Chapter 32
When Shen Yao woke up, Wei Luo was propping himself up, one hand behind his head as he looked at her, while the other hand lingered on her face, tickling her.
"Awake?" He smiled, his eyes like pools of spring water, his voice slightly hoarse, somewhat alluring.
Shen Yao blinked, feeling a little dizzy. After a few breaths, she remembered the absurd things that happened last night.
Her heart suddenly raced. She pushed Wei Luo's hand away, sat up, pulled the blanket over herself tightly, and glared at him. "You scoundrel, what have you done?"
Hey! The thief is crying "stop thief!"
Wei Luo's lips curled into a smile, he raised an eyebrow, and snorted, "I remember, it seems like you started it last night, so why are you blaming me?"
Her voice carried seven parts grievance and three parts teasing.
Shen Yao frowned. "Last...last night I..." She patted her head, feeling annoyed, and bit her lip angrily, "Couldn't you have resisted? I'm just a weak woman, and you could easily push me away. How can you say I forced you?"
"You're not weak at all; you almost killed me last night." He pretended to scold him, even letting out an "ouch" and twisting his body a few times, his eyes looking pitiful. "My back still hurts terribly... Yao, come here quickly and rub it for me."
"Liar, utter nonsense." Shen Yao's eyes widened, her face as red as a branding iron. "Last night, I was the one who did the work, and you just lay there moaning and groaning, enjoying yourself like a king. How could your back hurt?"
Wei Luo smiled broadly, biting her lip hard to barely hold back her shyness. How could she be so adorable? He just wanted to tease her, to tease her every single day!
After coughing a few times with his head down, Wei Luo said softly, "Yes, you worked hard last night, but what's done is done. Now I'm yours, and you have to take responsibility."
"..."
"Take responsibility?" Shen Yao almost fainted, her eyes darting around. "I don't want to. What happened last night was purely an accident. Just treat it as a dream, forget about it when you wake up, and from now on, our friendship will remain pure."
Wei Luo scoffed, "Ha, you turn your back on me after you've pulled up your pants, I've never seen anything like it before... Such pure friendship, whiter than snow."
The blatant sarcasm made Shen Yao instantly lose her composure. "Special circumstances call for special treatment. If your sister-in-law fell into the water, would you save her, uncle?" Shen Yao asked him.
"Of course we should save them."
“Yes, you asked for help with Chinese medicine last night, so it was only natural for me to help you.” She suddenly sighed. “Last night is gone, and today is a new day. Your Highness, you should wake up and not fall into depravity, letting desire erode your noble character.”
"You think I've fallen?" Wei Luo's face paled, his voice filled with displeasure. He glanced around and sneered, "A new sun, but where is the sun now?"
The windows and doors were tightly closed, and a pale purple gauze curtain surrounded the soft couch. Upon hearing this, Shen Yao immediately got out of bed and tried to push open the window. Her father was still kind enough to have someone remove the wooden sticks outside the window.
In the early morning, sunlight streamed through the window lattice and into the room, bathing it in a warm yellow glow.
“Look, the sun is over there!” Shen Yao pointed it out to him confidently.
The sun rises high and large, the temperature soars, and the plants grow wildly, bringing vitality to both indoors and outdoors.
Wei Luo's throat bobbed a few times, his eyelashes trembled incessantly, the sun was indeed very hot, all the blood in his body rushed to one place, and he was sweating profusely.
"Get up quickly and pack your things. I have a pass for entering the palace, and I'll send you back to the palace directly later."
Shen Yao urged from the side.
"Return to the palace? Oh, I do want to go back, but it's not convenient right now."
"What's wrong with you again?" Shen Yao walked onto the bed, staring at him with a look of suspicion. A bad feeling suddenly crept into her heart, and sure enough—
Grandpa Wei started acting strangely, "That medicine is really strong, it hasn't worn off yet, and I feel really uncomfortable. You have to... help me again."
His eyes were fixed on Shen Yao, the corners of his eyes turned up, as if he were amorous, as if he were seducing her, the devil was beckoning again!
"..."
Shen Yao's expression changed drastically. Her fingers clenched suddenly as she stared at Wei Luo in disbelief and roared, "How can you make such a demand? You're a man. Being energetic is a natural reaction, not a pharmacological effect. I have no obligation to solve this for you."
Having gotten the benefit, she still acted innocent. Shen Yao was so angry that her face turned ashen, and she turned away indignantly.
When the lie was exposed, Wei Luo's face burned, but when people are shameless, they are invincible, and even the crown prince is no exception.
He stubbornly argued, "This is my body. Do you know better than I whether it's the effect of the medicine? I'm feeling terrible right now. Come here quickly. If I burn myself to death here, your Shen family will be held accountable."
Shen Yao turned her eyes away angrily and snorted coldly, "Keep pretending, I want to see how you get burned to death." Her face was indifferent, her arms crossed, scrutinizing Wei Luo's comical performance.
Wei Luo scoffed inwardly, "You really aren't coming? Then I'm not leaving."
He lay on her bed, continuing to sleep, and then made a request, "Remember to bring some food, I'm hungry."
Shen Yao stood up abruptly, hands on her hips, furious. Just who had she offended?
"I'll give you a few words: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, and integrity."
You bastard, shameless.
Wei Luo, resting his head on his arm, glanced sideways at Shen Yao, a smile suddenly appearing on his face. He praised repeatedly, "What a fine couplet! A tortoise can live for ten thousand years, but I'm still a thousand years old; as for 'toothless'—"
His gaze fell on a red mark on her neck, and he teased, "Didn't you know last night whether I had teeth or not?"
"..."
A gentleman takes his revenge, even after ten years.
He refused to leave, and Shen Yao, unable to persuade him otherwise, could only stomp her feet, grit her teeth in resentment, and utter a harsh threat: "I'll kill you!"
"Okay, kill me then~"
The gauze curtain was lifted, then lowered again...
After the snow cleared, the sky turned a clear blue, and the golden-red sunrise gilded the snow with a glassy hue. Melted snow dripped from the rooftops down the window sills, tapping out a tinkling rhythm on the blue brick floor. Rain pattered down from the eaves, forming streaks of rain.
Outside the window, the maidservant sent by Master Shen to eavesdrop blushed. Avoiding the snow water, she walked quickly toward the front hall, shyly whispering in the master's ear, "Miss, get up. The young master is lying in bed...call him."
After the maid finished speaking, Master Shen couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, which echoed throughout the hall. He put his hands on his hips and said with great pride, "As expected of my daughter, a daughter of a general is no less than a hero."
The laughter attracted his son, Shen Fan, who sat down to drink his porridge and asked in confusion, "Dad, what are you laughing about so early in the morning? I could hear you from far away."
Master Shen glanced at the west wing and snorted, "Of course I'm happy about Ayao's good deed."
"My sister is back?" Shen Fan asked in surprise.
Today they were going hunting at Ciyun Temple. Shen Fan planned to go to the Xu family to find his sister after finishing his meal, but he didn't expect that his sister had already returned home. As he spoke, he put down his chopsticks and started to walk towards the west wing.
"What are you doing? Sit down!" Master Shen shouted sternly, startling Shen Fan.
"Dad, why are you yelling?"
Before Shen Fan could calm her racing heart, Old Man Shen winked and said, "The young couple is being affectionate, why are you interrupting?"
"Xu Xuan is here too?" Shen Fan was even more surprised.
Mr. Shen grunted in acknowledgment. As the morning light brightened, he blew out the candle and poured the stubble onto the table.
Shen Fan narrowed his eyes, suddenly seeming to understand something. His gaze towards his father became even more strange, and he thought to himself, "I didn't expect Dad to have this kind of taste..."
Mr. Shen felt sorry for his son-in-law who had worked hard all night, so he was very considerate and had breakfast delivered to his daughter's room.
Inside the west wing, after all the maids had left, Wei Luo came out to wash up and eat.
The morning glow was like clouds, and his fair face was also flushed, making him look even more handsome, like a freshly baked meat bun, tender and juicy.
Feeling refreshed and invigorated, it's a perfect time of day and beautiful scenery.
After washing up, Wei Luo sat down to eat. He looked up and saw Shen Yao with her brows down, as if she had something on her mind. He couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"
He was very happy.
Shen Yao didn't even look up, continuing to eat and ignoring him, leaving Wei Luo feeling awkward.
Thinking that he had indeed gotten a great deal today, he didn't get angry. Instead, he picked up his chopsticks, unusually, picked up a steamed bun, put it in her bowl, and said with a smile, "Eat more to nourish your body."
Shen Yao looked up at him, and he smiled gently at her, with a hint of flattery and doting.
"I'm full, hurry up and eat."
Shen Yao didn't eat. She put down her chopsticks, got up from the table, and went to the bedside to unfold the bedding and change all the sheets.
Wei Luo saw this and the smile on his face immediately faded—did he think he was dirty?
He felt a tightness in his chest and, for some reason, suddenly lost his appetite. He stood up and said, "It's almost time. Take me back to the palace."
Shen Yao paused, turned to look at him, and asked suspiciously, "You haven't eaten yet?"
"I've lost my appetite."
After he finished speaking, he put on his cloak, tied his face mask, and looked at Shen Yao with calm and unwavering eyes.
Is he angry? Why?
Shen Yao looked at the food on the table, sighed, took a clean handkerchief, wrapped a few cakes in it, took the moxa sticks, and followed Wei Luo to the back door, got into the carriage, and went to the Xu family to get the palace access token.
Once inside the carriage, Wei Luo took off her handkerchief, lowered her head, and fiddled with it. The air felt somewhat stuffy.
Shen Yao handed the cakes to Wei Luo and said softly, "Eat some. If you get too hungry, the Shen family can't afford to take the blame."
"I told you I have no appetite." Wei Luo didn't respond.
Shen Yao was annoyed. Why was he so unpredictable? She was the one who was bullied this morning, but now he was giving her the cold shoulder—it was inexplicable.
If he hadn't ascended the throne a year later and held the power of life and death over the Shen family, she wouldn't have bothered to fawn over him.
Suppressing her anger, Shen Yao simply took out a piece of cake, stuffed it into his mouth, and said with a smile, "Your Highness, try it, it's very sweet."
Wei Luo looked up and saw that her brows had lessened in their fierceness and her face had softened into a smile. Suddenly, he tasted the sweetness of the pastry on his tongue.
Sweetness fills the heart.
Wei Luo took a bite of the cake from her hand and swallowed it. He commanded, "Feed me."
Sensing that his mood had improved, Shen Yao didn't dare refuse and fed him the cakes little by little. Thinking about his inexplicable anger earlier, Shen Yao felt it necessary to find out the cause and effect, so she asked, "Were you angry just now?"
Wei Luo didn't answer. Instead, he stared into Shen Yao's eyes and questioned, "Why didn't you eat the bun I gave you just now?"
"I'm stuffed."
"Then why did you change the sheets?"
Shen Yao raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "The sheets are all sweaty and dirty, of course they need to be changed."
What are these problems?
Shen Yao couldn't help but doubt herself. "You're angry because of these things?" She couldn't understand.
Wei Luo remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement. "I thought you thought I was... dirty."
The voice was barely audible, but Shen Yao still heard it.
Just as she was about to say something, the driver's voice suddenly came from outside, "Miss, we've arrived at the Xu family's residence."
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