Song Yaozhu scoffed and kicked him in the butt, but Xie Liwei seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and grabbed her ankle.
"Don't be naughty." Xie Liwei circled her ankle with his hand, then bent down and put her foot back on the ground.
For some reason, Song Yaozhu sensed an infinite hint of eroticism in this seemingly harmless action. Her face flushed red, and she quickly tucked her feet into her skirt.
She had initially thought that as an "experienced" senior, she would be able to handle this relationship with ease, but now she realized she had been worrying too much. Xie Liwei seemed to be even more experienced than her!
Has he deceived quite a few young girls? Otherwise, how could he be so experienced?
Thinking of the two concubines who originally existed in the mansion, Song Yaozhu immediately became unhappy.
Even knowing it was old news, she was still unhappy. Although the old nanny had said that neither of these two concubines deserved Xie Liwei's favor, as it was something the Emperor had forced upon them, she was still angry.
I wish I could beat Yuwen Wuji to a pulp!
That scoundrel of a man indulges in debauchery and dares to lay a hand on her brother! He deserves to die!
Xie Liwei opened the door and turned to see Song Yaozhu with a gloomy, murderous look on her face. His heart skipped a beat; it seemed he wasn't the only one annoyed by Yongle.
"Song Yaozhu, come on, let's go hunting rabbits in the mountains!" Yongle came in excitedly, rolled up his sleeves, and drank the tea she had placed on the small table. "We'll be going back to the capital in a few days, and my mother definitely won't let me go out to play. Besides, there's really nothing fun to do in the capital. Let's go hunting rabbits in the mountains today! Then we can make fur collars to wear in the winter!"
Xie Liwei couldn't stand her loud and boisterous manner. "Right now, the Imperial Guards haven't caught the murderer. Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble on the mountain?"
"What's there to be afraid of? I know perfectly well..." She paused, looking at Xie Liwei, "Even if someone is trying to take advantage of the situation to do something bad, there's no need to kill me, is there?"
"Princess, you should find someone else to play with. You're not worried, but I'm terrified," Song Yaozhu said, fanning herself with her fan.
Gao Ping is not an easy person to deal with. Now that both sides have laid their cards on the table, the infighting that was previously hidden will gradually come into the open.
"Listen to your mother and have less contact with me from now on."
If she were accidentally injured, wouldn't Princess Xuan blame her?
Yongle pouted and said unhappily, "Fine, fine, how about this, from now on we won't play together openly, but we'll play together secretly!"
Song Yaozhu found it amusing, her gaze filled with a peaceful warmth. This gaze, however, was unbearable for Yongle, making her feel as if she were being watched by an elder.
On the night after Yongle was defeated and left, Song Yaozhu and Xie Liwei discovered poison in their dinner.
Neither of them made a sound, and they quietly had the food removed.
Song Yaozhu didn't even want to drink the water in the room anymore, and sighed while holding her empty stomach.
"I couldn't eat because of the heat, but now they're not letting me eat at all."
Xie Liwei glanced at her, resting his chin on his hand, and suddenly asked, "How about I take you out to eat?"
Song Yaozhu blinked at him, "With so many Imperial Guards, can you really get me out of here?"
"How about we go fishing on a pleasure boat? I'll make you some grilled fish."
Last time she went to the river, Song Yaozhu didn't get to eat a single roasted fish and went back on an empty stomach.
Song Yaozhu thought about it. Since she was idle anyway, she couldn't just hide in her room and not go anywhere just because she was afraid that the Imperial Concubine would harm her.
The two changed into inconspicuous clothes, left the courtyard hand in hand without any attendants.
The path leading to the lake had been blocked off, so the two took the wider, more open road. Perhaps because of the incident last time, the women who had come with them had stopped going out recently, anxiously waiting to return to the city.
Xie Liwei and Song Yaozhu greeted the Imperial Guards and then boarded the painted boat.
There were no servants on the pleasure boat, and it was covered in dust from being left there for quite some time. But neither of them cared. They took out fishing rods and harpoons from the cabin and went to the deck to fish.
Xie Liwei got her a small stool and let her sit on the deck to enjoy the breeze, while he rolled up his sleeves and used the afterglow of the setting sun to observe the fish on the water.
"You haven't put any bait on your hook, how are you going to catch any fish?"
Song Yaozhu snorted, rummaged through the cabin and rummaged through some broken rice, scattering it on the lake.
By the time she finished scattering the bait, Xie Liwei was already processing a blackfish.
He squatted on the deck, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, head bowed, scraping scales off a fish with a dagger. Then, with practiced ease, he disemboweled it and removed the entrails.
The wind was strong on the lake, making his hair fly. Despite the busy scene, Song Yaozhu felt a sense of peace.
She leaned against the railing, the wind making her eyes blurry, blowing away all her worries.
Born into a chaotic era in her youth, her father advocated for seclusion, but she saw it as an opportunity for her family. Thus, she risked the lives of her entire clan to help the Yuwen family conquer the world. Many died in the process—some from the Yuwen family, some from the Xie family, and some whose names she didn't even know.
She naively believed that with her intelligence and Yuwen Wuji's cunning, she could bring a better life to all the people in the world. But she forgot the warnings given long ago: "In times of prosperity, the people suffer; in times of ruin, the people suffer."
Even a wise ruler can only make life slightly better for the people. But wise rulers are hard to find, and so are virtuous ministers.
"Xie Liwei, after killing that dog emperor, have you thought about who should be emperor?"
Xie Liwei had finished preparing the fish and got up to go down to the cabin.
"I haven't thought about it."
"Why don't you think about it? I think it would be great if you were the emperor," Song Yaozhu joked.
"Now the Yuwen family rules." Xie Liwei's voice came from the cabin.
Song Yaozhu blinked. The previous dynasty hadn't even been gone for thirty years.
As the evening breeze blew, the painted boat unknowingly drifted to the center of the lake. Song Yaozhu could see the connecting corridor that cut across the entire lake in the distance, and she could smell the aroma of roasted fish.
Xie Liwei was a very good cook. After the two of them finished the whole fish, Song Yaozhu found some tea leaves in the cabin, brewed a pot of tea, and the two of them sat side by side on the deck to watch the sunset.
A cool breeze swept away the summer heat and also blew away the annoying little insects.
"If only time could stop at this moment," Xie Liwei said, squeezing her hand with emotion.
Song Yaozhu leaned on his shoulder and chuckled, "Your Highness, that's not exactly auspicious. We still have many sunrises and sunsets to watch."
Xie Liwei smiled and lowered his head to find her lips.
"You're right."
When Song Yaozhu saw him approaching, she looked up and gave him a light kiss.
"When people are well-fed and warm, they think of lustful desires. Your Highness is living too comfortably."
"Is it not allowed?" Xie Liwei retorted, his tone domineering and brooking no refusal. He lifted her arm, pulling her onto his lap, and asked in a low voice, "Doesn't Your Highness want me?"
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