Recklessly Breaking a Delicate Branch - Chapter 65

Inside the delicate, fragrant bedroom of a young lady, the faint scent of sandalwood drifted through the air.

Zhou Yan easily stepped through the window and walked toward the canopy bed.

The figure on the bed had her back turned to the outside. In the silence of the night, her breathing was steady and calm, as if she were fast asleep. He cautiously approached the bedside, intending to lean down and gaze at the girl’s sleeping face before deciding whether to wake her. However, Jiang Wanshu interrupted him the very next second.

“It’s late. Go to sleep.” Jiang Wanshu had long grown accustomed to Zhou Yan sneaking into her room every night to sleep beside her. Drowsy and heavy with sleep, she couldn’t be bothered to settle scores regarding what happened that morning; her voice was thick with lethargy.

Hearing this, Zhou Yan stripped off his outer clothing, placed it on the wooden rack they shared, and suddenly slid into bed.

He suppressed the words he had intended to say tonight. He wrapped his arms around the girl’s slender waist and buried his face into the crook of her neck. Just as he was about to close his eyes and rest, Jiang Wanshu pushed him away.

Her mind was now fully awake thanks to his antics. With him pressed against her back, his presence so close, she couldn’t help but recall the scene by the rockery earlier that day, surrounded by a crowd of palace maids.

“A man as diligent as Guard Zhou—why aren’t you out there practicing your martial arts, perhaps learning the ‘golden rooster stands on one leg’ stance?”

She hadn’t realized how sarcastic she sounded until the words left her mouth. Pouting, she made a determined effort to shuffle toward the far side of the bed, away from him.

Unfortunately, the man extended his long arm and promptly hauled her back into his embrace. In the chill of the winter night, the man’s body—heated from his bath before bed—felt scalding against her skin. While firmly holding the struggling girl in his arms, he asked with a chuckle, “Wanwan, are you jealous?”

“I am not.” No matter how she twisted and turned in his arms like a slippery loach, she could not escape his confinement.

Provoked by his actions, Jiang Wanshu was fuming. Realizing she truly couldn’t break free, she went limp and, out of spite, kicked the man’s shin.

Zhou Yan, however, seemed to find it amusing. His eyes sparkled as he playfully allowed her to kick and shove him.

Once she had kicked enough to vent her frustration, Jiang Wanshu finally settled down, her eyes clear. “Zhou Yan, have you noticed? You have two completely different faces—one on the bed, and one off it.”

Below the bed, he was respectful enough. On the bed, his true nature was fully revealed.

Her tone remained cold, her eyes shimmering with faint anger.

These words caused Zhou Yan’s eyes to flash again. His voice carried a hint of excitement, as if he were ready to return to his old self the moment she said “yes.” “Does Wanwan feel that I am being mistreated then?”

In truth, he had been stifling himself for a long time. If it weren’t for the fear of making her angry, his natural temperament would have seen him scaring Zhou Shuan far away the moment the man stepped within three inches of her.

Zhou Yan tightened his grip on the girl in his arms, drawing a soft whimper from her.

Her arms, fair as lotus roots, pressed lightly against his chest to signal him to loosen up. Thinking back to the fearless expression the man used to wear on the grasslands, she shook her head frantically in her heart. “Forget it. It’s better to keep mistreating you.”

If he acted like his old self in the palace, wouldn’t her father and mother become suspicious? By then, she wouldn’t even need to worry about hiding their relationship, because they would have seen right through it.

The moment Zhou Yan loosened his grip, Jiang Wanshu immediately rolled herself to the inner edge of the bed, her bright eyes meeting his gaze.

The dim candlelight in the room didn’t allow her to see his face clearly. She could only feel that when she felt cold and tried to pull the quilt over herself, the man leaned over and gathered her into his arms once more.

His body was hot and burning. He held her with the same persistent strength, his voice tinged with a feigned grievance. “You really are willing to let me suffer.”

Even though she couldn’t see his expression, his voice made it sound as if he were truly the most wronged man in the world.

She was curious to see what a lion looked like when it softened its pride. Just as she leaned in to get a closer look at his face, her forehead was gently bumped by his.

She pulled a hand from his embrace to rub her sore forehead, complaining, “Zhou Yan, can you stop being so inexplicable?”

The girl carried a faint scent of sandalwood. As Zhou Yan breathed it in, his heart surged—how could he restrain himself?

Just as she was about to speak, a large palm suddenly moved across her abdomen, brushing over the thin layer of her clothing. “Wanwan, how about we break that damn ten-day rule?”

The man’s palm was warm, casually stroking her skin which still held a trace of the night’s chill. Jiang Wanshu naturally understood what was on his mind.

This man, is that the only thing he thinks about?

Jiang Wanshu frowned and pushed his hand away from her stomach, saying with embarrassed annoyance, “If you have this much energy, you should focus it on the martial arts examinations instead.” Before he could respond, she quickly added, “A promise is a promise. You can’t go back on it—at least not until our relationship is made public.”

With that, she faked a yawn. “Alright, I’m truly exhausted. Let’s sleep, Zhou Yan.”

Ultimately, Zhou Yan had no choice but to let the girl in his arms drift off to sleep.

The exchange between the two that night should have been enough to soothe her mind after the influx of new palace maids into Lanyue Hall.

However, a few days later, Miss Liang invited her out of the palace again. Before leaving, Jiang Wanshu spotted Zhou Yan in the Imperial Garden, lifting massive stones under a banyan tree to train his arm strength. His display had drawn even more palace maids to watch him. Her face darkened instantly, and she marched toward a secluded spot away from him, seething with rage.

She ignored him entirely again.

This reaction puzzled Zhou Yan, who was usually keen on her subtle shifts in mood. Noticing the crowd gathering again, he seemed to realize something. He quickly put down the stones he was training with and headed back toward Lanyue Hall.

Meanwhile, at the unobstructed Chi Yun grounds, Jiang Wanshu suppressed her anger as much as possible before walking over to Liang Shaoyue’s side.

She gazed at the calm, rippleless stream, and her emotions slowly began to steady. Yet, for some reason, her internal tension was so palpable that even a carefree girl like Liang Shaoyue noticed.

“Princess, what is it that worries you so?” Since their previous meeting had turned them into close friends, Liang Shaoyue didn’t hesitate to ask when she saw the troubled look on Jiang Wanshu’s face.

On the vast grounds of Chi Yun, a maid stepped forward to place fresh, vibrant fruits upon the stone table before retreating. Sitting before the colorful bounty, Jiang Wanshu rested her chin on her right hand, her tone heavy. “I don’t quite know myself; I just feel as though my emotions have been erratic and low today.”

In truth, she had some inkling. It seemed she was upset because Zhou Yan’s martial arts practice had attracted a swarm of palace maids to watch.

However, she was truly loath to admit it. To her, the stirrings of a young girl’s heart were difficult to speak of—especially considering that the way she and he had met was so far from ordinary.

Unfortunately, while Liang Shaoyue was high-spirited, she was ultimately a girl raised in a prominent family and was skilled at reading people.

Recalling their previous meeting, Shaoyue remembered how her brother had made an excuse about “happening to meet her on the road” to dismount and get to know Jiang Wanshu. After probing her attitude and receiving a subtle rejection, Liang Shaoyue had begun to suspect that this princess—as radiant as the autumn moon—already had someone in her heart.

She simply assumed this “someone” had only recently won her favor. Otherwise, the princess wouldn’t have come to this meeting at all.

Liang Shaoyue had guessed the girl’s feelings correctly, but she hadn’t guessed her motive for coming. Jiang Wanshu had only attended the previous meeting because her mother, the Empress, had mentioned it.

Because of that first invitation, Jiang Wanshu found that Liang Shaoyue’s personality suited her own perfectly. To use a somewhat clunky but fitting phrase to describe their bond: they were “soulmates at first sight, as if they were old friends.”

Since she had made it clear to Liang Shaoyue that she wasn’t considering marriage for the time being, the two had become genuine confidantes through their days of wandering gardens and chasing butterflies. Given Shaoyue’s nature, she naturally loved to tease the sentimental princess before her.

“Could it be that the Princess is pining for a young man, so much so that she’s lost her appetite?” Liang Shaoyue covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes dancing with mischief.

Finding her inner thoughts guessed so accurately, Jiang Wanshu leaped up and hurriedly used her hand to cover Liang Shaoyue’s mouth. “Shaoyue, don’t talk nonsense!”

The girl whose secrets had been bared was now blushing furiously, looking for all the world like a sweet peach on a tree, tempting one to pluck it.

Liang Shaoyue, having had her fun, shook her head to signal that she would stop teasing, and only then did Jiang Wanshu lower her hand.

“Princess, what does the man you like look like? My brother has such a good temperament—you really don’t like him?” Liang Shaoyue felt a twinge of disappointment on behalf of her brother, looking at the girl who had almost become her sister-in-law.

Hearing this, Jiang Wanshu’s heart trembled. “Shaoyue, you’ve misunderstood…”

She was unwilling to admit the truth and reluctant to answer the question. Naturally, once the topic lost its spark, Liang Shaoyue pivoted to chat about other things.

On the carriage ride back to the palace, Jiang Wanshu lifted the gauze curtain to gaze at the red tiles and palace walls. Yulu sat beside her, watching her intently.

“Princess, are you angry about Guard Zhou?” Compared to Liang Shaoyue, Yulu was far more intimate with her; thus, Jiang Wanshu could naturally be more open in her presence.

“Is it that obvious?” Jiang Wanshu’s expression was gloomy, her gaze blankly fixed on the world outside.

Seeing this, Yulu felt a pang of sympathy.

In fact, she had long suspected the Princess’s feelings for Guard Zhou. Back on the grasslands, when she served the Princess, she truly hadn’t sensed any romantic affection toward him.

It wasn’t until they entered the palace—when she saw the look of surprise and joy on the Princess’s face as Zhou Yan used his status to bring back trinkets from the city, or her willingness to let him stay in her room while she applied her makeup—that her suspicions grew.

One must realize that in this dynasty, a lady’s morning toilette was an extremely private affair, not to be seen by outsiders. Yet, the Princess allowed Zhou Yan to remain there for a long time.

Yulu thought that if it hadn’t been for these signs, she wouldn’t have dared to suggest the Princess seek help from Guard Zhou during the panic of the news about the marriage alliance returning to the grasslands.

Having served the high-ranking ladies of the palace, she knew that when a mistress had a problem, the first line of defense before seeking the Emperor’s help was acting coquettish; only if that failed would they resort to other schemes.

In her mind, once a man agreed to handle a matter for a lady, the two would naturally move toward intimacy. That was why she had plucked up the courage to suggest that finding Guard Zhou might solve the problem.

She didn’t know Guard Zhou well, but she knew he was devoted to the Princess. Whatever the Princess asked for, he would see it done. However, she hadn’t expected that he would take the initiative to make a decision even before the Princess spoke.

Furthermore, after Guard Zhou left the palace, she had caught the Princess dazing off while staring at the porcelain dolls he had bought several times.

Now, seeing the Princess so listless lately out of anger because Zhou Yan’s extraordinary looks and physique had attracted the gazes of so many palace maids, Yulu’s suspicions were fully confirmed.

She looked up again at the troubled girl before her and nodded firmly.

Jiang Wanshu saw this and couldn’t help but let out a long, heavy sigh.

When the carriage reached the palace gates, Jiang Wanshu switched to a palanquin. After a short while, she stepped down, and mistress and servant walked toward the bedroom in the hall.

The two figures stopped before the bedroom door. Jiang Wanshu glanced at the unusually tightly closed door and told Yulu to stop. “I’m tired from chatting with Shaoyue. I want to rest for a while; you may go.”

Yulu obeyed and retreated.

Before entering the room, Jiang Wanshu seemed to be deep in thought. She let out a soft breath and nudged the door open a crack with her right hand. The next second, she was suddenly yanked inside by the person within.

In an instant, the wind ruffled the hair at her temples. The man’s long leg kicked the door shut with a bang, and his hand slammed the wooden bolt home, locking it tight.

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