Chapter 309 Worth the Risk
Jiang Zhi sighed and stopped insisting. She got up and took out Xiao Xuanyou's clothes, which the maid had prepared for her, from the trunk.
Today he was wearing a moon-white prince's everyday robe with dark patterns and silver thread embroidery, the collar and cuffs were trimmed with gold thread, and a black jade belt was tied around his waist, making him look noble and dignified—if it weren't for the tea stains she had spilled on his clothes.
Jiang Zhi lowered her head and first went to unfasten his jade belt, taking down the mutton-fat jade pendant and sachet hanging from it and placing them on the table.
Then he reached out to unbutton his shirt.
Xiao Xuanyou was about the same height as Lu Yuan. Compared to Lu Yuan's deliberately restrained aura when facing her, Xiao Xuanyou stared at her with his deep eyes without any restraint. She had only taken off an outer garment, yet she felt an oppressive feeling that made it hard to breathe.
Xiao Xuanyou's jade-like voice came from above, "It seems you haven't forgotten; you're still as skilled as ever."
Jiang Zhi's hand paused.
She knew what he meant.
In her past life at Qifeng Tower, she served him countless times while he changed his clothes.
But Jiang Zhi didn't want him to be smug, so she said lightly, "Your Highness is too kind. I've been helping my husband a lot at home, it's just a habit."
Xiao Xuanyou sneered, not angry at all, and took off his inner garment.
His shoulders and back had clean, sharp lines, and his waist had shallow indentations covered with a thin, even layer of muscle, as smooth and taut as a Kunlun jade carving.
The sudden appearance of the body before her made Jiang Zhi's pupils tremble. She calmly looked away and handed him the clean clothes.
"Princess Qinghe, won't you help me wash up first?" Xiao Xuanyou stared at her with great interest.
Jiang Zhi gritted her teeth, grabbed a clean handkerchief from the side, and, regardless of whether the water was cold or not, soaked it, wrung it out, and used it to wipe his face and neck.
Xiao Xuanyou didn't bother to bend down, and Jiang Zhi's arms were getting sore from holding them up, but she still didn't dare to look at his face, her gaze vaguely falling elsewhere.
This elicited a soft chuckle from Xiao Xuanyou. "Why are you so stiff? You've seen this body of mine countless times, used it countless times, and even left scratches on it when you're aroused. But now it's like you're seeing it for the first time?"
Jiang Zhi was so ashamed she wanted to disappear. "These things are all in the past. Please, Your Highness, do not bring them up again."
“I just don’t want you to be so distant from me,” Xiao Xuanyou said, grabbing her wrist and letting it roam over his body. “Here, here, you need to wipe it all off. I don’t like having dirt on my body.”
Finally, he added, "Of course, your things are an exception."
The handkerchief in Jiang Zhi's hand had been warmed by his body heat. She curled her fingertips and braced herself to carefully wipe it clean for him.
Then he took a clean undergarment and helped him put it on.
When Jiang Zhi went around to his back, she noticed a large, light-colored scar on his back.
It stood out particularly against his fair and smooth skin.
This is the scar Xiao Xuanyou left when she fell from the altar in Yaocheng to save her.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Xuanyou asked when he noticed that she hadn't reacted for a while behind him.
"Does the wound on the Crown Prince's back still hurt?"
"Feeling sorry for me?" Xiao Xuanyou curled his lips.
Jiang Zhi pursed her lips and didn't say anything more, so she didn't ask any more questions.
The room fell silent, save for the rustling sound of someone getting dressed.
"When did you start admiring me?" Xiao Xuanyou suddenly asked her.
Jiang Zhi was startled, and the ribbon in her hand almost became a knotted mess.
"I don't understand what the Crown Prince is saying."
"Hmm, let me guess—the first time, I was drugged, you were unwilling, and I almost hurt you, it certainly wasn't that time."
"After that, you were often cold to me, until one day, when I came late at night, there was a light on in your room."
"Was it from that time onwards...?"
Jiang Zhi's heart skipped a beat; she had never expected that Xiao Xuanyou would remember these things so clearly.
"I don't remember." Her voice was indifferent, revealing no panic or helplessness.
"It's alright, I remember." Xiao Xuanyou didn't ask any further questions, but instead pulled her directly in front of him.
His inner garment was not fully tied, and with the movement, it opened, revealing a large expanse of jade-like skin.
Jiang Zhi pressed herself against him, feeling the strong, powerful heartbeat in his chest.
"Can you give me another chance?" Xiao Xuanyou wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Since heaven has given us a second chance, how can we easily let it go to waste?"
His voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of startling her away.
Jiang Zhi shook her head. "With the Empress here, she will definitely not agree to this. If she finds out that I am in the Eastern Palace, I'm afraid the poison will be given to me again before the next day."
Xiao Xuanyou was startled.
He recalled the deep despair, pain, and panic he felt when he learned that Jiang Zhi had been ordered to commit suicide by his mother.
"No, I will absolutely not let anything happen to you this time." He held her tightly in front of him. "Don't worry, I'm here for Mother. She won't harm you again."
Jiang Zhi gave a helpless laugh. "What about His Majesty? How can the Crown Prince, as the heir apparent, have the stain of taking another's wife? Once His Majesty finds out about this, I will truly have no way out."
“You don’t need to worry about any of that,” Xiao Xuanyou said in an unusually cold voice. “I will arrange everything. As long as you agree, I will give you a completely new identity so that no one in the entire capital will dare to look down on you.”
“But I don’t want to,” Jiang Zhi said with unusual clarity in her eyes. “Your Highness, I just want to settle this matter and live a peaceful life. I don’t want to get involved in the palace intrigues anymore.”
Looking at her resolute and unwavering expression, Xiao Xuanyou desperately restrained his impulse to keep her by his side.
No, we can't rush it, we have to take it slowly.
He took a deep breath, his phoenix eyes gleaming with a dark light. "Then don't you want to bring your maternal grandmother and uncle and aunt back to the capital?"
Jiang Zhi froze, looking at him in astonishment, "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"
Xiao Xuanyou kissed her on the cheek. "Do you remember what I told you? Once you have power, you can do many things that you never dared to think about before."
"Back then, because Chief Minister Feng was so popular, most of the civil officials in the court came from his faction. He could already subtly influence the situation in the court. How could Father Emperor allow such a power to exist? Naturally, he wanted to suppress it. Fortunately, Chief Minister Feng had foreseen this and withdrew from the political arena in time, thus preserving the Feng family line. But if one day I ascend the throne, as long as you are my person, the Feng family will become imperial relatives. Returning to the capital will be just a matter of your word."
"If you follow Shen Ci'an, Lu Yuan, or Xie Qi, is it possible to achieve this wish?"
Seeing her visibly softened expression, he smiled with pleasure. "I know you dislike conflict and want a peaceful life. But no matter how difficult the road ahead, if the rewards are plentiful enough, isn't it worth the risk?"
Jiang Zhi's once calm heart was stirred up again.
My maternal grandmother is quite old. Although she doesn't say it, she still misses the people and things in Kyoto and longs to return to her roots.
My uncle's ambitions remained unfulfilled, and my cousin Shaoyuan was also frustrated and unsuccessful.
Feng Yuan, too, had longed to visit Kyoto more than once.
If they could come back, then I would finally have real family in Kyoto.
Xiao Xuanyou didn't want to push her too hard, so he let go of her hand, took his clothes, and slowly and carefully put them on.
"Don't rush to reject me. You will be staying in the Eastern Palace for quite some time, so you can take your time to consider it."
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