After Accidentally Marking the Cold and Elegant Eldest Princess - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Clinging Closely

With a sudden boom, all of Yan Yunti’s thoughts instantly shattered.

The gland at the back of her neck throbbed violently, and her cedar-scented pheromones were released soundlessly, tightly surrounding the person before her.

Yuan Jingxue moved her hand from the back of Yan Yunti’s neck to stroke the Qianyuan’s flushed earlobe. A faint smile reflected in the depths of her eyes. “So, A-Yun isn’t very good at handling provocation after all.”

The touch on her ear was soft and slightly cool. Yan Yunti raised her hand to catch the Kunze’s teasing fingertip. She pressed one bent leg onto the daybed and braced one hand beside the woman’s body, leaning forward and forcing her to lean back. “Your Highness did that on purpose.”

“What do you mean by ‘on purpose’?” The pillow behind Yuan Jingxue dipped under the pressure, but her expression remained composed. “It was you who asked me to call you A-Yun. What dissatisfaction do you have now?”

It was far more than dissatisfaction.

Yan Yunti gave a few soft huffs, her thumb stroking Yuan Jingxue’s cool hand. “Does Your Highness only need my scent? If Your Highness is willing, I can also help warm your body.”

The night air was chilly, the floor heating in the inner chamber had not been lit, and Yuan Jingxue’s body was becoming cold again. However, she did not need the Qianyuan’s “body-warming.” She pressed her index finger against the Qianyuan’s chest, pushing her away. “Miss Yan need only fulfill her duty as incense.”

The Eldest Princess was truly the most heartless.

Yan Yunti sighed inwardly, stood up, and said, “Then wait a moment, Your Highness. Allow me to fetch a few books, and then I shall burn ‘incense’ for you, alright?”

There were several official scrolls on the table beside Yuan Jingxue; it seemed she still had business to handle. Yan Yunti couldn’t actually do anything, but if she couldn’t do it, surely she could at least look?

Yan Yunti returned to the East Side Hall and fished out that rather “indecent” book. This book had two covers; the outermost one was completely blank, revealing nothing. She returned to the inner chamber of the main hall with a serious face, sat across from Yuan Jingxue, and began to read the book page by page with great focus.

The cedar fragrance gradually thickened, soaking into the Kunze’s body strand by strand. The Qianyuan’s pheromones acted like a targeted remedy; Yuan Jingxue’s headache slowly subsided, and her body began to relax.

As her body eased, a sense of hunger emerged. She hadn’t eaten much for dinner. Yuan Jingxue raised her eyes, her gaze landing on the flower tea and fried petals placed on the table. She didn’t usually like food from outside, so she hadn’t touched these two items. But looking at them now, for some reason, she felt… a craving?

“Does Your Highness want to eat?” The Qianyuan’s voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

Yuan Jingxue retracted her gaze. “No need.”

Yan Yunti arched an eyebrow. She didn’t understand—the Princess clearly wanted to eat, so why wouldn’t she?

Yan Yunti stood up and walked to the table. First, she placed the pot of cold flower tea on the small tea stove to heat it up, then she carried the plate of fried petals over. Right in front of Yuan Jingxue, she bit down on a petal with a crunch, her eyes bright. “It’s delicious! Does Your Highness really not want a taste?”

Yuan Jingxue’s stomach fluttered slightly. She looked away. “If you want to eat, then eat. There is no need for many words.”

“But,” Yan Yunti walked closer and closer with the plate, picking up a golden-fried petal and waving it before Yuan Jingxue’s eyes, her voice low and soft, “I spent so much time making this just because I wanted Your Highness to taste my cooking. I didn’t expect Your Highness to be so heartless toward both people and food, unwilling to take even a single bite. Sigh, I’m so sad I might not even be able to release my scent anymore.”

As she spoke, Yan Yunti actually began to retract her pheromones, her clear, watery phoenix eyes looking at the woman with “sadness.”

Her mother had told her that her face and eyes were born beautiful and likable; even if the other person knew she was feigning pity, they wouldn’t be able to help softening. She wondered if this would work on the Eldest Princess?

Yuan Jingxue looked away. Even though she wasn’t looking, she could imagine the look the Qianyuan was giving her. Combined with the gnawing hunger, she closed her eyes slightly. “Bring it here.”

A smile flashed in Yan Yunti’s eyes. She sat down in front of Yuan Jingxue with the plate and brought a golden petal to the woman’s lips. “Quickly, taste it, Your Highness. Once the flower tea is hot, drink a few cups; your body will definitely feel much better.”

This hadn’t been Yuan Jingxue’s intention, but the Qianyuan had already fed her, and it wasn’t as if she hadn’t been served by her today. Yuan Jingxue parted her lips and bit the petal. The deep-fried petal was crispy upon entry and a bit spicy; the taste was unexpectedly good.

One petal followed another, and without realizing it, she had eaten quite a few. After drinking two cups of hot tea, her abdomen felt warm.

“Your Highness, the last piece.” Yan Yunti brought the final petal to Yuan Jingxue’s lips. The beauty parted her red lips and took the petal in her mouth, not eating it all at once but intending to bite it in half.

The woman’s red lips had become even more plump and soft from the flower tea. Seeing that the last piece was about to be bitten off, Yan Yunti leaned forward and unhesitatingly bit the other half.

Their lips touched for an instant. Yuan Jingxue froze, and before she could react, Yan Yunti bit it off with a crunch and retreated with a slightly reddened face. After chewing the petal, she offered a forced explanation: “Seeing Your Highness eat made me hungry too. I couldn’t help but snatch a small half. Your Highness won’t hold it against me, right?”

How could she hold it against her? The kiss—if it could be called that—had already happened. Was she supposed to kiss her back?

“You are blocking the light,” Yuan Jingxue reminded her, pulling a book from the nearby shelf.

“Oh,” Yan Yunti drawled in response, standing up to sit back across from her.

Eats the food, drinks the tea, then wants nothing to do with me, Yan Yunti huffed inwardly, picking up that “indecent” book to continue reading.

The variations in the book were truly numerous. Bright red silk could be used to cover the eyes or bind the wrists, contrasting beautifully with fair skin… whether from the front or back, or while biting the gland and…

The face of the Kunze drawn on the paper wasn’t clear, likely to allow the reader to project someone onto it. As Yan Yunti looked, that blurred face gradually turned into Yuan Jingxue’s likeness—every frown, every smile, every posture. It caused the gland at the back of her neck to grow hot unknowingly.

The pheromones that were being released slowly suddenly became intense, tightly entwining Yuan Jingxue.

Yuan Jingxue’s brow furrowed slightly. She looked at the Qianyuan sitting opposite her, who was staring at something with a flushed face, looking very suspicious. However, Yuan Jingxue had no heart to think further; her headache had returned with a vengeance, and the Qianyuan’s pheromones no longer seemed to provide any relief.

Yuan Jingxue raised her hand to press firmly against her temples, attempting to stop the pain, but the effect was minimal. She crooked her knuckles and tapped the table twice.

Yan Yunti was startled back to her senses. She slammed the book shut and looked across. Her expression changed instantly. “What’s wrong? Is it the headache again?”

Yuan Jingxue’s face was pale. The fingertips pressing her temples were white with effort, and her breathing was unsteady. She tried to keep her tone level: “You should leave.”

“My scent is no longer working?” Yan Yunti ignored her words and sat down beside her. The moment her fingers touched the back of Yuan Jingxue’s hand, she was shocked. “Why is Your Highness’s hand so cold?”

As she spoke, she caught Yuan Jingxue’s left hand in her palms, rubbing it back and forth to warm it, feeling increasingly puzzled. It didn’t seem right—if the Dependency Period were about to strike, she should be having a reaction as well. Yet currently, only Yuan Jingxue was suffering, and her body was even colder than before.

Xu Su had said the Eldest Princess’s health was poor, but could it be poor to this extent?

“I’ll have them light the floor heating, and prepare some hot water bottles and hand warmers…” Before Yan Yunti could finish, Yuan Jingxue pulled her hand away and interrupted: “No need. You should go.”

Another order to leave.

“I can’t go,” Yan Yunti said decisively. With the woman suffering like this, how could she possibly leave? “If it’s truly bad, call the doctor. A doctor must have a way.” She caught Yuan Jingxue’s hand again to warm it. “At least tell me a way, Your Highness. How can you just endure it like this?”

Yuan Jingxue didn’t want to answer. If there were a way, why would she have endured it for so long? “I am fine. It will pass in half an hour.” She couldn’t pull her hand away, and her voice grew increasingly hollow.

Yan Yunti couldn’t bear to see her endure it so stoically. She stood up, grabbed the brocade quilt from the bed, and wrapped the woman in it without another word. “Wait here a moment, Your Highness. I’ll have them light the floor heating and prepare the water bottles.”

Yan Yunti hurried out of the main hall to find Bawei and the others. If Yuan Jingxue was willing to endure, her close attendants shouldn’t just watch their master suffer. After a few brief words from Yan Yunti, Bawei and Jinsi exchanged a glance, realizing the situation. Jinsi immediately went to order the preparations.

Bawei’s expression was pleading: “Lady He, rest assured, we will prepare everything. But as Her Highness said, these things have little effect. Her Highness is usually unwilling to let people stay by her side at these times. If Lady He could help a bit…”

“I’ll help however I can. Just get the things ready,” Yan Yunti said, rushing back to the main hall.

When she returned, Yuan Jingxue was buried inside the quilt, her face invisible. Yan Yunti took off her shoes and climbed onto the daybed. Her left hand rested gently on the quilt, while her right hand pulled open a small gap. “How do you feel, Your Highness? Any better?”

The quilt was pulled back to reveal the person curled into a ball inside. All color had left her face; she was clenching her teeth to endure the pain, her hands tightly gripping her own arms, her nails digging into the skin.

“Don’t pinch yourself, Your Highness. If it’s really painful, pinch me instead.” Yan Yunti couldn’t stand it. She pried Yuan Jingxue’s hands away and extended her own arm. “Pinch me. I’m not afraid of pain.”

Yuan Jingxue’s fingertips landed on Yan Yunti’s wrist. Compared to her own icy body, Yan Yunti was exceptionally warm. She couldn’t help but lean toward the heat source, her hands groping to wrap around Yan Yunti’s waist, her cold cheek pressing into the hollow of the Qianyuan’s neck, seeking warmth.

It would take time for the floor heating to kick in. Seeing her like this, Yan Yunti realized she was likely semi-conscious from the pain. After a few moments of thought, she simply removed her own and Yuan Jingxue’s outer robes, leaving only their inner layers.

Since Yuan Jingxue insisted on holding her, removing the clothes wasn’t easy. As soon as they were off, the woman pressed tightly against her, leaving no gap at all.

Yan Yunti took a deep breath, telling herself she was just helping. She wrapped her arms around the woman and pulled the quilt over them both, cocooning them together.

When Jinsi entered with the hot water bottles, this was the scene she witnessed: The two were huddled tightly together, and the Princess was even rubbing her face continuously against the other’s neck!