Chapter 51 Chapter 51 Eat a full meal and you will have strength.

At noon, the birds were so sleepy that they took a nap in the branches.

The bathroom in the east side of Yunyu Hall was filled with steam. Occasionally, one or two drops of condensed water fell from the beam and landed on the inky black bricks and stones.

The window was only a crack open, and the room was filled with a humid and hot air. Sheng Puzhu was standing outside the low-hanging bamboo curtain, holding a change of clothes in her arms, hesitating whether to go in.

"Madam." A rustling sound came from behind the rolled-up bamboo curtain, and the man's low and hoarse voice was mixed with dense moisture.

The next moment, a large, wet hand reached out without warning and grabbed Sheng Puzhu's slender, white wrist. With just a little force, she fell in.

Xie Zhiyan was only wearing a pair of plain white hakama pants. The hot water slid down his tall, muscular body, and the water droplets meandered, sticking to his tight back muscles, and finally sank deep into the shadows of his waist and abdomen.

In the steaming water vapor, the man's flawless body glowed with alluring beauty under the candlelight, and was even bright and delicious.

Sheng Puzhu's palms tightened, her breathing became uncontrollable, and the clothes in her arms were almost wrinkled by her.

When she looked up, she saw Xie Zhiyan's tall and straight figure, which was like a shadow looming over her, leaving no escape.

Water marks soaked his thick black eyebrows and eyes, as if it had rained heavily and suddenly. He walked for a long time and finally walked out of the rain curtain, came in front of her, and approached step by step.

The slightly taut waist and abdomen lines, as he slowly leaned over -

It's really too high.

And big.

The full and bulging curves, especially when the fabric is soaked with water, appear to be a "giant" that cannot be ignored at all.

"The water... the water is getting cold." Sheng Puju's eyelashes trembled and she looked away slightly. She shouldn't have come in.

Xie Zhiyan looked at Sheng Puju without saying a word. Even if he didn't really do anything, he didn't intend to let her go.

She didn't eat much for lunch today and had a poor appetite, which can only mean that she didn't exercise enough.

As long as you are extremely tired and sweating, you will always feel hungry and thirsty.

Then you can accept more.

Xie Zhiyan naturally thought so.

"Then Madam, can you warm me up?" He curled his thin lip slightly, and a drop of water slid down from the end of his hair and happened to hit the back of Sheng Puzhu's hand, making her body tremble uncontrollably due to the cold.

"W-what?" Sheng Puzhu widened his eyes in disbelief.

At this moment, she felt like a trapped prey, with the predator's fangs about to bite her fragile neck, leaving her with nowhere to escape.

"Madam, your body is warm, it's just right to warm you up." Xie Zhiyan stretched out his hand and brushed his fingertips across her lips.

It's daytime now, and I'm still in the bathroom.

It's just too ridiculous.

He is a gentleman!

When Sheng Puzhu thought of that scene, her body felt hot as if it had been burned by fire. Her ears turned red instantly, and her first reaction was to run away.

Her body moved faster than her brain. The moment this idea came to her mind, the first thing she did was to stuff the clothes in her hands into Xie Zhiyan's arms.

Run faster, don't hesitate for a moment, and rush out quickly.

"Why are you running?" Xie Zhiyan stretched out his long arm, easily hooked her waist and dragged her back.

The breath laden with moisture sprayed behind her ears, and the water marks from her fingertips slowly stained her clothes.

"Didn't we agree to eat with me?"

"Madam, you are not keeping your word."

"Nonsense." Sheng Puzhu retorted.

Xie Zhiyan laughed, his tone neither hurried nor slow: "Madam, you are 'eating' me, aren't you?"

Sheng Puzhu supported herself on the edge of the tub with trembling fingertips, and her whole body fell onto his lower abdomen. Her skirt was soaked with water and became more and more transparent.

"Xie Zhiyan, it's broad daylight now."

“You really are!”

"You're getting more and more of a bastard." Sheng Puju raised her snow-white neck high, with a look of accusation in her beautiful eyes.

Xie Zhiyan said as a matter of course: "Even though it's broad daylight, and I didn't actually give it to you to eat, it's naturally not against the rules."

"You are just making excuses." Sheng Puzhu couldn't see his face clearly, and her breathing became heavier, as if she was drowning in water.

"The contraceptive medicine is still missing one ingredient. Why are you crying, madam?" Xie Zhiyan lowered his eyes and looked into her eyes very seriously, as if he was cutting her open and seeing through all her disguises.

"How could I be crying?" Sheng Puzhu grumbled dissatisfiedly.

Xie Zhiyan looked at her for a while, then raised the back of his hand and wiped it across her eyes, leaving obvious water marks on her cold white skin.

Sheng Puzhu shuddered subconsciously, knowing that the tears were a natural reaction of the body that could not be controlled. She pursed her lips tightly and said after a while, "It was the water in the bathtub that splashed into my eyes."

"What about this?"

"Is this also the water from the bathtub?"

Suddenly, a spasm flowed out from deep within Sheng Puzhu's body, soaking her in an instant.

The skirt under her body was already disheveled, her scattered black hair hung wetly on her shoulders, and her skin, as white as jade, was smoked by the heat to a light pink like smoke and haze.

Xie Zhiyan held his cold white palm upwards in front of her.

There was a suspicious sheen on Na Xiu's knuckles, and a layer of crystal from the fingertips to the base of the thumb was covered, reflecting a gorgeous soft color under the dim candlelight.

"Yeah." Sheng Puju didn't dare to look at him. The sound in her throat was very weak, and her wet eyes were like the quiet surface of a lake on a winter morning.

"Madam always has a way with making sense."

Xie Zhiyan grabbed Sheng Puju's wrist without allowing her to be refused, and forcefully pressed her soft fingertips into his palm.

Sheng Puzhu really started crying this time. The wet and slippery touch in her palm was surprisingly sticky. Of course she knew what it was, but how could she say such words? She was a girl who cared about her dignity.

"Is it water?"

"Yeah."

"Madam, you are not making unreasonable demands."

Xie Zhiyan's voice was very hoarse. He chuckled and wrapped her entire palm around it, pulling out thin threads of sticky liquid between their skin.

Sheng Puzhu tried to pull his hand away, but he guided it to slide across his tense abdominal muscles.

The slippery layer became stickier as his movements became more and more explicit. She was controlled by the indescribable feeling, her back pressed against the edge of the bathtub, but she was held by him, inseparable.

Layer upon layer of heat surged like waves, burning her body so much that it felt numb from the inside out.

Sheng Puzhu was speechless, but under Xie Zhiyan's gaze, she didn't know where she got the strength from, and hurriedly held his palms tightly with both hands and pressed him back into the bathtub. In the chaos, the only thought she had to think about was to completely destroy the body first.

…

In the evening, the sun hangs on the horizon, about to set.

Sheng Puzhu woke up at the end of the afternoon. When she opened her eyes, she felt drowsy as if she was still swaying in water. Her body was weak and her palms were red.

Even after applying the medicine, she still felt a burning sensation on her skin.

Today in the bathroom, he washed her clean and then wet her again each time.

At the most ferocious moment, the hand that held her wrist bone was so strong that it seemed as if it was going to break her bones.

It seems that he only wants a taste of it, but in fact, each time he wants more than the last time.

"Hmm."

Sheng Puzhu whimpered, quickly interrupting the inappropriate images in her mind, and tried to sit up by supporting herself on the bed.

As a result, he just raised one arm, and the next moment, it fell back limply.

"Awake?" Xie Zhiyan opened the curtain. He was wearing a white round-necked casual robe the color of moonlight. He looked elegant and refined, and there was no trace of his previous Meng Lang appearance at all.

Sheng Puzhu couldn't hold back her embarrassment and glared at him secretly.

Unexpectedly, Xie Zhiyan caught him red-handed: "Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"

Sheng Puzhu turned her head away from him, pursed her lips tightly, and seemed angry. After a long time, she shook her head gently to indicate that she was fine.

"Are you hungry?" Xie Zhiyan pulled over a short crescent stool and sat down in front of her.

I didn't eat much for lunch, and now I'm starving.

But Sheng Puju had foresight. She shook her head again stubbornly, but unfortunately, it was only her thoughts that were stubborn, as her body had already started to sing the opposite tune.

"Gurgle, gurgle." This was the protest sound coming from her stomach. Although it was not loud, the pitch was enough to make her feel embarrassed.

"Looks like he's hungry."

"I've been so tired for so long and I've been sweating a lot, so I'm really wet."

"How can I not be hungry?"

Xie Zhiyan looked at her with a serious tone, as if he was talking about something that was natural to happen.

The two of them had dinner together.

Sheng Puzhu usually eats the amount of food a normal girl eats: a small bowl of rice, half a bowl of soup, and a few bites of each dish. When she is in a good mood, she will also have a piece of dessert.

Today she ate half a piece of dessert and half a bowl of soup more than usual. If she wasn't afraid of not being able to sleep well at night due to indigestion, she would probably have added half a bowl of rice.

Xie Zhiyan looked at her and was already thinking about what he would do if she still didn't eat well next time.

"My dear." Seeing that he had finished eating, Sheng Puzhu also put down her ivory chopsticks.

When she raised her eyes, she caught a glimpse of Xie Zhiyan swallowing the last mouthful of soup, his Adam's apple sliding slightly, rolling up and down, and his cold pale skin, his whole body exuding a kind of noble and indescribable desire.

Sheng Puzhu didn't dare to look any further. He paused, then looked away without revealing any expression. Then he asked slowly, "Did you know that the Sage is going to choose a concubine for the Crown Prince during the Laba Winter Hunt?"

"Yeah." Xie Zhiyan picked up a wet handkerchief to wipe his hands, turned his wrist, and tapped the table with his fingers, signaling her to continue.

"When the Crown Prince selects a concubine, the Xie family girl will inevitably be included in the selection. My dear, do you know who the elders in your family have chosen?"

"Daughters of the Xie family are not allowed to enter the Eastern Palace." Xie Zhiyan sat there without moving. He slowly folded the handkerchief in his hand and placed it casually on the table.

Sheng Puzhu was stunned for a moment, then slowly sat up straight: "What if the elders in the family already want Lingyi to enter the palace?"

Xie Zhiyan's thin lips were pressed into a straight line, and his dark eyes narrowed slightly: "Grandmother will not agree."

"If there are any who disobey, they will be dealt with according to the Xie family rules."

Sheng Puzhu heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this: "Lingyi doesn't want to, so if I help her, it won't be considered a violation of the rules, right?"

"Who wants Lingyi to enter the palace? Third uncle? Or eldest uncle?" Xie Zhiyan suddenly raised his eyes.

Sheng Puzhu didn't intend to hide it and said truthfully, "Lingyi came to me and said that my uncle asked my third uncle to bring it up."

"My uncle said Qingshu is too young to be stable, but Lingyi is seventeen, which is just the right age."

Xie Zhiyan remained silent for a moment, then said naturally, "Since Lingyi has come to you, as long as it doesn't break the rules, you can help her in any way you want."

Sheng Puzhu suddenly felt confident. After thinking for a moment, she added, "Qingshu was confined to the eldest house today because of a minor mistake. They said they would not let her out until after Laba Festival."

"I don't understand. Even though the eldest son didn't want Qingshu, why did he push Lingyi out?"

"If you really can't bear to leave the girl in the mansion, the worst that can happen is to keep a low profile during the winter hunt. There are always other ways."

Xie Zhiyan's smile turned a little cold when he heard this. He said bluntly, "Qingshu likes the prince, and the elders in the mansion all know it."

"Xie's daughter, there is no such thing as two women and one husband."

Sheng Puzhu understood.

It turned out that Xie Lingyi had to be pushed forward because they were afraid that Xie Qingshu would get carried away and recommend herself.

No wonder the eldest son of the family was so anxious and wanted Xie Lingyi to catch the prince's eye during the winter hunt.

Xie Zhiyan stood up and changed into a clean handkerchief, but his dark eyes still concealed emotions that were impossible to read.

He took Sheng Puzhu's hand and wiped it for her with a serious expression and gentle and graceful movements. The warm touch of the handkerchief brushed across her skin, along her slender and soft fingers, inch by inch, even the palm of her hand was not spared.

"As for the selection of the Crown Princess in the palace, don't worry. Jiulang is not a foolish person."

"The Saint has long-term expectations for him. The Crown Princess is also related to the country and the people. Not everyone can become one if they want to."

Xiao Jiulang, Sheng Puzhu had never seen him, but he knew his name.

Prince Xiao Changsui of Dayan is the ninth son of the sage. Although he is not the eldest son, he is born to the Empress and is the only prince who has survived to adulthood.