Shu Nuan was astonished. She raised her small ruddy face and saw Sheng Qianmo’s face plastered with a smile and eyes looking at her. Shu Nuan bit her lip to summon some courage, and then bent down toward Sheng Qianmo, kissing him on the face. She was quick to hide her flushed face within her arms, and didn’t dare not move.
Her soft and delicate lips had touched his cheeks. And despite it being a simple kiss, it had swept away all of Sheng Qianmo’s tiredness. His lips rose up in satisfaction as he held her petite frame and went to sleep.
***
Meanwhile, Sheng Gu had been recuperating in the Jade Garden for the past two days. During that time, she had heard the news that the slave girl in Sheng Courtyard could now visit her Fourth Uncle’s library freely.
“Princess, will you let that little slave act however she pleases? Even when you want to enter the ShengHe Library, you need permission from the Prince. But that slave can now enter and leave the library as if it was her own backyard…” Ah’Bi could not help but feel remorse for Sheng Gu.
For Prince Sheng to favor a slave wasn’t abnormal. However, letting the slave enter his library was another matter altogether.
Sheng Qianmo was a powerful figure of the Beiguo Kingdom. Yet he casually let a slave enter his library. What if she caught a glimpse of any military secrets? The most important thing was that Shu Nuan was a former princess of the Qing Kingdom. Who could guarantee that she was not a spy?
Sheng Gu was sitting on a swing in her yard, basking under the sun with her head down. She took a medicine bowl from Ah’Bi and drank from it, and then returning it. She sighed with disappointment, “It seems like Fourth Uncle likes her very much.”
Ah’Bi suggested, “What your servant was trying to say is… Even if you can’t talk to the Prince about this matter, there is no reason to hold back on teaching that slave some manners. Otherwise, wouldn’t she one day take Your Highness’s name in vain?”
Sheng Gu frowned slightly and raised her head to look thoughtfully at the maid.
***
Shu Nuan had been sitting on a chair, engrossed in a book, when she heard a sudden knock on the door. Assuming that Sheng Qianmo had come back early, she put down the book and opened the door. However, she was stunned when she saw the person beyond the doorway.
It was Sheng Gu.
Shu Nuan bowed her head slightly, and greeted, “This humble slave pays her respects to Princess Gu.”
Sheng Gu saw her blocking the door and coughed softly, “May I come in?”
Shu Nuan didn’t know if it was alright for her to come into the library. After all, Sheng Qianmo hadn’t said anything about it. But before she could respond, Sheng Gu simply headed inside.
A bunch of grapes, with signs of having been eaten from, lay on the table next to several books and scrolls. One of the books was lying open.
“Are you reading in here?” Sheng Gu said, as she picked up the open book and leafed through it.
Shu Nuan nodded her head.
Sheng Gu looked up at her again, lifted her hand to cover her nose and mouth, and then coughed twice. She spoke in dull tone, “Can you make me a cup of cinnamon tea?”
Shu Nuan nodded and said, “Princess, please wait. It’ll be just a moment.”
Sheng Gu had secretly been waiting for Shu Nuan to go out. At that point, she walked to the the book cabinet behind the screen, pulled the bottom grid open, and took out a letter. After reading it carefully for a while, she became sure that it was the letter she was looking for. Then she closed the grid again, walked out of the screen, and put the letter within the pages of the book Shu Nuan had been reading.[1]
When Shu Nuan came back, she poured the princess a cup of tea and, offering it to her, said, “Princess, here you go.”
Sheng Gu had assumed that after being doted on by her Fourth Uncle, the slave would have become a snob. But it seemed that she was still quite modest.
Sheng Gu sat down with her gaze lowered as she sipped from the cup. She remembered something, and asked casually, “I heard you used to work in the backyard doing some embroidery?”