Chapter 254: Just Wanting to Kiss You

Chapter 254: I Just Simply Wanted to Kiss You

The next day, when the first faint glimmer of dawn filtered through the window lattice, Xiao Lingchuan woke up.

The heat and restlessness that had coiled inside him all night had faded. His forearm was wrapped in a neat, clean bandage, the wound clearly having been treated.

His gaze involuntarily moved to the bedside.

Jiang Shuning was lying there, her head pillowed on her arm, sleeping soundly.

It seemed she had stayed up all night to take care of him.

Her long eyelashes cast a faint shadow under her eyelids, her brows slightly furrowed, as if even in sleep she carried a trace of lingering fatigue.

Looking at her defenseless sleeping face, the disappointment and frustration from last night's misunderstanding vanished into thin air.

In its place, an indescribable, tender flutter spread from the deepest part of his heart, rippling outward like spring water.

She really did care about him just like in her past life—otherwise, why would she have stayed up all night to take care of him when he was under the influence of an aphrodisiac?

Thinking this, he couldn't help but get up, lift her entirely into his arms, and tuck her into the blanket.

She was very light, her body incredibly soft, carrying a faint scent of medicinal herbs mixed with her unique fragrance.

Gazing at her sleeping face so close, Xiao Lingchuan could no longer restrain his inner impulse.

He leaned down, his warm lips meeting hers.

The kiss was a mix of tenderness and fervor; his tongue gently yet dominantly traced the shape of her lips, pressing and sucking.

Woken by the intense sensation, Jiang Shuning opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Xiao Lingchuan's enlarged, strikingly handsome face that made her heart race.

She instinctively reached out to push him away, speaking hurriedly, "Your Highness, if the effects haven't completely worn off, I... I can acupuncture you again..."

"It's not the effects," he released her, his gaze so scorching it seemed to burn her, his voice hoarse. "I simply just wanted to kiss you."

Seeing his lips about to descend again, Jiang Shuning quickly blocked him with her hand, whispering in embarrassment, "Your Highness, I... I haven't rinsed my mouth this morning!"

He was a clean freak; this reason should make him stop.

Sure enough, he paused.

He stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable, then unexpectedly let out a low laugh and agreed, "Mm, the Princess Consort is right. Since we haven't rinsed our mouths, of course we can't kiss."

His compliance made Jiang Shuning breathe a sigh of relief, but then she saw his gaze shift, slowly sliding past her jawline, finally landing on her fair, slender neck, which trembled slightly from nerves.

He leaned close to her ear, his scorching breath and mischievous whisper brushing against her sensitive skin.

"...Then I'll just have to kiss here."

Jiang Shuning's body stiffened instantly.

At that moment, she somewhat resented Concubine Wang, who had drugged him.

The bad deed was all Concubine Wang's doing, yet she, an innocent person, had to bear the consequences.

—

News of Wang Bishan being confined to her quarters quickly spread throughout the back courtyard of Prince Jing's mansion.

During the confinement, not only was her allowance halved, but even her daily meals were reduced to plain soup and water.

Concubine Wang, accustomed to a life of luxury, was said to have thrown a massive tantrum in her courtyard, smashing many things.

Meanwhile, in another sunny flower hall, the scene was completely different.

Huo Xianyue picked up a purple grape, slowly peeled off its skin, and sneered without concealment: "Listen to that ruckus—serves her right! She should look at herself in the mirror before using such lowly tricks against His Highness. She's just humiliating herself."

"Exactly!" said Zhao Ruowan, sitting across from her, poking at a plate of cut melon with a small silver fork. "I really don't know how the Wang family raised their daughter. If such a scandal spreads, it will bring shame to the entire aristocratic clan!"

Their words were full of the disdain of noble young ladies for such "base methods."

In the corner, Cui Zhilan, who had been quietly sipping tea, set down her teacup at that moment.

She lifted her eyes, lightly sweeping them over Huo Xianyue and Zhao Ruowan, a faint, ambiguous smile curving her lips. "Why mock Concubine Wang so harshly, elder sisters? In fact, we should thank her."

"Thank her?" Huo Xianyue raised her brows sharply, as if hearing a great joke. "Why should we thank that fool?"

"Indeed," Zhao Ruowan also stopped what she was doing. "What does Concubine Cui mean by that?"

Cui Zhilan gently skimmed the foam with the tea lid, her voice faint. "At the very least, with her stupidity, she has made us all understand one thing: drugging and crawling into bed won't work with His Highness."

As these words fell, the originally light and pleasant atmosphere in the flower hall instantly froze.

The sneers on Huo Xianyue and Zhao Ruowan's faces stiffened, their expressions becoming extremely unnatural.

"Concubine Cui, what... what are you talking about?" Huo Xianyue's voice rose a little, tinged with the anger of having her thoughts exposed. "How could we ever think of such things? Such methods should never be used!"

"Exactly!" Zhao Ruowan also hastily defended herself. "We are upright noble ladies; how could we stoop to such shady brothel tricks?"

Cui Zhilan watched their guilty denials and said nothing more, simply picking up her teacup and silently taking a sip of the warm tea.

Noble ladies?

She sneered inwardly.

If Wang Bishan had actually succeeded last night, today this flower hall wouldn't be filled with such sanctimonious mockery; instead, everyone would be racking their brains to imitate that "base method" more cleverly and seamlessly.

In the end, there are no true noble ladies—they are all just pawns, carefully packaged by their families and sent in to compete for favor.

Never mind drugging and climbing into bed—as long as they can achieve their goals and gain benefits for their families, even if it means walking through mountains of knives and seas of fire, they must charge forward with a smile.

So how could they have any right to mock Wang Bishan?

—

For several days in a row, while tending to the precious flowers and plants in the courtyard, Jiang Shuning could always feel a lingering gaze on her.

She did not make a fuss, nor did she deliberately look for it.

Until today, after pruning the last diseased branch, she slowly put down the silver shears and followed that now-familiar gaze to look over.

Under the moon gate connecting the main courtyard to the garden, a maid with a rather delicate and kind face stood there. Seeing her look over, the maid immediately lowered her head in panic, her eyes timid and uneasy.

Jiang Shuning walked straight over to the maid.

"Which courtyard are you from?" she asked, standing in front of her, her voice calm.

The maid quickly knelt and performed a standard respectful bow. "Answering the Princess Consort, this servant... this servant is a second-grade maid in the main courtyard, named Liu Ye."

"Liu Ye," Jiang Shuning nodded, then waved her hand indifferently. "I understand. You may withdraw."

But Liu Ye suddenly knelt before her with a thud, knocking her head on the ground pitifully: "I beg you, Princess, take pity on me! My term of service in the manor has ended, and my cruel stepmother wants to marry me off to a widower over fifty as his second wife! I truly do not wish to. Please, Your Highness, be merciful and let me continue serving you in the manor! I am willing to work like a dog for you!"

This speech was delivered with such sincerity, tears and all, that anyone else would probably have softened.

But Jiang Shuning merely watched her quietly, watching her shoulders tremble as she knelt on the ground, her gaze unreadable.

After a long pause, she finally spoke slowly, her voice betraying neither joy nor anger: "Get up."

Liu Ye's heart leaped with joy, thinking she had a chance.

But the moment she raised her head, she met eyes so deep they seemed to see right through her.

Jiang Shuning leaned down, drawing close to her, and her words were colder than frozen winter air:

"Staying in the manor is a pretext. What you really want is to attach yourself to me and serve as someone's eyes and ears, isn't it? Tell me, which Secondary Consort is your master?"

The color drained from Liu Ye's face in an instant.

The tears on her lashes seemed frozen, as if they had forgotten to fall, leaving only terror and horror in her eyes.