It was the servant maid, Qing Xia.
He didn't have a deep impression of the maid in the room, so it took him a while to recall her name.
He frowned. "What are you doing here?"
Qing Xia was holding an oil lamp in her hand. When she saw him awake, she stood a few steps away from him with her eyes lowered and her voice almost inaudible under the thunder. "I saw that the lamp in the inner room has gone out, wishing to renew it for Your Highness."
Yan Yu laid back down and said without a word, "No need, you may leave."
Tonight, she and Sun Ya were on duty. Sun Ya had long since fallen asleep on the doorframe.
She paused, then asked hesitantly, "The wind is blowing heavily tonight, is Your Highness cold?"
"Do you want me to bring you another blanket? "
At this moment, Yan Yu only wanted to be left alone. He felt that her voice was very noisy, so he said in an unfriendly tone, "Go to the side room and see if the princess is awake. If she's awake, come and tell me."
Qing Xia bowed and turned to look at the bed. She saw his arm resting on his forehead with one of his legs bent. It was obvious that he was upset.
Her eyes flashed, and it was unknown what she was thinking.
When she arrived at the door of the side room, Qing Xia lightly knocked on the door twice.
The door was quickly opened, revealing half of Shuang Yan's faces. "What's the matter?"
She said, "It's raining heavily tonight. His Highness sends me to ask if the princess is sleeping well?"
Shuang Yan nodded. "Very good, you may go back."
She looked inside, but it was dark and she couldn't see what was inside.
She could only see a blurry shadow curling up into a ball. She didn't know if she was sleeping or waking up.
She said yes, then closed the door and retreated.
She entered the mansion after it was completed. At that time, she had only heard that the sixth prince was about to be married, and that this mansion was prepared for the future princess.
At first, she thought that the relationship between the sixth prince and the future Princess was compatible, and they loved each other that no one could shook. Who knew that on the first day of their marriage, the sixth prince would leave the Princess alone in their bridal chamber until deep into the night before returning.
In addition, they still split up to sleep in separate rooms.
This shocked the servant maids in the room, but they had been told by the steward that if any one of them brought this matter to light, they would not be able to bear the consequences.
Although everyone was surprised, they all held it in in their hearts. No one dared to say it, much less discuss it.
The next morning, the princess and the sixth prince got into an argument.
The servant maids secretly guessed that the sixth prince must have been dissatisfied with His Majesty granting the marriage, which was why he had been at loggerheads with princess so often not long after their wedding.
Once, when everyone had been holding it in for too long, they couldn't help but whisper to each other in the servants' room, "If this goes on, won't His Highness divorce the princess?"
Lv Ao scolded her for talking nonsense and quickly told her to shut up.
However, Cui Shan felt that what she said made a lot of sense, "After wedding, they are not consummated. Not only that, they sleep in separate rooms."
"Even if His Highness doesn't give up on his wife, he still needs a concubine, right?"
After saying that, she teased Qing Xia, "You are the most good-looking in us. Let's guess if you will be the one who become the concubine first?"
Qing Xia's face immediately turned red, but she didn't respond to her words.
Lv Ao was truly angry. She stood up and retorted, "Isn't the princess more beautiful than us?"
"If His Highness doesn't like her, can he take a fancy to us?"
Cui Shan replied, "The princess doesn't know how to please His Highness. Perhaps His Highness likes the obedient girls?"
These words deeply rooted in Qing Xia's heart.
He didn't like being opposed to him and liked the obedient girls.
She could do all of that.
After returning to the inner room, Qing Xia saw Yan Yu was lying on the bed, unable to tell if he was asleep or not.
She gathered up her courage and stepped forward. As soon as she came to the bed, she met Yan Yu's cold and calm eyes.
She hurriedly lowered her head and respectfully said, "Your Highness, the princess has already fallen asleep."
Yan Yu was disappointed. He closed his eyes and said, "You may leave."
She still wanted to stay, but she was afraid of arousing his displeasure, so she bowed and left.
The heavy rain did not stop half an hour later. The rain and wind outside the window made it so noisy that people could not fall asleep.
Yan Yu decided not to sleep anymore. He put on his outer robe and walked to the door that was connected to the side room. As soon as he put his hand on it, the door opened gently.
It turned out that after Qing Xia asking about the princess's sleep, Shuang Yan forgot to bolt the door, so he could easily enter.
Yan Yu tried his best to suppress the joy in his heart. He waved towards Shuang Yan beside the bed, indicating that she should go out.
Shuang Yan, who had been sprawled at the head of the bed, saw him come in and waked immediately. Seeing he let her out, knowing that he would not harm Xie Zhen, she ran out.
Yan Yu sat on the bed, looking at the little girl who had curled up herself into a ball. Just then, there came a loud thunder outside the window, causing her to frown.
Yan Yu took off his shoes and went to bed, throwing them over her and wrapping her in his arms.
Xie Zhen didn't fall asleep at all. How could she have slept when there was so much noise outside?
However, she was really tired. She vaguely felt that someone had come in, and thought it was Shuang Yan who had gone out and come back. She didn't care at all. Who would have thought that she would be tightly held by someone in the next moment?
She opened her eyes wide and saw only one head. "Who are you?" she asked in horror.
Yan Yu whispered in her ear, "It's me."
His low, hoarse voice was especially clear at such a close distance. Her ears were numb as she raised her hand to resist. "What are you doing here?"
"Let me go!"
Thunder rumbled outside the window as if there was no end to it.
She wasn't very strong, but she couldn't continue struggling like this.
Yan Yu wrapped his arms and legs around her and decided all at once, saying confidently, "I'm afraid of thunder."
As expected, Xie Zhen stopped. She turned her head in incredibility. "Are you afraid of thunder?"
Unfortunately, he was too close and his face could not be seen.
Yan Yu pursed his thin lips, determined not to repeat himself a second time.
She chuckled, and after she finished laughing, her tone became much softer. "I asked you just now, didn't you say that you're not afraid?"
He did not speak.
A bolt of lightning flashed down from the sky, lighting up the room.
There were two people on the bed, and the tall man covered the petite girl tightly. One could tell that each of his gestures was in a position of possession.
Then the thunder rose up, and she was pressed closer.
Xie Zhen finally got his weakness, her eyes narrowing slightly. She didn't bother about with him, "Why are you afraid of thunder?" she asked.
"I'm not afraid, and neither is Ah Xun. You're a man, why are you afraid? "
Yan Yu thought to himself, "I'm not afraid. If it wasn't for you, why would I pretend to be like this?"
After speaking this, Xie Zhen reminded him. "When the rain stops, you go back to sleep."
Yan Yu remained silent.
Xie Zhen was really talkative. Since she couldn't sleep, she asked curiously, "Are you too scared to talk?"
Yan Yu clenched his teeth, "No."
She said, "Oh, thank you for helping me today."
Yan Yu closed his eyes. He didn't like hearing her say the words "thank you". They were couple, so whatever he did was what he should do.
Therefore, he only said, "All right."
They were so close that he could feel the softness of her chest. His face turned red. Fortunately, but it was dark inside the room and she couldn't see it.
But after a long time, there would inevitably be a reaction, so he calmly retreated, not letting her notice the change in him.
"Why did you help me?"
This was the question she had been pondering for the entire day, but in the end, she could not come up with an answer.
Yan Yu placed a hand on her waist, her delicate waist made him unable to let go. His palm slid down a bit, not daring to be too presumptuous, afraid that she would notice it, he put his hand under her waist, and his resisting made his palm heating.
His voice was hoarse. "You were crying."
Xie Zhen's watery eyes were bright and she was focused on the conversation, so she didn't notice his restless hand at all.
"Isn't it all your fault …"
He paused and nodded.
It was not easy to make him realize his mistake. He knew he was wrong today, and he probably wouldn't do the same again in the future.
Outside, the rain slackened and the sound of Xie Zhen's voice faded. By the time the rain stopped completely, she was asleep in his arms.
Yan Yu pushed himself up, touched her face, touched her eyes and nose, and finally stared at her pink lips, eager to taste them.
He started to lower his head, but she rolled over, scaring him to a halt.
He was probably the type of person who felt guilty of being a thief …
He gave up at last, and went to sleep with her.
What about "going back when the rain stopped"?
He had forgotten.
The next day, after a night of washing, the sky was clear and blue.
Xie Zhen slept until the noon, when she was finally strangled awake.
She only felt that she was out of breath, and that her entire body was bound and in great discomfort.
When she opened her eyes, she saw that Yan Yu was clinging to her like a big dog, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
No wonder she felt sick.
Her mind was sluggish as she thought back to the scene from last night. He said that he was afraid of the thunder, so she had barely let him hug her for a while …
Then they all seemed to be asleep?
Xie Zhen pushed him away in a muddle, almost kicking him out of bed. "You, you get up!"
Yan Yu was awakened by the commotion. He frowned and slowly opened his eyes.
When he woke up, he looked a little lazy. His pretty face had lost its edge, his collar was slightly open, and his eyes were misty. All of this made Xie Zhen at loss for a second.
"What's wrong?"
he asked uncomprehendingly when he saw her.
Xie Zhen came to herself, and retreated to the corner of the bed. "You're still asking me?"
"This …"
"This is my bed. "
He woke up with a sound of "En" coming out of his slumber. He pursed his lips and actually acted like a rascal. "Anyway, it's already dawn, so there's no harm in sleeping a little longer."
After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes and really wanted to sleep.
How could Xie Zhen let him do that? She pushed and shoved him out of bed.
She called the servant maids over and had them watch from outside the door. No one was allowed to enter. After changing her clothes, she went outside to wash her hair.
Yan Yu had already changed into a new set of clothes. At this moment, he was washing his face in front of the copper basin, returning to his usual noble and cold appearance.
Qing Xia was wringing out the towel for him and was about to wipe his face when he expressionlessly accepted the towel. He was not used to letting other women touch him.
Hearing a voice behind him, he said without turning his head, "After breakfast, I will bring you to a place."
"What is it?" Xie Zhen sat in front of the mirror and looked at him.
He wouldn't say.
Emperor Yuan Hui had specifically granted him ten days off for his newlywed vacation, so he didn't need to enter the imperial court for the next ten days.
Instead of staying at home and having nothing to do, he might as well find some fun.
After breakfast he led her out.
There were puddles everywhere in the yard, and if one wasn't careful, they would step into puddles and splash on the muddy water.
Xie Zhen walked carefully, holding her skirt trailing behind him, and now he learned to wait for her, occasionally offering his hand and leading her from the other side.
So along the way, Xie Zhen found they were walking in potholes.
When they finally reached the cobblestone path, the road was easier to walk on, and just as Xie Zhen was relieved, a big puppy popped out of the grass and called out to her.
She let out a cry and went forward to tightly hold Yan Yu's hand, "Big Brother Xiao Yu!"
Yan Yu's body stiffened. He followed her gaze and said, "It won't bite."
She said, "But I'm afraid."
Yan Yu broke off a branch from a nearby tree and waved it away.
She was relieved.
The two of them continued to walk forward. She had completely forgotten what she just blurted out, but it caused quite a ripple in his heart.
After the wedding, she didn't call him by his name, nor did she call him Your Highness. Did she still think of him as big brother Xiao Yu?
Finally they stopped in front of a yard.
"Spring Blossom Castle?"