The light sheet of paper was caught by a breeze stirred by the movement of his clothes and slowly drifted to the floor. The snow-white paper still carried the lingering, intimate fragrance of the previous night, now lightly dusted with specks of dirt.
Yu Zhi’s fingertips looked slightly pale. He paused for a moment before bending down to pick up the paper.
When he unfolded it, the worry that had been weighing on his heart immediately eased. A helpless yet affectionate smile appeared at the corners of his lips.
How can this person be so stubborn?
Hearing movement from inside the room, the maid waiting outside knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Yu Zhi said.
The maids pushed the door open, prepared the washbasin and towels, and Yu Zhi got up to dress. As the maid tidied the bed, she could not help blushing when she saw the disordered traces left behind. Yet she did not dare ask where the heir’s wife had gone.
Yu Zhi glanced at her, then ordered in a deep voice, “When you go out, tell them that the heir’s wife has fallen ill and needs to rest in peace. No one is to disturb him.”
The maids’ hearts tightened, and they immediately answered in unison, “Yes.”
“Go on,” Yu Zhi said.
The maids left and closed the door behind them.
Yu Zhi’s gaze happened to fall on the dressing table. Normally, at this time, he would have been sitting there doing Ying Qingzhu’s makeup and combing his hair.
He took two steps forward and picked up the makeup box, rouge, eyebrow pencil, and other items, looking at them one by one as though trying to recapture the feeling of doing Ying Qingzhu’s makeup.
But when his eyes fell on the jewelry box, his gaze suddenly stopped.
A trace of black caught his eye. Two long strands of hair were intertwined, tangled together so tightly that they could not be separated.
A small wooden tablet was tied to the hair. Two names had been carved into it in red ink.
Yu Zhi. Ying Qingzhu.
In the end, he had told him his true name himself, though in this way.
Their hair tied together as one, their hearts joined as one, their love unwavering.
………………
Early that morning, Ying Qingzhu returned to the palace and switched identities with the subordinate who had been standing in for him.
He put on the old, faded palace robes and applied the medicinal paste that concealed his skin.
Normally, that would have been enough. But today, he kept looking at himself in the mirror from one angle and then another, unable to feel satisfied. He felt that the trace of vivid beauty in his eyes was still too obvious, too captivating.
After thinking it over, he applied a little more black around his eyes, making himself look as though he were seriously ill or exhausted from lack of sleep. Only then did the color in his eyes finally become less noticeable.
Early in the morning, someone knocked on the palace gates of the residence where Ying Qingzhu lived.
“Fourth Sister, are you feeling any better?” Fifth Princess asked with what appeared to be genuine concern.
Yet as she looked at Ying Qingzhu’s current state, she could not help shaking her head inwardly with a sigh. My Fourth Sister is really too useless.
As an imperial princess born of the Empress, she did not have even the slightest air of nobility. Even her health was this poor. Who knew whether she would ever find a good marriage?
And if this ended up delaying her own marriage, what was she supposed to do?
Her eyes shifted as she thought. Then Fifth Princess looked at Ying Qingzhu and said, “Fourth Sister, would you like to come with me to pay our respects to Noble Consort Gui today? We might even run into Father Emperor.”
If Father Emperor saw them, surely he would remember that he still had a daughter of marriageable age who had yet to marry.
If Fourth Sister doesn’t get engaged, when will it ever be my turn?
Ying Qingzhu covered his lips and lowered his eyes, giving two light coughs before saying, “I’m not in good health, so I’d better not go and disturb Noble Consort Gui. I’m afraid I might pass my illness to the people of Yikun Palace.”
Seeing how hopelessly uncooperative her Fourth Sister was, Fifth Princess felt frustrated enough to hate her for being so incapable. Yet her face showed only concern as she said, “Fourth Sister, you’ve always been in poor health. How can you stay in the palace without seeing an imperial physician? Why don’t you go see Father Emperor and ask him to have an imperial physician examine you?”
She stepped forward to take Ying Qingzhu by the hand and lead him away.
Ying Qingzhu frowned and put a hand to his waist.
“Fourth Sister, what’s wrong?” Why is she so troublesome?
“It’s nothing. I twisted my waist.” Ying Qingzhu pulled his hand free and continued to refuse. “If Fifth Sister wants to see Father Emperor, you can go yourself. I really can’t accompany you today.”
With that, Ying Qingzhu turned and walked toward the inner room. Today, he had no patience to pretend that he and Fifth Princess were affectionate sisters.
Fifth Princess was annoyed in her heart. She felt that her Fourth Sister was completely useless and could not help her with anything. She glanced at Ying Qingzhu’s back several times.
But, looking at her now, she really did not seem to be pretending.
Could she really have hurt her waist?
Forget it. If she could not rely on Fourth Sister, she would just go herself.
Fifth Princess’s birth mother was only a lower-ranked concubine. She had no powerful background and no influential family behind her. In the palace, she was practically invisible and had no one she could rely on.
Otherwise, she would not have gone to such lengths to plan for her own future.
If she were like Eldest Princess, would she really need to struggle so hard to make plans for herself? She even had to bring along her useless Fourth Sister to make herself look better. When had anyone ever paid any attention to the other sisters, let alone given Ying Qingzhu a second glance?
Fifth Princess was very good at putting on appearances. She regularly came to pay her respects to Noble Consort Gui, so she had simply made a habit of coming today as well.
Unfortunately, she happened to walk in on the Third Prince and Seventh Prince arguing.
She immediately regretted coming.
I shouldn’t have come today!
Noble Consort Gui was already suffering from a headache because of the commotion.
The Third Prince had actually humiliated her again and again just to defend that woman, Rong Yunchang. He had even accused the Seventh Prince of harboring ambitions to compete with him.
Never mind that the Seventh Prince had always been deeply filial toward her and had never once said that he wanted to compete for that position. Even if he really wanted to compete, they were both her sons. Why couldn’t he compete?
She had worked so hard to support her eldest son all these years, yet he was now going against her for the sake of a woman. Her younger son, on the other hand, was filial and considerate toward her. Why couldn’t she support her younger son?
The thought surfaced impulsively in her mind, stirring her emotions so much that she nearly blurted it out right there.
But just as the words were about to leave her mouth, a palace servant came in to report, “Your Ladyship, Fifth Princess has come to pay her respects.”
Noble Consort Gui immediately stopped herself and instead said, “Let her come in.”
The interruption broke the flow of the conversation, and that impulsive thought faded away for the moment. But the mark it had left behind could not be erased.
Some thoughts never occur to a person, so there is no reason to dwell on them. But once such a thought appears, it can be difficult to forget.
It was not until Fifth Princess, who had unfortunately walked straight into the line of fire, made a few sarcastic remarks to vent her anger, and Noble Consort Gui had finally sent her two troublesome sons away, that the palace grew quiet late at night.
Only then did Noble Consort Gui remember that sudden thought again.
My eldest son refuses to listen to me. Why can’t I support my younger son instead?
The younger son was already famous for his talent. He was refined and well-mannered, treated talented people with courtesy, and was respectful toward those with ability. Whether in terms of his public image or his own abilities, he was more than capable of competing for that position.
She had two sons, after all. If one was no good, the other could still take the throne. Wasn’t that a double layer of insurance?
Besides, she could use this opportunity to keep her eldest son in check and make him more respectful toward her.
She would gain several things with one move. It was a good idea!
“Your Highness, how is Her Ladyship?” Rong Yunchang asked with concern from inside the carriage.
She had never expected that, in this life, she would already have a conflict with Noble Consort Gui before she had even married into the imperial family. It had happened much earlier than in her previous life.
For the sake of the Third Prince, she had tried her best to win Noble Consort Gui over, but none of it had worked.
With no other choice, she could only try to avoid her as much as possible. She had not expected the conflict between them to keep growing worse anyway.
She was not worried about the Third Prince. She knew that no matter what conflict arose between her and Noble Consort Gui, he would always take her side.
But having a poor relationship with Noble Consort Gui was still a hidden danger.
“I’m afraid Old Seventh is about to make a move,” the Third Prince said, his eyes darkening.
In this world, there were only two things the Third Prince valued most.
The first was Rong Yunchang.
The second was the throne.
And once Rong Yunchang became his Empress, the throne would naturally become the most important thing of all.
But now, his own full younger brother was trying to lay claim to it. For all he knew, the previous assassination attempt might even have been partly his doing. Whatever brotherly affection the Third Prince had still held for him had been completely worn away.
He had already developed murderous intentions toward the Seventh Prince.
Rong Yunchang knew that the Seventh Prince was merely a mantis, while the real oriole was still hidden in the shadows. She therefore did not take the Seventh Prince seriously. Hearing this, she advised, “Your Highness, the Seventh Prince is not your real threat. You should investigate the other princes.”
Or perhaps he isn’t a prince at all. It could be another force entirely. For example, remnants of Prince Ying’s former faction?
Hearing this, the Third Prince became displeased. He grabbed Rong Yunchang tightly by the wrist, his hawk-like eyes fixed unwaveringly on her.
“Are you speaking up for him? You two… still have feelings for each other?”
Rong Yunchang hurriedly shook her head and immediately said, “Your Highness, you misunderstand. I only meant that the Seventh Prince is neither virtuous nor capable. He isn’t worthy of being your opponent at all. Your Highness should turn your attention to the others…”
“You don’t even think highly of Old Seventh, yet you actually believe any of those useless princes could be my opponent?” the Third Prince said with a mocking laugh, disdain hidden in his eyes.
Rong Yunchang faltered.
Then, as if she had suddenly realized something, her mind cleared.
That’s right. Why did all those princes seem so weak and useless, yet there was still someone capable of hiding in the shadows and waiting to reap the benefits?
If it was not because they had hidden themselves deeply enough, then there could only be one other possibility…
Someone else was hiding their identity and operating in secret!
He must be hiding extremely well. He might not even be one of these princes.
Just as Rong Yunchang’s thoughts reached the possibility that there might be someone with blood ties to the former imperial dynasty, the Third Prince could no longer tolerate her distraction. He took her absentmindedness as indifference toward him.
“Are you even listening to me?!”
He pulled Rong Yunchang toward him, forcing her eyes to look only at him.
Her thoughts were interrupted, and for a moment, she could no longer remember what she had been thinking about.
At that moment, there was only this man before her, both in her eyes and in her heart.
“Your H-Highness…”
Before she could finish speaking, the rest of her words were swallowed by his lips.
After the kiss ended, the Third Prince held Rong Yunchang, whose cheeks were flushed and who had yet to recover from the moment. In a hoarse voice, he said, “We’ll save the rest for our wedding night.”
Rong Yunchang’s cheeks grew even redder.
Now that their wedding was less than a month away, this time, she would definitely become the perfect Third Prince’s Consort and the perfect wife for him.
Yu Zhi, who had been silently keeping an eye on the two of them, could not help twitching the corner of his mouth.
Sure enough, when the love between the protagonists came into conflict with everything else, no matter what it was, the other side could only move aside.
Yu Zhi did not look down on people who valued love deeply. He simply felt that, since that was the case, Ying Qingzhu’s path ahead would probably be a little easier.
“You don’t need to report anything about these two to me from now on.”
“Noble Heir?”
“Go.”
Since he did not want Yu Zhi to interfere, then he simply would not.
After Ying Qingzhu woke up from his nap, he learned from the palace servants that Fifth Princess had been reprimanded by Noble Consort Gui and punished by being ordered to copy the palace rules.
After making a few inquiries, he learned that Fifth Princess had simply happened to run into Noble Consort Gui when she was in a bad mood, and Noble Consort Gui had deliberately found fault with her.
And why was Noble Consort Gui in such a bad mood?
Apart from the Emperor, it could only have something to do with the Third Prince and the Seventh Prince.
His gaze deepened.
“Go. Give the Seventh Prince a hand.”
“Yes.”
Sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. If he could simply watch the two sides wear each other down, it seemed much easier.
“Master, would you like to go see Fifth Princess?”
Ying Qingzhu refused. “No need.”
If he went there today, there was no avoiding the subject of marriage. He could not stop Fifth Princess from asking for a marriage arrangement herself, but if she tried to use it as an excuse to do anything to him, she could forget about it.
What Ying Qingzhu did not expect was that although Fifth Princess failed to do anything about his marriage, the Emperor himself would bring up the matter.
When he was informed that His Majesty had summoned him, Ying Qingzhu was still trying to guess what the matter could be. He thought of everything from Yangliu House to Prince Ying’s Residence, from Yu Zhi to the Third Prince, and even from the late Empress to Noble Consort Gui.
But he never expected that the Emperor had summoned him because of his marriage.
The Emperor sat at the table while Noble Consort Gui stood beside him, laying out various portraits and explaining them one by one.
“This is the eldest son of the Duke Ningguo’s residence. He is handsome and well-mannered, a fine young man.”
However, he was only a son born to a secondary wife and his legal mother disliked him. He had been secretly given medicine to make him infertile long ago.
“This is the legitimate grandson of Grand Secretary Wen. He is kind-hearted and has an excellent reputation.”
Unfortunately, his kindness was reserved for young women selling themselves to pay for their parents’ funerals by the roadside, as well as the women of brothels and pleasure houses. And the reputation that had spread far and wide was actually his reputation for being a womanizer.
“And this is the legitimate eldest son of General Liu. He is brave and outstanding, and although he is still young, he has already attained the rank of a fourth-grade military officer. He will surely have a bright future.”
Unfortunately, he had been wounded on the battlefield when he was younger. That particular part of him had become useless, meaning that once his wife married into his household, she would be left a widow in all but name.
These were all matters concerning the inner households. How could an emperor who was busy with state affairs possibly know every private detail about the children and grandchildren of his court officials?
Looking at these men, the Emperor was fairly satisfied. He simply felt that with Noble Consort Gui presenting the choices in front of him, she would not dare mistreat Ying Qingzhu.
Besides, he had usually paid little attention to this daughter of his. Now that they were finally meeting, his feelings were complicated, and he did not know what attitude he should take toward her.
“If there is anyone among these whom you like, I will issue an imperial decree and arrange the marriage for you.”
Ying Qingzhu coughed twice. “Thank you, Father Emperor, but I do not wish to marry.”
The Emperor frowned. “Why don’t you want to marry? You are already eighteen. When your older sisters were your age, they had already married.”
Noble Consort Gui also agreed. “His Majesty is absolutely right. Marriage and bearing children are the most important part of a woman’s life. There must be an order of seniority. If Fourth Princess does not marry, what are your younger sisters, Fifth Princess and Sixth Princess, supposed to do? Are they not to marry either?”
“I am not usually close to Fourth Princess. If you have any resentment toward me because of this, you can tell me directly. But please do not say something as foolish as refusing to marry.”
Ying Qingzhu glanced at her. His expression did not change, and he continued speaking to the Emperor.
“Father Emperor, there are two reasons why I do not wish to marry.”
“First, my health is weak. I am afraid it may affect my ability to bear children and my lifespan, so marriage would not be suitable for me.”
“What is so difficult about that?” the Emperor said naturally. “Take in a maid and raise the child she gives birth to as your own.”
As an emperor with three palaces and six courtyards full of women, he naturally did not consider the identity of a child’s birth mother particularly important. He was therefore accustomed to assuming that other people would not care about it either.
Ying Qingzhu ignored that remark and continued, “Second…”
He looked up at the Emperor before continuing, “I’m afraid that one day something might happen to my husband’s family, and his entire household could be wiped out. Then I would be widowed anyway. If that is the case, I might as well not marry at all.”
Bang!
The Emperor slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, furious. “How dare you!”
Ping’an, the chief eunuch serving at his side, looked at Ying Qingzhu in shock. He hurried forward and stood beside the Emperor, ready to calm him down.
Even Noble Consort Gui, who had always found fault with Ying Qingzhu at every opportunity, stared at this Fourth Princess in astonishment.
Normally, Ying Qingzhu kept a low profile and was accustomed to making himself invisible. If this were not the daughter of her mortal enemy, Noble Consort Gui might almost have wanted to praise him.
He actually dared to anger the Emperor to his face.
It seemed this princess was not as weak and useless as she usually appeared.
Noble Consort Gui instinctively became wary. But then she thought about it. This was only a princess, and one who had remained obscure and unnoticed for eighteen years.
Her vigilance faded considerably.
Compared with the shock and fury of the people watching, Ying Qingzhu, the person at the center of it all, remained remarkably calm.
He slowly stood up, then slowly knelt down, his expression unchanged.
“Father Emperor, please calm down.”
Calm down?
The Emperor became even angrier.
“Who told you these things?!”
Ying Qingzhu answered slowly, “No one deliberately told me anything. They are simply things everyone knows. Why would Father Emperor think I haven’t heard about them?”
“You!”
The Emperor was both angry and guilty.
Guilty.
As for what had happened to the late Empress, he truly could not deny his responsibility. He had personally issued the imperial decree ordering her family to be stripped of their household and exiled, and the Empress had taken her own life right in front of him.
Even now, he still remembered every word she had spoken before her death with absolute clarity.
“If someone is determined to convict you, they will always find a charge. They destroyed my Yu family because we had neither power nor ability, and could only let others bully us. You could not protect us because you were powerless too. Even now, you still have not completely taken control of the imperial authority. Your Majesty, I have been waiting for you. I am waiting to see the day when you also lose your power and become someone others can slaughter at will. When that day comes, I also want to know whether you will have the courage to take your own life, just as I did. Hahaha…”
The Emperor closed his eyes for a moment, then pointed at Ying Qingzhu.
“Get out!”
Ying Qingzhu was not offended in the slightest. He stood up and bowed before taking his leave.
As soon as he stepped out of the Hall of Longevity, Ying Qingzhu thought in a rather good mood, Looks like the Emperor probably won’t summon me again for quite some time.
Inside the hall, Noble Consort Gui stepped forward to comfort the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, please do not let anger harm your health. The Fourth Princess is still young. She must have heard some loose-tongued palace servants gossiping and misunderstood Your Majesty because of it. Once the palace has been thoroughly cleaned up, have the Fourth Princess copy the palace rules to calm her mind. She will surely come to understand what is right and proper.”
The Emperor’s anger had not yet subsided.
“Still young? She is eighteen. If she were anyone else, she would already be a mother by now!”
In truth, however, he was not nearly as furious as Noble Consort Gui imagined.
Instead, it was as though he was seeing this daughter of his for the first time.
The dull and rigid impression he had always had of her finally seemed to take on a definite shape, appearing clearly before his eyes.
“If she does not want to marry, then leave her alone. You can choose husbands for Fifth and Sixth first.”
Noble Consort Gui hesitated.
“But there is an order of seniority among the princesses…”
Seeing that the Emperor was still visibly angry, she swallowed the rest of her words and smiled.
“Your consort will take care of it.”
A trace of regret flashed through her eyes.
What a pity. She had specially chosen several excellent candidates.
Noble Consort Gui took her leave.
The Emperor stood beside the desk, lost in thought. The chief eunuch, Ping’an, was just about to say something to divert the Emperor’s attention when the Emperor spoke first.
“Ping’an, I think I was wrong.”
Ping’an’s heart jumped.
“Your Majesty?”
The Emperor smiled, his tone carrying a deep, complicated meaning.
“Did you see it just now?”
“For a moment, I almost thought I was looking at Min-niang.”
He had once said that this child looked nothing like the late Empress.
But after seeing her today, he suddenly felt that although her appearance was different, her spirit was remarkably similar.
………………
That evening, Yu Zhi sat before his writing desk, the candlelight illuminating the books on the table clearly.
His fair, slender hand, with its distinct knuckles, tapped rhythmically against the tabletop.
When he had counted more than fifty taps, the window was quietly pushed open, and a figure slipped in through it.
The black clothes blended into the darkness of the night. It was only after the figure entered the room and gradually came under the candlelight that his features slowly became clear.
Before Ying Qingzhu even came close, the medicinal scent on Yu Zhi’s body had already reached his nose.
Ying Qingzhu’s steps came to a halt.
Seeing that he was not approaching, Yu Zhi held out his hand.
“Come here.”
The pale hand half-hidden beneath his sleeve seemed almost magical, drawing Ying Qingzhu’s gaze to it unconsciously.
Just one glance was enough to make him remember how that hand had set his body aflame that night, and how it had extinguished the fire afterward…
The tips of his ears turned slightly red. Keeping his expression deliberately calm, he reached out and took Yu Zhi’s hand.
Their fingers intertwined.
“My lady left without a word and left me all alone. I missed you terribly.”
Yu Zhi smiled as he pulled Ying Qingzhu over to sit beside him. The two of them sat close together.
The medicinal fragrance seeped into the air, their breaths mingling.
Perhaps feeling that a few words were not enough, Ying Qingzhu said softly, “I left you a letter.”
I also left you an explanation.
The letter said that he had only left temporarily and told Yu Zhi not to worry.
“But neither of them is you…” Yu Zhi said quietly, his voice deep.
Those things only had meaning because he was there.
If the person himself was not there, even a gift that had been carefully chosen with love could not fill the emptiness in one’s heart.
Ying Qingzhu’s heart stirred at those words. He could not help saying, “I’m sorry. From now on, I’ll wait until you wake up.”
Yu Zhi could not help laughing.
“So, my lady wants to make a habit of secretly meeting her lover at night?”
They were clearly husband and wife, yet they had to meet at night and part during the day. What kind of arrangement was that?
There was no room for compromise on this matter. Ying Qingzhu had already stayed at Prince Ying’s Residence for quite some time. If the Fourth Princess in the palace continued to claim illness and refuse to see anyone for too long, people would inevitably become suspicious.
So he wisely skipped over the subject.
“I’m hungry.”
“Isn’t there food in the palace?”
“That was someone else’s. I missed the mealtime, so I didn’t get any.”
Yu Zhi felt sorry for him.
“It’s all right. There’s plenty of food at home.”
Ying Qingzhu gave him a look. Judging from that tone, anyone who did not know better would think he was about to eat an enormous amount.
When the dishes were brought in, Yu Zhi did not pick up his chopsticks. He simply watched Ying Qingzhu eat.
“What you said earlier, I agree to it,” Yu Zhi said.
Ying Qingzhu’s chopsticks paused. He turned his head to look at Yu Zhi.
Yu Zhi smiled.
“I’ve truly never met anyone as foolish as you. You and I are husband and wife, one body. I’m willing to help you, yet you still refuse.”
Ying Qingzhu stubbornly replied, “You shouldn’t have helped me in the first place.”
He had never been someone who would help just anyone.
He did not like seeing this man go against his own habits and principles for his sake.
The imperial throne and the struggle for succession had nothing to do with Yu Zhi in the first place. It was only because of him that this man was willing to wade into these muddy waters.
But why?
Ying Qingzhu had grown up on his own. He had shouldered the task of fighting for the throne all by himself. The people who followed him did so because they owed a debt of gratitude to his mother.
Only Yu Zhi was different.
Yu Zhi had never owed him anything, nor did he even know his mother.
What was more, Ying Qingzhu was not so outstanding that he could justify Yu Zhi supporting him.
The throne was his own affair. Whether he succeeded or failed, it had nothing to do with Yu Zhi.
All he wanted was for this man to watch from the sidelines. Then, when the day came that he succeeded, Yu Zhi could truly be willing, from the bottom of his heart, to teach him and assist him.
Only then could everything be proper and aboveboard, with neither of them having any reservations.
After dinner, the two of them read for half an hour before preparing to sleep.
Yu Zhi had just begun loosening his clothes when, with a casual glance, he noticed Ying Qingzhu take a book out from inside his robes.
“It’s so late. You’re still going to read? You should rest. You have to leave early tomorrow morning.”
Unexpectedly, Ying Qingzhu not only continued reading it himself but also held the book out in front of Yu Zhi.
“Husband, I had a question before, and now I have an answer. But since I haven’t experienced it myself, I still haven’t grasped the essence of it. I wonder if you can answer it for me?”
A faint smile curved at the corners of his lips, but there was something unusual about that smile.
Yu Zhi took the book from him and glanced at it. He immediately felt as though he had been handed a hot potato.
This was no collection of poetry and classical writings, nor was it some collection of stories or idle tales. It was a book on bedroom techniques, complete with illustrations.
And the page Ying Qingzhu had opened for him showed the setting to be a deserted stretch of countryside. The two protagonists had their clothes half undone, and the picture captured the beauty of being half-covered and half-revealed, like someone holding a pipa while hiding half her face behind it.
Among the accompanying words, Yu Zhi immediately spotted the two words, wild fighting.
Ying Qingzhu was clever. He learned everything quickly, understood how different things connected, and could apply one lesson to another.
The moment he saw this illustration, he immediately understood what Yu Zhi had meant when he had deliberately teased him about fighting in the wild before.
Today, he had brought this book out specifically to turn Yu Zhi’s own words against him.
Under Ying Qingzhu’s calm, leisurely gaze, Yu Zhi calmly closed the book as though nothing were unusual.
“So there really are forbidden books like this in the palace. I cannot let my lady get implicated because of it, so I shall confiscate it for the time being. You must make things clear to the princess. Don’t let her take revenge on me.”
Ying Qingzhu pressed his lips together and leaned closer.
“What if I don’t tell her? What if the princess insists on taking revenge?”
Yu Zhi coughed lightly twice, barely suppressing his laughter.
“Then I’ll have no choice but to join my lady in doing something equally improper.”
“I wonder how many of the techniques in the book my lady has learned?”
“Every move, every technique.”
Ying Qingzhu gave a soft snort, “You certainly learned plenty from other people.”
He was thinking of the notorious reputation the heir had once had with women, and jealousy had begun to creep into his heart.
Yu Zhi could not help laughing.
He reached out, took Ying Qingzhu’s hand, and led him toward the inner bed curtains.
“I want to learn all over again with my lady. I wonder if my lady is willing?”
“Who is teaching whom?” Ying Qingzhu asked.
“The book is the teacher, and you and I are the students,” Yu Zhi said with a perfectly serious expression.
“No. You are my teacher. That would put us in the wrong order of seniority.” Ying Qingzhu rejected the idea with righteous seriousness.
“Not so. What I taught just now was the princess, not my lady.” Yu Zhi smiled as he coaxed him. “The princess and I are teacher and student. But when it comes to matters of love between men and women, my lady and I are both students. We should study diligently, so that one day we can make a rapid progress.”
As they spoke, both of their clothes had already come half undone, and their movements looked as though they were half resisting and half inviting each other closer.
In the end, Yu Zhi proved to be the more enthusiastic and ambitious student, taking the slower learner along with him as they studied half the night.
Both of their knowledge improved greatly, advancing by leaps and bounds.
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![The Return of The Lord God[quick wear]](https://i2.wp.com/knoxt.space/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/007S8ZIlly1ghl04hyuxyj30hs0owwgu.jpg?resize=85,105 "The Return of The Lord God[quick wear]")
notyetdead On BF Chapter 33