.

About half an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the gate of the Ling Prince's Mansion.

Seeing that it was the carriage of the Marquis of Pingyang, and that it was Shen Wan who came out of the carriage, the servants of the Prince of Ling's mansion thought they were seeing things. Miss Shen was going to marry their prince in a few days. Wasn't it said that it was not appropriate to meet before the wedding? Why did she come to the Prince of Ling's mansion?

Not only did they come, but they also brought something with them, packed in a box. No one knew what it was, but the servants carried the box and followed behind Shen Wan, their hearts filled with curiosity.

After walking for quite a while, we finally arrived at Xie Jingyan's residence, Moyuxuan.

When Xie Jingyan came to the court during the arranged marriage, he was watching people fly kites in the courtyard. Shen Wan looked up at the sky and saw a beautiful kite flying very high under the azure sky.

Upon entering the courtyard, Shen Wan subconsciously looked towards the place where she had last seen Xie Jingyan, but she did not see Xie Jingyan.

The maids in the courtyard all looked at Shen Wan, who asked, "Where is Prince Ling?"

The maidservant replied, "The prince is currently taking a bath..."

Before she could finish speaking, Chen Feng came out of the house and interrupted the maid, "His Highness invites Miss Shen into the house."

How do I invite her into the inner room...?

It was already inappropriate for her to come to the Ling Prince's residence, so it wouldn't be appropriate for her to enter Xie Jingyan's inner room, would it?

But considering that her marriage to Xie Jingyan was by imperial decree and she would be marrying him in seven days, and that she would be living in this room after that, there was nothing she couldn't enter, so Shen Wan stepped up the stairs.

The maids behind him exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes wide.

Yinshuang wanted to follow Shen Wan into the house, but Chen Feng stopped her.

After entering the room, Shen Wan glanced around but didn't see Xie Jingyan. Then she heard a deep voice say, "Come here."

The person is behind the screen.

Shen Wan didn't think much of it and walked over.

However, once you go around the screen, you can see Xie Jingyan soaking in the bathtub.

Almost instantly, Shen Wan blushed crimson and quickly turned her back, angrily saying, "You bastard, you were taking a bath and you still let me in?!"

Xie Jingyan corrected her, saying, "I'm taking a medicinal bath."

Whether it's a bath or a medicinal bath, isn't it all the same—you're naked and soaking in the tub? Is there any difference?!

If she had known she would encounter such an awkward situation, she would never have come to deliver the belt.

As Shen Wan shyly turned to leave, Xie Jingyan's playful voice drifted over, "You've seen me take a bath before, haven't you?"

Shen Wan, “…!!!”

I'm going crazy.

How could that bastard say such a thing?

It happened several years ago, how could he still remember it?

This was indeed not the first time Shen Wan had seen Xie Jingyan soaking in a bathtub; she had bumped into him once when she was eight years old.

That was the first day she went to the Pingyang Marquis's mansion to learn martial arts from her father. Because of the martial arts practice, she was covered in sweat and took a bath in her elder brother's room. She didn't know that. She went to her elder brother's room to get the nine-linked rings that she had left there and accidentally bumped into him. She was so embarrassed that she ran away and smashed the nine-linked rings to pieces.

Because of this embarrassing incident, the next day her kite got stuck in a tree. She climbed up to get it, and when she saw him walking over, she panicked and fell from the tree. He didn't catch her and became her cushion, dislocating his arm in the process.

Because of this incident, her father and older brother both believed that he was the one who saved her, and that if it weren't for him, she would never have fallen from the tree.

Because she accidentally stumbled upon him taking a bath, she dared not tell the truth. This bastard bullied her all the time. During the three months he stayed at the Marquis of Pingyang's residence, she never got to eat a whole string of candied hawthorns.

She still feels a bit gritting when she thinks about those old stories, and he still dares to bring them up again.

Shen Wan was so angry that she forgot to leave. Xie Jingyan said, "I need to take a medicinal bath every three days, for half an hour each time. I can't skip it. If I don't let you in, are you going to wait for me for half an hour?"

Waiting half an hour is better than coming in.

Shen Wan's cheeks flushed, and Xie Jingyan asked, "What brings you here?"

Shen Wan said, "The belt you requested is finished and I've brought it to you. Also, your birthday is coming up, so I've brought your birthday present as well. And—"

"Thank you for inviting my maternal grandfather's close friends to the Lingwang Mansion for the wedding banquet."

Shen Wan had her back to Xie Jingyan. After speaking, she was about to put the belt in her hand on the small table when Xie Jingyan said, "Give me the belt."

Shen Wan couldn't put the belt down. Couldn't this man wait until after his medicinal bath to look at it? She was considerate of his leg injury, which hadn't healed and made it difficult for him to move around, so she didn't want him to go to the Pingyang Marquis's residence. But he didn't care about her feelings at all.

Shen Wan took a deep breath to cool her cheeks, but when she turned around and saw the person soaking in the bathtub, her face flushed again.

Suppressing her embarrassment, Shen Wan handed him the belt. Xie Jingyan glanced at it and said, "The embroidery is not bad. Put it on my bed."

Shen Wan complied.

Now that he'd seen the belt, he figured they could leave now. Xie Jingyan asked, "Where's my birthday present?"

"...Outside."

"Bring it in."

"I can't carry it by myself."

Xie Jingyan then called to Chen Feng, "Bring the things in."

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Chen Feng walked in carrying a large box in both hands, and at Xie Jingyan's signal, took the contents out of the box.

It was a coral tree, extremely beautiful.

But Xie Jingyan looked at it and there was no joy on his face, there was even a hint of anger. He looked at Shen Wan with a hint of disappointment in his eyes, "Is this the birthday gift you prepared for me?"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!