After Accidentally Marking the Cold and Elegant Eldest Princess - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Full of Schemes

“Of course,” Yan Yunti met the woman’s slightly arched brow, her tone shifting, “I don’t remember. Does Your Highness truly hope I could be so distracted as to multitask to that extent?”

“Then what do you mean?” Yuan Jingxue’s face cooled slightly.

“Naturally, I mean I should call you a few more times. I guarantee it will be more, not less,” Yan Yunti said, her palm releasing Yuan Jingxue’s lower leg to massage upward toward her thigh. “I remember most of Your Highness’s intonations. As long as you are willing to listen, I can mimic them all. Does Your Highness want to hear?”

The idea was hers, but the choice to listen lay with Yuan Jingxue.

Within the hot spring, the water gurgled. After a moment of silence, Yan Yunti heard the woman’s indifferent voice: “Call me.”

A smile ignited in Yan Yunti’s eyes. Yuan Jingxue turned her body sideways; Yan Yunti’s gaze fell back upon the beauty’s profile. By leaning her lips just a bit forward, her voice could spiral directly into the other’s ear.

The first call was in a very simple, calm tone: “Yuan Jingxue.” It carried no emotion. Before the echo could dissipate, it was followed by a lower, faster call: “Yuan Jingxue.” This one held a trace of unhideable irritation, as if trying to stop someone from doing something.

After just these two calls, Yuan Jingxue realized that her decision might have been an error. The girl’s voice was right at her ear, her breath spilling entirely over her auricle. The heat on her neck had not yet receded, and now it showed signs of climbing again.

If she stopped it now, wouldn’t she be letting the girl see through her? It was just a few names, after all.

Just as she thought this, the girl’s lips suddenly surged closer, the peak of her lip pressing against the edge of her ear. As she spoke, warm lips rubbed against her ear, and a voice—soft, tender, and laced with a hint of unbearable yearning—drifted in: “Jingxue.”

It sounded like a plea, yet also like distress; it held the same exquisite nuance as that call of “A-Yun.”

Yuan Jingxue was already too late for regrets. This single call summoned certain suppressed sensations within her. Her hand, resting at her side, clenched slightly; water flowed through her fingers, and she could grasp nothing.

Yan Yunti seemed entirely unaware. While massaging the woman’s right leg, she continued mimicking the tones Yuan Jingxue used to call her, each one more soft and winding than the last. The three characters of “Yuan Jingxue” became increasingly familiar in her mouth, like a seductive melody flowing down Yuan Jingxue’s ear and burrowing into her heart to entwine there.

Until the heat on Yuan Jingxue’s ear could no longer be hidden.

Yan Yunti felt the heat where their skin met. In her downward gaze, she saw the quickened rise and fall of the beauty’s chest. From between her lips, she let out one final call: “Yuan Jingxue.” It was urgent and fast, carrying an irrepressible sob.

This time, Yan Yunti didn’t mimic it perfectly; she couldn’t quite replicate the sob Yuan Jingxue made at her limit, only managing a rough imitation.

But this was enough.

Clearly, the Eldest Princess before her Rain and Dew period could not be easily provoked. The passion she had stirred up would, naturally, be hers to soothe.

Yan Yunti reached for a plate on the edge and took a piece of plum blossom cake, holding it before Yuan Jingxue. “Does Your Highness want a taste? The flavor is truly excellent.”

Having not yet eaten dinner and having exhausted her strength, it was hard for Yuan Jingxue to refuse the cake before her eyes. She raised her hand to take it.

“The surface of the pastry is covered in sugar powder; let’s not dirty Your Highness’s hands,” Yan Yunti said, bringing the cake to Yuan Jingxue’s lips. “I will simply feed Your Highness. Would you like some tea?”

Yuan Jingxue looked at her and ate half the cake.

Yan Yunti acted as if she noticed nothing, serving her food and tea, even continuing to massage her right leg. Two pieces of pastry were taken from each plate, and nearly half a pot of tea was drunk. When the final piece of plum blossom cake was brought to her lips, Yuan Jingxue was already quite full. She took a tiny bite, and for some reason, this last piece suddenly crumbled in her mouth, falling over her front, with some pieces dropping into the water.

“Oh, it all fell on Your Highness,” Yan Yunti said, her voice full of surprise.

Yuan Jingxue had already felt something was off, and now, hearing that tone, she understood. “You…”

Yan Yunti cut her off before she could question her: “Your Highness, these cakes are so hard to buy; it would be a waste. Can Your Highness bestow these upon me to eat?”

Her words sounded serious, but given the situation, they were quite indecent. The crumbs that fell into the water could no longer be eaten, but since the spring was flowing water, it didn’t matter much. Only the crumbs on Yuan Jingxue’s person remained to be tasted.

If bestowed upon the Qianyuan, how else would she taste them?

Yuan Jingxue realized it. Yan Yunti had long seen the flicker of her desire, yet she had pretended not to know, creating this “coincidence” only when the last piece remained.

Truly, she was full of schemes.

Yuan Jingxue said it directly: “Miss Yan truly has a fine mind for calculation.”

This was hardly a compliment, but Yan Yunti wasn’t discouraged in the least. Her hand, massaging Yuan Jingxue’s right leg, moved slowly toward the inner thigh. “Then can Your Highness fulfill this little scheme of mine? I promise it won’t delay your massage.”

It was like this again. Casting the choice to her, then adopting a pose of following orders. It would be better if she weren’t so “obedient.”

“And you? Do you not need it?” Yuan Jingxue sat sideways, the outer side of her left thigh pressed tight against Yan Yunti’s waist. As she spoke, she moved closer intentionally.

Earlier, when Yan Yunti had been behind her with her left leg pinned, passion had clearly been stirred in her as well.

Being exposed, Yan Yunti showed no embarrassment or shame. Her palm stroked the butterfly bones on the woman’s back, rubbing gently. “If Your Highness lets me taste these cakes, all needs will be naturally resolved.”

Her words were a double entendre; thus, this matter was not for her alone.

Yuan Jingxue averted her eyes, no longer looking into the Qianyuan’s vivid, seductive gaze. Her voice was rational and calm: “It must not be delayed too long.”

“Alright, I will listen to Your Highness.” A smile overflowed in Yan Yunti’s eyes. She bowed her head to taste the crumbled cake, thinking that there were indeed merits to being “obedient.”

Until, with a splash, Yan Yunti carried the beauty—who had long since lost all strength—out of the water and onto a daybed by the edge. She then walked briskly behind the screen, took a long bath towel and a fresh inner robe from the cabinet, and hurried back to Yuan Jingxue. She had just unfolded the towel to wrap her when she was pushed away.

“Go fish those two inner robes back,” Yuan Jingxue’s gaze went to the surface of the spring. Under the current, the two sets of robes they had worn earlier had drifted far away. The water there was too deep; only Yan Yunti could go. Otherwise, if the maids saw them, it would truly be too absurd.

Of course, it was also because she didn’t want Yan Yunti near her right now. That sentence “It must not be delayed too long” should never have been said; the Qianyuan was truly one to seize every opening to bully her. Had she said she wanted it that fast?

“Alright,” Yan Yunti agreed. She unfolded another long cloth to wrap the woman’s wet hair before turning to jump into the spring to retrieve the clothes.

By the time she returned, Yuan Jingxue had dried herself and was facing away from her, changing into her robes. The white inner robe hid the “red plums” scattered across the woman’s back—marks Yan Yunti had planted one by one with her own mouth, marks that would take at least two or three days to fade.

She feared new ones would be added before the old ones vanished.

Yan Yunti secretly warned herself to show restraint. In the past, she thought her self-control was good, but now it seemed she was overconfident. Her original plan for today was to teach Yuan Jingxue to swim, yet she hadn’t mentioned it once. If she hadn’t gone to fish out the robes, she would have continued to forget.

Yan Yunti quickly dried herself and changed. When Yuan Jingxue turned around, she was already sitting on the daybed. She went straight to the point: “Does Your Highness want to learn how to swim?”

The question was sudden. Yuan Jingxue’s expression was faint: “Why?”

Yan Yunti had prepared her reason: “Your Highness nearly drowned earlier; it truly gave me a fright. So after much thought, I feel it is better for Your Highness to learn. It isn’t hard. It only took me a day to learn; Your Highness is far smarter than I, so you will surely be faster.”

Yuan Jingxue did not respond, simply watching her. Perhaps due to the previous two “schemes,” she now found everything Yan Yunti said to be driven by an ulterior motive. If Yan Yunti taught her, there would inevitably be physical contact. Was her intent truly pure?

Yuan Jingxue didn’t want to guess. She said directly: “If Miss Yan has a scheme, you might as well be honest.”

“I certainly don’t! This subject is entirely sincere, without a second thought!” Yan Yunti guaranteed with a look of sincerity, though she had been “sincere” so many times now that it was becoming quite unbelievable.

Seeing the lack of trust in the Princess’s eyes, Yan Yunti felt she had shot herself in the foot. After a moment of thought, she changed her approach: “Does Your Highness feel there is no need to learn? Or is Your Highness afraid of water?”

She probably wasn’t afraid; Yuan Jingxue had submerged herself in the bath earlier. As long as one wasn’t afraid, learning was easy.

“Is Miss Yan using a provocation tactic?” Yuan Jingxue misunderstood her again. “How about Miss Yan tells me why it is necessary for me to learn?”

Yan Yunti gave a quick answer: “That day in the Yaohua Hall, did Your Highness anticipate that someone would use such low tactics? Life is full of variables. At any time, learning another way to protect yourself is never a bad thing.”

Yuan Jingxue’s gaze shifted. The drowning today was indeed an accident, but if such an accident happened again, she couldn’t rely on Yan Yunti to save her.

“Rest assured, Your Highness. I can demonstrate for you. If you can learn by watching, there’s no need for me to teach you by hand,” Yan Yunti promised.

Yuan Jingxue knew she was right and stopped refusing: “Fine. Then tomorrow…”

“I will teach Your Highness tomorrow morning,” Yan Yunti cut in. This couldn’t be delayed. She feared that as soon as they returned to the capital, they would receive the Scent Pills from Xu Su. Before then, she had to ensure Yuan Jingxue knew how to swim so that things might not happen as they did in the dream.

Leaving the hot spring and returning to the inner chamber of the main hall, Yuan Jingxue draped an extra outer robe over herself. Seeing Yan Yunti dressed and about to leave, she suddenly said: “Tonight… stay here.”

Yan Yunti spun around instantly, her eyes bright as she looked at Yuan Jingxue: “Where does Your Highness want me to stay?”

Yuan Jingxue couldn’t bear those bright eyes and looked away. “There are no silver bells connecting the main and side halls here. It is more convenient for you to stay on the daybed here.”

“Ah, alright.” Yan Yunti’s excited tone took a sharp dive into a small sense of loss. “For Your Highness, I won’t have any complaints even if I have to sleep on such a narrow daybed.”

A daybed was not a bed; for someone with long limbs like Yan Yunti, it would be uncomfortable no matter how she slept.

That night, Yan Yunti once again tossed and turned, unable to sleep. In her shallow slumber, Yuan Jingxue heard the movements from the daybed. That aggrieved tone from the Qianyuan was clearly meant for her ears to soften her heart.

She must not soften her heart.

Thinking this, any slight noise from the daybed reached her ears, preventing her from sleeping peacefully. She couldn’t help but call out: “Yan Yunti.”