Chapter 41: His Highness Wasn’t Just Hard-Mouthed, But Also…

Xiao Ji’s hurried breathing faltered for a moment, then grew even quicker, especially when he saw Xie Yao’s enticing appearance at that moment.

Xie Yao leaned half against him, her hair slightly disheveled, her robe loose at the collar, her cheeks flushed, her gaze sultry like silk.

Xiao Ji’s throat bobbed, his thin lips parting slightly.

Xie Yao’s fingers seemed to lose strength; sliding downward… she suddenly felt the warmth of something wetly licking against them.

Both their bodies froze at once.

“I…”

It took quite a while before Xie Yao reacted. She suddenly jerked her fingers back.

Her fingertips were faintly damp. She simply wiped them against Xiao Ji’s chest, then climbed up a little higher, leaning close to his ear and whispering, “Your Highness feels hard… and not just your mouth.”

She had already felt it clearly.

“Xie… Yao.” Xiao Ji ground his teeth, his expression shifting again and again, utterly unprepared for Xie Yao to say something like this in broad daylight.

His throat tightened, his patience already stretched to the limit. His large palm clamped around Xie Yao’s slender waist, so thin and soft he felt he could snap it with a little more force.

He flipped her down beneath him, their positions instantly reversed.

Xie Yao’s body stiffened, enveloped completely in his overwhelming masculine aura. A flicker of fear flashed instinctively across her eyes.

Painful memories flashed through her mind.

Xiao Ji’s attention was wholly on Xie Yao, and of course he sharply noticed her fear and retreat.

What was she afraid of?

Even as puzzlement arose, a measure of relief came to his heart.

At least she knew fear.

If she kept provoking him further, he truly feared he wouldn’t be able to hold back.

He drew a deep breath. Before Xie Yao could collect herself, he yanked up the nearby quilt and threw it over her whole body. “If you’re afraid, then stop fooling around.”

Xie Yao suddenly felt the pressure lift off her.

The quilt carried Xiao Ji’s crisp scent of cedar. She tugged it down just enough to peek out, catching only the sight of his back.

“Your Highness…”

She revealed half her face, her luminous eyes fixed on Xiao Ji as she spoke softly.

“Behave.”

Xiao Ji didn’t turn his head, but his voice carried a warning.

“…Oh.”

It took a long while before Xie Yao realized she was still lying on Xiao Ji’s bed. She quickly sat up, lowered her gaze, and saw her disheveled robe, her face flushing crimson as she hurried to tidy herself.

This time she hadn’t lied, she truly was in pain.

Was it swollen? She felt as though it had even grown a bit firmer…

Xie Yao’s mind wandered. She wasn’t sure how much time passed before footsteps returned.

Xiao Ji came back, his body carrying a chill of cold water.

Xie Yao instantly understood what had happened last time.

“You haven’t left yet?”

Xiao Ji frowned, carefully keeping his distance from her.

Xie Yao’s cheeks reddened. She hesitated, then asked shyly, “Your Highness… do you have a cloak?”

Following her gaze, Xiao Ji finally noticed that her originally well-fitted robe now looked a little tight.

“Ahem.”

He coughed lightly, quickly averted his eyes, went to the wardrobe, and tossed her a cloak. “It’s clean.”

Xie Yao gave a radiant smile and said softly, “Your Highness doesn’t need to explain. I don’t mind.”

She put on the cloak, knowing full well today’s plan had failed. But at least it wasn’t fruitless.

His Highness was hard-mouthed but soft-hearted. He had already allowed her to overstep, yet because of his own scruples, still refused to consummate their marriage.

But then…

She herself also had a problem.

Because of the shadow left from her previous life, even though she had learned from Xiao Ning how to tease and provoke, deep down she feared and resisted intimacy.

His Highness must have noticed.

Xie Yao was mulling over this, preparing to leave the study, when she heard Si-nan’s voice calling from outside, “Your Highness, Crown Princess!”

Si-nan was probably shouting from the courtyard, clearly afraid of disturbing them.

Xiao Ji nearly laughed out of sheer exasperation at Si-nan’s antics. He said coldly, “Come in.”

Si-nan swiftly vaulted over the wall, strode into the room, and stopped at the door. “Your Highness, Master Xie is here.”

At this time?

Xie Yao’s gaze darkened as she looked at Xiao Ji.

With just one glance, she caught his eyes. “What does the Crown Princess think?”

“No.”

Xie Yao answered decisively.

Xiao Ji said nothing more. Si-nan blinked in confusion, glanced between the Crown Princess and His Highness, then quickly responded with a “Yes” and turned to leave.

…

At the Princess He Yi Residence.

Xiao Ning sat in the main hall, surrounded as always by handsome men. Her expression was dark, her voice icy. “Have you found out the truth?”

After returning from the Song household, she had immediately sensed something amiss and sent people to investigate.

The fox-masked man’s voice was drenched in seductive charm. “Your Highness, it’s clear now. That old shrew lost all sense of propriety. Upon learning that Your Highness had gone to the Song household, she gave rise to wicked thoughts.”

“Truly?” Xiao Ning raised her hand to grip his jaw, looking down on him from above.

She still felt there was something off.

“I wouldn’t dare hide it from Your Highness,” the fox-masked man replied, his gaze sultry, his body bonelessly leaning against her. “Last time, when the rumor spread in the capital that Your Highness favored the Song scholar, that old shrew had already cursed the Second Young Lady Xie, wanting to cast her off and climb up to Your Highness instead…”

That did make some sense.

Xiao Ning’s tense heart eased slightly.

Still, she said coldly, “Keep watching. If there’s anything unusual, report to me at once.”

“Yes.” The fox-masked man’s voice was already turning husky. He pressed against Xiao Ning, his long fingers sliding over her thigh and back. “The rumors have already spread, Your Highness…”

Xiao Ning’s breathing quickened slightly. “Any reaction from their side?”

“Not yet.”

Mockery flickered in Xiao Ning’s eyes.

The Crown Prince?

He was already a ruined man!

If not for the fact that the Crown Prince Residence had suddenly broken the counterfeit currency scheme recently, she wouldn’t have spared him a second thought this time.

She lifted the fox-masked man’s jaw, planting a reward-like kiss on his lips. “Well done. What reward do you want?”

“Your Highness.” Just then, the steward’s voice came from outside the main hall. “The Song scholar has already been kneeling outside for an hour.”

Xiao Ning frowned slightly. The fox-masked man’s voice, heavy with desire, whispered in her ear, “I want… Your Highness.”

Her thoughts instantly snapped back. She flipped him down beneath her and said impatiently toward the door, “Let him kneel.”