Chapter 250 Who am I, Your Highness?

Shen Chu chuckled dryly, "It's so late, Your Highness, you're still awake?"

Pei Yuan's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile.

"Oh, so Lord Shen knows it's late. I thought you were planning to stay out all night."

Shen Chu felt inexplicably guilty.

Although she was not clear about what she was feeling guilty about.

"Brother Luo has been appointed as the head of the Ministry of Revenue, and we have arranged to go to Xiankelai to celebrate."

Pei Yuan snorted coldly.

"You just finished getting rid of the poison yesterday, and today you went out to eat and drink to your heart's content, and came back so late all by yourself, without even a servant or guard. Don't you want to die?"

Shen Chu frowned, unable to resist arguing.

“I didn’t eat anything random when I went out, and besides, I wasn’t alone. Brother Luo brought me back.”

Pei Yuan's expression suddenly darkened, and his entire body became cold and aloof.

"Yes, they brought it back and even tied the cloak on it themselves. I was worrying for nothing."

Shen Chu gently bit her lip.

So Pei Yuan was worried about me?

She felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, a complex mix of emotions she couldn't quite describe welling up inside.

"Brother Luo and I are sworn brothers. We accidentally chatted until late, and he was worried about me, so he brought me back and gave me a cloak."

Pei Yuan felt even more bitter.

Did we accidentally chat too late?

What? You finished talking to yourself in just a few words, but you have so many topics to talk about with Luo Heng?

The thought of this made my heart burn like a fire.

He pursed his lips and suddenly asked, "Chen Chu, are you avoiding me?"

Shen Chu's heart skipped a beat, and she denied it guiltily, "No."

"No?" Pei Yuan raised his eyebrows slightly, once again secretly regretting that he couldn't see in the night.

He couldn't see Shen Chu's expression, so he could only infer her emotions from her voice.

“I brought you food last night, but you said you had no appetite and went to bed. This morning you avoided me again.”

You went out to dinner with Luo Heng again tonight. Can you honestly say you weren't avoiding me?

Shen Chu rubbed her fingers together, remembering his words about not liking children, and felt a chill run down her spine.

She hardened her heart and deliberately spoke in an impatient tone:

"I am neither your servant nor your personal possession. Who am I to Your Highness? You even control when I go out to eat with my friends."

"I am yours..."

Pei Yuan blurted it out, but stopped halfway through.

Yes, who is he to Shen Chu?

He fell in love with Shen Chu.

He eventually became the kind of person he hated most.

This is a secret that cannot be spoken aloud, a secret that even he himself cannot readily accept.

Pei Yuan closed his eyes briefly, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"Chen Chu, in your heart, is Luo Heng really that good?"

Shen Chu bit her lip. "Of course, he is righteous, cheerful and gentle, and has the demeanor of a true gentleman. He is a trustworthy and reliable person."

Pei Yuan's face was gloomy as he strode towards Chen Chu.

Shen Chu was startled. "What is Your Highness doing?"

Before she could finish speaking, Pei Yuan had already grabbed her arm.

His hand moved up his arm and touched Shen Chu's neck, reaching out to pull off the cloak.

As his calloused fingertips slid across her soft, smooth neck, Shen Chu was so startled she almost jumped up.

She grabbed her collar and pushed Pei Yuan's hand away, her voice trembling involuntarily.

"What does Your Highness intend to do?"

When his hand was pushed away, Pei Yuan finally came to his senses and realized what he was doing.

That's insane.

He had just tried to tear off Shen Chu's cloak without a second thought.

The thought that Luo Heng had tied it for him personally drove him insane with jealousy.

Perhaps Shen Chu realized his feelings, which is why she avoided him?

After all, he had said that he only hoped to have a relationship with him as a subject and a prince.

Is he expressing a silent rejection in this way?

Pei Yuan clenched his fists, suddenly feeling a sense of embarrassment at being seen through.

"Fine, just consider it me meddling in other people's business."

He hastily uttered a sentence, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and threw the cloak on his arm onto the ground.

Then, with a light touch of his toes, he disappeared outside the courtyard wall.

Chen Chu lowered her eyes and bent down to pick up the cloak from the ground.

The white cloak looked exceptionally soft in the moonlight, reflecting a layer of silvery radiance, which inexplicably made her eyes sting.

She gently stroked her cloak for a long time before turning back to her own courtyard.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Hongxiu walking out angrily with her bundle on her back.

"Young master, I can't stay here any longer. I'm leaving home."

Chen Chu was completely confused. "Who offended you?"

Hongxiu gritted her teeth, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"There are people!"

Chen Chu: ? ? ?

Hongxiu looked aggrieved and started counting on her fingers.

"These past two days, the Sixth Prince next door has been sending chicken soup, fish soup, ribs and other dishes in turn. They smell so good that it makes your tongue tingle, but he only gives them to the young master."

Especially last night, when I heard you had gone to sleep, the Sixth Prince actually turned around and left with the food box.

That's too much! It lets me smell it and see it, but I can't eat it.

This is absolutely inhuman torture! I can't take it anymore!

After a moment of silence, Shen Chu said softly, "Don't worry, starting tomorrow, he shouldn't be sending them anymore."

Pei Yuan must be furious with him, right?

"What? You're not going to send it off?" Hongxiu was even angrier.

"What's this? Thrilling them and then running away?"

Shen Chu felt a little confused and didn't say anything.

Hongxiu was still muttering to herself.

"And you, young master, promised me the postpartum meals after my miscarriage, but I still haven't been able to eat them."

"The Sixth Prince's guard, Sun Yan, is like he has eyes in my head. Several times I tried to fall, but he always managed to catch me. What bad luck!"

“Not only that,” Hongxiu said angrily, pointing to a thick stack of books on the table.

"Young master, look what Sun Yan just brought me!"

Chen Chu walked over out of curiosity and saw a picture of a man and woman embracing passionately at the top, with the following text:

The Princess Who Steals Hearts: The Overbearing Prince Pampers Her Every Night

Turning the page, the second book contained even more stimulating and erotic images.

The delicate imperial concubine was kissed by the emperor until she cried every night.

Chen Chu looked completely bewildered. "What is all this?"

Hongxiu sneered, "It's said to be seventy-two tricks to seduce you in various ways."

Chen Chu...

With a flick of her sleeve, she tossed aside her burden.

"It's one thing for him not to let me eat good food, but he also forces me to study? And to make matters worse, he even said there will be exams?"

I am utterly incapable of studying. Just seeing words in a book makes my eyes, head, legs, and whole body ache.

"Young master, I'm going out to lay low for a while."

With her red sleeves and flowing robes, she disappeared into the night sky.

Chen Chu was left standing there, bewildered, surrounded by a table full of storybooks.

The next day, Pei Yuan indeed did not send any more food.

While Chen Chu breathed a sigh of relief, a faint sense of loss welled up inside her.

She told herself that this was the best position for her relationship with Pei Yuan.

At a distance that is neither too close nor too far, Pei Yuan will not know of the child's existence, nor will he be implicated because of her identity.

That's settled then.

After composing herself, Shen Chu went to the Inspectorate.

Li Chengxuan entered from outside, holding a letter in his hand.

"Achu, look what I brought you."

When Chen Chu opened the post, he was stunned.

Just when I was dozing off, someone brought me a pillow.