Chapter 86:- A Short Parting Sweeter Than a Wedding Night, His Highness Has Learned Mischief

Xie Yao’s words were like oil on fire, making it even harder for Xiao Ji, who had been longing for her, to restrain himself.

This little enchantress!

Did she even know what she was saying?

And yet, Xie Yao tilted her head up, her delicate brows faintly furrowed, her eyes brimming with grievance.

Xiao Ji hurriedly loosened his grip, just about to speak, when another voice cut in. “Imperial Brother, Sister-in-law, your affection is truly enviable.”

It was Xiao Ning.

Xiao Ning and the nurse from Princess Yongle’s household had disembarked too. Xiao Ji first had everyone drink a bowl of preventative medicine to strengthen the body, and then led them all into the city.

Once inside the carriage, Xiao Ji immediately pulled Xie Yao into his arms, pressing a kiss into her hair. “Nanzhou is dangerous. You should not have come.”

Xie Yao’s arms hooked around his neck. “But Your Highness is here.”

She mumbled it, then tilted her head and kissed his lips.

She had missed him.

In a very worldly, very human way.

A short parting was sweeter than a wedding night.

Now, pressed against each other, trading intimate gestures, both felt stirred.

But this was inside a carriage. Naturally, nothing excessive could happen.

Xiao Ji drew a deep breath, forcing himself to control the restless heat in his chest.

Instead, he turned to serious matters. “Pei Chen’s condition isn’t good.”

He paused, and then added, “And Young Lady Zhao…”

All amorous thoughts vanished. Xie Yao sat bolt upright. “How could that be?”

Xiao Ji sighed helplessly. “None of those around her are ill, and yet she…”

“Don’t be afraid.” He took her small, soft hand into his palm, playing with her fingers. “The prescriptions Young Lady Zhao left are effective. Some patients are already improving.”

Xie Yao could only nod.

Since the patients still needed isolation, the nurse from Princess Yongle’s household could not see Pei Chen. She only asked a few questions from afar before being escorted to her lodging.

Xiao Ji personally saw Xie Yao into her chambers.

“Yao-yao, rest first. I still have matters to handle. When I’m done…” He sealed the unfinished words with a light kiss.

“Alright.” Xie Yao nodded.

Still reluctant, Xiao Ji added, “I’ll dine with you tonight.”

After he left, Xie Yao rested briefly, and then went to the kitchen herself to oversee the cooks.

His Highness had lost weight.

“Ugh—”

That evening, as soon as Xiao Ji stepped into the room, the smell of meat hit him and he retched.

Xie Yao’s face changed. She hurried after him outside. “Your Highness, what’s wrong?”

She held his hand, scanning him anxiously. “Could it be…”

“No.” Xiao Ji quickly denied, seizing the chance. “I simply can’t stomach that smell.”

He said, “Yao-yao, eat first.”

He would just have some vegetables.

He was practically turning into a vegetarian already.

Xie Yao’s eyes widened. “What smell?”

Xiao Ji did not want to answer. But Si-nan’s voice, laced with suppressed amusement, supplied: “To answer the Crown Princess, it is the smell of meat.”

Moments later, the two of them sat inside with the meat dishes all removed, only vegetarian plates left on the table.

“Yao-yao…”

Xiao Ji clearly disapproved, but Xie Yao wouldn’t yield.

She picked vegetables into his bowl. “Eat more, Your Highness. You’ve grown thin.”

His heart swelled all the more.

With such a wife, what more could a husband ask?

Both ate heartily. When the dishes were cleared, everyone else withdrew, leaving only the two of them in the room.

Everything unfolded naturally, one step flowing into the next.

After so long apart, husband and wife proclaimed their longing in the most intimate, direct way.

As Xie Yao drifted to sleep, she still heard his husky whisper in her ear, like a devil’s murmur: “Yao-yao, I’ve missed you so much.”

She had too.

The next morning, recalling it made her cheeks burn red.

His Highness… had learned mischief!

She rose late, claiming fatigue from the journey and chose to laze in bed.

Zhuqing brought breakfast into the room, smiling. “Your Highness, His Highness ordered early this morning to prepare extra nourishing dishes for you.”

“His Highness cares for you. He doesn’t want you to suffer as he does, eating nothing but vegetables.”

There was chicken soup. Xie Yao drank a bowl, warmth spreading through her heart. “His Highness is kind.”

Zhuqing hesitated, then said softly, “Crown Princess, His Highness truly does treat you well.”

Normally, with that cold, forbidding face… he was terrifying.

Only before the Crown Princess did he lose that sharp edge.

Xie Yao only smiled without reply.

By noon, she got up at last. She wanted to see Sister Ying. With proper precautions, she believed the illness would not spread.

After all, many tended the sick and remained fine.

As she stepped outside, Lin Xia approached quietly. “Your Highness, last night Princess He Yi went out. She only just returned.”

“Do you know where?” Xie Yao frowned.

Lin Xia’s expression turned awkward. “To Chu Feng Guan. And when she returned this morning, she had two handsome young men with her.”

Others might not know, but Xie Yao did know that Xiao Ning was not nearly so simple as she appeared.

“Keep watching,” she instructed. “Maintain distance and caution.”

—

That day, Xiao Ji also received good news: Pei Chen had woken!

“Zhao… Young Lady Zhao…”

As soon as Xiao Ji entered, Pei Chen rasped, “Is she… is she alright?”

How did he know?

When he had collapsed, Zhao Ying had not yet fallen ill.

Xiao Ji gave him a deep look, and then reassured, “Her symptoms are mild. She should wake today as well.”

Pei Chen exhaled in relief. The strength that had been pushing him upright dissolved, and he lay back down. “Medicine.”

Xiao Ji gave a helpless laugh.

He arranged Pei Chen in the room right beside Zhao Ying.

“Your Highness,” Si-nan came to report, “the Crown Princess has arrived.”

Xiao Ji immediately turned on his heel and left.

The quarters for the sick were guarded by soldiers, who did not allow free entry. From afar, Xiao Ji already saw her carriage halted.

When he approached, the soldiers all saluted.

He waved them off, went to the carriage, and said in a low, firm voice, “Crown Princess, this place is dangerous. Go back at once!”

If he hadn’t winked at her in secret, Xie Yao might actually have been frightened.

Once they were out of sight of the soldiers, Xiao Ji softened his tone. “Cousin has woken. In two more days of rest, she should fully recover.”

Xie Yao was too stunned to feel relief. She just stared at him blankly. “Cousin?”

Xiao Ji’s face was perfectly calm. “Yao-yao’s cousin is naturally mine as well.”

Had it been an elder, she wouldn’t mind. But among peers… with his exalted identity, it was not necessary.

And yet, she could feel clearly just how much he valued her.

Their bond grew closer still.

“Your Highness…” Xie Yao gazed at him, deeply moved.

Though they had shared intimacy, Xiao Ji always bathed in herbal water and changed clothes before returning to her.

Having just come from the patients, he naturally kept his distance now.

He wanted to ruffle her hair but dropped his hand midway, only his soft gaze revealing his helpless fondness. “Be good. I won’t let cousin come to harm.”

He coaxed and persuaded until she reluctantly agreed not to insist on entering.

As the carriage turned back, her expression cooled again. A faint smile curved her lips.

If His Highness was truly fine, that was best. If misfortune struck, at least she would hold the moral high ground and from that, she could shield both herself and her unborn child.

Outsiders might not know, but the royal family did: the Crown Prince was said to be without heirs. Without his assurance, the royal house would only doubt her fidelity and the child’s bloodline.

If the Emperor suspected, she and her child would die without burial.

So this journey south … she had to make it.

And fortunately, she had chosen correctly.

Xiao Ji stood watching until her carriage disappeared from sight. Only then did he turn back toward the patient ward, his mood notably lighter.

After a moment’s thought, he ordered, “If I recall, there’s no empty room beside Young Lady Zhao’s. Move the Marquis of Zhenbei elsewhere.”

When Pei Chen learned of it, he was dumbfounded.

His Highness is playing me!