Chapter 25: 25

The Urgent Request (1)

Chu Ning had just returned to the Palace of Eternal Spring when the maids she left to keep watch gestured to her from afar and pointed to the main house.

The main house was illuminated, and the door was left slightly open. This meant that Xiao Yu was already awake.

Chu Ning walked towards it quickly. The moment she stepped into the main house, she saw that Xiao Yu was dressing after a bath. He looked impatient as he pushed away a maid helping him to fasten his belt, “You clumsy fool. Get out.”

The maid bowed nervously and saw that Chu Ning had returned. She sighed in relief and called out softly, “Crown Princess.”

Chu Ning waved her out while she walked past the screen and into the inner room.

“Ning.” Xiao Yu stopped trying to tie his belt and turned around to look at her. His expression turned gentle but as if he suddenly recalled something, he frowned again. “Where have you been? I couldn’t find you when I woke up.”

He had been resting for the past few days, and his vigor had gradually improved. He now needed less sleep after drinking the medicine. When he woke up, he was unhappy to see that there was no one near his bed.

Chu Ning stopped beside him and gently stroked the back of his hand. Then, she helped him fasten his belt properly.

“I didn’t know you would wake up so soon. I had a little too much during dinner, so I went out for a walk.”

Xiao Yu gazed down at her face. He caressed her face and asked with narrowed eyes, “Where did you go?”

Chu Ning felt her heart skip a beat. She feared that he knew something, so she thought carefully what it could be.

Xiao Kezhi had replaced many servants in Taiji Palace. She believed that none of them would dare to snoop on him. Just now, at the pavilion, only Xiao Kezhi’s trusted servants were there. It was impossible that anyone else was there.

Furthermore, they were now in the Palace of Eternal Spring and not the East Palace. Xiao Yu could not ask someone to keep track of her here. She had also left behind two maids to keep watch, so he couldn’t have discovered what happened.

With this realization, Chu Ning calmed down and said, “I left through Shen Wu Gate and walked along the Thousand Step Corridor to the Scenic Pool.”

Xiao Yu was in deep thoughts for some time before saying cryptically, “You seem to like going to the Scenic Pool.”

Chu Ning deliberately ignored what he implied. She looked down, finished adjusting his belt, and said, “We are in the Palace of Eternal Springs, so the Shen Wu Gate is nearest. If we walk to the west, we will approach the Emperor and the Empress Dowager’s residences. As such, I can only walk towards the Scenic Pool.”

What she said made complete sense and was enough to assuage Xiao Yu’s suspicion.

He looked at his outer ground which was fastened neatly with the belt. He smiled, pulled her into his embrace, and said, “You are the best. Those maids served me for years and still know nothing, but you truly understand what I want.”

Chu Ning leaned into his embrace and said, “It’s all due to your kindness. You never scolded me.”

She knew that this had nothing to do with her understanding his preferences. It was because he was paranoid and was always suspicious of the maids.

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When she had just married him, she remembered a young maid that had served him for more than a year.

Initially, this maid was dutiful, but later, being aware of her own beauty, she gradually sought to gain Xiao Yu’s affection. One day, she hid in the bathhouse and approached him while he was taking a bath.

If it was any other aristocratic young man, they would have been more than happy to go along with her seduction. However, Xiao Yu was an anxious person due to constant pressure from the Empress Dowager. When he saw her attempting to seduce him, he suspected that she was sent by the Empress Dowager. He immediately ordered the guards to drag her out and beat her severely.

As the maid was never sent by anyone, even as she was beaten to the brink of death, she never gave Xiao Yu the answer he wanted.

Chu Ning pitied the maid, so she waited until Xiao Yu calmed down and ordered someone to send the maid away from the palace.

From then on, Xiao Yu was unwilling to let other maids come near him. If Chu Ning was present, she would serve him by herself.

But it wasn’t due to any tremendous love or trust. It was simply because he knew that she had no one else to rely on. He knew that she could only depend on his protection. He also thought that she believed the Empress Dowager killed her father. Thus, he was less suspicious of her.

One night, after he came back from visiting his father in Taiji Palace, he hugged her for a long time and wouldn’t fall asleep.

He said, “Ning, you must listen to me and stay by my side always, alright?”

She forgot how she answered him. She could only remember his bloodshot eyes and his painful grip on her shoulders.

As she thought about the past, she couldn’t help but shiver.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Yu noticed that there was something unusual about her and tilted her chin with his fingers. The candle light shone on her smooth and snow white skin, lending it a faint gleam.

“It’s nothing. I probably caught a chill while I was out,” She forced down her thoughts and answered with a smile.

Xiao Yu grunted in response, and his gaze landed near red lips. He moved closer and kissed her gently.

“You won’t be cold soon.”

He unfastened his recently tied belt and took off his clothes. He also unfastened her mourning clothes.

The room became hot, and the bed that the maid had just tidied was messed up again. Xiao Yu wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed her down. Just as he was about to climb over her, a maid called out carefully from outside the door, “Your Highness, Supervisor Zhao seeks to speak to the Crown Princess about an urgent matter.”

Upon hearing that Zhao Yanzhou wanted to speak to her, Chu Ning made the move to get up.

Zhao Yanzhou was a man with a good sense of propriety. The fact that he wanted to speak to her this late could only mean that there was something urgent.

She had just managed to sit up when a hard push on her shoulder forced her back onto the bed.

“No,” Xiao Yu glared at her coldly.

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