"Miss." Qing glaze came in and called Su Mo'er, "The water is ready. You can take a bath now."
Su Mo'er responded, and then came out, wrapped up tightly. Seeing this, Qing glaze looked worried and asked, "Miss, don’t you want me to serve you while bathing?"
"No need." She thought about the marks all over her body and couldn't bear to expose them in front of others, so she quickly shook her head and said, "Don’t worry, when I didn’t come to the prefectural office in the past, no one served me at home either, and I managed just fine."
Unable to persuade her, Qing glaze could only nod and say, "Very well, Miss. I will be outside, guarding. If you need anything, just call me."
Su Mo'er smiled and agreed. After Qing glaze left, she relaxed, then undressed by herself and stepped into the tub.
...
After Qing glaze came out, she prepared to close the door quietly, but Zhao Jinghuan’s figure arrived gracefully. Startled, Qing glaze was about to bow, when the prince raised his hand in a gesture for silence and asked quietly, "Where is she?"
Nervous, Qing glaze hastily replied, "Miss is inside. She asked me to come out first."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jinghuan nodded and said, "Wait outside the door."
As he entered the room, the palace eunuch who followed him immediately stood by the side. Seeing Qing glaze still standing there, he scolded her lightly, "You silly girl, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and close the door."
"Oh, I, I..." Qing glaze realized and closed the door quietly. The palace eunuch glanced inside and asked her quietly, "What is my mistress doing inside?"
After a moment of thought, Qing glaze's face turned pale, "Oh no!"
The palace eunuch was also startled, "What’s wrong?"
"My mistress is bathing inside..."
Hearing this, the palace eunuch breathed a sigh of relief, "Calm down, you're making a fuss over nothing. What kind of person are you!"
Ashen-faced, Qing glaze replied anxiously, "But my mistress is shy. She doesn't even want me to serve her. Now a man has entered..."
"You're being dense!" The palace eunuch rolled his eyes, "Are you and the prince the same? Who is the prince? They have already been intimate, why would they still care about such things?"
Realizing this, Qing glaze was a bit confused.
...
Zhao Jinghuan entered the room and found it quiet, which puzzled him. However, upon entering the inner room, he heard the sound of water and headed in that direction.
Thinking it was Qing glaze returning, Su Mo'er said, "Didn’t I tell you to wait outside? I can bathe myself."
As she turned around, she came face to face with Zhao Jinghuan, and they both froze momentarily, then reacted with surprise coincidentally.
Zhao Jinghuan quickly turned around, "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were bathing..."
Tucked inside the water, Su Mo'er only showed her head and stammered, "Y-your Highness, why did you come..."
"I heard that you woke up, so I came to check on you. I didn't expect this misunderstanding," Zhao Jinghuan said.
Blushing, Su Mo'er replied, "No, no, Your Highness, there’s no need to blame yourself. It’s just my overreaction."
Coughing, Zhao Jinghuan asked, "Why are you bathing alone without a maid to attend to you?"
Su Mo'er's voice lowered, "I... I'm sorry."
Hearing her words, Zhao Jinghuan suddenly remembered the marks on her body that he noticed earlier. He understood what had happened, feeling somewhat guilty, "I'm sorry for last night..."
"Your Highness, please don’t apologize. Everything was my own choice, you did nothing wrong," Su Mo'er said, afraid of hearing anything that would break her heart.
Staring at Zhao Jinghuan's back, she felt uneasy.
She completely misunderstood Zhao Jinghuan, who was actually feeling genuinely sorry. Both sides experienced their first time last night, lacking experience and leaving him feeling sorry for Su Mo'er.
He knew that he should have been gentle and considerate. However, in the heat of last night, he was so engrossed in pleasure that he didn't have the presence of mind for anything else.
After hearing Su Mo'er's words, he paused for a while before tentatively asking, "If you don't mind, may I help you..."
"No! No!" Su Mo'er became more flustered upon hearing this, "Your Highness, please don't misunderstand. I can handle it myself. You are very important and busy, how can you worry about such a minor issue..."
As she spoke, her voice became smoother and more gentle, "After all, I will be done with my bath soon. Your Highness, please wait outside, and I will come out to greet you."
Hearing this, Zhao Jinghuan also felt relieved.
He regretted saying what he did earlier, as his thoughts were filled with the images of last night's unforgettable moments with Su Mo'er and the sensations he experienced. Just imagining it made him feel flushed.
If he had really said what he initially intended, he feared that he wouldn't be able to control himself. If it turned into a public scandal, it would be ridiculous.
After Su Mo'er's words, he no longer insisted and gently coughed, "Very well, I’ll leave."
After his figure disappeared from view, Su Mo'er finally relaxed, her tense heart finally calming down.
"Fortunately, fortunately..." she murmured two sentences, thinking about the scene just now, unable to help feeling both shocked and happy, wanting to scream out, but ultimately could only clench her fists, excitedly twisting her body, burying her flushed cheeks in the warm water and emitting a silent scream.
Thinking that Zhao Jinghuan was still waiting outside, she also quickened her pace, quickly finishing washing up, then called for Qingyu to come in and dry her hair, apply ointment, change clothes and do her makeup before going out to find the prince.
Li Gonggong was waiting outside and when he saw her, he smiled even more warmly than usual and approached, saying, "Miss Su, let the slave accompany you, His Highness is waiting."
"Thank you, Li Gonggong.” Su Mo'er could not put on airs in front of him and treated him the same as always, not becoming more aloof because she had served his bed and not becoming more enthusiastic either.
This attitude made Li Gonggong nod in secret praise.
When she saw Zhao Jinghuan again, Su Mo'er hurriedly greeted him, "This lady greets Your Highness."
"Here you are." Seeing her there, Zhao Jinghuan remained composed and said, "Take a seat, have you eaten?"
Just as Su Mo'er sat down, she heard him ask, so she quickly shook her head, somewhat embarrassed as she said, "I overslept and just got up."
"Very well." The prince gestured to Li Gonggong, "Then have the meal with me."
Upon hearing this, Su Mo'er immediately understood what was happening.
She had just gotten up, and the prince had rushed over, deliberately having the meal together, this thoughtful attention made her feel a hint of sweetness in her heart.
But immediately after, she thought of the last time she had eaten with Zhao Jinghuan and couldn't help but feel a headache.
However, before she could come up with a way to refuse, Li Gonggong had already clapped his hands, and the maidservants had entered with delicious dishes one after another.
Once the dishes were placed on the table, Su Mo'er could not bring herself to refuse.
After all, most of the dishes on the table were ones she loved to eat.
She refused to eat, but after seeing the variety of dishes on the table, most of which she loved, she couldn't believe they hadn't been deliberately prepared for her.
Helplessly, she had to have the meal with the prince, but she had been tired last night and had gotten up late today, so she didn't have much of an appetite and ended up eating very little.
Zhao Jinghuan could naturally see this and asked, "What? Not to your taste?"
Su Mo'er hastened to deny it, hesitantly, not knowing what to say.
The prince glanced at her, paused, thought for a moment, then put down his chopsticks and personally scooped a bowl of vegetable porridge and handed it to Su Mo'er, "You missed breakfast, so you must be feeling uncomfortable. Don't force yourself, have some porridge." He pushed pickled vegetables and sour cabbage towards her, "Have some of this to whet your appetite, it should make you feel better."
Upon hearing this, Su Mo'er sighed with relief and was deeply moved.
She looked at Zhao Jinghuan, "Your Highness..."
Zhao Jinghuan rapped the table, "Eat first."
"..." Su Mo'er had no choice but to stop.
The two of them finished their meal in this way before receiving the maidservants' service to rinse their mouths.
Zhao Jinghuan then glanced at Su Mo'er, "Not bad, a little more than last time.”
Su Mo'er blushed and flattered softly, "The meals here are delicious, Your Highness."
If Zhao Jinghuan really intended to keep her, hence, he asked, "Would you like to come with me and be my woman from now on when I return to the capital, from now on?"
Upon hearing this, Su Mo'er was stunned for a moment, and it took her a while to come back to her senses.
The realization of a long-awaited wish, once fulfilled, gave her a somewhat unreal feeling.
She subconsciously asked, "Your Highness... Is what you said true?"
Zhao Jinghuan raised his eyebrows, "Do you think I'm joking with you?"
"No, no, no!" Su Mo'er felt that the excitement and agitation were real, the long-held breath that hung over her chest for so long finally relaxed as if a drowning person had been rescued, and her body involuntarily softened slightly, her eyes instantly becoming red, continuously nodding, "Your Highness, I'm willing, I'm willing!"
...