Volume 1, Chapter 19: It Was All the Prince's Fault for Being So Reckless Last Night

Song Yaozhu was already fretting over Xie Liwei’s announcement that he would be coming over that night, and the news from the gatekeeper that the Eldest Madam Song and Song Wenyue were coming to visit the next day only deepened her annoyance.

"Your Highness, it is a good thing that the Prince is coming today!" Nanny Qin bustled about, ordering fresh sleepwear to be prepared and replacing the bedding with linens that had just been sun-dried. She even had the entire room perfumed again; in short, it was an incredibly grand production.

Song Yaozhu propped her chin in her hand, bored to tears, holding a book of erotic illustrations that Nanny Qin had snuck to her. She flipped through it quickly; it appeared to be a new release for the year, but it was growing increasingly tedious.

"Nanny, I want to eat roasted lamb tonight."

"That will not do!" Nanny Qin immediately began to lecture her with earnest persuasion. "The Prince is coming tonight; you cannot eat something so greasy! Won't you just have a small bowl of porridge? Otherwise, a bloated stomach won't look good. I will have the small kitchen prepare a late-night snack for you, and we can have it brought in once you are ready for bed."

Song Yaozhu: "..."

Xie Liwei was only coming tonight to probe her; Nanny Qin really didn't need to make such a fuss.

That night, under the threatening gaze of Nanny Qin, Song Yaozhu drank only half a bowl of shredded chicken porridge before getting into bed. Xie Liwei arrived quite late—any later and she would have been asleep.

As soon as he entered the room, the overwhelming scent of the perfume made Xie Liwei sneeze.

"Caiyin, open the corner window. You all may withdraw," Song Yaozhu commanded. The aphrodisiac incense Nanny Qin had used was making her feel feverish, too.

Caiyin opened the window and retreated along with the other maids, all of them beaming as if they had finally been waiting for this day.

Xie Liwei sat down, his silhouette visible through the screen. She lay lazily on the bed, showing no intention of rising to serve him.

"The Princess is certainly putting in a lot of effort."

Song Yaozhu gave a dry laugh, cursing him silently for making trouble out of nothing. If not for him, she could have had a lovely night's sleep.

"Is the Prince not coming to rest?" she asked deliberately. He was the one who had come to provoke her.

"I am coming right now." Xie Liwei set his teacup on the table with a firm click. Then came the rustle of him undressing.

Song Yaozhu lay in bed; only one candle was lit in the inner chamber. She couldn't see Xie Liwei clearly behind the screen, but after a moment of silence, he walked out.

He had removed his outer robe, and his thin undergarment hung loosely, revealing his elegant collarbones and the outline of his chest muscles. Half of his long, tied-back hair fell over his chest, and the white pearls on his hair tie glinted yellow in the candlelight.

Song Yaozhu dared not look at his face. If she could ignore the face she had watched grow up since childhood, she might truly lose control and spend a night of passion with him. But that face filled her with a sense of guilt.

Song Yaozhu propped herself up on her right arm and looked at him. The lingering sense of romance had vanished entirely; she yawned and patted the empty space beside her.

"Prince, hurry and get up here; I am exhausted."

Xie Liwei paused, and before he could say anything, the woman turned over with her back to him. He sneered and lifted the quilt to lie down beside her.

His scorching body heat seeped through the thin fabric of her sleepwear, and her body stiffened for a moment. But she feigned it well, lying motionless with her back to him.

Xie Liwei did not make any further moves. After a few breaths of silence, he asked, "Did Nanny Qin not show you the erotic illustrations?"

"She did." Song Yaozhu’s heart suddenly began to drum. After all, Xie Liwei had changed so much—had he also turned into a playboy who spent his time among flowers? "Does the Prince wish to do it?"

She decided to take the initiative.

The words Xie Liwei had prepared were stuck in his throat. When it came to being shameless, he had to concede defeat in front of this woman.

What could he say now? If he said he wanted to, but then failed to perform, he would be mocked for being impotent again. If he said he didn't want to, it would sound as if he were the one who was incapable.

Hm... how did both choices lead him into a dead end?

Xie Liwei’s expression darkened, and he snapped, "Go to sleep!"

Song Yaozhu chuckled internally. *Stupid little brother, you think you can handle me?*

*Sigh, I should have let Nanny Qin prepare two quilts.*

Xie Liwei couldn't sleep. He stared at the bed canopy, his mind feeling dull. Song Yaozhu understood him far too well—just as his elder sister had understood him. This feeling was truly bizarre.

At night, people cannot help but let their thoughts run wild, and he could not help but wonder if the person beside him was his sister reborn. Yet, such things existed only in his delusions.

Before dinner, he had seen the manor physician, who said his state of mind was perfectly fine and that he was experiencing no hallucinations. There were no such things as ghosts or gods in this world; every coincidence linked together must be a meticulously crafted human design. He would certainly catch whoever was pulling the strings behind Song Yaozhu.

Nanny Qin and the others waited for half the night without hearing any calls for water, and they couldn't help but feel discouraged. By the hour of the Rat, Xie Liwei had the physician summoned directly. He had been about to fall asleep when the woman beside him began to moan in pain, and annoyed by the disturbance, he had no choice but to get up and call for help.

After a long ordeal, Song Yaozhu held a warm wax compress and breathed slowly.

"The Princess’s body was not well-nurtured in her youth, which is why her monthly cycles are more painful than for other women. Use the wax to apply heat and relieve the pain; I have prescribed medicine for her to take. It may be quite painful for the first two days, but it will improve in the following days. If you wish to cure it at the root, we will need to prescribe other medicines to strengthen her foundation."

The physician paused, then added, "During the time the Princess is recuperating, you must not share the bed. Her body is currently not suited for pregnancy; even if she were to conceive, she would be prone to miscarriage. If she were to lose the child, it would be even worse for her health."

Xie Liwei was incredibly drowsy, and hearing the physician’s earnest lecture made his expression even darker.

"Just prescribe the medicine! Do you think I would skimp on her medicine?"

The physician stroked his beard and left with his medical kit. Nanny Qin sighed, feeling that nothing was going right.

"Prince, will you go to the front courtyard to rest, or will you make do here?"

Xie Liwei was too tired to go anywhere else. He had Nanny Qin tidy up the daybed and settled for resting there.

Song Yaozhu was in even greater pain during the second half of the night. Caiyin stayed with her, listening to her ask for hot water one moment and a late-night snack the next. The chaos left Xie Liwei with a face as dark as the bottom of a pot the next morning.

That wretched woman had done it on purpose! Did she think that would stop him from coming to rest here in the future?

*Hmph! He hadn't intended to come back anyway!*

The next day, Song Yaozhu slept until the sun was high. She had Nanny Qin send word to the Eldest Madam Song that she was feeling unwell and asked them not to visit.

Who would have thought they would come anyway? Hearing she was ill, they even brought tonics. Song Yaozhu had no choice but to get up and change into her guest attire.

Seeing her pale face—she hadn't even applied makeup—and recalling how she had been disdained by the Prince of Xiaoyao at the palace the day before, Song Wenyue felt a secret thrill.

"Sister, why is your complexion so poor? Is something wrong? Did the Prince make you suffer again?"

Seeing the undisguised gloating on her face, Song Yaozhu feigned sorrow. "Yes, it’s all the Prince's fault. He was so reckless last night that I couldn't get any sleep."

At the doorway, Xie Liwei’s footsteps faltered.

*Who exactly was the one being reckless!*