Chapter 8 The Torment of Sleeping in the Same Bed but Dreaming Different Dreams
The night was deep, and the crows returned to their nests.
Inside the main bedroom of the Regent's Palace, the underfloor heating was burning brightly, making it as warm as springtime.
Jiang Mianmian had just washed away the smell of cooking oil and changed into a soft, silky nightgown. Like a kitten that had finally found its nest, she rolled around comfortably on the bright red wedding bed, wrapping herself in the two brocade quilts like a silkworm cocoon.
[Awesome! So awesome! I'm well-fed and watered, don't have to worry about the boss, and have a two-meter-wide bed all to myself! This is the retirement life of my dreams!]
[That workaholic Shen Jin is definitely sleeping in the study now. Ideally, he'd sleep there every day from now on, leaving me alone in the main room. I don't know what this mattress is filled with, but it's just the right firmness—perfect for my spine.]
She hugged the soft pillow, buried her face in it, and rubbed it against it, preparing to drift off to sleep.
Just then—
With a creak.
The door, which was supposed to be closed until tomorrow morning, was pushed open from the outside.
A chilling breeze, carrying wind and snow, rushed in instantly, causing the bed curtains to sway slightly.
Jiang Mianmian was so startled that she sat up abruptly in bed, clutching the blanket tightly, and looked warily toward the door.
Shen Jin strode in, exuding an aura of coldness. He didn't go to the study; rather, he had returned. He held a military treatise in his hand, his face appearing even more somber than the night outside.
[Holy crap! What's going on? Did he come back from the dead? Didn't he say he was going to work overtime in the study? Why is he back? Is the bed in the study too hard to sleep on? Or... did he suddenly become a beast and want to come back and exercise his husbandly rights?]
"Hey bro! Weren't things going smoothly at the dinner table just now? Didn't we reach a consensus as 'dinner buddies'? Don't do anything rash, or I... I'll scream for help!"
Shen Jin closed the door behind him, shutting out the cold wind from outside and also blocking out the suspicious gazes from the courtyard.
He walked behind the screen, and as he unbuttoned his outer robe, he spoke coldly, as if answering the question in Jiang Mianmian's heart:
“The head maid sent by the Empress Dowager is guarding outside the courtyard. If I stay in the study tonight, your stepmother and the Empress Dowager will have an excuse to punish you tomorrow, saying that you are jealous and unvirtuous and cannot keep your husband.”
Jiang Mianmian: [...]
Okay, that's a perfectly valid reason. This damned feudal society, even sleeping is monitored. This isn't marriage, it's a giant reality show like "The Truman Show"!
[But! But this bed is only this big (although it's big), I don't want to sleep with a refrigerator! What if he sleepwalks and strangles me in the middle of the night? What if he grinds his teeth, farts, or snores?]
Shen Jin changed into his nightgown and came out, just in time to hear the last sentence.
Grinding teeth, farting, and snoring?
How could a prince regent have such a bad sleeping posture?
Shen Jin walked to the bedside with a dark expression.
Jiang Mianmian immediately moved to the innermost part of the bed like a startled rabbit, pressing herself tightly against the wall as if she wanted to embed herself into the crack. She wrapped herself up tightly in the blanket, leaving only her wary eyes showing, and made enough space in the middle for three more people to sleep.
"Please, Your Highness."
She pointed to the large open space outside and chuckled dryly, "This bed is spacious, we... shall keep to ourselves."
Shen Jin glanced at her, said nothing, and lifted the outer blanket to lie down.
There was an invisible boundary between the two.
The lights went out, leaving only a dim, yellow nightlight.
A deathly silence fell over the room.
For Jiang Mianmian, this silence was torture. How could she possibly sleep with the biggest villain in the entire book lying next to her? Her senses were amplified to an extreme degree; she could clearly hear his deep, steady breathing and even smell the faint, cool fragrance emanating from him.
I can't sleep... I just can't sleep at all...
This is so awkward. Is this what they call sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams? Is he asleep? His breathing is so steady, he must be asleep, right?
How about... we count sheep? I heard it helps you sleep.
One sheep... two sheep... three sheep... Happy Sheep... Pretty Sheep... Lazy Sheep... Boiling Sheep...
On the outside of the bed, Shen Jin was not actually asleep either.
He suffers from severe insomnia.
Ever since that poisoning incident, whenever the night is quiet, the malicious thoughts he heard during the day echo in his mind like a curse. Coupled with the lingering effects of the poison in his body, he is constantly on edge. Every night is a long and agonizing ordeal for him.
At this moment, he closed his eyes, his brows furrowed, and was trying to use his internal energy to suppress his headache.
Suddenly, a strange, rhythmic sound rang in his mind.
One hundred and twenty-eight sheep... This sheep looks stern, with a grumpy face and black wool... We'll shear its wool to make a sweater... One hundred and twenty-nine sheep...
His brows furrowed slightly.
Shave off my hair?
He wanted to get angry and shut her up.
But gradually, he discovered that although the sound was absurd, it possessed a strange magic. It was like the continuous sound of raindrops or the rhythmic sound of ocean waves, monotonous and repetitive, yet it effectively masked the sharp, noisy tinnitus in his mind.
The mental noise that had tormented him for years was actually... blocked out by this childish sheep-counting sound?
As Jiang Mianmian counted, her thoughts began to wander.
She quietly turned her head and, by the dim candlelight, sized up the man beside her.
She lay still, her hands folded over her abdomen, her sleeping posture as proper as if she were being prepared for burial (according to Jiang Mianmian).
[I must say, that jerk is really good-looking. The way he looks when he's asleep and not talking is simply breathtaking.]
[These 129 sheep... wait, why are their eyelashes so long?]
Jiang Mianmian's gaze was fixed on Shen Jin's profile.
[Wow, are those eyelashes some kind of supernatural being? So thick and so curled. Can I swing on them? Can I slide down their eyelashes?]
If I pluck one of these and make a wish, would it come true? Like, wishing for instant wealth, or wishing for an indestructible body?
[Sigh, the Creator is so unfair. He gave him such good looks, such long eyelashes, and so much power, but why didn't he have a good personality? If only he were mute...]
Shen Jin's originally tense nerves miraculously relaxed amidst these nonsensical ramblings.
The voice in her heart was clear and lively, without any calculation or malice, only full of complaints and those insignificant little thoughts.
Listening to her still agonizing over silly questions like "Would I fall to my death if I slid down his eyelashes?", Chen Jin's lips curled up slightly in the darkness.
This sound... was even more effective than the most expensive calming incense prescribed by the Imperial Hospital.
A long-lost feeling of drowsiness washed over me like a tide.
This was the first time in five years that he had felt that natural, gentle, and tender sleepiness.
The woman beside me was still chattering away:
[That nose is quite prominent, perfect for skiing. The lips are a bit thin; I've heard men with thin lips are the most fickle… but it looks very kissable… Ugh, Jiang Mianmian, what are you thinking! Form is emptiness, emptiness is form!]
[So sleepy... This jerk is a natural human air conditioner, it's quite refreshing...]
As Jiang Mianmian's thoughts became increasingly chaotic, her inner thoughts gradually became fragmented and indistinct.
[So cautious... you big jerk... phew...]
Finally, the sound disappeared, replaced by a long, soft breath coming from beside me.
She fell asleep.
Shen Jin slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to the side.
In the dim light, he saw Jiang Mianmian curled up in the quilt without any defenses, one hand unconsciously reaching out from the "Chu River and Han Border" and grabbing the corner of his sleeve.
Sleeping like a pig.
Shen Jin reached out, wanting to pull his sleeve back.
But he stopped when his fingertips touched the warm back of her hand.
That warm touch traveled along my fingertips, and it felt especially clear on this cold winter night.
"good evening."
He silently recited a sentence in his heart.
Then, the regent, who suffered from chronic insomnia, closed his eyes and, accompanied by the soft breathing of the woman beside him, almost instantly drifted into a deep and sweet dream.
...
The next morning.
Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on her face, and Jiang Mianmian woke up groggily.
I slept so soundly that I didn't even have a dream.
She instinctively tried to stretch, but found that her limbs seemed to be bound by something, and she couldn't move.
And why is there a flesh-colored wall in front of me?
Jiang Mianmian blinked, her gaze gradually focusing.
What came into view was a large expanse of firm, fair chest, with the collarbone faintly visible as the shirt was undone.
Further up, there's the sexy Adam's apple.
Above that... was Shen Jin's magnified handsome face.
Jiang Mianmian's brain instantly went blank.
At this moment, she was clinging to Shen Jin like an octopus, using both her arms and legs. One leg was across his waist, one arm was around his neck, and her face was pressed against his chest, her saliva seemingly soaking his expensive nightgown.
And Shen Jin, in a voice that was half-smiling and half-humorous, with a hint of morning languor, spoke above her head:
"Your Highness, did you sleep well last night?"
"ah!!!"
A scream echoed throughout the main courtyard of the Regent's Palace.
Jiang Mianmian jumped back as if she had been electrocuted, scrambling back to the corner of the bed, wrapping herself tightly in her blanket, her face flushed.
[Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! What's going on? How did I fall asleep? Not only did I fall asleep, but he also started touching me inappropriately? Wasn't I counting sheep last night? How did I end up in his arms?]
[This is illogical! This must be sleepwalking! This was absolutely not my intention! I, Jiang Mianmian, am a person of principle! Although his pectoral muscles feel nice... no! That's not the point!]
Shen Jin felt exceptionally pleased to see her looking like she wanted to disappear into the ground.
Last night's sleep was the deepest and most restful he had in the past five years. Even his headaches had lessened considerably.
He slowly sat up, straightened his clothes which she had disheveled, and said calmly:
"The princess was very enthusiastic last night. I couldn't refuse her."
This is slander! Utter slander!
Jiang Mianmian roared inwardly: [Who was being enthusiastic? Who couldn't be pushed away? It was clearly you who took advantage of me! It was clearly you...you who seduced me!]
"Seduce?" Shen Jin raised an eyebrow, as if he had heard a joke. "The princess's ability to turn the tables is getting better and better."
Jiang Mianmian then realized that she had spoken her true feelings aloud (in fact, she hadn't; Shen Jin could read minds). She quickly covered her mouth and stammered, "This concubine...this concubine was restless in her sleep and offended Your Highness. Please forgive me, Your Highness."
Get out of here! Please! Let me have some peace and quiet! I'm too ashamed to face anyone!
Shen Jin glanced at the sky outside the window and got out of bed in a good mood.
"Now that you're awake, get up."
He glanced back at her, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes that even he himself didn't realize. "Today, my cousin from the Lin family is coming to 'pay her respects' to the Princess. The Princess would be best to prepare in advance."
Lin Wan'er?
Upon hearing this name, Jiang Mianmian's initial sense of shame vanished instantly.
That was the innocent female supporting character in the original book, who was determined to marry Shen Jin and tried to trip up the original owner in various ways.
[Oh ho? The innocent white lotus is coming? Is she going to deliver herself to someone's head?]
Jiang Mianmian's eyes instantly sharpened.
【Perfect timing! I was really annoyed last night because you took advantage of me… oh wait, I mean, you ripped me off. I'm bursting with rage right now. Lin Wan'er, right? Perfect timing! Let me show you what a true 'verbal master' looks like!】
Watching her instantly switch from "shy little wife" to "WarGreymon" mode, Shen Jin's smile deepened.
These days are definitely getting more and more interesting.
He turned and walked out of the inner room, giving instructions to Shadow One outside:
"Go and prepare a 'generous gift' for Miss Lin."
Ying Yi was taken aback: "Your Highness, what generous gift?"
Shen Jin recalled Jiang Mianmian's inner monologue last night, in which she complained that Lin Wan'er was a "tea ceremony master," and said calmly:
“Go to the warehouse, pick out the best green tea, and send her a pound of it.”
Shadow One: "..."
Is Your Highness... implying something about Miss Lin?
Why did he feel that the way his prince and princess were acting was gradually going astray after they had been together for so long?
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