Xue Shen's parents... were the late emperor and the late empress.
Even Shen Youying had heard of the deep affection between the late Emperor and Empress. She had heard that the late Emperor and Empress had known each other since childhood and had a very deep relationship. Later, when the late Emperor ascended the throne, the late Empress, due to poor health, only gave birth to one son. The court officials petitioned the late Emperor to select concubines and take new ones to continue the imperial line, but the late Emperor refused them all.
As the only son of the emperor and empress, Xue Shen was made crown prince at a young age and was personally raised and educated by the late emperor.
Shen Youying glanced at him from the side and inadvertently noticed the darkness in his eyes. She thought to herself that with such loving parents, his relationship with them must be very close.
However, fate was unkind. The late empress, overwhelmed with worry about his illness, passed away prematurely, followed by the late emperor, leaving Xue Shen all alone.
The pain in his heart was probably greater and deeper than when she learned of her brother's accident.
"The late Emperor and Empress were even more loving than the rumors say." Shen Youying knew the pain of losing a loved one, and any words of comfort seemed pale and powerless in the face of such immense grief. In the end, this was all she could say.
"Mmm." Xue Shen held her waist, his lips lingering on her earlobe for a moment before moving to the side of her neck.
“My father once told me that when I get married in the future, I can bring my wife here whenever I want to relax and take a break.”
A warm, wet itch came from the side of her neck. Shen Youying instinctively turned her neck to the other side, but this only exposed her weakness, making it easier for Xue Shen to pluck it.
He pressed himself against Shen Youying from behind, kissing her slender swan neck repeatedly before turning her around to face him and pressing her against a plum tree.
Shen Youying's lips parted slightly, she breathed softly, and looked at him with shimmering eyes: "Your Highness, back then... did you have anyone you wanted to bring along?"
Xue Shen bit her lip, and only released her after he had tasted it enough. Their lips rubbed together, and a hoarse voice escaped from between their lips: "No."
"When I was young, I was busy with political affairs and only wanted to be a qualified crown prince so that no one would criticize my father and mother. I had no time to think about those romantic feelings. Later, after I broke my leg... I had even less time to think about them."
Xue Shen cupped Shen Youying's face in his hands, gazed intently into the depths of her eyes, and placed a light kiss on her brow: "So it's only you."
Shen Youying's heart swelled slightly. At this moment, she couldn't tell whether Xue Shen's words were true or false. She simply followed her heart, put her arms around his shoulders, and stood on tiptoe to find his lips.
Xue Shen lowered his head obediently, and their lips met, lingering and passionately intertwining.
Shen Youying clung to Xue Shen passionately, like a supple vine. Xue Shen held her waist with one hand, lifting her up to kiss her more deeply. With the other hand, he untied her complicated sash.
The plum tree, bearing the weight of two people, trembled as petals and fine snow fluttered down, adorning their hair and clothes.
...
Shen Youying originally wanted to ask the maid to prepare clothes so she could soak in the hot spring to relax her muscles and bones.
But Xue Shen's arrival interrupted her plans.
In the end, I did soak in the hot spring, but I didn't have any clothes to change into.
She glared at the man who was wringing her hair dry, and said with a hint of reproach, "I told you not to do it here."
Xue Shen raised an eyebrow: "Zhao Zhao, why are you turning your back on me like this? Just now you were the one clinging to me and wouldn't let go..."
Recalling her earlier recklessness, Shen Youying's face turned even redder than the plum blossom petals floating on the water. She snatched her long hair from Xue Shen's hand, twisted the wet ends forcefully, and casually tied it behind her head with a hairpin. With her body submerged in the water, she urged Xue Shen, "Go and get me some clothes quickly."
She's been soaking here for almost half an hour already; she can't keep soaking any longer.
Xue Shen glanced at the water's surface, licked his teeth, and chuckled, "There's no one else around, why would I need clothes?"
As he spoke, he took down the fox fur draped over the bamboo screen, bent down and scooped Shen Youying out of the water. He quickly wrapped her up tightly in the fox fur, then carried her in his arms and walked back.
"Wouldn't this be much faster?"
Shen Youying was both ashamed and anxious. If her limbs hadn't been wrapped in a fox fur coat and unable to move, she would have scratched him: "You, how could you do this!"
If the servants saw this, how could she maintain her dignity as a princess?
Xue Shenteng reached out and pinched her earlobe, which was redder than agate, and laughed, "How is it? I carried my wife back to her room, did I carry the wrong one?"
He always had a lot of fallacies and heresies, and Shen Youying couldn't argue with him, so she got angry that her cheeks puffed up slightly.
Xue Shen's smile deepened. He stopped, lowered his head, and gently bit the tip of her nose. He said in a hoarse voice, "I sent the maidservant to the outer courtyard. No one will see us." He paused subtly, then added, "Don't look at me like that, or you won't get any dinner later."
Shen Youying: "..."
She simply closed her eyes in despair.
*
On her first day at the estate, Shen Youying ate her dinner on the couch, and Xue Shen fed her bite by bite.
Although there weren't many people on the estate, Xue Shen still prepared two maids in advance because of Shen Youying's arrival. When Shen Youying got up to do her hair the next day, she saw the two unfamiliar maids and felt that the way they were looking at her was strange.
When she went outside again and saw the guards stationed in various parts of the courtyard, she bit her lip and glared angrily at Xue Shen.
Xue Shen looked innocent as he looked at the horse the guard had brought out: "Zhao Zhao doesn't like this horse?" He clicked his tongue, patted the exceptionally tall, jet-black horse, and said disdainfully, "I told you you needed to change your temper. Look, you've scared your mistress."
The black horse seemed to understand, shook its head in dissatisfaction, and snorted at him.
Xue Shen laughed loudly.
Shen Youying stared at him for a while, then couldn't help but laugh along.
The black horse took two graceful steps and walked up to her. It nudged her hand with its nose.
Shen Youying stroked its smooth, glossy mane, took out some candy from her pouch and fed it to it, then said to Xue Shen, "It looks quite old."
"Yes, he's over seven years old."
Xue Shen looked at the black horse in front of him, a look of nostalgia flashing in his eyes. He explained to Shen Youying, who looked puzzled, "It is the king of horses in the same batch. My father personally took me to the horse farm to pick it out. It took three days to tame it."
"It has been following me ever since."
When the past was brought up, a dark look flashed in Xue Shen's eyes, and he said indifferently, "If it weren't for it, I estimate that I would have lost more than just two legs."
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