When Jing Yan spoke, Yue Jiang didn't react; anyone who didn't know better would have thought she was really asleep.
If he hadn't looked closely and noticed that Yue Jiang's long eyelashes trembled slightly, he might have been fooled.
Jing Yan silently curved the corners of his mouth into a smile, and in the quiet night, he asked one last time, as if it were nothing unusual: "Are you really asleep?"
After waiting for two breaths and still no movement from the person beside him, he put his hand under the covers and moved it to Yue Jiang's abdomen. Yue Jiang visibly flinched slightly.
Jing Yan was even bolder this time. He curled his fingers and lightly scratched her. Before Yue Jiang could even take two hits, she let out a soft moan and couldn't hold back any longer, so she curled up into a ball and woke up.
She opened her eyes and glared at Jing Yan: "Your Highness, you're so mean! You suffered a loss with Zhang'er, and now you're coming to collect your debt from me."
Jing Yan's teasing hand didn't leave Yue Jiang's side. He propped his head up with his other right hand, looking at the annoyed Yue Jiang in his arms with amusement. He also had a lot of grievances to share.
“Jiang’er should have been on my side. Considering that Zhang’er and I hadn’t seen each other for more than two years, she helped us rebuild our father-son relationship. But Jiang’er, knowing that Zhang’er was testing my bottom line, just stood by and watched.”
"He almost made me someone he could kick out at any time."
"Pfft," Jing Yan's words, combined with Zhang'er's previous actions, made Yue Jiang burst out laughing, even bringing tears to her eyes.
She wiped her eyes and stopped laughing, saying, "Your Highness, you're supposed to be an adult, yet you let a child trick you."
"I reminded you several times before, but you insisted that Zhang'er was a reserved person and indulged his every whim. What could I say at the time?"
"Should we tell His Highness in front of Zhang'er, 'Your Highness, don't spoil Zhang'er. He's doing this on purpose, testing who has a higher status between you and him?'"
"Although His Highness is his father, in his eyes he is just a stranger who has just returned. Yet he treats me as his closest person. Should I help His Highness and not him in front of Zhang'er?"
After saying that, Yue Jiang felt something was wrong; she had been helping Jing Yan all along.
Yue Jiang stood up and pointed to the portrait hanging on the wall inside the room, full of confidence.
"Look, those paintings were all painted by me after Your Highness left. I showed them to Zhang'er whenever I had the chance, otherwise how could he know what Father King is so quickly?"
Jing Yan looked over and realized for the first time that Yue Jiang could paint. Her paintings, while not surpassing those of famous masters, were hard to fault.
A slight smile appeared on his lips, and as he turned around, Yue Jiang's voice rang out again.
"Your Highness should feel that the fact that I didn't speak up for you is the same as helping you. Your Highness should personally correct Zhang'er so that he knows that you can discipline him, but he cannot discipline you."
"Instead of His Highness trying to save trouble by directly asking me for help, wouldn't Zhang'er be even less afraid of you then?"
“Zhang’er isn’t a child who makes a fuss. If you talk to him, he’ll listen attentively.”
It was one thing for Jing Yan not to be in the East Palace, but now that he's back, Yue Jiang doesn't have to take on any responsibility and solves everything for him.
Zhang'er was his eldest son. He had been growing up for a short time, but not too long either. Even Yue Jiang didn't know Zhang'er's personality, abilities, or whether he could take on the heavy responsibility.
Jing Yan had to personally teach and protect them along the way, otherwise they would not amount to anything. Anyone would have deep feelings for the person or thing that they had worked so hard to create.
Yue Jiang was considering not only the father-son relationship between them, but also the future relationship between ruler and subject.
Jing Yan listened quietly to Yue Jiang's words. He was impressed by Yue Jiang's shrewdness and resourcefulness; she even had a set of effective methods for teaching children.
He was lost in thought: "It seems to be my responsibility. I've been separated from Zhang'er for too long. Not only does Zhang'er need to get used to me, but I also need to get used to being a good father to Zhang'er."
Jing Yan snapped out of his thoughts and saw Yue Jiang staring at him and smiling. He smiled back and asked, "What are you laughing at, Jiang'er?"
“In other families, the children reflect on their actions, but Your Highness not only doesn’t blame Zhang’er, but also reflects on himself.”
As she spoke, Yue Jiang withdrew her hand and slowly climbed up Jing Yan's neck, tilting her head back to whisper in his ear, her breath hot.
"I didn't feel sorry for Your Highness just now, but for a moment now Your Highness is pitiful and makes my heart ache. What should I do?"
In just a few words, Yue Jiang's lips brushed against Jing Yan's ear several times, leaving a row of small teeth marks on his smooth earlobe.
The teeth marks were neither too deep nor too light, but they were incredibly itchy.
Jing Yan was aroused by Yue Jiang's teasing. He accidentally pressed down on a hard object, and before he fell, he subconsciously grabbed Yue Jiang's wrist.
He still remembered that after Yue Jiang conceived Zhang'er, the fragrance on her body faded, and he could no longer smell it after giving birth to Zhang'er.
Later, Yue Jiang stopped wearing the purple jade, and no one noticed during the day. At this moment, it was as if she had returned to the past.
Jing Yan asked, puzzled, "Is it Jiang'er's fragrance that's returned?"
Yue Jiang couldn't explain it either. Anyway, after Zhang'er learned to speak, he suddenly came back. The purple jade was carefully preserved and continued to be used.
Yue Jiang was disappointed that Jing Yan was so sensitive and attentive to that smell.
"Your Highness doesn't like it?"
Jing Yan couldn't say whether he liked her or not. He was already deeply in love with Yue Jiang, and he didn't need anything else to move him.
Aside from the fact that Jing Yan felt guilty about how he got Yue Jiang, he didn't know how to confess his feelings to her after he started to fall for her.
As for whether he could be considered a lifelong support for Yue Jiang, Jing Yan had no other concerns.
Jing Yan relaxed, took Yue Jiang's wrist and gently placed it to his lips, giving her a tender kiss.
"I love her. I love everything about Jiang'er."
A smile spread across Yue Jiang's face as she nestled against Jing Yan's chest, hooking his hair in a suggestive manner, and asked, "Your Highness, are you tired from yesterday to today? Are you still in the mood?"
Jingyan spent the entire night defending the city against the enemy, and spent the morning indulging in debauchery with Yuejiang. He only managed to rest in the afternoon, but Zhang'er still managed to make him very depressed.
Yue Jiang felt sorry for Jing Yan, so she thought she could tease him a little. Who knew it would come to this? If Jing Yan said he was tired, she would stop bothering him.
Hearing the hesitation and concern in Yue Jiang's words, Jing Yan realized that she was very worried about his health.
He found it both funny and infuriating; he hadn't had a proper rest since yesterday, but he wasn't old at all.
Jing Yan wrapped his arm around Yue Jiang's waist and turned her over, switching their positions. He held Yue Jiang's wrist and easily removed the purple jade from her wrist with a flick of his finger.
A moment later, a faint fragrance filled the air, shadows flickered within the gauze curtains, and Jing Yan's voice drifted through the quiet night.
It wasn't his usual gentle demeanor; a hint of uncontrollable lust had crept in, and his words became quite reckless.
"After tasting ginger, I became addicted to it. I haven't been carefree at all these past two years. I sometimes dream about you at night. Do you think I'll be interested?"
"I would rather say these words to Jiang'er, since I have longed for her countless times over the past two years without success."
"Jiang'er, I love you."
When Yue Jiang heard Jing Yan's words, she had already been pressed into the soft brocade quilt. The mattress beneath her was thick and soft, and she kept sinking down.
It felt as if thick cotton was plugging her ears, yet Jing Yan's hazy and moving words kept echoing in Yue Jiang's ears again and again.
Finally, she seemed to hear Jing Yan say that he loved her.
Yue Jiang didn't know exactly how much Jing Yan had said, but she knew he was rougher than usual and seemed to want to crush her.
He was indeed in high spirits.
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