CHAPTER 84 (2): SCARED OF MEN
Pei Qianhao purposely twitched his nose, pretending to be taking a sniff of something. “What smell of chamber pots? Why doesn’t this prince smell it? Why don’t you lift the bed quilt and lean in closer to let this prince smell it properly?”
The word ‘shameless’ also spilt out from Su Xi-er’s lips. She glanced at him before reminding him, “Prince Hao, please turn around. This servant wants to wear my clothes.”
“Having seen you twice, what does it matter if I see you for the third time? Su Xi-er, are you scared?“
Two times. The first time was when he forced me to wear the Chinese bodice in the imperial palace, and the second time was just now.
Su Xi-er simply went along with him. “This servant is scared. Please turn around, Prince Hao.”
“Fine then. Quickly come off the bed and wear your clothes; then bring this prince a basin of hot water to wipe my body.”
The words ‘wipe my body’ caused Su Xi-er’s whole body to shudder. Would he tell me to wipe his body for him?
Pei Qianhao could tell what she was thinking and coldly instructed, “If you’re still not going to get out, do you believe that this prince will…”
Before he could finish, Su Xi-er had gotten off the bed while wrapped in the quilt. She picked up the Chinese bodice and began to wear it while still covered up with the quilt.
“Su Xi-er, the way you wear this Chinese bodice is really unique.” That quilt was like a tortoiseshell covering Su Xi-er.
Ignoring him, Su Xi-er swiftly finished wearing her Chinese bodice properly before doing the same with her outer garments.
After she was done, she began to fold the quilt, but realised that it was likely that Pei Qianhao would not be willing to use it any longer. I have already used this to cover myself, and the quilt even dropped onto the floor just now.
“This servant will bring a new quilt over for you.”
Pei Qianhao waved his hand. “No need.”
Su Xi-er glanced at him in confusion. Seeing that he no longer spoke, she placed the folded quilt at the foot of the bed.
Pei Qianhao saw her extremely deferential behaviour and coldly instructed, “Get out and quickly bring the hot water here.”
Su Xi-er was long used to his ice-cold appearance. It’s fine as long as he doesn’t oppress me and intentionally get close to me.
Su Xi-er bowed to him before retreating out of the inner chamber.
After she left, the door curtain swayed gently before coming to a stop, leaving Pei Qianhao to stare at it with a pensive expression.
She must have been hurt before to be so antipathetic to men. A girl will only be hurt by love when she begins to understand it. Don’t tell me that Su Xi-er had already begun to understand love after she entered the palace?
When this thought crossed his mind, Pei Qianhao’s eyes involuntarily narrowed slightly. Things seem to have become even more interesting. It’s rare for a woman with a story to appear. This life doesn’t seem to be as mundane as it was in the past.
~~~
Su Xi-er was unaware of Pei Qianhao’s current thoughts. After leaving the room, she walked towards the boiler room beside the dining hall.
She turned around to take a look. So it turns out that it’s Shui Yinglian.
Shui Yinglian has clearly been confined by His Excellency County Magistrate. Why has she come out now? Were the imperial guards watching over her not stringent, or is Shui Yinglian full of cunning tricks.
“It’s in the middle of the night, yet you ran out instead of serving Prince Hao properly. If you arouse Prince Hao’s displeasure, you will be out of luck,” Shui Yinglian told her with a smile.
As her eyes sized Su Xi-er up carefully, she noticed that the latter’s hair was dishevelled and her collar was also slightly messy.
In an instant, the expression in Shui Yinglian’s eyes changed. She even claimed that she’s an ordinary maidservant. She’s evidently a room concubine servant!
Despite detecting the changes in Shui Yinglian’s expression, Su Xi-er had no time to waste on her, simply stating in a chilly manner, “Prince Hao wants hot water. I have no time to spend on you.”