Song Jiaren restrained herself from looking at his broad and strong chest, her face filled with shyness. "Are you okay?"
Gu Zhen's dark eyes shone softly, and water droplets slid down his neck to his chest and sank into the water. Song Jiaren's gaze also moved from his neck to his chest, and then to his face. Meeting his gaze, she turned the tables and said, "Why are you hiding in the water? Didn't you hear me calling you just now? I thought you were drowning."
Gu Zhen said calmly, "I can swim, but have you forgotten who took you off the cliff? After all, I'm your savior, so why treat me differently? That savior was so kind, but when he came to me, he became a completely different person. He took advantage of my favor and did whatever he wanted."
Song Jiaren froze. She had just been wondering whether His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was interested in the heroine, so he took the trouble to flatter her. Now, what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said seemed as if he was interested in her. Was this true? Could he be sick?
Song Jiaren turned around and prepared to ask the heroine to take a look. If she was really sick, she would need to take medicine. But he grabbed her wrist and said in a suppressed hoarse voice, "Is he really that good?"
Song Jiaren was a little confused. She had only asked the heroine to check his pulse. What was he talking about? He was indeed sick.
Gu Zhen took her silence as a tacit agreement. The room was silent for a moment. Outside the tent, a sharp autumn wind blew, and a whistling sound could be heard.
Song Jiaren struggled with her wrist. If she didn't go find the heroine quickly, she would be asleep. If she delayed, her condition might be more serious tomorrow.
Suddenly, she was pulled and fell into the bucket. Hot water with a medicinal aroma poured into her mouth and nose. She frantically struggled twice. A soothing voice came from above through the water, the voice was low and said, "Don't move."
Song Jiaren felt the strong and warm force supporting her arm, and she supported herself to stand up and emerged from the water. Only then did she realize that she had panicked when she suddenly jumped into the water. In fact, the water was not deep at all, not even reaching her chest. Her clothes were all wet and stuck to her body. She hugged her arms in embarrassment, trying to cover her heaving chest.
Gu Zhen glanced at him nonchalantly, and a storm seemed to be brewing in his dark eyes, but nothing could be seen on his face, which remained expressionless.
Song Jiaren's face flushed from the heat. "Turn away and stop looking!"
Instead of turning away, Gu Zhen stretched out his arms to encircle her between his chest and the tub, whispering, "How is he good to me? Would he hold you in the carriage when you were cold? Would he worry about you getting hurt and distracted, causing you to be seriously injured by the masked men? Would he jump off a cliff and catch a fever just to save you? Would he give you a handkerchief when you had your period, or carry you back to your room after you got drunk, or would he give you everything you liked?"
He said all of this in one breath, staring into her eyes. "I may not be as fair as him, not as lovely as him, and I can't become like him, but how I treat you, can't you feel it?"
Song Jiaren exclaimed in surprise. After listening to what he said and sorting it out, she finally understood what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince meant.
It turns out that he is really interested in her.
When did it start?
Song Jiaren tried hard to control her facial expression, not showing the slightest bit of happiness, with her mouth drooped and her face expressionless.
Gu Zhen took a deep breath and said, "I never thought you would fall in love with a pretty boy I just met. I thought since you've already entered the Prince's Mansion and are unwilling to leave, following me through my exile, you must be deeply in love with me. I didn't expect that what should have been a natural progression would be interrupted by someone else."
He said it very naturally, as if she had been regarded as his property since the day she was exiled with him. Now that the situation of "she might have fallen in love with someone else" had arisen, he was devastated and felt infinitely aggrieved.
Song Jiaren asked in a deep voice, "What should we do then?"
Gu Zhen tilted his head back, lost in thought. He whispered, "I'm also thinking about what to do." After a long moment, he added, "I'm thinking about how to make him disappear quietly, without you noticing or getting sad. I've never done anything like this before."
"How could you think of that? Even if you are the prince, you can't take people's lives casually." Song Jiaren was surprised that he actually had the intention to kill.
"So I told you, this is just a thought. If I really had that thought, I would definitely not tell you, and that person would not appear in front of you again today." Gu Zhen was a little uninterested and retreated to the bucket and no longer restrained her.
The bath water in the tub was a little cold. Song Jiaren endured the wetness of her clothes sticking to her body and climbed out of the tub. It seemed that after leaving the encirclement of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, her confidence returned.
The embarrassment just now was swept away, and he still had to take advantage of her. Now he didn't need her to help him get dressed, nor did he need her to wipe his back, so there were fewer opportunities for him to take advantage of her.
The Crown Prince's current state was truly arousing. She quietly approached and whispered in the ear of the man leaning against the tub with his eyes closed, "When did I ever say I liked Master Su? Besides, she's a woman."
Gu Zhen suddenly opened his eyes. Really?
Song Jiaren shuddered and no longer cared about the Crown Prince. She hugged her arms and went out of the partition to change into dry pajamas. She thought that the Crown Prince would probably come out soon, and it would be a bit awkward to sleep on the bed together then. So she lay on the bed, covered herself with the quilt, closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.
She heard rustling footsteps and someone sat down beside the couch, seemingly leaning against her. Fortunately, she turned sideways, otherwise her trembling eyelashes would have been exposed.
Gu Zhen whispered to her, "Are you sleepy?"
Song Jiaren was pretending to be asleep and pretended not to hear.
Gu Zhen hummed softly, "What a success!" and pulled the quilt up for her, covering her shoulders, then went into the couch and held her in his arms.
What he said tonight was enough to prepare her mentally. He could talk about other things later. He was not in a hurry to get an answer. He would just wait until the time was right to get the answer he wanted. There was no rush now.
After learning that Song Jiaren had no such intention towards Mr. Su, and knowing that he was a woman, Gu Zhen no longer cared so much about him. He also gave up the idea of getting rid of him unnoticed and returned to his cold and noble appearance.
Su Su didn't know that Song Jiaren and Gu Zhen already knew that she was a woman. However, even if they knew, it didn't matter. She could still stay.
"Young Master Su, this is the mung bean and red bean pastry made by the kitchen. Please try it." During the chat, Young Master Su mentioned that he loved to eat mung bean and red bean pastries. Unfortunately, he had not eaten them since he left home. Luo Wenhao secretly asked the kitchen to make a few for him to try.
Su Su recalled that when they were in the palace, Gu Shen always loved to buy her mung bean cakes and red bean cakes. They were soft, sticky and sweet and melted in her mouth, just like their original feelings. Although he had two concubines at that time, neither of them could compare to her. It could even be said that he only favored her.
But now, Su Su looked at a bare tree trunk outside the tent, with a few autumn leaves remaining on it, swaying and falling down. The loneliness and desolation on the ground were just like her mood at the moment, gloomy and fragile.
"What's wrong with you?" Luo Wenhao stood quietly by and tightened his hand holding the plate.
Su Su pulled herself out of her memories, her expression as calm as the night coast, and she raised the corners of her mouth slightly. "It's nothing, I just remembered some things in the past and felt a little emotional. There was someone who always bought me cakes in the past."
Who is it?
Is she the woman he likes?
Luo Wenhao frowned, "Where is she now?" Why didn't he come with her? Are they married?
Su Su didn't want to talk about the past. She just didn't know how to face Gu Shencai after leaving the palace, and didn't want to be entangled with him at the frontier thousands of miles away.
The topic changed, "Are you used to the two people who came yesterday?"
"You'll get used to it. The camp is always different from the city. The conditions are simple, which is an objective fact. It's just the difference between getting used to it earlier and later. Now the baths in the camp are all using the medicinal bath you mixed. The soldiers' rheumatism and colds have improved a lot. They all said they would find a way to entertain you."
Su Su knew very well that there were no delicacies in this frontier area, and there were rules in the camp that did not allow soldiers to go out hunting without permission, so the food in the camp came from military supplies, which were delivered every two months.
This resulted in a lack of fresh vegetables and fruits in the camp, only easy-to-store potatoes, cabbages and the like. There were also very few dishes that could be made, and they were just stewed in a big pot to fill their stomachs.
So it’s better not to treat them. They are all usual meals and there is nothing new.
"Don't spend money. The soldiers are having a hard time, and the camp is short of funds. We'll need to prepare charcoal fires and cotton clothes for the winter soon. Save some money for equipment. I don't care about those empty formalities."
Luo Wenhao had an expression that said, "As expected," so when the soldiers were worrying about what to entertain them, he stopped them and told them to double their training and focus their energy on increasing their military strength and guarding the border.
At noon, rows of soldiers were practicing boxing and martial arts in the training grounds, while rows of archers were drawing their bows and shooting arrows. Heat emanated from their sturdy bodies, and their faces were covered in sweat, but they still shouted "Roar, Ha."
Luo Wenhao was also wearing the tight-fitting training uniform, a black robe with a black collar, and stood with his hands behind his back. When he saw His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Song walking slowly towards him, he greeted them with a fist salute.
"Your Highness."
Gu Zhen looked at the soldiers who were training. They were all well-trained and had powerful punches. They looked like they were commanding a galloping army. No wonder General Luo was able to hold the position of the general of the frontier firmly. He was the only person who remained unchanged after Gu Shen ascended the throne and was still guarding the important border areas.
"General Luo, there's no need to be so polite. I'll just walk around casually."
The autumn wind blew, bringing up sand and dust. His Highness and Mrs. Song were both wearing light-colored clothes, which would get dirty soon.
"Your Highness, may I take you to the quartermaster tent, the kitchen tent, and various other places?" Luo Wenhao asked politely.
Song Jiaren swallowed a mouthful of sand and dirt, and dared not open her eyes. She had wanted to leave for a long time. Although the soldiers here were tall, mighty and aggressive, the wind and sand were too strong and uncomfortable.
"Your Highness, please go look somewhere else." She said uncomfortably, rubbing her eyes.
Gu Zhen reached out and held her round little head, "Don't move!"
Song Jiaren squinted her eyes, not knowing what was going on, and looked at the handsome and cold face that was getting closer and closer to her, completely confused.
What is this for?
Is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince so hungry and thirsty now?
You want to do this or that to her in public?
Song Jiaren clutched the sleeve of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince tightly, her eyes wide open in shock, rubbing red.
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