The candlelight flickered, the heavy rain had just stopped, and Tao Ti lay weakly in his arms, feeling her body being hollowed out.
Pei Yan had tasted the sweetness of her kindness, and seeing her pitiful appearance, he couldn't bear to do it again.
He sat up, and Tao Ti thought he was about to come again, and her thick eyelashes trembled.
Pei Yan looked at her sweaty hair, which stuck to her forehead, and used his slender fingers to push it away for her. He then pulled the quilt over her and said softly, "I'll ask someone to prepare some hot water. You go to sleep first."
Tao Ti was still a little embarrassed to look at him, so she covered half of her face with the quilt and said "hmm" softly.
Pei Yan leaned over and kissed her forehead, put on his coat, and went out to call for help.
Tao Ti was so tired and it was very late, so she closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly.
When she woke up again, she was soaking in a warm bathtub filled with white mist, and her body felt soft and fluffy, as if it was about to melt.
If Pei Yan hadn't been behind her, holding her with his strong arms, she would have slipped into the water.
She was drowsy, as if she had just done some exercise. She was so sleepy that she could not open her eyes. She leaned in Pei Yan's arms and let him torment her.
This time I had a deep and long sleep, and I had a dream.
Her dreams were filled with charming and erotic scenes, tossing and turning, this and that, and she could hardly tell whether it was a dream or reality.
When she woke up the next day, Tao Ti lay in bed for a long time.
When she was about to sit up, the soreness all over her body reminded her that what happened last night was real.
She really ate Pei Yan thoroughly... Oh no, it should be that there was nothing left of her.
Only now did she realize that she really had a big misunderstanding about Pei Yan, not only in terms of his personality, but also in terms of his physical condition.
She seriously suspected that he was pretending to be sick!
Just as she was about to get up, the felt curtain was suddenly opened and Pei Yan, dressed in a black robe, walked in.
Compared to her exhaustion, Pei Yan looked refreshed and contented.
When Tao Ti saw him, she immediately pulled the quilt over her and lay down again with her head covered. Although she had seen everything she should and shouldn't have seen last night, she felt inexplicably shy when she saw him again in broad daylight.
Pei Yan's lips curled slightly when he saw her childish actions.
He walked over slowly and sat down, gently patting the bulging hillock with his hand, "You're not awake yet?"
Taoti murmured softly, "Awake."
Pei Yan pulled off the quilt and looked at her tender peach-like cheeks. Thinking of her sweet taste last night, his eyes dimmed slightly.
He already knew that once he got a taste of this feeling, it would be hard to control himself.
"It rained heavily last night. Qin Tianjian said it would rain again later. Father ordered us to move camp and return to the palace. The carriages and horses are ready. We have half an hour to set off." Pei Yan rubbed her hair, "Good boy, it's time to get up."
"You're going back so soon?" Tao Ti was stunned.
Pei Yan responded, and inadvertently caught a glimpse of the red mark on her collarbone from the corner of his eye, and his throat inexplicably tightened.
Tao Ti also noticed his burning gaze, her face flushed, she quickly pulled on her pajamas, and urged in a low voice, "Your Highness, go out first, and let Linglong come in to serve me."
Pei Yan knew that if he stayed any longer, he would not be able to leave within half an hour.
He stood up, said "I'll wait for you outside", and strode out.
After a while, Linglong came in. When she saw Taoti, her face was full of smiles, as happy as if she was marrying off her daughter.
"Congratulations, Crown Princess. Congratulations, Crown Princess." She greeted happily and hurried forward to help Tao Ti get up and wash.
When Linglong saw the ambiguous marks on Tao Ti's body, her face turned red, thinking that His Highness was really a fool and didn't show any mercy.
After washing up, Qinghe and Xu Wenchan came over. They came in a car, and they wanted to take a car back too.
Unexpectedly, before even seeing Tao Ti, Pei Yan stopped her and said, "She is still feeling a little unwell, so I will take her back in a carriage."
Xu Wenchan looked puzzled. "Are you still feeling unwell? You looked fine yesterday."
Apart from having some swollen eyes, A Ti was able to eat, drink and play cards. She even won a lot of money from her and Qing He yesterday.
Qing He believed Pei Yan's words without a doubt, and thought that Tao Ti's cold had worsened. She asked worriedly, "Brother Crown Prince, do you want to ask Doctor Yu to check on my cousin?"
Pei Yan said, "No need."
Linglong happened to come out, Pei Yan turned around and went back to the tent first. Xu Wenchan pulled Linglong aside to ask what was going on.
Linglong couldn't hide the smile between her eyebrows and whispered a few words to Xu Wenchan.
Although Xu Wenchan was unmarried, she had a deep theoretical knowledge of romantic matters. She quickly understood and couldn't help but smack her lips, "I can't tell."
The prince looked at this graceful and god-like figure, and wondered if he could make A-Ti unable to get out of bed? Tsk tsk tsk tsk.
Qing He heard the misty words, and her cool eyes were filled with curiosity. "You can't see anything?"
Xu Wenchan looked at Qinghe's innocent little face, coughed lightly, and said seriously, "County Master, you are still young. You will understand when you grow up."
Qing He, "..."
She is already an adult, she is not young anymore!
………
It was still raining outside, but it was warm inside the tent.
Tao Ti wore a smoky pink shirt and a lilac satin skirt. She had her hair in a low bun, which was fastened with two light pink silk flowers.
She was sitting in front of the dressing mirror, wondering how to cover up the kiss marks.
Pei Yan walked slowly behind her, lowered his eyes, and saw a red plum-like kiss mark on her slender white neck. He was silent for a moment, put his hand on her shoulder, and whispered, "I have a way."
Tao Ti looked up at the "culprit" with her cheeks still a little red, "What can you do?"
Pei Yan quickly asked Fu Xirui to bring a black cloak with embroidered floral patterns.
He was tall, so the cloak fit him perfectly, but Tao Ti was petite, so the cloak wrapped her tightly.
Tao Ti: "…" Good idea.
Outside the tent, Fu Xirui tactfully reminded them that it was time to set off. Pei Yan responded, bent down, and picked up Tao Ti horizontally.
Suddenly, she hugged his waist subconsciously and said in surprise, "Your Highness."
Pei Yan held her steadily with his strong arms, "It's inconvenient for you to walk, I'll carry you to the car."
Tao Ti's face suddenly flushed, and she muttered in her heart that you also know that it will be inconvenient to walk, but she said she was too embarrassed to show her teeth, so she just buried her head in his arms.
The cloak covered her tightly, and Pei Yan held her the whole time. Outsiders could only see the back of the Crown Princess' head, and nothing else.
After getting on the carriage, Pei Yan let her sleep on him.
He knew that Meng had been a little extravagant last night, and then when she fell asleep, he couldn't help but do it again, causing her to sleep restlessly.
Tao Ti nestled in his arms like a boneless person, her eyes fixed on his jawline and then on his sexy Adam's apple.
She couldn't help but reach out to touch it, and as soon as she dared to touch it, she felt the hand on her waist tighten.
"Stop it." He squeezed her hand.
"I'll just touch it."
"You can't bear the consequences of touching me now." He held her hand and kissed it, whispering coaxingly, "Rest well now, and I'll let you touch me as you like when you go back home tonight."
Tao Ti felt as if the wheel of a car had rolled directly onto her face, and she complained in her heart: He seemed quite serious before, how come he became so frivolous after the applause!
She was indeed tired. After the carriage started moving forward, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
It was dark on a rainy day, with little light. Pei Yan held her soft body with one hand and supported her forehead with the other. His eyes were distracted as he stared at her cute sleeping face.
He thought about many things, including their joy last night, her charm, her tears, her secrets, and her identity.
She said that she was no longer the same Taoti as before...
In fact, he had seen the clues a long time ago. Maybe she had become different since she drank the poisoned wine on the wedding night and was saved.
He had never believed in ghosts and gods before, but now, he really couldn't think of any better explanation except the theory of ghosts and gods.
But he was not that curious and did not care about those things. As long as her heart, her body, and her entire being belonged to him, the rest of the things were meaningless to him.
The rain continued to fall, and he kissed her forehead gently, thinking that he would be with her forever, grow old together, and have many children and grandchildren.
When I returned to the East Palace again, it was almost evening.
Pei Yan carried Tao Ti from the carriage to the bedroom without her feet touching the ground the entire time.
The palace maids in Yaoguang Palace initially thought that something had happened to the Crown Princess. Linglong explained that she had caught a cold. The palace maids were all surprised. Is that it?
Linglong smiled and said, this shows that our prince loves the princess and regards her as a treasure.
The palace ladies all thought it made sense and began to look forward to it happily. If the Crown Princess could have a little grandson soon, then even if there were more Liang Di and Zhao Yi around the Crown Prince in the future, the position of the Crown Princess would be as secure as a rock.
Pei Yan carried Tao Ti back to Yaoguang Palace. They were affectionate for a while. He left first to take care of government affairs, and Tao Ti continued to lie on the bed like a salted fish.
In the blink of an eye, it was dusk. Looking at the cool autumn rain outside, Tao Ti suddenly wanted to drink some hot soup.
Thinking that she hadn't cooked for several days, she was free anyway, so she got up and went to the kitchen. After taking a look at the existing ingredients, she decided to make a pot of spicy hot pot.
The most important thing about Malatang is the base soup. The methods of making Malatang in different places are also different. Taoti’s taste tends to be more like that of Chongqing, with a strong taste and more oil. The base soup is fragrant and rich.
After frying the base, she began to add side dishes to the soup, including fish balls, meatballs, basil slices, vermicelli, potato slices, lotus root slices, mushrooms, small green vegetables, and some beef slices. A variety of ingredients were bubbling in the small pot, and there was a crackling drizzle outside, and time became quiet and leisurely.
Gradually, a salty and spicy aroma filled the entire small kitchen. The palace servants were drooling with greed. Even the cat Yuanbao came over and meowed.
Tao Ti gave it a fish ball, and it immediately meowed obediently, then buried its head in eating.
After the spicy hot pot was cooked, Pei Yan also came back.
Through the slatted window, I could see him in the misty rain, wearing a bamboo green robe, his figure as straight as a bamboo, his bony hands holding an oil-paper umbrella, walking slowly in the rain.
As if he smelled the smoke from the kitchen, he raised his eyes and slowly looked towards the kitchen.
Tao Ti stared with eyes wide open. Her first reaction was that her husband looked so handsome even when holding an umbrella. Her second reaction was how could such a gentle and elegant man be so different in bed?
As expected, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
She suppressed the messy thoughts in her head, asked the palace maid to bring the spicy hot pot back to the palace, took off her apron, blushed, and walked forward slowly.