Chapter 38 (Revised) I Won’t Take Advantage While He’s Unconscious…
She didn’t care what his reaction or thoughts might be. Zhao Rongzhang stopped looking at him, stood up, stretched her waist, twisted her shoulders, and loosened her limbs.
Little Mute finished eating, and Zhao Rongzhang went to take a bath. When she came out, the medicine had been brewed and brought in. The maids were adept at reading the room—they left two lamps, retreated backward, and gently closed the door tightly.
Zhao Rongzhang ordered Little Mute to bathe.
The relationship between them, their way of interacting, never changed because of their environment. Whether in the Princess’s Mansion, Lingxiao Hall, the dirty wilderness, or an inn, it was always her giving commands and him obeying. She sat to the side watching, telling Little Mute to undress.
After Little Mute finished bathing, he stepped out dripping wet. Zhao Rongzhang saw him looking at her expectantly and chuckled softly, “Waiting for me to sleep with you?”
Little Mute remained expressionless. When the Princess made him bathe without reason, it was always to sleep with him—without exception. But since the Princess said it like that, she probably didn’t intend to. He took a towel and carefully dried himself from head to toe, then picked up his clothes to put them on.
When he reached the undergarment trousers, the Princess interrupted, “That’s enough.”
Guan Xuan held the remaining clothes, lifted his gaze to look at the Princess. The Princess leisurely admired him, casually pointing to the bed nearby, “Drink the medicine, then lie down and sleep.”
Little Mute’s long fingers gripping the clothes tightened slightly. After a brief hesitation, he still gestured to her, “Must, protect the Princess.”
As a Shadow Guard, he should always remain alert—he couldn’t sleep, much less lose consciousness. Why was the Princess making him drink this and lie down in her bed curtains?
Zhao Rongzhang smiled playfully, ignoring him, “Go drink it.”
Little Mute refolded the clothes neatly, went over, and drank the medicine. Zhao Rongzhang stood up, watching him approach the bed with unusual awkwardness, as if stepping into an utterly unfamiliar place. His eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly, his back stiff as he settled onto the bed.
He lay far inside, afraid his large frame took up too much space, his arms pressed tightly against his sides, muscles bulging. Zhao Rongzhang stood by the bed, hands behind her back, watching.
Little Mute’s eyelashes were half-lowered. The Princess’s shadow fell over him; when he lifted his gaze, his eyes met her deep, unfathomable ones. Little Mute lowered his eyes, and the Princess let out a soft laugh from her throat.
Did she dislike him more, or did she like his body more?
Guan Xuan had no time to figure it out. The medicine’s effect came fast and fierce again. Struggling to keep his eyes open, all he saw were overlapping shadows of the Princess. These layered shadows turned and stepped away from his sight. Guan Xuan suddenly felt helpless. Whenever his body lost control, this helplessness was like a reckless beast, crashing aimlessly, scattering his consciousness. He tried to turn his eyes to search for her figure, but his eyelids grew heavier, as if weighed down by a thousand-pound cauldron. Before he could find her, the cauldron pressed down completely, plunging his consciousness into utter darkness.
The youth’s eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly about to take flight. Zhao Rongzhang turned away to drink a cup of cold tea to moisten her throat. When she turned back, Little Mute was already fully asleep, his eyelashes occasionally still twitching, his breathing completely even.
Under the strong effects of the medicine, Little Mute had fallen into a deep sleep, all his skin and hair showing a more genuine state of relaxation.
It meant he had been tense right up until he fell asleep. Amusing—what was he nervous about? Even if she were going to sleep with him, it wasn’t the first time.
Zhao Rongzhang was eager to try again, hoping to see that blank cat face once more lose all restraint and reveal its most genuine expressions. Seductive, wanton, adorable, beautiful.
Her mouth was cooled and moistened by that sip of cold tea. Starting from the full lips, she kissed her way up to his neck.
The youth’s breathing soon changed, and with it, the color of his skin. In the dim candlelight, his beautiful body glistened faintly with a moist sheen, suffused with the fragrance of tea.
Clouds drifted, now obscuring, now revealing the moonlight.
The bed fell silent, the candle burned down to its end, and the light grew unbearably dim. Zhao Rongzhang lay sprawled on that soft, broad chest, catching her breath, so exhausted she wanted to fall asleep right there. Drenched and slick, she spread her legs and moved off his waist and abdomen.
The Princess had witnessed much filth and hardship in the mortal world she had never encountered before, and when utterly exhausted and weary, she abandoned all refinement. After finishing, she didn’t even wash, simply embracing the cat and falling asleep.
As dawn broke, the effects of the medicine wore off, and Guan Xuan gradually awoke. His hands and body felt heavy.
He lowered his gaze and saw the Princess’s arm resting on his wrist. Turning his head slightly, he caught sight of her chest and the side of her neck. His knees were stiff—it turned out one of the Princess’s legs was loosely pressing down on them.
He had actually been held in the Princess’s arms all night.
No wonder the Princess had tied him up that day. He must have clung to her, begging to be held after losing consciousness. Guan Xuan couldn’t imagine anything more humiliating than discovering he had shamelessly begged the Princess to take him.
Guan Xuan curled his fingers, wanting to hide his face, but he couldn’t move. Before he could even consider whether to pretend to be asleep, the Princess woke up, scratching his chest and lazily pushing him with her arm.
“It’s so hot.”
Zhao Rongzhang sat up, rubbed her eyes, and instinctively reached for the bell beside her. Not finding it, she remembered this was neither the Princess’s Mansion nor Lingxiao Hall. She called out to the maids outside to prepare water for washing.
Turning her head, she saw the cat sitting up beside her, his dark hair cascading around him. Zhao Rongzhang smiled faintly and paid him no mind.
With outsiders about to enter, the cat hurriedly dressed, only to find his Undergarment Trousers mostly damp. Guan Xuan clutched the hem of his clothes, utterly unable to imagine how wanton he must have been the night before.
Zhao Rongzhang leaned against the table, watching the cat with leisurely amusement. But as she watched, her thoughts suddenly froze.
How long had it been since the cat last drank the sterility decoction?
Zhao Rongzhang’s mind went blank for a moment. During these days of exile, the medicine’s effects must have long worn off.
She inwardly resented it. If it couldn’t permanently and thoroughly prevent conception, why call it a sterility decoction?
Zhao Rongzhang hastily called for someone to attend to her washing, then sent Shuang An to fetch a doctor. Shuang An was very worried, fearing she might be unwell, but Zhao Rongzhang bluntly told the truth: “I have no plans for children and don’t want to get pregnant, but it’s been many days since I last gave him the sterility decoction.”
The doctor was summoned, and all unnecessary personnel withdrew to the courtyard. The doctor bowed behind the curtain, requesting to perform pulse diagnosis with a suspended thread. Upon hearing the aged voice from behind the curtain, Zhao Rongzhang felt a strange unease. She stood up, walked closer, and swept the curtain aside.
An elderly man with a long beard was bent over, organizing his medicine chest. Zhao Rongzhang frowned and stepped forward. “It’s you.”
The old doctor looked up, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. “So it’s you, my lady!”
He squinted, put on his reading glasses, and peered intently behind her. “And your young gentleman…”
Zhao Rongzhang pursed her lips irritably. I already said he’s a male concubine, why call him “young master”? This old man is really annoying. She rolled up her sleeve and thrust her arm in front of him, getting straight to the point: “Take my pulse and see if I’m pregnant. If I am, get rid of it.”
The old doctor was stunned. He carefully stroked his ginseng whiskers and forced a dry laugh. “Could it be that my lady has other male concubines?”
“None of your business. I told you to take my pulse!”
“If you don’t, then you can’t be pregnant.”
“I’ll have them in the future, as many as I want! If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll break your old bones.”
The young lady was too fierce. The old doctor shrank back, intimidated by her wide, glaring eyes, and quickly said, “Alright, alright, alright.” But after saying “alright,” he added, “However…”
“However, if you’ve only been with that young master, you won’t conceive. Didn’t you give him the medicine I prescribed?”
“Are you saying that ‘sleeping medicine’ you prescribed has contraceptive effects?”
Zhao Rongzhang asked suspiciously, then threatened, “If you dare lie to me, I’ll definitely break your bones.”
“This old man would never dare deceive you, my lady,” the old doctor said with a smile.
Zhao Rongzhang wasn’t reassured. She planned to consult another doctor for a second opinion to ensure there was really nothing wrong with her body. Although she had the idea of bearing a daughter in the future as her heir, she was still very young herself now, her ambitions unfulfilled, and absolutely couldn’t afford to create a burden. Moreover, the heat toxin hadn’t been resolved yet. What if it transformed into fetal toxin and passed on to her future daughter? That would be another problem. She couldn’t let this trouble continue from her generation.
The old doctor’s smile was grating. Zhao Rongzhang glanced at him a few times, feeling this man was extremely cunning, wearing two faces—one pretending to be afraid here with her, the other putting on an air of profundity outside.
Zhao Rongzhang felt something wasn’t quite right. She fixed her gaze on the old man. “When did I tell you to add that kind of medicine to his prescription? I never said anything like that, did I?”
The old doctor played dumb. “Huh? What did you say?”
Zhao Rongzhang took two steps closer. “I said, who told you to sterilize him? It’s not like I’d sleep with him while he’s unconscious!”