However, infatuation is one thing; physical intimacy is another.
Unlike last time, they did not go all the way. Even though he was far more cooperative than before, she remained as gentle and persistent as a spring drizzle, teasing him until he was in a state of utter disarray. Then, she simply rolled over and drifted off to sleep. When he tried to nudge her, she didn't like it; she found him troublesome, wrapped herself in the quilt, and tried to edge away.
Yin Xun was truly incensed to the point of laughter. But he couldn't bring himself to leave in a huff, so he could only aggrievedly pull her into his arms, pressing his entire body against hers. Although he was the one with the larger frame and greater stature, beside her, he still looked like a fragile creature seeking shelter.
***
Ming Li slept until dawn the next day, then woke up hungry.
The person beside her was still pressed against her, bare-skinned and sleeping soundly. But the moment she moved, he opened his eyes and began to mumble, snuggling even closer to her.
Ming Li decided to kiss him awake.
That wasn't her first thought, actually, but to simply push him off or shake him awake felt a bit heartless—a bit scummy. In the end, she chose the gentler route: kissing him until he could no longer stay asleep.
Yin Xun, who already struggled with poor sleep, felt aggrieved.
Dissatisfaction aside, he was eventually roused. He called for the night watch to summon the cook, then watched as his wife put on her clothes one by one. After finishing her own, she helped him with his, even the undergarments, her movements practiced and intimate.
"Madam, have you dressed many men before?" Yin Xun’s sense of grievance flared up again, and he looked at her with damp eyes.
Ming Li shook her head. "No. I only wore clothes like these when I practiced martial arts; they’re easier to move in."
"Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
He didn't know if he was asking about the clothes or something else. She blushed and shook her head. For a moment, there was a sense of a long-married couple between them, and the lingering resentment from his unfulfilled desires dissipated quite a bit.
Afterward, Xing'er came to knock on the door to prepare water for washing.
While eating breakfast, Yin Xun remembered the favor he had spent all night begging for. He picked up a few grains of rice with his chopsticks, but paused before bringing them to his lips. "Madam."
Ming Li looked up and, seeing him picking at his food like a cat, used the serving chopsticks to place a few more portions into his bowl. "What is it? Not to your taste?"
Yin Xun shook his head. He wasn't picky, but, "Madam promised me yesterday that you would allow me to move back to the main courtyard."
He kept his voice intentionally low, sounding so sincere that it was impossible to refuse.
Did she?
To be honest, Ming Li couldn't remember.
But if she had said it, she had said it. She had originally moved him out of the courtyard to make it easier for him to meet people; since he wanted to move back, he could. "You can move back anytime."
Seeing that she clearly didn't remember, he probed further. "Then does Madam also remember that my hands and feet were cold, and you said you would warm them for me every day..."
Ming Li looked at the man sitting opposite her with his earnest expression and remained silent for a moment. "That is fine, too."
*So, did I actually say that?*
Divine Stone: "I can't see, I'm sorry, I don't know."
*Well, I must have said it then.*
It wouldn't be strange for someone in a sleepy haze to say or do anything, since her consciousness hadn't been fully online. Yin Xun was both annoyed and amused. Since this worked out in his favor, he certainly wasn't going to dismantle his own claim, though he did gain a new appreciation for this woman's skill at bluffing.
What did displease Ming Li, however, was that the man across from her stopped eating after only a few bites. Recalling his lean, bony frame, she barely thought twice before demanding, "Eat more. Put on some weight."
He remembered her hands often lingering on his protruding joints; perhaps it wasn't that she liked them, but that she disliked them. He paused for a moment, then picked up his bowl and chopsticks again, obediently eating with her.
Only when she finished did he set his bowl down and ask carefully, "Shall I have my things moved back, then?"
"Mm." Ming Li waved her hand and went out.
She had slept well last night, so today she could afford to slack off. A mortal's life really was rich and colorful.
Since the hunting incident, it was rare for Princess Mingyue to receive an active invitation from Ming Li. She lost no time in gathering a group of friends, though this time it wasn't to visit a flower house, but to take her favored handsome men out for horse racing.
Ming Li didn't want to bring any of those so-called handsome men. She just wanted to ride, and having people around was a nuisance. Naturally, she took first place.
Then, she was subjected to a thorough scolding from Princess Mingyue. "I actually thought that after you finished hanging yourself on that tree called the Crown Prince, you’d change your ways! How are you still such a wooden stake with no interest in romance!"
"Racing, racing, all you know is racing! Why don't you just marry the horse!" Princess Mingyue ground her teeth. As a veteran of the romantic scene who could walk through a garden of flowers without a single petal sticking to her, how did she end up with such a dense friend?
Ming Li let it go in one ear and out the other. Only when the princess finished scolding did she wave a hand. "Let's go riding again next time!"
Princess Mingyue: *Go to hell!*
Yet, a carefree spirit must pay the price for their freedom. Like someone who was married, returning home after a day of fun inevitably meant running into a security check.
He was pitiful, hesitant, and constantly on the verge of speaking. In the end, he only dared to linger around her expectantly when it was time for bed, kissing her and clinging to her without resistance, his desire to please plain for all to see.
Yin Xun was not the type of person who should act like this.
Unable to stand the fuss, Ming Li decided to get to the bottom of it. "Does Your Highness have something you want?"
Realizing he had been too forward, Yin Xun blushed, his fingers tightening uneasily as he gripped her shoulders. "It is nothing. It is just that you always go to those pleasure quarters, and I have no way to restrict you, so..."
So he could only resort to unconventional methods.
He seemed to despise himself for it, yet he confessed it honestly. That shy, restrained expression of his—one had to admit, this man possessed a real talent for tugging at the heartstrings. Frivolous yet youthful, restrained yet alluring; he looked nothing like a prince.
She wondered where he had learned such things.
Ming Li sighed.
Yin Xun grew anxious, pressing his face against hers and asking cautiously, "Does Madam not like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it." It was just ridiculous.
But looking at those tear-filled eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say the second half of that sentence. She gave two dry coughs and said, "I like it quite a bit."