chapter 48

“Okay.”

Yue Hua’s emotions were complicated. When she turned around to wet the towel, she wiped the tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. Even if Xian Sheng was a man, he grew up pampered. Although Zhan Lue forced him to marry to Jin, he should not have hit Xian Sheng so easily.

She returned quickly and wiped Xian Sheng’s face. When he saw her reddened eyes, he consoled her, “He didn’t hit me, don’t worry.”

“But… He knew?”

“Not so easy,” replied Xian Sheng. “My identity as Liang’s princess is real. He could never imagine that I have been pretending to be a girl ever since I was young. Furthermore, Liang is weak now. Lying to Jin would be tantamount to committing suicide. No matter how you see it, it’s illogical to… Ouch, be lighter! It hurts.”

Yue Hua’s tears almost fell. Even though Xian Sheng said that Zhan Lue did not hit him, the injuries on his face did not lie. Although no one had exposed Zhan Lue yet, he should not be so harsh on his wife.

“I’m sorry for the trouble you have to go through.”

The ointment was very cool and the pain on Xian Sheng’s face subsided significantly. He closed his eyes and did not say anything.

He had indeed gone through a lot of trouble: Emotionally and physically. He probably was going to fall sick soon too.

Xian Sheng did not dare to think about his grievances. Even when he was in a bad mood, he would feel happy when he thought about how his family was still alive and the citizens of Liang were spared from war. He still felt satisfied even if he would never see them again.

After applying the ointment, Xian Sheng asked Yue Hua to look for more breast pads. These pads were gaining popularity amongst the elite, especially amongst the more adventurous men. Some of them had more peculiar tastes, so a new type of pads emerged: In other words, fake breasts.

They felt similar to the real ones by touch and look. The only difference was how to wear it. Yue Hua even went to learn how just for this.

Xian Sheng was initially planning to use it when the temperature got warmer. However, it seemed like he should not wait anymore.

He thought that he must have been lightheaded to talk about a guy pretending to be a girl to Zhan Lue. He might already be suspicious.

The pads were very similar to Xian Sheng’s skin colour—white as jade. However, it still felt uncomfortable on his body and Xian Sheng was too embarrassed to look into the mirror. Hence, he reached out his hand and grabbed his robe.

He had some tailored for him in case of emergencies. These were the smallest pads he had. Actually, they were around the same size as his usual ones. However… If he were to use Zhan Lue’s words… At least they could be squeezed.

He thought helplessly: Perhaps Zhan Lue would like it.

“Princess…” Yue Hua reminded him, “Wear this too.”

“…” Xian Sheng stared at the objects in her hands for a long time before taking them from her silently. He said, “You can leave now.”

In the study room, Zhan Lue was resting his chin on his hand while staring at the plum blossoms in the vase. A thought occupied his mind: What if Xian Sheng was really a man pretending to be a woman?

No matter how he thought of it, something seemed odd.

However, it seemed illogical too.

He lifted his hands and examined them. Although Xian Sheng’s clothes were thick, ‘they’ were indeed very small… But he was certain that ‘they’ existed.

Looks like the pastry is working.

A commotion suddenly happened outside. Lifting his eyes to take a look, he asked, “What happened?”

Gao Xuan replied hurriedly, “A palace maid spilt hot water over accidentally.”

“Did she get burnt?”

“Her clothes were thick so she should be fine.” Gao Xuan then said to the palace maid, “Go back and change your clothes. Ask someone else to send the water over.”

The palace maid thanked them from outside. Zhan Lue suddenly thought of something and strode out briskly. He asked, “Is the hot water for the princess?”

“Yes.”

Zhan Lue’s eyes glinted. He gestured at Gao Xuan to come over and whispered something in his ear. Gao Xuan was stunned for a while before acting on his orders immediately.

Xian Sheng was still brushing his hair in front of the mirror.

The winter in Northern Jin was freezing. To minimise the risks of him getting a cold, he would not bathe daily. However, as he was used to being clean, he would still bathe once every two days. He would choose days when Zhan Lue was not at home and would always bathe in the bathtub.

But today was different. He must let Zhan Lue forget what he said in the carriage.

The palace maid supposed to bring the hot water still had not come after a long time. However, someone reported to him, “Someone spilt the hot water and it’ll take a long time before the next bucket of hot water can be boiled. However, the Crown Prince said that he wanted to shower when he comes back, so we prepared a private onsen for him. Do you want to bathe there?”