Chapter 15 A seemingly tragic morning, Cheng Qianyue woke up groggily...
In the morning, Cheng Qianyue woke up groggily and suddenly felt someone next to her! She sat up abruptly, suddenly remembered what happened last night, her mind raced for a while, and finally, she pursed her lips and slowly sat down as if resigned to her fate.
"Awake?" Yinreng lay beside her without opening his eyes, reached out and pulled her over, pretending to pat her twice.
Yesterday's ordeal took too long, and after finishing, she took another shower. In the end, she was so tired that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow without even putting on a bathrobe. Now, neither of them was wearing clothes, and with their skin pressed together, Cheng Qianyue had the illusion that they were very intimate.
“I usually get up at this time, it’s a habit,” she said softly.
Yinreng turned over, pulled her into his arms, and whispered, "You don't need to get up so early anymore. Sleep a little longer."
Cheng Qianyue agreed, but she wasn't sleepy at all; the more she tried to sleep, the more awake she became. She couldn't disturb his sleep, so she could only slow her breathing. Because lying there was so boring, she secretly watched him.
This was the first time she had ever looked directly at the deposed crown prince. At first, she didn't even know what he looked like; she only knew a vague humanoid figure who kept making her serve him tea and water. Later, when she served in the front courtyard, she didn't dare to look him directly in the eye, only glancing at him briefly before looking away. But now she finally had the chance to see him properly.
It must be said that Yinreng was quite good when he was calm. Although the hairstyles of the Qing Dynasty were really not flattering, some people are just born good-looking. Even a shaved head cannot hide their three-dimensional features, not to mention the aura of a noble family that he naturally exuded.
She felt like she had made a profit?
In modern times, hiring a male model for companionship would cost several thousand yuan, but now she's sleeping with an ancient royal prince for free—and not just any prince, but the infamous deposed crown prince of history!
Oh, right, "free" isn't quite accurate either, considering the extra, expensive jewelry on the dressing table that didn't belong to her. Well, he brought his own assets to offer himself as a bedmate.
whee.
When Yinreng opened his eyes, he saw her looking up at him, her gaze wandering somewhere, a slight smile playing on her lips, as if she were very happy. He couldn't sleep either, so he reached out and touched the top of her head.
Cheng Qianyue snapped out of her reverie and smiled sheepishly, thinking that since she was so close to him, he probably wouldn't have noticed what she had been thinking... She said ingratiatingly, "Master, why aren't you asleep?"
How can I sleep with someone staring at me like that? Yinreng glanced at her helplessly, then looked outside and said in a deep voice, "Bring in the clothes."
Soon a screen was erected outside the tent. Chen He directed people to bring water and handkerchiefs, while his young apprentice Jing Shun knelt by the bed holding clothes.
Cheng Qianyue was embarrassed to let anyone see her body, even if it was a eunuch; in her eyes, they were still men. But Yinreng was different from her. He got out of bed so casually, and even though Ruoyun was standing next to him, he seemed to treat them as some kind of household robot, allowing others to help him dress without any hesitation.
Cheng Qianyue peeked out from under the bed curtains and whispered to Ruoyun, "Bring my clothes in." Ruoyun lowered her head and quickly walked to the bedside. She lifted only a corner of the curtains and swiftly brought in the clothes. She sat on the edge of the bed and first gave her the underwear.
Cheng Qianyue reached for her clothes and saw Ruoyun beaming with excitement, as if she had won the lottery. "Is it really that big of a deal? It's just sleeping with someone," she thought.
After she finished dressing and got out of bed, she saw Yinreng looking at her with an amused expression. She thought for a moment and decided she should do something, so she went over and started buttoning his clothes. She was usually quite good at this, but for some reason today, her vision kept blurring, and she just couldn't button them properly!
She gritted her teeth and got to work on the buttons.
Yinreng chuckled, his hearty laughter echoing throughout the side hall. At the same time, all the servants in the hall smiled: "Oh dear, this is truly rare! This is the first time our master has been so happy. We won't have to be so worried today."
Yinreng said to her, "Alright, I've already told you that you don't need to do this. Go and get ready."
Cheng Qianyue readily agreed and began to do her hair and makeup. But as she sat down at the dressing table and watched Ruoyun neatly arrange the jewelry from the box on the table, looking at the ornate hairpins and pearl flowers, she suddenly wondered if she should thank him.
Just as she was struggling with her decision, Yinreng, dressed and ready, walked over and stood behind her. Ruoyun, who had just finished styling her hair, immediately stepped aside.
Yinreng's hand swept over the array of gold ornaments, finally selecting a pair of hairpins adorned with kingfisher feathers, rice pearls, and hibiscus flowers, and inserting them on either side of her hair. Then, he selected a brocade hairpin in the shape of a honeysuckle vine and inserted it in the middle of her hair bun.
Cheng Qianyue sat obediently, letting him dress her up as he pleased, thinking that she would kneel down to thank him after he finished. Then she heard him say in a low voice, "Most of these are things that the Empress Dowager used when she was alive."
Um?
The mother of the Second Prince Yinreng was Empress Renxiao, of the Hesheli clan. She gave birth to two princes, but unfortunately, the first prince died at the age of five. The second prince she gave birth to was Yinreng, but Empress Renxiao died in childbirth.
Cheng Qianyue couldn't bear to hear news of death, nor could she bear to think about it. Whenever she thought of someone dying, she couldn't help but think of her deceased sister, and a wave of sadness and fear would wash over her. Now that she was in the palace, if dying from illness was considered a natural disaster, then far more people died in the palace due to human error. Those above could kill their subordinates with a single word. She already valued her life, and now she valued it even more, making her even more unwilling to hear news of death.
When Yinreng saw her expression change and reveal that sad look, he suddenly felt a sense of comfort.
He had heard his father, Emperor Kangxi, speak countless times of his mother, praising her kindness and gentleness, and how she had risked her life to ensure the continuation of the imperial family's lineage, then instructing him not to betray her good intentions. But now, thinking of his mother, he wondered if he wouldn't be in this predicament if she were still alive. Even if she couldn't help him much, at least she would have cared for him in his most helpless moments, preventing him from feeling like an unwanted child.
Yinreng shook his head and gave a bitter smile.
“Master,” Cheng Qianyue said, feeling as if her hair weighed a ton, “I dare not use anything belonging to the late Empress Renxiao.”
Yinreng took a deep breath and said, "My mother left these for me not so that I would just leave them there. You can wear them without worry."
When he grew up, he heard from the nanny who had served the Empress that when the Empress was pregnant with him, she was not in good spirits. But one day, she suddenly became energetic and ordered people to check the storeroom, saying that she wanted to prepare things for him in her womb. From toys he wanted to play with when he was a child, to the writing implements he would use when he was a few years old, to the headdresses and jewelry he would bestow upon his wife and concubines when he got married, there were more than thirty large boxes in total.
Later, when he got married, he bestowed upon his wife a complete set of headdresses as a gift, fulfilling his mother's dying wish. However, she refused to wear them, insisting on keeping them as an ornament. At the time, he didn't think much of it, but as things grew more and more distant between them, he realized her true intentions and refused to give her anything left by his mother.
Cheng Qianyue touched the cool gold ornament on her head, thinking that perhaps this was Empress Renxiao's love for Yinreng. She put herself in his shoes; if she were to die after giving birth, she would still be willing to leave something for her child. One reason was maternal love, and the other was the hope that he would not forget her when he grew up, and that he would not forget that he had a mother who loved him.
Thinking of this, she suddenly stood up solemnly and knelt down, kowtowed, and then looked up at him with a deep gaze, as if making a vow. "Then this servant dares to wear it," she said, pausing before adding, "If seeing these objects reminds you of the Empress's kind heart towards you, then that is the merit of these ornaments."
Yinreng was taken aback for a moment, then helped her up. He thought that her thoughtfulness showed that he hadn't given her these things in vain.
After breakfast, as usual, Yinreng would read for a while. She thought he would go to his study, but unexpectedly, he had someone bring over the book he wanted to read. Cheng Qianyue was already a little sleepy after breakfast and wanted to take a nap, but since he was reading, she couldn't very well say, "You read, I'll go to the inner room to sleep for a while," so she could only sit there bored.
As she sat there, she grew sleepy and couldn't muster any energy. It was as if her vigilance had vanished after sleeping with him.
Yinreng watched her sitting there playing with her handkerchief, sometimes tying a knot, sometimes twirling it around in both hands, but after a while she started pecking at rice like a chick, and the hair ornaments on her head swayed back and forth.
He couldn't help but feel a little smug; he'd stayed up quite late yesterday. He was thirty years old, yet he acted like a teenager, indulging in pleasure without ever getting tired. But he truly felt exhilarated, especially seeing the sweet changes she under his touch, as if he had become her everything, her master. Looking at her, he felt like an old tree that had been rejuvenated.
However, the price of regaining her vitality was that she was tossed and turned quite a bit by the princess who had just been served by the emperor, so it's no wonder she was sleepy.
Yinreng immediately stopped reading and woke the person up.
Cheng Qianyue groggily raised her eyes and hummed in response.
Yinreng smiled when he saw her like this and said gently, "Go to bed if you're sleepy." Seeing that she was tilting her head and didn't react, he looked at Ruoyun standing next to him and said sternly, "Why don't you help your princess to bed?"
Upon hearing this, Ruoyun hurried over and gently helped Cheng Qianyue up. Cheng Qianyue, still groggy, got up but didn't forget to bow and pay her respects. She vaguely reached the bedside in the south room, feeling Ruoyun remove her headdress, and then she collapsed onto the bed, unconscious.
For the next few days, Yinreng did not return to the main hall; he stayed with her in the west wing. Even his usual reading and calligraphy practice took place there. He clearly regarded the west wing as his new home.
Cheng Qianyue didn't need to personally serve him tea and water, but with such a large, living person here, she couldn't ignore him. Cheng Qianyue had no choice; she was incredibly bored with nothing to do, so she ended up embroidering. She didn't like embroidery, but the Second Prince was practicing calligraphy and reading, and she couldn't make a noise to disturb him. After much thought, embroidery was the only quiet way to pass the time.
Sigh, what a mess. Cheng Qianyue poked the needle into the silk, and suddenly an idea struck her.
Yinreng never leaves, she has no private space at all, it's no different from when she was serving him closely before! She has now moved to the front yard and will be staying with this master for a long time.
How tragic!
A note from the author:
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Thank you all for your support during this time. I might reduce reading and replying to comments later, as it's just too energy-consuming, haha.
I need to catch up on my writing; I can't just sit around and do nothing.
Just a quick update on the progress: I've already saved up 350,000 words! Hahaha, and with two more big events coming up, Yinreng will be ascending the throne, hehe~
This is a piece I've painstakingly crafted; I'll definitely work harder to write it well! Wuhu~ [starry-eyed emoji]
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