"Let's wait until the baby is two months old, then let him get used to sleeping on his own while the wet nurse watches him. He's only one month old, I'm not comfortable letting him sleep alone."
Chu Xiao was naturally worried, otherwise he wouldn't have let him sleep here.
He was already counting down the days; there were still more than two weeks left until the two-month mark. He stretched out his long arm, grabbed Yun Chaoxi, and pressed her down, savoring her soft lips before letting her go. "It's only two weeks. I can wait."
After the coronation ceremony, Yun Chaoxi felt that changing palaces was too much trouble, so she chose to continue living in Zhaoyang Palace, since the Imperial Garden, Imperial Study, and other places in Zhaoyang Palace were all very close.
Chu Xiao specifically asked an experienced woman how to cultivate a child's habit of sleeping alone. Someone suggested covering the child with clothes that smelled of the mother, so that the child would feel safe and fall asleep naturally.
He came back and tried it out, and found that Chen'er was indeed sleeping soundly while holding the clothes that Yun Chaoxi had worn. If he woke up hungry in the middle of the night, he only needed to be fed by the wet nurse, and then he could fall asleep peacefully again while holding the clothes.
The following night, the weak and pitiful Chen'er was thrown into a small bed specially made for him in the side hall after he fell asleep.
When Yun Chaoxi came out of the bath, the child was no longer on the bed. Only the tall emperor was lying on his side, his inner robe half-undone, revealing his strong chest muscles and faintly visible abdominal muscles. His chest could be vaguely seen rising and falling with his breathing. He was holding a book in his hand and reading.
Yun Chaoxi swallowed hard, her face flushing slightly. She raised her hand and fanned herself back and forth, trying to cool down.
Is Chu Xiao... trying to seduce her?
"What are you standing there for? Come over here!" Chu Xiao saw that she had been standing there motionless for a long time. He put down his book, glanced at her, and his eyes darkened, with unreadable emotions churning inside.
Being stared at so directly by him, Yun Chaoxi felt as if his clothes had been stripped off. In short, it wasn't an innocent gaze.
Yun Chaoxi slowly crept over, while Chu Xiao, like a jackal or tiger waiting for its prey to come to him, patiently waited for the timid prey to walk into his trap.
"I'm not going to eat you. Bring me a towel, I'll help you dry your hair."
Yun Chaoxi had only wiped her hair briefly, and a few strands were still dripping wet. She took a clean towel from the shelf, and Chu Xiao took it and began to wring out her hair.
Yun Chaoxi's hair was long and thick, and it was not easy to dry. It wasn't until two incense sticks had burned out that Chu Xiao stopped drying her hair.
Enjoying the emperor's service, Yun Chaoxi had completely forgotten how his gaze had made her weak in the knees. She softly praised him, "Your Majesty is so skillful. When I try to cut my own hair, I always pull out a lot of hair. I can only have Zhu'er do it. But when Your Majesty comes, my hair becomes obedient."
"I have done so well, it wouldn't be too much to ask for a reward, would it?"
"What reward does Your Majesty desire?" Yun Chaoxi could already guess what frivolous things Chu Xiao was about to say.
As expected, Chu Xiao smiled and said, "You'll listen to me tonight?"
Yun Chaoxi turned to face him, her gaze fixed on the man's Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and she leaned in to kiss it with her rosy lips.
Chu Xiao's Adam's apple bobbed sharply as he grasped the slender waist in his hand, his voice low and deep, "Why does Xi'er's waist seem even thinner than before?"
Yun Chaoxi nodded in confusion, "No, right? The waist size of the new clothes made by the Imperial Clothing Bureau is the same as before."
Chu Xiao used his large hand as a ruler, taking liberties with measuring every part of his body. Finally, he chuckled and concluded, "So it turns out that the pair of jade rabbits have grown up, making their waists look even thinner."
"You...! What are you looking at, you pervert!"
Yun Chaoxi's face flushed red instantly, so embarrassed that she didn't dare to look at anyone. She was about to jump up and run away, but was forcefully pulled back and pressed down by the person on the bed. "Let me see if the measurement is wrong."
Yun Chaoxi had no way to escape; she could only endure it...
...
Throughout the night, the low moans, gasps, and pleas for mercy from inside the palace never ceased. The palace maids on night watch outside, hearing the faint sounds from inside, habitually instructed the palace servants to prepare more hot water.
Yun Chaoxi was really brought to tears. She sobbed, tears clinging to her eyelashes, her eyes red and wet. She begged Chu Xiao for a long time, but he wouldn't let her go.
That jerk! He said he was just going to look, but he kissed her so much her skin is almost raw!
The absurd days continued for several days until Yun Chaoxi finally couldn't bear it any longer and closed the inner door of Zhaoyang Palace. While Chu Xiao was attending court, she wrote a notice and posted it outside the door: "The Emperor is not allowed to enter!"
Chu Xiao couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the notice, already imagining Xi'er's angry little face when she posted it. Knowing he was in the wrong, he slept on the soft couch outside for two nights before returning to the house two days later.
...
Before they knew it, it was time for the annual autumn hunt of the Great Chu. Last year, because Yun Chaoxi was about to give birth and was unable to move around easily, Chu Xiao was worried about leaving her alone in the palace, so he canceled last year's autumn hunt.
This year, he plans to take Yun Chaoxi and Chen'er with him. Chen'er is almost a year old, an age when he is curious about everything around him, and it would be a good time for him to go out and explore. The Empress Dowager is in poor health and usually does not attend the autumn hunt.
Yun Chaoxi thought of her previous life, when Chu Xiao encountered danger and lost his life in the jaws of a tiger during this autumn hunt.
The autumn hunt was a tradition established by the ancestors of the Great Chu royal family to train the royal offspring, prevent future generations from neglecting horsemanship and archery training due to pleasure, and to better select truly capable military generals. The emperor canceled it once last year, and it will certainly be held this year unless there is a major event.
Yun Chaoxi suggested to Chu Xiao, "It's hot in July, and you'll sweat a lot if you move around. Why don't we wait until Chen'er turns one year old and can walk before holding the autumn hunt? It will be more convenient to take him out then."
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