Chapter 34 I actually miss her a little
Chi Ying had gotten up very early for today's banquet of beauties. With her elaborate hairstyle and exquisite makeup, she paid her respects to everyone and was already exhausted. However, despite her utmost caution, she still inadvertently fell under the influence of the Warm Love Incense.
They worked back and forth, trying to detoxify each other, without stopping until late at night.
Or perhaps they stopped twice in the middle, because the bedding was so wet that there was nowhere to move. She was in excruciating pain all over her body and could hardly move. King Zhao was also blind, so he had no choice but to call someone in to clean up.
She thought that once the sheets were changed to clean, everything would be over, but as soon as she closed her eyes, soft pecking kisses began to fall again.
At first, he was quite gentle. He would gently rub his chin against her hairline and kiss her eyes, earlobes, and the back of her neck. She responded wearily, knowing that he couldn't see her anyway, so she didn't need to act coquettishly to please him. His movements were very light, so they didn't disturb her from sleeping soundly.
But soon he could no longer be satisfied with that. His kisses deepened little by little, turning into licking, biting, and sucking with a biting force. His hot breath sprayed on her ear and then moved to her chest.
She was half asleep when she dreamt that her soft flesh turned into cloud-like candies, which he nibbled and ate bit by bit. She woke up with a start, only to find that reality wasn't much better.
Beneath her nightgown, there were red marks of varying shades everywhere.
The place that had clearly sounded the retreat was about to be regrouped in a short while. As the offensive intensified, the hands binding her waist tightened with each passing moment. She gritted her teeth and endured it, but in the end, she could no longer sleep.
She comforted herself, thinking that perhaps the aphrodisiac was more potent for men, or perhaps his old ailment had flared up and he desperately needed to be intimate with her, which was why he was so insatiable and went to extremes.
She didn't adapt to it as easily as she had, even after experiencing it once. She was forced to endure measurements that were completely incompatible with her body. Even just slowly moving in and out of that damp and sticky environment made her tremble like a leaf.
After the servants came in to tidy the bedding, Xiangqin also brought in the freshly brewed calming medicine.
She probably knew that the aphrodisiac could be neutralized by marital relations, but seeing that her two masters had tried it again and again for most of the day, she still didn't know if the incense poison had been neutralized. So she had to boil the medicine and heat it up again and again.
Chi Ying changed into her nightgown and looked at the calming medicine in the bowl, which had been heated three times already. She weakly tugged at Prince Zhao's sleeve with her fingertips. "It's ready, don't waste it. Otherwise, Your Highness, would you like to drink it?"
Yan Xuecui sensed her thoughts, and her smile widened, her brows and eyes relaxing for once.
"Ah Ying doesn't think this tranquilizer works on me, does she?"
If that were the case, his long-standing problems of restlessness and excessive emotions would have been cured long ago.
Chi Ying sensed the teasing in his words, and sullenly clutched the blankets, turning her back to him and moving further into the bed.
But then he realized that he couldn't see his resentful and sullen appearance, which made him even more depressed. Before he could move far, he pulled him into his arms again.
This state of being upside down, with day and night reversed, continued for three days until someone from the palace came and announced King Zhao's entry into the palace.
Chi Ying secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if her body and mind had finally settled down and she had a moment to catch her breath.
After the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict finished reading Emperor Yongcheng's decree, he waited in the corridor, but Prince Zhao did not move for a long time. He still held her in his arms, rested his chin on her shoulder, and played with a strand of hair by her temple.
Chi Ying couldn't help but feel a little anxious: "Isn't Your Highness going to the palace?"
Yan Xuecui raised an eyebrow: "You seem to be in a more hurry than I am."
For the past three days, Chi Ying has spent almost all her time in bed except for meals and baths. When she was sleepy, he would hold her in his arms to sleep, and when she woke up, he would do it with her. She was in a daze.
I never imagined it would be like this.
Unlike other princes and court officials who needed to attend court and govern, or scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants, and peddlers who always had to make a living, he could truly be so idle that he could spend all day being close to her without a care in the world.
She couldn't very well offer him words of encouragement and encouragement, after all, he held a high position, and the wealth and glory that people craved were within his grasp, but unfortunately, he was blind, destined to be unable to climb to the golden summit of the emperor.
She never expected that he was so obsessed with sex, and that his energy was far more abundant than that of others. If she didn't leave soon, she really wouldn't be able to hold on any longer.
Yan Xue nuzzled her neck with her nose, took a deep breath, and finally said, "Aying, kiss me again."
She had heard that address so many times in the past three days. At first, it would make her break out in a cold sweat, but now that she heard it so often, she had gotten used to it.
She just wanted him to leave quickly; at that moment, everything would be fine. So she turned around and kissed his chin.
Yan Xuecui was not satisfied, "How did I kiss you?"
Chi Ying didn't want to discuss these things with him, much less recall them. "Your Highness, please hurry up and don't keep Father waiting."
Yan Xuecui: "Leave after the kiss."
Chi Ying couldn't resist him, so she cupped his face and gently kissed his lips.
She didn't know any of those fancy biting and sucking techniques, and her tongue wasn't as agile as his, unable to penetrate very deep. She also couldn't bring herself to lose face and do anything indecent. All she wanted to do now was forget everything that had happened inside the carriage…
As expected, this brief kiss still failed to satisfy him.
Yan Xuecui lightly bit her lip and whispered, "You've wasted your time learning from those picture books."
Chi Ying blushed and pursed her lips, which he had bitten painfully.
Yan Xue urged, "Study hard. I can't be the one serving you, a blind man."
Chi Ying felt utterly ashamed, but at that moment she was caught off guard when he suddenly lifted her up by the feet. She was so frightened that she almost lost her voice, staring at him with a look of terror on her face.
Fortunately, he only lifted her up and squeezed her a little to confirm that she didn't have much strength and probably would have trouble even standing. So he got up and changed his clothes himself.
Chi Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief, and her clenched fingers slowly relaxed.
It was a rare sight to see him summoned to the palace, so she couldn't help but ask, "When will Your Highness return?"
Yan Xuecui smiled and asked, "Do you want me to come back sooner or later?"
Chi Ying avoided the topic and guessed, "Was it about the palace banquet and the medicine I had with Princess Rui?"
Yan Xuecui: "Probably."
Chi Ying: "Does Your Highness know who did this?"
Yan Xuecui: "There's some progress."
He bent down and kissed her fingers, softly asking, "Do you want me to avenge you?"
Chi Ying's fingers curled up from the itch, and she urged him, "I don't understand the affairs of the court and the harem, Your Highness, please go quickly."
Yan Xue smiled and leaned down to pinch her cheek: "When I come back, I hope to see that you have made some progress in the bedroom."
Chi Ying: "..."
The Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Yan Xuecui, dressed in a long robe with a black background and gold patterns, stepped into the hall and bowed. Emperor Yongcheng put down his vermilion brush, looked up at him, and was momentarily stunned.
Since the early death of Prince Ding, Qi Lang has gone blind. Although he remains as composed and measured as ever in his demeanor, there is a subtle hint of despondency in his attitude towards life and death.
Emperor Yongcheng still remembered that when it was discovered that Prince Rong had harmed his brothers, he weighed all the factors, and considering the father-son relationship and Prince Rong's past merits, he did not impose the death penalty, but only sentenced him to life imprisonment. On that day, he explained the reason to Qilang, who just smiled and said, "Father is wise."
But he could clearly see a sense of despondency and resentment deep within those dark and silent eyes, like ripples on still water.
At that moment, he vaguely realized that he seemed to not understand his son.
Fearing that he might harbor resentment, Emperor Yongcheng had used the excuse of recuperating from blindness to avoid assigning him any important court duties for the past two years. Furthermore, due to a hidden unease in his heart, when Consort Li made the suggestion, he readily agreed and bestowed upon him a daughter of a minor noble family.
But on both occasions when he entered the palace, he appeared elegant and graceful in a red robe and jade belt at the banquet for beauties. Today, dressed in black, he exudes even more majesty and phoenix-like charm. It seems as if the bright and spirited air that had been dormant in Qilang for so long has suddenly returned.
It would be best if he could come to his senses.
Emperor Yongcheng felt relieved and gestured for someone to offer him a seat. He then ordered the chief eunuch, Kang Fu, to give a detailed account of the progress of the investigation into the "Banquet of Beauties" case.
Kang Fu stepped forward, bowed to Yan Xue, and said, "The imperial physician diagnosed that Princess Rui was poisoned by the Warm Love Incense that day. However, the Shenxing Division sent people to investigate carefully and found that the wine, tea, food, and incense at the banquet were all fine. We do not know where the Warm Love Incense came from or who administered it."
Yan Xuecui lowered his eyes. The person who poisoned her had indeed taken a different approach. If he hadn't accidentally smelled the exotic fragrance of the peony in the princess's hair, he probably wouldn't have imagined that the warm fragrance was hidden inside the flower.
Kang Fu continued, "It was the Eighth Prince's wine that was tampered with. The Jade Pot Spring wine was several times stronger than usual. The Eighth Prince's attendant said that there was an unfamiliar palace maid outside the hall who directed them to rest in a side hall. The Eighth Prince did not suspect anything and pushed the door open, which led to the disaster."
Yan Xue frowned: "An unfamiliar palace maid?"
Kang Fu said, "At that time, the guards patrolling outside the palace also said that a palace maid came to inform him that she heard unusual noises in the side hall, which seemed to indicate that a man and woman were having an affair. She asked him to go and check immediately. When the guard entered the room, he saw the drunk Eighth Prince and Princess Rui inside. He assumed that the two were having an affair. He dared not delay and immediately reported to His Majesty."
It was also mentioned that the Crown Prince Rui cried and shouted all the way, which alarmed many people outside Fufeng Palace. It was because a palace maid instigated him that the young prince rushed to the side hall to plead for his mother.
Yan Xuecui asked, "Are these palace maids the same person?"
Kang Fu said, “According to their descriptions, it is probably the same person. However, this palace maid was dressed in ordinary palace clothes, with an ordinary appearance, fair face with powder, soft voice, and slightly hunched posture. There was nothing particularly memorable about her. In addition, there were as many as a hundred palace maids serving the various palace masters at the banquet that day, so it was difficult to identify her at the time.”
The Ministry of Justice did hire painters to draw portraits of the palace maids, but these painters couldn't even describe the maids' facial features clearly, and the resulting portraits were hardly recognizable. The most suspicious palaces would not come forward to identify the people in the portraits, and the case stalled at this point.
Emperor Yongcheng spoke up at this moment: "Palace secrets should not be made public. I know you are quite skilled in investigating and tracking cases. You were also present at the banquet for beauties that day. I wonder if you have any ideas?"
Yan Xue urged, "Father, why don't you investigate how that Warmth Incense entered the palace, who handled it, and which palaces it entered?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Yongcheng's expression became slightly unnatural.
As the name suggests, this "Warm Aphrodisiac" was originally a forbidden drug used by concubines to curry favor in bed. He only found out after the incident that some concubines in the harem were secretly using this drug.
Yan Xuecui: "Since someone has used the medicine, they must have leftover residue on their hands. We can start from there."
Emperor Yongcheng gave Kangfu a look, and Kangfu immediately bowed and agreed.
"I hereby entrust this matter to you for full jurisdiction. What do you say?"
A self-deprecating smile flickered across Yan Xue's lips: "Father, I am blind."
Emperor Yongcheng said, "What's so difficult about that? You can't see it, so I'll just have someone dictate it to you. If you want to investigate someone or something, just give the order, and I'll issue a decree ordering all the palaces to cooperate fully with you."
Yan Xuecui knew, of course, that he was the least suspicious prince in this case, and that Emperor Yongcheng would not trust anyone else to take him over.
So he has been waiting at his residence for the past few days for the imperial decree to be delivered.
However, the Imperial Prison was too incompetent, and after only three days of investigation, they were at a loss, forcing him to spend only three days with the princess.
In the short time he had been away from her, he found himself missing her.
She's incredibly lazy, shy about everything, and unwilling to move an inch. If he leaves, she'll probably stay in bed forever.
Yan Xue rubbed his fingertips together, the warm, soft, and moist sensation still lingering on his fingertips, making him want to push into that place and explore it a little more.
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Author's Note: More red envelopes to come!!
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