Chapter 65: Sweet Talk

Chapter 65: Sweet Talk

The next day, when Liu Yun woke up feeling sore all over, especially the discomfort between her legs, she could guess what had happened even though she couldn't quite recall the events of the previous night.

As expected, Xiao Hang had taken advantage of her drunken state to have his way with her again, apparently in the hot spring pool.

The warm water that had repeatedly lapped against her skin, the damp mist, and her heavy, wet eyelashes.

She had nearly drowned, only to be revived again and again.

Over and over, wearing her out.

As bits of memory came back, the discomfort Liu Yun felt grew stronger with each thought.

It was as if she had returned to last night, bobbing up and down in the water.

In annoyance, she grabbed the little pink pig plushie by her bedside and just used it as a stand-in for Xiao Hang, whaling on it with her fists.

"Pervert! He won't even leave me alone when I'm drunk!"

Tired from all that hitting, she lay back down, panting, trying to settle her nerves.

As for that pervert, he'd naturally gotten up early to attend the morning court session.

He'd gotten pretty good at it—every morning he could slip out without a peep, unless he deliberately wanted her to know.

Empress Wen died young, and Empress Dowager He was a quiet soul who didn't like being bothered, so Liu Yun had no worries about paying her respects in the morning or evening. As long as Xiao Hang didn't pull any stunts in the morning, Liu Yun could take her mornings easy.

After a warm bowl of yam and chicken congee, Liu Yun took her time making the handwritten flower notes for her new storybook.

Every time she put out a new storybook, she would prepare fifty handwritten flower notes as freebies for the first fifty buyers.

This task wasn't too hard, but it wasn't easy either—it was fiddly and detail-oriented, requiring patience and care from the maker.

The first step was to get at least fifty sheets of Chengxin paper ready and paint a delicate, dewy apricot blossom on each one.

To make the paper smell nice, the paint was made with concentrated apricot blossom dew, so every stroke filled the air with the scent of apricot blossoms.

The ink, made from apricot blossom dew, soaked into the paper, giving off a lovely fragrance.

After painting the blossoms and letting them dry out of the sun, she would write the name "Feiyun" on top in gold sand ink.

This step looked simple, but it was super easy to mess up the notes.

If a stroke was off, or the ink was too dark or too light, Liu Yun would get all bothered and start over.

They didn't have to be exact, just close enough.

The last step was the easiest—stamping her personal seal on all fifty handwritten notes.

At first, Liu Yun felt a little shy about this little seal, but over time it just made her proud and happy.

So she wasn't so plain and ordinary after all.

At least other ladies couldn't write storybooks. Not only could she write them, but she'd won over so many ladies—wasn't that something to be proud of?

Liu Yun was feeling light and happy, and her brush moved smoothly without stopping. Before she knew it, she'd finished five apricot blossom notes.

The air was full of a fresh scent that just soaked into you.

When she was doing something she loved, Liu Yun easily lost track of time—until Jin He came in to say Xiao Hang was back. Only then did she slow her movements and stretch her body.

The thick felt curtain was pushed aside, and before any cold air could get in, it was quickly dropped back down.

Xiao Hang came in smiling, heading straight for the desk where Liu Yun was working.

"What's the Crown Princess up to now? Let me take a look."

As she got closer to Xiao Hang, Liu Yun's perception of him gradually changed.

She used to think that Xiao Hang, as the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, had to keep up a certain dignity in front of others, so he rarely smiled and would often put on a stern face to scare people.

Not just Liu Yun—the whole court was scared of him too.

Now, however, her view had changed.

It wasn't that he didn't like to smile—he just didn't smile in front of others.

Take now, for example: he could be described as grinning cheekily, speaking without any proper decorum.

When he got casual, he would call out whatever came to mind, not caring how the Eastern Palace servants might privately laugh at them.

"Just some little trinkets, nothing much."

In one morning, Liu Yun had already completed most of the work. After a nap and another busy afternoon, she would finish without a doubt.

Seeing Xiao Hang come over to look, Liu Yun didn't bother hiding anything—after all, he already knew about her storybook writing, so what was there to hide?

Xiao Hang made himself at home, picking up a dried apricot blossom note and examining it with great interest, asking with a smile, "Did the Crown Princess paint this?"

Hearing his unserious tone again, Liu Yun shot him a glare and hummed in acknowledgment, with a hint of impatience.

Xiao Hang didn't mind. Looking at the apricot blossom note, he praised, "They say the Third Miss of the Fan family excels at painting, but I think the Crown Princess is no less skilled. Looking at this spring apricot, it's so lifelike—a whole page of fragrance, capturing all the spring scenery. Even real flowers would pale in comparison!"

Xiao Hang could say such things, but Liu Yun felt too embarrassed to accept them.

She only painted flowers, grass, and little animals as a pastime—nothing compared to true masters of painting. Xiao Hang's praise made Liu Yun unable to accept it with a straight face, and she could only say in shame, "Stop talking nonsense. These are just random little things I drew; they're not worth much."

In Xiao Hang's eyes, his Yunniang was far too modest. To him, she was clearly charming and beautiful.

His expression shifted slightly, and he said with full seriousness, "I'm not talking nonsense. I think this spring apricot is beautifully painted—even the finest national painter wouldn't produce something as pleasing to the eye as the Crown Princess's work."

Liu Yun was flustered by the praise, not knowing what to say. Her cheeks flushed red, and she only whispered for him to stop flattering her so excessively.

Xiao Hang pressed his advantage, holding out the floral note and asking, "I've taken a liking to this design. I find it delightful. Would the Crown Princess have time to make a sachet like this for me?"

It wasn't just because she felt soft from his sweet words—after being praised so effusively by Xiao Hang, Liu Yun couldn't bring herself to say anything to dampen the mood.

It was just a sachet; making it wouldn't be a big deal.

So, blushing, Liu Yun hummed in agreement and replied, "Alright, but it'll take a few days. I have some other things to attend to right now."

Having achieved his goal, Xiao Hang was thoroughly satisfied and didn't mind the delay. He said cheerfully, "Then don't keep working—let's have lunch."

Xiao Hang didn't find it troublesome at all. He made a special trip back every day for lunch before rushing off again.

Liu Yun thought that if it were her, she wouldn't go through all that trouble—why not just eat there?

He was the Crown Prince; the food there couldn't possibly be bad.

She wasn't like her father, who was a picky gourmand and often complained that the food at the government office was hard to swallow compared to home cooking.

It was only after she became the Crown Princess that her father ate much better, though he still grumbled from time to time.

Thinking of her father, Liu Yun immediately called for Jin He to pick out some of her father's favorite dishes from the kitchen and send them to the office, before she finally sat down to eat.

"Yunniang truly dotes on your father—you think of him at every meal."

Just as she'd stuffed a mouthful of rice into her mouth, Liu Yun heard Xiao Hang remark dryly from beside her.

He's her father—surely Xiao Hang couldn't be jealous?

Liu Yun said flatly, a hint of doubt in her voice, "He's my father—is there a problem?"

Xiao Hang laughed and said, "No problem. It's just that I'm your husband—we're family too—but I don't see you worrying about my meals."

With that, Xiao Hang stared at Liu Yun, his eyes full of hope.

Liu Yun found this funny and said, "Who would feed our Crown Prince slop? What do I have to worry about when it comes to your meals?"

Her retort left Xiao Hang speechless, and he sighed dramatically for a while, as if Liu Yun had said something hurtful.

Liu Yun found Xiao Hang harder and harder to understand.

To lighten the mood, Liu Yun dutifully picked out a few of his favorite dishes and put them on his plate, finally coaxing a smile out of him.

Sometimes Liu Yun thought Xiao Hang was a real piece of work.

After a pleasant lunch, Xiao Hang rushed off again.

Before leaving, he took advantage of the empty bedchamber, pulled her close, and kissed her for a long time.

After Xiao Hang left, Liu Yun sat there for a while, her legs like jelly, before she recovered.

Just like a dog!

Touching her slightly swollen lips, Liu Yun cursed under her breath.

After a brief rest, Liu Yun threw herself back into making the apricot blossom paper. Though a bit tired, she managed to finish it all before dusk.

It wasn't really hard work, but for some reason she felt incredibly sleepy, even thinking about skipping dinner and going straight to bed.

Over the next two days, Liu Yun took her time signing each piece, making sure every stroke was just right.

On the third day, the final step was stamping her personal seal on each sheet.

With each stamp, Liu Yun felt a swell of pride and joy.

Even though her hand got a bit sore, she refused help, stamping each one with genuine enthusiasm.

Before Xiao Hang came back, Liu Yun organized the fifty sheets and carefully placed them in a sandalwood box, ready for Jin He to send out in a few days.

But at dinner, Xiao Hang, for no apparent reason, insisted on "admiring" her flower paper.

"Didn't you already see it the day before yesterday? It's about the same—nothing special."

Her refusal was obvious, but Xiao Hang pretended not to get it and kept insisting.

Liu Yun didn't really want to show him—after all, the paper had more than just apricot blossoms on it.

He noticed her reluctance, and just as Liu Yun expected him to sulk or throw a fit, he lowered his eyes with a dejected look and said, "We've been married over a month now. They say a day as husband and wife creates a hundred days of love, yet you're so cold to me..."

With that, Xiao Hang turned away and sighed, making Liu Yun's head throb.

Unable to stand Xiao Hang putting on such a show, Liu Yun gave in.

"Fine, fine, I'll show you, alright?"

She shot Jin He a look, and Jin He, barely suppressing a laugh, went to get the sandalwood box.

When the flower paper was back in his hands, Xiao Hang's eyes flickered.

The Eastern Palace had eyes and ears everywhere—how could they not know about his Crown Princess's little hobbies?

He just wanted to hear Yunniang say it herself.

His gaze swept past the name "Feiyun" and finally landed on that small red seal imprint.

He pointed at it and asked with a grin, "You even had a seal made? I didn't know you had such big ambitions, Yunniang!"

At that, Liu Yun was mortified, her face turning bright red as she mumbled, "It's just a little thing, stamped for fun—don't make fun of me."

Xiao Hang could barely keep from laughing, but once he stopped, he asked, "Can I see the seal?"

He'd already seen everything—what difference did one seal make?

She shot Jin He another look, and the small copper seal was brought over.

Xiao Hang twirled it between his fingers and said, surprised, "Copper?"

As if he couldn't believe a delicate young lady like Yunniang would pick such a lump of copper.

Liu Yun knew exactly what he was thinking and said huffily, "Does the Crown Prince not know that seals can't just be carved willy-nilly? And this is for my storybooks—I'm lucky I even got a copper one."

Liu Yun's voice trailed off, her expression sheepish.

Ordinary seals were only for officials or the government—this little copper lump had taken real effort to get!

Hearing this, Xiao Hang smiled and said seriously, "Don't misunderstand me—I just thought this copper lump doesn't suit you. With your status, a seal should be made of fine jade."

His words made her a little embarrassed, but Liu Yun felt oddly pleased.

She would naturally love a jade seal!

Author's note:

New chapter!

The company swapped my small laptop for a big monitor, and now I'm getting radiated left and right—my whole body feels hot and restless.