Xie Yuancheng scrubbed my back, and after he finished, I leaned against the pool and drifted off to sleep.
"Ying'er, we're leaving in the middle of the night. You can go back and get some sleep later."
"No matter when you leave, you still have a way to take me away while I'm asleep. You don't need to be awake to leave."
"You like arguing with me now, don't you? You can criticize me for the smallest things. The old Ying'er was much better; she just listened to my arrangements."
"Hmph!" I rolled my eyes at him. "I wonder who it was that said I'm vain!"
"Ying'er~" Xie Yuancheng came closer: "It was my fault. I shouldn't have said it. I made you suffer with me."
"Stop giving me hindsight advice. Go stand over there and get up."
"No, you're not allowed to get up even if I don't. You have to stay with me all the time." Xie Yuancheng pressed down on me. Just as I was about to push him away, he started playing the emotional card again.
"I didn't know at the time, I was so anxious. That idiot prince provoked me in the manor that day, and I wanted to take you away right then and there."
Yesterday I was so focused on getting angry with him that I forgot the crucial point: "What is he thinking? I rarely leave the Ji residence, and I've only seen him twice."
When I was the prince consort, I didn't even know which one was the second prince. I only saw him face to face when I saw him picking wild herbs at Yuxiang Tower.
"It's all your fault. He saw it the day you took Yu'er out of the manor."
“That day, Yu’er ran around, and I went to pick him up and bring him back. But I had already buried my head in Yu’er’s arms. He must have sharp eyes to see that clearly.”
Xie Yuancheng came over and pinched my cheek: "He knew about you a long time ago; that day was just an excuse."
"Tell me quickly, I still don't understand. I've only met him twice, and I always dressed as a man before."
"He liked men. After the prince consort died, he kept looking for someone who looked like him. It just so happens that my wife looks exactly like the prince consort, and they are even the same person!"
Xie Yuancheng's eyes hardened as he spoke, and I quickly hugged him: "We don't need to pay attention to that kind of pervert. I only want you. Everyone else is irrelevant."
"What do you mean you only want me? Yesterday you told me to get lost."
"That's because I was angry. How was I supposed to know it was for this reason? You're the one who didn't believe me. You said it yourself, I'm your woman, a young married woman, and I have three children. Why would I even look at another man?"
I leaned against Xie Yuancheng's chest, I just loved smelling his scent. Other stinky men could go as far away as possible.
"Ying'er~" Xie Yuancheng is very easy to please. I guess we were just tormenting each other in our past lives, so we should be together in this life.
I leaned against Xie Yuancheng and hugged his waist: "Anyway, you can't abandon me. If I get together with some other stinky man, I'll only end up dead."
"Hmm, if you had said so earlier, I wouldn't have told you about that silly prince."
"Don't mention him, it makes me sick. My man is the best."
Xie Yuancheng laughed beside me. I didn't sleep well last night, and I ran around for so long today. I was exhausted and fell asleep in his arms.
I dreamt that Yu'er walked towards me and wanted me to hug him. He cried when I didn't hug him, looking very pitiful. He cried so hard that his voice became hoarse. When I hugged him, Yu'er disappeared.
"Yu'er!" I cried out in surprise from my bed, my body covered in cold sweat.
"Ying'er, you had a nightmare." Xie Yuancheng wiped my sweat from the ground, and I threw myself into his arms.
"Yuancheng, I dreamt that Yu'er wanted me to hug him, and he cried so sadly!"
"It's alright. His parents-in-law are taking care of him, and he has two little ones to keep him company. Yu'er won't be lonely. You just miss him too much."
I hugged Xie Yuancheng tightly. Yu'er is so pitiful. He can recognize people and understands reason now. If I had known we were going out, I would have slept with Yu'er every day.
The rooster crowed several times outside. Xie Yuancheng got up and dressed me. "We're going to travel through the Northwest to the Northern Desert, so the journey might not be this comfortable."
"We have to go that far?"
"The Crown Prince and the Second Prince want to borrow troops from the Northern Desert. Uncle Cui is worried that they will use the pretext of borrowing troops to unite with the surrounding small countries to attack the Great Zhao. Once this happens, even if the old emperor is unwilling, he will abdicate."
How did Uncle Cui know?
"He married Xin'er to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince said that Lü Yan was no longer alive. Every time he saw Xin'er, he would think of the time he spent with Lü Yan."
"Disgusting!" I have absolutely no liking for the Crown Prince. This stinky man is truly number one on the list of scumbags in the Great Zhao Dynasty!
"Yes, and the Crown Prince bullied Xin'er when she was a child, so Uncle Cui is exhausted every day. Now his hair is all white and he is being blackmailed by the Second Prince."
"What are you threatening?" These two brothers are truly in cahoots.
Xie Yuancheng combed my hair: "By using the former Grand Secretary to blackmail Uncle Cui, now Uncle Cui is the only one left in the Prime Minister's mansion."
Xie Yuancheng spoke casually, but I knew he must be seething with hatred inside. I leaned against him and said, "Then we should hurry up and go."
"I didn't want to take you out, but I was worried." Xie Yuancheng stroked my hair. Even at this time, he was still distracted by me, but I didn't know anything. We had such a fierce argument yesterday.
"You should be more worried if you don't take me with you when you go out. I'll go wherever you go. You can't get rid of me in your next life."
"Alright, all you know is how to say nice things to coax me. You were so fierce yesterday, you almost cut me off completely."
"I was angry at the time, but I still had to show my temper a little."
Xie Yuancheng carried me out: "From now on, you must listen to everything I say, or I won't let you off the hook."
"Stop threatening me, I've been waiting for this for a long time, why are you only saying it now!" I took advantage of his concern for me and kept testing Xie Yuancheng's bottom line. The expressions on his face were simply priceless.
"Ying'er, go twenty miles west, there's a very quiet place, let's go and see the scenery." Xie Yuancheng laughed behind my back, he was definitely up to something bad again!
"Let's make this clear first, are there any of those things I'm afraid of?"
"No, the only thing you like is me."
"Then go ahead." I was still a little worried. If he wanted to go, let him go. Anyway, if he dared to mess with me, he wouldn't get away with it.
Xie Yuancheng and Lin Chao exchanged a few words, and then Xie Yuancheng took me away. Although we could have ridden two horses, he put all the luggage and bundles on another horse and let me ride with him.
"Can this horse handle it?" I was really worried we'd wear it out.
“I told you yesterday, Ying’er doesn’t remember anything.”
"You're always causing trouble. There are clearly two horses." I looked at my clothes, coarse linen, thankfully cool and comfortable. Xie Yuancheng said we had to disguise ourselves as businessmen, even wearing hats.
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